The Irish republic. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1867-18??, 1867-06-08
LECTURES AND LITERATURE.
The Language and Literature Of Ireland.
PART 3.
BY T. O'NEILL RUSSELL.

The perssency with which Irish writer's have followed
the habit of using the old Irish characters has sadly nterered
with the spread of the language We we cannot
give our readers specimens of those letters but afraid
there font of Irish type this side of the Atlantic
The Irish characters have evidently been either derived from
the Latin, ve They hardly different from
the than the German black letters and like
the latter they sadly nerered with the spread of the
language There absolutely for the Germans
Irish continuing the of characters that have nothing to
recommend them and only clumsy limitations of Latin let
ters The old Irish hardly be said have
the recommendation of antiquity for it fact that rule
older the manuscript the nearly do the characters
approach the Latin 1t only comparatively late period
Irish writer's began adopt those angular letters which
give books printed in such uncouth look The Book
ofArdmah which of the Oldest manuscripts in the world
dating from early in the ninth century, written in beautiful
round characters only slightly differing from the Latin Lam
guages genuine alphabet of their have right
preference other Greek might perhaps
lose some of charm if written with Latin letters but with
German Celtic there would be decided gain if that plan
adopted the languages in question would not lose
particle of their natural force beauty and would be made
accessible many who wish study them but deferred by
groesque characters in which they written The High
land Scotch have long ceased using the old characters but
very sensb print their Gaelic with Latin letters The conse
quence that amongst the half million of Gaecpeak
ing inhabitants of Scotland there four times many per-
Here is fact that may we'll many Fenan to blush
When Gaelic written in the old characters the mute ana
aspated consonan dotted but when written with Latin
letters the object attained by placing an after such
This has been objected by some as giving the
language very uncouth appearance 1t has, however, one
great advantage and that that the asprae is much less
likely be omitted misplaced than the dot The omission
msplacng of the dot might not only alter the sense In
tended to be conveyed but make it the opposite We
the preservation the Celtic literature would use their ntu-
ence with printers books in the DID, angular
characters Their continued done almost much to-
wards killing the Gaelic language either English persecution
Irish neglect
Without wearyng the reader too much we may perhaps
show Of the peculaes of the Gaelic language One of
the most peculiar things about it that the verb to
altogether One could express literally il Gaelic any
part of that verb or its conugaons How on EARTH then it
may be asked you say you haze anything Irish Well
you say you may cypress it, but must be admit
ted neither clearly forcby in other languages If
for instance wanted say he had knife he should say
Ia sca aqann that is literally there is knife me
or if it was required say that the knife belonged Thomas
the form used would be ia s0n e Imdtha is the knife
is with Thomas If wanted to say the knifei was mne the
form to use would be scian leOn-the knife is UM me-