2006-11-13 01:02:51 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Gaelic is the old Celtic language once spoken all over Ireland, Scotland & the British isles. It is related to other Celtic languages like Cornish, Breton & Welsh - which are somewhat apart in their vocabulary & grammar. so Gaelic today really refers to Irish Gaelic & Scotch Gaelic. Gaelic differs from Ireland to Scotland and is spoken less & less in common daily life in both countries. It remains a language spoken in isolated rural villages of Ireland or in the highlands of Scotland.
Gaelic crumbled when the Anglo-Saxon British conquered these countries and imposed English upon the people. Stern measures were enforced to efface Gaelic culture everywhere. today the effects of the British conquest persist. Most Scots & irish speak English from birth to death - at home & in school & in industry.
2006-11-13 01:31:38 · answer #1 · answered by blackbird 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Blackbird is partly right, but not in the history bit.
Gaelic only started its ongoing decline in Ireland After Independence! It's a much used joke here to say that the only way to save it is to ban it again.
And the bit about isolated rural areas is not true for Ireland either.
There are Gaelic speaking communities even in Galway City, and irish speaking schools are getting more popular by the year, even though there is not much support from the gouvernment.
2006-11-13 11:55:14 · answer #2 · answered by haggesitze 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gaelic is the celtic language spoken by both Scotland and Ireland.
2006-11-13 09:12:40 · answer #3 · answered by Countess 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
a type of dialect
2006-11-13 09:06:56 · answer #4 · answered by mimi22 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