User talk:An Muimhneach Machnamhach

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Hello An Muimhneach Machnamhach, and welcome to Wikipedia! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

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Thanks and good luck.

Noble Skuld the Legend Killer 13:58, 4 July 2006 (UTC)

Please remember to sign your posts on talk pages. Typing four tildes after your comment ( ~~~~ ) will insert a signature showing your username and a date/time stamp, which makes it clear who said what, and when. Thank you. Demiurge 14:32, 4 July 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Language

Hey... just a suggestion. As this is the English language Wikipedia, it might be an idea to have your user page in English rather than Irish. It's only a suggestion, though - it's your user page, so do what you like with it!  ;-) Robwingfield (talk) 23:21, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fionn

The pronounciation (in terms of English phonetics) would be something like 'Fyone' - IPA is all Greek to me im afraid and thats the only way i can think of conveying the Scottish pronounciation. TBH id be surprised if it was really very different to the Irish, especially northern, pronounciation. Hope this helps. Le meas, siarach 20:50, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

The way you describe your own pronounciation as "Fyoon" makes it sound pretty much exactly like we would pronounce the first part of the name 'Fionnlagh' so there cant be too much of a difference. Cycling the length of the isles sounds like a fantastic trip and something i should probably try myself sometime. An Siarach does indeed mean "the Westerner" - my home being on the "Taobh Siar" of the Lewis. siarach 10:13, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] An Vicípéid as Gaeilge

Dia duit. An raibh a fhios agat a Mhuimhnigh Machnamhaigh go bhfuil an Vicípéid le fáil as Gaeilge freisin? Ní bíonn an-chuid daoine ag cur léi agus muna bhfuil tú ag cur léi faoi lathair beidh an-fháilte romhat dá thosnófá. Tá an iomarca stumpaí inti, comh maith. ga.wikipedia.org.

Le meas
Joe Byrne -- Talk -- Contribs - :ga: - :fr: - - 11:39, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Gaelic in Lewis

Presumably the "secondary school" referred to is the Nicoloson although there are several throughout the island and until a few years ago two main ones in stornoway which catered up until the age of 18. Ive stuck a [citation needed] tag by the statement both because it is vague and because the 1/6 native speakers it gives seems too low - i wouldnt be surprised if only 1/6 were native today but in 1988 i doubt it. With regard to studying Gaelic people either choose or reject it as an academic topic for two reasons. People choose it because it is very, very easy and something of a joke subject (it has by far the highest pass rate at all levels as a subject) while others reject it for those same reason (i dropped it asap in favour of hard sciences when i was in school). With regard to people using English because its "cool" that may certainly have been the case historically and may still be true in cases today but mostly people use English because its a habit. You have a group of 6 kids of whom 5 are native Gaelic and on is English monoglot and English is the language used. You meet a stranger anywhere in the island (and no matter where you are Gaelic speakers are supposed ot be the majority) you dont greet them or ask them a question in Gaelic you use English because you do not naturally assume that anyone can speak Gaelic now and it is no longer natural to speak Gaelic with any stranger. In my case i find it very bizarre and indeed a challenge to speak fluent Gaelic with anyone who is not either direct family or a friend of decades as it is only usually with people of one of these two categories that i would speak the language and im sure this is probably the case for a lot of others. Theres a socio-linguistic term for this phenomenon i believe but i forget what its called.

Stornoway is a bit notorious as a non-Gaelic (often anti-Gaelic) black spot. Indeed some chap or other stated about 50 years ago that one of the best things that could happen for the survival prospects of Gaelic would be for Stornoway to drop off the island and find itself suddenly in Aberdeenshire or some such. As for the position of Gaelic with the youth being precarious - well as youve no doubt guessed yes it certainly is. Indeed its beyond precarious and probably terminal. People of my generation (roughly those between 20 and 30) will be the last to have any memory of a time when Gaelic was a community language and of going to school with a majority of Gaelic speaking children.

Of my two siblings - 19 and 17 respectively - neither ever speaks Gaelic with any of their similarly native, and Gaelic-medium educated, friends and not because of any deliberate attitude, shame or social consciousness but simply because it isnt natural to them. Gaelic largely survives as the family language within many homes, but it is very very rarely used outside the home or with people who are not family. It will be effectively dead by the end of this century (unless of course some truly unimaginable change in attitude and policy comes along, but that wont happen) siarach 14:35, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

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