Goidelic languages facts for kids

The Goidelic or Gaelic languages are a group of languages that belong to the Celtic family. They are spoken mainly in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. These languages are part of the Insular Celtic languages, which means they developed on islands. The other group of Insular Celtic languages is called Brittonic languages.

Historically, Goidelic languages were spoken across a wide area, from Ireland to the Isle of Man and Scotland. Today, there are three main Goidelic languages: Irish (called Gaeilge), Scottish Gaelic (called Gàidhlig), and Manx (called Gaelg). Manx almost disappeared in the 20th century, but people have worked hard to bring it back.

What are Goidelic Languages?

Goidelic languages are like a family, with older languages leading to newer ones. Here is how they are connected:

• Primitive Irish (the oldest known form)
  • Old Irish
    • Middle Irish
      • Modern Irish
      • Scottish Gaelic
      • Manx

History of Goidelic Languages

Britain and Ireland around the 1st millennium. This map shows areas where Goidelic, Pictish, and Brittonic languages were mainly spoken.      Mainly Goidelic areas.      Mainly Pictish areas.      Mainly Brittonic areas.

For a long time, Goidelic languages were mostly spoken in Ireland and parts of western Scotland. In the 500s AD, a kingdom called Dál Riata appeared in western Scotland. Many historians believe it was founded by people who moved from Ireland. However, some experts think that people in these areas already shared a similar Gaelic culture because they traveled a lot by sea.

Over time, Dál Riata grew, and the Gaelic language and culture spread. It was even adopted by the neighboring Picts, who lived across Scotland. The Picts might have spoken a different Celtic language before. Manx, the language of the Isle of Man, is very similar to the Gaelic spoken in the Hebrides (islands off Scotland) and the Irish spoken in eastern Ireland. It also has some words from Old Norse because of Vikings who visited the island.

Early Goidelic Languages

The oldest written Goidelic language is Primitive Irish. We know about it from Ogham inscriptions, which are carvings on stones from around the 300s AD. This language was very similar to Gaulish, which was spoken in parts of Europe during the Roman Empire.

The next stage was Old Irish, found in notes written in Latin books from the 500s to the 900s. These notes helped explain religious and grammar texts. Middle Irish came after, from the 900s to the 1100s. Many stories and old Irish laws were written in Middle Irish.

From the 1200s to the 1700s, a language called Classical Gaelic (or Early Modern Irish) was used for writing in both Ireland and Scotland. It was a standard way of writing for many years. This language is sometimes called "Hiberno-Scottish Gaelic".

Later, the way these languages were written started to change in different places. Manx writing, for example, developed in the 1500s and 1600s. It was based on English and Welsh writing, so it was different from the standard Classical Gaelic.

Proto-Goidelic: The First Language

Experts believe there was an even older language called Proto-Goidelic. This was the original language that all Goidelic languages came from. Over time, Proto-Goidelic started to split into different dialects, which then became the separate languages we know today: Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic.

Irish Language Today

Regions where people said they could speak Irish in 2011.

Irish is one of the two official languages in the Republic of Ireland, along with English. It used to be the main language across the whole island. Now, it is mostly spoken in certain areas in the south, west, and northwest. These special Irish-speaking regions are called the Gaeltacht.

Many government names in Ireland are in Irish, like the parliament (Oireachtas) and the prime minister (Taoiseach). In 2014, about 1.7 million people in the Republic of Ireland said they could speak some Irish. About 77,000 of them speak it every day outside of school. Irish is also becoming more popular in Northern Ireland. About 167,000 people there said they knew some Irish in 2001.

For a long time, Irish was the main language for most people in Ireland. But after the Flight of the Earls in 1607, English became more common. The Great Famine in the 1840s had a huge impact. Many Irish speakers died or moved away, which caused the language to decline sharply. Luckily, this trend has started to change recently.

Irish is now an official language of the European Union. This means it has the same recognition as other major European languages.

Scottish Gaelic Today

Languages spoken in Scotland in the early 1100s.      Gaelic speaking      Norse-Gaelic zone (both languages used)      English-speaking zone      Mixed zone (Cumbric, Gaelic, English)

Scottish Gaelic is still spoken by some people in the north and west of mainland Scotland, and especially in the Hebrides islands. However, the number of speakers has gone down over time. Today, there are about 60,000 native speakers in Scotland. There are also about 1,000 speakers of a special Canadian Gaelic dialect in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Historically, Scottish Gaelic was spoken much more widely. It was the everyday language in most of the Scottish Highlands just over a century ago. The area of Galloway in southwest Scotland also used to speak Gaelic, but that dialect died out about 300 years ago.

Scotland gets its name from the Latin word Scotus, which meant 'Gael'. So, "Scotland" originally meant "Land of the Gaels". For a long time, the word Scottis in Scotland referred only to Gaelic. But as English became more common among the rulers, Scottis started to mean the land itself, and the word Erse (meaning 'Irish') was used for Gaelic, making it seem foreign. This was not true, as Gaelic has been in Scotland for a very long time.

In the 1600s, Gaelic speakers were mostly found in the Highlands and Hebrides. After the Jacobite Rebellion of 1746, the British government took harsh actions against Highland communities. This led to many people being forced to leave their homes (known as the Highland Clearances), which caused the language to decline even more.

Today, the Scottish Parliament is working to protect and revive Scottish Gaelic. It has given the language a secure legal status, hoping to save it from disappearing.

Manx Language Today

Manx was the everyday language for most people on the Isle of Man for a long time. But in the 1800s, it started to decline rapidly. By the mid-1800s, there were no longer any people who spoke only Manx. In 1921, only about 1% of the population spoke it. The last native speaker of Manx, Ned Maddrell, passed away in 1974.

However, a movement to bring Manx back began in the late 1800s. People who loved the language worked hard to find the last native speakers, record their speech, and learn from them. In 2011, a census showed that 1,823 people on the island could speak Manx. This was about 2.27% of the population, showing a steady increase in speakers.

Today, Manx is used to teach children in five pre-schools run by a group called Mooinjer veggey (meaning "little people"). This group also runs the only primary school where all subjects are taught in Manx, called the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh. Manx is also taught as a second language in all primary and secondary schools on the island, and at the University College Isle of Man.

Comparing Goidelic Languages

It's interesting to see how Goidelic languages are similar and different.

Numbers in Goidelic Languages

Here's how numbers look in Old Irish and the three modern Goidelic languages. We've also included Welsh, which is a Brittonic language, for comparison.

• un and daa are not used for counting in Manx anymore. Instead, nane and jees are used.

Common Phrases

Here are some common phrases in Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx, along with their English meanings. You can see how similar they are!

How Goidelic Languages Influenced Others

Even though these languages are not Goidelic themselves, they have been influenced by Goidelic languages:

• Shelta language: This is a special language used by Irish Travellers. It mixes Irish and English, with Irish grammar and English sentence structure.
• Bungee language: This is an English dialect spoken by Métis people in Canada. It was influenced by several languages, including Scottish Gaelic.
• Beurla Reagaird: This is a secret language used by Scottish travelling folk, mostly based on Scottish Gaelic.
• The Welsh language in West Wales and Cornish in Western Cornwall might still have some Goidelic influences from the past. The English dialect of Merseyside, called Scouse, also shows some influence.
• The English language, especially Highland English, has many words that come from Scottish Gaelic and Irish.

See also

In Spanish: Lenguas gaélicas para niños