View source for Languages of Ireland

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{More citations needed|date=September 2017}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Languages of
| country = Ireland
| main = [[English language in the Republic of Ireland|English]] (95%)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf|title=SPECIAL EUROBAROMETER 386 Europeans and their Languages|publisher=Ec.europa.eu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106183351/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf|archive-date=6 January 2016}}</ref><br />Irish (RoI: 39.8% claim some ability to speak Irish)<ref name="CSO_Ir">{{Cite web |title=Irish Language and the Gaeltacht – CSO – Central Statistics Office |url=https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cp10esil/p10esil/ilg/ |access-date=2023-01-29 |website=cso.ie}}</ref><br />[[Ulster Scots dialects|Ulster Scots]] (0.3%)<br />[[Shelta]]
| sign = [[Irish Sign Language]]<br />[[Northern Ireland Sign Language]]
| immigrant = [[Polish language|Polish]], French, German, [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], Spanish, Russian, [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]]
| keyboard = Irish or British [[QWERTY]]
| keyboard image = [[File:KB Windows Ireland.svg|200px]]
| source = [http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf ebs_243_en.pdf] ([[europa.eu]])
}}

There are a number of languages used in Ireland. Since the late 18th century, [[English language in the Republic of Ireland|English]] has been the predominant first language, displacing Irish. A large minority claims some ability to use Irish,<ref name="CSO_Ir"/> and it is the first language for a small percentage of the population.

In the [[Republic of Ireland]], under the [[Constitution of Ireland]], both languages have official status, with Irish being the national and first official language.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Book (eISB) |first=electronic Irish Statute |title=electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB) |url=https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/cons/en/html |access-date=2024-10-16 |website=www.irishstatutebook.ie |at=Art. 8 |language=en}}</ref>

In [[Northern Ireland]], English is the primary language for 95% of the population, and ''de facto'' official language, while Irish is recognised as an official language and [[Ulster Scots dialect|Ulster Scots]] is recognised as a minority language under the [[Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3168/stages|title=Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-63923308|title=Language and identity laws could spell significant change|publisher=BBC News |date=11 December 2022}}</ref>
{{Culture of Ireland}}

== Prehistoric languages ==
The first linguistic records in Ireland are [[Primitive Irish]] inscriptions written in the [[Ogham]] alphabet.  Scholars generally estimate that the earliest of these inscriptions were made in the fourth century CE.  Languages spoken in [[Iron Age Ireland]] before then are now irretrievable, although there are some claims of traces in Irish [[toponymy]].<ref>D. Ó Corrain, 'A future for Irish placenames', in: A. Ó Maolfabhail, ''The placenames of Ireland in the third millennium'', Ordnance Survey for the Place names Commission, Dublin (1992), p. 44.</ref>

== Modern languages ==
[[File:Catch and Release sign Ireland multiple languages.jpg|thumb|A [[catch and release]] sign in Ireland. As well as Ireland's official languages (English and Irish), it also displays other European languages (French, German, Swedish, Italian, Latvian, Czech, Polish, as well as transliterated Russian). However, perhaps reflecting Ireland's recent transition to multilingualism, many translations are imperfect and [[diacritics]] are mostly absent.]]

=== English ===
{{Main article|English language|Hiberno-English|Ulster English}}
[[Middle English]] was first introduced by the Cambro-Norman settlers in the 12th century. It did not initially take hold as a widely spoken language, as the Norman elite spoke [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]]. In time, many Norman settlers intermarried and assimilated to the [[Irish culture]]s and some even became "[[more Irish than the Irish themselves]]". Following the [[Tudor conquest of Ireland]] and the 1610–15 [[Ulster Plantation]], particularly in the old Pale, Elizabethan English became the language of court, justice, administration, business, trade and of the [[landed gentry]]. Monolingual Irish speakers were generally of the poorer and less educated classes with no land. Irish was accepted as a vernacular language, but then as now, fluency in English was an essential element for those who wanted social mobility and personal advancement. After the legislative Union of Great Britain and Ireland's succession of Irish Education Acts that sponsored the [[National school (Ireland)|Irish national schools]] and provided free public primary education, Hiberno-English replaced the Irish language. Since the 1850s, [[English medium education]] was promoted by both the UK administration and the Roman [[Catholic Church]]. This greatly assisted the waves of immigrants forced to seek new lives in the US and throughout the Empire after the Famine. Since then the various local Hiberno-English dialects comprise the vernacular language throughout the island.

