Stephen Fry on the Irish Language

Stephen Fry speaks about the Irish language and Ros na Rún to The Phil, Tuesday December 7th, 2010

[@cesarbravo6697]

I'm a native Spanish speaker. A language with an estimate of 543 million speakers around the world, and I still fill that my oportunities would be narrowed dramatically if I don't speak English. At the end not much different than the situation of the Irish speakers. Please don't let your language go down. Each language is a treasure that deserve to be preserved.

[@DeirdreCatherineDoyle]

agree with passion

[@rickgrimes5233]

I've always liked Stephen Fry but this made me like him even more. He's obviously very intelligent and he seems to really appreciate Irish culture. He's a credit to England/Britain.

[@shoozyq5316]

It's a shame that Irish is such a beautiful language, but is taught so dreadfully that it makes students, like myself, despise learning it. I've been learning Irish since I was 4 years old. now at the age of 14, I can barely keep up a conversation, let alone an eloquent one.

[@beloeng]

+Siúbhán Conlon Maybe you could try the Duolingo course? duolingo dot com

[@foxyev2825]

For myself who was in a very similar situation, going to one of the many gaeltachts for around 2-3 weeks improved my irish immensely!

[@cocricklewood4441]

Try learning it at 56yrs of age. I've signed up to a course over here in the UK

[@MrGhost77757]

Siúbhán Conlon It might be your learning skills

[@lavienestpasunlongfleuvetr2559]

@@MrGhost77757 no, it's definitely the teaching standards - language generally in English-speaking countries is taught terribly, and Irish (as the second language of most Irish people), is no exception. Whatever the Dutch and the Scandinavians are doing, they're doing it right, because they seem to have a better command of English than all other non English-speaking countries, so the Irish should take a leaf out of their book. I found summer courses in the Gaeltacht (in a college where the "No Béarla" rule was strictly enforced) to be the best way to develop fluency in my spoken Irish, and it was a much more fun way learn the language than sitting in a classroom in school, but those courses are costly, so they're not an option for everyone.

[@paddypride]

I grew up speaking the language and to be honest I love it. I love the pride of being able to speak it but the subject and the way it is taught is dire and is in drastic need of reform before we lose one of Ireland's best treasures. Tír gan teanga, Tír gan anam!

[@frankquinn2973]

That is absolutely great, but at the expense of those who have wish to learn and will never speak it. I did not learn Irish but have picked up enough for reading signs and information sheets. If not imposed, either it may flourish, or wither on the vine.

[@putinsgaytwin4272]

I don’t think it should be compulsory at leaving cert. I don’t think any language should be compulsory for leaving cert. It’s such a waste of time that could be used for getting good grades and reducing stress. Surely 11/12 years of compulsory Irish is enough?

[@putinsgaytwin4272]

@Ireland for the Irish we should scrap them at the same time. And maths. No compulsory subjects at leaving cert.

[@irishconstitution3240]

For native English speakers, learning Irish language is, to say the least, very challenging because the two are so very different.

[@Inkdraft]

Irish Constitution: Geez, I just started Irish and I don't think that. The alphabet is the same only simpler as far as the amount of letters and if one learns the lenitions and the fadas the pronunciation doesn't seem too hard.

[@screachog-reilige]

Inkdraft nothing to do with pronunciation, more syntax etc

[@fergalhughes165]

@@screachog-reilige Syntax in English is very different to most other languages. For one, English puts the adjective before the noun (the small dog) which makes no sense, unlike almost all other languages (an madra beag, le chien petit).

[@Jotari]

What is senseless about putting the adjective before the noun? Seems to me it has equal amount of sense to do it either way. Only thing that matters is that there's a clear association between the words.

[@AnMadreMor]

My family history on my fathers side came from County Leix and I hope to visit it before I cross the bar and maybe hear my fathers peoples language spoken. I've been to Dublin but all that I heard was English but if it was not for English would I have heard and learned Irish folk songs and can belt out Kevin Barry with the best of them. Recently on KZbin I saw Africa by Toto sung in Gaeilge by a group of Irish students and it was fantastic. While I couldn't understand a word [except Africa and Kilamanjaro] what struck me was the pride that they had singing their language. I'm a Canadian whose mother and grandmother went through the residential school system here whereas my granny used to tell me ,the authorities tried to literally beat her native language out of her but she told me that her and her sister and their friends used to speak to each other after lights out and thus when granny aged out of the school she still kept her language [Ojibway] and spoke it whenever she could to other native people until she passed away. I'm 70 now and I miss her and her stories still to this day.

[@Anonymous_Jo]

My god, I could just listen to him talk about anything, absolutely anything for HOURS. He's a wonderful man.

[@smkgamer6998]

In classrooms it should be just students sitting around and talking as gaeilge instead of just reading agus ag scriobh

[@maryjones9653]

Cinnte👍🏻

[@PyckledNyk]

Agreed. That’s how I learned Italian in Uni, and it really helped my understanding immensely.

[@tomfoley5837]

Absolutely. I learned more Irish in three weeks at a summer Gaelscoil than at my entire primary school

[@michealjones9863]

👍people are trying to remove it from our education or opt out if you will. No more exams in Irish , I agree with that but in our changing society and the introduction of peoples of all races creeds and colours into our society, it would be nice if all our children had one thing in common for the future, “the love or hate of Irish class” . Start the day with Irish class , forget the rules and just get em talking .

[@baz007]

I could listen to Stephen Fry All day long. Such an intelligent, articulate, funny and interesting man.

[@lohphat]

There's no shame in recognizing that the language of opportunity is English while you continue to speak your local language. It's not unreasonable to accept that your local language isn't widely spoken and it's pragmatic to expect that there are not a lot of its speakers outside of the locality. Scandinavia, The Netherlands, The Baltic countries, Polynesia (Hawai'i included), all speak another language be it English, Russian, or French to interact with a larger world. It's not a matter of either/or but *and*. Being bilingual gives you an advantage.

[@Jotari]

No shame, but no real advantage either. It's basically just a matter of pride.

[@ChuckChuckWood]

lohphat there’s also good research to suggest growing up bilingual gives you an advantage in other areas...

[@africaRBG]

Well said

[@popland1977]

@@Jotari It's a matter of cultural importance

[@Jotari]

@@popland1977 That would be the pride I mentioned.

[@PazCCFC]

Translation: "I'm learning our native language at the moment and I love it, the best language in the world to be honest (for me, anyway). Yes, we need English, but what harm is there in being able to speak another language. Beautiful language. A country without a language is a country without a soul. And that's it exactly, there's not enough soul in Ireland these days. Learn Irish and be proud."

[@tomlamb7542]

No harm whatsoever.

[@HerEyesWereWild]

I myself am English (from England) and recently moved to a very Welsh-speaking area of Wales. I sincerely wish that we could have had the opportunity to learn one of the other UK-indigenous languages in school, I feel really narrow knowing only English, with no knowledge of the other languages of the UK and Ireland. Needless to say I'm currently trying my very best to learn to be able to speak Welsh! I would do the same if I moved to Ireland, too, with Irish Gaelic. It's a fantastic language. (:

[@elephantsmemory3142]

I am also an Englishman and when I moved to Ireland I joined an Irish language class It started in september but I was late so started in October At Christmas we had an exam and was surprised to find my self scoring higher than half the class Seeing they had been learning Irish at school it was shocking Most people here have not a great amount of Irish and are certainly not fluent in the language by any means

[@williamwalker3837]

I am sure that I’ve misunderstood what you meant by other UK indigenous languages. I am sure that you haven’t included Irish as one of those. Neither Irish people nor the Irish language are indigenous to the UK. But I am sure you know that. The UK media forever does it when it suits and for most Irish people it’s tiresome at this stage.

