European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 21, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Are the Irish shunning gaelic Halfpenny Bridge in Dublin Ireland s rising Young professionals would t be caught dead speaking Irish Irish tourist Board by Marcus Eliason associated press Here s a meaty question for students of the Iris identity crisis is it Uchic to speak Irish bord a a Bilge the Stavft language Board has published a report suggesting that the Irish Are losing respect for their Langelage and with it their National identity. While the report names no names the culprits Aren t hard to spot. They Are Ireland s rising professionals and entrepreneurs the City slickers who think Irish is for yokels. They would t be caught dead speaking Irish. They would think of it As extremely uncool says John Doyle editor of in Dublin a trendy guide to events in the capital. Because Irish is spoken mainly in the Rural West it s unfortunately seen As something non Urban unsophisticated As something a lot of people perhaps would not like to be reminded of he said in an interview. Irish or gaelic As it is sometimes called is the Premier official Tongue and an evocative Symbol of Ireland s struggle to free itself of British Rule and forge a separate identity. But English the second official language remains the overwhelming favorite among the 3.5 million Irish and Only 5 percent to 10 percent still use Irish As their first language. Irish appears on pay phones parking meters Road signs and rail platforms. Official titles Are Irish like Tao seach pronounced tee shuck for prime minister. Are lingus thanks its passengers in Irish. In newspapers letters to the editor often begin a Chara which Means dear but usually once the niceties Are Complete English takes Over. The airline switches to English when pointing out the emergency exits and the letters to the editor also Are in English. Some would say it was Ever thus Given 800 years of British Rule. Douglas Hyde the gaelic scholar and future Irish president warned in 1891 that the Irish language is not dead but it is in a bad state of now bord a a Bilge reports Irish today As 100 years ago appears to be in serious danger of disappearing As a Community on the one hand it blames xenophobic nationalism and Canada s cultural duality remains a political Issue prime minister Brian Mulroney Here during 1984 election Campaign is running into Flack Over his intention to toughen the official languages act which promises canadians bilingual Federal services. Associated press t he survival of French culture in Canada has been an emotional Issue since the British Defeated Montcalm on the Plains of Quebec in 1759.the struggle has entered on Quebec province with its 5.3 million French speaking majority but the debate Over whether Canada should be a bilingual nation is As passionate in isolated French Canadian towns across the country. Canada had two founding nations and All we want is the official recognition of that duality said Robert Carignan a 38-year-old wheat Farmer who Heads the francophone association of Southwest Saskatchewan. Carignan s ancestors fought to preserve new France from marauding indians in the 17th Century but he is one of just 25,000 francophone in a province of 1 million English speakers. He is fighting for expanded French language instruction in the schools of his Prairie town of Ponteix where most of the 700 people have French names. To protect minority communities such As Ponteix conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney has decided to rewrite and toughen the official languages act of 1969, which first promised canadians bilingual Federal services in designated areas. From Corn flakes to coca cola food packaging was required in both French and English. But especially in the West Mulroney reopened old wounds with Bill c-72, which guarantees trials and Federal Agency services in either language wherever there is significant for the first time in his four year administration Mulroney faced open Defiance from dozens of conservative members of parliament nine of whom voted against the Bill when it passed the House of commons in Ottawa on july 7. They wanted English declared the working language of the Canadian armed forces and Ottawa capital Region and sought Protection for English speaking civil servants who might be fired or miss promotions because they Are not bilingual. Opposition parties dubbed the rebels dinosaurs and anti French but unrepentant they donned Dinosaur Lapel pins and insisted the Bill was unfair to the 95 percent English speaking majority outside Quebec. We be been called dinosaurs. But i la Tell you what happens when a Dinosaur crashes through the Bushes. He tramples on the sheep and mice in his Way said dissident lawmaker Ron Stewart who accused Quebe cers of trying to grab control of the bureaucracy across Canada. The Guys at the car rental Booths and the ladies who operate Orange juice stands at Edmonton Airport in Alberta will have to be bilingual he maintained. Canadian airports Are under Federal jurisdiction. The Western separatist Reform party of Canada said the Issue will become a Millstone around Mulroney s neck at the next general election which is expected either this fall or next Spring. Vulgar Zed republicanism for co opting the language to militant anti British causes. On the other extreme it chastises dominant elites in business the Media and the professions who still regard Irish As a Low status peasant language and seek a Way of escaping from an identity of which they perhaps feel obscurely the result says bord a a Bilge is a certain emptiness in the Way Irish people now assert a sense of separate people Hood and perhaps a Lack of consensus Over whether this is something Worth asserting at it also sees a decline in traditional Irish accents on state radio and to saying Many types of Liberno English Are losing respect in Ireland As non Irish speech standards Are increasingly assumed among some blame the government of Eamon de Valera a founding father of Independent Ireland and zealous nationalist which in the 1930s made Irish an obligatory High school