AN GAODHAL.
31
A monthly Journal devoted to the Cultivation and
Preservation of the Irish Language and the au¬
tonomy of the Irish Nation
Entered at the Brooklyn P. O. as second-class mail
matter.
Ninth Year of Publication.
Published at 814 Pacific st., Brooklyn, N. Y.
M. J. LOGAN, Editor and Proprietor.
Terms of Subscription — $1 a year to students :
Sixty Cents to the general public, in advance ; $1
in arrears.
Terms of Advertising — 10 cents a line, Agate.
VOL 8, No. 3. OCTOBER, 1890.
GÆLIC v ROMAN TYPE.
Though THE GÆL has taken no active
part in the controversy concerning the
general use of the Irish or the Roman
letter in Gaelic literature yet, because
of the groundless arguments of the ad¬
vocates of the Roman letter, it would
be almost criminal on our part to re¬
main silent any longer.
The advocates of the Roman letter
claim,
First, That the difficulty of becom¬
ing acquainted with the forms of the
Gaelic letters prevents many from stu¬
dying the language.
Secondly, That there would be less
errors in Gaelic printed books because
the type-setters are not acquainted
with the Irish letters and,
Thirdly, That Gaelic type is much
dearer than Roman type.
These are three important points in
favor of the adoption of the Roman
letter if they were true, but they are
not.
First, There are only five of the I¬
rish letters that differ in form from
the Roman letters, namely, g, n, r, s
and t (g, n, r, s, t), and any one could
become acquainted with them in half
an hour. The Irish sounds of the let¬
ters differ materially from the English
sounds, and the appearance of the En¬
glish letter suggests at once to the
mind its English sound, thus confound¬
ing and confusing the student, where¬
as the appearance of the Irish letter
will suggest its Irish sound. Were the
sounds of the letters in both languages
the same, the advocates of the English
letter would have some grounds for
their argument; but no, the sounds are
diametrically opposite, and there is no
room for the argument.
Secondly, The typographical errors
in Gaelic printed works do not arise
from the use of the Gaelic letter for
the reason that the printer (who is u¬
sed to all forms of type) could become
acquainted with the five letters men¬
tioned in ten minutes; but they are
the result of careless proof-reading.
Thirdly, If space in a book or paper
be of any value, Gaelic is cheaper than
Roman type, for the h's used for aspi¬
ration when the Roman letter is em¬
ployed occupies one-twelfth of the en¬
tire space. Were the Gael printed in
Roman letter the space of two and a
half columns would be occupied by
the h's; and these columns under ads.
at a $ an inch would amount to $22.-
50 each issue in a year, to $270. A
font of type would hold good for eight
or more years, so that the h's in that
time would occupy space worth over
$2,000, and the cost of setting the h's
one-twelfth of the whole, additional.
But, apart from this, are not patrio¬
tic impulses and National pride invol¬
ved in the matter? If we be a sove¬
reign people why not retain our sove¬
reign characteristics? Are we to
yield ourselves bodies and souls into
the hands of the Gotho-Saxon mono¬
maniacs who are not satisfied with
trying to subvert our ancient autonom¬
ical characteristics but would also belie
our dead and living scholars? Why
this? Is it because the scholastic ge¬
nius of Irishmen has deteriorated
since the Dark Ages when they were
the beacon-lights of Europe, or is it a
