Legend: Irish Scottish Manx Welsh Cornish Breton The sources:Irish Scottish Welsh Breton Cornish and Manx were based on the boundaries of Cornwall and the Isle of Mann. (from Wikimedia Commons)
Given the storied history of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, and Breton, it’s amazing any Gaelic languages survive at all. They’ve managed to survive invasion by Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Normans, as well as the widespread English-ification of the United Kingdom. Yet pockets of Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh still survive in their native countries, although those pockets are about as small as the tiny little things they put in ladies’ dress pants that aren’t even big enough to put your phone in (sorry—pet peeve of mine).
Several Gaelic languages, though, have met the ends of their functional lives, and others are barely hanging on. Even in countries like Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, where revitalization efforts seem to have been relatively successful, the truth is that the languages are not used in a “native” sense by very many people. There are road signs and legal documents and other bits and pieces in Gaelic languages, and legal mandates to teach the languages in schools, but the majority of conversation at home and over the dinner table is conducted in English.
On the other hand, there’s a decently sized body of traditional music in these languages, readily available at your local record store. Music groups like Altan, Solas, and Dervish bring Irish Gaelic to the masses. Shows like Outlander feature dialogue in Scottish Gaelic, sparking new interest in the language. And there are YouTube channels, television and radio stations, and other resources that provide materials for those who want to maintain their knowledge of their native tongues.
Being of extensive Irish ancestry (and a li’l bit of Scottish and Welsh tossed in there for good measure), I have a soft spot for Gaelic languages. I love the sound of them, and I’m fascinated by the fact that they sit so high on the Indo-European family tree. The music and mythology of these countries feel like home to me. So I’m glad they’re still out there.
Here are some basics on the Gaelic family of languages:
Branches
Insular
- Goidelic (Q-Celtic*)
- Irish Gaelic
- Scottish Gaelic
- Manx (functionally extinct but Not Quite Dead Yet!)
- Brythonic (P-Celtic*)
- Gaulish
- Celtiberian (also known as Hispano-Celtic)
- Lepontic
The most active languages in these groups are Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh. Manx and Cornish have no native speakers (the last Manx speaker died in the late 18th century, while the last Cornish native speaker passed in 1974), but there are revival efforts in their respective homelands. Breton is still out there—I thought at one time that it was extinct, but no! If you'd like to take a stab at learning any of them, check out the links in the lists above to find additional information.
So there's a brief (!) tour of the major Celtic languages, living, almost-living, dead and undead. Cause let's face it--you can't keep a good language down, especially if it's a Celtic language.
*the Q vs. P distinction indicates words that are essentially the same in both languages, but are pronounced with a hard C or K sound in Q-Celtic, but with a P in P-Celtic. An example would be “Pentire” vs. “Kentyre,” which mean the same thing, but are located in Cornwell and Scotland respectively, Cornish being a P-Celtic language and Scottish Gaelic being a Q-Celtic language.
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
https://www.digitalmedievalist.com/opinionated-celtic-faqs/celtic-languages/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goidelic_languages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_languages
https://www.omniglot.com/writing/cornish.htm
http://www.language-learning-advisor.com/learn-cornish.html
https://www.omniglot.com/writing/breton.htm
http://eurolinguiste.com/breton/
http://www.language-learning-advisor.com/learn-breton.html
http://elalliance.org/languages/celtic/breton/
https://tied.verbix.com/tree/celt/gaulish.html
http://www.languagesgulper.com/eng/Gaulish.html
https://www.omniglot.com/writing/celtiberian.htm
https://tied.verbix.com/tree/celt/celtiberian.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepontic_language
https://docs.verbix.com/Languages/Lepontic
https://www.revolvy.com/page/Lepontic-language
https://tied.verbix.com/tree/celt/lepontic.html
No comments:
Post a Comment