Irish (Gaeilge) is a Goielic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Irish is now spoken natively by only a small minority of the Irish population - mostly in parts of officially designated Gaeltachtaí (sing. Gaeltacht) - but still has a visible symbolic role in the life of the Irish state. It enjoys constitutional status as the national and first official language of the Republic of Ireland and it is an official language of the European Union. Irish is also an officially recognised minority language in Northern Ireland.