Beginner's Irish (Book + CD)

By Gabriel Rosenstock

Book Overview

The Irish language, also known as Irish Gaelic or Gaeilge, is spoken today by approximately a million people worldwide. It is also the basis of the Irish literary tradition, which is the oldest in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078181099X
• ISBN13: 9780781810999
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books
• Length: 146 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.5" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Start your 1000 mile journey through Irish here

I cannot parse the intricacies of grammar or usage to nit-pick as some Irish speakers might be able to do--a habit that intimidates those of us less fluent. This book, however, is for the latter category. As a refresher or a starter, this whets your appetite not by plunging you into the usual "Dia dhuit" conversation but a gradual grazing and nibbling about. Instead, the long history of this language--the oldest vernacular outside of Greek and Latin surviving in Europe--a look at male and female names, and the role of the language among tourists and in Ireland allows the reader to get a feel for the contexts within which today's learner will progress.Rosenstock, of German-Irish parentage by the way, is a noted poet, critic, editor and translator. His wit and enthusiasm make this an ideal starting-point for not only those who wish to learn Irish but those curious about how the language works, what its grammar and vocabulary look like, how simple conversations might go, and what its proverbs and colloquialisms reveal about the native Irish character.Rather than dive into another twenty-lesson textbook like Michael O Siadhail's admirable but daunting "Learning Irish," my advice is to begin here, see if you like the language, and then go on to the more linguistically oriented tapes and series. This also accounts for the demotion of a star. Perhaps to appeal to the widest audience, almost no phonetic equivalents for the sounds of the Irish alphabet are given, since Scots, Aussies, ESL readers, and Americans might all say the sounds differently. Too often, Irish texts assume a learner with a standard English (as in the south-of-Britain version) dialect/accent. This avoidance, while admirable on one hand, detracts from a learner's "ear," necessary for anybody needing to get a grasp of the peculiarities of Irish pronunciation. Still, you can read and get a feel for the layout and mentality of the language here and gain a valuable foundation upon which to later sound out...Adh mór/good luck!