language fact file: Irish Gaelic

An official language in: the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland

Number of native speakers: Approximately 20-30,000, with 1.9m claiming some knowledge of the language

Learn some: Greet others with ‘dia duit’, pronounced ‘jee-ah ditch’ or ‘jee-ah gwit’, depending on where you are in the country! When you part ways, saying goodbye is ‘slán’, pronounced ‘shlahn’.

Fast facts:

Only 1.5% of the Irish population speak Gaelic every day. But there are currently more people learning the language online than there are living in Ireland!

The Irish language is one of the oldest written languages in Europe, dating back to the 4th century.

Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle, because its landscapes are so green. One of the reasons for this is a rather wet climate, and Gaelic has 30-50 commonly recognised words and expressions for different kinds of rain!