Lots of people make basic mistakes again and again when they’re writing in Irish.
But now there are loads of online tools and apps available that help so that we can all write in Irish with more confidence.
I’ve been working on Irish language software tools for nearly 20 years, and there’s never been a better time to write in Irish.
For the first time ever we now have analytics data about the most common types of mistakes people make in Irish thanks to GaelGram (my latest online Irish spell check and Irish grammar checker).
And in my next few videos I’m going to reveal the top 3 mistakes and help you avoid making them yourself.
So let's dive in... ar aghaidh linn...
1. How to avoid leaving síneadh fadas out by accident (and how to type síneadh fadas on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android)
In my first video I cover the biggest category of mistake people make no matter how good their Irish is - and that's forgetting síneadh fadas. I explain the quickest and easiest ways how to type síneadh fadas on Windows, Apple Mac, iPhone, iPads or Android phones. Plus how to use tools like the Irish spelling checker GaelSpell to spot missing síneadh fadas and fix them automatically.
2. How to put séimhiús and urús in the right place
In my second video I explain how to avoid the second biggest type of mistake people make in Irish grammar: séimhiús and urús in the wrong place.
I give tips on how to spot and fix these mistakes quickly and easily using 3 powerful online tools - and how to use them to write in Irish with much more confidence.
The online tools I explain how to use to avoid these mistakes with the séimhiú and urú include:
1. Teanglann https://www.teanglann.ie/en/
2. Foclóir https://www.focloir.ie/en/
3. GaelGram https://www.gaelgram.ie/
3. How to use online tools to write standard "Caighdeán" Irish easily - PLUS Noeleen's GaelGram story
In this video I explain how to use powerful online tools to easily write in the "Caighdeán" official standardised form of Irish needed for school, college and work.
Plus Noeleen shares her story of how she uses GaelGram.
Now let me know in the comments what the most common mistakes you make are - and how you usually correct them!
Agus ná dearmad - an tseachtain seo, cuir peann le pár agus méar le méarchlár.
@Dymphna: Thanks for the feedback – I’m delighted to hear you find GaelGram so useful. And you’re right, like all grammar checkers in all languages it won’t get everything right all of the time… even the Google and Microsoft grammar checkers don’t pick everything up in English! By the way, there is a button to add new words to the dictionary in GaelGram which you might find useful. My next video will be all about the Caighdeán too so I’ll be covering off examples like the one you mention. GRMMA arís!
@Seán: Sea, tá GaelSpell fós ar fáil leis féin (agus tá sé mar chuid de GaelGram freisin).
@Seathrún: Suimiúil, grmma!
Ag éisteacht leat inniu, an bhfuil Gaelspell fós ar fáil?
Tá GaelGram agam, ach cheapas gur fóilsíodh é in áit Gaelspell
Haigh a Dhiarmaid
Gaelgram is an essential part of my proofreading now because while I can’t see when I’ve missed a fada, Gaelgram can. Knowing that Gaelgram will pick up missing fadas has freed me up to type my stories without stopping to check. I also tend to put fadas in when they are not necessary. Gaelgram will alert me to this, not directly, but maybe as a query as to whether I mean to use the genitive. This in turn teaches me about the genitive. Gaelgram is also helpful in identifying grammar points I haven’t quite grasped. Because I tend to use the same phrases, I make the same mistakes. With Gaelgram, I can whittle these mistakes down one by one. For example I have now learned that ‘a bheidh’ follows ‘cad’, whereas I had been writing ‘a mbeidh’. My grammar book tells me that there are lists of these, and I have tried to learn them, but keep forgetting them. Gaelgram has also improved the accuracy of my spoken Irish as a result. But like any other computerised aid, you need to exercise caution. Gaelgram will sometimes indicate an error when it’s Gaelgram that has ‘misread’ the sentence; for example, when the word ‘an’ is part of a question and not operating as a definite article. Also it is not programmed to accept all words. For example, I use the word ‘einne’ (fada over the first e) instead of aon duine because I learned it at school. Sometimes I change to aon duine but other times it doesn’t feel right to me, so I keep the dialect word.