Is DUOLINGO GOOD for IRISH? (review of smartphone app) | Funny Irish sentences on Duolingo

Dia daoibh 😊👋🏻 I hope that you enjoy this video and it gives you a good laugh, as you can see it gave me a few 😂 ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Tips are available on the web version of Duolingo for Irish!! A kind viewer told me this and I checked it out (it’s quite helpful) so if you have a laptop/ computer I would definitely recommend using duolingo on that. However, I know a lot of people don’t have access to PC like myself until only recently so that is why this review is based on the smartphone app 😊 Hopefully tips wills be available on the app some day. Slán, Molly 💚

[@stars1861]

The web version is a bit easier for me (especially when typing). I'm muddling my way through Scottish and they have funny sentences also. " Hello and thank you for the chicken, father".

@@stars1861 😂😂

[@sos_hodad]

@@stars1861 oh that is funny!!!!! I’m learning Scottish with it as well!

[@PyckledNyk]

Dia is Muire duit :)

[@user-bd2ob2zs4t]

until the tips section is added to the app, you can google "duolingo irish tips" and a website will come up with all of the tips! it's inconvenient but it helps

[@caitk8399]

one pro i can see with the crazy sentences is that it teaches you how to structure sentences and you rely less on memorization

aontaím!

In my case it confuses me because they don't make sense so I find it harder to understand how the language works. I'd really appreciate if they could use more useful/sensible phrases.

[@RuairiOTuathail]

Agus beagán craic!

[@MissMangabee]

The weirder something is the more likely you are to remember it, because it makes your brain pay more attention to it, they say when youre trying to remember something putting it in a strange story helps, i always figured thats why they do it

[@kilcar]

Or.. have a good laugh.. does one laugh in Irish? Sha Sha Sha Sha!

[@spiffokeen]

I think the strange sentences are a huge pro. You don’t just answer on autopilot. It makes you think and actively learn instead of just passively being taught. Instead of just learning useful phrases I’m learning grammar and vocabulary or I couldn’t understand it.

[@academicdabbler836]

The best odd sentence I found was "I am a duck". I had fun trying to imagine a time when could toss this one out.

[@IrishBodhranTippers]

I am an actual duck so found this very useful.

[@therobloxiangang3218]

Is lacha tú.

[@OffGridViking]

Odd one for me (Norwegian) "jeg er osten" - I am the cheese

[@penguinlim]

@@OffGridViking Some other gems from the Norwegian course: "Velkommen til marerittet mitt" - Welcome to my nightmare "Selve livet er et puslespill" - Life itself is a puzzle "De startet en heksejakt uten like" - They started a witch hunt without equal (like none other) "Hun mistet hamburgeren sin i bakken og begynte å gråte" - She dropped her hamburger on the ground and began to cry

[@Vitaee13]

In case no one else has mentioned it, there's a reason why the Irish course on Duolingo doesn't have as many spoken examples. A lot of the other Duolingo courses, such as French, Spanish, etc, use a text to speech synthesis program for the spoken samples. There is no speech synthesis program for Irish, at least not one the Duolingo creators feels is adequate. From what I've learned of the Irish language, I can see as how that would be the case. So for the Irish course, the spoken examples are all a recording of a human saying the word or phrase. I'll assume you can imagine why that results in the Irish course having fewer spoken examples. It also causes an inconsistency in the quality of the spoken examples. This is also the reason why there aren't any "repeat what you've heard" spoken exercises in the Irish course. Duolingo has simply never found an adequate Irish language voice recognition software. But my biggest issue with the Duolingo Irish course is that it doesn't get as much love and attention as the other courses on Duolingo. My overall impression is that they've stopped even pretending to update and maintain and update the Irish course on DuoLingo for at least the past two years it seems like. They are just letting it be "as is". Overall, Duolingo treats the Irish course as its unwanted bastard child. Oh, and I nearly forgot one other issue I have with Duolingo. Apparently, every man in Ireland is named Pól. According to Duolingo, there are no other male names in Irish. BTW, Taitníonn na abairtí aisteacha go mór liom.

thank you for sharing this! and yes !! I forgot to mention the famous Pól, there are so many Irish names that they could have used which would have been really helpful as most people struggle to pronounce Irish names

[@Vitaee13]

@ Ah yes Pól..... The President of Ireland and bank thief who is fond of putting women in refrigerators. Definitely the world's most interesting man.

[@kingofcelts]

I'm Pól, thought it was just doing it especially for me when I registered. Ahh, I don't feel special anymore lol. I wouldn't mind but Pól isn't a traditional name. The letter 'P' at one time was never used in Irish..

[@jangowan5742]

@@kingofcelts ha ha,bring on the humour,Love it..I had a friend called Marie Cuddy,..didn't like her surname,now uses the Gaelic version,lol

[@jangowan5742]

Nil a on Tintan,Mar da Tintan Fein,or Nil aon hoin tin,Mar da hoin tin Fein,lol

[@renemonnier3286]

"Ólann na cailíní bándearga uisce !!!". Thank you for your nuances analysis !!!

[@SeanMalloy]

I think duolingo should hire you to spruce up the Irish language on their app.

