Celtic 132. Introduction to Modern Irish

Barbara Hillers
Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures
Harvard University

Course Description

An introduction to Irish as it is spoken and written today. The class will be taught through the medium of Irish as much as possible. The course is strongly participatory in character, and class work will include grammar drills, games and conversational role play. New grammar and vocabulary are reinforced by regular written homework exercises. As a back-up to oral class work, students will work on their pronunciation and aural comprehension in the language lab once a week. Songs, proverbs, and poems are an integral part of the course, introducing students to the cultural background of Gaelic Ireland.

Luacháil (Assessment)

Liosta Leabhair (Reading List)

Required Texts

Buntús na Gaeilge: Irish for Adult Learners I, Barbara Hillers with Bettina Kimpton (Harvard, 2007) (text book developed for this course; distributed in class).
Foclóir Scoile, An Gúm (Dublin, 1994) (also available in a smaller format as Foclóir Póca).
New Irish Grammar, The Christian Brothers (Dublin, 1980).
The Irish Grammar Glance Card, Leon Mac Aogáin (Dublin, 1991).

Recommended Texts

Students planning on taking Intermediate Modern Irish and Advanced Modern Irish will want to consider purchasing the following dictionaries:
Foclóir Gaeilge - Béarla, ed. Niall Ó Dónaill (Baile Átha Cliath, 1977) OR
Gearrfhoclóir Gaeilge - Béarla, ed. Niall Ó Dónaill (Baile Átha Cliath, 1981) (a very slightly condensed version of the above) AND
English - Irish Dictionary, ed. T. de Bhaldraithe (Baile Átha Cliath, 1959).

An Teanglann (Language Lab)