Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill

On The Language Issue by Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill

By Rokhaya Fall, Grade 13, Sénégal

The Language Issue, and how this poem relates to language and culture issues. Read the poem here.

Originally titled, ‘Ceist na Teangan’, this poem by Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill, an Irish writer, has been translated from Irish to English. Thus, the author’s choice of words is quite revealing in terms of language and culture matters. The fact that the poet chose to write in Irish though knowing how much it could restrict her audience is symbolic as it shows us that she is fixed and anchored in her Irish culture.

Her poem refers to an ancient Biblical story whose hero Moses was a prophet invested with one mission: to free his people, the slaves. However, in The Language Issue, Nuala uses the same context for another mission, the rescue of a declining language: Irish.

Thus, in verses 1 and 4, the author through metaphors refers to language as her “hope” and as an infant while we can assume that the little boat and the basket of intertwined iris leaves in lines 2 and 5 might represent the author’s work.. We can then draw a parallel between language and the author’s poem as we notice that the poet is using rough means of transportation such as the little boat or the basket to carry an infant, a being who is delicate and vulnerable. Through that image, the poet reveals to us her aim. Indeed, by writing in Irish, she is putting her hope, her infant, her language in a small boat to keep it from dying. The idea of immensity that we usually have of a river can be contrasted with the small size of the boat and tells us how the author’s means are limited compared to the difficulty of rescuing a language.

However, the last three lines are rather optimistic, as the lap of the Pharaoh’s daughter may symbolize a possibility of success in the author’s noble quest. So through this poem, we understand that the author is making use of her talent as a writer to carry her language, Irish, in order to prevent its death. She wants to be heard by people who, like the Pharaoh’s daughter, will advocate the rescue of Irish, protect it and help it blossom until it becomes strong enough not to be endangered.

To sum up, I can say that since its creation, the world has produced millions of languages. Some have survived, some have evolved, many have died and many will die if nothing is done for their preservation. Thus, actions such as Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill’s can be perceived as courageous attempts to rescue dying languages but will it find its Pharaoh’s daughter to support it? That is the whole point!