So do you think English is an easier language to learn than Irish?

_________________

I think it depends on your motivation and on what language you prefer.
I speak Irish more easily than English and I think I made less mistakes in Irish than in English, that's simply because I love Irish and I want to speak it as correctly as possible, while with English I don't care too much if I make some mistakes. And I find Irish easier to pronounce, but that is because my mouth is more used to it
English is more complicated than Irish in some regards, for instance for its tense system.

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

Is that because of the (fairly common) French dislike for the English Lughaidh?


Ceist eile agam oraibh -
In the 2nd declension, for the word 'súil', why is the tuiseal ginideach uimhir iolra 'súl' instead of 'súile'?
I know you broaden the last consonant when it's slender but I thought that was just for weak plurals? 'súile' is a strong plural, isn't it?

I think that _is_ the weak plural for f2 nouns. This is how I used to write out my declensions until they sunk in:

súil (f)
an tsúil
na súile

na súile
na súl

(Grammar check please )

_________________
Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

But why have a weak plural for the genitive? The nominative plural is strong, so the genitive plural should be the same as it?
Is it just that 'súil' doesn't follow the

weak plural - genitive plural = nominative singular
strong plural - genitive plural = nominative plural

rule?

I don't know if I can answer the question satisfactorily and I certainly don't know the history of the word (i.e. I really have no idea of Sean-Ghaeilge or even Meán-Ghaeilge) but súil is not alone in the way it changes. Dúil is similar, as is glúin. Namhaid could be included too (it has namhad as a variant genitive plural).

I treat these words as exceptions and I don't let them get in the way of my understanding as to what weak plurals are. Normally I say that weak plurals are those nouns that are made plural by (i) becoming slender or (ii) adding -a

Examples: cait, boird, taoisigh / lámha, cosa, bróga, leabharlanna

The genitive plural has the same form as the singular.

This can't be said about súil, however by virtue of the fact that it changes in the genitive plural, then it can be said to be a weak plural. Strong plurals don't change form in the genitive - this, I think, is the real definition of a strong plural.