Re: Language naming terminology

Tom Wier scripsit:

> The Irish government has, as much as almost any other government
> on earth, been dedicated from the get-go to reestablishing Irish
> (or Gaelic) as the national language, both in writing and speaking.
> There the problem was that the Irish have not, to date, fostered the
> sense of unity and commonality that the Jews have done, and therewith
> have not been able to give their efforts with respect to language the
> extra boost that would be needed [...].
A simpler explanation: when the Free State was founded in 1922, the
Irish already had a perfectly good common language that 99.9% of
them spoke: (Hiberno-)English.  The language had a standard written
form and was perfectly suitable to the needs of the new government
and its population.

The early Jewish settlers in Palestine, some 30-40 years previously,
had no equivalent.

--
John Cowan      http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              cowan@ccil.org
        You tollerday donsk?  N.  You tolkatiff scowegian?  Nn.
        You spigotty anglease?  Nnn.  You phonio saxo?  Nnnn.
                Clear all so!  'Tis a Jute.... (Finnegans Wake 16.5)