{"id":113,"date":"2012-04-10T02:59:06","date_gmt":"2012-04-10T02:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nd.edu\/sla2012\/?page_id=113"},"modified":"2012-12-10T17:10:19","modified_gmt":"2012-12-10T17:10:19","slug":"mcmahon-william","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2012\/ireland\/mcmahon-william\/","title":{"rendered":"McMahon, William"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 <\/p>\n

Name: William McMahon<\/strong>
\nE-mail: wmcmahon@nd.edu<\/strong>
\nLocation of Study: Donegal, Ireland<\/strong>
\nProgram of Study:\u00a0Oideas Gael<\/strong>
\nSponsor(s): J. Patrick Rogers<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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A brief personal bio:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having lived in Florida for most of my life, I was unsure about coming to the frozen tundra of northern Indiana. Despite the periodic cold (my major complaint), I greatly enjoy my time here as a History major and an Irish Language & Literature minor.<\/p>\n

Why this summer language abroad opportunity is important to me:<\/strong><\/p>\n

My SLA Grant is allowing me to travel to a small Irish village in the Donegal Gaeltact, to better learn the language. This is important to me both as an object of personal fulfillment and as a tool for my future research. Personally, I am enthralled by the way one has to think in the Irish language, and the very different sense of self and the material world it embodies (“A pen is at me” vs “I own a pen” in English, or “A sadness is on me” vs “I am sad” in English). Moreover, knowledge of the Irish language is vital for historical study of the island before the 19th century.<\/p>\n

What I hope to achieve as a result of this summer study abroad experience:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hope to dramatically increase my proficiency in using and comprehending the language at a normal pace, and set myself down the path of fluency. I hope to build a solid foundation for continued intermediate and advanced language classes at Notre Dame, so I can make the most of my opportunities. I also hope to gain a better understanding for the culture and modes of thought that gave birth to such a language, and have personal interaction with native speakers who have lived with the language all their lives.<\/p>\n

My specific learning goals for language and intercultural learning this summer:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. At the end of the summer, I will be able to communicate in Irish with native speakers on a wide range of topics with roughly the same speed as in English.<\/p>\n

2. At the end of the summer, I will be able to discuss history and philosophy in Irish in some detail.<\/p>\n

3. At the end of the summer, I will be able to think in Irish for days at a time.<\/p>\n

My plan for maximizing my international language learning experience:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Outside of direct instruction, I intend to spend all my free time in the local community, interacting with native speakers. I want to have encounters in both commonplace and unusual situations. Shops, community centers, and other public places will provide me with all the experience I need with general interaction, while more prolonged conversation with individuals will hopefully stress my language skills to the point where they are forced to grow. I intend to place myself in situations in which I must learn new aspects of the language to deal with my interactions with the native speakers.<\/p>\n

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Reflective Journal Entry 1:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

14 June 2012 \u2014<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve just landed in\u00a0Baile \u00c1tha Cliath (Irish for Dublin), and my program starts in a couple days. I\u2019m seriously jet-lagged, so hopefully that clears up soon. From what I know of my program (Oideas Gael, in Gleann Cholm Cille, Co. Donegal), the focus will be on speaking and listening to Irish, rather than reading and writing. I\u2019d rather this, as it seems more practical, but given the year I\u2019ve taken in Irish, being able to speak a phrase generally means I can read or write it without problem, so I\u2019m not worried about falling behind in that department. I know the program is intensive, so I hope to come a long way in fluency. As for the actual methods, I don\u2019t have many expectations, since I\u2019m open to whatever methods the native speakers think are best. From what I\u2019ve heard, Irish is the language spoken in day to day life in the village, so I\u2019ll be able to get perhaps my best practice outside of the classroom.<\/p>\n

I know there will be a couple other ND students there from various classes for at least some of the time, so hopefully I\u2019ll see them a bit. I\u2019ll be leaving on a multi-stage bus trip from Dublin to the Gleann, through Donegal Town and Killybegs. I\u2019ll be staying in a hostel in Dublin tonight, and I don\u2019t know what internet access is like in the Gleann, so I\u2019ll post this whenever I can. I also intend to keep a daily journal in Irish, and will post it here if I have the time. I\u2019ll also try to make a rough English translation, but Irish loses a lot of its complexity and feeling when translated, so it\u2019s more of the bare facts that get conveyed, leaving out some of the nuances.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Billy McMahon<\/p>\n

Post-Script: Oideas Gael does have an internet connection in one room, but it\u2019s taken until the 18th to get it sorted, so I\u2019m posting this a little late. I\u2019m also not sure if there\u2019s a way for me to log in and put this in its proper place, so I\u2019ll just leave it as a reply.<\/p>\n

Post-Post-Script: Also, the jet-lag has not cleared up. The sun rises at 4:30 am here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Reflective\u00a0<\/strong>Journal Entry 2:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

16 Meitheamh 2012 \u2014<\/p>\n

R\u00e1inigh m\u00e9 i Gleann Cholm Cille anocht. Tosa\u00edonn mo rang Gaeilge am\u00e1rach. T\u00e1 m\u00e9 in iost\u00e1n le Hellie agus Mel (t\u00e1 Eli i mball eile). Chuamar go dt\u00ed an tr\u00e1; bh\u00ed s\u00e9 \u00e1lainn, ach bh\u00ed an fharraige fuar. Dhreap m\u00e9 carrac\u00e1n. Sn\u00e1mhfaidh m\u00e9 sa fharraige am\u00e1rach, agus dreap\u00f3idh m\u00e9 na sl\u00e9ibhte go luath.<\/p>\n

\u2014 B. Mac Math\u00fana<\/p>\n

\u2013<\/p>\n

16 June 2012 \u2014<\/p>\n

I arrived in Gleann Cholm Cille tonight. My Irish class starts tomorrow. I am in a cottage with Hellie* and Mel* (Eli* is elsewhere). We went to the beach; it was beautiful, though the water was cold. I climbed a great pile of stones (like a natural cairn). I\u2019ll swim in the sea tomorrow, and soon I\u2019ll climb the mountains.<\/p>\n

\u2014 B. McMahon<\/p>\n

*mic l\u00e9inn Notre Dame (ND students)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Reflective\u00a0<\/strong>Journal Entry 3:<\/strong><\/p>\n

17 Meitheamh 2012 \u2014<\/p>\n

\n

Bh\u00ed mo Gaeilge rang c\u00e9ad agam inniu. T\u00e1 m\u00e9 i \u201cLevel a d\u00f3,\u201d leis an nao\u00fa daoine eile. Bhualadh m\u00e9 le duine nua in Oideas Gael. Is \u00ed Miriam mac l\u00e9inn sa Bhreatain Bheag, ach is as Sasana s\u00ed. Oibr\u00edonn Jim i Cameroon (san Afraic), leis an rialtas Meirice\u00e1nach; is as St. Louis s\u00e9. T\u00e1 siad an-dheas, agus is maith liom siad. Beidh aithne agam ar duine breis go luath. Fosta, chuaigh m\u00e9 go dt\u00ed an tr\u00e1 le Hellie, Eli, agus Mel inniu, agus shn\u00e1mh m\u00e9 sa fharraige (an-fhuar) inniu. Is inniu l\u00e1 maith\u2026 is bre\u00e1 liom Gleann Cholm Cille.<\/p>\n

\u2014 B. Mac Math\u00fana<\/p>\n

\u2013<\/p>\n

17 June 2012 \u2014<\/p>\n

I had my first Irish class today. I am in \u201cLevel Two,\u201d with nine other people. I met new people in Oideas Gael. Miriam is a student in Wales, though she\u2019s English. Jim works in Cameroon (Africa), for the US government, as he\u2019s from St. Louis. They\u2019re quite nice, so they\u2019re good with me. I\u2019ll know more people soon, too. Also, I went to the beach with Hellie, Eli, and Mel today, and went swimming in the (very cold) sea. It was a good day today\u2026 I really like Gleann Cholm Cille.<\/p>\n

