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Scottish Gaelic language

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Languages

   Scottish Gaelic
   Gàidhlig
   Bilingual roadsign
   in Mallaig:

   Pronunciation: IPA: [ˈkɑːlʲəkʲ nə haˈɫapə]
   Spoken in: Scotland, Canada
   Region: Parts of the Scottish Highlands, Western Isles, Cape Breton,
   Nova Scotia; formerly all of mainland Scotland except the southeastern
   part (parts of Lothian and Borders) and possibly eastern Caithness.
   Total speakers: 58,652 (Scotland, 2001 census), with an additional
   500-1000 in Nova Scotia (See also External links below)
   Language family: Indo-European
     Celtic
      Insular Celtic
       Goidelic
       Scottish Gaelic
   Official status
   Official language of: Scotland
   Regulated by: Bòrd na Gàidhlig
   Language codes
   ISO 639-1: gd
   ISO 639-2: gla
   ISO/FDIS 639-3: gla
   Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA
   chart for English for an English-​based pronunciation key.

   Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic
   languages. This branch includes also the Irish and Manx languages. It
   is distinct from the Brythonic branch, which includes Welsh, Cornish,
   and Breton. Scottish, Manx and Irish Gaelic are all descended from Old
   Irish. The language is often described as Scottish Gaelic, Scots
   Gaelic, or Gàidhlig to avoid confusion with the other two Goidelic
   languages. Outside of Scotland, it is occasionally also called Scottish
   or Scots, a usage dating back over 1,500 years, for example Old English
   Scottas. This usage is uncommon in Scotland because since the 16th
   century the word Scots has by-and-large been used to describe (Lowland)
   Scots, which developed from the northern form of early Middle English.
   In Scottish English, Gaelic is pronounced [ˈgaːlɪk]; outside of
   Scotland, it is usually [ˈgeɪlɪk].

History

   Gaelic, a descendant of the Goidelic branch of Celtic and closely
   related to Irish, is the traditional language of the Scotti or Gaels,
   and became the historical language of the majority of Scotland after it
   replaced Cumbric, Pictish and Norse. It is not clear how long Gaelic
   has been spoken in what is now Scotland; it has lately been proposed
   that it was spoken in Argyll before the Roman period, but no consensus
   has been reached on this question. However, the consolidation of the
   kingdom of Dál Riata around the 4th century, linking the ancient
   province of Ulster in the north of Ireland and western Scotland,
   accelerated the expansion of Gaelic, as did the success of the
   Gaelic-speaking church establishment. Placename evidence shows that
   Gaelic was spoken in the Rhinns of Galloway by the 5th or 6th century.

   The Gaelic language eventually displaced Pictish north of the Forth,
   and until the late 15th century it was known in Inglis as Scottis.
   Gaelic began to decline in mainland Scotland by the beginning of the
   13th century, and with this went a decline in its status as a national
   language. By the beginning of the 15th century, the highland-lowland
   line was beginning to emerge.
   One interpretation of the linguistic divide in 1400, here based on
   place-name evidence.
   Enlarge
   One interpretation of the linguistic divide in 1400, here based on
   place-name evidence.

   By the early 16th century, Inglis speakers gave the Gaelic language the
   name Erse (meaning Irish) and thereafter it was invariably the
   collection of Middle English dialects spoken within the Kingdom of the
   Scots that they referred to as Scottis (whence Scots). Nevertheless,
   Gaelic still occupies a special place in Scottish culture, has never
   been entirely displaced of national language status, and is still
   recognised by many Scots, whether or not they speak Gaelic, as being a
   crucial part of the nation's culture. Of course, others may view it
   primarily as a regional language of the highlands and islands.

   Gaelic has a rich oral (beul aithris) and written tradition, having
   been the language of the bardic culture of the Highland clans for
   several centuries. The language preserved knowledge of and adherence to
   pre-feudal laws and customs (as represented, for example, by the
   expressions tuatha and dùthchas). The language suffered especially as
   Highlanders and their traditions were persecuted after the Battle of
   Culloden in 1746, and during the Highland Clearances, but pre-feudal
   attitudes were still evident in the complaints and claims of the
   Highland Land League of the late 19th century: this political movement
   was successful in getting members elected to the Parliament of the
   United Kingdom. The Land League was dissipated as a parliamentary force
   by the 1886 Crofters' Act and by the way the Liberal Party was seen to
   become supportive of Land League objectives.