[@williamwalker3837]

Charles R. Law Yes, I am very much aware of the P and Q Celtic languages and how they spread throughput this part of North Western Europe, including Northern Spain and France. As you alluded to, the Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic and both Modern Irish and Manx, has developed out of Old Irish. But they have evolved into separate languages and guarded as symbols of separate/distinct but similar cultures. I suppose it really does boil down to whether one accepts NI as part of the UK. But then the concept of a United Kingdom is an anathema to me ... and I am NOT a Republican. So too is the idea of an Anglo-centric region ie referring to Ireland as being part of the British Isles) blatantly wrong and inaccurate imo. It’s a colonial/imperial, call it what you will, construct. But that another argument.

[@williamwalker3837]

Jimmy Alderson Yes, that has been clarified. Might I suggest though that the concept of ‘British Isles’ is something that is blatantly anachronistic. It’s a Anglo-concentric colonial/imperial construct that is totally misleading and should be confined to the annals of geo-political history.

[@David-lp4vj]

@@williamwalker3837 This isn't true. Although these dialects are now dead, Irish was the native language of much of Northern Ireland. Also many people view Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic as a combined Gaelic language. And before any launches in with the 'We DoN't CaLl It GaElIc In IrElAnD' ba chóir dhaoibh labhairt le daoine a bhfuil Gaeilge ón gcliabhán acu in iarrthar nó i dtuaisceart na tíre, agus ansin feicfidh sibh cé chomh minic is a thugann na cainteoirí dúchais 'Gaelic' ar an teanga

[@CrownedWithLaurels]

To take a little break from all the language discussion - isn't Stephen Fry just the loveliest man? Seriously, he's such a sweetie.

[@tk2300]

When a language disappears, the identity and future of a culture are in jeopardy. Never let Irish disappear.

[@nedzadkaradag763]

When a language disappears, Nation disappears as well. Thers no nation without their own culture!

[@MaeV808]

Yuup. That's why governments intent on "unifying" people banned or aggressively dissuaded use of particular languages or dialects. Labeling and dismissing them as savage, vulgar, or uneducated.

[@MattGeogheganMusic]

Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam. Country without language, country without soul. Thankfully there's been a healthy resurgence, particularly among younger people in Ireland. I'm living in Dublin and, though I work and live mostly through English, I get the opportunity to speak Irish regularly these days since making the conscious effort to improve in the last year

[@paulherlihy9290]

Very true Sir! Maith an Fear!

[@williamwalker3837]

Lorayne Patricio That’s not absolutely true. There are sizeable numbers in Belfast and Dublin for example. In the case of Dublin it became trendy amongst the private second level schools.

[@HeitorBonfim]

Beautiful language, hope that they preserv it!

[@mimimaddyeire]

The government and gaeltacht are certainly trying.... In my opinion, although it is beautiful when heard (mostly just in songs) it's a preeeetty dead language... The gaeltacht areas are few and far between and they're not very big.

[@HeitorBonfim]

Madelaine Edwards well, I´ve been living in Ireland for almost 3 years, and is really hard to listen it over the streets, I just experienced this travelling through country side (amazing trip). Dublin and Cork are almost totally english towns. I saw some schools that teach the kids the old language. I tried to learn, but, was kind hard. Btw, you sing very well!

[@MsSasycat]

Madelaine Edwards you're very very wrong. People speak Irish everyday in Ireland, at school etc. It may be dying in traditional Gaeltacht areas but it is definitely growing in the cities.

[@mimimaddyeire]

Dude.... No. I live here and I've been around and I can confirm to you. No it's not. Nobody likes it, it's a tough thing to learn and only really sounds nice in songs. I've been here since I was 6 and I'm now 17. If anything the language has decreased in popularity. Seriously.

[@MsSasycat]

Haha oh my god, I leave here too and I'm pretty sure it's picking up more popularity..yeah it's still definitely a minority but people still speak it so don't try belittle it. You don't sounds very Irish from your comments..:/ why do you dislike the language so much

[@luvhart]

I could listen to Stephen Fry for hours and hours on end and never get bored of him. Wonderful intelligent man, who can make any subject interesting

[@TT_1221]

I'm Irish and speak Irish, English, Spanish. Irish is my favourite. I live in Catalonia where 3 languages are spoken. The Nordics learn languages for fun, I work with some of them. I think it will continue to survive and thrive. Most European countries are now bi-lingual societies and while English will always be used widespread for the reasons Fry suggests, there will still always be other languages for other reasons. The English are the worst at learning languages because they don't have any other domestic language other than English to learn. I think Ireland will be a widespread bi-lingual society like continental Europe in the future. It's easier than ever before to learn a new language - self paced, online.

[@granada1493]

Can I marry you?

[@TT_1221]

P Parsoli . . . . Yes!! ;)

[@stealth1692]

Werian se Anglecynn

[@silviaortiz372]

probably not. natural selection will get rid of it

[@TT_1221]

Silvia Ortiz No chance.

[@philomenadoyle5720]

this camera angle makes him look like a giant...a sexy, sexy giant.

[@13tuyuti]

A sexy, sexy gay giant...

[@midnightmover2329]

I’m a 100% red blooded heterosexual guy,but Stephen looks so God Damned Sexy here.

[@marcbummbummbumm2421]

@@13tuyuti a sexy sexy gayant

[@BarryHawk]

Well it's one of the English victories that most of us in Ireland speak English as a first language, but then as a result we did give them a literature, as the saying goes.

[@irishbrawler1948]

English came from the germans not England look it up you will see for yourselfs

[@irishbrawler1948]

futher more they are still run by the germans look at the queen her whole family is german

[@louisbaker4362]

@@irishbrawler1948 That's actually only partially correct. Whilst English is a Germanic language, it is only true to say that the English have higher concentrations of German DNA when compared to the other nations of these isles. In the same vein, Scottish people have higher concentrations of Norse DNA when compared to the other nations of these isles. A study from Oxford University proves that, in England, the native British DNA outstrips the Anglo-Saxon DNA by 2 to 1. www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/we-re-nearly-all-celts-under-the-skin-1-1141420

[@thenextshenanigantownandth4393]

@@louisbaker4362 He's talking about the English language, which comes from German and French.

[@timsyoutube6051]

@@thenextshenanigantownandth4393 no German and English both come from a Germanic language, not modern day German. Frisian, spoken in a part of the Netherlands is way closer to English than anything else out there.

