What are the Gaelic Languages?

Gaelic is a name referring to a beautiful language, incorporating  the remaining areas of the Celts in modern day which is Scotland, Ireland and Wales.  Like the 1st Nations people, as members the New oppressive faith went on over the years, so to did they get worse and banned the languages in the schools that was not proper English etc.

Wales is enjoying a revival of the language now. Today, many people are learning to speak this old Celtic language once again, for people finally realized that we might lose this language and part of our heritage.  

Scottish Gaelic:  A form of Gaelic was brought to Scotland from an Irish tribe who branched off from the larger and they intermingled with an older Brythonic language of the Picts. By the 15th century, the Scottish Gaelic differed significantly enough to warrant definition as a separate language, although the alphabet of Irish and Scottish is identical, both consisting of 18 letters. Like Irish, the accent is on the initial syllable. Scottish Gaelic exists in two main dialects, Northern and Southern. Scottish Gaelic is by many Nova Scotia, Canada.

Manx:  The language of the Isle of Man is classed as a dialect branched from the Scottish Gaelic, with strong Norse influence.  Sadly in the early 20th century it became virtually extinct. The first written records are of the 17th century, and Manx literature, apart from ballads and carols, is negligible.

Breton:  The Breton language is spoken today in various dialects in Brittany; most Breton speakers also speak French. French is obvious as in that area, now called France were the Gauls and Franks, thus there were no 'loan' words as one might think. 

Cornish:  Another very sad thing is that original Cornish has been extinct since the late 18th century, despite recent efforts to revive it. It survives only in a few proper names and certain words in the English dialect spoken in Cornwall.

Welsh:  Welsh language is called Cymraeg or Cymric by its speakers and it is the native language of Wales and the most flourishing of the Celtic languages.  This is because the invaders, both Roman and later the Scandinavian Anglo-Saxons, never got up into Wales because the way of the geography of the land.   Some communities in the United States and Argentina have been know to speak it as well. Thank goodness for organizations such as the Society for the Welsh Language who've worked so hard to save the language from becoming extinct and assuring its official status along with English. Several schools in Wales now allowed to use Welsh as the medium of instruction, and television and radio broadcasts are made in the language. Welsh spelling is phonemic, so changing on tiny part of the word changes its whole meaning.  Welsh speakers will know how to pronounce a word they have never seen before.  W is a "oo" sound.  DD is a 'th' sound.  Bloudwedd therefor is pronounced - Bloutooeth

Irish, or Irish Gaelic:  Is the oldest of the Goidelic group of Celtic languages. After the iceage when the  tribes back, later identified as Celts they brought their language into the ireland area and others branches moved to different areas.  Ancient written examples exist in the ogham inscriptions, Found in Ireland and scattered throughout Northern Europe.  It is chiefly spoken in the western and southwestern parts of the Republic of Ireland, where it is an official language, and to some extent in Northern Ireland. In the past century, the number of Irish-speaking persons has declined from 50 percent of the population of Ireland to less than 20 percent.  We need to save this language!

L. L. Mills