Strong evidence Irish language seen as business plus, says Cork author

A CORK-BORN author, who has written about enterprise and culture, has said a newly published survey indicates that a majority of people have a favourable impression of companies who use Irish in their advertising and packaging – even if they do not have a great knowledge of Irish themselves.

According to Professor Finbarr Bradley, who founded the Irish medium third-level enterprise course, Fiontar, in Dublin City University, the results of a survey of 1,000 respondents by Amárach Research were undeniable: Irish is good for business.

In the research, which was commissioned by Irish language education provider Gaelchultúr and published at the start of Seachtain na Gaeilge, it was revealed that 73% of people agree that when a business uses Irish, they assume it’s local or Irish-owned.

Research

The research suggested 26% of respondents would be willing to pay more for the products or services from such a company. 

About 41% of people surveyed either agree or strongly agree that they are more likely to buy products or services from a company that uses Irish than from one that does not.

A third strongly agreed that they like to see businesses use Irish to communicate with customers even if they themselves do not completely understand the language. 

According to Professor Bradley, who comes from the Glasheen Rd in Cork City, bilingualism is increasingly being viewed in what he termed an ‘overwhelmingly positive fashion’.

“It evokes emotional associations of Irishness, tradition and supporting local,” he said.

“In the words of a former EU trade commissioner, ‘in a world where almost anything could be made anywhere, identity is anything’.” 

Opportunity

He said very few firms were grasping the ‘opportunity to tap into consumers’ identities and pride in tradition’ and attributed this could be down to ‘a legacy of colonialism’ and the ‘psychological consequences of language loss have led to an inferiority complex resulting in missed business opportunities’.

“The Gaelchultúr study has implications for enterprises competing domestically as well as internationally,” said Professor Bradley. 

“It highlights the necessity for radically different policies to stimulate the creation and sustenance of successful globally-competitive locally anchored Irish enterprises.” 

He said people in their quest for a deeper sense of self wanted to spend more time and money on compelling local experiences and listed food, drink, crafts and tourism as the sectors where this was most evident.