   Scottish Gaelic may be more correctly known as Highland Gaelic to
   distinguish it from the now defunct Lowland Gaelic. Lowland Gaelic was
   spoken in the southern regions of Scotland prior to the introduction of
   Lowland Scots. There is, however, no evidence of a linguistic border
   following the topographical north-south differences. Similarly, there
   is no evidence from placenames of significant linguistic differences
   between, for example, Argyll and Galloway. Dialects on both sides of
   the Straits of Moyle linking Scottish Gaelic with Irish are now
   extinct.

Current distribution in Scotland

   Geographic Distribution of Gaelic speakers in Scotland (2001)
   Enlarge
   Geographic Distribution of Gaelic speakers in Scotland (2001)

   The 2001 UK Census showed a total of 58,652 Gaelic speakers in Scotland
   (1.2% of population over three years old). Compared to the 1991 Census,
   there has been a diminution of approximately 7,300 people (an 11% of
   the total), meaning that Gaelic decline ( language shift) in Scotland
   is continuing. To date, attempts at language revival or reversing
   language shift have been met with limited success.

   Considering the data related to Civil Parishes (which permit a
   continuous study of Gaelic status since the 19th century), two new
   circumstances have taken place, which are related to this decline:
     * No parish in Scotland has a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater
       than 75% any more (the highest value corresponds to Barvas, Lewis,
       with 74.7%).
     * No parish in mainland Scotland has a proportion of Gaelic speakers
       greater than 25% any more (the highest value corresponds to
       Lochalsh, Highland, with 20.8%).

   The main stronghold of the language continues to be the Western Isles
   (Na h-Eileanan Siar), where the overall proportion of speakers remains
   at 61.1% and all parishes return values over 50%. The Parish of Kilmuir
   in Northern Skye is also over this threshold of 50%.

   Proportions over 20% register throughout the isles of Skye, Raasay,
   Tiree, Islay and Colonsay, and the already mentioned parish of Lochalsh
   in Highland.

   Regardless, the weight of Gaelic in Scotland is now much reduced. From
   a total of almost 900 Civil Parishes in Scotland:
     * Only 9 of them have a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than
       50%.
     * Only 20 of them have a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than
       25%.
     * Only 39 of them have a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than
       10%.

Orthography

   Place names in their original Gaelic are becoming increasingly common
   on road signs throughout the Scottish Highlands.
   Enlarge
   Place names in their original Gaelic are becoming increasingly common
   on road signs throughout the Scottish Highlands.

   Old Irish, the precursor to both Modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic, was
   written in a carved writing called Ogham. Ogham consisted of marks made
   above or below a horizontal line. With the advent of Christianity in
   the 10th century the Latin alphabet was introduced to Ireland. The
   Goidelic languages have historically been part of a dialect continuum
   stretching from the south of Ireland, the Isle of Man, to the north of
   Scotland.

   A form of Middle Irish, known as Classical Gaelic, was used as a
   literary language in Ireland until the 17th century and in Scotland
   until the 18th century. Later orthographic divergence is the result of
   more recent orthographic reforms resulting in standardised pluricentric
   diasystems.

   The 1767 New Testament historically set the standard for Scottish
   Gaelic. Around the time of World War II Irish spelling was reformed and
   the Official Standard or Caighdeán Oifigiúil introduced. Further reform
   in 1957 eliminated some of the silent letters which are still used in
   Scottish Gaelic. The 1978 SCE recommendations for Scottish Gaelic were
   adopted by most publishers and agencies. In 1980 Scottish Gaelic
   orthography was further reformed by the Exam Board. Further reforms
   were recommended by the Board of Celtic Studies Scotland in a 1998
   report entitled Computer-Assisted Learning for Gaelic: Towards a Common
   Teaching Core.

   Manx orthography is based on English and Welsh and was introduced in
   1610 by John Phillips, the Welsh-born Bishop of Sodor and Mann.

   The modern Scottish Gaelic alphabet has 18 letters:

          A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U

   The letter h, now mostly used to indicate lenition of a consonant, was
   in general not used in the oldest orthography, as lenition was instead
   indicated with a dot over the lenited consonant. The letters of the
   alphabet were traditionally named after trees (see Scottish Gaelic
   alphabet), but this custom has fallen out of use.

