baeris wrote:
Are you saying that this word just isn't used in speech then?
Forbairt to mean "development" does not have a long history to it. Before the 20th century, almost every instance of the cognate verb attested is in the phrase "d'fhás agus d'fhorbair", "grew and increased". It has been adapted in the modern period to mean "to develop" with the verbal noun meaning "development". And yes, to the extent that the word is heard in the media, people will know what it means, but it is not a Gaeltacht word as such (other than the fact that all CO words will have at least some recognition in the Gaeltacht from those exposed to the media). Looking on Youtube, there is "Forbairt Bhóthair N22, Bhaile Bhuirne go Maigh Chromtha". It is to a certain extent natural that new words are required in all languages in the modern period (but many of them are mainly used by L2 speaker). To develop the language = an teanga a shaothrú. N22 road project could be tiúscadal Bhóthar N22.