News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on The Cosmopolitan Tongue: The Universality of English. Parent comment

Re:The Cosmopolitan Tongue: The Universality of English by FleursDuMal on Thursday October 29, 2009 @05:22PM (#910947)
The example of Gaelic here in Ireland is a poor one. The attempt to preserve the language has been badly handled. It is compulsory for every child to learn Gaelic through first and second level education, and never spoken afterwards (except for one or two areas totaling less than 1% of the population).

Many people end up resenting Gaelic after being forced to learn it for no practical purpose. This is a shame because it is a beautiful language to read and speak.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Cosmopolitan Tongue: The Universality of English by Ras_ on Thursday October 29, 2009 @10:03PM (#911374)
Finland comes close. Swedish is compulsory here from primary to tertiary education. It is only used in coastal Finland, not at all elsewhere.

Of course there is more practical purpose with Swedish than with Gaelic, but nevertheless it does not affect majority's day to day life. It is equally resented because learning is forced.

[ Parent | on HN ]