Madam, - David Herman (October 8th) excoriates supporters of Irish-language rights as zealots and sneers that only a tiny minority speak or read the language.
It's true: Irish is a minority language. But the issue is not about numbers but about basic rights, in this case the linguistic and cultural rights of a significant minority of Irish people.
He is also right when he says that "in this country, after all, appearance is far more important than reality". As Irish or bilingual speakers will know, the whole point about language policy here for decades is precisely that it has been hypocritical and inadequate and has never guaranteed clear and enforceable core rights.
If we are so intolerant towards a minority within our own society, how can we hope to build a pluralist and multicultural Ireland which welcomes and respects new migrants and their cultures?
We appear to be in the grip of an ugly and utilitarian public culture which bases service provision and ideas about culture and society on the perceived needs of the so-called core demographic group - mainstream, English-speaking, high-spending, middle-class, urban young people. This is the crass politics of advertising, not a picture of broader Irish society.
There are a lot more people out there, and a lot more diversity, than can ever be encompassed by such a narrow vision.
The vast majority of Irish speakers and Irish language supporters have long since abandoned the intolerant and myopic chimera of a monolingual Irish-speaking Ireland. Why should they put up with an intolerant, monolingual English-speaking Ireland? The least they can expect from mainstream non-Irish speaking society is tolerance, respect and basic rights. - Yours, etc.,
PIARAS MAC ÉINRÍ,
Model Farm Road,
Cork.
Madam, - It is not only road signs in Irish that are being misspelt but also, for instance, the big flashing sign directing drivers to "Cuff Street" at the junction of Earlsfort Terrace and St Stephen's Green in Dublin. A new four-letter word? - Yours, etc.,
KEN WHITAKER,
Stillorgan Road,
Dublin 4.