In the Name of the Fada

[proinsias123]

I watched this series and thought it was good and funny, but also inspiring. It's about a comedian who endeavors to become fluent in Irish in one year in order to do a full stand-up gig in the language.

Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPqoKpyhzP8

Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUM9T5K8lrI

Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkXRsAx074U

Episode 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMQRFK_a4Nk

Episode 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnrQmSIkP1E

Episode 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQgvS2A8Xz8

[Knocksedan]

Thanks for the reminder - it's been a while since I saw this, when it was first broadcast in 2008, so it will be interesting to watch it again.

For those who aren't familiar with the comedian involved in this series, Des Bishop was raised in New York, and only moved to Ireland when he was 16, so he didn't have a base of "school Irish" to work from (there are some people who would argue that might have been an advantage for this project!)

He has since gone on to do something similar with Mandarin, and has done some comedy work in China.

[mwasson]

Heh, I just heard about this guy on Sinica, an excellent Chinese current affairs podcast. What's amazing is that he apparently set out just to learn enough Mandarin to do standup, and he succeeded. In the opinion of one of the hosts, his Chinese was horrible but he was still able to get a crowd laughing. Maybe there is some universality to humor.

[jayr]

This movie is what got me started learning Irish. I watched it and downloaded Rosetta Stone.

[Fingolfin1346]

It's worth a watch for the many in-jokes for Irish speakers and learners. I particularly like the idea of keening about planning permission (though that dates the show to an earlier and slightly wealthier Ireland).

[danoconnell55]

I tried to learn Irish the same way when I vacationed in Ireland earlier this year. I tried to speak and learn as much Irish as I could with my tour guide. It really does help, once you converse in a new language with a native speaker you won't forget anything new that you've learned.

[Eikoopmit]

Roughly how mature would you say that one would have to be to see this? For instance, lots of stand-up comedians go into dark or adult themes, and as such, I'm just curious as to how kid-friendly this one is. Just out of curiosity, before I watch it.

[proinsias123]

Suitable for all ages, I would say.

[Eikoopmit]

Alright. I'll probably get around to watching it after I finish bingewatching Doctor Who (which, for those of you outside of the UK/Commonwealth who only know about the 9th doctor onwards, started back in the early '60s).