Weakening our language an act of vandalism

CONTRARY to the waggish boast, the banning or marginalisation of a language does not lead to increased use of that language.

In the modern welfare state where a language is excluded from official business and when state services are only available in another language, the excluded language is abandoned in favour of the language of power.

Even world languages, when so excluded, are not immune to fatal decline — eg Channel Island French, Dutch in northeastern France, or German in Alsace.

The Government is currently “reviewing” the Official Languages Act.

The decisions to end the independence of the Office of the Official Languages’ Commissioner and to scrap the requirement that Acts of the Oireachtas be published in both Irish and English simultaneously does not bode well. To further weaken our language for the sake of marginal savings would be an act of gross vandalism akin to the destruction of the Library of Alexandria.

Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam.

Dáithí Mac Cárthaigh BL

An Leabharlann Dlí

Baile Átha Cliath 7