Introductions - Say Hello Here

Chiliroses

hey there everyone

Belle Morte

Hi everyone!

I'm looking forward to spending lots of time on Boards.ie,

See you around,

Belle

PandaX9

Hey everybody

I was an avid reader of Boards for ages, (hardly my fault seeing as the damned thing was like the second hit for basically EVERY search query in google ) and finally decided to join. Fabulous forums, excuse the alliteration.

Anyway,
I'm useless at this - don't have much more to write.

Sharpshooter

Hi, welcome to boards, peeps!

garroff

glad to hear from you

GaryWWE

Hi everyone!

Keegah

Hey there gentlemen. Thank you for having me on your message forum.

My name is James. I am an American of Irish/English ancestry. My father's side emigrated from Derry - specifically Hogg's Folly, in the district of Bogside, in the parish of Templemore - shortly before the Great Famine. My mother's side emigrated from England relatively early in America's history. From where, or when exactly, I do not know.

The primary reason I've registered here is to make use of your Gaelige forum. I've been learning the language for a couple of months using Talk Irish, but their message forum is very inactive and sparsely populated. So, if I have any questions I need to ask - such as pointers on correctly pronouncing a particularly tricky word - I can't really expect a timely answer from those folks. Honestly, I probably wouldn't expect an answer at all. Great curriculum though, don't let me dissuade you from trying it out.

Anyway, yeah, like I said, I'm here to take advantage of a well-populated and active Irish language forum. I'm not really interested in the other stuff. I understand that, being an American, I am an outsider here and not, for lack of a better way of putting it, who this forum is designed for. That said, I may shoot some PMs to a couple of you at some point. The whole reason I've been learning Irish has been to get more in touch with my heritage which, sadly, has been largely forgotten by my family until recently. America being an immigrant society, ancestry plays a rather large role in identity here - something that I'm told some Europeans do not quite understand. The main American population is not indigenous to this land, and most everyone emigrated here - in the grand scheme of things - fairly recently. America isn't unique in that. Some other countries - such as Australia - qualify too. But America's population is composed of far more numerous and varied cultures and ethnicities than, as far as I know, any other nation can really claim. In my opinion that is a very good thing, but it can rob you of something of the identity that long-established populations know. This is why America's various disaporas cling so closely to their heritage, and are occasionally so loudly prideful of it, sometimes to the chagrin and bafflement of their cousins overseas.

I spun that out to a lot longer than it needed to me. Moving on, in addition to learning Irish to learn more about my heritage, I've also been doing genealogy work. That's how I learned exactly where and when my emigrant ancestor was born, and when he left for America. I've pretty much hit a dead end at this one individual that emigrated, and I don't think I'm going to get any more information from records. I'm always interested in learning about the city my family came from however, so if I see that you live in Derry, especially Bogside, I might shoot you a PM and ask you some friendly questions about the area. Other than that, I probably won't venture outside the Gaeilge section.

That's all I have to say. Again, thank you for having me on your forum.

_AVALANCHE_

Keegah wrote: »

I understand that, being an American, I am an outsider here and not, for lack of a better way of putting it, who this forum is designed for. That said, I may shoot some PMs to a couple of you at some point.

The more the merrier:):D

Irish on your own is "supposed" to be good, I've never used it though.

Derry Forum.


Don't forget google streetview aswell. http://maps.google.ie/

History & Heritage (Genealogy subforum)

Keegah

Talk about helpful! Much appreciated man, I'll read some more into Irish On Your Own to see what others think of it, and I'll browse through both of those forum sections. Both are as relevant to my interests as the Gaeilge thread is.

I didn't realize how many different forum sections there are on this website. I found the Gaeilge section on Google and filled out my registration form from there. Looking at the index page, this is without a doubt the biggest forum I have ever seen. I'll have to browse through the rest of the sections when I find the time. Thanks again!

_AVALANCHE_

Keegah wrote: »

Talk about helpful! Much appreciated man, I'll read some more into Irish On Your Own to see what others think of it,

When Des Bishop (read this) was learning Irish, in one of the eps he went over to America to do a show or whatever (can't remember rightly), but he got talking to this guy, randomly in the street, that was near fluent in Irish, he'd picked it all up, self taught, from "Irish on your own".


Here we go, ep 5, the series may be worth a look if you can get it.

Episode 5

The question of why Des is undertaking this challenge is incessant and confronting. Bottom line is that it's hard to get answers sometimes in Ireland. Gaeltacht people just speak it as it is their language. Irish people have to learn it at school, so their opinion of the language is largely impacted by that experience.
For some respite and reflection, Des returns to New York and Boston where Irish is the 66th most spoken language. He meets Irish speakers, students and teachers, many of whom share his motivations - to tap into an Irish identity that is so important to the diaspora.
He meets up with the extension of the Connemara Gaeltacht in Boston where he is inspired by the motivation of people who have never been to Ireland but continue to work hard to learn and teach the language - not for money - but for the sheer love of it.

