A History of the Irish Language: From the Norman Invasion to Independence

by Aidan Doyle

In this book, Aidan Doyle traces the history of the Irish language from the time of the Norman invasion at the end of the 12th century to independence in 1922, combining political, cultural, and linguistic history. The book is divided into seven main chapters that focus on a specific period in the history of the language; they each begin with a discussion of the external history and position of the Irish language in the period, before moving on to investigate the important internal changes that took place at that time. A History of the Irish Language makes available for the first time material that has previously been inaccessible to students and scholars who cannot read Irish, and will be a valuable resource not only for undergraduate students of the language, but for all those interested in Irish history and culture.

Genres: History, Ireland, Irish Literature, Language, Linguistics, Nonfiction

Unknown Binding

First published August 11, 2015

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

I Finished this book with a feeling of having been 'had'. This is a 'revisionist' version of the history of the Irish language masquerading as a 'balanced' account. Doyle ontologically gerrymanders himself breathless in order to attempt to lead the reader into supporting his notion that the Irish language is some crappy thing that should just die. Sadly I have come to believe the Irish language will probably die out, but that, crucially, is because of the social forces against it, not least (though not exclusively) the sort of colonial-cringing, 'revisionist' attitudes of people like Doyle. I found out that he has a high level position in a university department of Irish language, which I have to say shocked me. It's rather a 'fox in charge of henhouse' scenario. Inevitably, he shows no self-awareness of having a specific ideological position, setting himself up as some sort of neutral observer, which he most definitely is not. It's times like this that I wish, fervently, that anyone writing about Irish language, history, or culture were required to undertake written exercises of reflection in their works (as espoused in feminist academic methodology in all fields), and made to read Donna Haraway's paper on partial, situated knowledges, and feminist critiques of claims to neutrality and objectivity. It would solve a lot of problems rampant in the field. Doyle also manages to be self-contradictory throughout the book, as opposed to carefully arguing with nuance. This becomes a very depressing read for anyone trying to understand the nuanced history of the Irish language, but especially within the context of Ireland's history of being colonised. Facing that history is something at the moment that is unlikely to happen. It's become something, culturally, that is being brushed under a carpet.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is pretty much everything you would want in a history of a language. Although it has a textbook format, it readable and enjoyable. I have no training in linguistics, yet I still enjoyed the book as it avoided getting bogged down in jargon. There was a good balance between the "external" factors such as the socio-political history and the "internal" such as the evolution of the vocabulary.

The author takes an honest and critical approach, not being afraid to debunk myths and overly-romantic notions, yet giving praise where praise is due. There is an excellent discussion of the language revival movement, with both its strengths and weaknesses.

[Juan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admittedly I have an interest in linguistics, so this book satisfies my interest in etymology, phonetics and language learning. However, it is also helpful in untangling modern Irish attitudes to their own language, republican ideals , and the uneasy relationship to culture. The book starts with establishing a common base of linguistic vocabulary and assumptions and quickly introduces us to the major historical events that influenced the development of Irish from dominant to dying language. Towards the end, you get a satisfying explanation of how the language became so politicised and why it remains a burning subject of political identity in Ireland. It is a must for any foreigner living in Ireland who would like to understand the Irish better, any Irish person who may need to brush up on their history, any person interested in Celtic languages or the timeline if dying languages, etc.

[James (The Serial Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Diarmuid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its unsentimental approach is refreshing. Cuts through romantic notions and lets us see things more clearly. Highly recommend.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is only for people who have studied some Irish - I say that because that is who will care about a lot of the details. Having said that - this is a bracingly unsentimental and fascinating account of the changes in the status of the Irish language from 1200 to 1922. Having studied Irish myself in the 1990s I am familiar with a lot of the rhetoric of the Gaelic League and some of the literature Doyle mentions. The context of the long view taken here sheds some new light. For example, because native Irish speakers in the 19th century were mostly still an oral illiterate culture, the promotion of Irish learning around the turn of the century in fact left out the remaining speakers and made modern Irish a language for learners. The romantic Victorian purism of early 20th century language promoters only added to this. His example is the word bicycle - if you were a native speaker residing in Dun Chaoin in 1900 and need a word for this thing, you just took the word bicycle and went on. The made up word "rothar" that Gaelic League trippers brought with them would have meant nothing to you.
The role of the Church is of course not always helpful. Because the first person who translated the Bible into Irish happened to be an Anglican, the Church actually actively discouraged Catholics from reading the Bible in Irish.
His final remarks about the future of Irish in a multicultural modern Ireland were also thought provoking - is Irish a sign of ethnic pride available only to ethnically Irish people or can it be a sign of national pride learned by all citizens no matter their origin?
(I took off one star for his somewhat dismissive comments on An tOileánach - I don't think you can judge those memoirs of native speakers, transcribed from conversation, by the standards of literature.)

