Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic or Scots Gaelic (Gàidhlig; SAMPA: /"gAlIk/) is one of the Goidelic branches of Celtic languages still in use today. The Goidelic (northern) branch includes Scottish and Irish Gaelic as well as Manx, and is distinct from the Brythonic branch which includes Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. Scottish Gaelic , Manx and Irish are all descended from Old Irish.
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2 Official Recognition 3 Place names 4 External Links |
Scottish Gaelic is quite similar to Irish, especially the dialect spoken in Donegal, as illustrated by the sentence "how are you?".
Some words have 'a' in Irish but 'u' in Scottish Gaelic, for instance the word for the English language Béarla in Irish and Beurla. This is due to a spelling reform and standardisation which has taken place in Ireland under the auspices of the Irish government during the 20th century. Scottish Gaelic still uses the traditional Gaelic orthography, meaning that there are many silent letters, which in Irish have been omitted:
Differences between Scottish Gaelic and Irish
However, there are some important differences. The most obvious is that the accent, or fada, is written as a grave accent in Scottish Gaelic, as opposed to the acute accent of Irish, hence the word for "welcome" is written as fàilte in Scottish Gaelic and in Irish as fáilte. Also, the negative participle in Scottish Gaelic is cha(n) whereas in standard Irish it is níl, as illustrated by the sentence "I have no money" (cha is still a legitimate Irish word, though):Orthography
| ENGLISH | IRISH | SCOTTISH GAELIC |
| Gael | Gael | Gàidheal |
| day | lá | latha'' |
| night | oíche | oidhche |
| inside | isteach | a-steach |
| school | scoil | sgoil |
| child | paist | paisd |
| authority | údarás | ùghdarras |
| office | oifig | oifis |
| open | oscailt | fosgailt |
| year | blíana | bliadhna |
| radio | raidió | radio |
| government | rialtas | riaghaltas |
| parliament | parlaimint | pàrlamaid |
| island | oileann | eileann |
| ENGLISH | IRISH | SCOTTISH GAELIC |
| in | i | ann |
| minister | aire | ministear |
| road | bothar | rathad |
| cold (flu) | slaghdan | fuachd |
| talking | caint | bruidhinn |
| (Scottish) Highlands | Garbhchríocha (na hAlban) | Gàidhealtachd* (na h-Alba) |
| talking | caint | bruidhinn |
| Wales | An Bhreatain Bheag** | Cumrigh |
| island | oileann | eileann |
Official Recognition
After centuries of official discouragement, Scottish Gaelic is achieving a degree of official recognition. As well as being taught in schools, including some in which it is the medium of instruction, it is also used by the local council in the Western Isles, Comhairle nan Eileann. The BBC also operates a Gaelic language radio station Radio na Gàidheal (which occasionally puts on joint broadcasts with the Irish Raidió na Gaeltachta, and there are also television programmes in the language on BBC and ITV commercial, usually subtitled in English. The ITV franchisee in the north of Scotland, Grampian Television has a studio in Stornoway.
However, a separate Gaelic language TV service, similar to S4C in Wales has been under consideration. As in Wales, the showing of programmes in the language as regional opt-outs on the main channels has been regarded as inadequate to those who speak it, and as an annoyance to the English or Scots speaking majority, who do not.
Historically, Scottish Gaelic has not received the same degree of official recognition from the British Government as Welsh, although a Gaelic Bill is now before the Scottish Parliament.
The key provisions of the Bill are:
- Recognising in legislation Gaelic as a language of Scotland
- Establishing the Gaelic development body, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, on a statutory basis to promote the use and understanding of Gaelic
- Requiring Bòrd na Gàidhlig to prepare a National Gaelic Language Plan for approval by Scottish Ministers
- Requiring public bodies in Scotland to consider the need for a Gaelic language plan in relation to the services they offer
Place names
External Links
