Scotch-Irish-L Archives
Archiver > Scotch-Irish > 2005-03 > 1112224915
From: Alan D <>
Subject: Re: [Sc-Ir] In Ireland you've got to read the language
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 00:21:55 +0100
References: <BAY103-F18BCBB6423DD0B44458732BB450@phx.gbl> <000c01c53485$bb4ce280$6401a8c0@GINIA2>
In-Reply-To: <000c01c53485$bb4ce280$6401a8c0@GINIA2>
Virginia Beck wrote:
>> In an age where many people bemoan English's growing global
>> influence, advocates of local languages scored a small victory Monday
>> when Ireland enacted a law outlawing English in road signs and
>> official maps on much of the nation's western coast, where many
>> people speak Gaelic.
>>
>> Locals concede the switch will confuse foreigners in an area that
>> depends heavily on tourism, but they say it's the price of patriotism.
>
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> This is reminiscent of the "French language only" experiment in
> Quebec, Canada. We traveled through the area at that time in a motor
> home. We wanted to see the beautiful province, but spoke no French.
> Amply warned about the ban against English language (not confined to
> road signs, but mandatory for all areas of government & private
> business, including spoken and written communication), we stocked up
> on groceries before we crossed the border, and prepared to drive
> through with as few stops as possible. We discovered that, though many
> residents stuck to the letter of the law, some who depended on tourism
> for a living were
> adding little hand-made signs in English to indicate what they
> offered. We were saved a long drive into a national park to camp
> simply because my husband recognized the French word for "closed" due
> to childhood insults exchanged with his sister. She studied French in
> HS, he studied Spanish, and they used to tell each other to "close
> your mouth" in those respective languages! We found the atmosphere a
> bit intimidating, and, perhaps unintentionally, slightly hostile. At
> Albert Parc, where we stayed overnight, the attendant spoke English to
> us, but would speak only French to our British Columbia neighbors.
> The impact on tourism and business was quite negative. I can't recall
> just how long the ban lasted, but it was eventually rescinded. Virginia
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The religious divide in Ireland comes into play here too. It is through
history and politics often viewed in connection with the aspiration for
a Catholic Gaelic United Ireland which is a shame
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