" ... derived from the New English-Irish dictionary [Foclóir Nua Béarla-Gaeilge] which is available online at www.focloir.ie ... contains an extensive range of contemporary Irish-language translations of modern English words and phrases. More than 30,000 headwords; more than 85,000 senses; more than 200,000 phrases and sentences in Irish; broad coverage of informal and idiomatic language; thousands of technical terms in the areas of science, education, technology, and many more; style and grammar supplement."--Back cover.

The book offers a comprehensive overview of forms of modern Irish within a general linguistic framework. Starting with information on the sociolinguistics of modern Irish and on the overall sound system of the language, it then proceeds with a tripartite division of the present-day language into northern, western and southern Irish. It gives specific information on the features of each dialect and considers many sub-divisions, using maps and tables to illustrate clearly what is the subject of discussion. There are several innovations in the book, such as a system of lexical sets which facilitate the description and analysis of variation and change in modern Irish. The data for the book stems from recordings of more than 200 speakers and all the statements made about the structure of Irish are based on native speakers' speech samples. These are supplied online with a software interface which allows users to quickly orient themselves among the varieties of Irish via clickable maps. A number of further issues are focused on in the book, such as the possibility of dialect reconstruction and the use of place-name evidence for determining the earlier distribution of Irish. Additional historical and background information is provided so that scholars and students without any previous knowledge of the language can readily grasp the themes and issues discussed.

"Nolaig Mac Congail's Irish Grammar Book is a reference manual for learners of Irish. It presents the rules of Irish grammar in a clear, concise and understandable manner. The grammatical rules are based on those contained in Niall O Donaill's Factoir Goeilge-Beana, the single largest corpus of authoritative Irish in existence."--BOOK JACKET.

Specially written by experienced teachers, this easy to use and completely up-to-date course provides a step-by-step approach to spoken and written Irish with no prior knowledge of the language required. What makes Colloquial Irish your best choice in personal language learning? emphasis on the language of East Connemara, with a clear pronunciation guide and an appendix on dialectal differences within Irish stimulating exercises with lively illustrations effective combination of language points, dialogues and cultural information Irish/English and English/Irish word lists. By the end of this rewarding course you will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in Irish in a broad range of everyday situations. Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues and texts from the book and will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills.