First, up until the nineteenth century, the Irish language was frequently spoken in the island; however, it was only used in informal conversations. (see McDermott 26) Then, Irish slowly perished among Ireland and McDermott (26) notes that “Irish […] was no longer a language of political, social or economic power…”. The reason that the Irish population preferred English is due to its associations. (Fanon qtd. in McDermott 26) While the Irish view their own culture as “backward, inferior” and a regress for the society, the culture and language of the former colonizer was a sign of “empowerment and opportunity.” (Fanon qtd. In McDermott 26) The contemporary Dublin depicted in Yu Ming is Ainm Dom is not different than a few centuries ago. It may be true that the Irish population does not regard their own culture as backward or inferior anymore but as far as the usage of Irish is concerned, the original mother …show more content…
explains why the Irish population is reluctant towards the language as follows:
One can conclude that various campaigns for the promotion of Irish resulted in people to avoid Irish than support the revival of it. During the conversation between Yu Ming and Paddy, it is mentioned that Irish is not spoken in Dublin. Paddy clarifies the situation as follows:
Even though the abovementioned dialogue does not mirror the resentment of the Irish language by the citizens, Yu Ming at least finds out that the spoken language of Ireland is not its first official language. Eventually, the main character leaves Dublin and resides in the Gaeltacht region. The short film might end happily for Yu Ming but generally, it can be read as a failure since the Irish government spent a large amount of money and time to reinforce the Irish language. As a consequence, it “caused more resentment than support…”. (Boorah et al. qtd. in McDermott