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There are a number of languages in Ireland. Several have originated from the island nation, other languages are spoken by a substantial percentage of the population due to immigration.
Irish
Irish is constitutionally recognised as the first official language of the Republic of Ireland. On 13 June 2005, EU foreign ministers unanimously decided to make Irish an official language of the European Union. Irish is spoken in the following countries:
- Ireland (first official language) - 1,650,000 speakers
- Northern Ireland (co-official language along with English) - 165,000 speakers
- United States (minority language, recognised) - 25,000 speakers
- United Kingdom (minority language, recognised) - 17,000 speakers
- Canada (minority language, recognised) - 10,000 speakers
- Australia (minority language, partially recognised) - 3,000 speakers
- France (minority language, not recognised) - 2,000 speakers
- Iceland (minority language, not recognised) - 2,000 speakers
- The European Union (official language, recognised) unknown amount of speakers
According to statistics released by the Government of Ireland in 2004, there are approximately 1.6 million speakers of Irish in the Republic. Of these, 350,000 use Irish every day, 155,000 weekly, 585,000 less often, 460,000 never, and 30,000 didn't state how often. 100,000 people has been quoted as the number of people in the Gaeltacht who use the language as their first, daily language.
Irish in the Media
There are numerous Irish media outlets in Ireland and around the world. TG4 is the partially Irish language television channel in Ireland. A sister company, T3, is planning on creating a second 24-hour all Irish speaking television channel aimed at teens and children. There are several Irish language newspapers such as Lá.
Other Languages from Ireland
- Scottish Gaelic (originated from old Irish)
- Manx (originates from old Irish)
Languages Introduced to Ireland
Through successive years of back and forth invasion between Ireland and Britain, both Irish and English took foothold in the areas of invasion. Scottish gaelic and Welsh originated from times of Irish invasion into Great Britain, and English strongly stayed in Ireland after a century of British occupation. Both Irish and English are now the main languages of The Republic of Ireland, English is favoured in more urban areas.
In recent years, high numbers of Polish, Nigerian, Chinese, and British immigrants have been entering Ireland. There has been a sharp increase of minorities in Ireland, including the quickly growing Muslim minority. These new ethnic groups both help and hinder the existing languages of Irish and English. To assimilate into Irish society, several major organisations have been implemented to help assist immigrants to learn Irish.
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