Did you know?
- Most of modern-Scotland once spoke Gaelic. It’s still spoken today by around 60,000 Scots.
- Gaelic has been preserved through literature, arts and folklore from across the ages. It plays a vibrant role in the modern world. It features in the hugely popular TV series Outlander, as well as in other radio, television and theatre productions.
- There are three types of Gaelic language still spoken today: Scottish, Irish and Manx. These are grouped under the term Goidelic.
- Goidelic languages are also regarded as Celtic, an umbrella designation including another three tongues which can also happily be thought of as sisters to one another; Welsh, Cornish and Breton, often referred to as Brythonic languages.
- Celtic languages arrived in Britain from the Continent somewhere in the region of a couple of millennia ago. Although there is debate about whether Brythonic or Goidelic came across from Europe first, there is no doubt that Celtic languages represent the oldest spoken “vernaculars” in the British Isles.
- The people from whom the Gaelic language sprung are known as Gaels, and today they are indigenous to Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
- The Gaelic language has been preserved through literature, arts and folklore from across the ages, despite over 400 years of suppression.
- It is still spoken in some areas of Argyll and the Isles, for example on the Isles of TìrIdhe (Tiree) and Ìle (Islay) where it is still possible to hear the language in shops, community centres and at Gaelic cultural events.
- Gaelic culture and language is celebrated through events and festivals in Argyll and the Isles, including the Royal National Mod which takes place in Oban this year.
- The Gaelic community has supplied Scotland with many of the country’s national icons, including the
kilt, tartan, sporran, bagpipes, ceilidhs and Highland games. - VisitScotland research shows visitors are interested in Gaelic origins, areas spoken and heritage – four in five users who viewed Gaelic content on visitscotland. com were from outside the UK
Reprinted from The Scottish Banner October 2024.