[@MissyUCF99]

I'm an American and when I studied at NYU they offered Irish as a language. I was taught by a native speaker from County Donegal (the "Gaeltacht"). Is breá liom gaeilge, ach níl a fhios agam go leor focail a mhúineadh! (I love Irish, but I don't know enough to teach it) :(

[@MsSasycat]

Mar an seanfhocal, Is gaeilge briste níos fearr ná béarla cliste. Tá gaeilge beo agus níl sé ag fágáil go luath ;)

[@csmith6303]

MsSasyCat It's sorta sad how I'm proud I could barely understand that

[@darraghfarrell9024]

MsSasyCat is maith liom caca milis!?!

[@aaronuaconaill5688]

Darragh Farrell just goes to show the power and importance of the síneadh fada! You just said “I like sweet shit”!

[@mactire1288]

Rose ye bleeding gom

[@jamesharaldburrows3153]

❤️ cinnte cinnte cinnte

[@arkaitzrb2407]

Well, Stephen Fry's speech about Gaelic is much respectful, realistic, and interesting, than David Mitchell's.

[@arkaitzrb2407]

***** I have nothing against english people, but I have a problem with some english people's attitude. When you are always on the winning side you tend to become cynical and self centered. I have thinking about emigrate, I have to, and some people have recommended me UK, but I coudn't bear with that attitude! No, I'm not, my father is. I'm from Galicia, up north like Basque Country but on the west side. Galician faces also the same issues as Basque, Gaelic or Catalán among others. Although there is a big difference: Basque and Catalán are in a better position because the upper classes used to speak them and still do. Basque is really tough, doesn't matter who you are, definetely on my bucket list.

[@generalxanos]

+Arkaitz rb Yes, when ze germans (don't mention the germans!) helped prop up the spanish dictatorship, the basque were some of the people who helped smuggle allied personnel into naval ports to destroy "confiscated" german naval resupply vessels... being neutral, Spain was it's own nation, but in reality, it's fascist dictatorship licked the boots of Nazi Germany. Hitler trained his paratroopers during the spanish civil war, but the basque were underutilized resources by the allies, possibly because of religious beliefs, or something else. END OF LINE

[@13tuyuti]

I hope that by David Mitchell´s speech about Gaelic you don´t mean his soapbox about Scottish Gaelic because confusing the Irish and the Scottish would not come across as very respectful, realistic or interesting...

[@oo-mu1cu]

Just a point,we dont speak gaelic,we speak Irish

[@yerdasellsavon9232]

His speech had some good points like if it dies out it has an easy revival

[@hermanPla]

Irish should be the first language of Ireland and English secondairy. Just like in my home country the Netherlands.

[@glensargent647]

It is

[@Elite7555]

It may sounds like a trivial question, but why? If you argue "because of culture", well, there was a language before Irish, so why not using that one? In the end, the celts where invaders, too. So the culture argument goes infinitely into the past. And of course, culture changes, today more rapidly than ever. If you argue with tradition, then again, the tradition has changed as it seems. And what about America or Australia? Shouldn't they develop their own language? Or just adopt a native language? Every practical reason speaks against it. English is comparatively easy to learn and to pronounce and is the "lingua franca" of our time. So learning Irish may be a personal goal, but for most people it is just not practical. It has a very different grammar, is very hard to spell and even harder to pronounce. Yes, I know, the Irish have a very rough history with England, nonetheless, national pride shouldn't blind you.

[@dcasey714]

Patrick Burke Irish technically is the first language of Ireland though.

[@dcasey714]

irishbrawler 19 Research Oíche Shamhna

[@Brickcellent]

Elite7555 You're an idiot

[@EmmaD89]

I love this man!!! Stephen you are a LEGEND!!! :D love from an Irish lass!

[@GingerBiscuit33]

I think more Irish people would like to learn the Irish language if you had a choice about learning it. You have to learn it in Irish schools and most students hate the language because of this.

[@IsCumaFut2]

people don't realise that english is also thrown down our throats every day also but no one ever says anything . it is an act of irish government policy to make the people of ireland despise their native tongue. everyday i hear that claim the choice .. it is only a lanaguage at end of day . and i woulnd't blame people for what the ywent through and it reminds them of a horrid past. but the langauge gets the blame and not the people who did those horrid things to people in schools around ireland in teh first place. we must be only country on planet that despises our own tongue.

[@GingerBiscuit33]

justin collins I wouldn't say i despise my language i just feel that you should have a choice about whether you want to learn it in secondary school (12-18) or not. i have no problem with people learning it if they like it. I do learn another language in school, German, because it interests me and i enjoy learning it and i just started learning Japanese but i feel like learning irish is a waste for me because i won't need it unless i work in the civil service or as a teacher etc and i would like to use my time to do another subject that i enjoy and could use in life outside of Ireland. I don't wish for the language to just die out but forcing people to learn the language has an opposite effect. How they teach it isn't great either as we learn off poems and stories our parents learnt off in school which has no relevants to modern day life while in german we look at poems that are relevant to us and that discus problems we all have. I do find it strange that the majority of students and parents opinions are ignored. I no longer see irish as my first language because my parents family and friends don't speak it at home or in school. It has no involvement in my life. I see it as being the same as german. A foreign language. And while you may think that sad i doubt me not speaking irish will make the language die out as people who have irish roots will learn it as you have shown and people in the gaeltacht areas will still speak it and teach it to others. However I do have to say that it is a beautiful language that has lots of great phrases. It really is a language you will either love or hate which isn't always the languages fault.

[@GingerBiscuit33]

As a last note I know very few adults ages vary that still speak irish after school if they don't need it for their job. My mother can never help me with my homework based on the fact that she no longer remembers anything about the language. She doesn't hate it it's just that she's never had to use it since she left school.

[@IsCumaFut2]

irish is not a difficult language. english is a very complicated language if you think about it . 76+ synonyms for the word LEVEL... english is a very confusing tongue. irish doesn't have any of that at all. you are just one of those anglicised irish people that i grew up with who considers his native tongue not important enough. if thats the case why do at least all the irish american people i know speak the irish language very fluently and in australia almost became the national language back in the 20's... no no. you are missing the point.... Hungary are a similar arguement.... their tongue was oppressed and outlawed and punishable by death one time and through all that their tongue is thriving (magyar) and lithuania and the book smuggling.. no way will i allow anyone to kill off my heritage. english is a langauge i use to communicate to with others , and i also can speak french and spanish and manderin . and manderin is a much easier tongue than english anyday. except for the writing. but english is too confusing for people especially foreigners who learn it. i think they will construct a new langauge soon... the one think i despise more is an irish man who hates his/her own culture. and pretends to be from some other one. power of the earth upon you. and i say all those earth tongues are way beyond english when it comes to poetic meanings anyday as they are from within your soul . english language loses all meaning when people speak it. english langauge is the language of control and commerce and slavery and that is all it is. if you can't see that then go and join the rest of the slaves out there ....

[@IsCumaFut2]

***** that is correct nor was it ever implied by me... I am simply making the point that the latter (english) has always been passed off as superior to other langauges for 4 centuries or more... Why??? . It is only a language of commerce and slavery... That is all that it is. I speak english and i also know how to speak irish too.. It is an act of policy in ireland to make people who finish school hate the langauge in the first place. do your research coz i have and i have made a video on that subject too called IRISH AGAIN for people of the world who do not understand... all other tongues thrive in the world along with english .. all i am saying why can;t Irish be the same .. have irish like they speak dutch in Netherlands and then internationallly have English to communicate with the world.. it is that simple.

