The main things that put me off posting here (despite being a regular browser) are that all of the regulars seem to have quite a high standard of Irish, and therefore I feel like I can never really contribute very much or participate in something more at my level (I'm doing Lower Intermediate/Meanrang 1 with Gaelchultúr), or else I find what people are saying very confusing because people always seem to be wittering on about dialects and complaining about the caighdean or whatever, whereas for most learners we are just trying to develop our Irish in general, and we can worry about dialects etc at a later stage

My Irish is abysmal, but I post regularly , in the hope that my questions will improve my ability.
Especially when I find something confusing. If you post something, and the regulars point out any errors surely that would be beneficial for you catrionanic ?

Most posts seem to have about ten times more views than responses. It seems to me people are afraid to ask things for fear they may make a fool of themselves. I see it in class as well, people nodding along even though they don't understand. I used to do that, now I ask all the time, here too. Sometimes the same question a few times because I forgot the answer or that Id asked something similar already.

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Bíonn rudaí maithe mall

It's the community that keeps the regulars here, otherwise there won't be people to answer questions. You are a part of the community too Nuala.
(A lot of us are members of other forums too, like Daltaí and Boards)



Without fluent regulars the forum won't have people to answer requests accurately.
But learners are welcome to participate too. For example if somebody asks for a translation you can offer your version too (just make sure you show, like maybe in your signature, that you are a beginner).



Yes, can you clarify Nuala. I'm not sure what you mean.


I'd be interested in that too.

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It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
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Bríd is right in all respects. It's community that keeps the more fluent regulars around...and usually it's community that lures new folks into sticking around and learning!

Our approach at IGTF was that it was always OK for even a beginner to offer a translation attempt, so long as that person indicated that he or she wasn't fluent (and no matter how fluent we are, we always ask that people who come here for important, permanent, translations wait for three people to be in agreement before proceeding). A lot of us, myself included, cut our teeth on tattoo translations! And we've made our share of mistakes along the way! For example, I always joke that my first attempt at a tattoo translation gave the poor OP poison oak! (he had requested "Burning Oak," and instead of something that would indicate an oak tree on fire, I gave him "Dair loiscneach" ("loiscneach" describes a burning, stinging, caustic sensation...it doesn't mean "burning" as "on fire." That was my first lesson in not always relying on the dictionary for translations!).

Oh...for those who don't know what "poison oak" is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_oak ... icodendron

I can tell you that, in my case, it was the community we had that kept me going when slogging through grammar got tiresome, and when it seemed that I'd never learn this language well enough to actually speak it! Many of us learners don't live in areas where we can regularly speak with, and get support from, teachers and fellow learners...these forums provide (or at least used to provide) something we often lack in our own physical communities.

Don't be afraid to try your hand at translating, nuala! If people know you're just learning, they'll be gentle with you, and more than happy to help you learn! And, as I said, some of these games we play are solid gold when it comes to figuring out some of the more daunting aspects of the language.

Redwolf

I do live in such a place but even still I find the forum incredibly useful.
I do hit slumps and knowing there are lots of others who have learned later in life rather than from birth like most my neighbors is a help.
Also a lot of people might not know the grammatical reasons behind something, I don't for English. I hate when people ask me why is it said like such, "I don't know, just say what I said ", is my normal response. Other learners often know these things as they recently went through it themselves.

Then of course Im not sure if people would appreciate me jumping out of the hedge and asking questions like , "In what instances do you employ the Dative if any".

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Bíonn rudaí maithe mall

Your neighbors would probably think you were a bit touched!

Now where I live, if you tell someone you're learning Irish, one of three things is likely to happen: 1) Your acquaintance will say "I didn't know they had their own language!" (or worse, he or she will say "there's no such thing as an Irish language!" Yes, I've gotten that one.), 2) Your acquaintance will look at you strangely and ask "Do you mean you're learning to speak with an Irish accent?" (or worse, launch into his or her very own best imitation of an Irish accent, which usually sounds a little like a cross between Dick Van Dyke's pseudo Cockney accent and an Irish Spring soap commercial*), or 3) Your acquaintance will ask "Do you mean Gaelic?" (at which point you have to decide if you want to go into the whole, "yes, but no" song and dance or if it's just easier to sigh and say "yeah, sure...we'll just go with that").

Redwolf

* If you folks in Ireland ever wonder why Americans of a certain generation seem to expect someone to turn up at every Irish gathering with a bar of soap and a pocket knife, wonder no further: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVI7PW1Ylbo

Jasus, tis like looking in a mirror so it is.

You wouldn't want to know some of the incredible negative response ive got to learning Irish, which often become personal attacks. In the end I often just tell people im learning Irish to become a teacher.

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Bíonn rudaí maithe mall

Sure, by the seven skirts of Saint Gobnait, tisn't a hayt wrong with it as it is and it wouldn't be a lie it's tellin' but the truth.


Yeah, some of the responses one gets can be a bit strange.

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The dialect I use is Cork Irish.
Ar sgáth a chéile a mhairid na daoine, lag agus láidir, uasal is íseal

Where I live, most people think that I'm crazy for trying to learn this language – and they're probably right!

LOL!

On the upside, I have my choir trained (the church choir, that is!)! Last time somebody pulled out his horrible accent when I mentioned I was learning Irish, the entire choir said at once "It's a LANGUAGE!!!!!"

Redwolf