Portman, Erin

Name: Erin Portman
Location of Study: Ireland
Program of Study:
Sponsor(s): Robert Berner

25 thoughts on “Portman, Erin

  1. I wasn’t able to upload my pre-departure blog post prior to my arrival in Ireland, unfortunately. So here it is, on Day 3 instead:

    I’m not entirely sure what to expect on my trip to Ireland. I’m hoping to focus on conversation, especially on expanding my vocabulary. To achieve this, I plan on trying to talk to my host family in Irish as much as I can. I hope the class level I will be in will focus mostly on vocabulary acquisition. It’ll be interesting to see how my Irish is compared to the other people in my class, and also the others staying in my house. I plan on keeping a notebook dedicated to phrases and useful words I learn while at the program. I’m also hoping to improve my pronunciation. The local dialect is similar to what I’ve been learning at Notre Dame, so it shouldn’t be hard to work on how I pronounce words and phrases.

    I expect it’ll be difficult at first to recover my Irish, especially hearing and speaking. However, I’m hoping that after a few days it’ll come back to me, and then I’ll be able to improve my conversation abilities. That’s all for now–more once I get to Ireland, hopefully!

  2. I talked to a few people I’ve met here about their opinions regarding the U.S., both generally and specifically.
    First, I talked to Lucy, my host (or bean an tí). She wasn’t terribly opinionated one way or the other, but definitely had a generally positive attitude towards the U.S. She appreciates that many Americans like Ireland and Irish culture, although she also mentioned that the American image of Ireland is rather flat and romanticized, without really incorporating the complexities of Irish culture and current affairs. Like many people in Europe, she expressed a positive attitude towards President Obama, although she said that she liked him more when he was first elected than she does now.
    Next, I talked to Lucy’s son Fethíon, who is a student at NUI Galway. To him, America is primarily a cultural influence. He really likes American comedians and musicians, and even takes some interest in American sports. (When I interviewed him for this blog entry, he was wearing a Miami Heat jersey and playing the song “Some Nights” from his computer.) He also expressed a generally positive attitude toward Obama, but like his mother said that he was sort of disappointed with what Obama had been accomplishing. Their attitudes were quite similar to many Americans’, although their hopes may not have been as high from the start. Fethíon was more disappointed in (and at times angry with) Irish politicians, though, and didn’t really seem to have a firm opinion on U.S. foreign policy or any other specific issues.
    I also talked to Anna, a Finnish student at Cambridge who is staying in Lucy’s house as well. She is half-English, so her experience of English-language cultural exchange is primarily from the UK, especially since she attends university there. She still is quite aware of American music, TV, movies, and other media, as they frequently have some popularity in Finland. As far as politics go, she didn’t have any personal opinions, but she said that attitudes regarding Obama and U.S. policies are pretty mixed in Finland, depending on the individual’s political beliefs.

  3. An issue frequently discussed here (among locals and others) is the existence and maintenance of the Gaeltacht regions in Ireland. The Irish government spends money on preserving these areas in an effort (at least ostensibly) to help retain the Irish language and the associated culture. How that money is spent and the importance of the Gaeltacht itself are often debated. I talked to a few locals about their opinion on the issues:

    My host’s son, Fethíon, stated that it might be better if the Gaeltacht was just abolished and the money that is spent on it be reallocated to other projects that more actively preserve the language. He sees the Gaeltacht as more of a backwater where they try to keep the Irish culture stagnant (unsuccessfully–there’s still a lot of American and UK culture, even Dublin culture, here). Because the services in the Gaeltacht (phone lines, road, Internet connections, television, etc.) are frequently below the average of the rest of the country, Fethíon sees it as being actually discouraging to Irish speakers to remain in the Gaeltacht area and raise families there.

    Lucy, my host, thinks that having the Gaeltacht is important, but that it’s not really being run correctly now. Like Fethíon, she finds that the way the government spends money on the Gaeltacht to be ineffective. However, she still believes that there should be a Gaeltacht because it is an important part of preserving Irish culture and language in a natural and living state.