[@Liam-cj5kh]

Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam -A country without a language is a country without a soul

[@christofferbuggeharder1349]

While I personally find the whole culture and identity argument most important for retaining one´s native language even if it is less useful than one of the big world languages, even to a hardheaded rationalist there are certainly compelling arguments for bilingualism that have nothing to do with "sentimentality". I think Goethe said that "He who knows no foreign language knows nothing about his own either". Learning another language forces anyone to not only adapt the perspective of other people´s worldview, it also forces you to look inward and at your own language and culture. That certainly is an enormous intellectual advantage. I lived two years in the US where virtually noone anglosaxon native-born ever learns to communicate in any language beside English, and it is quite obvious that the total lack of exposure to anything ever so slightly foreign breeds an insular mentality and culture of sometimes astounding ignorance. And this has nothing at all to do with intelligence. I think this culture is a likely reason for the eventual decline of the US as a superpower which I guess we will witness over this century.

[@0Zero_]

I wish Irish (and Welsh) were taught in primary schools in England..

[@bheadh]

Ta me Meiricanach-Eireannach. Is brea liom an Ghaeilge, ach ta se deacair an Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim. B'fheidir go bhfuil an fhadbh.

[@TaggartPK]

This makes me kind of sad to be from protestant Ulster. I essentially have no cultural identity. Too Irish to be British but too British to be Irish. I feel like I relate much more to Irish culture and I'd consider myself more Irish than British but the language is always a cold reminder that I'm ultimately an outsider. Northern Ireland is definitely a strange corner of the world to be born in.

[@carola-lifeinparis]

You could still just take an Irish class and learn it ...

[@grahamglendinning2451]

@@carola-lifeinparis I did, as an adult, and just love it. There are classes all over NI

[@fromireland8663]

Well, you do have your own identity which is a mix. I'm I correct in saying that many of British ethnicity in N.I. had ancestors in Western Scotland which were bilingual? Maybe Scots Gallic would be of interest to you?

[@TaMeAnAmadan]

@@fromireland8663 unfortunately Scots Gaelic is a farce - a dialect of English and was surprised to find out I was fluent in it despite never learning a word in my life. There is a lot of petty one-uppery

[@fromireland8663]

@@TaMeAnAmadan well, as a student of Irish gaelic for 14 years, I know for a fact that Irish is not a dialect of English. I have also listened to and read Scots gaelic, out of curiosity, to see how similar it is to Irish. There is a fair amount of similarity to Irish but no similarity whatsoever to English. So I very much doubt that you could understand Scots gaelic without some academic learning first. Perhaps you are confusing Scots gaelic with Scots, which is similar to English.

[@IskalkaQuest2010]

“Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam. A country without a language is a country without a soul.” - Pádraic Pearse

[@richsmith103ks]

my relatives in Dingle leave comments in both Irish and English on Facebook , they post them in both also.

[@yvonneo3723]

Maith thú! Eloquent, insightful and respectful.

[@KlausKokholmPetersen]

Finnish is a completely different language group than the other scandinavian languages (danish, swedish, norwegian, icelandic, faroese)

[@christofferbuggeharder1349]

For us non-native English speakers in Europe, this line of argument is quite funny to watch. Yes, it is certainly hard to imagine someone being a very successful entrepreneur if he only spoke Irish. The same is true of someone who only speaks Danish (my native tongue), Swedish or Dutch. Even in Germany, whose language has the highest number of native speakers in Europe, the most successful businesses all do business in English besides German - the biggest like Siemens, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Blaupunkt, BASF etc. all have parts of their business done almost English-only. And that is in a country with about 35 million monolingual German-speakers. Yet, even as fluency in English increases among younger people all over Europe, I doubt that one a single person exists who has learned English fluently as a L2 or L3 - and then given up his native tongue. "The overwhelming power of English" Mr. Fry speaks of has had no effect on people´s L1 in countries where English is not an official language. It is as if many native English-speakers just cannot fathom the concept of how being fluent in more than one language just might work, not even on the meta-level. Quite strange and sad, really. I feel sorry for the poor Irishmen, Scotsmen and Welsh struggling to defend their language and heritage.

[@fizziz_1035]

Love you dutch, your country is an inspiration to my own.

[@tphicks9135]

Spot on Stephen, very engaging and honest. Always such a balanced and sensitive approach.

[@TheYopogo]

It's not ethnocentric it's linguocentric. To wish to protect the beauty and diversity of language is more than legitimate

[@brendankeane5725]

Isn't it nice to hear an English accent speaking about one of the great indigenous treasures of British (and Irish) heritage, with an attitude absent of slag. Jeremy Irons did similarly when he did a show on TG4 about learning fiddle from Irish speakers. He didn't proffer a word, unfortunately. Sting sang an Irish language song on a Chieftains album. Would be lovely to trust the English not to be secretly harboring a cultural-genocide agenda.

[@barvdw]

I don't think most care enough to want a cultural genocide, TBH. At most many are lazy not to want to bother learning another language if they can do it in their own. I mean, who can blame them, if they go to even a small village in Eastern Europe, and people want to speak in English, not to bother to learn Slovak or whatnot? It might have been so that for imperial reasons, English was pushed by the British as a unifying measure during the decades of British rule, but for all good measure, Ireland is an independent republic for over half a century, even if the north has been separated, the last decades the British have cared about Ireland as much as they did about France or Italy.

[@kellymannino276]

My brother is a geography teacher in England. He had to show some of his students videos of people speaking Irish because they didn't believe him when he talked about Ireland having its own language. That's not a large representation, and every English person I know personally knows about Irish - but it does suggest that there is definitely not such a thing as a 'cultural-genocide agenda'. They just don't think about it.

[@thomaskelly5349]

@@barvdw if a country is divided it's nothing go stick your head back in the sand

[@littleXjack]

Ta speis agam faoi Gaeilge ach I mo scoile ta an mhuinteoiri ufasach agus ni raibh me abalta dul go dti gheal teacht mar ta me boch. Is mian liom go raibh me ag rugadh san teaghlach gaeilge sin caint gaeilge Ach ta mi-adh orm

[@magicmikefc]

Because he's so articulate, has a beautiful voice and his skill with english can make everything and anything interesting

[@johnfoconnor]

Stephen Fry is a great typical Englisman. He knows the world, he is a thinking man, who can debate without taking things personally, a key skill of debating. I love his intelligence and knowledge. Can you add more? If you can think of better and additional words, dont be shy just add them.

[@mollielovett1476]

For the record the Irish translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is absolutely awful. I only read the first chapter but it misses out on some details, the vocabulary is terribly bookish and it was an unpleasant and unecessary experience overall. This is coming from an avid 13 yr old Harry Potter fan whose first language is Irish. What I mean by bookish Irish is the sort of standardised, official nonsense which no native speaker would naturally use.