Hahaha Duolingo hit me up 🤙

[@user-td4do3op2d]

Terrible idea. She doesn’t have an authentic accent.

[@adamhaughton561]

@@user-td4do3op2d an authentic accent? The girl is from Donegal. She's irish and speaks with a Donegal accent so what are you talking about?

[@user-td4do3op2d]

@@adamhaughton561 She doesn't even distinguish between broad and slender vowels. She speaks Irish with an ENGLISH Donegal accent.

[@Ricky_Evans1611]

@ I don't think the app pays people to design the courses, i believe you have to reach out to them to volunteer.

[@lazydaisy411]

So, Duolingo was my first introduction to the Irish language. When I was in college, I did a short-term study abroad in Ireland and I wanted to learn a little of the language before I went. I did a lesson or two a day for about a week or so, but I did learn a few phrases and words that I got to use on my trip. One situation that made me feel proud is when my group stopped in a very small town that had one public bathroom, but the labels were not in English. I was able to direct my fellow students to the correct bathroom because I had been using Duolingo to learn a little Irish.

[@deirdreryan6147]

I was struggling with learning Irish on Duolingo. Finding your Irish language channel made everything much easier. Now my mind is at ease, and my studies continue. Thank you so much for helping us learn the beautiful Irish language.

[@ambermchugh9381]

Watching these videos makes me realize the duolingo pronunciation is kinda off. Very helpful since the letter combos and sounds are strange to my English speaking mind

[@martyna4941]

To be honest, it really helps you start. My Irish grammar book is terrifying, and sentences such as "I'm an apple" in Duolingo make me used to the sentence structure and makes it less scary to go and look up specific topics/issues in my book!

[@therobloxiangang3218]

Is úll tú.

[@AriArnold1]

@@therobloxiangang3218 with my limited knowledge I believe that it is "Is úll thú" :-)

[@Liberty1776Bell]

I started learning Irish ☘️ on Duolingo, and then I searched Gaeilge on KZbin to learn more and found your channel. I’m American of Irish ancestry, so I’m enjoying learning more of my family’s culture!

Coinnigh leis (keep it up) 😊💚

[@therobloxiangang3218]

he just like me fr

[@pixiepianoplayer114]

Irish on Duolingo also only has one named persona. It's Paul ( Pól) and he is the lad putting ladies in fridges, becoming uachtaran randomly and other such activities. Also..crabs. crabs get into all kinds of fun.

[@nilesstuck8501]

Inspired by my experiences with Duolingo, I wrote this birthday poem for my friend, Will. In my humble opinion, it is the best poem ever written in the Irish language: Tá an buuchaill sa chuisneoir Tá an fear sa chuisneoir Is fear é an buachaill Tá an fear sa chuisneoir Bás sa chuisneoir

Love it 🤣

[@mikeodiomasaigh6757]

@ ... You like cold death? Cold strawberries are much better.

[@jodymarkgraf7625]

🤣🤣🤣

[@danielskomp9072]

A crowded fridge!

[@bomaite1]

Whose fridge this is I think I know. The kitch is in the village, though. He will not see me laughing here, when men and boys pile up like dough.

"The man is in the fridge" I always imagine someone sitting inside the fridge like it's his living room, "Don't open the door, the man is in the fridge". "We're eating the dead chicken" This one just leaves me without hunger for the rest of the day, honestly. The image in my mind is... ugh.

[@cguzs2]

I’m trying to learn French and German, but found Irish and I can’t decide now, Irish sound so melodic. Thank you for sharing this.

It’s beautiful 🥰

[@sos_hodad]

Irish is the best!!!!!!! I’m studying Scottish with Duolingo and LearnGaelic.scot. I’m also learning Manx and Welsh. 😀

[@user-bd2ob2zs4t]

i've started writing down all of the sentences from the lessons in a notebook, and i think it's helpful bc it makes me slow down and absorb the information. i hope this might help someone else too lol

[@DaevaGlow]

I have been learning Irish on Duolingo, and it's been helpful to understand sentence structure, grammar, and words. Then I searched on YT for supplementary lessons and discovered you. I'm glad I found your channel because I needed to hear your voice with the language. I do like the funny sentences in Duolingo because it reminds me of the just as weird sentences I would write in Spanish when I was learning that in high school.

[@julesmorrissey]

"Where are the bogs?" I have a cousin who's a native Irish speaker so I always try and drop that into the conversation. I can tell she's impressed...

[@CosmicNana1]

I started studying Irish on Duolingo a week or so ago. I am 60 years old and resolved to do two things this year: 1) Brush up on the Spanish I learned in school 40+ years ago and become fluent enough to use it in a job setting, and 2) learn a new language from scratch. And I chose Irish. I like Duolingo a lot for picking up vocabulary and learning some sentence structure. But I had the same 'cons' as you did. Not enough pronunciation is provided. As opposed to Spanish which pronounces words for you over and over, even though I think Spanish pronunciation is one of the easiest. And no tips: when it went into Eclipsis and Lenition, it asked me, for example, to answer something, which I did based on prior lessons, only to be told No, it's not bean, it's mbean or bhean...or No, it's not cat, it's gcat. And I started losing 'hearts' because of it. I had no (and still don't have any) idea what was/is going on. So I am looking to other sources to explain. Otherwise, I am having a fun time, learning something completely different. By the way: my favorite weird sentences so far are: "I have a crab and you have a mouse", "The deer speak Irish", "The ducks read the newspaper", and "Paul drinks wine before the cat."

