Oscar nomination for foreign film The Quiet Girl shines spotlight on 'endangered' Irish language


As the 2023 Academy Awards prepare to get underway Sunday, one film that has garnered an Oscar nomination is piquing interest across the pond in a disappearing language.
An Cailín Ciúin, or The Quiet Girl in English, is nominated for Best International Film. The Colm Bairéad-directed coming-of-age film is set in rural Ireland, and the majority of the dialogue is in the Irish language. The film has grossed more than $1 million at the U.K. and Irish box office, according to film tracking site The Numbers, and still has a wide theatrical distribution in Ireland.
The first Irish-language film to be nominated for an Academy Award, The Quiet Girl has placed a renewed spark in the country's native tongue, also known as Gaelic. While Reuters noted that "Irish is taught as a compulsory subject all the way through to the end of high school," it is a dying language, with just 70,000 of Ireland's five million citizens speaking it at least once a day, recent census data shows.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
UNESCO's Atlas of World Languages in Danger reported in 2021 that the language was "definitely endangered." Irish newspaper the Irish Independent noted that "linguists predict that at least 43 percent of languages currently spoken in the world today will likely disappear in the next century, including Irish."
With the decline of Irish speakers, Bairéad hopes that the awards season success of his film will help to shine a spotlight on endangered languages.
"It took me a while to accept that actually to be given another language and to be given our native language was a beautiful thing and a gift really," Bairéad told Reuters, adding that "when you have a language that is becoming part of the cultural landscape, that really helps."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
-
NASA reveals ‘clearest sign of life’ on Mars yet
Speed Read The evidence came in the form of a rock sample collected on the planet
-
Former top FBI agents sue, claiming Trump purge
Speed Read The agents alleged they were targeted by a “campaign of retribution”
-
Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk shot dead at 31
Speed Read Kirk was holding a debate session at Utah Valley University
-
A Spinal Tap reunion, Thomas Pynchon by way of Paul Thomas Anderson and a harrowing Stephen King adaptation in September movies
the week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Spinal Tap II,’ ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘The Long Walk’
-
Film reviews: The Roses, Splitsville, and Twinless
Feature A happy union devolves into domestic warfare, a couple's open marriage reaps chaos, and an unlikely friendship takes surprising turns
-
Film reviews: Eden and Honey Don't!
Feature Seekers of a new utopia spiral into savagery and a queer private eye prowls a high-desert town
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
The 5 best zombie movies of all time
The Week Recommends Ghouls feasting on flesh have been a staple of cinema for more than 50 years
-
Film reviews: Highest 2 Lowest and Weapons
Feature A kidnapping threatens a mogul's legacy and a town spins into madness after 17 children disappear
-
A guide to Budapest's healing thermal baths
The Week Recommends There's a reason why it's called the City of Spas
-
Every MCU movie since 'Avengers: Endgame,' ranked
The Week Recommends How did the recent 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' stack up?