[@thefartydoctor]

See, I've read the Welsh version and the Welsh version is amazing. It's written in the Northern Welsh dialect. The names of houses and people are really imaginative. Maybe they just picked an Irish translator who lacked the necessary imagination skills to translate such an important novel in the history of literature. :)

[@sugarwarlock]

thefartydoctor We have a similar problem in Germany (or all of continental Europe, really). Sometimes, the translation is just awful. Doesn't even have to be a bad translator. The dude that translated The Hobbit did a wonderful job but holy shit he fucked up The Lord of the Rings (Harry Potter is great. I actually prefer that version). Sometimes, you just get a bad translation. Unfortunately, it's the only translation for Harry Potter in Irish. We have two The Hobbit and Lord of the Ring translations because one of them was shit. But there are 100 million native speakers so that's actually worth the effort.

[@thefartydoctor]

Robin Kü I've read the German version and I really liked it. But the main problem is that the translator couldn't be bothered to translate certain things like "Hogwarts" and the four houses. It 50% laziness and 50% lack of imagination. The French translation, on the the other hand, is amazing. Every name is pretty much translated. :)

[@patrickdoherty3640]

Níl mé tugann cac

[@brendantannam499]

It has become a tradition that when you work through the Irish language, the expected lack of professionalism is acceptable because you belong to an elite.

[@jonathanmcaleece9834]

I’m unionist but I think irish should be kept up just like other languages. It’s part of ireland

[@markbrennan145]

Jonathan Mcaleece just like Northern Ireland should be part of Ireland instead of being with the uk because it's part of IRELAND

[@jonathanmcaleece9834]

Mark Brennan I strongly disagree. Ni is much better in the uk. At least 50% of the people think the same as me

[@mrward6510]

I agree mate Irish is apart of our culture both catholic and protestants.

[@CanadaxIreland]

@paddypride are you from the gaeltacht then? I'm thinking of doing the test to get the scholar ship in my school to go there. got any tips to improve my Irish?

[@PODledge92]

Awesome, newfound respect for Fry, he knows so much about our language problem

[@niallocallaghan5699]

Its a very hard language, 11 irregular verbs i think? However an ancient language and very beautiful, like elvish or something from lord of the rings!

[@DieFlabbergast]

+Niall O Callaghan ONLY 11 irregular verbs! That's far less than English, not to mention many other languages. If that's the main difficulty with Irish, it sound like a piece of cake, or, as we say in Japan, ocha-no-ko saisai!

[@niallocallaghan5699]

DieFlabbergast I should have said that those irregular verbs are the most commonly used verbs. I guess 11 is not so much compared to other languages but the fact that they are the most common ones makes it hard. No language is a piece of cake.

[@DieFlabbergast]

+Niall O Callaghan On the contrary - every language is a piece of cake - if you grow up in that country! If not ... well, that depends on what language YOU speak.

[@niallocallaghan5699]

DieFlabbergast Its called having a "native tongue, irish people grow up speaking two languages from age 4 upwards...

[@thedirtyfecker]

The only reason you find those verbs difficult is because you never actually speak the language. trying to learn them from a book and memorizing them is futile. You need to SPEAK the language and within a very short time they become instinctive. The ONLY main problem with people speaking Irish in Ireland is that they do not actually speak the language. Even in school you only actually speak the language at an oral test in the leaving cert. the rest of the time your head is burien in a book and listening to a teacher at a black board. I left school wit a D in pass Irish. I then decided abot 5 years ago to learn to speak the language. Now I am pretty competant although still not fully fluent.All of the best progress I have made through the years has been down to conversation. learning to listen and understand others speaking and prcticing the rythems and structures as I talk. If you were a musician and wanted to play a song, would you listen to it once or read about i in a book or would you practice it before a performance? It is the same thing with the same problems.

[@HiiPPi3]

It can change. It changed for French, and before that even for Latin and before that for Greek. English could lose its status as lingua franca in the blink of an eye. (even though it's unlikely...but it can happen fast - 1 generation is often enough)

[@slothfromthegoonies8201]

HiiPPi3 Two Billion people are going to forget English within a generation?

[@HiiPPi3]

not forget, stop teaching it in school. When my parents were young, English was just beginning to be taught at school as second language. When my grandparents were young, french was the second language taught here. Want some further history? When Langobards settled Italy, the second generation already spoke better Latin than they did Langobardic, and the third didn't even speak that at all. Same happened to the Gauls in France, and countless minor cultures near the Han-chinese. Want more modern examples? German. Every one in the eastern bloc, ex-Austria Hungary, Netherlands, Northern Europe, many in GB, France, South America, many university-educated scientists and every High school educated ex-Soviet (and that was huge, even some elderly Mongolians still speak some German) used to learn German. Now, 1-2 generations later, Germans learn English. Truth be told, Latin faded a lot slower. But still, within about a century it went from fairly wide-spread to barely written.

[@slothfromthegoonies8201]

HiiPPi3 It doesn't need to be taught in school, it can be passed down by parents. German never had anywhere near as many speakers as English. In fact, no language has ever been as widespread as English is right now. It's generally accepted around the world as a Universal form of communication because so many people already know it.

[@HiiPPi3]

Sloth from The Goonies that doesn't happen though. Parents often don't even pass on second languages if either one is fluent in them, let alone languages they themselves don't consider their mother tongue. No it hasn't. But the absolute number of speakers is not a good indicator, the time-differential is much more interesting here. For now it's positive, but as i said: (history shows that) things can change fast. There are many factors (political, social, cultural, business-related...) that determine what people are gonna learn as a second language. Imagine a (hypothetical) scenario where china becomes the richest country, with the fastest growing job marked, the US and GB have to lay off workers because of recessions that let their per-capita GDP drop below the lowest of the OECD countries. Imagine everyone sunndenly likes chinese pop music, only eats chinese food, and starts watching chinese traditional theatre. Imagine that people suddenly start realizing what's really fueling US-research and universities (which is money and prestige to buy smart people from abroad) and that chinese universities start being the new centers of innovation. Imagine that new industry branches start in china as they once did in silicon valley and that the specs of new tech get published in chinese characters before they are translated in other languages. People would start to learn chinese pretty fast instead of english. I know the scenario is unlikely, but it is not impossible that something similar might happen. It has happened before. I mean, who would have thought that the US would become a leader in a specialised like computer industry, when they had (and still have) one of the worst education systems among the G8 countries (probably by far the worst since russia was kicked out). But hey, certain things happen, even if they seem unlikely at first glance.

[@slothfromthegoonies8201]

+HiiPPi3 The problem with your hypothetical scenario is the fact that it is beyond ridiculous, no offense. The US and UK economies are not simply going to collapse overnight, if they do they will pull the rest of the world down with them, China included. People are not going to suddenly start liking Chinese pop music, because at the moment most Chinese people don't even like Chinese pop music. The Communist government prevents their from being much of an arts scene in the country. There's no reason to believe that British and American Universities are suddenly going to become second rate. Cambridge and Oxford have been first class for almost 1000 years. Again, this is a ridiculous scenario. People would not start learning Mandarin. There's many reasons for this, but the most important one is the fact that English has one major advantage over Mandarin, it is easy to learn. Whereas Mandarin is widely considered to be one the world's most complicated languages. Even native speakers often struggle with the language, and don't even get me started on the writing system. Education rankings are flawed. It's an extremely linear method of assessing a nations education level because they prefer to reward those teach their children to regurgitate facts, rather those who teach them to think outside of the box. This is why Chinese people struggle don't question everything they're told. It's also why China produces less imaginative inventors and entrepreneurs. It's clear to see that their is not a direct correlation between OECD statistics for education, and a nation's success and dynamism.

