Am Learning about different Languages – including Gaelic Spelling – since it seems to be unknown and a bit Aracheaic – as it was repressed under the Crown for hundreds of years; @Language revival; similar history with native Languages in North America; like Ojbwe, cree and the Like – Kids used to be forbidden to speak their own language at school;

IRISH LANGUAGE OVERVIEW

The query “irish officially recognized language 19” does not correspond to a single factual event, but the year 1922 is significant as it was the year the first Irish Constitution was enacted, which established Irish as a “national language” and a “first official language”. This status was reaffirmed in the 1937 Constitution and has been maintained in the Republic of Ireland since. 

KEY POINTS:

1922:The first Irish Constitution recognized the Irish language as the “national language” and a “first official language”. 

Status:Irish remains the national and first official language of the Republic of Ireland. English is recognized as the second official language. 

Official Languages Act (2003):This legislation further solidified the status of the Irish language, requiring public bodies to provide services in Irish. 

European Union:Irish was made an official language of the EU in 2007 and gained full working language status in 2022. 

IRISH/ GAELIC – WIKEPEDIA ARTICLE

Irish (Standard Irish: Gaeilge), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic (/ˈɡeɪlɪk/ ^ⓘ GAY-lik),^{[4][5][4][6][7][8][9]} is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family that belongs to the Goidelic languages and further to Insular Celtic, and is indigenous to the island of Ireland.^[10] It was the majority of the population’s first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century, in what is sometimes characterised as a result of linguistic imperialism. (wkepedia)

Primitive Irish

Written Irish is first attested in Ogham inscriptions from the 4th century AD,^[25] a stage of the language known as Primitive Irish. These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain.

Old Irish

Primitive Irish underwent a change into Old Irish through the 5th century. Old Irish, dating from the 6th century, used the Latin alphabet and is attested primarily in marginalia to Latin manuscripts. During this time, the Irish language absorbed some Latin words, some via Old Welsh, including ecclesiastical terms: examples are easpag (bishop) from episcopus, and Domhnach (Sunday, from dominica).

Middle Irish

By the 10th century, Old Irish had evolved into Middle Irish, which was spoken throughout Ireland, the Isle of Man and parts of Scotland. It is the language of a large corpus of literature, including the Ulster Cycle. From the 12th century, Middle Irish began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and Manx on the Isle of Man.

Early Modern Irish

Early Modern Irish, dating from the 13th century, was the basis of the literary language of both Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland.

Modern Irish

Modern Irish, sometimes called Late Modern Irish, as attested in the work of such writers as Geoffrey Keating, is said to date from the 17th century, and was the medium of popular literature from that time on.^[26][27]

Decline

From the 18th century on, the language lost ground in the east of the country. The reasons behind this shift were complex but came down to a number of factors:

• Discouragement of its use by the Anglo-Irish administration.
• The Catholic Church‘s support of English over Irish.
• The spread of bilingualism from the 1750s onwards.^[28]

Northern Ireland

Main article: Irish language in Northern Ireland

Before the partition of Ireland in 1921, Irish was recognised as a school subject and as “Celtic” in some third level institutions. Between 1921 and 1972, government in Northern Ireland was devolved. During those years, the political party holding power in the Stormont Parliament, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was hostile to the language as it was almost exclusively used by nationalists.^[71] In broadcasting, reporting minority cultural issues was prohibited and Irish was excluded from radio and television for almost the first fifty years of the devolved government.^[72]

After the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, Irish in Northern Ireland gradually gained a degree of formal recognition from the United Kingdom.^[73] Then, in 2003, the British government ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages with respect to the use of Irish in Northern Ireland. In the 2006 St Andrews Agreement, the British government promised to enact legislation to promote the language^[74] and in 2022 it approved legislation to recognise Irish as an official language alongside English. The bill received royal assent on 6 December 2022.^[2]

The status of Irish has often been used as a bargaining chip during government formation in Northern Ireland, prompting protests from organisations and groups such as An Dream Dearg.^[75]

IRISH, LANGUAGE, HISTORY, REPRESSION, SOUNDS;

LANGUAGE REPRESSION IN EX SOVIET UNION – USSR

The USSR significantly repressed local languages through deliberate language policies that promoted Russification and Cyrillicization, especially in the late 1930s, to foster political unity and eliminate nationalist sentiments. Early efforts included shifting away from Arabic and Latin scripts to Cyrillic for Turkic and other languages, severing cultural ties and enhancing control. Later policies mandated Russian as a compulsory school subject, suppressed local media and publications, and purged non-Russian national elites accused of fostering division. 