[@TheRealJoeMonk]

They do have tips on Irish and a lot of them! I use them all the time and find them very helpful. EDIT: Only on web, didn't realise the app didn't have them.

[@chagadelica]

You’re correct. I haven’t taken the time to get the full story, but the impression I have is that features have been developed and added - the “stories” are another valuable way of learning in the Big Four (English, French, Spanish, and German) European languages that haven’t been implemented as Gaeilge. And I don’t know why.

@@chagadelica yes it would be fantastic to have that for Irish!

[@Salimnais8282]

@@chagadelica *big 5 it miss portuguese

True, the website has grammar bits and they're very clear and easy to remember. But the app doesn't.

[@themisfitoddity]

@ yeah, sadly so

[@thisismissdark5106]

"There is water under you. Do you swim?" sounds like a threat. It sounds like some mobster is going to push you off of a very high bridge and you just better hope you can swim.

😂😂 fair enough it does sound like that!

[@TechnoIndigo]

I just started using Duolingo for Irish lessons. Found your videos trying to find something to add to it, because of the many things you noted in your video. Looking forward to watching all your videos and seeing what I can pick up to help me learn faster.

[@reynoldsmathey]

Go raith maith agat! I'm learning Irish on Duolingo from scratch, but also supplementing the lessons with content from other sources. I find it helpful to repeat the phrases aloud as much as I can, even though there is no pronunciation assessment. A pronunciation guide on Duo would be most helpful as Irish has many triple vowel combinations, and often many of the vowels and consonants are not pronounced. Thanks again!

[@adamender9092]

Most letters are pronounced, it's just that Irish only has 18 letters and most letters are combined with another. Like dhéanamh Dh=Y Éa=Ay Na=Nuh Mh=V

[@wiktoriamrozowicz6215]

Some of the sentences are hilarious indeed, but find Duo a great revision tool. I tried to use it for learning Irish 5 years ago and it was sooooooooo repetitive that I had to stop, I was bored to death. Coming back a month ago and learning five languages simultaneously is a brilliant way to spend time. Agreeing on the lack of different speakers. When someone asks me about learning Irish, I always tell them to choose the dialect first and take it from there to avoid the confusion. :) Keep up the good work! Grmma!

[@awkward-stranger]

I sure hope you don't quit, you are really good at this. I use Duolingo and your channel. Thank you

aw is dune lách thú 🥰 grma!

[@ratmackay]

"Labhraíonn an fia Gaeilge" is one of my favourite sentences that and "Is lacha mé" from when I first started.

[@Johnsmith47890]

I saw that too and was like wtf 😂😂

[@EverlastingHobnocker]

Those sound like a couple of pages from an alphabet book my daughter made in kindergarten. On one page: "Look at the deer. It is wild!" On another: "Goble (sic). I am a turkey."

[@ratmackay]

A couple of things: a) there are worse things than learning a language like a child does. If we could look at language the way children do, we might pick it up easier. Kids don't get frustrated with a lack of progress. 2) nonsense sentences actually help you learn. It takes away our ability to naturally fill in the blanks with what makes sense. If you can't rely on guessing what seems to fit with the words that you KNOW, you are more inclined to actually LEARN the material rather than relying on context clues.

[@sos_hodad]

@@ratmackay love your response on this!

[@Julia-yk6sb]

Labhraíonn an fia Gaeilge popped up in my lesson today lol!

[@JohnWilliams-zh3mw]

I just started Duolingo, and just found your videos, so I'm brand new to this. Thank you for putting this on KZbin, it is helpful.

[@pompikaushal4604]

Dia dhuit Molly! Really a great video informing us on the pros and cons of Duolingo ! I have benefited a lot from your and Dane's videos!I really appreciate your frankness coz unlike many people you didn't do a panegyric of Duolingo or any other site! Above all I loved the funny sentences! They really made me laugh my head off! Físeán iontach ba chóir do gach comhlacht a fheiceáil agus freisin an-ghreannmhar! Go raibh maith agat agus slán go fóill!

honesty is the best policy 😉 yes I loovvvedd reviewing the funny sentences 😂 bhí mé sna trithí gáire !!

[@hearthstorytelling4971]

Go raibh mile maith agat! I especially loved the strange sentences - I have thought the same!!! I have laughed out loud many times at the strange sentences and I am very concerned about the man who is going to prison and the woman who is beautiful, but angry. I am glad it is not just me that thinks there are some very strange sentences! Beannachtai go leor ort!

[@sheepyie]

I'm German and I've tried to find something for fun to learn a little bit of Irish because I'm often on vacation there. I know some other apps that teach other languages but sadly not Irish. I like that they repeate a lot but some sentences are really strange. I know they try to teach us the structure of the sentences but like you I would prefer some actually helpful phrases.

