why is it that in Ireland only a small portion of the population speaks Irish?
361415
British involvement in Ireland goes back at least 800 years -  back to 1169 to be precise. \n\nParts of Ireland have been English speaking almost since that time. Dublin for instance was completely English speaking in the 13th century. \n\nNevertheless, Irish was still widely spoken in many areas even up to the 1700's. Ireland joined the United Kingdom in 1801 however, so all public affairs were then carried out solely in the English language. To improve your lot in life you would have had no choice but to speak English. By the mid 1800's, the language was in rapid decline. \n\nThere have been huge efforts to revive the Irish language since Ireland became an gained independence from Britain in 1921. There are Irish language newspapers, radio stations, television stations, road signs, compulsory Irish in schools and a requirement to speak Irish to get into the Civil Service. However all these efforts have had little success. In the end, people see the English language as much more useful in everyday life, purely because you can communicate with almost anybody in the world.
650484
You're theorizing based on a sampling of only 2 people, which is always a mistake. You're also generalizing about the people of Ireland, another mistake.\n\nIrish-Americans are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, which is a conservative religion, so that comes into play.\n\nThe Irish are superficially liberal, which is something of a recent developement.   Remember that they still have problems with the whole issue of Northern Ireland, and a truly liberal society would have resolved that long before now.\n\nOn issues such as birth control and abortion, the Irish are very conflicted, although they are moving in a more liberal direction.\n\nThe Irish have not been exposed to such things as heavy immagration by (for example) Muslims, so much of their liberality comes from not having been tested in the arena of reality, only theory.
1131132
I completely agree, it has been proven in many surveys that the VAST MAJORITY of Republicans do not care.\nOur news reports very little on the North.\nI think it is to do with ireland's wealth because if you are rich then what is the point of dying for independence if everyone was already happy? It would be pointless- you can see that any state that ever fought for independence had its people being treated badly, etc.\nAnd yes, we are not racist or bigoted- both Catholics and Protestants in the North are simply far too bitter for my liking.\nJust leave things they way they are- were happy enough.
157219
From a linguistic point of view, Belgium is one of the more complicated countries in Europe. The majority speaks Dutch (the northern district of Flanders and a small minority in Brussels), but then again it is a particular variant of it, Flemish. Let's say it is a phonetically softer and more poetic variant of the Dutch spoken in the Netherlands. The minority speaks French (the southern district of Wallonia and the central district of Brussels, which is mostly French-speaking). Throughout the centuries, the people of Wallonia have come to ignore their own language (Wallonian, having both Germanic and Roman features) to the benefit of French. Brussels has become more and more French-speaking over the years, partly due to foreigners who think that Belgium is the equivalent of Brussels, and that French is the only language speaken in Belgium. There is also a small German-speaking part (about 50,000 people), but they are actually part of the French-speaking area of Belgium, and they are somewhat "hidden" in politics (they feel quite comfortable being part of Belgium rather than Germany). The people in Flanders tend to be highly multilingual (Dutch/Flemish, French, English, German, Spanish, ...) whereas the Wallonian people, in general, don't seem to be able or daring to speak another language than French.
664283
They might sound Irish if the role they're\nplaying is a leprechaun.
416162
A lot of Americans are from Irish decent - I guess the potato famine had a lot to do with that!