\u2014 B. McMahon<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Reflective\u00a0<\/strong>Journal Entry 4: <\/strong>Journal Task 1-Slang Words<\/p>\n

\n

I asked three young (all in their 20s) Irish speakers, including a male teacher and a female teacher, who have a lot of exposure to Irish-speaking teenagers that use slang, for a list of Irish slang words. All were speakers of the Ulster accent, from Donegal to Belfast.<\/p>\n

After a (large) list was compiled, I asked a few middle aged and older speakers of both genders about them. I\u2019ve selected four here, as well as two others that are standard words\/terms with slang roots or usage. Excluded words include those for rascals, naive people, and whiskey.<\/p>\n

The original definitions I was given are included in quotation marks.<\/p>\n

<\/em>breall\u00e1n \u2013 \u201cDick head\u201d (the meaning I was given, though I can\u2019t find similar Irish words for penis or head that would suggest the origin). An older man told me it was a general word for a jackass. A quick Google search reveals that it\u2019s also a part of Irish flower names. I am not aware of the connection.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

cr\u00f3ige\u00e1n \u2013 A \u201cbig, fat, ugly woman.\u201d Potentially offensive if you say it to someone\u2019s face, but several of the younger people said it\u2019s often used. An older woman told me that it was an old word.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

glaim\u00edn \u2013 An \u201cidiot\u201d (standard Irish word for a fool is \u201camad\u00e1n\u201d for males and \u201c\u00f3inseach\u201d for females, though of course English also has different words for idiot and fool, despite similar meanings). Considered fine for public use by anyone who recognized it, some (but not all) older people and a person from a different dialect (though this could be coincidental) did not recognize it.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2013<\/p>\n

B\u00e9arla \u2013 The name for the English language. According to a teacher, it developed from \u201cB\u00e9al r\u00e1,\u201d the Old Irish for \u201cshit speak\u201d or \u201cshit mouth.\u201d I looked a bit up and found that \u201cb\u00e9l\u201d was the Old Irish for \u201cmouth,\u201d but haven\u2019t found \u201cr\u00e1.\u201d He is an Irish-language teacher, fluent in Irish, and studied the linguistics of Irish in college, though, so there\u2019s likely something there. Most other languages include the root of the ethnic\/country name.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

poll an bhainc \u2013 An ATM (literally: \u201chole of the bank\u201d). This isn\u2019t slang, but is apparently used as such by many school children. In Irish, \u201cbh\u201d is pronounced as a \u201cw\u201d when followed by a\/o\/u, and so this term can be slightly mispronounced as \u201cpull a wank\u201d and used as a euphemism for masturbation. \u201cT\u00e1 m\u00e9 ag dul go dt\u00ed poll an bhainc\u201d means \u201cI\u2019m going to an ATM\u201d or, jokingly, \u201cI\u2019m going to pull a wank.\u201d It flows particularly well because Irish lacks an indefinite article.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

(When the male teacher said \u201cpoll an bhainc\u201d for the list, the female teacher walked out of the room.)<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Reflective\u00a0<\/strong>Journal Entry 5: <\/strong>Journal Task 3-Cultural Holiday<\/p>\n

I was in Gleann Cholm Cille for the night of June 23rd, which is called Bonfire Night. I spoke with a professor\/archaeologist who was giving talks on the subject. He showed me local Stone, Bronze, and Iron Age structures, explaining that Bonfire Day came from the ancient druid culture. He said \u201cBonfire\u201d came from \u201cBonefire,\u201d given the accounts of ancient druidic rituals of leading animals into the fire for ritual sacrifice. \u201cBonefire Night\u201d was always on the eve of the summer solstice. Over time, as Ireland Christianized, the festival was adopted as celebrating the Eve of St. John\u2019s Day, and so was fixed to the night of the 23rd. The countryside is covered by massive bonfires (standing from a point of high ground, dozens were visible throughout the valley) and it is a night of great significance to the local culture.<\/p>\n

