How many Irish can speak the Irish language fluently?
How many people in Ireland can speak fluent Irish (or celtic or gaelic or whatever it is called)? All, almost all, most, not many..?
Also, how commonly is it used as a first langauge over there? Is it just in certain counties or something? Or does everybody speak English as their first language?
I speak fluent Irish. We have to learn it in School so basically everyone under 17/18 speaks Irish. Everyone I know speaks at least some Irish. Not many people are fluent. There are Gaeltachts where people speak Irish as their first language. Our road signs are in Irish and English, all leaflets from the Government around election time etc., are in Irish and English, so Irish is quite present in every day life. It’s jus called Irish BTW.
i can speak like NO irish at all. T_T
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i don’t have the actual percentages but it is a small minority, composed of two different kinds of people. one is the traditional gaelic-speaking areas, mostly rural and in the west of ireland (similar situation in scottland, where scots gaelic is strongest in the hebrides), and there are probably still places where it is the first language. the other is a small urban educated elite of people who have learned the language for ideological reasons, and some of who have succeeded in bringing up bilingual children one of whose native languages is irish. i met one such young person not long ago.
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I speak fluent Irish. We have to learn it in School so basically everyone under 17/18 speaks Irish. Everyone I know speaks at least some Irish. Not many people are fluent. There are Gaeltachts where people speak Irish as their first language. Our road signs are in Irish and English, all leaflets from the Government around election time etc., are in Irish and English, so Irish is quite present in every day life. It’s jus called Irish BTW.
References :