Irish

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A language of Ireland

ISO 639-3
gle
Alternate Names
Erse, Gaelic Irish, Irish Gaelic
Autonym
Gaeilge
Population

1,138,000 in Ireland, all users. L1 users: 138,000 (European Commission 2012). L2 users: 1,000,000 (European Commission 2012). Total users in all countries: 1,167,940 (as L1: 167,940; as L2: 1,000,000).

Location

Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, part of Mayo, Meath, and Waterford counties. Western isles northwest and southwest coasts.

Language Maps
Language Status

3 (Wider communication). Statutory language of national identity (1937, Constitution, Article 8(1)). Widely used as L2 in all parts of the country (Salminen 2007).

Classification
Indo-European, Celtic, Insular, Goidelic
Dialects

Munster-Leinster (Southern Irish), Connacht (Western Irish), Donegal (Northern Irish, Ulster).

Typology

VSO; prepositions; noun head initial; gender (masculine/feminine); definite article; case-marking (3 cases); verb affixes mark person, number; tense and aspect; comparatives; 32 consonants, 11 vowels, 4 diphthongs; non-tonal; stress on first syllable; initial consonant mutation.

Language Use

A number of children learn the language but the number is decreasing (Salminen 2007). Also use English [eng] (Salminen 2007).

Language Development
Radio. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1685–1981.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Irish
Writing

Latin script [Latn]. Latin script, Gaelic variant [Latg]. Ogham script [Ogam], no longer in use.

Other Comments

Taught as an official language in schools and encouraged by the government.

Also spoken in:

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