The country's constitution proclaimed Irish and English as the state languages of Ireland, and both of them are also the official languages of the European Union. Irish, along with Scottish and Manx, belongs to the Celtic languages and is spoken by about one and a half million people in the country.
Some statistics and facts
- More than 94% of the population can speak English in Ireland.
- The most common informal language in Ireland is French. Every fifth Irishman will be able to talk to you on it.
- More than a third of its inhabitants speak foreign languages in Ireland.
- Most Irish people use English more often in everyday life and everyday communication.
- Irish is also common in the United States and Canada in areas of compact residence of ethnic Irish.
History and modernity
Modern Irish originates from the language of the Goidel tribes who inhabited the country as early as the 4th century AD. The Christianization of Ireland introduced into the language many borrowings from Latin, and then the Latin alphabet as an alphabet to replace the Gaelic script. Old Irish was also influenced by the Scandinavian languages spread by the Vikings - navigators and pioneers.
The English conquest of the country brought borrowings from English and Norman-French to the native language of the Irish. Today, the number of people who are fluent in Irish and use it in everyday communication is steadily declining. Most of the speakers are concentrated in rural areas in the western part of the island.
The ancient roots of one of the official languages of Ireland can be traced in the names of local residents. Their surnames often contain the prefixes Mac and O ', such as O'Brien or McCarthy.
Tourist notes
A traveler who speaks English will have no problem communicating in Ireland. One of the state languages of the country is spoken by the absolute majority of its inhabitants, road signs have been completed, TV programs and newspapers are published, city maps are published. Tours to all famous Irish attractions are accompanied by guides who speak not only English, but also many other European languages.
