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Post by suzanne on Mar 17, 2006 21:58:42 GMT -7
Hee hee! So am I the only person on this board who actually does have some Irish blood in them? Although I don't have much; it all came from only one ancestor 200 years ago.
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Post by suzanne on Mar 17, 2006 22:01:15 GMT -7
Leslie,
Goodness, do you speak Irish too? Talk about a difficult language! A friend of mine in graduate school was studying Irish language and literature and I remember how she was really struggling with the grammar and sounds.
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Post by leslie on Mar 18, 2006 3:13:29 GMT -7
Hi Suzanne It is a very difficult language - I don't know how many Irish actually speak it over in Ireland. In Wales, Welsh is a very commonly spoken language - in fact there are areas in Wales that are called 'Welsh-speaking areas'. If you go into a pub there and you are English, apart from asking for your drink you keep your mouth shut! Thet think you are either a policeman or a spy for somebody! Have you come across Scottish Gaelic - it is spoken (more amongst themselves rather than to the ignorant English) by 60,000 Scots. It is closely related to Irish and was brought over to Scotland in the very early days by the Irish:
"Tha gach uile dhuine air a bhreth saor agus co-ionnan ann an urram 's ann an còirichean. Tha iad air am breth le reusan is le cogais agus mar sin bu chòir dhaibh a bhith beò nam measg fhein ann an spiorad bràthaireil.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. "
Bidh mi 'gad fhaicinn
Sir Leslie, KHCB and Rae of MacRae
"
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Post by suzanne on Mar 20, 2006 19:55:06 GMT -7
Hi Leslie, From what I've heard, Irish is still spoken in parts of the west of Ireland, and I think most Irish schoolkids have to study it (but how many of them ever become fluent, I can't say, probably not too many! ) Your comment about the Welsh pubs made me laugh! One Welsh line in my family trickled down to me, and so I have a Welsh surname. There's a thin Irish line in my family too, and the rest of my background is all overwhelmingly German and E. European. I've heard of Scottish Gaelic, but I'm not sure I could tell it apart from Irish Gaelic.
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