HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1959-01-01, Page 7Irish—As A
Second Tongue
•
They don't call the .strange,
lilting language they often speak
in Ireland instead of English,
Gaelic. They call it Irish. But,
call it what you will, the Irish
people still speak much more
English.
Yet the government's Irish
language campaign 'leas served a
most useful purpose, It has
helped make the Irish of the
Irish Republic think of them-
selves as a nation with a tongue
of its own, The propagation of
speaking and reading the Irish
language was and is a nationa-
listic move in official recognition
of Ireland's ancient heritage,
Prime Minister Eamon de Va-
lera speaks Irish by preference,
although he was born in New
York City of a Spanish father,
and it is said he had to learn the
ancient tongue as an adult.
Few deny that Irish is awk-
ward, and that only a few west-
ern Irish speak it today as their
normal, or first tongue, Many
Irish don't yet speak it at all.
Yet it is required in schools in
certain subjects. And I was told,
perhaps accurately, that a stu-
dent could get a higher mark in
a mathematics exam if he could
reada line in Irish atthe bot-
tom.
In Belfast, they told me a man
had to speak Irish in the South
to get a government post. In fact,
all professional men in the Re-
public (with the curious excep-
tion of bankers) must pass a test
in irish—although passing a test,
one suspects, can be perhaps less
demanding than learning the
language.
Irish as a language is credited
with having . served 1 its purpose
of boosting the morale of dedi-
cated Irish patriots. But, frankly,
there seems little enthusiasm for
continuing emphasis on Irish in
most circles. Mr. de Valera makes
a point of using Irish, not to
American visitors of course, but
in telephonic conversations with
other officials.
Among the language's short-
comings, however, is the fact it
contains no modern words such
as "airplane," ` "telephone," or
"radio," which have to be syn-
thesized, with some attendant,
confusion. The word "airport"
reportedly is spelled four differ-
ent ways. On•the way to the Dub-
lin airport. Parking signs for
motorists in someplaces are only
in Irish, and motorists overpark
"MOST VALUABLE" — Chicago
Cubs' Ernie Banks is ane big
smile after hearing' that he's
the National League's "Most
Valuable Player of 1958." Nom-
ination is made annually by the.
Baseball Writers' Association.
because many literally don't
know the time limit imposed.
Dublin pollee apparently are al-
ternately understanding and ri-
goI'ous in such Cases,
In Dublin nowadays, some
schools are taught entirely in
Irish. Officials admit it entails a
sacrifice to revive the language
for children take longer to learn.
But they maintain the delay is
worth while to emphasize na-
tionality distinction. Eventually
it is hoped Irish will be the first
and official tongue, with English
second, At present, both are of-
ficial,
In justification, it can be ar-
gued that Irish was the native
tongue of the areas from which
the greatest Irish emigration
took place — and that the re-
establishment of the ' classical
language is merely resupplying
what wpuld have been on hand
normally, if so many Irish -speak-
ing persons had, not emigrated,
writes Harry S, Hayward in The
Christian Science Monitor.
The Prime Minister, moreover,.
regards the language as funda-
mental to nationhood, as a valu-
able form of mental discipline,
and as stimulating the Irish urge
to learn,
In Mr. de Valera's view, Irish
should be like Norse. The Nor-
wegians usually understand Eng-
lish but also speak their own
ancient tongue and have a strong
sense of ;unity as a consequence.
, In Northern Ireland, however,
I encountered high officials who.
regard the formal introduction
of Gaelic, as they call it, or Irish,
as the Southerners say, as a fail-
ure, Ulstermen claim the Irish
language cannot hope to compete
with English, even south ofthe
border. Emigrants, they say,
quickly leave it behind as im-
practical. They suspect, more-
over,. that it may havebeen in-
troduced• chiefly as a diversion
for the Irish, to keep their minds
off other problems.