[@Sean_Coyne]

I grew up learning a universal world power language that hardly anyone knows now (classical Latin). Never learnt a word of Irish till my twenties. Times change.

[@SuperKevind]

Stephen Fry may be posh ,,,,,,, but he is a very intelligent , intellectual dignified guy . He suffers from chronic depression , and that's something you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy . He's got a wonderful brain for comedy , That's my take on Mr Fry . . Take it or leave it .Proud to be Irish ,

[@martingildea2181]

tir gan teanga, tir gan anam

[@gregmark1688]

"English is important, and I don't know if that will ever change." -- Just to put that into some historical perspective, I'll merely remind that, plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. Today's lingua franca is tomorrow's Charlie Hebdo.

[@alexandeon]

Unless , of course, Charlie Hebdo is going to become one of the most successful , globally celebrated, papers ever. I didn't get the French part though.

[@gregmark1688]

In English, the phrase 'lingua franca' means 'the standard language'. The literal translation is 'the French language', because 500 years ago, French was THE standard language. Now we think English is important. In 500 years, Chinese will probably the THE language. The more that things change, the more they stay the same.

[@alexandeon]

Greg Mark And we shouldn't forget that English spoken now is very different from a few hundred years ago. Some believe that there will be different Englishes all around the world.

[@slothfromthegoonies8201]

Paul Anderson English already has broken into dialects. But the standardized dialect is always understood. This what gives English an advantage over other languages, it is mutually intelligible throughout the entire world. The language is going nowhere. We need to accept this and stop trying to fight it, but instead learn to exist alongside it

[@Inkdraft]

Hell, I think we should all go back to Latin. LOL

[@feedbackrichie]

YES TO THAT EXTENT!!

[@proulxmontpellier]

Although almost no one any longer speaks Occitan in Southern France, in a good many cities there are schools where Occitan is used as a teaching language, starting from Kindergarten and up to High School. Those children are not necessarily of Southern stock, but it is well known that they, as a rule, are better at maths and any foreign language than most unilingual French. I can't see why the same shouldn't apply in Ireland.

[@billylonergan3911]

thaitin tuairimí Stephen Fry go mór liom, cloiseann sé cosúil go bhfuil a lán meas ar an dteanga

[@kingstormysky3978]

I'll move to Ireland some day

[@kingstormysky3978]

Chris Dublin thanks man, I'll do that if I remember :D

[@kingstormysky3978]

why is it necessarily bad if a foreign person moves to ireland?

[@captainandmonty]

kingStormy Sky I was born and raised in Ireland. I have a lot of respect for the culture and language and miss living there, but there is a definite nationalistic undercurrent that can be ugly. Part of it is because Ireland was controlled by the English for so much of the last few centuries (and cultural elements like the language are still threatened to some extent), so they are more sensitive than most to influence from other cultures. On the other hand, it does show a lack of awareness of how much Irish people have been helped when they were starving or unable to find work themselves. I have personally met many Irish people who were unemployed in Ireland but ended up living and working in other countries. I understand where the resistance to foreigners comes from, but it's irrational and inappropriate when it relates to people who appreciate the country and culture and want to share it.

[@kingstormysky3978]

***** I refuse to believe that dramatic statement of yours about the total extinction of the Scots and the Irishmen. I don't think that's true. but I hear you and that is really sad, what you're saying in fact. I also believe that the whole unrest in the world today that causes this chaotic and bloated migration problem can be resolved through destruction of the current global economic system and creation of a different one, which would be less selfish in nature. but that's a whole different conversation. humanity is basically just killing itself on its own right now. so what's with the black people and leeches in Ireland? do people move there from Africa a lot?

[@michaelcarey9359]

Daniel Clements ...said a man with a french/english slurname. I meant "surname"

[@abacussin]

very well put.

[@irishveganwitch7847]

I love Stephen Fry. Such a gent.

[@censusgary]

Probably the reason Irish Gaelic speakers text in English is that Gaelic is so doggone hard to spell.

[@MyMindIntact]

English is harder.

[@barvdw]

English is hard to spell correctly, but if you don't care about that, it's quite straightforward, all letters are easily typed on an average keyboard. Irish uses a lot more of these, and they demand extra effort to type. It doesn't help if words are longer, as well. English is hip, too, my language is Dutch, and I'm a bit older, but my sister of 20 is using quite a lot of English words and expressions, or semi-English, like 'alwayz' on her social media. Half of all music, even by Belgian entertainers, is in English, too, if you listen to the radio. English is basically everywher. And while I'm not against it, I'm glad we still have our language, I can still go to college in my language, You can never express yourself as clearly in any other language as in your own, some nuance gets lost in translation.

[@stoney7145]

GHOTI that is an alternative phonetic spelly of an english word fish.GH as in tough OTI as in nation.In irish you don't have that for example mh is a v sound at the end of a word and an ow as in town in the middle of a word

[@resourcedragon]

Also comes back to things like whether your keyboard supports Irish and the accent over some vowels, and whether or not you have to fight the spellcheck the entire way. If anything, I think Scottish Gaelic has even more challenging spelling.

[@Inkdraft]

ResourceDragon: I just started learning Gaeilge and I use the international keyboard it's part of the software that comes with the computer and I don't have any problems. Tá sé ni crua.

[@TheYopogo]

I don't think he means English is an ugly language I think he means it is ugly to have it have to be used in ireland

[@donnaf630]

does any1 know where the video is where he visits the irish schools and things like that ?

[@beirbuadh]

Well said mr. Fry. Tá Gaedhilge agamsa, and the two can co-exist. Loosing your tongue leaves you with nothing to say. Nothing to contribute. Ireland without Irish would be haunted by a resounding echoing silence.

[@mactire1288]

And yet you cannot even spell the name of the language...

[@mollielovett1476]

Tá an ceart ar fad aige.

[@juanaltredo2974]

I think in the near future we all will be speaking english as a modern esperanto, and that'd have a massive good point, and its that we all will be able to understand how we insult each other on YT comments!

[@ronaldonmg]

You miss the point. English is not a modern Esperanto, but a modern-day Latin. The point of Esperanto (which I am fluent in) is that it is not anybody's national/ethnic language, and that it is significantly easier to learn than any national/ethnic language. there are no irregular verbs, irregular plurals or spelling bees in Esperanto

[@juanaltredo2974]

@@ronaldonmg oh yes, I missed the point... its not like I was kidding or anything

[@morrieD]

All of his comments about Irish are the same for all the french- & swiss-german-speakers I know, they read all the originals (Harry Potter, Discworld, Vampire Diaries, etc) in english and can if they choose to text, fb, tweet, etc in english. Those that want a career in their profession make sure they can communicate in it. In the modern world, english isn't taking over, it's just useful to know, but the "mother-tongue" remains just that - the language your mother spoke to you.

