SPEAKERS OF fewer than 80 of the world’s 7,000 languages are thought to enjoy the luxury of having their mobile phones finish their sentences for them. Irish has joined that select group as predictive texting as Gaeilge has become available for the first time.
With the help of free software designed by Vodafone and Foras na Gaeilge, users can now set their phones to prompt from more than 25,000 Irish language words and phrases, with full grammatical support for all common terms. Announced in Dublin yesterday, Téacs will be available across all networks.
Carolan Lennon, consumer director at Vodafone Ireland, said the new service meant that customers who wished to text in Irish could now do so across a broad range of different handsets.
“We believe that the ability to use predictive text in Irish without needing to acquire new technology will have an immensely positive effect on the usage of the language, particularly amongst young people in education, for whom SMS is a primary means of communication,” she said.
“We are delighted that it is now available for free for download by Irish lovers all over the island of Ireland no matter what network they are on and look forward to it making a hugely positive impact on the language and its daily use.”
Foras na Gaeilge chief executive Ferdie Mac an Fhailigh said it had been working with Vodafone for a number of years to develop the texting service for both fluent Irish speakers and occasional users of the language. “This service offers Irish language texting at your fingertips,” he said.
Although provided by Vodafone as a free download, Téacs is available to all mobile users by visiting http://wap.teacs.ie