[@renemonnier3286]

Hi ! I agree with your comment. There is a German method called "Irisch für Anfänger" that could be a good complement to Duolingo. I've browsed that book and it looks nice. Rather than sentences totally disconnected from each other you have consistent texts and situation plus grammar explanation which I miss in Duolingo.

[@sheepyie]

@@renemonnier3286 That's true. I bought the book and I really like it.

[@greendragonpublishing]

DuoLingo has some hilarious weird sentences! Pól has a lot to answer for. I went through the DuoLingo course completely. Now I'm going through Rosetta Stone, which DOES offer feedback on the spoken. I think they are complementary. Irony: The little ad popping up while I watched your video on the Irish language software was for Babbel... which doesn't offer Irish :P

[@tomasfay8843]

Gaeilge i mo chroí agus níl a fhios agam. My 2 favourites. Great teacher, go raibh maith agut 🙏💚

[@alu.minium521]

I agree with your overall assessment. As a true beginner, it explained nothing. Example bean, and first time they had it in a sentence, it suddenly became bhean. Never said why. It did help to build up a vocabulary, but I found the course to be monkey see, monkey do. I moved on to a course much better suited to me. Thank you for the review and confirmation that duolingo is not a stand alone learning tool.

[@lovingthisagain]

Dia dhuit! What other course are you using now?

🙌🏻

[@kingofcelts]

@@alu.minium521 If you're still looking for material the 'Mango' app is a good foundation. Plus there's a Michel Thomas Irish course.

[@cwm8565]

The thing about Duolingo is that it uses funny sentences to aim in memorization. I personally have found it awesome especially if you continue to the more advanced levels where sentences are longer and more complex.

[@laterz8260]

exactly like me!!! and the repetitiveness helps so much

[@ratmackay]

I have my Duo set for the medium goal, too. I NEVER stop after I hit it. I spend over an hour a day on it (I average over 800XP/day). You get out of Duo what you put in. Yes, it's repetitive. That's how you learn!

[@fableslable]

the owl is stuffing people into fridges if they break their streak 💀

[@GinaBlythe]

I use Duolingo, Nemo, and Ling together. Still looking for other videos on KZbin to help, along with books/workbooks/fellow students to continue to learn. Your video was one that popped up when I searched for learning Irish Gaelic!

[@erellsmith9803]

I started learning Irish with duolinguo, and after a while I realised I had to keep a notebook about what I was learning, and as I did that, I felt I wasnt sure about the pronounciation, so I went looking for other sources and found your channel ! It is really helpful, so : go raibh maith agat ! My main difficulty is to learn both how to speak Irish whilst writing it in my notebook it looks so different. I feel like I am learning two different things : how to read/write one thing and how to speak another. However I am very happy to do so and I am thoroughly enjoying myself ! As a Breton (Brittany, France) with a Welsh farther, I was raised with Celtic stories, pride and interest in the cultures and especially the music from Brittany, Wales, Irlande and Scotland. I used to sing Irish songs by Altan as a child, copying the sounds. But I now want to sing them properly ! That's how I got started !

[@klothildelammerschwanz8281]

I always try to say every word and sentence I hear on Duolingo. But I would like speak exercises too!

[@kobito610]

I think Duolingo is a good place to start, but I have moved on. Now I try watching TG4 with English subtitles and listening to Irish radio stations, I bought a grammar ebook to read it on my way to work, and do some "buntús cainte" lessons everyday. And of course watching some great Irish teaching KZbin channels like Gaeilge i mó chroí, Learn Irish, Seán Mór, and The Irish Exile.

@@kobito610 thank you for sharing 😊

@@kobito610 and for the recommendation 😅

Yes very important to repeat! 👍🏻

[@Tjmce]

@@kobito610 lol this is the type of comment I would write 😂 you should watch bitezise irish and they have a website too

[@msgosick]

I finished Irish in Duolingo and mostly agree with your pros and cons. I used both app and desktop version so I had tips. For me Duolingo is far to little to learn a language but its features like streak are very helpful to make learning your daily routine. After the course I can not say that I speak Irish. I learned rules, I memorized some basic expression and vocabulary, but I'm afraid I couldn't understand anyone speaking to me.

[@RebelSun14]

Thank you for this review! Learning Gaeligee is part of my plan to elevate my ancestors and celebrate our shared culture.

[@johnpaulhughes6867]

Right I'm starting this today. With the Power of KZbin Time travel I will be back and have a conversation with myself in Irish from the future!

[@PG-xs5hq]

Well, did you learn?

[@kingofthejungle3833]

Fantastic video! I want to learn to both read and speak Irish, so that I can read signs and speak the language if I ever get the chance to visit your great little island.

[@MistressCrescent]

Love your channel. investors paired Duolingo with Rosetta and grammar books but I love your channel for the pronunciation

[@trevorpomroy550]

Duolingo should definitely hit this girl up! Her pronunciation is quite a lot different from that of my prof who learned in Galway. I would also like to see a more organic aproach to grammar. A 'lingual' one in the literal sense of the word. My first university French class began in this way and it was a revalation!

