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UNIT 8THE 21ST CENTURY– WHICH LANGUAGES DO WE SPEAK?THE REVIVAL AND GROWTH OF IRISHBetween the time of the Plantation and the beginning of the 20th century, Irish almost died out completely in Ulster. This is because the royalty wanted to have English as the only language spoken in Ulster and all of Ireland.

Also, in the middle of the 19th century, Ireland suffered a terrible potato famine which killed over one million people. This led to over a million more people leaving Ireland to escape starvation and poverty.

Most of these people were from very poor Irish-speaking areas. At the time they believed that speaking English was essential for a life of prosperity. Therefore, it was no surprise that English became the dominant language in Ireland.

In the mid-19thcentury, people in the north and south of Ireland finally began a concentrated effort to try and revive the Irish language. Many

of these people were Presbyterians, including clergy who wanted people to read the Bible in their own language. This Irish revival spread, and there are many people in Ulster today who can speak Irish. Some parents choose to send their children to Irish-medium schools (Gaelscoileanna) where they can learn the whole curriculum through Irish. You can also see street names and shop signs in Irish in many parts of Ulster.

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Interior of an Irish family’s home during the Famine.

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ULSTER-SCOTSEven though Irish almost died out in Ulster and many Irish and Scottish Gaelic speakers left the area, they still had an influence on how people spoke.

Do you recognise any of these words?thon, wee, cowp, sleekit, dander, oxter

These are all Ulster-Scots words. Words like this have survived here for hundreds of years. When people from some parts of Ulster visit England or another English-speaking country, they are sometimes mistaken for Scottish people. This is because they sometimes sound Scottish to others and use so much Ulster-Scots vocabulary as part of their everyday speech.

Of course, some Ulster-Scots words originally come from Scotland. Some have come from Irish. Others have come from English and other languages. Maybe you use some of these words, or you know adults who use them.

Some people argue that Ulster-Scots is really a dialect of English. This is because many of the words are very similar to English. What is interesting is that people from Ulster speak so differently from people in other English-speaking regions and countries. For example, the English spoken in North Antrim is very different from the English spoken in South Africa or New Zealand.

Some politicians and linguists have refused to class Ulster-Scots as a language, but in 2006, politicians in Northern Ireland declared it an official language. Today schools in Ulster explore Ulster-Scots language and culture through their school curriculum and after-school clubs.

Here is a map which shows the parts ofUlster where Ulster-Scots is spoken.

Thon means ‘that’

Wee means ‘small’ or ‘little’

Cowp means‘to fall over’

Dander means ‘walk’

SUMMARY• Between the Plantation and the

end of the 19th century, Irish almost died out in Ulster.

• Two main reasons for this were the English rulers’ policy regarding Irish and the Potato Famine of 1845–48.

• Many of the people involved in reviving Irish in the 19th century were Presbyterians.

• Many people throughout Ulster speak Ulster-Scots.

• Ulster-Scots was recognised as an official language by the British and Irish governments in Ulster in 2006.

Sleekit means

‘sly’ or ‘crafty’

Oxter means ‘armpit’