Emmett McIntyre's blog

According to the Endangered Languages Network (ELN) the Celtic language of Brittany is a severely endangered language due to decades of suppression at the hands of the French educational system. Today the number of Breton speakers is roughly 210,000, although estimates vary: “Historical suppression of the Breton language at the hands of Paris has been was extreme to the point that parents were not allowed to name their children with Breton names until 1993. “

Success of Scots Gaelic Medium Education - Bòrd na Gàidhlig Lays Plans for Expansion of Secondary Gaelic Medium Schooling – Investment in Gaelic Cultural Centre in Hebrides

Irish Gaelic is a language that is “threatened” according to most linguists.  Ethnologue, the web page which specializes in monitoring the status of the world’s languages, breaks down the Irish speakers into two groups. There are the native speakers whose first language is Irish (141,000) and those speakers who learn the language in school (1,620,000).

Irish Languague News:

Irish Gaelic is a language that is “threatened” according to most linguists.  However, the numbers don’t seem to support that conclusion at first glance. In 2016 the Irish Government’s Central Statistics Office estimated that 1,761,420 Irishmen over the age of 3 could speak Gaelic, statistically a scant change from the 2011.

Cornish is a language that is “reawakening” according to most linguists.  The web page Ethnologue, which specializes in monitoring the status of the world’s languages, describes the current state of Cornish as follows: “Taught in some schools and used in periodicals with a current dictionary and grammar rules. There is also a Cornish language bible released in 2017. Religious services are held in Cornish with evening classes, correspondence courses, summer camps, children’s play groups, residential courses, and self-help groups.

Gwenno Saundres is a Welsh musician who released a Cornish Language album Le Kov (A Place of Memeory) in 2018. The impact was electrifying. The impact of the album on interest in the Cornish tongue has been widely acclaimed.  The Gorsedh Kernow went so far as to attribute the album’s release to the jump in the number of students sitting for the Cornish language certification exam, which in 2018 saw a record number of students certified in Cornish.

News from the Gaelic League:

An Coimisinéar Teanga (Language Commisioner) has published an Annual Report which finds that RTÉ is not fulfilling its statutory obligations under the Broadcasting Act 2009 by failing to provide a comprehensive range of television programming in Irish. 

President of Conradh na Gaeilge Dr. Niall Comer said;

The most widely spoken of the Celtic languages, Welsh is arguably the most secure with the brightest future. The Welsh language is integral to Wales’ culture and society. It is the only language that is de jure official in any part of the United Kingdom (with English being de facto official). It is estimated that 25% of the Welsh population now speak the language, with roughly 15% speaking Welsh daily as their first language of choice.”  Brown UCCF (Welsh Language Society)

Grŵp ar gyfer cefnogwyr pêl-droed Cymru sy’n cefnogi annibyniaeth i Gymru. (A group for Welsh fans that support Independence for our Nation and our team) - FaceBook Page of Welsh Football Fans For Independence

Hundreds of football fans took to the streets of Cardiff last week demanding independence for Wales. The demonstration in the nation’s capital was spearheaded by the group " Welsh Football Fans For Independence".