Munster Irish (endonym: Gaelainn na Mumhan, Standard Irish: Gaeilge na Mumhan) is the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the province of Munster. Gaeltacht regions in Munster are found in the Gaeltachtaí of the Dingle Peninsula in west County Kerry, in the Iveragh Peninsula in south Kerry, in Cape Clear Island off the coast of west County Cork, in Muskerry West; Cúil Aodha, Ballingeary, Ballyvourney, Kilnamartyra, and Renaree of central County Cork; and in an Rinn and an Sean Phobal in Gaeltacht na nDéise in west County Waterford.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Munster Irish in the context of History of the Irish language
The history of the Irish language begins with the period from the arrival of speakers of Celtic languages in Ireland to Ireland's earliest known form of Irish, Primitive Irish, which is found in Ogham inscriptions dating from the 3rd or 4th century AD. After the conversion to Christianity in the 5th century, Old Irish begins to appear as glosses and other marginalia in manuscripts written in Latin, beginning in the 6th century. It evolved in the 10th century to Middle Irish. Early Modern Irish represented a transition between Middle and Modern Irish. Its literary form, Classical Gaelic, was used by writers in both Ireland and Scotland until the 18th century, in the course of which slowly but surely writers began writing in the vernacular dialects, Ulster Irish, Connacht Irish, Munster Irish and Scottish Gaelic. As the number of hereditary poets and scribes dwindled under British rule in the early 19th century, Irish became a mostly spoken tongue with little written literature appearing in the language until the Gaelic Revival of the late 19th century. The number of speakers was also declining in this period with monoglot and bilingual speakers of Irish increasingly adopting only English: while Irish never died out, by the time of the Revival it was largely confined to the less Anglicised regions of the island, which were often also the more rural and remote areas. In the 20th and 21st centuries, Irish has continued to survive in Gaeltacht regions and among a minority in other regions. It has once again come to be considered an important part of the island's culture and heritage, with efforts being made to preserve and promote it.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Munster Irish
- 👉 Munster Irish in the context of History of the Irish language
- Munster Irish in the context of Standard Irish
- Munster Irish in the context of Irish orthography
- Munster Irish in the context of An Caighdean Oifigiuil
- Munster Irish in the context of Irish language in Newfoundland
Munster Irish in the context of Standard Irish
An Caighdeán Oifigiúil ([ənˠˌkəidʲaːn̪ˠ ˈɛfʲɪɟuːlʲ], "The Official Standard"), often shortened to An Caighdeán, is the variety of the Irish language that is used as the standard or state norm for the spelling and the grammar of the language and is used in official publications and taught in most schools in the Republic of Ireland. The standard is based on the three Gaeltacht dialects: Connacht Irish, Munster Irish and Ulster Irish. In Northern Ireland and County Donegal, the Ulster dialect (Gaedhilg Uladh) is used extensively alongside the standard form as the spoken language in primary and secondary schools.
It was first published in 1958 by combining spelling reforms, which were promulgated in 1945 to 1947, with grammar standards, which were published in 1953. Revised editions were published in 2012 and 2017. Since 2013, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, through the translation department, has been responsible for periodic updates to the standard, with reviews at least once every seven years.
Munster Irish in the context of Irish orthography
Irish orthography is the set of conventions used to write the Irish language. A spelling reform in the mid-20th century led to An Caighdeán Oifigiúil, the modern standard written form used by the Government of Ireland, which regulates both spelling and grammar. The reform removed inter-dialectal silent letters, simplified some letter sequences, and modernised archaic spellings to reflect modern pronunciation, but it also removed letters pronounced in some dialects but not in others.
Irish spelling represents all Irish dialects to a high degree despite their considerable phonological variation, e.g. crann ("tree") is read /kɾˠan̪ˠ/ in Mayo and Ulster, /kɾˠaːn̪ˠ/ in Galway, or /kɾˠəun̪ˠ/ in Munster. Some words may have dialectal pronunciations not reflected by their standard spelling, and they sometimes have distinct dialectal spellings to reflect this.
Munster Irish in the context of An Caighdean Oifigiuil
An Caighdeán Oifigiúil ([ənˠˌkəidʲaːn̪ˠ ˈɛfʲɪɟuːlʲ], "The Official Standard"), often shortened to An Caighdeán, is the variety of the Irish language that is used as the standard or state norm for the spelling and the grammar of the language. It is used in official publications, and is and taught in most schools in the Republic of Ireland. The standard is based on the three Gaeltacht dialects: Connacht Irish, Munster Irish and Ulster Irish. In Northern Ireland and County Donegal, the Ulster dialect, (Gaedhilg Uladh) is used extensively alongside the standard form in primary and secondary schools.
The Caighdeán Oifigiúil was first published in 1958 by combining spelling reforms--which were promulgated in 1945 to 1947--with grammar standards, which were published in 1953. Revised editions were published in 2012 and 2017. Since 2013, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, through the translation department, has been responsible for periodic updates to the standard, with reviews at least once every seven years.
Munster Irish in the context of Irish language in Newfoundland
The Irish language was once spoken by some immigrants to the island of Newfoundland before it disappeared in the early 20th century. The language was introduced through mass immigration by Irish speakers, chiefly from counties Waterford, Tipperary and Cork. Local place names in the Irish language include Newfoundland (Irish: Talamh an Éisc; 'Land of the Fish'), St. John's (Baile Sheáin), Ballyhack (Baile Hac), Cappahayden (Ceapach Éidín), Kilbride and St. Bride's (Cill Bhríde), Duntara, Port Kirwan and Skibbereen (Scibirín). The dialect of Irish spoken in Newfoundland is said to resemble the Munster Irish of the 18th century. While the distinct local dialect is now considered extinct, the Irish language is still taught locally and the Gaelic revival organization Conradh na Gaeilge remains active in the province.