GRMA 🥰💚

[@moochingwithminimoo9320]

You're so beautiful, what your doing to revitalise the oppressed gaeilge language is a beautiful thing 🙏👸🏻

[@leecashion]

A year later, Duolingo is a little better. The dialect/accent does match Pimsleur's a little better, which helps if you start there. Duolingo also helped me with the Irish version of the v, and with the vowels. The tips are there for some things like ellipsis now.

[@justinjozokos1699]

Labhrionn an fia Gaeilge

[@forkliftwizard]

Excellent points, especially the different speakers. For Scottish Gaelic the different speakers really made a difference, probably different accents but different ages as well. I found a significant difference between a child speaking and an adult, and from and younger adults and older maybe elderly speakers.

[@marier4329]

I use duolingo. I just had my first Irish class and I am happy that I got a base understanding of Irish and Irish grammar. Many in the class were starting from scratch & I could see how hard it was for them so I think starting with duolingo really helped me. It can be weird like sentences e.g. ‘the cat is on the woman’ but I guess it makes you think about sentence structure tá an cat ar an mbean! I don’t think I’ll ever have to use such a sentence. My grammar understanding & grammar is good but my speaking is poor so joining Irish classes once I had a base understanding was a really good idea in addition to duolingo. Your videos are just amazing and I am so grateful for them, go raibh maith agat ❤️❤️☘️

[@mattyregelmaessig8654]

Thanks for the very useful and amusing review of the Duolingo Irish app. I am currently using Duolingo to learn a bit of Irish as well as Spanish, and the contrast between the two languages is really instructive. As you pointed out, the resources for Irish pale in comparison with those available for Spanish, largely because of the vast differences in demand. The Irish app would hugely benefit from many more examples of pronunciation (with dialect differences) as well as the opportunity to speak back sentences. That said, even for Spanish the software is easily fooled: I once randomly reordered the words in the Spanish sentence that I was supposed to repeat, and it gave me a green "continue" thumbs up. So, I'm not convinced it's really listening that attentively . . .

[@briankeniry219]

Hello! Ive used it for 6 months-ish. I'm not sure how much of what I've learned has stuck, but I'm trying. The good thing about Duo lingo is the encouragement it gives. The league tables, points awarded for the lessons and the correct answers and especially the prompts to do another lesson and being told the "oh no, you have dropped into the demotion zone in the pearl league". A bit childish maybe but my competitive mode is engaged by stuff like that. Ive also previously tried Rosetta Stone, but I was deterred by the lack of explanation. And yea, I think trying to learn via an app makes it harder to get the pronunciation. One thing though, I had never realised before this just how important carbs were to Irish people!

[@emmaroche9558]

I've been out of school for 15 years. I was never strong in Irish in school either. I spend 30 days using the app. I can safely say I learned nothing. I want to be able to speak it fluently but I just can't grasp it...love following you on Instagram.

Love having you 😁💚

[@misemefein100]

www.michelthomas.com/learn-irish/ the michel thomas method

[@shani-just-shani]

I know I'm over a year late, but on the topic of the pictures not giving pronunciation, i have read that the Irish course audio clips had to be recorded by an actress rather than using the text to speak/speech to text systems that other languages have because the people who made the course could not find a decent synthesizer. I'm only halfway through the video so I don't know if you touch on that later but i will say that for me, i definitely can see how the Duo program is lacking for some new speakers. For me and my ADHD brain, the gamification and "figure it out" vibe really helped me to trust my own memory more. That being said, videos such as yours provide a much needed in depth explanation of what exactly it is that I'm learning on Duo. I also recognize that I'm not the average new speaker in that my brain prefers to figure things out on its own and THEN look at the rules EDIT a few minutes later: "itheann sí an úll foirfe" - i CANNOT recommend reading the comments on that sentence enough. There's a running gag in the comments about Pól (who is the only man to exist in Ireland according to Duo) and a few of the comments on that sentence talk about how Pól is creepily interested in her apple-eating, he fell out of love with this woman because he realized her apple eating technique was not good enough after all, etc

[@forkspoon-p9t]

it really helps when you're learning Irish in school!

[@mrsaxobeat3700]

I admit I think it's really good Duolingo Irish. I have wanted to learn Irish for a long time and never got round to it and living most of my life in London (40 yrs) Amsterdam and Malta(10 yrs) and now Romania (2 yrs) I only ever visited Ireland Belfast and Maghrafelt a few times so my chances have been restricted. The course is definately fun and quite helpful for beginners like me. Yes some of the sentences seem strange and I'm going to try finish the course. Thank you always your advice.

[@therulesofblazon4201]

Been using duolingo for about three months, got a ninety-sumthin day streak goin, and I hafta say your review is bang on. The genius of the app is (as you noted) it plays to your competitive side, and being very competitive by nature I just keep goin back to it, day in day out. (Diamond league, represent!) So that’s a plus. But from the beginning I saw the limitations in using only the app to learn, so I have been supplementing liberally with videos. Once I feel ready I’m prolly gonna get me some basic books in Irish and see how I do with comprehension. Anyways, a great big ol GRMA for the video, it was entertaining and validating, plus the soundtrack was kinda dope.

