To be funny or to be greannmhar? That is the question
Bilingualism is a wonderful thing. It promotes good listening skills, problem-solving abilities and all those other things that make teachers and parents weak at the knees. I'm pretty sure I can count myself as part of that 50% of the global population that calls themselves bilingual, my two languages being English and Gaelainn , or Irish to you internationals (not called 'Gaelic', NEVER EVER CALLED 'GAELIC' ). However, two experiences of late have brought one major bone of contention to mind concerning my mother tongues, and that is this: I cannot, for the life of me, be funny through Irish. And this, my friends, is a big deal. I'm funny. I make people laugh, be it at me or with me. It's my get-out-of-jail-free card for new and potentially awkward situations. It's the main reason I have friends; in its absence I have very few positive personality traits to my name. Humour is in my genetic make-up. But there's actually a glitch in the gene, as...