Video Error-laden pidgin or creative creole? The Irish of the Gaelscoil

Is the mixture of Irish vocabulary and English grammar spoken by students in immersion courses simply incorrect language… or a linguistic gem?

IN AN EXPLORATION of the weird and wonderful linguistic features of the Irish language spoken in gaelscoileanna, Breandán Mac Ardghail offers an alternative perspective on the non-native schoolyard Irish of pupils.

Is the Irish students speak error-laden pidgin or a deviously creative creole?

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In 2012, Breandán was a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant at the University of Montana. He holds a master’s and a BA in Modern Irish and is currently reading Applied Linguistics at Trinity College Dublin.

Read: 11 songs that will take you right back to your days in the Gaeltacht

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