[Sean Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covered a span of time from the Norman Invasion to Irish independence. My interest was primarily linguistic. In particular, I was keen on the language frontier between primarily native speaking population and the growing use of English. For that, there was a great deal of information about not only how the daily usage of Irish evolved but also the attitudes. Later sections of the book covered the rise of the Gaelic League and language revival, which I was familiar with already.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid overview of the evolution of the language from its earliest traceable origins. Doyle is evenhanded, looking both at the impact of foreign invaders as well as times when a different approach from Irish people might have led to better outcomes. Hindsight 20/20 on the latter, of course. This provided me some useful context as a learner and I was pleasantly surprised by the expansive and inclusive tone of the conclusion.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Irish is the national language of Ireland and has been a required subject in Irish schools since 1922. And yet the reality today is that there are only about 72,000 individuals who actually speak Irish on a daily basis. A History of the Irish Language from the Norman Invasion to Independence traces the history and development of this fascinating Celtic language. The book explains how the Irish language was nearly lost to English and how it has started to bounce back due to the efforts of the Gaelic League and the Irish Revival.

Irish was for a long time spoken mostly by poor and illiterate peasants in the Gaeltacht regions. The Irish Revival starting in 1922 has made efforts to bring the language back from near extinction, associating it with Irish national identity.

The Irish language is roughly divided into three dialects: Ulster dialect, Connacht dialect and Munster dialect. With the rise of technology, there are more and more resources for learning Irish available today. For example, TG4 the Irish public service TV channel with content in Gaeilge (Irish), available for free over the Internet, as well as online dictionaries and language courses.

The author of the book Aidan Doyle is a professor of Irish at the University of College Cork. He did not grow up speaking Irish and later learned it in an academic atmosphere. Irish is seen by some as playing more of a symbolic role of Irish identity rather than a purely communicative role.

The book talks about the different periods of the language, such as Old Irish (600 to 900 AD), Middle Irish (900-1200), Early Middle Irish (1200-1600) up to Modern Irish (1600-present). The book presents a lot of information about the historical context and events happening in Ireland during these periods.

I have started studying Irish on my own and found this book to be very interesting.

[Lucy Cummin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doyle gives the evolution of the Irish language from around 1100 to the present, the period known as Early Modern Irish (EMI) to to the present, Late Modern Irish. Old Irish was already part of the past by the time of the Norman Invasion, which extended into Ireland. The cultural upheavals post-Roman Empire brought in new people with new words and forms. From 1600 to the present Irish has been shrinking as a native tongue, but surviving in a way that is nearly unique (although I think some native american languages as well as Scots Gaelic are undergoing a similar process). The language is taught through high school, many people choose to continue studying in Irish, but they are equally fluent (if not more so) in English. Many (including yours truly) now learn the language for all sorts of reasons, not aiming for true fluency, but because they find it a beautiful and rewarding language or perhaps as a statement of solidarity with Irishness, or to help them understand the songs if they are traditional musicians, or all of these reasons. Doyle traces the changes, in both the language and attitudes and raises the question of whether Irish as it is spoken and read now is yet a living language. Many of my questions were answered -- such as Why the spelling??? (Answer: It's complicated but makes a lot of sense). A good informative but not easy read for serious Irish language learners. ****

[Patrick Ó Déaghain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Aidan Doyle's book is not only illuminating when it comes to the morphology, orthography and syntax of Middle, Early Modern and Modern Irish, but linguistics in general. It also contains many fascinating tidbits.

As the author says himself "...this book is by no means the final word on this subject...". I'd bear that in mind when reading it because it's hard not to notice an underlying antagonism towards the Irish language and modern Irish language speakers in parts of the book.

It might be worth listening to his interview on the YouTube Channel "The Langauge Question" to get an insight into this opinions.

He himself is not in favour of reviving Irish.

[Corey Rigley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thorough history of the Irish language. It goes into detail on demographics, the impact of significant political movements on the language, the slow gradual process of decline, and it has a lot of detail on the linguistics of the language, which is interesting but a little heavy at times. I enjoyed this book, but I'd only recommend it to someone very passionate about the language. It's a niche book.

[Piper Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very useful source and exciting read. As a linguist, I'm glad to have this on my shelf