[@MissyUCF99]

Honestly if you want to get introduced to the language, learn the songs. There are plenty and they are wonderful. It's a nice introduction to the pronunciation. I recommend "Níl Sé Na Lá" and "Bean Pháidín"

[@littleXjack]

@goinghomesomeday1 I have an interest in Gaeilge but in my school the teachers are terrible and I'm not able to go to a Gaelteacht ( literally Iirsh house, means the area in which people speak Iirsh and enjoy irish culture ) because I am poor ( bocht* ) I wish that I was born in the Irish household that spoke Gaeilge, but I'm unlucky..... :) My irish isn't grammatically perfect but I can express myself well

[@simonelof2129]

Waxing lyrical about native Irish language and culture... yet if anyone in England talks about preserving our ethnic and cultural identity against the floods of migrants. Well, he starts calling them a "racist". So lovely speech, however, can't see Fry as anything other than a pompous hypocrite on these matters.

[@jeanette606]

I 'm dutch and Im learning irish

[@johnnytiz]

Could listen to Stephen Fry all day. Very interesting man...

[@thefartydoctor]

The only thing I don't agree on is "English is uglier" (or words to that effect). English *can* be ugly ("Drive Thru" or "Q here" being prime examples of English being slaughtered) but English is really beautiful. There are so many parts of English that make me proud to speak it, such as the many patterns of 'ough', the silent 'k' and the 'ves' plural. It may not have the Welsh 'ch' or the French 'r' but it's still pretty impressive and definitely a nice sounding language, accent permitting haha.

[@RFC3514]

English is a messy and very "vowelly" language, which makes it sound a bit childish but is really practical when you're trying to make things rhyme. From a linguistic / grammatical / semantic point of view it is quite "ugly", but it _sounds_ fine.

[@thefartydoctor]

RFC3514 As you'd expect, I definitely disagree. I can speak four languages fluently and am learning many many more and I can say they all really sound beautiful (even Czech) but when you've immersed yourself in the culture and countries like I have, you then realise how truly beautiful your own tongue is. I'm trying not to sound boastful but this is the point of view from a true linguist and from someone whose brain constantly finds itself swimming in other languages. But you have your opinion and naturally, I respect that.

[@RFC3514]

thefartydoctor A linguist is someone who studies the structure of languages, not someone who _speaks_ a lot of languages - that would be a polyglot (I speak six, by the way; English is my third). And pretty much all linguists (and most native English speakers, for that matter) will tell you that English is an extremely irregular language (both grammatically and phonetically). It's not a matter of opinion, it's just the way it is. Whether someone thinks it _sounds_ ugly or not is a matter of opinion, but I'm pretty sure Fry wasn't talking about the way English _sounds_, he was talking about it from a structural, linguistic point of view.

[@thefartydoctor]

You misunderstand. I _do_ study language. That's what my degree's in. So before you think you understand, read the subtext. I never said English didn't have any faults. Since we're both polyglots, it's not news to either of us. I know my native language inside and out, as I do with others. And I do believe Fry was talking exactly about what it sounds like and how, as a language, it behaves in correlation to other languages. He's talking about how the language looks, behaves and sounds. And frankly, I disagree with it being "ugly". It's beautiful.

[@RFC3514]

thefartydoctor "Read the subtext"...? Okay, one second while I scrape the pixels off my monitor...

[@josephboyle9020]

If England didn't invade Ireland, Irish would be the main language of this country. I'm fluent in both languages agus táim ag iarraidh spéis agus suim a chur as teanga arís. Caithfidh an rialtas níos mó a dhéanamh nó imeoidh an Gaeilge go deo. English is ugly compared to an Gaeilge.

[@yvesleith123]

+Joseph Boyle That's precisely some of the point he was raising, but you couldn't help having a pop could you. Since I was educated at the behest of the Irish state educations ystem I wont blame you personally for your utter failing to grasp the history of these isle. The Normans invaded you, and they invaded us not long before.

[@josephboyle9020]

+TurfGuy English is the common language of the world nearly at this stage. Every country such have their own language. It is such a shame that the British invaded many countries and destroyed their identities. Who knows what beautiful languages died as a result of British conquest. Gaelige and Gaighlig are two languages that have suffered but remarkably survived. They are incredibly languages and pleasing to the ear It is actually unbelievable that they didn't die out. Éire, an Alban agus ár dteangacha go deo!

[@lovelock512]

+Joseph Boyle I don't see how English is an ugly language by any measure. Yes it's clumsey, but not ugly.

[@TheMATTYB1234]

In what year did the British invade Ireland?

[@stoney7145]

1169

[@NellieKAdaba]

I love Stephen Fry

[@jimbehr2291]

Interesting the amount of great authors that came from Ireland. I wonder if there would have been as many if they didn't speak English or both languages.

[@fiachrabissett715]

Can everyone please stop calling Irish Gaelic, they're different languages. Irish, in Irish is Gaeilge, Gaelic is the native language of Scotland. They're related but different. Apart from that, Stephen seemed very educated on this topic which foreigners rarely are. He even knew about how Galway retains more of the old culture and especially Connemara, and knew the ins and outs of when they spoke what language, I was very impressed.

[@barvdw]

Gaeilge is Irish (Gaelic) for Gaelic, as far as I'm aware, Scottish Gaelic, or Gàidhlig is indeed a different language, but called the same, but for the Scottish' often put in front. My spelling checker agrees, and doesn't recognise either spelling. I mean, I don't call my language Dutch when I'm speaking it, but I will when speaking in English, so that seems logical... And Stephen Fry is a literature major, and fervent lover of this means of communication. Gaelic, or Gaeilge, or Irish, or whatever you want to call it, is a very interesting language, and I can feel why he feels drawn to it, it's got melody, history, it's own typeset, something exotic... Sometimes, it seems only the Irish hate it (exaggerated, but perhaps because of how it's taught in schools?)

[@fiachrabissett715]

barvdw I'm a fluent Irish speaker and have been my whole life, and not a single Irish person has called it gaelic before. I know a lot of Scottish people who are fluent too and they call their language gaelic, not Scottish.

[@barvdw]

Thanks for your answer, Fiachra. And I agree, many will use Irish, nowadays. But apart from the fact not all Irish speakers do (some insist on calling it Gaeilge, for instance, even in English, which to me translates as Gaelic), in English, it often is called Gaelic, or Irish Gaelic, if you want. English is a big language with many different rooms, Irish English only being one of them. And of course, it's Gaelic, not Scottish. But that's like saying you're European, when you're a Western European. A Western European is a European, a European can be a Western European. BTW, as I said, my language is Dutch. Or Flemish, depending on who you talk to. It's the regional variant of Dutch spoken in Belgium. The differences are smaller than between British and American English, but some still insist it's a different language. I disagree, it's a different variant of the same, we use the same spelling, our vocabulary is 95% the same, we can talk to each other and in spite of the accent, we will be able to understand each other with a bit of effort. Still, are the people who call my language Flemish wrong? No, Flemish is Dutch. Gaelic has split up in two different languages, now, even if an Ulster Irish speaker might understand his Hebridean cousin better than his Munster brother, but it shares many similarities, wouldn't you say?

[@fiachrabissett715]

barvdw that's a good point, I speak connacht Irish and fully understand munster Irish, but I really understand very little ulster Irish. But you're right in saying ulster Irish speakers understand Scottish gaelic speakers better. See they're both gaelic languages but Irish is generally called gaeilge and Scottish, gaelic. That's just how it is in Ireland and Scotland, the countries of origin.