The 2002 census found that 103,000 British citizens were living in the Republic of Ireland, along with 11,300 from the US and 8,900 from Nigeria, all of whom would speak other dialects of English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/threemon_printable.php?id=59|title=It's in the blood. The Citizenship referendum in Ireland|date=1 June 2004|website=Threemonkeysonline.com|access-date=10 September 2017}}</ref> The 2006 census listed 165,000 people from the UK, and 22,000 from the US.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/Final+Principal+Demographic+Results+2006.pdf|title=Census 2006: Principal Demographic Results|publisher=Government of Ireland|date=March 2007|access-date=10 September 2017|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325005303/http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/Final%20Principal%20Demographic%20Results%202006.pdf|archive-date=25 March 2009}}</ref> The 2016 census reported a decline in UK nationals to the 2002 level: 103,113.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpnin/cpnin/uk/|title=UK – CSO – Central Statistics Office}}</ref>

=== Irish ===
{{Main article|Irish language|List of Irish-language media|Gaelic revival}}
The original [[Primitive Irish]] was introduced by Celtic speakers. Primitive Irish gradually evolved into [[Old Irish]], spoken between the 5th and the 10th centuries, and then into [[Middle Irish]]. Middle Irish was spoken in Ireland, [[Scotland]], and the [[Isle of Man]] through the 12th century, when it began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, [[Scottish Gaelic]] in Scotland, and the [[Manx language]] in the Isle of Man. Today, Irish is recognized as the first official language of the [[Republic of Ireland]] and is officially recognized in the European Union. Communities that speak Irish as their first language, generally in sporadic regions on the island's west coast, are collectively called the [[Gaeltacht]].

In the 2016 Irish census, 8,068 census forms were completed in Irish, and just under 74,000 of the total (1.7%) said they spoke it daily. The total number of people who answered 'yes' to being able to speak Irish to some extent in April 2016 was 1,761,420, 39.8 percent of respondents.<ref name="CSO_Ir"/>

[[File:Irishroadsign.jpg|thumb|Bilingual road signs in Scariff, [[County Clare]]]] 
Although the use of Irish in educational and broadcasting contexts has increased notably with the 600 plus Irish-language primary/secondary schools and creches {{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}, English is still overwhelmingly dominant in almost all social, economic, and cultural contexts. In the media, there is an Irish-language TV station [[TG4]], [[Cúla 4]] a children's channel on satellite, 5 radio stations such as the national station [[RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta]], [[Raidió na Life]] in Dublin, as well as [[Raidió Fáilte]] in Belfast and a youth radio station [[Raidió Rí-Rá]]. There are also several newspapers, such as ''[[Tuairisc.ie]]'', ''Meon Eile'', ''Seachtain'' (a weekly supplement in the ''Irish Independent''), and several magazines including ''Comhar'', ''Feasta'', and ''An Timire''. There are also occasional columns written in Irish in English-language newspapers, including ''[[The Irish Times]]'', ''[[The Irish News]]'', ''[[The Irish Examiner]]'', ''[[Metro Éireann]]'', ''[[Irish Echo]]'', the ''[[Evening Echo]]'', and the ''[[Andersonstown News]]''. All of the 40 or so radio stations in the Republic have to have some weekly Irish-language programming to obtain their broadcasting license.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bci.ie/documents/2001act.pdf|date=14 October 2009|access-date=10 September 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091014221732/http://www.bci.ie/documents/2001act.pdf|archive-date=14 October 2009 |title=Broadcasting Act 2001}}</ref> Similarly, [[RTÉ]] runs ''Nuacht'', a news show, in Irish and ''Léargas'', a documentary show, in Irish with English subtitles. The [[Official Languages Act 2003]] gave many new rights to Irish citizens concerning the Irish language, including the use of Irish in court proceedings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/acts/2003/a3203.pdf |title=Official Languages Act 2003 |date=30 October 2003 |access-date=8 June 2011 |publisher=Oireachtas na hÉireann}}</ref> All [[Dáil]] debates are to be recorded in Irish also. In 2007, Irish became the 21st official language of the European Union.

