Scottish Gaelic language

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Scottish Gaelic
Gàidhlig
Pronunciation [ˈkaːlikʲ]
Native to United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand
Region Scotland, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and Glengarry County, Canada
Native speakers

58,552 in Scotland.[1]

92,400 people aged three and over in Scotland had some Gaelic language ability in 2001[2] with estimates of additional 500[3] - 2000[4] in Nova Scotia. 1,610 speakers in the United States in 2000.[5] 822 in Australia in 2001.[6] 669 in New Zealand in 2006.  (date missing)
Language family
Writing system Gaelic alphabet (Latin script)
Official status
Official language in  Scotland
Language codes
ISO 639-1 gd
ISO 639-2 gla
ISO 639-3 gla
Linguasphere 50-AAA
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Not to be confused with Lowland Scots language.
Not to be confused with Highland English.

The Scottish language (Gàidhlig) (Pronounced "Gah-lick") (often commonly called just Gaelic in English) is a sister language of Irish and Manx; all three are Goidelic languages and part of the Celtic language family. It is also related to the Welsh language, Cornish language and the Breton language (these three are Brittonic or Brythonic languages).

History [change]

In past times, the language was spoken across all of Scotland, except for the Northern Islands (Orkney and Shetland). In the later part of the Middle Ages, the kings of Scotland began to speak the English language, and looked down on the Scottish language. After the union of England and Scotland, the language was snubbed and looked down on even more. The English language took over.

Scottish Gaelic today [change]

A census in the United Kingdom in 2001 showed that a total of 58,652 (1.2% of the Scottish population aged over three years old)[7] in Scotland could speak some amount of Gaelic at that time. Only the Western Isles of Scotland have more people who can speak the language than not (61% of the people here speak Gaelic). The place in Scotland with the biggest percentage of Scottish Gaelic speakers is a village called Barvas on the Isle of Lewis. There, 74.7% of the people there speak the language. Gaelic is dying out, but many people are starting to learn the language.[8]

It is estimated that 1,000-2,000 in Nova Scotia, Canada can speak some Gaelic.

References [change]

  1. ↑ Census 2001 Scotland: Gaelic speakers by council area from Comunn na Gaidhlig (cnag.org.uk).
  2. ↑ "News Release – Scotland's Census 2001 – Gaelic Report" from General Registrar for Scotland website, 10 October 2005. Retrieved 27 December 2007.
  3. ↑ Nova Scotia Museum's Curatorial Report No. 97
  4. ↑ Gaelic in Nova Scotia from gov.ns.ca.
  5. ↑ "Language by State – Scottish Gaelic" on Modern Language Association website. Retrieved 27 December 2007
  6. ↑ "Languages Spoken At Home" from Australian Government Office of Multicultural Interests website. Retrieved 27 December 2007
  7. ↑ Kenneth MacKinnon (2003). "Census 2001 Scotland: Gaelic Language – first results". http://lrrc3.sas.upenn.edu/popcult/CLPP/Census%202001%20-%20Gaelic1.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-24.
  8. ↑ Macleod, Murray (17 October 2007). "Mod's fluent youth speaks volumes for Gaelic education". The Scotsman (Edinburgh). http://news.scotsman.com/royalnationalmod/Mods-fluent-youth-speaks-volumes.3471169.jp.
This language has its own Wikipedia project. See the Scottish Gaelic language edition.

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