The publication of the Official Standard in 1958 was a pioneering act. The Translation Department had published Litriú na Gaeilge: Lámhleabhar an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (EN: Irish Orthography: A Handbook of the Official Standard) in 1947 and Gramadach na Gaeilge — Caighdeán Rannóg an Aistriúcháin (EN: Irish Grammar — Translation Department Standard) in 1953 but, with the publication of Gramadach na Gaeilge (EN: Irish Grammar) and Litriú na Gaeilge — An Chaighdeán Oifigiúil (EN: Irish Orthography — The Official Standard) in 1958, the Department had provided a comprehensive linguistic resource for the State and the public for official writing, a resource of a kind that was already available for other official languages in Europe.
It was stated in the Preface to the 1958 Official Standard that "teachers, writers and others, high and low, have been asking for a booklet that would provide a standard for Irish grammar, especially in matters of syntax," and the widespread acceptance of the Official Standard after its publication showed that this was indeed the case.
In 2012, the Translation Department published a revised version of the Official Standard. This was done because it was timely to conduct a comprehensive review and more than half a century had passed since the Official Standard was first published. Shortly thereafter, the Official Standard was given statutory status under the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Act, 2013. This Act provides for periodic review of the Official Standard and, in order to respect and comply with this statutory requirement, it was decided to carry out the first statutory review of the Official Standard under the Act without delay.
Provision is made in the Act for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to consult with the following Ministers when initiating a statutory review: the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht; the Minister for Education and Skills; and the Minister for Justice and Equality. There is also provision for consultation with any persons interested in the Official Standard and as the Commission deems appropriate, and with members of the public in general. Section 4(2) of the Act provides that the Commission may establish a committee to assist it in completing the statutory review. Against the backdrop of the provisions of the Act, therefore, it was decided that the review would consist of two parts — the consultation phase and the Advisory Committee phase.
The consultation phase was established in September 2014 and submissions were sought from the public and the various parties referred to in the Act. At the same time, the Advisory Committee was established to examine the points raised in the submissions and to make recommendations. In October 2014, the Advisory Committee met to begin the review. A report obtained from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and arising from a review organised by that Department in 2010 was included in that review. The Advisory Committee established was expert in a wide range of areas in which official Irish is used and each member had extensive experience of using the official language in various fields. The Advisory Committee worked hard for about a year to identify the issues and points for the review and to formulate recommendations in that regard.
A support team was established in the Translation Department to assist the Advisory Committee in its work and that team facilitated the process of processing the submissions received and the recommendations of the Advisory Committee. In parallel with that work, the support team redrafted the various chapters — a process that was based on the recommendations of the Advisory Committee.
The purpose of the review was to examine the rules of the Official Standard in order to improve them in terms of functionality and clarity. This examination included an assessment of the description of the rules and the illustrative examples accompanying them, to see whether they could be presented more clearly. In addition, the Advisory Committee was asked to make recommendations regarding issues that were not included in the previous Official Standard. This involved identifying areas in which it would be helpful for users of the Official Standard to have guidance available in that regard in the Official Standard. Recommendations from the Advisory Committee regarding the layout and presentation of the rules were also welcome.
In the Act, it is stated that the Official Standard is "the official standard of Irish, prepared by the Houses of the Oireachtas and published under Government copyright, to be used in primary and secondary legislation and as a guide for writing in Irish" and few would deny that there is a need for an official standard for writing if a language is to function clearly and precisely in the official areas of the State or society that use it for official purposes. It is an essential resource in achieving accuracy of meaning in official documents — in legislation, in state documents, in textbooks, in examination papers, etc. — and in establishing an official understanding for the sake of precise communication between state official bodies and the public. It is not an official standard for speech nor does it deny the richness of language in its various dialects. The following is stated in the Preface to the 1958 Official Standard: "This standard gives particular recognition to certain forms and rules but does not exclude other correct forms nor forbid their use." A form or version is not excluded from the Official Standard and does not lack correctness in Irish.
The Official Standard used optionality in 1958 and again in 2012 to identify more than one version or form or system. This means providing choices for users of the Official Standard in certain cases. Although there is not as much optionality in this edition, as a result of the clear preference expressed in a large number of submissions, optionality is maintained in certain cases in this edition, especially in Chapter 1 (The Article), where a choice is provided between two systems and, in addition, a choice within one system of those systems. It is the users of the Official Standard — the individual or organisation — who will choose between the systems and versions provided.
We wish to express our gratitude to all the individuals and organizations that submitted contributions as part of the review. We also wish to express our gratitude to the members of the Advisory Committee. Each of them did excellent work to ensure that the review process would yield the best possible outcome. The majority of the members served on a voluntary basis, but each of them generously gave their time and expertise to help us achieve a comprehensive review of the Official Standard. We are grateful to the official bodies and private companies that made their experts available for the process.
Special recognition is due to the Chair of the Advisory Committee, Dr. Éamonn Ó hÓgáin, for his prudent chairmanship of the meetings of the Advisory Committee to help the members complete the business. Indeed, Dr. Ó hÓgáin’s work was not limited to that responsibility alone and he was available throughout the process to provide advice and assistance to the support team. We are all indebted to him and to all members of the Advisory Committee for the great work they did and for the comprehensive recommendations they provided.
Our thanks are also due to the support team. They ensured that the work of the review proceeded effectively throughout the entire period and they worked diligently to ensure that the redrafting work was carried out in parallel with the discussions and meetings of the Advisory Committee. They performed a great feat.
We wish to express our gratitude to the entire Translation Section team. We also wish to express our gratitude to the Head of Council, Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD, and to the Clerk of the Irish Dáil, Peadar Ó Fionnagáin.
Vivian Uíbh Eachach,
The Chief Translator,
Translation Section,
April 2016.