=== Ulster Scots ===
{{Main article|Ulster Scots dialects}}
Ulster Scots, sometimes called [[Ullans]], is a dialect of [[Scots language|Scots]] spoken in some parts of [[County Donegal]] and [[Northern Ireland]]. It is promoted and supported by the [[Ulster Scots Agency]], a cross-border body. Its status as an independent language as opposed to a dialect of Scots has been debated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scots-online.org/articles/contents/awaeoo.pdf|title=Aw Ae Oo—Scots in Scotland and Ulster|website=Scots-online.org|access-date=10 September 2017|archive-date=1 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401082720/http://scots-online.org/articles/contents/awaeoo.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Shelta ===
{{Main article|Shelta|Irish Travellers}}
Shelta is a [[cant (language)|cant]], based upon both Irish and English, generally spoken by the [[Irish Traveller]] community. It is known as Gammon to Irish speakers and Shelta by the linguistic community. It is a mixture of English and Irish, with Irish being the lexifier language.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Pidgins, Creoles and Mixed Languages|last=Velupillai|first=Viveka|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|year=2015|isbn=978-90-272-5271-5|location=Amsterdam|pages=381}}</ref>

Shelta is a secret language, with a refusal by the Travellers to share with non-travellers, named "Buffers".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Pidgins, Creoles and Mixed Languages|last=Velupillai|first=Viveka|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|year=2015|isbn=978-90-272-5271-5|location=Amsterdam|pages=80}}</ref> When speaking Shelta in front of Buffers, Travellers will disguise the structure so as to make it seem like they aren't speaking Shelta at all.<ref>{{Cite book|title=(2015). Pidgins, Creoles and Mixed Languages|last=Velupillai|first=Viveka|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|year=2015|isbn=978-90-272-5271-5|location=Amsterdam|pages=80}}</ref> There is fear that if outsiders know the entirety of the language, it will be used to bring further discrimination to the Traveller community.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Irish Travellers: Culture and Ethnicity|last=Binchy|first=Alice|publisher=W & G Baird Ltd.|year=1994|isbn=0-85389-493-0|location=Belfast|pages=134}}</ref>

=== Sign languages ===
{{Main article|Irish Sign Language|Northern Ireland Sign Language}}
Irish Sign Language (ISL) is the sign language of most of Ireland. It has little relation to either spoken Irish or English, and is more closely related to [[French Sign Language]] (LSF).

[[Northern Ireland Sign Language]] is used in Northern Ireland, and is related to both ISL and BSL in various ways. ISL is also used in Northern Ireland.

===Immigrant languages===
[[File:YEAR OF THE MONKEY IN DUBLIN (CHINESE POETRY ON THE DART TO CELEBRATE THE NEW CHINESE YEAR)-111419 (24150636994).jpg|thumb|Recitation of [[Chinese poetry]] at [[Dublin Connolly railway station]] to celebrate [[Chinese New Year]]. There are over 15,000 Chinese-speakers in Ireland.]]
[[File:Polish shop dublin.jpg|thumb|Shop in Dublin selling [[Eastern European cuisine|Eastern European food]], with signage in Russian, [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Latvian language|Latvian]] and [[Polish language|Polish]].]]
With increased immigration into Ireland, there has been a substantial increase in the number of people speaking languages. The table below gives figures from the 2016 census of population usually resident and present in the state who speak a language other than English, Irish or a sign language at home.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://statbank.cso.ie/px/pxeirestat/Statire/SelectVarVal/Define.asp?Maintable=EY025&Planguage=0|title=Population Usually Resident and Present in the State who Speak a Language other than English or Irish at Home 2011 to 2016 by Birthplace, Language Spoken, Age Group and CensusYear}}</ref>
{{Columns-list |
*'''[[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]]'''
** Arabic 16,072
** [[Somali language|Somali]] 1,495 
*'''[[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]] (Mon–Khmer)'''
** [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] 1,260 
*'''[[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]]'''
** [[Filipino language|Filipino]] 8,305
** [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] 5,447
** [[Malay language|Malay]] 1,618
*'''[[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]]'''
** [[Malayalam]] 10,642
** [[Tamil language|Tamil]] 2,331
*'''[[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]'''
** [[Baltic languages|Baltic]]
*** [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] 35,362
*** [[Latvian language|Latvian]] 14,197
** [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
*** German 28,331
*** [[Dutch language|Dutch]] 5,156
*** [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]] 2,228 
*** [[Swedish language|Swedish]] 2,031 
**[[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
*** [[Urdu]] 13,230
*** [[Hindi]] 5,483
*** [[Bengali language|Bengali]] 4,302
*** [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] 2,169
**[[Romance languages|Romance]]
*** French 54,948
*** Spanish 32,405
*** [[Romanian language|Romanian]] 36,683
*** [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] 20,833
*** Italian 14,505
**[[Slavic languages|Slavic]]
***[[Polish language|Polish]] 135,895
*** Russian 21,707
*** [[Slovak language|Slovak]] 9,544
*** [[Czech language|Czech]] 5,380 
*** [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] 84,613
*** [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] 2,895
*** [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]] 1,196 
*** [[Croatian language|Croatian]] 5,176
**Other Indo-European
*** [[Albanian language|Albanian]] 2,133
*'''[[Japonic languages|Japonic]]'''
** Japanese 1,752
*'''[[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]]'''
** [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]] 8,639
** [[Igbo language|Igbo]] 3,623 
** [[Swahili language|Swahili]] 1,888 
** [[Shona language|Shona]] 991
*'''[[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]'''
** Chinese 17,584
*'''[[Tai–Kadai languages|Tai–Kadai]]'''
**[[Thai language|Thai]] 2,135
*'''[[Turkic languages|Turkic]]'''
**[[Turkish language|Turkish]] 2,047
*'''[[Uralic languages|Uralic]]'''
** [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] 9,905
** [[Estonian language|Estonian]] 1,148
*''Other Northern [[European languages]]'' 1,090
*''Other Southern [[European languages]]'' 857
*''Other Eastern [[European languages]]'' 1,137
*''Other [[Asian languages]]'' 4,465
*''Other [[African languages]]'' 4,342
*''Other languages'' 23,451
}}