Early Soviet Period (Post-1917):

• “Korenizatsiia” (Indigenization):Initially, the Soviet government promoted some national languages and scripts (e.g., Latin for Turkic languages) to foster support and identity among ethnic groups, a policy known as korenizatsiia. 
• Break from Religious Scripts:This included abolishing the Arabic script in the Caucasus and Central Asia, designed to distance Muslim populations from their religious heritage. 
• Shift Towards Russification and Cyrillicization (Late 1930s Onward): Mandatory Cyrillicization:By 1939–1940, the policy reversed, mandating Cyrillic for languages like Tatar, Kazakh, Uzbek, and Azerbaijani, thereby increasing assimilation with Russian. 
• Political Motivation:This change was driven by a desire to build a unified Soviet state, counter perceived threats from nationalist movements, and solidify control. 
• Purge of National Elites:Local leaders who championed their languages and cultures were purged between 1933 and 1938, with accusations that they were agents of foreign powers aiming to dismember the USSR. 

Russification in Education and Culture:

• Russian Language Education:Russian became compulsory in all Soviet schools, reflecting its dominance in administration, politics, and commerce. 
• Suppression of Media:The state tightly controlled printing presses and typewriters to prevent the spread of unauthorized publications in non-Russian languages. 
• Prohibition of “Samizdat”:The illegal circulation of literature and texts outside official channels (samizdat) was severely suppressed. 

Long-Term Consequences:

Decline of Non-Russian Languages:The policies led to a decline in the use of many native languages, particularly among younger generations, and a widespread adoption of Russian as a second language. 

• Late Soviet Period Nuances:Despite these efforts, in the final decades of the USSR, non-Russian languages continued to thrive for their native speakers, coexisting with the almost universal use of Russian in public life, though there were attempts in the late 1970s to remove native languages from official status in some republics, which led to protests. 

SOVIET UNION – LANGUAGE SUPPRESSION

CANADA – INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES – SUPPRESSION – INDIAN ACT

Language repression in Canada involved colonial policies like the Indian Act and the residential school system, which forcibly prohibited Indigenous languages and punished children for speaking them, leading to widespread cultural loss and intergenerational trauma. This systemic suppression aimed to assimilate Indigenous peoples into Canadian society, resulting in the endangerment and potential extinction of many Indigenous languages today. Efforts to counter this legacy include the Indigenous Languages Act of 2019, funding for revitalization programs, and community-led initiatives to restore pride and pass languages to future generations.
 

The Historical Context of Language Repression

Residential Schools:A primary tool of assimilation was the residential school system, which removed Indigenous children from their families and communities. 

Prohibition and Punishment:Students were forbidden to speak their mother tongues and faced severe punishment for doing so. 

Cultural Genocide:This was a deliberate attempt to destroy Indigenous cultures by silencing their languages, which is a form of cultural genocide. 

Indian Act:This legislation and associated colonial policies further reinforced the ban on Indigenous languages and traditions, contributing to their decline. 

IMPACT OF LANGUAGE REPRESSION

• Endangered Languages:The systemic repression has led to a crisis where many of the original sixty-plus Indigenous languages are now endangered or at risk of extinction. 
• Intergenerational Trauma:The fear of punishment, the loss of fluency, and the shame associated with not being able to speak one’s language has contributed to significant intergenerational trauma and negative health outcomes. 
• Cultural Loss:Many words, traditions, and knowledge systems embedded in Indigenous languages have been lost or silenced. 

Revitalization and Reclamation Efforts

REVITALIZATION AND RECLAMATION EFFORTS:

Indigenous Languages Act:In 2019, Canada passed the Indigenous Languages Act to support the preservation, revitalization, and strengthening of Indigenous languages. 

Funding and Resources: Government funding and community-led initiatives provide resources for language programs, such as immersion schools, educational materials, and digital resources. 

Community Involvement: Elders, language speakers, educators, and communities are actively working to revitalize languages through “language nests,” classrooms, and online platforms. 

Promoting Pride and Healing: These efforts aim to restore cultural pride, rebuild self-esteem, and ease the intergenerational trauma caused by past policie