Keegah wrote: »

and I'll browse through both of those forum sections. Both are as relevant to my interests as the Gaeilge thread is.

I didn't realize how many different forum sections there are on this website. I found the Gaeilge section on Google and filled out my registration form from there. Looking at the index page, this is without a doubt the biggest forum I have ever seen. I'll have to browse through the rest of the sections when I find the time. Thanks again!

Yea, it's big alright, it'll take a good bit of time.:)

Have a look at AfterHours when you need a break/when the Irish wrecks your Head, which will be often.:pac:

_AVALANCHE_

The series is on youtube. Handy or what!!!:D

_AVALANCHE_

It's 21.20 into vid 5 there (nearly had to watch the whole thing:rolleyes:) the guy mentions Irish on your own, Korean lad never been to Ireland and near fluent in a year and 9 months:eek:.

WOW!

Keegah

Very handy! Started watching Episode 5 and got ten minutes in, but I'd rather watch the whole series start to finish. I'll do that tomorrow.

FYI, those "loudly prideful" Irish-Americans I was talking about before are well represented by the family depicted in that episode. The enthusiasm Americans have for their heritage is a great thing in my book, but it'd be much better if it were paired with a desire to learn about the cultures and nations their families emigrated from. Fortunately, I've noticed an upturn in folks taking the time to actually LEARN about their heritage, rather than simply taking a blind pride in it. For example, a French-American friend of mine has been taking Rosetta Stone courses in French for about a year now. I've also recently convinced a Filipino-American colleague of mine - who, for the 6 months or so that I've known him, has been very vocal about his pride in his ancestry - to start taking courses in Tagalog. I don't personally know anyone other than myself that's learning Irish, but it isn't hard for me to believe that many in America are starting to learn it, as that show mentions.

There are good things in the future, I think. A multicultural renaissance. And of course, when minority languages are learnt outside their country of origin, it quickly punches holes in the "dead language" arguments.

Anyway, I think I am convinced of Irish On Your Own. If it can make a total novice near-fluent by itself, it certainly must be something special. As I mentioned, I've been taking courses on Talk Irish. Can Irish On Your Own be used concurrently, or does it require sole attention?

EDIT: Just saw your post after submitting this one. Let's not forget that most Koreans are already bilingual. Hell, most non-Anglophones in general are bilingual. After you learn that second language for the first time, the others come easier. Still extremely impressive however, definitely warrants a purchase. I just think I'll try and bank on a little more than a year for true fluency.

Who Knew?

Hello everyone. Been on here for years but only saying hello now. Bad me.

_Moss_

I'm not brand new.. But hi everyone

jrfromafar

Hello - is nice to be 'new' at something - my kids think I'm as old as dirt

An old dog

Morning can anyone help, travelling to united states in next few days. Last night I signed my ds2019 form in black ink.checking instructions I realised I should have signed in blue ink. Does anyone know if this will cause me difficulties when I arrive. I am travelling via London so I won't clear immigration until I arrive in the U S. I know a stupid mistake !

Spear

An old dog wrote: »

Morning can anyone help, travelling to united states in next few days. Last night I signed my ds2019 form in black ink.checking instructions I realised I should have signed in blue ink. Does anyone know if this will cause me difficulties when I arrive. I am travelling via London so I won't clear immigration until I arrive in the U S. I know a stupid mistake !

Do not hijack threads. If you want to ask about US travel, then do so in the US travel forum:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1183

alonzomerrill

Hello everyone, I am Alonzo merrill and here i want to make a big network to share my all experience with theme. This is a great forum learn new thinks for all times. I glad to join in this forum.

neil2011

Hello everybody!

neil2011

Hello everyone...I can't find the new thread in the top left corner for a discussion can someone help me please

Spear

neil2011 wrote: »

Hello everyone...I can't find the new thread in the top left corner for a discussion can someone help me please

Check this thread:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=78447342#post78447342

and don't hijack threads like this.

Denis Horan

Hi everyone I am new here. I look forward to taking part here on the site.

hondasam

Hi, welcome to boards. Hope you enjoy it.

Denis Horan

hondasam wrote: »

Hi, welcome to boards. Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks, I hope so too.

Ryuji_w

New here, But have been lurking on and off for awhile, hope to get to know you fabulous fellow boardies

Delightfully Pessimistic

Hi, I'm brand new here :cool:

MyrBerk

A great day to everyone !

Mr_Spaceman

Buongirono everyone!

There's a first time for everything, so I hope to get up to speed, fully informed and entertained from Boardies soon

FionaCartley

Sikkbones wrote: »

Howdy everyone

hello guys!

New member here!