Go raibh míle maith agat! Aontaím go huile agus go hiomlán 🙌🏻 Tá an amhrán sin den scoth, nach bhfuil sé ? 😜 Two Steps back by Jules Gaia 👍🏻

[@maryburke5423]

The people in fridges are quite common during Australian summers, if not physically so, the desire is often there.

[@sos_hodad]

Thank you so so much for representing Canúint Uladh! I tend to evaluate learning resources as well. I’m in the US now, and the market is “slim pickins”! Also, is it wrong that I desperately wish for learning resources to be with the Canúint Uladh? Lol! Most are Connacht and, even more so, Munster!

[@drgnfly1007]

Not sure if it's just me but I see what looks like orbs at 14:12 and 15:10 and a few other places in your vid. Perhaps your ancestors are proud of the fine work your doing to bring back the language.

B'fhéidir 😅😅 but I think that they are bits of dust, the sun was really shining in my window that day 😂

[@joshatshideshow]

I started with Transparent BYKI (Before you know it) and after purchasing twice, I switched to Duo. I've enjoyed it quite a bit, but there are definitely disadvantages compared to other options that others may have available. It's been better since my wife started learning too, allowing more than just speaking to my kids (who understand a bit (of various) languages.

[@eloyrodriguez6460]

Once again greetings from Corpus Christi Texas🌹 Freaking Outstanding👍👍

[@jasonpie5048]

One pro i can see for only having one person do the pronounciations is that learners would have a consistent dialect to copy. When you learn a language past the basics you kind of want to pick a dialect and accent in your target language (which im sure youre already aware of), so by only having one dialect on duolingo it could help reduce your chances of picking up a strange accent in the language as a learner. Like a weird combo accent of multiple regions. Although even then having multiple individuals of the same dialect would be better.

[@marylouraygarcia401]

Muchas gracias tu canal es muy bueno ! Estoy aprendiendo irlandés contigo 😊 / Thanks very much your channel is very good ! I am learning Irish with you 😃 , Ta mi a Chile Agus ta me ag foghlaim Gaeilge le sibh , Go raibh maith agat mo chara 🤗🥰❤🍀🍀

De nada chica 🥰 also in Irish you combine the words ‘le’ and ‘sibh’ to form ‘libh’ 😊

[@Tjmce]

I think that if u want to be fluent in the Irish 🇮🇪 language u will need duolingo as a side resource.edit: They also should add other celtic languages the manx, cornish and breton. another edit:I actually don't care what dialect I use you teach me ulster dialect school teaches me the standard irish 🇮🇪 version and when I ever go to bitezise irish it is the Connacht and munster dialects and maybe you should do a video of the school irish -(standard irish 🇮🇪)

[@Tjmce]

@Rompi kaushal really I thought that was already there. my sister used it? 🤔

agreed 👍🏻

[@bryanholmes3935]

As mentioned in my comment, I found a site called Glossika that has Manx, and it has been one of the few free courses. I started their Irish program at the beginning of "Lockdown" and while my free trial has expired, Scots Gaelic, Manx and Welsh have remained free courses. Irish is unfortunately a paid course. Might be worth your looking into?

[@denniscrowli]

They have Welsh and Scottish Gaelic. But not the less spoken ones like Manx and Cornish :(

[@sos_hodad]

I was brought up speaking Ulster. I live in the US now. I have been immersing myself with anything Celtic. I already know Irish. I’m learning Manx, Scottish, and Welsh.

[@seththemage6029]

Go raibh maith agat! I've been using Duolingo for Gaeilge recently, and it's been helping me build my vocabulary. I love this language, and I want to learn a good amount before I visit Ireland in a few years. However, I hard agree with your point about using it in conjunction with other sources that go more in depth. Before jumping into Gaeilge, I used Duo for Russian for several months, and can def attest that it doesn't teach the specifics or greater context well. lol I got like three months of daily practice in before realizing that Russian is a heavily gendered language similar to romance languages, and this affects the stems of adjectives, possessive pronouns, and even how past tense verbs are conjugated. I like the app for vocab building, but you need other sources to explain the greater context of grammar and pronunciation rules.

[@docteurcuicui582]

AnLoingSeach made a video about the mispronunciation of Irish words in Duolingo (alongside with a longer video about Irish consonants). Nowadays, many non-native Irish speakers kept their English accent, even if their grammar and vocabulary were both good.

[@Vabukka]

I did exactly what you recommended - learning Irish in a class and then supplementing it with DuoLingo.

[@delfin7461]

I am using Duolingo and it's helpful with the basics -- fortunately I work with a bunch of Irish folks and most of them speak Irish fluently so I have people to practice with and a variety of accents too. I need a grammar book though so I can WRITE the language too. I live in Vietnam so I am working on my Vietnamese too (clearly more useful!) and the sentences are super wacky as they work on words that sound the same, so you end up with sentences like "the bat is at the train station" or "the dirty glove is on the ferris wheel" -- But the Irish is great.. I am a duck is my favorite so far

[@deckydoodle6792]

I think not knowing the language and taking Duolingo the repetition is really helpful

[@evermore4487]

Thank you for this channel! Would you recommend to use Duolingo's Gaelic and Irish simultaneously? I wholeheartedly agree that pronunciations would be a huge help on Duo Gaelic.

