#learning irish

[an-spideog]

Don't Use Duolingo if You Really Want to Learn Irish

That title is a bit dramatic, but I really don't think that duolingo is a useful tool for Irish, especially in its current state, so I want to talk a bit about why, and I'll also talk about some alternatives.

Pronunciation

The first and most egregious issue is that at some point recently-ish, duo decided to start using Text-To-Speech for their Irish course, rather than recordings of a native speaker. The problem here is that their TTS is not trained on native speakers of Irish and pronounces words incorrectly. It doesn't make consistent distinctions between broad and slender consonants for example.

Irish has no standard pronunciation, so I understand how it can feel weird to choose just one dialect for the purposes of pronunciation (the old recordings were from a speaker of Galway Irish), but having just one dialect is much better than TTS which sounds like a learner, imagine if they had TTS for the French course which sounded like an anglophone schoolkid trying to pronounce french, and claimed they were teaching you how to speak french!

Grammar

Duo tends to be correct on grammar at least, which is a start. But often people using it get very confused about the grammar because duo doesn't explain any of it. I think there's a place for immersion in language learning, and I don't think everything has to be explained like that, but within duo's system of sentence testing and exercises like that, not having any explanation for why it's "mo chóta" and not "mo cóta" can be really confusing. Duo used to have more grammar information, it's a shame that they removed it, I wonder why they did it.

Money and Motivation

Duolingo is a business, and their motivation is not to help you learn a language 'fully', but to keep you using their app and hopefully have a higher chance of sharing it with others, competing with others, buying or causing others to buy memberships or lingots or any other in-app purchases.

I don't want to make it out like duo is some big conspiracy and they're tricking people, I don't think that's the case, but it's good to remember that their primary motivation is to keep people using the app, rather than help people move to a level in a language where they don't need the app anymore.

Keep this in mind whenever you see people trying to sell you stuff for language learning.

Why do people use Duolingo

I do get it, and I don't want to make anyone feel bad for using duo, there's a ton of reasons people tend towards it at first 1. It's really well known, so especially if you're learning a language and haven't heard of other resources for it, you'll check duolingo 2. It's very motivating for a lot of people, checking in every day and forming that habit is a really good way of sticking with a language 3. It's fun, people enjoy it

If you use it for reason 3. and you still like it, then don't worry about this post, I'm not trying to yuck anyone's yums, keep having fun!

If you use it for reasons 1. or 2. you can still keep using it if you like, but I want to suggest some other things which you might find helpful in trying to get to a higher level in Irish.

Other Resources

To address the pronunciation issue, I'd heavily recommend you disregard the pronunciation in duolingo, if you're looking for more reliable sources of pronunciation, I'd look towards recordings of native speakers, you can find that on:

Teanglann and Foclóir (they use the same recordings)

Fuaimeanna

and a really useful and underused one: https://davissandefur.github.io/minimal-pairs/ where you can hear the difference between similar sounds that English speakers often mix up in Irish.

A lot of people like duolingo because it's nice to have a clear path forward, a progression that you can get into without too much decision-making. For this I recommend getting a good textbook or course and working through it, the ones I'll recommend also have native speaker audio on them.

Learning Irish by Mícheál Ó Siadhail, this book teaches Galway Irish, not just in pronunciation but in grammar too. It's quite dense but it's well thought out and well explained.

Teach Yourself Irish (1961) this book is available for free online, and is a really good option if you're interested in Cork Irish (Munster), and have some experience with grammatical terminology. I used this book myself and really liked it, but it's very intense and not for everyone. (If you do end up using it, feel free to skip the appendices at the start, they're more of a reference and sometimes put people off from actually getting to the first chapter. Also if you have any questions about it or need any help just let me know.)

If you want a video course, there's a great course called "Now You're Talking" which is available for free online, along with audio files and worksheets here. It features Donegal Irish and leads into the more intermediate level course called Céim ar Aghaidh also available online.

There's other textbooks that I have less experience with (Buntús na Gaeilge, Gaeilge/Gramadach Gan Stró, etc.) but if they work for you, stick with them, there's nothing worse than not making progress because you keep switching resources trying to find the "perfect one"

Whether or not you continue to use Duolingo, I would really really encourage you to try engaging with media in Irish. People often shy away from this when they're learning because they don't feel like they're "ready" yet. But you basically never feel like you're ready, you just have to try and find something near your level and try to get comfortable with not understanding everything. This is where you learn a huge portion of the language, you hear how things are pronounced you see what words mean in what contexts, getting input in your target language is so important!

