Ireland has a languages question. Can the official policy of renewing the Irish language to make citizens bilingual with English or multilingual with third languages match the actual overwhelming dominance of English in Irish life?
The languages question is topical following Catherine Connolly’s commitment to make the promotion of the Irish language a prominent theme of her presidency. That fits well with new research from Trinity College Dublin showing how multilingualism’s cognitive interaction protects healthy ageing – and boosts lifelong intelligence. Language capacity helps economic competitiveness, since Irish people and firms without third languages fall behind Europeans and others in labour and business markets.
All this highlights a big opportunity to promote multilingualism.
Continue Reading on The Irish Times
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.