this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2025
412 points (98.1% liked)
Map Enthusiasts
4535 readers
44 users here now
For the map enthused!
Rules:
-
post relevant content: interesting, informative, and/or pretty maps
-
be nice
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
The map says "how people react when you try to speak their language" Irish is the native language of Ireland. No matter how many people try to say otherwise even with the petty "people claim to speak it"
The Irish language is also in the middle of big revival after the British had criminalised it for centuries and tried to kill it. The fact that it still survives is a testament to the people. It is still considered Irelands language, and I know only a handful of a people of a certain creed that would say otherwise or try to dispute it, and they wouldn't be considered Irish imho.
Aye but literally nobody speaks it. So the reaction from 90% of people would be 'I have no feckin idea what you're on about mate, conas atá tu?'
Nothing to do with pettiness. I was highlighting that people overestimate their abilities. 39% knowing 'some' Irish means they know a few words. The small clusters that do speak it are mostly in Gaeltacht & Gaelscoileanna students
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Percentage_stating_they_speak_Irish_daily_outside_the_education_system_in_the_2011_census.png/1024px-Percentage_stating_they_speak_Irish_daily_outside_the_education_system_in_the_2011_census.png
It doesn't change that Irish is still our language. English is the language that we use due to coercion. The petty remark was in relation to the amount of people who "claim" to speak some of it. Considering it was compulsory in schools until fairly recently, I wouldn't find that unbelievable.
Oh come on, "coercion" is a bit of a stretch. Have you heard a Brit say they're coerced to speak English because of the Anglo-Saxon invaders? With a few centuries' difference it's exactly the same.
It's your language, time to own it. Or maybe rename it, like the Yugoslavs did!
A few centuries? It wasn't until 2006 that the British government gave the Irish language a legal status in Northern Ireland. But, to date there has been no political progress on passing an Irish Language Act there.
This followed the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 with the British government committed to “recognise the importance of respect, understanding and tolerance in relation to linguistic diversity … including the Irish language”.
I'm pretty sure it is owned, just has obstacles still in place by the same people that attempted to force people to stop using it, and succeeded for the most part. The recentness of both of those milestones shows that. It also shows that it is not the same thing as your example.
For obvious reasons Gaelic is even less "the" language of Northern Ireland, as of course you are well aware.
Back on topic, I'll just repeat my point: in a country where 99% of people speak language A on a daily basis and where nobody is preventing them from talking language B (quite the opposite), it is silly histrionics to talk of "coercion". It's water under the bridge.
The largest ethnic group in the USA is Germans. Do you hear Americans complain about being "coerced" to speak English? Come on.
PS: Yeah, a lot of performative virtue-brigading from the latecomers here, but my argument (if you actually read it) would in fact be endorsed by large numbers of Irish people. Whatever.
I'm done with you. You are obviously trying to change the narrative to suit you as you are attempting to discuss something you painfully obviously know nothing about. Good luck.
English is an official language too, the dominant one which is used day-to-day and understandable by the (vast) majority. History isn't really relevant.
Aye they probably know as much Irish as the average person who took German or French in school remembers, fuck all.
Nobody said otherwise. The Irish language is the language of Ireland. As mentioned, only a certain creed would dispute that. Also as mentioned, it is used and dominant due to coercion. Of course history is relevant.
It's Irrelevant how much you think people may remember what they learned.
It makes perfect sense, in fact more sense to use the native language that is still used, in a visual like this. Nobody raging about colonialism here, but some cunts are very easy to see when they try to dispute any native culture. Especially when it's for no other reason but to be a cunt. A stupid one at that. "Literally nobody speaks it" literally.. Yeah.. 🙄
Yeah, keep coming with the bullshit. Okay hyperbole it is.
But history isn't really relevant? 🤔🙄 I've read some twats in my time, but that...
Your last paragraph would be a different thread. Fuck off and make that one if it makes you happy, but it's not the same as the OP.
I literally gave the stats in my original comment ya eejit
You didn't answer, what %?
My last paragraph isn't a different thread, it's illustrating how daft it'd be to ask someone about a minority language for the OP.
What are you shiting on about, what% would I put it at? I'm pretty sure that's not how stats work. According to the official figures from the census in 2022..
Your last paragraph is a question that hasn't been asked. It's not relevant to this thread. Nobody asked about a minority language. While you and some others may dispute the existence or relevance of the Irish language, that is Irrelevant.
That is how stats work. What % of the population is fluent in Irish. 5-10% is the figures I can see.
Irish is the minority language, speaking to the average person in the minority language would result in them asking you to speak in the majority language. Since the average person doesn’t speak the minority language.
Asking somebody 'what percent would they put it at', is not how stats work.
Irish is the native language. Majority of Ireland would agree that Irish is the language of Ireland, no matter.
Also, your reply there is making the same point I made in the op. So now you are just posting shit for the sake of it.
Aye it is ya spoon. I’m assuming since you don’t think it’s a nonsense thing to map you must’ve had better references showing it was widely popular and understandable.
Majority doesn’t speak Irish, so the official majority language should be used.
My reply was making the point that it was a nonsense thing to map since the answer is predictable. Tell me, what would be the average Irish persons response if you walked up to them and started speaking Irish?
Jaysus. If I have to explain to you how stats work there's "literally" no hope for you. 🙄
The official native language would be chosen by the majority as the official language, as per 2022 and 2016. Especially in the context of the visual used for this thread Your reply was nonsense crap, then You made the point that I had already made in my first post.
At a guess, it would be the same as any person when a randomer walked up to them and started talking. However if they were to approach them and talk without any proper identity and start putting on a shitty accent, repeating things over to make the same point and saying things like "literally" to attempt to make a point, I guess they would see them as the simpleton they are and either give them a lollipop and a pat on the head, or walk away.
I have a degree in stats you thick cunt. Work on the reading comprehension.
Official languages are English and Irish.
90% don’t speak Irish. Their reaction would be ‘speak English ya weapon’ obviously. Enough of your pish. Away fling shite at the moon.
Bwahhaaha hahaha yeah you do, you fucking clown. So you are just pretending to be obtuse?
Yet you are arguing against yourself by using the same point I made initially. Fucking literally a genius.. Derp..