I know content can be kind of hard to find, so I'll make a few recommendations here: There's a wealth of content available for free online (more if you're in ireland but some internationally) on TG4 If you're still starting out, I'd recommend trying to watch some kids shows since they'll have simpler language and will be easier to follow. I wouldn't recommend using English subtitles when you watch them. Some good options include:

Dónall Dána: an Irish dub of Horrid Henry, silly and childish but the actors have good Irish and importantly the show has Irish language subtitles, they don't always match but if you're still beginning and can't necessarily get everything by ear, they're really useful. (Mostly Galway Irish)

Curious George: another dub, again with Irish language subtitles (I can't remember what dialects were in it off the top of my head but I'd assume mostly galway again)

Seó Luna: No subtitles, but a good option if you're aiming for Munster Irish, the lead character has Kerry Irish

Miraculous: No subtitles but a better show than most of the other kids' ones and more bearable to watch as an adult (Mostly Galway Irish)

Ros na Rún: Moving away from kids shows, a long running soap opera, this has Irish subtitles and a really good mix of dialects within the show. If you're finding the kids shows boring or too easy I'd really recommend it, but it can be complex because of the amount of characters, dialects, and plotlines. I'd recommend starting at the beginning of a newer season and just trying to catch on to what's happening as you go.

There are a lot of books, if you live in Ireland you can get nearly any Irish book for free from a library, so please check out your local library or request some of these from other libraries in the system:

There's a series of fairytales (Rápúnzell, Luaithríona etc.) by Máiréad Ní Ghráda which are illustrated and for children, which are a really good option for when you're just starting out reading

There's kids books about Fionn and the Fianna by Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin

There's a cute little kids' book in Kerry Irish about a cat named Mábúis

Leabhar Breac has a lot of graphic novels, some of them based on Irish mythology, some on other stuff. The fact that they're illustrated can make it a lot easier to follow even if you don't understand all the words at first.

Gliadar has just released their Scott Pilgrim translation

If you're looking for something a bit more advanced you can look at some of the books for adult learners by Comhar, they contain simplified language and glossaries but have full original adult stories.

And if you're wanting full, natural, native-level Irish there's a load of books by those same groups, and others like An Gúm, Cló Iar-Chonnacht, Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne, Éabhlóid, Coiscéim, and more.

And don't shy away from older books written in Seanchló either, they can be more challenging but it's a whole extra world of books

If you're trying to improve your listening comprehension, I definitely recommend listening to shows on Raidió na Gaeltachta, hearing native Irish speakers talk at full speed is really good practice. But I get that it can be overwhelming at first. Here are some things you can do as you build up to that:

Watching those same TV shows I mentioned without subtitles is a good way to build up listening skills.

Vifax is a website where you can practice listening to short news segments and answer questions on them, then getting to look at the transcript with notes afterwards.

Snas is kind of the evolution of vifax, now using clips from both the news and Ros na Rún.

I really hope that this post can help people move away from duolingo if they're looking to take their Irish learning to the next level, if you've got any questions, just let me know!

#gaeilge #irish language #irish #irish langblr #gaelainn #learning irish #as gaeilge #duolingo #resources

[ajarofpickledtears]

it do be like that I guess

#cylas speaks #language #irish #irish language #gaeilge #language learning #learning irish #irish langblr

[tricksterstudies]

Bee vocabulary as Gaeilge

Was watching a documentary about bees on TG4 so I decided look up some words to help me better understand Gaeilge - English Ál beacha - Bee brood Beach - Bee Beachaire - Beekeeper Beach bheala - Honeybee Beachlann - Apiary Beachnaireacht - Apiculture Beach oibre - Worker bee Bláth fiáin - Wildflower Bumbóg - Bumblebee Céir bheach - Beeswax Cíor mheala - Honeycomb Coilíneacht - Colony Coirceog - Beehive Cráinbheach - Queen bee Glóthach ríoga - Royal jelly Ladrann - Drone Larbha - Larva Mil - Honey Neachtar - Nectar Pailin - Pollen Pailneoir - Pollinator Pailnigh - To pollinate Saithe - Swarm

#feel free to correct me if i got any of them wrong #also bumbóg is probably my new favorite word alongside bolb #bug tw #insect tw #gaeilge #as gaeilge #vocabulary #irish vocab #langblr #irish langblr #language learning #learning irish #polyglot #irish language

[warrior-wordsmith]

I want to ask the question "what is his name?" but while I know how to say what my name is, and ask what's your name, I'm less certain about this one. Would it be cad is ainm doibh? That doesn't feel right.