   The quality of consonants is indicated in writing by the vowels
   surrounding them. So-called slender consonants are palatalised while
   broad consonants are velarised. The vowels e and i are classified as
   slender, and a, o and u as broad. The spelling rule known as caol ri
   caol is leathann ri leathann ("slender to slender and broad to broad")
   requires that a word-medial consonant or consonant group preceded by a
   written i or e be also followed by an i or e, and similarly if preceded
   by a, o or u be also followed by an a, o or u. Consonant quality
   (palatalised or non-palatalised) is then indicated by the vowels
   written adjacent to a consonant, and the spelling rule gives the
   benefit of removing possibly uncertainty about consonant quality at the
   expense of adding additional purely graphic vowels that may not be
   pronounced. For example, compare the t in slàinte ([slaːntʃə]) with the
   t in bàta ([paːtə]).

   The rule has no effect on the pronunciation of vowels. For example,
   plurals in Gaelic are often formed with the suffix -an, for example,
   bròg [proːk] (shoe)/brògan [proːkən] (shoes). But because of the
   spelling rule, the suffix is spelled -ean (but pronounced the same)
   after a slender consonant, as in taigh [tʰɤj] (house)/taighean [tʰɤjən]
   (houses) where the written e is purely a graphic vowel inserted to
   conform with the spelling rule because an i precedes the gh.

   In changes promoted by the Scottish Examination Board from 1976
   onwards, certain modifications were made to this rule. For example, the
   suffix of the past participle is always spelled -te, even after a broad
   consonant, as in togte 'raised' (rather than the traditional togta).

   Where pairs of vowels occur in writing, it is sometimes unclear which
   vowel is to be pronounced and which vowel has been introduced to
   satisfy this spelling rule.

   Unstressed vowels omitted in speech can be omitted in informal writing.
   For example:

          Tha mi an dòchas (I hope) > Tha mi 'n dòchas

   Once Gaelic orthographic rules have been learned, the pronunciation of
   the written language can be seen to be quite predictable. However
   learners must be careful not to try to apply English sound-to-letter
   correspondences to written Gaelic, otherwise mispronunciations will
   result. Gaelic personal names such as Seònaid [ˈʃɔːnɛdʒ] are especially
   likely to be mispronounced by English speakers.

Pronunciation

Vowels

   Gaelic vowels have a grave accent, with the letters à, è, ì, ò, ù. The
   acute accent is sometimes seen in texts, with é and ó standing out, but
   generally, all vowels have a grave accent now.

   CAPTION: A table of vowels with pronunciations in IPA

   Spelling Pronunciation English equivalent    As in
   a        [a]           cat                bata
   à        [aː]          father             bàta
   e        [ɛ], [e]      get, late          le, teth
   è, é     [ɛː], [eː]    marry, lady        sèimh, fhéin
   i        [i], [iː]     tin, sweet         sin, ith
   ì        [iː]          evil               mìn
   o        [ɔ], [o]      top, boat          poca, bog
   ò, ó     [ɔː], [oː]    jaw, door          pòcaid, mór
   u        [u]           brood              tur
   ù        [uː]          brewed             tùr

Diphthongs

   CAPTION: A table of diphthongs with pronunciations in IPA

   Spelling   Pronunciation                   As in
   ai       [a], [ə], [ɛ], [i] caileag, iuchair, geamair, dùthaich
   ài       [aː], [ai]         àite, bara-làimhe
   ao(i)    [ɯː], [ᵚi]         caol, gaoil, laoidh
   ea       [ʲa], [e], [ɛ]     geal, deas, bean
   eà       [ʲaː]              ceàrr
   èa       [ɛː]               nèamh
   ei       [e], [ɛ]           eile, ainmeil
   èi       [ɛː]               cèilidh
   éi       [eː]               fhéin
   eo       [ʲɔ]               deoch
   eò(i)    [ʲɔː]              ceòl, feòil
   eu       [eː], [ia]         ceum, feur
   ia       [iə], [ia]         biadh, dian
   io       [i], [ᴊũ]          fios, fionn
   ìo       [iː], [iə]         sgrìobh, mìos
   iu       [ᴊu]               piuthar
   iù(i)    [ᴊuː]              diùlt, diùid
   oi       [ɔ], [ɤ]           boireannach, goirid
   òi       [ɔː]               fòill
   ói       [oː]               cóig
   ua(i)    [uə], [ua]         ruadh, uabhasach, duais
   ui       [u], [ɯ], [ui]     muir, uighean, tuinn
   ùi       [uː]               dùin

Consonants

   Most letters are pronounced similarly to other European languages. The
   broad consonants t and d and often n have a dental articulation (as in
   Irish and the Romance and Slavic languages) in contrast to the alveolar
   articulation common in English and other Germanic languages).
   Non-palatal r is an alveolar trill (like Italian r or Spanish rr.)