    I also talked to Maureen, the administrator of the summer program I am attending. She focused on the language aspect of the Gaeltacht, saying that the government does a pretty good job of funding programs like the one she runs. However, many of its other efforts at preserving the language and encouraging its use are ineffective. Even some language programs similar to this one are not accomplishing what they should with the amount of funding they receive. Maureen said if she could change something about the Gaeltacht, it would be a restructuring of how funds from the government should be distributed.

  4. I talked to my host and her family about some slang words and phrases I’ve learned in class. First, I asked them about the word “scioptha,” which is a very local term for “fast” or “quick.” All four of them (Lucy, her husband Ciarán, her son Fethíon, and her daughter Muirean) had heard of it, although both Fethíon and Muirean said they more frequently used the term “tapa” for fast/quick. Ciarán and Lucy knew the word “tapa,” and said that they’ve heard it used, but they also said they almost never use it themselves.
    The next word I asked about was “gafa,” which means addicted. To Fethíon and Muirean, the term had connotations of spending too much time on the Internet or watching TV (e.g. “I’m addicted to Facebook!”). For Lucy and Ciarán, “gafa” means addicted to drugs or alcohol, etc. They said they would understand it if they heard it used to mean addicted to social media or something like that, but they would be more inclined to use the word “róthógtha” to mean addicted to Facebook, etc.
    Finally, I asked about the phrase “téigh i dtigh diabhail,” which is a curse that translates literally to “go to the devil’s house.” I was wondering if there was a generational difference between when and how this phrase is used. Both Lucy and Ciarán said that they were very familiar with the phrase, and that it was mostly used to swear at people. Muirean said she knew the phrase but had never really heard it used nor used it herself. Fethíon laughed when I asked him about this phrase, and he said he wouldn’t use it (because it’s an old phrase) unless he was trying to be funny.
    In these terms, a generational gap is pretty clear, although it is not so severe that differently-aged people cannot understand specific terms.

  5. During the summer, there are a lot of boat festivals all along the coast of the Conamara Gaeltacht. They involve racing traditional “hooker”-type boats, which have distinctive orange or black sails and are made in a variety of sizes. Originally, these boats were used for trade, especially shipping cut turf and harvested seaweed from the coast and islands to Galway and County Clare. Even back in the time when they were working boats, races still took place in the summer, but were not the main purpose for any of the hookers. The use of hookers for trade dwindled in the mid-20th century–roads out to Carraroe and the area around it improved, and other fertilizers started to replace seaweed–and would have died out if not for their reintroduction into the 1960s and 70s exclusively for racing.
    The locals enjoy the boat festivals immensely–there’s usually a huge barbecue on the beach, weather permitting. However, the festival in Carraroe hasn’t taken place for 3 years. Between the cutbacks due to the economic crisis and different tourism patterns, it isn’t feasible to put the festival on any more. Hopefully the races will be reinstated soon, as they are a living reminder of the earlier Gaeltacht life and culture.

  6. My very last entry–how sad! I really enjoyed my time in Carraroe, and I know my Irish improved. I’m now much quicker at reading and writing, and–most importantly–my conversation comprehension has noticeably increased. By the end of the four weeks, I could understand probably 90% of what the teacher said in class. I could also understand some of what locals would say. I was also really pleased to learn a lot of vocab, including local phrases and words.
    I was really nervous about going on this trip, but I’m so glad I did. It was especially useful because I won’t be on campus in the fall to immediately follow up with my language skills, so it provided the perfect opportunity halfway between last spring and next spring to keep practicing my Irish. I would love to return next year because I had a wonderful time. I also learned more about local culture, which was important for me because I’m thinking about doing my senior thesis on Gaelic languages and the associated cultures. I’m also interested in the role government has in preserving cultures, so experiencing life in the Gaeltacht first hand has given me some insight into that, and some ideas on which I can base further research. I’m so grateful for this opportunity, and I believe it has been hugely beneficial for me not only as a learner of Irish but also as a globally-minded individual.