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| Sofie | Friday 15th of October 2004 02:53:38 AM |
| Irish penpal? - Hey
I'm Sofie from Flanders, Belgium. I'd like to learn Irish. In return I want to teach Flemish/Dutch, French, English or German. Thanks | |
| chinita96 | Saturday 16th of October 2004 11:19:10 PM |
| - Hi Sophie,
I can try to teach you Irish, but if you find Alex online... he's a better teacher. We're both still learning the basics but Alex is better at pronunciation than me. If you want a good book to learn, try Buntús Cainte and Progress in Irish. They seem to be the top 2 books found in irish classes. They might be a little hard to find. The native speaker I know is Diarmuid, so if you ever see him online you can ask him for help. Slán anois! (Bye now!) | |
| diarmuidh | Thursday 21st of October 2004 10:16:45 PM |
| - sorry guys not to be online more! in work the Classroom site doens t work much! email at diarmuidh at yahoo.com anytime with your questions and i'll try to answer them! Slan! | |
| Aodhan | Monday 15th of November 2004 02:40:41 AM |
| I can teach you if you want - I can teach you Irish, I was very good at it at school and could watch the news in Irish. Alas! that was 8 years ago and I have forgotten it but definitly I could try to could try teaching you as I am in the process of re-educating myself again. | |
| an tuasal padraig | Wednesday 15th of December 2004 06:23:10 AM |
| - Hi there ,
if you wish i can try to teach you irish.....i have just completed my leaving cert and i did very well in gaeilge so its still very fresh in my head. Go raibh maith agat. | |
| Alex | Wednesday 15th of December 2004 07:37:16 AM |
| Count me in too - Well, Padraig, there are lots of us who want to learn.
Come to Classroom sometime and listen to us. We'd appreciate being corrected or just using every bit of Irish we have. Alex. | |
| rudiskygirl | Sunday 27th of March 2005 12:32:02 PM |
| If there are still offers... - I wouldn't mind having a penpal for Gaeilge either, that is... if there's anyone would still be willing! ;) | |
| Alex | Saturday 02nd of April 2005 09:58:05 PM |
| - I sent you a couple of email messages, rudiskygirl, but got no response...
Are you getting them and simply changed your mind? Or not getting them at all? | |
| rudiskygirl | Sunday 03rd of April 2005 02:04:13 PM |
| - Awww, I'm so sorry. :(
I've had a lot of problems with my computer and I restored it a couple of days ago. I couldn't use my Internet explorer, Outlook or my microphone to record things/voice Classroom. I didn't see your emails, I'm sorry. I seem to be getting emails fine now though. :| My email address is solarneptune86@qx.net if you would like to try again? I'm still very interested in learning Gaelic. :) Once again, I'm sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :( :( :( | |
| Alex | Monday 04th of April 2005 03:00:15 AM |
| - No worries.
I'll try again. And it's not Gaelic. It's Irish Gaelic. Otherwise, like Angelbear, you'll end up learning Scottish. :P | |
| rudiskygirl | Monday 04th of April 2005 01:00:54 PM |
| - Haha, oops! I generally specify which is which, but since this is for Irish Gaelic I tought I'd be safe for leaving off the Irish part. You have to excuse my stupidity at times. :D | |
| njnauticalnut | Tuesday 05th of April 2005 12:54:28 AM |
| New to website - I am interested in learning Irish. I speak English. What would you folks suggest as the best way to start? I know that I need to hear the language versus just read and write it in order to know that I am pronounicing the words correctly. But being able to read what I am saying would be a good idea as well. I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks, Mary Ellen | |
| chinita96 | Tuesday 05th of April 2005 05:52:05 AM |
| - A Mary Ellen, a chara,
You can start by viewing my lessons I've posted in this discuss. It is at the top in a Sticky that says "How to Speak". Also, Alex and I host Beginner Irish Lessons on Thursdays at 7pm EST, 24:00 GMT in the Phrasebase Classroomroom. We go on the microphone and speak Irish while we teach from the book Buntús Cainte. You don't need the book, it's just the resource we teach from. Sometimes the Classroomroom fills up, so if that happens, please pm or IM me or Alex to let us know. Christine - yahoo&skype: chinita96, AIM: chinita33. Alex - Yahoo: dracosalpha AIM: dracosalpha1 ICQ: 246678384 Skype: dracosalpha. We can find a way to have a lesson outside of the Classroomroom if getting into phrasebase Classroom is a problem. We also started having lessons on Saturdays at 12pm EST, 17:00 GMT. You are welcome to join us anytime! Plus, if you see me or Alex in the Classroomroom, we are open to doing impromptu lessons as well. Hope that helps. If you have any suggestions how we can make this discuss better, please let us know and we will try to incorporate it. Go raibh maith agat! Thanks! Slán go fóill (bye for now), Christine | |
