It ’s not just the Irish who have good crack | Letter

Se án Boyle suspects that the Gaelicised spelling of ‘craic’ may be a more recent ploy to attract touristsAndrew Poole (Letters, 26 August) is of course correct that “crack” has a long history in Scots and north-eastern English. But it also existed in Ireland well before its late 20th-century emergence as “craic”. Growing up in south Ulster, it was in regular use by young and old – “Sure, he’s great crack”; “Was there any crack in town last nig ht?”; “She’d go anywhere for a bit of crack”. We seldom had recourse to spelling it out, but wouldn’t have considered any spelling other than “crack”.I agree that the adoption of the Gaelicised “craic” is of fairly recent origin. I have no recollection of its use among Gaelic speakers and I suspect that it’s a tourism marketing man’s invention, circa 1980. Gaelicising it suggests that there’s something unique about Irish fun and distances it from other meanings of the word. Other wise, a slogan such as “Come to Ireland for the crack” might well attract the wrong sort of tourist.Se án BoyleLondonContinue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Language Ireland Source Type: news