#learning irish #gaeilge

[thirteenashmctrash]

Ive been studying Irish for years but I'm struggling to get past A1-A2 because i have nobody to practice with and it's very hard to find people where i am. there's paid apps that can help you find language partners but i am broke and Irish isn't a commonly available language on them. I've had an idea to get around this, but for it to be worth trying to set I'd need at least a few people with carried levels of 'fluency' to be interested.

the idea is to set up an Irish language discord. it would have roles for beginner, intermediate, advanced, and native speakers. there would be text chats with different topics and voice chats where people can talk to each other. it would just be a space where people trying to learn can speak and practice with each other.

i really only need a few other people for this to be worth it, and ideally at least one person who'd fit the advanced or native speaker role. if you'd be interested in joining this discord for practice, please let me know and if i get enough responses, I'll set it up and let people know

#irish #irish language #language practice #language learning #studyblr #as gaeilge #discord #language buddies #Ireland #Éire #learning irish

[bloctg4]

Ba mhaith liom mo chuid Gaeilge a fheabhsú! Cad a mholann tú?

breathnaigh ar an leagan gaeilge do shrek. níl gá agat le foclóir seachas an ghaeilge ar "what are you doing in my swamp"

ach fr, déarfainn go bhfuil muid mar áis mhaith foghlama toisc go bhfuil muid ag déanamh méimeanna gan stad, tá muid ar twitter, instagram, agus tiktok chomh maith. tá sé go maith do ghaeilge a fheabhsú trí osmóis (osmosis), breathnú ar rudaí as gaeilge, agus iarracht a dhéanamh labhairt as gaeilge aon uair gur féidir leat. más in éireann thú, tá gach seirbhís ceapaithe a bheith ar fáil as gaeilge, ó do phas a fháil go ceannacht ticéid don traen. tá sí thart agus is leatsa í!

seo tuilleadh eolais ar achmhainní <3

translation:

watch the irish dub of shrek. you don't need any vocab other than the irish for "what are you doing in my swap".

but fr, i'd say we're a good learning resource because we're constantly making memes, we're on twitter, instagram, and tiktok too. it's good to improve your irish via osmosis, watching things in irish, and trying to speak irish whenever you can. if you're in ireland, every public service is supposed to be available in irish, from getting your passport to buying a ticket for the train. she (irish) is around agus she's yours!

here's more info on resources <3

#achmhainní #foghlaimeoirí #anon #ceist #ask #resources #irish language #irishblr #irish language resources #irish langblr #bloctg4 #learners #beginners #learning languages #learning irish #ireland

[ronastudies]

january 6-7, 2024 // omnia vincit aequatio challenge day 3 & 4

day 3

Saturday involuntarily turned into the one day off I wanted to take per week. Got up early, ended up spending the whole morning finishing a present for a very dear person instead of doing some academic reading. The corresponding birthday party (for which I had to leave incredibly early due to public transport, which at least allowed me to do some personal reading on the train) ended up being infinitely more valuable from a personal perspective than the traditional having-a-coffee-get-together I expected. All in all still a very worthwhile day.

day 4

Intended to go to yoga but the class was overbooked already (damn you, new-year's-resolutioners!); went for a short walk later in the day

Had a lovely breakfast

Did all the cleaning and tidying up I was responsible for in our shared house

Procrastinated actual work on my current seminar paper by starting to study Irish (which I had wanted to do for over six years), beginning with Duolingo (oh how I loathe this app) and the usual 625 words thing (very kindly collected by @gaeilge101 here)

Continued reading the current book, a collection of essays about women writers and their work

Suffered a horrible mood during most of the day and nothing helped, finally accepted the fact sometime in the afternoon and just went with it, this too shall pass

Ended the night with a lovely concert, the Prague state theater's symphony orchestra and an Italian pianist duo was visiting Tübingen (played Dvořák, Rossini, Mozart, Koželuh)

#mine #personal #ronastudies #irish #reading #book #studying #vocabulary #learning irish #gaelic #dvorak #kozeluh #rossini #classical music #chaotic academia #dark academia #academia aesthetic #classic academia

[iwanttobepersephone]

Language journal part two, Irish! I'll probably do a Japanese lesson, post a photo of that, and then stop posting about it, unless y'all wanna see my language journal for some reason? Lol either way I need to sleep now gn y'all

#these notes likely arent the best but they work for me so shut up #lol #language learning #learning languages #learning irish #Irish

[an-spideog]

Do you perhaps happen to know good online sources for learning Irish?