966635
Oh stop! ...from what I have seen the Irish have never learned to speak English even now. Besides that is part and parcel of any group coming to America, or any other country for that matter. That is why they gather into ghettos like little Havana and little Haiti in Miami or Ybor City in Tampa and what about the China towns in cities all over this this country and Canada. The older immigrants have a real hard time learning a new language. Your ability to learn a new language is greatly diminished after the age of twelve, that was determined in many studies conducted throughout the 20th century. I was In the Air Force  years ago, and my tests indicated I might be able to learn a language and become a translator. The test consisted of spoken sentences which sound like this... "IF IGNATZ WHA BENEY, means she is a nice girl... then what does, "YAHOOLY CO DESPECZENY!" Mean? HUH!!! Needless to say I still speak only English. If I was forced to move to another country for whatever reason, I truly know in my heart I could never learn another language and I would have to hide in a ghetto speaking American English to all the other immigrants who had come to China to find work after the collapse of the Bush Brothers economy. Give it up. These people are not lazy!!!  I would like to see some of your other answerees here spend 12 to 14 hours day in the hot sun picking the tomatoes and other crops these people pick for less then minimum wages, consistantly year after year. You might call them uneducated, and have some meaning, but to call them lazy just points out your own blatant ignorance. Capitalism, as a system, needs a large underpaid working class to function. Our own Middle Class, which consists of nearly everyone but the ultra rich, would never do what these people do. Look what happened to Ford, GM, and Chrysler (before the Germans bought them) when everyone who worked for them became middle class, even if they only swept floors... Bankruptcy. The same will happen to this country as a whole when we throw all 12 million of these "illegal" immigrants out. Oh they do create problems, but so does all population growth. Every American state government knows that new arrivals only pay for 84% of the infrastructure it takes to manage their arrival, even if they are rich Americans. Go Figure...? Besides, Hispanics will be the majority population (51%) in 2051. Then they will vote Spanish in as the only spoken language in America, and you will have to push #2 to hear it in english, and then you will know how hard it is to learn a language (even if it is free) after having spent 12 hours in the fields picking hot peppers for the rich Hispanics who will then be running this country.
559958
The latest figures I can find are for 1995 (first source), when there were 15,000,000 speakers out of a population of 131,000,000, i.e. about 11%.  The population is now about 168,000,000, so if the proportion has stayed the same, that would make it around 19,000,000 speakers.\n\nThe second source (2005) gives a figure of 17,000,000.\n\nThe third source gives a rough estimate of 5,000,000 speakers in urban areas whose English is good enough to work in call centres.\n\nIn all cases these are almost entirely second language speakers.  However as English is used in nearly all universities as the language of education and as the working language of government, the civil service and the millitary, the level of ability should be high amongst the better educated.
154986
Wouldn't know. I do know Philadelphia and New York City both have larg(er) Irish communities.
682280
some prejudice, yes but you will find a great deal more whom are related.  There is a huge pride in our Irish heritage.  We've suffered throughout time but coming from such a small island, isn't it curious? keep optimistic
631417
I am Irish, born and reared there. I have read that 25% of Irish people try above the recommended amount. There are quite a substantial amount of people here who have a problem with drink, but there are worse countries.\n\nThe problem with alcohol in Ireland is that we have ingrained it into our culture and it has become to acceptable to be drunk or to drink to much. I got drunk for the first time when I was about 15-16. I drank quite a bit up until I was about 23, then I just got bored of it and don't really drink that much now.\n\nThere are people in Ireland who don't touch the stuff, but it is not a simple thing that I can explain on Yahoo answers. It is in part a self fulfilling prophecy. If you expect Irish people to get drunk and have the "craic", then that is what we usually end up doing. In days of old, there was very little to do in Ireland, so drinking was about as much fun as one could have. I think people are relying on drink a little less nowadays as there is far more for people to do and we are a more affluent society, but a major part of it is the price of alcohol. In Dublin, you can pay about 4-5 euro ( $6) for a pint of Guinness at a bar. Spirits (or liqor as you would call it) is even more expensive. I think the attitude toward alcohol is changing as the government is trying to move away from a view of Ireland as a society of fun loving leprechauns or something. Our attitudes are becoming more mature as time goes on. Hopefully, people will wise up as there are many families in Ireland that have been ruined by the "craic" when it's had day in and day out. I hope this answers your question.
230982
no you're right, there isn't such diversity in accent, yet there is a variety in slang used in different regions. Maybe it is because it is not such an old country and regional accents haven't had enough time to develop
2013
Why an Irish living in U.S.A , speaks different English than the British Irish . \nWe most look at the place and time ; they change every thing !\nFor example the Italian who lives in U.S.A , after several years in this country ; speaks strange Italian .
747433
I think that Scotland and Wales both have their own identity and language and there are probably separatist movements.  Northern Ireland should be returned to Ireland IMHO.
582227
I'm from Ireland Can i please have the 10 points coz im the only Irish person to answer this question and everybody loves the Irish People. I really am Irish You can ask me anything! ;-]
416786
Many mixed race people have Irish descent!  There just may be other nationalities tossed in such as French or English.
353105
Yeah, I don't get it.  From the start America had many languages.  Some towns spoke solely french, and some German.  Now alot of places solely speak Spanish.  Bout time we started recognizing that.