[@whitneysheets6537]

I use Duolingo and I'd say it's good when paired, just like you said, before I started watching you I was like is fear pronounced like how I normally say it or but now I can say alot more among many other things

[@KC-wi4gh]

Go raibh maith agat Molly. I only recently learned from a Tutor at my local Conradh na Gaeilge that as you said Duolingo do not teach any of the Ulster Dialect which is disappointing for me as I have spent many hours on Duolingo and I hadn't considered I may not be studying the Dialect from Ulster. Anyway great review. Maith thú agus Slán go foill.

[@renatofigueiredo603]

About your question; I love languages, I speak few, and I'm learning many others (including Irish-finally) and as I'm already 59, y.o. I was born in a prehistoric era before internet. I love books, audio and video. I hate phone cells, and Apps. So, Duolingo and similar ones is the worst thing for learning languages. Greetings from Brazil.

[@Lalita_Chevaliere_108]

Wow, that was such a good and balanced review! Go raibh maith agat! I couldn't stop laughing at the phrases🤣 and your reactions. They earn money, and they buy cheese - sounds like the only purpose of earning money is to buy cheese... Also, your sneeze was so funny and random xD. Delightful and informative from beginning to end - you made 17 minutes feel like 3.

aw you made my day, thank you 😅💚 and yeah I just had to put that sneeze in 😂 I love a random ending

[@jayeelvey546]

They do have study notes on the Duolingo Irish course on the laptop/desktop version and they have grammar points and the conjugation for to be (bí) and the pronouns.

[@lisadixon5886]

I hope Duolingo get back to you on these points! My bugbear at the moment is 'there is soap in the water' vs 'the soap is in the water', written the same in Irish as far as I can see, yet whichever I write is marked to opposite🤨

[@pompikaushal4604]

Dia dhuit Molly! We saw Duolingo it's fine but certainly not excellent, we find you guys explain better than it. We adore your efforts to promote the Irish language ! Go raibh míle maith agat agus slán go fóill!

tá fáilte romhat 💚💚 go ndéana a mhaith duit 🥰

[@bryanholmes3935]

Like Vitaee13, I also completed the Duolingo Irish course using the website rather than the app, mostly because of the life meter, but also because the Tips resources were available unlike in the app (iOS). As someone who has no past experience with Irish, has never been to Ireland and will most likely not have any real opportunity to use the language, I thought that Duolingo was a decent way start learning. It is hard to beat the nice low price of Free!! I agree that the lessons were somewhat repetitive, but I think it helped reinforce the learning (for me, anyway). I like the weird/silly sentences mentioned in your video as I think it helped break up the repetition. I wish it had the vocal practice that some of the other languages have available. To try to augment that missing speaking practice piece, I took Glossika for a test drive while they had "lockdown" free trials and discounts (be warned, it's pricy!). In comparison, it has a lot of vocal practice, in addition to listening/reading/writing. But there is no explanation/lesson at all on the how and why behind the grammar. It is simply a "Hear it, then type it, then say it" process. It appears to measure your progress against what would be the primary and secondary school levels, I think. Maybe someone else can confirm that? For those of you who mentioned they'd like to learn Scots Gaelic, Manx or Welsh, Glossika offers courses for these three for free.

[@bryanholmes3935]

BTW, I really appreciate your videos. Your explanations of some things made a lot more sense than what I was reading in the Duolingo Tips.

[@johnpaulhughes6867]

Dia Duit. I decided to take advantage of working from home and I've been using duo lingo for about 2 hours per day for the last 40 days. I'm hoping that if I continue at this pace I will be in a good position to maybe go to the Gaeltacht when everything is open again. I'm finding that I can read it but can't really access it outside of using the app.

[@adamender9092]

I wouldn't really recommended that approach. Duolingo is good whenever you're bored but immersing yourself through it via KZbin videos and podcasts will help you learn it faster. Don't focus on the grammar too much until you gather a good amount of vocabulary. Travelling to a Gaeltacht whenever you want is fine, you'll learn it fast enough.

[@spiffokeen]

It they ever do use multiple dialects, I hope they tell you which one is being used each time, because it can be confusing if you’re learning to pronounce something and don’t understand why it sounds different. For example, my first attempt to learn Irish was all audio and they never explained that words like ithim and itheann were different I thought they were just being inconsistent with pronunciation.

[@m3talhe4d72]

Personally, the way I get the most out of Duolingo is this: I typically spend a few hours on Duolingo split between a few languages. When I'm done each lesson, I write down some sentences using all of the vocabulary or new verb conjugations that I saw. For Irish, I also write underneath the way that I would pronounce the sentence. I'll read each sentence back to myself (or my brother lol) out loud. If I'm feeling good about the unit, I'll close the book and try to base jump. If I can't do it, I'll do a few more lessons in that unit, and then try again. It takes a long time, but I find it actually saves time when the lessons are repetitive. 😊

[@ammoniumphosphate]

I used Duo to learn Japanese for a little bit, was hoping that it would be good for Irish. Thank you for the video!

