Gaelic

Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig)

Scottish Gaelic is spoken by about 60,000 people in Scotland (Alba),
mainly in the Highlands (a’ Ghaidhealtachd) and in the Western
Isles (Na h-Eileanan an Iar), but also in Glasgow (Glaschu),
Edinburgh (Dùn Eideann) and Inverness (Inbhir Nis).
There are also small Gaelic-speaking communities in Canada, particularly in Nova
Scotia (Alba Nuadh) and on Cape Breton Island (Eilean Cheap
Breatainn
). Other speakers can be found in Australia
(Astràilia), New Zealand (Sealainn Nuadh) and the USA
(Na Stàitean Aonaichte).

Relationship to other languages

Scottish Gaelic is closely related to Manx and
Irish and was brought to Scotland
around the 4th century AD by the Scots from Ireland. Scottish Gaelic was spoken
throughout Scotland (apart from small areas in the extreme south-east
and north-east) between the 9th and 11th centuries, but began to retreat
north and westwards from the 11th century onwards. All Scottish Gaelic dialects
are mutually intelligible, and written Irish can be understood to a large extent.

Scottish Gaelic is also distantly related to Welsh (Cymraeg),
Cornish (Kernewek) and Breton
(Brezhoneg), which form the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages,
also known as P-Celtic. The Celtic languages all have a similar grammatical structure,
but have relatively little vocabulary in common.

Here is an illustration of some of the differences and similarities between
the Celtic languages using the phrase ‘I live in Scotland’:

  • Scottish Gaelic – Tha mi a’ fuireach ann an Alba
  • Irish – Tá mé i mo chónaí in Albain
  • Manx – Ta mee cummal ayns Nalbin
  • Welsh – Dw i’n byw yn yr Alban
  • Cornish – Trigys ov yn Alban
  • Breton – E Bro-Skos emaon o chom

Celtic connections – words that are similar in the Celtic languages

The earliest identifiably texts in Scottish Gaelic are notes in
the Book of Deer written in north eastern Scotland in the 12th century,
although the existence of a common written Classical Gaelic concealed
the extent of the divergence between Irish and Scottish Gaelic.

The Scottish Gaelic alphabet

Scottish Gaelic is written with just 18 letters each of which is named after a tree
or shrub. The consonants all have more than one pronunciation depending on their
position in a word and which vowels precede or follow them.

A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i
Ailm
(Elm)
Beith
(Birch)
Coll
(Hazel)
Dair
(Oak)
Eadha
(Aspen)
Fearn
(Alder)
Gort
(Ivy)
Uath
(Hawthorn)
Iogh
(Yew)
L l M m N n O o P p R r S s T t U u
Luis
(Rowan)
Muin
(Vine)
Nuin
(Ash)
Oir/Onn
(Gorse)
Peithe
(Guelder Rose)
Ruis
(Elder)
Suil
(Willow)
Teine
(Furze)
Ur
(Heather)
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