Irish-only signs would catch the passing eye

I ENJOYED Padraic Killeen’s Last Word column on bilingual signage (April 13), and he makes a valid point.

As with most signage in Ireland, we are normally treated to a translation from English to Irish.

Frequently that translation is unwieldy.

I would argue that if translations were done from Irish (the creative language) into English, matters of expression would flow much better.

I also have an issue with bilingual signage anyway.

Why not just as Gaeilge? This would work very well, particularly if it was accompanied by symbols or graphics, in exposing the people of Ireland to more material in the first official language and help them learn and use it a bit more.

It is commonly assumed, erroneously, that people who do not speak Irish do not read it either. Spoonfeeding our citizens with English and Irish versions just doubles the cost in finance, time and effort.

Why not give monolingual (as Gaeilge) signage a go in keeping with the Government’s 20-year strategy for the language? Padraic Killeen is correct about the muddle-headedness.

I have this theory that when a sign is presented to you in two languages, you fail to engage with either properly. In fact I would guess that many people are “blind” to the Irish version of signage – I would love to do an experiment in this regard – and that they see only what they want to see, ie, the English version.

If this is the case, then bilingual signage is not conducive to the learning of Irish – a national goal. Thanks Padraic for raising the issue.

Vincent Holmes

Seacrest

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