== Extinct languages ==
None of these languages were spoken by a majority of the population, but are of historical interest, giving loan words to Irish and Hiberno-English.
[[File:CathachOfStColumba.jpg|thumb|The [[Cathach of St. Columba]], a 6th-century [[psalter]] in [[Vulgar Latin]], produced in Ireland.]]

=== Latin ===
[[Late Latin]] was introduced by the early Christians by c. 500. It remained a church language, but also was the official written language before and after the Norman conquest in 1171. [[Ecclesiastical Latin]] was used by the [[Roman Catholic]] church for services until the [[Second Vatican Council|Vatican II]] reforms in 1962–65. Latin is still used in a small number of churches in Dublin,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stkevinsdublin.ie|title=The Parish of St Kevin, Harrington Street – Archdiocese of Dublin|website=Stkevinsdublin.ie|access-date=10 September 2017}}</ref> Cork, [[Limerick]] and [[Stamullen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latinmassireland.com/mass-listings/|title=The Latin Mass Society of Ireland » Mass Listings|website=Latinmassireland.com|access-date=10 September 2017|archive-date=10 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910221434/http://www.latinmassireland.com/mass-listings/|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

=== Norman language ===
[[Normans|Norman]] settlers (especially their élite) introduced the [[Norman language|Norman]] or [[Anglo-Norman language]] during the [[Norman invasion of Ireland]] of 1169. From Norman derived [[Law French#Survivals in modern legal terminology|"Law French"]], a few words of which continue to be used today for certain legal purposes in both jurisdictions on the island.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

=== Yola ===
{{Main article|Forth and Bargy dialect}}
[[Yola language|Yola]] was a language which evolved from [[Middle English]], surviving in [[County Wexford]] up to the 19th century.

=== Fingallian ===
{{Main article|Fingallian}}
[[Fingallian]] was similar to Yola but spoken in [[Fingal]] up until the mid-19th century.

=== Hiberno-Yiddish ===
{{Main article|Yiddish}}
Hiberno-Yiddish was spoken by Irish Jews until recently,{{when|date=March 2024}} when most switched to English. It was based on Lithuanian Yiddish.

== Language education ==
=== Republic of Ireland ===
In primary schools, most pupils are taught to speak, read and write in Irish and English. The vast majority of schools teach through English, although a growing number of ''[[gaelscoil]]'' teach through Irish. Most students at second level choose to study English as an [[first language|L1 language]] and Irish and other Continental European languages as [[foreign language|L2 languages]]. Irish is not offered as an L1 language by the Department of Education. Prof. David Little (November 2003) said that there was an urgent need to introduce an L1 Irish Gaelic Curriculum. He quoted from a report by An Bord Curaclaim agus Scrúduithe (The Curriculum and Examinations Board) Report of the Board of Studies for Languages, Dublin 1987: "It must be stressed … that the needs of Irish as L1 at post-primary level have been totally ignored, as at present there is no recognition in terms of curriculum and syllabus of any linguistic differences between learners of Irish as L1 and L2.".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncca.ie/uploadedfiles/Publications/Plecaipeis.pdf|title=TEANGACHA SA CHURACLAM IAR-BHUNOIDEACHAIS : plécháipéis : Samhain 2003|website=Ncca.ie|access-date=10 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025040605/http://www.ncca.ie/uploadedfiles/Publications/Plecaipeis.pdf|archive-date=25 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Continental European languages available for the [[Junior Certificate]] and the [[Irish Leaving Certificate|Leaving Certificate]] include French, German, Italian and Spanish; Leaving Certificate students can also study Arabic, Japanese and Russian. Some schools also offer [[Ancient Greek]], [[Hebrew language|Hebrew Studies]] and [[Latin]] at second level.