[@CobinRain]

Ireland, like Wales and Scotland, HAS a culture and language is a part of it, tho not all. England, today, has lost its cultures and seem like, well, America...American food, phoney accents, and the whole nasty tide of American popular culture(hated too by many Americans) has swept away almost everything. As America's power wanes perhaps something will re emerge....anyway go off to McDo for a coke and a cheeseburger and dont forget to supersize.

[@calummccauley6835]

CobinRain im glad you think so highly of us! as an English man I don't see us as culturally dead. American things might be a part of daily life in music and etc but for the people who look deeper england is culturally robust and beautiful like almost every country. sadly I've never visited Ireland yet but I plan to!

[@Inkdraft]

CorbinRain: I'm glad you mentioned that many Americans dislike the popular American ´`culture´´. I don't watch American TV and I haven't eaten at a fast food restaurant in 5 years or more. I believe that it was Abraham Lincoln that said that American would never be brought down from without but would fall from within.

[@Woodsmoke22]

So full of love, aren't you...

[@JohninRosc]

I think he's made the case for Irish so well. Of course you couldn't become a billionaire if you only spoke Irish, but it's still just THE best and most exquisite language in Europe and Mr Fry seems to acknowledge that totally (or at least our right to think that). That's my view as a Plastic Paddy extraordinaire who can say the Our Father and sing the National Anthem - but it's still my language! Oh yes and "agus anois an aimsir - ta se fluich"!

[@juanaltredo2974]

I do find funny how when the engish do something great (and to be honest happens quite a lot) and they call themselves English, you all get annoyed, they're british, but the rest of the time you're all Irish, scottish, and welsh. Theres a barrage of double standards in this relationship.

[@barvdw]

Happens elsewhere, too. I mean, it's all about Flemish cyclists (to give an exemple) on the local radio and television, but it's the Walloon rider Philippe Gilbert, he's Belgian, so we can claim him, too. With tennis, the same happened with Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, some years ago. The other way, too, by the way.

[@notamused3715]

+juan altredo- No self-respecting Gael would EVER refer to themselves as "British"! You are thinking of a group of Protestant planters of English and Lowland Scots descent in the North who never integrated and are only a minority on this island! Furthermore, in the case of Irish people from the North, it's the other way round- when they do something praiseworthy, the Brits call them "British" but when they're bold, they're Irish! Get your facts straight next time to avoid looking like a fool!

[@Kaiserbill99]

You might find it funny but the reality is that this is a complete myth. Up until about 15-20 years ago an English person would pretty much exclusively refer to themselves as British not English. Since the rise of Scottish nationalist "agitation" this has changed a little but is still the case today. Scots and the Welsh will always refer to themselves as Scottish or Welsh sometimes even in some cases denying that they are British. If an Englishman is referred to on the news for example eg a sportsman he will never be referred to as an Englishman (Commonwealth Games or representing England rather than Britain aside) but would be referred to as a Geordie or a Bristolian or a Scouser or a Cockney. Equally a Scotsman eg Andy Murray will always be referred to as a Scotsman first and foremost. The reason that the Scots in particular buy in to the "you're English when you're winning and British when you're losing" line is because they have a "chip on the shoulder" and are obsessively sensitive.

[@oisinboland7864]

Ireland has nothing to do with GB so I don't know what you're talking about

[@Kaiserbill99]

Well that is not strictly true. I can't think of a country more closely related to Britain than Ireland. After all up until 1922, the whole of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Gt Britain and Northern Ireland and now Northern Ireland is still part of the UK. Although technically none of Ireland is part of Britain, most of the inhabitants of NI would identify themselves as being British.

[@clairee4939]

So true Ricky! :-)

[@johnfoconnor]

Well described. It is so complex with just the words to decribe our languages. And we will not even go near Wales where there is some Gaeilge/Gaidhlig too,. but I will never get to be able to pronounce a word with loads of Ls. I love the word there in your message "Gaidhlig", and love the way I would say it in Gaeilge, "dh" is so foreign to English speakers but so natural in our languages. We could discuss forever. Ah we have so much in common from the Higlands to to west of Ireland.

[@Illuvater]

Hi Onifos, I'm not fluent, just did it for the usual few years in school, but here's my attempt at a translation of the above: "I'm learning our language at the moment and I like it, I think it's the best language in the world. Yes we all speak English but what's wrong with being able to speak another language? A lovely language. A country without a language is a country without a soul. And really, there's not a lot of soul left in Ireland these days. Learn your language, and be proud."

[@upmayo100]

It is the original language of our people.

[@Thelrishman]

great man

[@binaway]

Many Dutch people now speak English as a first language. In 1990 the Dutch education minister, Jo Ritzen, proposed to make English the official language at Dutch universities. There was of coarse been a backlash but most University subjects now use English exclusively.

[@karenmaher7654]

Love him

[@19grand]

Is that a rifle being pointed at Stephen's head (from the left)?

[@sksman71]

@MossyKong I agree with you but how many native speakers act like that?

[@MCshlthead]

where did this take place??

[@GaraGambini]

“I am proud to consider myself a typical man of that minority. We against whom you have done this thing, are no petty people. We are one of the great stocks of Europe.” “We are the people of Burke; we are the people of Grattan; we are the people of Swift, the people of Emmet, the people of Parnell.” “We have created the most of the modern literature of this country. We have created the best of its political intelligence.” W Yeats- talking about Irish Protestants.

[@hermeeown]

I would say he's more exceptional than typical.

[@castlebar67]

like the guy so influential i feel hes a very impressive man real irish to the core I admire him pb manchester

[@benvarma3427]

Let’s hope we can revive it some day

[@HonkeyTonTon]

Next year I will be going to University. The main attraction in Trinity is the Phil. Seems like an incredible society.

[@kwameeoin]

First of all- Stephen Fry, what a man! Secondly, I have been reading alot of opinions here and dont see why there is necessarily 2 sides to the argument. If we think we cant be a bilingual country, we are selling ourselves short. Do people think we couldnt grasp 2 languages? I would like to think we could. Why not speak Irish well as our language, rich in culture and dept, but also speak English to allow for development and opportunity in this modern, global world?

[@MacRiocaird]

We don't need to choose between our national language and the international auxillary language that English has become. Like most of modern Europe we can have all the benefits of both.

[@crookedpaths6612]

Irish is more than a language it is the last vestige of the Celtic peoples of Europe. The Irish, the Scots, Welsh, Manx, Cornish as well as the Bretons of France and Galicians of Spain.

[@pitsinokaki]

@proulxmontpellier: Just wanted to say, thanks for telling us. I didn't know Occitan is still spoken. Even if mostly at school, it doesn't matter. That's great! I'd love to listen to it.

[@sksman71]

@Tuigim Gaelic is usually referred to the Scottish,if i'm right.

[@sksman71]

@half a rasher raytown I wonder how similar the two languages sound alike?

[@chap1144]

Not chronic depression, Manic Depression. You have the lows, but you also get enormous highs. Read up on it, he's done some great docos on the subject as well - Mr Fry that is.

[@florascent9ts]

Dat analogy tho.

[@petermckiernan5822]

If I lived in Ireland I'd want to speak the Irish language and be proud to do so.