Irish

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A language of Ireland

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

1,171,000 in Ireland, all users. L1 users: 141,000 in Ireland (European Commission 2012). L2 users: 1,030,000 (European Commission 2012). Total users in all countries: 1,200,290 (as L1: 170,290; as L2: 1,030,000).

Location

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

Language Maps
Language Status

6b (Threatened). Statutory language of national identity (1937, Constitution, Article 8(1)).

Classification
Indo-European, Celtic, Insular, Goidelic
Dialects

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

Typology

VSO; inflected 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

Some young people, all adults. 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. Texts. Bible: 1690–1981.

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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