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Irish language recognised by EU
BBC News ^
| June 13, 2005
Posted on 06/13/2005 1:45:27 PM PDT by RWR8189
Irish is the 21st language to be officially recognised by the EU
|
The Irish language has been officially recognised as a working language by the European Union.Ireland's national language is the 21st to be given such recognition by the EU and previously had the status of a treaty language.
Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern said he was pleased by the move, which was announced on Monday.
"This affirms at European level the dignity and status of our first official language," he said.
"This represents a particularly significant practical step for the Irish language, and complements the government's wider policy of strong support for the language at home."
In the country's 2002 census, 1.4 million of the four million population said they had "an ability" to speak Irish.
More than a quarter of those said they spoke it on a daily basis.
There are a number of Gaeltacht areas in Ireland, where Irish is spoken by more than 80% of people.
The Gaeltacht encompasses the most westerly parts of counties Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry and Mayo and their nearby islands.
Sinn Fein MEP Bairbre de Brun said the EU's recognition was a "victory for campaigners from all over Ireland and further afield who continue to campaign for equality for the language".
"As an Irish speaker, I am obviously delighted that the Irish language has been accorded the status of an official working language of the EU," she said.
"Sinn Fein has made the recognition of the Irish language at EU level a party priority and has campaigned long and hard with other Irish speakers and Irish language organisations."
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: archaeology; eu; europeanunion; gaelic; history; ireland; irishlanguage; language
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To: Servant of the 9
41
posted on
06/13/2005 3:16:34 PM PDT
by
Ruadh
(Liberty is not a means to a political end. It is itself the highest political end. — LORD ACTON)
To: untenured
Since languages do not have to be translated into themselves, the formula is 1+2+...+12 = 78 (or (1+12)*(12/2) = 78). So yes, 78 would be the number of translators needed for 13 languages.
The worst part is, the EU now has 21 official languages, so you would need 1+2+...+20 (or (1+20)*(20/2)) translators in the EU. That's 210 translators! Of course, I assume that the guy who translates between German and French may also be able to translate into English and a few others, but he probably charges extra for that.
42
posted on
06/13/2005 3:27:18 PM PDT
by
AuH2ORepublican
(Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
To: Euroam
...and I'm one of those filthy Gaeilgeoirí Are you Irish?
43
posted on
06/13/2005 3:27:22 PM PDT
by
Irish_Thatcherite
(Orwellian Relativism: All philosophies are equal, but some philosophies are more equal than others.)
To: Rose of Sharn
44
posted on
06/13/2005 3:28:29 PM PDT
by
deaconjim
(Remembering Reagan)
Comment #45 Removed by Moderator
To: RWR8189; Happygal; Colosis; Black Line; Cucullain; SomeguyfromIreland; Youngblood; Fergal; Cian; ...
Reconising an extinct language just to suit Sinn Fein/IRA - I guess the Eurocrats and the Provos are one of a kind.
46
posted on
06/13/2005 3:31:30 PM PDT
by
Irish_Thatcherite
(Orwellian Relativism: All philosophies are equal, but some philosophies are more equal than others.)
To: AuH2ORepublican
That's 210 translators!
Good math! Of course, you need some redundancy to cover vacations, sick leave, etc... It's also probably that there aren't even living people who can cover some of the combinations, especially the nuances of usage, etc...
Am I right to assume that if all languages only needed to be translated to English only 21 translators would be needed?
I believe all UN communications are translated to English and French only.
47
posted on
06/13/2005 3:34:16 PM PDT
by
keat
(Posting code without previewing since 2004)
To: Euroam
Just wondering - I have a ping list for Ireland related threads - anyone is welcome to join - interested?
48
posted on
06/13/2005 3:34:23 PM PDT
by
Irish_Thatcherite
(Orwellian Relativism: All philosophies are equal, but some philosophies are more equal than others.)
To: Irish_Thatcherite
Reconising = Recognizing.
