Scottish Gaelic language

Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig, pronounced "Gah-lick") is a Celtic language that is commonly called just Scots Gaelic in Scottish English. It is a sister language of Irish and Manx, all of which are Goidelic languages. They are related to Welsh, Cornish and Breton, which are Brythonic languages. All of them are Celtic languages.
History
Scottish Gaelic was once spoken across all of Scotland except for the Northern Islands (Orkney and Shetland).Orkney and Shetlands spoke Old West Norse because they were so long part of the Norse overseas settlements. In the Late Middle Ages, the kings of Scotland began to speak Scottish English and looked down on the Scottish Gaelic. After the 1707 union of England and Scotland to form Great Britain, Scottish Gaelic was looked down on even more, and its speakers changed to Scottish English.
Today
Scottish Gaelic today is basically spoken in the Outer Hebrides and on Skye. Generally speaking, Scottish Gaelic spoken across the Western Isles is similar enough to be classed as one major dialect group, but there is some regional variation. The 2001 census in the United Kingdom showed that in Scotland, 58,652 (1.2% of the Scottish population aged over three years old) could then speak some amount of Scottish Gaelic. Only the Western Isles have more people who can speak Scottish Gaelic than not since 61% of the people speak it. Barvas, on the Isle of Lewis, has 74.7% of its residents speaking Scottish Gaelic, the largest percentage of speakers in Scotland.

Children in Scotland do not have to learn Scottish Gaelic in schools, but it is becoming a more popular subject, as Scottish Gaelic is an important part of Scottish culture. Scottish Gaelic is also used overseas. It is estimated that 1,000 to 2,000 in Nova Scotia, Canada, can speak some Scottish Gaelic.

Also, there is a dialect called "Canadian Gaelic" outside Scotland with thousands of speakers.

References

Category:Celtic languages