Buntús Cainte (1967)

Genre

education, children's television

Country

Ireland

How it feels

This is a television series from the 1960s that teaches the Irish language to beginners. It uses simple phrases spoken in both Irish and English. The show is presented by two hosts and includes cheerful illustrations.

instructivelivelyhumorousgentlewholesomeslow-pacedclearfriendly

What happens

Buntús Cainte (Irish pronunciation: [bˠʊn̪ˠˌt̪ˠuːsˠ ˈkan̠ʲtʲə], lit. 'rudiments of speech') is a book series and an Irish-language learning television programme, written by Tomás Ó Domhnalláin in the mid-1960s, illustrated by William Bolger, and first published in a three volume series by the Stationery Office, Dublin, Ireland, in 1967. It was the brainchild of Franciscan priest Colmán Ó hUallacháin. It was re-printed eight times between 1974 and 1999 by the Stationery Office and since 2002, it has been re-printed seven times by An Gúm. The more recent re-prints are accompanied by a CD. Copyright is now held by Foras na Gaeilge. The programme was broadcast on Raidió Teilifís Éireann in Ireland, beginning in 1967 until 1969. The show was designed to appeal to young viewers, and was lively and humorous. The programme was presented by Máire O’Neill and Aileen Geoghegan. By November 1967, 218,000 copies of the Buntús Cainte lessons booklet had been sold. The programme catered to people with little or no Irish. Phrases were spoken by the presenters in both Irish and English, and were also overlaid (in Irish) on a simple static illustration by William Bolger relating to the phrase. It is also the title of a series of 3 books which contain the programme material, including the cartoons, the spoken Irish words and the English and Irish text. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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