49
posted on
06/13/2005 3:36:38 PM PDT
by
Irish_Thatcherite
(Orwellian Relativism: All philosophies are equal, but some philosophies are more equal than others.)
To: sgtbono2002
At this stage , to get someone to recognise the EU, The EU would recognise Gobbledygook as an official language.
-----------------------------------
The Gobbledygookians are pressing hard.
50
posted on
06/13/2005 3:39:33 PM PDT
by
wtc911
("I would like at least to know his name.")
To: Irish_Thatcherite
Just wondering - I have a ping list for Ireland related threads - anyone is welcome to join - interested?
Please add my name. Family from Donegal, Mayo, Longford and Sligo.
51
posted on
06/13/2005 3:41:56 PM PDT
by
wtc911
("I would like at least to know his name.")
To: keat
"Am I right to assume that if all languages only needed to be translated to English only 21 translators would be needed?"
If they are only translated ito English, one would only need 20 translators (since English would not need to be translated into English : )
"I believe all UN communications are translated to English and French only."
Yeah, I think you're right, and official UN documents are only published in English and French, but I assume that they still need a gazillion translators to let the Hungarian ambassador know what the guy speaking Iwo is saying.
But Europeans are *so* much more civilized and nuanced that I'm sure they will insist in publishing everything in 21 different languages (and counting) . . . .
52
posted on
06/13/2005 3:43:58 PM PDT
by
AuH2ORepublican
(Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
To: wtc911
Have just done so - I'm a Mayoman myself!
53
posted on
06/13/2005 3:48:42 PM PDT
by
Irish_Thatcherite
(Orwellian Relativism: All philosophies are equal, but some philosophies are more equal than others.)
To: RWR8189
The Irish were forced to learn English and then mastered English in a way that vastly enriched it with great writers. I am glad that Irish Gaelic has attained this status and I hope it will survive and thrive (after all the Israelis turned Hebrew into a modern working language.)
To: Servant of the 9
"Whatever the reason, it is a dead language, or at least on life support. It makes no more sense than recognizing Welsh, or Cornish"
Cornish? Is that what hens say speak to each other?
55
posted on
06/13/2005 3:48:49 PM PDT
by
Airborne1986
(Well, you can do what you want to us. But we're not going to sit here while you badmouth the U.S.A.)
To: Servant of the 9
The EU has no shame if it fails to recognize Manx as an official language. The fact that it currently has no speakers, whether within or without the Isle of Man, should not matter one whit. //sarcasm off//
56
posted on
06/13/2005 3:53:21 PM PDT
by
AuH2ORepublican
(Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
To: AuH2ORepublican
That's 210 translators! Thanks for the correction. For the record, here are the official languages:
Spanish
Danish
German
Greek
English
Gaelic
French
Italian
Dutch
Portuguese
Finnish
Swedish
Czech
Estonian
Latvian
Lithuanian
Hungarian
Maltese
Polish
Slovak
Slovene
To: untenured
It's almost impossible to comprehend the scale that the EU bureaucracy will attain before it eventually implodes. It's like a miniature universe.
58
posted on
06/13/2005 4:07:15 PM PDT
by
keat
(Posting code without previewing since 2004)
To: untenured; Euroam
"here are the official languages:
Spanish
Danish
German
Greek
English
Gaelic
French
Italian
Dutch
Portuguese
Finnish
Swedish
Czech
Estonian
Latvian
Lithuanian
Hungarian
Maltese
Polish
Slovak
Slovene"
Hmm, Catalan and Basque are not on the list. I know that the EU Constitution was translated into Catalan and presented to voters in Catalan-speaking parts of Spain, so perhaps there's a second list of quasi-official languages of the EU.
59
posted on
06/13/2005 4:10:52 PM PDT
by
AuH2ORepublican
(Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
To: AzaleaCity5691
If and when a majority of the people of Northern Ireland want reunification, the Brits will be out of there like a bullet. Believe me, most of the British people would be more than happy to be shot of Northern Ireland. The empire is gone, and they're fine with that.
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