subject. No one could get a High school diploma without passing an Irish test and no one could join the civil service without a knowledge of the language. The civil service requirement stands As does the High school requirement although a passing Grade is no longer required. A lot of people when they think of the Irish language think of de Valera and the Way Irish is rammed Down their throats at school said Doyle the in Dublin editor. Some experts say the preoccupation with Irish is holding Back Ireland s integration into european markets. Patrick Diggins director of a Dublin teachers Center called in a recent speech for a severe Jolt of he said that for the Irish to make their Way in the european economic Community we must be fluent in at least two major european some say the decline of Irish is inevitable As the struggle for Independence fades into history. The language wrote Eaglan de Treadun Irish language editor of the Irish times has come to be seen a bit like an aunt who seemed such an important person when you were Small but now that you Are grown up you just find her our people do not believe that Canada especially this part of Canada can be exclusively defined As a meeting of two founding races cultures and languages said Reform party Leader Preston Manning. Edmonton lawyer Robert Matheson in a letter to Western report Magazine said English is now the world language of Commerce science sports and travel. This dominance won t be slopped because a few politicians in Ottawa want to buy Quebec votes with our Money he said. But Mulroney who is fluently bilingual got equally ardent support for Bill c-72 from both the opposition Liberal party and new democratic party. When the Bill passed on a vote of 129 to 9, he told reporters it s a great Day for he also fired one of the rebels from a parliamentary Post. Especially angered at the demand to make English the sole language of the armed forces Mulroney reportedly told the rebels in a heated caucus meeting what do i Tell former Cabinet minister Pierre Sevigny who left his leg on a Battlefield in France is it no longer going to be possible to die in French for your country polls indicate that two thirds of canadians support bilingualism and the number who can speak both English and French Rose from 13.4 percent of the population in 1971 to 16.2 percent in 1986. But More immediately of concern to Mulroney facing re election is the knowledge that he will need widespread support in Quebec to win a second five year term. Page 14 the stars and stripes is l Emmett Lowis or Jim Hastings in front of Istanbul s famed Blue mosque surprises turks with his knowledge of their language. Army sergeant at Home in Turkey by Janet Howells Tierney staff writer hewing tobacco listening to Rock music through a portable radio s headphones and swaggering Down the Street in faded jeans the Man is quickly pegged As an american. Two vendors swoop Down on him offering tour guides and souvenirs. Speaking in broken English they offer him a special Price for the items. The Man locks his Blue eyes on them and their wares and announces of Pahari too expensive. The businessmen s eyes open a bit and they step Back. When the Man begins demanding a better Price in perfect turkish the vendors jaws drop in unison. They recover in time to make the Sale at a mutually agreed on Price but walk away a bit dazed. Sec. Jim Hastings has been surprising the turks in the Istanbul area with his knowledge of their language since december. That s when he became the schools training and Liaison no for the 528th arty group on the Remote . Army installation of Oak Mali Turkey about 20 Miles West of Istanbul. Hastings refers to himself As a half Breed and gives his age As either 28 american or 29 turkish. Born on Lackland fab Texas Hastings father is a retired air Force sergeant who met his Mother while stationed in Turkey. Hastings first saw his second Home when he was 5 years old and his father was stationed at in Ciurlik a outside Adana Turkey for three years. After a time in the United states his family again returned to Turkey this time to Izmir where 12 year old Hastings picked up the language. We had a four bedroom House on the Economy that Cost $50 a month Hastings recalls. I played soccer or other games with turkish kids and Learned the language off the the family moved again in 1974 to Luke fab ariz., and three years later in 1977, Hastings joined the army As a Bradley fighting vehicle Mechanic. He maintained his language skill at a level that allowed him to be recognized As proficient by the army. After two assignments in Germany where he met some turkish friends and three in the states one at fort Knox ky., As an instructor the army assigned him to Turkey to put his linguistic ability to use. The army has Given me a great Chance to visit my relatives he said. If i d known about the army Post Here i would have changed my mos military occupational specially so i could be come the unit also feels thankful for Hastings assignment because he not Only has acted As an interpreter Between the command and turkish agencies but also As a tour guide introducing newcomers to the culture. I be taken some vips on Tours and once i took 26 people on a Friday night to a disco downtown. If anyone asks i la take them around and if they Don to then i go see my Hastings Mother taught him All about the moslem religion and turkish customs although she has t been Back to her Homeland since 1974. He said she plans to visit him sometime this year. I m moslem Hastings said and pats his slim belly. I lost about 12 pounds Over Ramazan but i la get that Back eating the great bread Here " Ramazan also called Ramadan is an annual holy period of daily fasting from Sunrise to Sunset. Soldiers normally Are exempt from the fasting to maintain physical endurance but Hastings has honoured the tradition since 1972. Although he gets around Istanbul like a native Hastings prefers Izmir and the area around it. His future depends on whether his Mother decides to remain in Turkey or to go Back to America. I have two places to come to he said. This is also my sunday August 21,1988 the stars and stripes Page 15