   The " voiced" stops b, d, g are not voiced at all in Gaelic, but are
   rather voiceless unaspirated. The "voiceless" stops p, t, c are
   voiceless and strongly aspirated (postaspirated in initial position,
   preaspirated in medial/final position). Gaelic shares this property
   with Icelandic. In some Gaelic dialects, stops at the beginning of a
   stressed syllable become voiced when they follow a nasal consonant, for
   example: taigh 'a house' is [tʰɤi] but an taigh 'the house' is [ən
   dʰɤi]; cf. also tombaca 'tobacco' [tʰomˈbaxkə].

   The lenited consonants have special pronunciations: bh and mh are [v];
   ch is [x] or [ç]; dh, gh is [ʝ] or [ɣ]; th is [h], [ʔ], or silent; ph
   is [f]. Lenition of l n r is not shown in writing.

   fh is almost always silent, with only the following three exceptions:
   fhèin, fhathast, and fhuair, where it is pronounced as [h].

   CAPTION: A table of consonants with pronunciations in IPA

               Radical                      Lenited
   Orthography  Broad    Slender   Orthography Broad  Slender
   b           [p]      [p]        bh          [v]    [v]
   c           [kʰ, xk] [kʰʲ, çkʲ] ch          [x]    [ç]
   d           [t]      [ʤ]        dh          [ɣ]    [j]
   f           [f]      [f]        fh          silent silent
   g           [k]      [kʲ]       gh          [ɣ]    [j]
   l           [ɫ]      [ʎ]        l           [ɫ]    [l]
   m           [m]      [m]        mh          [v]    [v]
   n           [n^ɰ]    [ɲ]        n           [n]    [n]
   p           [pʰ, hp] [pʰ, hp]   ph          [f]    [f]
   r           [r]      [r]        r           [r]    [ɾʲ]
   s           [s]      [ʃ]        sh          [h]    [h]
   t           [tʰ, ht] [tʃʰ, htʃ] th          [h]    [h]
             bilabial labiodental dental alveolar postalveolar palatal velar
    plosive  p, b                 t̪, d̪                               k, g
     nasal   m                    n                                    ŋ
     trill                               r
     flap                                ɾ
   fricative          f, v               s        ʃ                    x, ɣ
   affricate                                      ʧ, ʤ
    lateral                              l, ɫ                  ʎ, j

   There are a few general features worth noting.
     * Stress is usually on the first syllable: for example drochaid 'a
       bridge' [ˈtroxaʤ].

   (Knowledge of this fact alone would help avoid many a mispronunciation
   of Highland placenames, for example Mallaig is [ˈmaɫɛkʲ]. (Note,
   though, that when a placename consists of more than one word in Gaelic,
   the Anglicised form is liable to have stress on the last element:
   Tyndrum [taɪnˈdrʌm] < Taigh an Droma [tʰɤin ˈdromə]. This is because,
   unlike English, Gaelic word order places the specific element -
   adjectives, genitives - after the generic.)
     * A distinctive characteristic of Gaelic pronunciation (which has
       influenced the Scottish accent – cf. girl [gʌrəl] and film [fɪləm])
       is the insertion of epenthetic vowels between certain adjacent
       consonants, specifically, between sonorants (l or r) and certain
       following consonants:

          tarbh (bull) — [tʰarav]
          Alba (Scotland) — [alapa].

     * Schwa [ə] at the end of a word is dropped when followed by a word
       beginning with a vowel. For example:

          duine (a man) — [ˈtɯnʲə]
          an duine agad (your man) — [ən ˈdɯnʲ akət]

Grammar

Official recognition

   Bilingual signs in English and Gaelic are now part of the architecture
   in the Scottish Parliament building completed in 2004.
   Enlarge
   Bilingual signs in English and Gaelic are now part of the architecture
   in the Scottish Parliament building completed in 2004.