| Alex | Tuesday 05th of April 2005 08:50:48 PM |
| - Well, some messages say 1:00 PM EST, other say 12:00
Starting at 12:00 we're often online and stay online well into the evening. :) Come and see, and if you have a chance to install Skype, do so. You likely won't regret it. :) | |
| njnauticalnut | Tuesday 05th of April 2005 10:05:54 PM |
| - Thanks for the information. I am currently getting my MBA and am in school on Thursday nights. However, I will look for you at other times. Additionally, do you know of an good audio CDs or software that I can use? Thanks, M.E. | |
| njnauticalnut | Tuesday 05th of April 2005 10:14:28 PM |
| - One more thing. I was looking at vowel pronunciations and I am confused. Is the "a" in the Irish word far (man) pronounced like the English word "at" or "pa"? Thanks. | |
| Alex | Wednesday 06th of April 2005 05:03:44 AM |
| Man - The Irish word for man is "fear".
Pronounciation is tricky because you have to combine an "eh" sound with an "ah" sound. It ends up sounding somewhere between "fair" and "fur". It's best to just listen to someone like Christine or myself. I've found it nearly impossible to properly convey the sounds of Irish using English pronounciation rules. | |
| njnauticalnut | Wednesday 06th of April 2005 10:45:31 AM |
| - Is the word "far" another dialect as I have seen it spelled that way? I think I get the pronunciation, mostly just intuitive. My grandmother and grandfather were from Ireland and my grandmother lived with us when I was young so I must retain the brogue somewhere in the recesses of my brain. When I read a Maeve Binchy book, I read the entire book with an Irish brogue. Of course they are English words. I have no clue of the Irish words and their pronunciations.
To ask my question clearer, In Irish, is the letter "a" pronounced closer to the a in "at" or the a in "pa"? Thanks | |
| diarmuidh | Wednesday 06th of April 2005 07:53:46 PM |
| - I doubted it! Fear is the word used as Gaeilge uniquely! Fir is the plural-you may see it on the doors of Irish pubs all around the world!! | |
| Alex | Thursday 07th of April 2005 03:17:13 AM |
| Just to muddle the issue. - ROFL...
Fir, which incidentally is pronounced "fear" I slay me... :P | |
| chinita96 | Thursday 07th of April 2005 03:26:03 AM |
| - To answer your question Mary Ellen, the word "fear" meaning "man" is closer to the pronunciation of "pa", but you still have to realize it is difficult to describe the sounds unless you hear it spoken. The phonetics I posted in my lessons will help you to get an idea of the sounds, but they will be slightly off from the real Irish sounds. Like Alex explained, the sound for "fear" is between an "eh" and "ah" sound.
Something you might want to try is a series of inexpensive books that are great for the beginner. You can buy each book separate with CD or as a set of 3 books with 3 CDs. The books are called Buntús Cainte Part I, II, III (25 Euros is about $32 US). This will give you a better idea of the spoken Irish. The speakers talk a bit fast, but you can always play them over and over until you get it. Ádh mór! Good luck! | |
| Harp Girl | Wednesday 13th of April 2005 12:50:28 AM |
| Could Someone teach me Irish via email, too?? - I started learning Irish a little while ago and I really enjoy it. I do not have IM or Classroomroom accessibility.
Kettellfamily@msn.com | |
| angelbear | Wednesday 27th of April 2005 10:06:20 PM |
| Classroomting - Hey harp girl, I don't have Classroomting accessibility either, normally, but in case you didn't know, Phrasebase has its own Classroomroom. Simply scroll to the top of the screen and hit "Classroom" and see if it goes through for you. I would think it should, since I actually have Classroomting-capability blocked on my computer, and it still lets Phrasebase through. Give it a shot. And trust me, classes with Alex and Christine are really fun. : ) Hope to see you tomorrow (Thursday) at 6pm central!
-Bethann | |
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