The GaelMinn Gazette: January, 2015
THE GAELMINN GAZETTE (#115): January, 2015
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The GaelMinn Gazette, a monthly e-newsletter from Gaeltacht Minnesota, carries helpful items for anyone studying the Irish language, anywhere, as well as news of interest to local and regional students.
Please FORWARD this newsletter to any friends who may want to learn Irish. And if you received this Gazette from someone else, go to www.gaelminn.org to sign up.
To read this newsletter as a web page, go to www.gaelminn.org/lastgaz.htm .
Content (C) 2015 Gaeltacht Minnesota
CONTENTS
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ANNUAL FUNDRAISER
Tips, Tools, & Tricks: And The Winner Is ...
GaelMinn News & Announcements
Lessons Learned: Time To Pursue A Dialect?
About Gaeltacht Minnesota
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ANNUAL FUNDRAISER JANUARY 25!
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Once a year we hold a fundraiser to support our classes and workshops for the entire year. This year's event is, as usual, at the Dubliner Pub, running 2-6 pm on Sunday, January 25.
$5 at the door gets you great music and dance entertainment, a beverage, and a chance at a door prize. We'll also have a pot luck.
For complete details, including how to donate if you miss the event, visit http://www.gaelminn.org/gaelevent.htm .
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TIPS, TOOLS, & TRICKS
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----------AND THE WINNER IS ...
In case you haven't noticed, it's movie awards time. The Golden Globes just passed, along with those of some critics' groups. And the Oscars will be awarded in February.
Naturally, all this activity affords interesting opportunities to practice your Irish.
By the way, if you never watch award shows and don't care much about the Oscars, don't skip this article. At the end, we'll have some suggestions for that situation.
At any rate, we generally encourage students to apply their Irish to their daily interests. Sure, your skills may be limited, or they may be fairly advanced, but speaking and writing Irish is more fun, and more motivating, when you deal with the same kinds of topics you might be discussing with your friends in English.
The simplest way to present the possibilities is to give you model statements, questions, and activities in English. Translating the ones you want to use into Irish is, of course, the whole point!
Let's start with some basics that would be accessible even if you are fairly early in your studies:
"I always watch the Oscars show"
"I never watch the Oscars show."
"I love movies. I like movies. I hate movies.
I am not interested in movies."
"I saw/did not see [Movie Name]."
"I like/hate [Actor/Director Name]."
Of course, it is even better to come up with question forms -- "Do you like ...?" -- for most of these statements. Create little scripts and run through them with a study buddy, or, if necessary, play both roles in the dialogue yourself.
With a little more experience with the language, you can be a bit more elaborate:
Summarize, in a few sentences, what the plot of one (or more) of the nominated movies is about.
Similarly, make some observations about the character portrayal -- traits, motivations, actions -- by nominated performers.
Expand on some of the earlier statements. Why do you like, or dislike, a particular film or performance?
Now, if you actually watch the Oscars or another awards show, there will be ample opportunity to practice your descriptive skills. When a person comes forward to either present or accept an award, describe that person's general appearance: tall or short, thin or fat, hair color (or no hair!), and so on. Describe what they are wearing (or, in the case of some starlets, what they are not wearing, or barely wearing). Even if you can't come up with much to say about their garments, at the very least you should be able to practice your colors.
And when winners are announced, it gives you a chance to say whether you agree with the decision or not. If your skills are up to it, explain why.
For all of these uses of Irish, of course, it makes sense to look up the Irish before you need it, to prepare a "cheat sheet" of comments you can have ready when you sit down in front of the TV. But even during the show, as you think of opinions you'd probably share with friends, you can look up the Irish vocabulary for them and then express those opinions in Irish.
And what if you aren't paying much attention to the Oscars this year? Well, you can still imagine conversations about them that you might have with friends.
First, as mentioned above, you can learn to say that you don't watch the show. Second, you can explain why. Even if your Irish is fairly basic, you can say "I don't like the show" and perhaps mention something specific you don't like.
Finally, you have probably seen enough movies to put together an imaginary "all time greatest" Oscars show of your own. For example, if you could pick your three favorite movies -- your own personal "best picture" Oscars -- what would they be? Who played parts in them? What were the plots? What did you like about them.
You're going to be talking about the Oscars anyway, either about what you thought of the decisions, or about why you don't care. Why not learn to do all of that in Irish?
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GAELTACHT MINNESOTA NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
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----------NEXT "INTRO" CLASS
Our next Community Education "Introduction to Irish Gaelic" class will be held in March of 2015, on the first four Mondays of the month. Registration is now open on-line, and we have a link to the registration pate, and more information about the class, on our web site. Visit http://www.gaelminn.org/commed/index.htm .
Completing this class will allow you to join our regular Monday evening classes.
----------APRIL WORKSHOP TAKING SHAPE
Each year we hold a one-day workshop, all levels taught, on a Saturday in April at St. Thomas University in St. Paul. This year the workshop is scheduled for Saturday, April 11. We'll have more information about this event on our site next month.