   After centuries of persecution, prejudice and neglect, Gaelic has now
   achieved a degree of official recognition with the passage of the
   Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005.

   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 Eilean Siar. The BBC also operates a
   Gaelic language radio station Radio nan Gàidheal (which regularly
   transmits joint broadcasts with its Republic of Ireland counterpart
   Raidió na Gaeltachta), and there are also television programmes in the
   language on the BBC and on the independent commercial channels, usually
   subtitled in English. The ITV franchisee in the north of Scotland,
   Grampian Television, has a studio in Stornoway. Viewers of Freeview a
   non-subscription digital TV service can receive channel, TeleG, which
   broadcasts for an hour every evening.

   A full Gaelic language TV service, however, similar to S4C in Wales and
   TG4 in Ireland, has been under consideration. As in Wales, the showing
   of programmes in the language as opt-outs on the main channels has been
   regarded as inadequate for the 58,552 who speak it, and as an annoyance
   to some of the English or Scots speaking 5,003,459 who do not. In fact,
   this annoyance may be largely assumed: the evidence is that at least
   one Gaelic television programme produced by the BBC attains viewing
   figures in excess of the number of Gaelic speakers that could view it
   in Scotland. No complaints are being received by the BBC about
   Gaelic-language television programmes on BBC TV channels, perhaps
   because subtitling them in English makes them equally accessible to
   non-Gaelic speakers.

   Bilingual road signs (in both Gaelic and English) are gradually being
   introduced throughout the Gaelic-speaking regions in the Highlands and
   elsewhere across the nation. In many cases, this has simply meant
   re-adopting the traditional spelling of a name.

   The Ordnance Survey has acted in recent years to correct many of the
   mistakes that appear on maps. They announced in 2004 that they intended
   to make amends for a century of Gaelic ignorance and set up a committee
   to determine the correct forms of Gaelic place names for their maps.

   Historically, Gaelic has not received the same degree of official
   recognition from the UK Government as Welsh. With the advent of
   devolution, however, Scottish matters have finally begun to receive
   greater attention, and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act was confirmed
   by the Scottish Parliament on 21 April 2005.

   The key provisions of the Act are:
     * Recognising in legislation Gaelic as an official language of
       Scotland with 'equal respect' to English.
     * 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 Bòrd na Gàidhlig to produce guidance on Gaelic Education
       for education authorities.
     * Requiring public bodies in Scotland, both Scottish public bodies
       and cross border public bodies insofar as they carry out devolved
       functions, to consider the need for a Gaelic language plan in
       relation to the services they offer.

   An electronic noticeboard displaying Fàilte gu stèisean Dùn Èideann
   ("Welcome to Edinburgh station")
   Enlarge
   An electronic noticeboard displaying
   Fàilte gu stèisean Dùn Èideann
   ("Welcome to Edinburgh station")

   Following a consultation period, in which the government received many
   submissions, the majority of which asked that the bill be strengthened,
   a revised bill was published with the main improvement that the
   guidance of the Bòrd is now statutory (rather than advisory).

   In the committee stages in the Scottish Parliament, there was much
   debate over whether Gaelic should be given 'equal validity' with
   English. Due to Executive concerns about resourcing implications if
   this wording was used, the Education Committee settled on the concept
   of equal respect. It is still not clear if the ambiguity of this
   wording will provide sufficient legal force to backup the demands of
   Gaelic speakers against the whims of local councils.

   The Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament unanimously, with support
   from all sectors of the Scottish political spectrum on the 21st of
   April 2005.

   The Education Act of 1872, which completely ignored Gaelic, and led to
   generations of Gaels being forbidden to speak their native language in
   the classroom, is now recognised as having dealt a major blow to the
   language. People still living can recall being beaten for speaking
   Gaelic in school.

   The first solely Gaelic-medium secondary school, Sgoil Ghàidhlig
   Ghlaschu, was opened at Woodside in Glasgow in 2006 (several
   Gaelic-medium primary schools and partially Gaelic-medium secondary
   schools also exist).
   The new face of Gaelic music. Seattle based Gaelic punk band, Mill a
   h-Uile Rud write and sing entirely in Gaelic and use the language on
   their website
   Enlarge
   The new face of Gaelic music. Seattle based Gaelic punk band, Mill a
   h-Uile Rud write and sing entirely in Gaelic and use the language on
   their website

   In Nova Scotia, there are somewhere between 500 and 1,000 native
   speakers, most of them now elderly. In May 2004, the Provincial
   government announced the funding of an initiative to support the
   language and its culture within the province.