Students who did not immigrate to Ireland before the age of ten may receive an exemption from learning Irish. Pupils with learning difficulties can also seek exemption. A recent study has revealed that over half of those pupils who got exemption from studying Irish went on to study a Continental European language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/irish-language-optouts-soar-1306997.html|title=Irish language opt-outs soar|website=Irish Independent|access-date=10 September 2017}}</ref>
The following is a list of foreign languages taken at Leaving Certificate level in 2007, followed by the number as a percentage of all students taking Mathematics for comparison (mathematics is a mandatory subject).<!-- Using maths, because I can't find total candidate number --><ref>[http://www.examinations.ie/statistics/statistics_2007/LC_2007_breakdownResults_10_or_More.pdf Results of Exams in 2007] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071119132545/http://examinations.ie/statistics/statistics_2007/LC_2007_breakdownResults_10_or_More.pdf |date=19 November 2007 }} Using mathematics as comparison, as its examination is near-universal at some level and had the largest number of candidates in 2007.</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Language
! Higher Level
! Ordinary Level
! Total candidates
! % of Maths
|-
| [[English language|L1 English]]
| 31,078
| 17,277
| 48,355
| 98.79%
|-
|-
| [[Irish language|L2 Irish]]
| 13,831
| 25,662
| 44,018
| 89.94%
|-
|-
| [[French language|L2 French]]
| 13,770
| 14,035
| 27,805
| 56.695%
|-
| [[German language|L2 German]]
| 4,554
| 2,985
| 7,539
| 15.372%
|-
| [[Spanish language|L2 Spanish]]
| 1,533
| 1,127
| 2,660
| 5.424%
|-
| [[Italian language|L2 Italian]]
| 140
| 84
| 224
| 0.457%
|-
| [[Latin]]
| 111
|
| 111
| 0.226%
|-
| [[Japanese language|L2 Japanese]]
| 90
|
| 90
| 0.184%
|-
| [[Arabic|L2 Arabic]]
| 117
| 13
| 130
| 0.265%
|-
| [[Russian language|L2 Russian]]
| 181
|
| 181
| 0.369%
|-
| [[Latvian language|L2 Latvian]]
| 32
|
| 32
| 0.065%
|-
| [[Lithuanian language|L2 Lithuanian]]
| 61
|
| 61
| 0.125%
|-
| [[Dutch language|L2 Dutch]]
| 16
|
| 16
| 0.033%
|-
| [[Portuguese language|L2 Portuguese]]
| 27
|
| 27
| 0.055%
|-
| [[Polish language|L2 Polish]]
| 53
|
| 53
| 0.108%
|-
| [[Romanian language|L2 Romanian]]
| 25
|
| 25
| 0.051%
|}

===Northern Ireland===
{{main|Languages of Northern Ireland|Irish language in Northern Ireland|Ulster Irish}}
{{further|Languages of the United Kingdom#Northern Ireland}}
The predominant language in the education system in [[Northern Ireland]] is English, with Irish-medium schools teaching exclusively in the [[Irish language]]. The [[ULTACH Trust]] coordinates the promotion of Irish in English-medium schools. In the GCSE and A Level qualification, Irish is the 3rd most chosen modern language in Northern Ireland, and in the top ten in the UK. Intakes in GCSE Irish and A Level Irish are increasing, and the usage of the language is also increasing.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130525115907/http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/documents/census2011pdr/Pdf%208%20Tables.pdf Census 2011-Irish language frequency (p6)]

{{Languages of Ireland}}
{{Ireland topics|expanded=Culture}}
{{Languages of Europe}}
{{Minority languages of Europe}}

[[Category:Languages of Ireland| ]]
[[Category:Culture of Ireland]]