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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Iósua Newbie United States Joined 4436 days ago 1 posts - 1 votes Studies: Irish, Welsh | Message 1 of 1 21 May 2012 at 6:42am | IP Logged |
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So I have been studying Irish pretty intensively for about three weeks now, but I just cannot fight the urge study Welsh. I do not know what it is about the Celtic languages - maybe it's genetic (I supposedly have Irish ancestry), maybe spiritual, I don't know. But I love both Irish and Welsh, and I decided that since I will probably study both for many years to come, I might as well study both now. Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.
My plan is for Irish to remain my core language. What I mean is that this will be the languge I devote the most time and effort towards. If there are days when I can only study one, it will be Irish. If I have an hour and a half, then an hour goes to Irish, and half an hour to Welsh. If I only have time for one foreign language television or radio program, it will be in Irish. Of course, I am going to try to study Welsh as well, but I'm going to attempt to master Irish. I can't say the reason is practical per se, because unless you live in the Gaeltacht, there's very little practical reason for learning a Celtic language. But Irish has the most speakers, it has official status as the first language of Ireland, an is one of the official languages of the EU, and I have some Irish ancestry (I might have family in Wales, but I'm not sure). All school children must learn Irish. So it at least has some offical level of support, or at least is in better shape than Welsh and much better state than poor Gaelic. I have never been to Ireland, and I'm sure plenty of people will remind me that ''nobody'' speaks Irish, but by that logic, since ''everybody'' speaks English, why bother learning a foreign language at all? I am currently on Unit 8 of Teach Yourself Irish. Not the older Munster version (I plan to use that text next, as it is more comprehensive and I am focusing on Munster Irish), but the much maligned version by Diarmuid Ó Sé. I personally like it, although I prefer the original. I am also using Teach Yourself Irish Grammar as a supplement, which I have found quite useful. I usually put in about an hour to 1:30 on workdays, and about 3 hours on my days off. I have been very strict about only watching TG4 or RTÉ programs in Irish, I have been trying to surround myself with the Irish, and I think for a newbie I am doing fairly well. I usually use Anki and AnkiDroid to review vocabulary. I plan on ordering the Pimseleur Irish course in order to work on my Munster pronunciation. I will be starting Teach Yourself Welsh tomorrow after my Irish session. I will be supplementing the text with the wealth of learner's material available on BBC Learn Welsh. I'll also be watching a little S/4C and listening to BBC Radio Cymru. I will post tomorrow how things go. Slán Iósua Edited by Iósua on 21 May 2012 at 6:43am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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