   In Prince Edward Island, the Colonel Gray High School is now offering
   two courses in Gaelic, an introductory and an advanced course, both
   language and history are taught in these classes. This is the first
   recorded time that Gaelic has ever been taught as an official course on
   Prince Edward Island.

   The UK government has ratified the European Charter for Regional or
   Minority Languages in respect of Gaelic.

   The Columba Initiative, also known as Iomairt Cholm Cille, is a body
   that seeks to promote links between speakers of Scottish Gaelic and
   Irish.

Church

   In the Western Isles, the isles of Lewis, Harris and North Uist have a
   Presbyterian majority (largely Church of Scotland - Eaglais na h-Alba
   in Gaelic, Free Church of Scotland and Free Presbyterian Church of
   Scotland.) The isles of South Uist and Barra have a Catholic majority.
   All these churches have Gaelic-speaking congregations throughout the
   Western Isles.

   There are Gaelic-speaking congregations in the Church of Scotland,
   mainly in the Highlands and Islands, but also in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
   Notable city congregations with regular services in Gaelic are St
   Columba's Church, Glasgow and Greyfriars Tolbooth & Highland Kirk,
   Edinburgh. Leabhar Sheirbheisean - a shorter Gaelic version of the
   English-language Book of Common Order - was published in 1996 by the
   Church of Scotland, ISBN 0-907624-12-X.

   The relationship between the Church and Gaelic has not always been an
   easy one. The widespread use of English in worship has often been
   suggested as one of the historic reasons for Gaelic's decline. Whilst
   the Church of Scotland is supportive today, there is, however, an
   increasing difficulty in being able to find Gaelic-speaking ministers.

Personal names

   Gaelic has a number of personal names, such as Ailean, Aonghas,
   Dòmhnall, Donnchadh, Coinneach, Murchadh, for which there are
   traditional forms in English (Alan, Angus, Donald, Duncan, Kenneth,
   Murdo). There are also distinctly Scottish Gaelic forms of names that
   belong to the common European stock of given names, such as: Iain
   (John), Alasdair (Alexander), Uilleam (William), Caitrìona (Catherine),
   Cairistìona (Christina), Anna (Ann), Màiri (Mary), Seamus (James). Some
   names have come into Gaelic from Old Norse, for example: Somhairle ( <
   Somarliðr), Tormod (< Þórmóðr), Torcuil (< Þórkell, Þórketill), Ìomhair
   (Ívarr). These are conventionally rendered in English as Sorley (or,
   historically, Somerled), Norman, Torquil, and Iver (or Evander). There
   are other, traditional, Gaelic names which have no direct equivalents
   in English: Oighrig, which is normally rendered as Euphemia (Effie) or
   Henrietta (Etta) (formerly also as Henny or even as Harriet), or,
   Diorbhal, which is "matched" with Dorothy, simply on the basis of a
   certain similarity in spelling; Gormul, for which there is nothing
   similar in English, and it is rendered as 'Gormelia' or even 'Dorothy';
   Beathag, which is "matched" with Becky (> Rebecca) and even Betsy, or
   Sophie.

   Many of these are now regarded as old-fashioned, and are no longer used
   (which is, of course, a feature common to many cultures: names go out
   of fashion). As there is only a relatively small pool of traditional
   Gaelic names from which to choose, some families within the
   Gaelic-speaking communities have in recent years made a conscious
   decision when naming their children to seek out names that are used
   within the wider English-speaking world. These names do not, of course,
   have an equivalent in Gaelic. What effect that practice (if it becomes
   popular) might have on the language remains to be seen. At this stage
   (2005), it is clear that some native Gaelic-speakers are willing to
   break with tradition. Opinion on this practice is divided; whilst some
   would argue that they are thereby weakening their link with their
   linguistic and cultural heritage, others take the opposing view that
   Gaelic, as with any other language, must retain a degree of flexibility
   and adaptability if it is to survive in the modern world at all.