Some claim it is silly to try to
bring' an almost dead language
back into general use, and that
Irish, young and old, would be
better advised to learn a modern,
European language as their sec-
ond tongue.
Others recall how sad it is to
find a living tongue passing, out
of usage, as Gaelic is on.the de-
cline in- Scotland and Northern
Ireland.. On the Scottish island
of Skye, for example, I remem-
ber hearing parents grimly say
they would' have to teach their
children Gaelic in the home' now
that it no longer is taught in the
schools. Courageous Dame .Flora
MacLeod is one of those cam-
paigning: for a restoration of
Gaelic. So perhaps the Irish .are
not entirely - wrong instressing
the need for Irish.
On this, as on so many other
issues, North and South are not
in agreement. But even in the
Irish Republic one finds little
enthusiasm for a tongue that may
be long on lyrical beauty but
which in this day and age seems
short of practicality.
Yet the Irish are a proud race
-and, doubtless will not quickly
set aside the language of their,
Celtic forefathers.
How Can 1?
By Anne Ashley
Q. How can I remove flakes
of soot from a light felt hat?
A. Do not try to rub them off,
nor wet the spots. Merely cover
the spots with some dry salt,
then remove with a stiff brush.
Q. How can I decorate a
plain flower pot to make it
more attractive?
A; Wrap the pot with crepe
paper, but before doing this,
cover the pot with about two
thicknesses of oiled paper; this
will prevent discolored marks
from water that may overflow,
MID
TELLS OF .BLAST — Bishop Nekoha '(left : ettures as she at-
tempts
6p I g.
tempts to describe to Sister Muriel how a n explosion' followed
by fire swept. through the Fountain of the World religious sect
camp at Chatsworth, Calif., killing the cult, leader and seven
tethers, Ventura County fire officials say there is no doubt the
explosion` was caused by a bombe
TAIL -HEAVY — Tiny Cocoa, a Mexican Chihuahua pup, will
need more than that apple to keep the doctor away from his
home. Suffering a broken leg when hit by a car, Cocoa will
have to wear that heavy cast for at least q month. .
Four. Seconds
Full Of Thrills
The heavyweight champion Of
the world was in trouble. Pinned
against the ropes by a relentless
challenger who had sworn to
knock hiin out, he was trapped'
under a nireciless hail of blows.
A left hook smashed against 'his
jaw and spun him round. While
he was still off balance, a right•
thudded into his face. The force
Of the blow lifted him off his feet
and he crashed to the floor. He
struggled to rise, but fell -back.
There was a brief moment of
awed silence as the vast crowd,
watched. Then pandemonium
broke out. The challenger stood
exultantly over his ,f alien rival,
confident.that•the title was about
to change hands. Four seconds
passed before he noticed the re-
feree frantically waving him to
the far side of the ring. •
Four seconds. A tiny slice of
time, yet .they altered the course
of boxing history and became
the most famous four seconds in
the annals of the ring.
Because of them, Jack Demp-
sey failed to break the tradition
that "they never come. back." No
dethroned world . heavyweight
':champion had ever managed to
regain his title, and none has
done so since then.
Yet Dempsey, when he faced
Gene Tunney, his conqueror of
exactly a year earlier, that stif-
lingly hat night at Soldiers' Field,
Chicago, in September, 1927,
came nearer to achieving the
"impossible" than any other ex -
champion, before or since The
•irony of his failure was that he
had only himself to blame—by
breaking a rule he had suggested
himself.
This was a sequel to a previous
fight, with Luis Firpo, when
many critics claimed he , had
fouled by hitting Firpo while his
opponent was still rising after
being bowed. So Dempsey .sug-
gested that when a boxer was
knocked down the man still on
his feet should retire to the afar-
thest corner of the ring. This
way, he reckoned, there would
be no risk of a foul or disquali-
fication.
