http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/article3064773.ece
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/article3067784.ece
http://www.oceanfm.ie/onair/donegalnews.php?articleid=000001937
A culture is fighting to keep its language alive. It is one of the most unfortunate events and affairs one can watch. And to make matters worse, it is not as though they are trying to keep the language alive solely for the of keeping their heritage. But, some individuals are looking to keep the language alive solely for political reasons. It is a very unfortunate event unfolding in Northern Ireland. Northern Irish political figure, Minister Edwin Poots, faced a major row as he began to announce his intentions of scrapping the proposed Irish language legislation. The main opponents to the scrapping of the bill are the "SDLP." They insist that Irish children should learn the Irish language. Indeed, those individuals who claim to speak Irish, do not speak it at home, and instead speak English. So the question becomes the usefulness of the language. Many parents who want their children to learn the language, send them to Gaelic schools, but that is just about it. They want them to learn their language, but not be caught up in the politics of it. They want them to remember their heritage, but know that they have to speak English, for that is the current language of academia and science. Most of the Northern Irish people fluently speak English. What the world needs is not to pass legislation to keep a language alive or kill it, but to let history and nature take its course. Some things may die out, and some things may live, it is the survival of the fittest.
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4 comments:
Nice, be sure to check out other blog posts on similar issues!
Hmmm, let what will live, live and what will die, die? I think that's a pretty good approach; it's natural at least. Lingual Darwinism...
I am very interested in reviving and strengthening dying languages. There is also a similar struggle going on in Hawaii and many other Pacific islands to keep the language going despite the prevalence of English. Ultimately, it comes down to the determination of the people who endorse the use of the indigenous language. If a culture wants to keep their language alive there is a lot of work to be done by many people, otherwise as Steven implies Lingual Darwinism will win out and the language will die.
I agree.
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