Hi,

I'm interested in giving Irish a good go in the near future, but I am not entirely sure which dialect to focus on. I have read that Ulster Irish is somewhat more distinct from the other major dialects, so my concern is that to be able to communicate with all Irish people, the effort would essentially be that of learning multiple languages. Would other Irish speakers be able to understand an Ulster speaker? Alternatively, would I be able to communicate with an Ulster speaker if I learned standard Irish (or whatever the most common spoken dialect is)? I have close relatives in Arranmore, off the coast of Donegal (I'm half-Irish, half-Scottish, living in Scotland), and I'd love to learn the language to some degree and be able to surprise them when I eventually visit again. But I'd love to be able to apply the language further afterwards.

Sorry for the wordy message - I can ramble a bit! My final question/request regarding Ulster Irish: Are there any good sources of material dedicated specifically to Ulster Irish which would help me avoid confusion of dialects? I have read some material, all of which seems to mention the Connacht dialect, or make no readily apparent distinction in dialects, and I don't want to get myself confused in learning! :P

Thanks in advance!

Bottom line? Don't worry about the dialect.

I was in Ireland this past summer, and had no difficulty communicating with people in Connacht and Munster, even though my primary focus has been Ulster. All languages have dialects (think the English spoken in Texas vs. the English spoken in New York or Sydney or London)...speaking one won't prevent you from communicating with the others.

Redwolf

Like Redwolf said it doesn't matter what dialect of Irish you speak we all understand each other.

But because of your Scottish connections I would recommend Donegal/Ulster dialect for you as it is closer to Scots Gaelic than the others. Some of the words and the sounds may already be familiar to you if you already have some Scots Gaelic yourself.

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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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Yeah, I always speak Donegal Irish myself, and I never had any problem getting myself understood, even by people from Munster, Cork, Connemara and Mayo. So you can choose any dialect - being understood is not a criterion since we all understand each other

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Sweet, this is a relief! I was worried because I heard the difference between Irish dialects is notably more significant than that of accents in English. I'll get to hunting out Ulster Irish material. Thanks for the help!

Oh Lord...not at all! English dialects (which are much more than just "accents") can be pretty diverse.

It does help to know some of the features of the three main Irish dialects...that way if you're speaking to someone from, say, Cork, you can quickly identify him as a Munster speaker, which helps you tune your ear accordingly.

Redwolf

Don't get me wrong, I know they can be diverse. The dialects here in Scotland can be tough to penetrate for many other English speakers, and I know that's nothing compared to others yet. I visited my American relatives this summer in Illinois and really had to *think* about how to speak (despite the way I type, my casual speech subconsciously comes through laden with Scots influences!) so that I could be understood in all but the most basic of phrases! :P Got a lot of the ever-so-funny smiling and nodding from my own cousins.

I was just under the apparently-misled belief that Irish dialects were another story entirely!

Not wishing to put a fly in the ointment at all, but....

It may take a little time to become accustomed to the sounds of the different dialects. My experience is that non-Ulster Irish speakers find Ulster Irish to be the most difficult to adjust to. To put it mildly, Ulster Irish scared the bejaysus out of me for ages! The others who have answered you already on this thread are all well experienced with the language and so are very comfortable with all dialects.

At the earlier stages of learning, there are differences which seem bigger than they are in reality. TG4 and Raidio na Gaeltachta have made it much easier for people to hear all dialects regularly. Welcome aboard!

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That's surprising, because the grammar rules in Ulster Irish are much simpler.

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賢いふくろぐま
Seans Eile - free software to help you practice your Irish
Scéala na Wombait - Muddle-headed Memes and Musings

I think it may be simply the accent that catches people.

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