Rosetta Stone and dialect
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The purpose of this forum is to provide a place for people who are interested in the Irish language and various Celtic languages to discuss them, to practice them, and to share information about them, particularly (but not exclusively) in the context of traditional music and culture.
This is not a "translation forum," per se, though translation requests may occasionally be honored at the discretion of the moderators. If you're seeking a one-time translation for something like a tattoo, engraving, wedding vow, or other such purpose, we strongly recommend that you visit our friends at ILF: http://irishlearner.awyr.com
The purpose of this forum is to provide a place for people who are interested in the Irish language and various Celtic languages to discuss them, to practice them, and to share information about them, particularly (but not exclusively) in the context of traditional music and culture.
This is not a "translation forum," per se, though translation requests may occasionally be honored at the discretion of the moderators. If you're seeking a one-time translation for something like a tattoo, engraving, wedding vow, or other such purpose, we strongly recommend that you visit our friends at ILF: http://irishlearner.awyr.com
- pipersgrip
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Rosetta Stone and dialect
Hi there I was wondering if Rosetta Stone was a good way to learn if anyone has experience with it. Also, would it be more of the Southern Irish or Northern Irish dialect. I can't seem to find that out. Thanks!
"In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart." John Bunyan
- Redwolf
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Re: Rosetta Stone and dialect
My understanding is that it tried to remain dialect-neutral (which really isn't possible with Irish), but that the pronunciations are purely Munster. So I guess "Southern-neutral"The Whistle Collector wrote:Hi there I was wondering if Rosetta Stone was a good way to learn if anyone has experience with it. Also, would it be more of the Southern Irish or Northern Irish dialect. I can't seem to find that out. Thanks!
I'm not a huge fan of the Rosetta Stone products myself...I feel that they're overpriced, and that there are lots of other computer programs out there accomplish the same thing for a lot less. But that's just me...obviously a lot of people are sold on them. I can tell you that we get a lot of puzzled queries from Rosetta Stone users at IGTF, because it doesn't EXPLAIN anything...and with a highly inflected language like Irish, that really confuses people ("Why is 'mother' pronounced "MAH-hir" here but "VAH-hir" there???" is an example of the type of questions we get).
Someone on IGTF recently posted that Rosetta Stone is offering a free trial of its Irish program through the end of March, so you might want to try it out and see what you think:
http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/tr ... 05080.html
We also have reviews of various learning products here:
http://www.learnirishgaelic.com/productcomparison/
I don't know if it's OK to post something I'm involved with, but here's a new, reasonably low-cost on-line program you might find interesting as well:
http://www.bitesizeirishgaelic.com/
I don't have any financial interest in the company...I just do some editing and writing for them.
Redwolf
...agus déanfaidh mé do mholadh ar an gcruit a Dhia, a Dhia liom!
- Danner
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Re: Rosetta Stone and dialect
One of the guys in my Irish class used Rosetta Stone. It drastically improved his pronunciation. I didn't see much improvement in his command of the language though.
Ádh mór ort! (Good luck!)
Ádh mór ort! (Good luck!)
- pipersgrip
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Re: Rosetta Stone and dialect
Thanks everyone. I do think Rosetta Stone is extremely expensive. I was just wondering if it was worth its money, like everyone claims it to be.
"In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart." John Bunyan