That's 1.57 million in Ireland alone - there are probably a couple of million more throughout the EU.
The BBC says the figure comes from the Irish census, which phrases a question on ability to speak Irish in such a way as to grossly inflate the number of Irish speakers in the country. This is probably useful if said census figures are going to be used to make the case for Irish becoming an official EU language.
It is a ridiculous question, because we answered 'yes' to it, even though I am the only one who ever speaks any Irish, and even then it is basic stuff like "dun an doras" and so on.
Not as much fun as the question about the relationships between people in the house, though. Housemate Niall ended up being marked down as "relative, other".
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That's 1.57 million in Ireland alone - there are probably a couple of million more throughout the EU.
The BBC says the figure comes from the Irish census, which phrases a question on ability to speak Irish in such a way as to grossly inflate the number of Irish speakers in the country. This is probably useful if said census figures are going to be used to make the case for Irish becoming an official EU language.
It is a ridiculous question, because we answered 'yes' to it, even though I am the only one who ever speaks any Irish, and even then it is basic stuff like "dun an doras" and so on.
Not as much fun as the question about the relationships between people in the house, though. Housemate Niall ended up being marked down as "relative, other".
I can't remember what I filled in in the census for the person I share a dwelling with. A chara, na caith tabac.
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