Yeah I've made a few posts about them and I try to tag them with #resources so you can see them all together here. Most of what I've posted about so far has been more self-guided resources, so here's some stuff you can do with other people:

Something else that can be helpful is joining some of the Irish discord servers like Celtic Languages (deals with all of the celtic languages but has a large number of Irish speakers, tends to lean a bit more technical and linguistic) and Craic le Gaeilge (focuses more on immersion, all the channels are in Irish except for one). You can get real time help, feedback, and practice in those kinds of spaces.

The subreddit r/Gaeilge is pretty good if you're into reddit, there's discussion in Irish of general topics, and discussion of the language itself.

There's also some online courses, I haven't taken any of them myself so I can't really speak to their quality but I've heard about Gaelchultúr's online courses being good.

#gaeilge #irish language #gaelainn #learning irish #resources

[ajarofpickledtears]

gotta love Duolingo

constant state of "is this a feature or bug/something missing"

He is wearing sorrow? ah, yes. He is sorry.

There is sadness on them? oooh, they are sorry!

She and we make it easy though

#cylas speaks #granted it does make you think #and before this it already had 'you are sorry' #plus 'tá brón orm' (i am sorry) being one of the first standard phrases #understanding grammar etc #gaelic #gaeilge #duolingo irish #duolingo #learning irish #language learning #language

[tricksterstudies]

Irish Vocab from Éasca Péasca - Caibidil 2

From the book Short Stories to Learn Irish by Olly Richards Highlighted by the book: An-chraic - Great fun Cúthail - Shy Thar a bheith - Exceedingly Thar mholadh beirte - Not great/Below par Aerfort na Sionainne - Shannon Airport Carrchlós - Car park Tost - Silence Árasán - Apartment an Fhaiche Mhór - Eyre Square Radharc - View Stiúgtha - Starving In aice láimhe - Nearby Bia mara - Seafood Fadhb - Problem Plódaithe - Crowded Go háirithe - Particularly Suaimhneach - Peaceful Luasbhus - Express bus Cadhnra - Battery Ar an dea-uair - Fortunately De ghlanmheabhair - By heart Ag geonaíl - Grumbling Splanc inspioráide - Flash of inspiration Tuirse arthurais - Jetlag Highlighted by me: Aimsigh - To find Tuirling - To descend Meangadh - Smile Leiceann - Cheek I gcroílár - In the very middle of... Urlár - Floor Tobann - Sudden/Unexpected Airigh - To sense/perceive/feel Ullmhaigh - To prepare Anonn - Over/to the side Tit i laige - To faint Suíochán - Seat Duine uasail - Sir Leaindeáilte - Landed Gabh - Take Cinn - Step/Fix/Determine Teagmhaigh - To meet/touch Gortaigh - To hurt/injure Géar - Sharp Uafásach - Horrible Múch - To extinguish A leithéid de lá! - What a day!

#irish vocab #gaeilge #irish language #irish langblr #vocab list #vocab #vocabulary #langblr #studyblr #learning irish #as gaeilge #polyglot #language learning #learning languages #langblr vocab

[saoirshroomee]

Cathain a ba cheart dom é a úsáidim "bhfuil" i ionad "tá"?

Tá brón orm fé mo Gaeilinn dona 😭

#Gaeilinn #gaelic #Irish #gaeilge #Learning Irish #Munster Irish #irish gaelic #irish paganism

[pumpkinslinked]

OKAY SO-- I've been learning irish recently on duo.. and due to my limited knowledge I thought it was saying "I eat the women" but the sentence was "The women eat" ISTG I WANT MY BRAIN TO STOP

#Lesbian mistakes D': #Lesbian #learning irish #lgbtqia+ #lgbtqia #lgbtq #lgbtq+

[warrior-wordsmith]

#duolingo irish #learning irish

[ivyorion]

hey just throwing this out there

I'm looking for somebody who speaks Irish and English to maybe help me learn how to speak Irish casually??

In return I'd be happy to teach ye Swedish if that's of any interest as I'm a native speaker

I'll even send u some Scottish or Swedish treats pen pal style :)))

#learn irish #learning Irish #gaelige #gaeilgeoir #irish language