   The well-known name Hamish, and the recently established Mhairi
   (pronounced [va:ri]) come from the Gaelic for, respectively, James, and
   Mary, but derive from the form of the names as they appear in the
   vocative case: Seumas (James) (nom.) → Sheumais (voc.), and, Màiri
   (Mary) (nom.) → Mhàiri (voc.).

   The most common class of Gaelic surnames are, of course, those
   beginning with mac (Gaelic for son), such as MacGillEathain (MacLean).
   The female form is nic (Gaelic for daughter), so Catherine MacPhee is
   properly called in Gaelic, Caitrìona Nic a' Phì.

   Several colours give rise to common Scottish surnames: bàn (Bain -
   white), ruadh (Roy - red), dubh (Dow - black), donn (Dunn - brown),
   buidhe (Bowie - yellow).

Loanwords

   The majority of Scottish Gaelic's vocabulary is native Celtic. There
   are a large number of borrowings from Latin, (muinntir, Didòmhnaich),
   ancient Greek, especially in the religious domain (eaglais, Bìoball
   from Ekklesia and Biblia), Norse (eilean, sgeir), Hebrew (Sàbaid, Aba)
   and Lowland Scots (briogais, aidh).

   In common with other Indo-European languages, the neologisms which are
   coined for modern concepts are typically based on Greek or Latin,
   although written in Gaelic orthography; television, for instance,
   becomes telebhisean (cian-dhealbh could also be used), and computer
   becomes coimpiùtar (aireamhadair, bocsa-fiosa or bocsa-sgrìobhaidh
   could also be used). Although native speakers frequently use an English
   word for which there is a perfectly good Gaelic equivalent, they will,
   without thinking, simply adopt the English word and use it, applying
   the rules of Gaelic grammar, as the situation requires. With verbs, for
   instance, they will simply add the verbal suffix (-eadh, or, in Lewis,
   -igeadh, as in, Tha mi a' watcheadh (Lewis, watchigeadh) an telly (I am
   watching the television) (instead of "Tha mi a' coimhead air a'
   chian-dhealbh"). This was remarked upon by the minister who compiled
   the account covering the parish of Stornoway in the New Statistical
   Account of Scotland, published over 170 years ago. However, as Gaelic
   medium education grows in popularity, a newer generation of literate
   Gaels is becoming more familiar with modern Gaelic vocabulary.

   Going in the other direction, Scottish Gaelic has influenced the Scots
   language (gob) and English, particularly Scottish Standard English.
   Loanwords include: whisky, slogan, brogue, jilt, clan, strontium (from
   Strontian), trousers, as well as familiar elements of Scottish
   geography like ben (beinn), glen (gleann) and loch. Irish Gaelic has
   also influenced Lowland Scots and English in Scotland, but it is not
   always easy to distinguish its influence from that of the Scottish
   variety. See List of English words of Scottish Gaelic origin

   Source: An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Alexander
   MacBain.

Common Scottish Gaelic words and phrases with Irish Gaelic equivalents

   Scottish Gaelic Phrase Rough English Translation Irish Gaelic
   Equivalent
   Fàilte Welcome Fáilte
   Halò Hello Dia Duit (Literally "God be with you")
   Latha math Good day Lá maith
   Ciamar a tha thu? How are you? Go dté mar atá tú (Ulster Irish), Conas
   atá tú (Leinster/Standard Irish)
   Ciamar a tha sibh? How are you? (plural, singular formal) Go dté mar
   atá sibh (Ulster Irish), Conas a tá sibh (Leinster/Standard Irish)
   Madainn mhath Good morning Maidin maith
   Feasgar math Good afternoon Trathnóna maith
   Oidhche mhath Good night Oíche maith
   Ma 's e do thoil e If you please Má is é do thoil é
   Ma 's e (bh)ur toil e If you please (plural, singular formal) Ma is é
   bhfuir thoil é
   Tapadh leat Thank you Go raibh maith agat
   Tapadh leibh Thank you (plural, singular formal) Go raibh maith agaibh
   Dè an t-ainm a tha ort? What is your name? Cad is ainm duit?
   Dè an t-ainm a tha oirbh? What is your name?(plural, singular formal)
   Cad is ainm doibh?
   Mar sin leat Goodbye Slán leat
   Mar sin leibh Goodbye (plural, singular formal) Slán libh
   Dè a tha seo? What is this? Cad é seo?
   Slàinte "health" (used as a toast [cf. English "cheers"] when drinking)
   Sláinte

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