Speaking Irish in Belfast: In the trenches of a language war
Northern Ireland’s devolved government is driving a revival of the Irish language. Not everybody is pleased.
▻http://www.economist.com/news/christmas-specials/21591737-northern-irelands-devolved-government-driving-revival-irish-lang
Another unusual feature is the medium of instruction and conversation in the school — Irish, an Indo-European language as distant from English as Lithuanian. Maths, physics, film studies, all subjects are taught in Irish; when a class debates the 19th century, pupils talk not of independence but of neamhspleáchas , not of laws but of reachtaíocht . (...)
Bits of Mr Dutton’s ideal are already in place. As well as the school, there is a café and an education and exhibition space—the Cultúrlann, where everything happens in Irish. Nearby, Raidió Fáilte broadcasts mainly-Irish fare across the world via the internet. All this, and the upbeat atmosphere at the school, speaks of a confidence based on fresh political victories. The status of the language is entrenched by the current order in Northern Ireland, in which leaders of the two main communities share power under the tutelage of London and Dublin. The new regime was defined by the Belfast agreement of 1998 and by a second deal in 2006, which restored devolved government. Both texts commit the authorities to boosting Irish, as well as Ulster Scots, a form of speech that some Protestants cherish.
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