[@insultigknightuscantstands4648]

Here's what I like to do when I use Duolingo I always like to make sure I have a pen and paper with me so that way I can write down all the once I get wrong and I will also have word hippo open and I will compare it and has just been so many differences in the words on Duolingo and word hippo so yeah also I think the best way to learn Irish is to just find a group of people who are just speaking Irish and just listen and pay attention what is like the easiest idea but sounds a lot harder than you think and two more things you have a unique laugh and also gesundheit cuz you sneezed at the end

😅😅 go raibh maith agat!

[@insultigknightuscantstands4648]

@ tá fáilte romhat

[@MasterAnubis7]

Thank you for making this video. I tried using Duolingo to learn Irish for a story I'm writing, but it didn't do much but give me a very basic understanding. Collins Irish Grammar and an online dictionary I found called teanglann have been more helpful, though I rely a lot on Google Translate. Mostly I've been trying to sort out the sentence structure for more advanced sentences, which is a challenge. What are your thoughts on the accuracy of Google Translate for English to Irish? It seems pretty good to me so long as I check it with Collins Irish Grammar and teanglann. I don't think I've seen Google Translate make a grammar error that I've been able to uncover, but it does sometimes use a word that doesn't make contextual sense (probably because machine translation cannot understand context).

[@joda2571]

Also what is important, and its what i'm going through a lot, is when you learn a language, and you want to practice with someone you know (who's a native speaker f.ex.) , it never turns out smoothly the way you expect it to be. Example: le do thoil (duolingo pronounce it like : le de hell,) my gf from Co.Kerry tells me it's (le de hull) so i agree, it's better to mix sources together and as long as people get your sentences and you get a response , and so on... great feeling i say!!!

[@eleanorchapple8772]

I like Dualingo but you are right there are very little opportunities to hear Irish. I also think that they have had more than one Irish speaker .. one might even have been a robot and one maybe from Waterford and another from Mayo? So the pronunciation does not seem consistent. I could be totally wrong there. I often wondered if those weird sentences showed some kind of sentence structure and unless you knew the vocabulary you could not possibly guess the right meaning. I have just found your channel and the language sounds light and lovely.

[@jcchrome3381]

What frustrates me is being given a question--getting it wrong, costing a heart--because they've never shown it before in the earlier material. Still looking for complimentary learning materials, too.

[@mackereltabbie]

The deer drinks wine, really useful sentence

[@johngough2958]

Dhíoladh an scáth drugaí - the shadow used to sell drugs! Well they definitely made learning the imperfect tense interesting, if not surreal.

[@jeremybrowning3251]

I only speak English, thank you for being a solid rep for the Irish.

[@krimzonghost1987]

Thank you so much for this. I was wondering how actual speakers of the language thought of this course in Duolingo. I do have to say that the Learner Pronunciation idea you were talking about WOULD be a great idea... if the different damn dialects didn't pronounce things so damn differently (I have a limited sample size for this assumption). lol. I see your point about hearing different dialects through the app as well, but as a new learner I feel like that would be confusing when learning pronunciation. This is just my opinion, But I feel like it's more beneficial to pick one dialect to start and maybe introduce different dialects when you get to a more proficient mastery level. You know, get the new students used to one way to pronounce things or different turns of phrase before you nuke their brains with vastly different dialects. lol. I don't know how different the dialects are in irish, but if Ireland's dialectual (I apparently just made that word up, but I'm keeping it) variation is even half as dramatic as England's... Then it could get really confusing for new learners to bombard their brains with. Let me know what you think about this comment and if you have anything from an actual speakers perspective to add. I'd love to hear where I might be over analyzing or even operating from a completely ignorant assumption.

[@johnmc3862]

One major thing missing in Irish duolingo is stories. They have stories in other languages. Duo lingo is has also seriously limited vocabulary.

[@thecrabbytraveler4160]

I find duolingo to be amazing...I started out using Rosetta Stone, and before I knew it, it went from teaching new things to expecting a native speaking... that's how it felt anyway...lol

[@gabriellenancipierotti4194]

My favourite duolingo (I think it was french, but I've done like 5 languages on there so it could be any of them) sentence was "She is lifting up her blouse."

[@ellebeee7116]

I never knew that about the tips, it’s a shame that isn’t in the Irish version. I started learning Irish from scratch back in March for something to work on during lockdown. I agree the repetition is annoying and the random sentences aren’t really something I would use in real life! But I like that a can dip in and out of it and I’m learning something

[@miralong8501]

I don't think I should be counting on Duolingo so much because I just translated " a country without a language is a country without a soul" to "Land without language land without pineapple teeehee

[@niki_papp]

Tbh i love the repetitiveness, because then i can do something on my way to work or uni or just when i'm bored without having to pay too much attention to new grammar, etc I know i should only start a new topic when i'm concentrated and do some digging for explanations on my own, but for exercise it's great i think :)

[@bitterrsweet1616]

would you review the Rosetta Stone Irish course?

[@TagsYoureIt]

I was watching this till almost the end, looked down, and that sneeze caught me off guard. Almost tossed my phone