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so I’m just starting to learn how to speak Irish and i was wondering if anyone had any tips for me for learning how to speak it.
hi i’m just starting to learn irish and what i really want to know is what the difference is between all of them? if anyone could tell me i’d be really greatfull.
I am not an expert in the language by any means, but my first piece of advice would be to start listening to it at native speed as early as possible. You have to make associations in your brain with the sounds you will actually hear in real Irish rather than just knowing how things look on the page if you’re ever going to have a grip on spoken Irish. At least that’s my opinion. I feel I can read the language to a fair extent, but have a very hard time understanding what I would call informal Irish which is not as well articulated as what you may hear on Raidió na Gaeltachta, for example. And I think that is partially due to the fact that I didn’t prepare myself early on for what I would actually be hearing. My advice is to watch as much Irish TV and movies as possible, because that type of dialog is more consistent with what you would experience out among people than listening to the news. One resource that I wish was more plentiful is Irish film with Irish subtitles. There are some episodes of “An Grá Faoi Ghlas” on youtube that have this. There is also a movie called “Cré na Cille” which has both English and Irish subtitles (I definitely need them, as the dialog is very slang-intensive). As far as grammar is concerned, learn the 11 irregular verbs and the copula in their different tenses, etc. inside out as soon as you can.
Ádh mór ort!
That is some great advice! I too have alot of difficulty understanding conversation because I just don’t get enough of a chance to hear it. Learn those 11 irregular verbs backwards and forwards from the get go. They are the centerpiece of thought of any language and Irish is no different. Find a group where you can do a little intro class with as well if at all possible.
With myself being in a place where I don’t have any one to really practice with face to face, I can defiantely say my advice would be to not get discouraged. If you start to feel discouraged, find yourself another resource to learn from and just keep plugging on. But I definately agree that finding movies and videos as well as listening to the radio are very helpful because your ear really does need that training. Even if you don’t recognize most of the words spoken, you can definately still train your ear to recognize the breaks between words, common phrases that keep reoccuring and things like that. If it can be afforded, I definately think Rosetta stone is an invaluable resource, though definately not the “end-all-be-all” of resources. I still wouldn’t give up my other books and dictionaries either.
And of course this forum has been an unending source of help for me and for many others. If there is ever a time in your lessons from various books that you don’t understand something…even if it seems simple it can be a big help to get an explanation from people who have been studying longer.
Agus…ádh mór ort!
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