Scottish Gaelic (Gidhlig)

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Scottish Gaelic is spoken by about 60,000 people in Scotland (Alba), mainly in the Highlands (a' Ghaidhealtachd) and in the W estern Isles (Na h-Eileanan an Iar), but also in Glasgow (Glaschu), Edinburgh (Dn 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 (Astrilia), New Zealand (Sealainn Nuadh) and the USA (Na Stitean 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 westw ards from the 11th century onw ards. All Scottish Gaelic dialects are mutually intelligible, and w ritten Irish can be understood to a large extent. Scottish Gaelic is also distantly related to Welsh (Cymraeg), Cornish (Kernewek) and Breton (Brezhoneg), w hich form the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages, also know n 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 betw een the Celtic languages using the phrase 'I live in Scotland': Scottish Gaelic - Tha mi a' fuireach ann an Alba Irish - T m i mo chna 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 w ritten Classical Gaelic concealed the extent of the divergence betw een Irish and Scottish Gaelic.

The Scottish Gaelic alphabet

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

Aa
Ailm (Elm)

Bb
Beith (Birch)

Cc
Coll (Hazel)

Dd
Dair (Oak)

Ee
Eadha (Aspen)

Ff
Fearn (Alder)

Gg
Gort (Ivy)

Hh
Uath (Haw thorn)

Ii
Iogh (Yew )

Ll
Luis (Row an)

Mm
Muin (Vine)

Nn
Nuin (Ash)

Oo
Oir/Onn (Gorse)

Pp
Peithe (Guelder Rose)

Rr
Ruis (Elder)

Ss
Suil (Willow )

Tt
Teine (Furze)

Uu
Ur (Heather)

A grave accent on a vow el (, , , and ) indicates a longer version of the vow el, but these are not considered separate letters The older Gaelic (uncial) script or "corr litir" has not been used for several centuries in Scotland, and has never been used in printed Gaelic. The uncial script is still used in Ireland on road signs and public notices. The orthography of Scottish Gaelic w as regularised in the late 1970s. For details see: http://w w w .smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/goc/

Pronunciation - vowels (fuaimreagan) and diphthongs (d-fhoghair)

The second pronunciations, indicate with separate brackets [] are used in unstressed syllables.

Pronunciation - connragan (consonants) The connragan leathann or broad consonants are those preceded or follow ed by a, o or u. Connragan caola or slender consonants are those preceded or follow ed by i or e. Most consonants have different pronunciations depending on w hether they appear at the beginning of a w ord or elsew here. The initial consonants of Gaelic words can change in various contexts. This process is know n as "lenition" and involves the addition of an after the initial letter. The resulting letters are suathaich or fricatives.

Source: http://www.akerbeltz.org/fuaimean/roradh.htm

Sample text
Tha gach uile dhuine air a bhreth saor agus co-ionnan ann an urram 's ann an cirichean. Tha iad air am breth le reusan is le cogais agus mar sin bu chir dhaibh a bhith be nam measg fhein ann an spiorad brthaireil. Translation All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endow ed w ith reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. (Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) Scottish Gaelic pages Information about Scottish Gaelic | Phrases | Numbers | Kinship terms | Tow er of Babel | Songs | Links | Learning materials

Links
Information about Scottish Gaelic http://en.w ikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic http://w w w .gaelic.com Online Scottish Gaelic lessons http://w w w .bbc.co.uk/scotland/alba/foghlam/beag_air_bheag/ http://w w w .bbc.co.uk/scotland/colinandcumberland/ http://w w w .smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/bgfp/ http://w w w .smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/ECG/

Fuaimean na Gidhlig - The Sounds of Gaelic http://akerbeltz.org/index.php?title=Fuaimean_na_Gidhlig Gaelcast - Podcasts anns a' Ghidhlig http://w w w .gaelcast.com An Darach - Scottish Gaelic Translation http://w w w .andarach.com/scottish-gaelic-translation.php More Scottish Gaelic links

Celtic languages
Other languages written w ith the Latin alphabet
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