I asked a local man, and his response was, \u201cWe make great piles of wood and tires and light them on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked why, he responded, \u201cFor the craic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflective\u00a0<\/strong>Journal Entry 6:<\/strong> Journal Task 4-Minorities<\/p>\n

Given the fact that I was in a village of 700 people (and perhaps 4,000 sheep), I didn\u2019t have great exposure to many minorities. However, I was able to speak with a local Protestant (a cultural minority in the Republic) and, briefly, with a young black boy. The boy spoke Irish, but the Protestant man did not. Both related the language to their experiences.<\/p>\n

The local Protestant man said that he didn\u2019t feel like he was discriminated against in Gleann, given the fact that there\u2019s a Protestant Church and a Catholic Church in town. He said that in the Republic, there\u2019s little to no religious tension in the modern era, and he\u2019s perfectly comfortable. He isn\u2019t unpatriotic, and considers himself Irish (in contrast with most Protestants in the North). However, despite living in an Irish speaking region, he\u2019s always seen the Irish language as something he would be an outsider to. He didn\u2019t have a negative opinion of the language, he simply wasn\u2019t interested in it. Irish culture was his culture, but the language wasn\u2019t an aspect he found all that significant. I should note that I met Irish Catholics who similarly didn\u2019t care for the language. There was a Protestant man from Belfast, raised a British loyalist and taught to hate the Irish language in the Irish classes with me, showing that there has been progress where division over the language is concerned.<\/p>\n

The black boy is an interesting case, in that he speaks Irish, and so the only issue he raised directly pertained to the language. In Irish, the word for \u201cperson\u201d is \u201cduine\u201d and the word for \u201cblack\u201d is \u201cdubh\u201d (pr. \u201cdoo\u201d or \u201cdoov\u201d depending on dialect). However, the word for a black person is not \u201cduine dubh,\u201d which would be a literal translation. Instead, it is \u201cduine gorm.\u201d \u201cGorm\u201d is the Irish word for \u201cblue,\u201d and the boy said that he didn\u2019t like being called blue. He didn\u2019t like being called anything, actually, but he was particularly offended by being called a blue person. I spoke to a linguist about this, and explained that it comes from a similar old Irish word that meant someone whose skin has been darkened by the sun. In that way, the predecessor to \u201cduine gorm\u201d was more accurate than just saying \u201cblack person,\u201d but with the evolution of the language, few people know this and most just think it means \u201cblue person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflective\u00a0<\/strong>Journal Entry 6:<\/strong> Journal Task 6-Views towards the US<\/p>\n

The first person I talked to was a man of around thirty. He prefaced his remarks by telling me that most Irish people like America, they just don\u2019t like the things its government does around the world. He expanded upon this by expressing his disdain for the Iraq War and George W. Bush. He says he doesn\u2019t really like Obama personally (he preferred Hillary Clinton), but called Sarah Palin crazy and McCain \u201cscary.\u201d He thinks that the income divide in America is disgusting, and threw out the George Carlin line, \u201cIt\u2019s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.\u201d He also said that the general stereotype was that all Americans were idiots (similar to the American stereotype that the Irish are all drunks).<\/p>\n

I also spoke to an older woman, who didn\u2019t think highly of America\u2019s corporate culture, the influence of money on government, or the attacks on labor unions. She contrasted America\u2019s claim to be the protector of democracy with instances in which it helped overthrow democracies just to replace them with favorable dictatorships, dwelling in particular upon the 1973 CIA-backed Chilean coup that replaced democratically elected Salvador Allende with the brutal fascist dictator Augusto Pinochet, laying much of the blood shed by the latter on the hands of the US government. She compared this to the failed 2002 Venezuelan coup attempt against another democratically elected socialist, Hugo Ch\u00e1vez, which was backed by the US. She\u2019s a citizen of the UK, having been born in the North, and also had a lot of words for Margaret Thatcher that don\u2019t particularly pertain to this assignment.<\/p>\n