The rule was brought into
operation -when Dempsey, having
lost his title to Gene .Tunney af-
ter a, three-year absence from
the ring, was given the chance
to win it back. -
The circumstances boosted the
return fight into one of the most
important of the century. Many
experienced judges, 'shocked by
the ease of Tunney's first victory
(on points over ten rounds), were
sure he would never doit. again.
So was Dempsey, who said he
would score a knock -out in the
sixth round:
Tunney in turn 'declared that
having won the first fight by bet-
ter boxing, he would now,demon-
strate his complete superiority
by proving himself the better
Tighter as well.
More than 100,000 people paid
well over a million and a half
to watch the bout, though most
of them must haveneeded tele-
scopes. Tunney received $600,000
and Dempsey just under half
that sum. Tex Rickard, the pro-
moter, cleared, $220,000. No one
grudged .a penny of these 'vast•
sums,,. for it was One of the :few
big fights that lived up to .its
ballyhoo, Eight people died from
excitement While' listening td the
'broadcast; three of, them during'
the dramatic "longcount" seV-
enth round.;; •
Tunney . waged a nerve -war
,from the start by keeping Demp-
.sey' waiting in the ring for ten.
minutes before he appeared.
Then hit seconds immediately
began pulling faces at .Delnpsey
and his helpers and hurling in-
sults across the ring at them—
an odd pastime which they kept
up practically throughout the
contest.
The early rounds produced
little of note, and it was not until
the• fourth round that the fight
suddenly exploded into life.
Dempsey, unleashing a series of
blows, droye Tunney back until
the : champion's knees buckled.
He looked about to go down, but
*unexpectedly produced a heavy
:right to the jaw which stopped'
Dempsey's advance. Now it was
his turn to go forward, and be-
fore the end of the round it was
Dempsey who was nearly down.
The fifth round was fought to
a similar pattern, Tunney being
out -fought at the start and fin-
ishing strongly as his rival spent
his strength.
Came the sixth, the round in
which Dempsey had promised to
end it. lie nearly succeeded, too,
when after landing a dozen
heavy punches he had Tunney
hanging on desperately as the
bell went
Immediately the seventh round
began Dempsey threw every-
thing into attack. Tunney was
driven back under a merciless
hail of blows and this time was
unable to land the counter that
got him out of trouble before. As
he stood against the ropes, Demp-
sey moved in for the kill. A left
'turned Tunney round, and the
following right dumped him on
the floor.
The timekeeper began to count
and Dempsey stood looking down
at his. victim. Then he realized
the referee was motioning him
.away 'to ` the far corner of the
ring. Under the rule, not until
he was there could the referee
;begin counting. The timekeeper
called "five" as the referee said
"one." As the timekeeper reached
ten Tunney was still down, but
the referee went .on. Six ... sev-
en . eight...
At nine Tunney climbed to his
feet, and as Dempsey rushed
across the ring he was able to
wrap his arms round his oppon-
ent and hold on. He survived the
round, and though still weak in
the next his strength gradually
returned.
His recovery was made to look
more complete by his challen-
ger's rapid decline. Dempsey had
suddenly become old and tired,
and as the bout wore on to the
end of its allotted ten rounds
there was no doubt that Tunney
would keep the title.
Had Dempsey really spent him-
self in that desperate seventh
round? Or was he so disappoint-
ed at seeing the title dashed
away from him that his spirit
gave up? No one, probably not
even Dempsey himself, knows
the answer.
As for Tunney, though he cut
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it fine, he was fit to continue
according to the referee's count.
Whether he could have done so
by the timekeper's "ten," if
Dempsey had retired to the far
corner as soon as the knockdown.
occurred, is again something no
one knows.
But two facts are beyond ar-
gument: the referee's statement
that -the count had reached a to-
tal of fourteen seconds, and
Dempsey's laconic comment: "I
had my golden chance in the
seventh round, and I blew it."
I gave up smoking just like
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Broke the habit in nothing
flat,
With no regrets, nor any
sorrow,
And will ,quit again, come
tomorrow.
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ISSUE 52 — 5958.
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