crack as craic sets my teeth on edge". Writing for the Irish Independent, Irish journalist Kevin Myers criticised the craic spelling as "pseudo-Gaelic" and a "bogus neologism". Other linguists have referred to the craic form as "fake Irish". Sociology "The craic" has become a part of Irish culture. In a 2001 review of the modern Irish information economy, information sciences professor Eileen M. Trauth called "craic" an intrinsic part of the culture of sociability that distinguished the Irish workplace from those of other countries. Trauth wrote that even as Ireland transitioned away from an economy and society dominated by agriculture, the traditional importance of atmosphere and the art of conversation – "craic" – remains, and that the social life is a fundamental part of workers' judgment of quality of life. Critics have accused the Irish tourism industry and the promoters of Irish theme pubs of marketing "commodified craic" as a kind of stereotypical Irishness. In his Companion to Irish Traditional Music, Fintan Vallely suggests that use of craic in English is largely an exercise on the part of Irish pubs to make money through the commercialisation of traditional Irish music. Likewise, Donald Clarke in The Irish Times associates the change of spelling to craic with the rebranding of the Irish pub as a tourist attraction during the 1990s. See also Language contact List of English words of Irish origin and Irish words used in English Notes References The New Comprehensive Dictionary of The English Language (c. 1920). Newnes (London) and Chambers (Edinburgh). Dinneen, Patrick S. (1927) Focloir Gaedhilge agus Bearla. Dublin: Irish Texts Society. English words English-language slang Irish culture Irish words and phrases Scottish words and phrases