Conventional wisdom on the Irish language and why its not your teacher’s fault you can’t speak it

By Cian J. Ward, campaigning for bilingual packaging in Ireland

The Oscars buzz for An Cailín Ciuin, Paul Mescal ag caint on the red carpet and Seachtain na Gaeilge all brought out the grá many people feel for the Irish language this March gone by.

And with it came many of the same old conventional wisdoms about why 'no one speaks Irish' and what to do about it. Perceptions about the language are certainly changing for the better but many people still believe that the way it's taught in school is the root of all evil when it comes to language policy and just 'having a go' and speaking the Irish you can is the silver bullet.

Often strikingly absent from the debate is our built environment and the effect it has on us. Namely, our commercial spaces are almost entirely in English.

Our road signs may be bilingual and you can avail of some government services in Irish but the entire private sector is almost exclusively dominated by English. This is unusual for a country with two official languages and it doesn’t have to be this way.

Why not here?

Canada, along with many European countries, has a policy of bilingual packaging, mandating that both of their official languages, French and English, must be given equal parity on any packaging or labelling sold in the country. It might surprise you to know that in Spain Kerrygold sell their butter bilingually in Spanish and English.

If Ireland were to adopt a similar policy it would mean having the Irish language alongside English on every item sold in shops in every town, village and city in the country. That would certainly put an end to refrain “When am I going to use this?”

If children and adults alike could start their morning with Irish/English cereals at the breakfast table, see it in the aisles of the weekly shop and sit down to cook dinner in the evening with bilingual products, they’d be far more likely to speak the language. We would be raising the floor of what it means to have a cúpla focal would lead to kids being more focused in school and having a much easier time in Irish class.

What can be done?

To get bilingual packaging, write a short email to Stephen Donnelly (ministersoffice@health.gov.ie) and Hildegarde Naughton (hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie) giving your name, where you’re writing from, and say that it’s the best idea you’ve ever heard!

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