Note that if you have been waiting to join our Monday classes, this will get you in.
----------WHAT A GREAT CHRISTMAS DINNER!
We had a wonderful gathering for our 34th annual Christmas Dinner. We were especially pleased to see family and friends in our midst, and we appreciate the support they give us all year round.
Dinner was accompanied by great tunes from Martin, Pete, and Tom, and followed by some fine party pieces from various tables.
And the infamous traveling trophy went home with Suin, who has done so much work on our annual dinner and our fundraiser for many years. Well done Suin, and thanks!
----------CLASS SCHEDULE
No Class, Presidents' Day,
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LESSONS LEARNED
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----------TIME TO PURSUE A DIALECT?
You do not have to study Irish for very long before the question of dialect arises. You're probably aware that Irish varies widely, in sound, vocabulary, and even in grammar, depending on where it is spoken.
The question is, does it matter to you?
There are a couple of answers to that question, depending on whether you think about producing Irish or simply understanding Irish.
Taking comprehension of spoken and written Irish first, as you get into more natural tasks -- reading on-line material, or books, or listening to radio broadcasts -- that are more complicated than the carefully structured examples in your texts and exercise materials, you'll need to broaden your horizons a bit. You'll be bound to encounter dialect variations that are more than a little challenging and mysterious at first.
After all, if you take classes from a teacher, or you work with a course that includes audio materials, you probably already lean toward one region or another. Even if the grammar is based on the written "standard", there is no standard pronunciation. Your exposure to spoken Irish, then, is going to follow the pronunciation patterns of one region over the others.
As you get to the level where you are able to engage in a little more conversation, where you can string together a back-and-forth with another speaker for several exchanges, it is time to get some exposure to other dialects. You may get some of that exposure at workshops, that's one of the benefits of working with a different teacher.
Meanwhile, listening to Irish language radio (RnaG, http://www.rte.ie/rnag/ , and others) or streaming TG4 (http://www.tg4.ie/) are great ways to encounter all the dialects. Just keep in mind that you don't have to understand what they are saying to get valuable practice in dealing with the different sounds of the different dialects. After all, if you can't follow the sounds they are making, and connect them to the sounds you are used to, you aren't ever going to figure out what they are saying. Just listen, don't translate.
All the above discussion involves a kind of passive understanding of dialects, the ability to "receive" communications in Irish. When do you actively pursue a particular dialect for your own speech? And what does it take to develop a consistent version of Irish?
First of all, consider whether you have any reason to favor Ulster or Connaught or Munster or even Dublin Irish. Perhaps you visit Ireland periodically, and you especially like a particular region. Or perhaps your ancestors came from a particular place, and you would like to concentrate on the corresponding version of Irish.
Second, seek out examples of that dialect. For instance, if you listen to RnaG, the program An Saol รณ Dheas would be great for your Munster accent, but Iris Aniar would be much more helpful if you have ties to Conamara.
You can also use the pronunciation features of the best on-line dictionaries (http://www.focloir.ie/ , http://breis.focloir.ie/) to help you sort out some of the differences.
For more help in sorting out dialects, some texts are helpful. Nancy Stenson's Intermediate Irish grammar reference has several excellent chapters on dialect differences. If you are advanced enough to use a reference which is entirely in Irish, the "An Teanga Bheo" series of books on various dialects (visit litriocht.com as a source for these) is excellent.
By the way, it takes a lot of time to shift your pronunciation and vocabulary. Expect it to take months, or even longer. So take it piecemeal. Don't try to shift all the relevant sounds at once.
For example, if you learned Connaught Irish first, you generally pronounce the vowel combinations "ao" and "aoi" identically. If you now want to cuddle up to the Munster version of Irish, you'll pronounce them differently. In that case, just work on this one pronunciation change until it is a solid habit. Then tackle something else.
Finally, if you're part of a class or study group, let your fellow students know what you are trying to do. Let them know why you're interested in a particular dialect. They can even help you monitor your pronunciation and vocabulary and remind you when you are drifting back into old patterns.
If you don't have a particular reason to learn to produce a particular dialect, that's perfectly fine. Just get some practice understanding other speech patterns.
But if you do have a reason to want to focus on a particular dialect, have some patience. It's a slow process.
But it can be an awful lot of fun!
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ABOUT GAELTACHT MINNESOTA & THE GAZETTE
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Gaeltacht Minnesota is a volunteer organization that has been teaching free weekly classes in Irish for more than three decades. Besides free classes, we offer several workshops each year, publish introducing the language to readers of columns in regional publications, and participate in a wide variety of community events.
The GaelMinn Gazette is distributed to our subscriber list on the 25th of each month: Will Kenny, editor.
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You can stay up to date with Gaeltacht Minnesota at www.gaelminn.org , or drop us a line anytime at info@gaelminn.org .
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