The third person I spoke with was a young woman. She had a favorable view towards the US in general, but felt that the gun laws were barbaric. Police in the Republic and the UK aren\u2019t even armed, though those in the North still carry guns. She likes American movies and culture, and only other complaint that pertained to America was that Kraft had bought Cadbury and she was worried that they would change their chocolate recipe to save money on ingredients.<\/p>\n

I also briefly spoke with a teenage boy from Belfast who fantasized about leaving and going to America. He plans on making it big in New York City as soon as he can get there. I didn\u2019t have this assignment in mind at the time, so I didn\u2019t ask more, but I thought it was of note.<\/p>\n

Postcard(s) from Abroad:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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Reflection on my language learning and intercultural gains:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition to gaining ground in my ability to speak Irish confidently, I was able to gain a lot more knowledge on how the language works. As for my specific goals, I would judge my success as mixed, given the ambition of my goals.1. I am able to communicate with native speakers on a wide range of topics, including news, philosophy, religion (a debate about allowing women to be priests stands out), and history. However, I cannot do so with the same speed as in English; my speaking is at perhaps the speed, and my listening comprehension drops if the person is speaking too quickly. After a month, it was an unrealistic goal to adapt to a native speed, but the effort certainly helped me advance as much as I did.2. I am able to discuss history and philosophy in Irish, but not to the same extent as in English. I have made a point of including vocabulary focused on these topics in my own personal study (or else I’d never be able to talk about communist revolutions or religious debates).3. I certainly can’t think in Irish for days at a time. However, I can manage about an hour, perhaps longer with a dictionary in hand to fill in frustrating gaps. It’s an interesting exercise in an organic approach – learning how to put everything I think in Irish, as a necessity of thinking.After four weeks in the Gaeltacht, I think these results are pretty good. Fluency in such a time would be utterly unrealistic, but the structure is certainly there for me to continue to grow.<\/p>\n

Reflection on my summer language abroad experience overall:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Given the gap I had between the end of spring semester and the start of my program, I would say that the saying “If you don’t use it, you lose it” is particularly accurate for second languages. Not using Irish much in the month before my program started made the first week particularly difficult, but then being immersed in the language caused me to develop my language skills at a far faster rate than ever before.My advice would be to approach the language program with dedication, and to avoid speaking your native language as much as possible. If you are in contact with a number of people who do speak English (as I was), setting aside certain hours (especially during particularly social times) in which you only speak the language you are studying is a great way to grow. There really is no fast or easy way to learn a language, you just have to live in it.<\/p>\n

How I plan to use my language and intercultural competences in the future:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition to my continuing Irish language classes, I am pursuing use of Irish whenever possible, from department events, like conversation tables, to staying connected with students who were in the Gleann with me. Everything from Irish-language meals to keeping up with sports I picked up in the Gaeltacht (hurling is fantastic) are working to keep me motivated.In addition to the personal advancement I feel at learning the Irish language, as discussed previously in my explanation of my preference for the language’s way of thinking, there is certainly an academic potential for my language abilities, as a history major. I’m already taking a class about the history and culture of the Irish language, particularly in the Gaeltacht, and the language could very well end up directly relating to independent history research, particularly through the handling of pre-20th century primary sources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Name: William McMahon E-mail: wmcmahon@nd.edu Location of Study: Donegal, Ireland Program of Study:\u00a0Oideas Gael Sponsor(s): J. Patrick Rogers   A brief personal bio: Having lived in Florida for most of my life, I was unsure about coming to the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":474,"featured_media":0,"parent":36,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-113","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/474"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":542,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/113\/revisions\/542"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/36"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}