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| Scottish Gaelic | |
|---|---|
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| Gàidhlig | |
| Pronunciation | [ˈkaːlɪkʲ] |
| Native to | United Kingdom, Canada |
| Region | Scotland; Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia |
| Ethnicity | Scottish Gaels |
| Speakers | 57,000 fluent L1 and L2 speakers in Scotland (2011)[1] 87,000 people in Scotland reported having some Gaelic language ability in 2011;[1] 1,300 fluent in Nova Scotia[2] |
Indo-European
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Early forms | |
| Dialects |
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| Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | gd |
| ISO 639-2 | gla |
| ISO 639-3 | gla |
| Glottolog | scot1245 |
| ELP | Scottish Gaelic |
| Linguasphere | 50-AAA |
 2011 distribution of Gaelic speakers in Scotland | |
| Part of a series on the |
| Culture of Scotland |
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| People |
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| Literature |
Scottish Gaelic (/ˈɡælɪk/, GAL-ik; endonym: Gàidhlig [ˈkaːlɪkʲ] ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as both Irish and Manx, developed out of Old Irish.[3] It became a distinct spoken language sometime in the 13th century in the Middle Irish period, although a common literary language was shared by the Gaels of both Ireland and Scotland until well into the 17th century.[4] Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names.[5][6]
In the 2011 census of Scotland, 57,375 people (1.1% of the Scottish population aged over three years old) reported being able to speak Gaelic, 1,275 fewer than in 2001. The highest percentages of Gaelic speakers were in the Outer Hebrides. Nevertheless, there is a language revival, and the number of speakers of the language under age 20 did not decrease between the 2001 and 2011 censuses.[7] In the 2022 census of Scotland, it was found that 2.5% of the Scottish population had some skills in Gaelic[8], or 130,161 persons. Of these, 69,701 people reported speaking the language, with a further 46,404 people reporting that they understood the language, but did not speak, read, or write in it.[9]
Outside of Scotland, a dialect known as Canadian Gaelic has been spoken in Canada since the 18th century. In the 2021 census, 2,170 Canadian residents claimed knowledge of Scottish Gaelic, a decline from 3,980 speakers in the 2016 census.[10][11] There exists a particular concentration of speakers in Nova Scotia, with historic communities in other parts of Canada having largely disappeared.[12]
Scottish Gaelic is at present not an official language of the United Kingdom or Scotland.[13][14][15] Scottish Gaelic is classed as an indigenous language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which the UK Government has ratified, and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 established a language-development body, Bòrd na Gàidhlig.[16]
- ^ a b 2011 Census of Scotland Archived 4 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Table QS211SC [Viewed 30 May 2014]
- ^ Statistics Canada, Nova Scotia (Code 12) (table), National Household Survey (NHS) Profile, 2011 NHS, Catalogue No. 99‑004‑XWE (Ottawa: 2013‑06‑26)
- ^ "Background on the Irish Language". Údarás na Gaeltachta. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019.
- ^ MacAulay, Donald (1992). The Celtic Languages. Cambridge University Press. p. 144.
- ^ Kavanagh, Paul (12 March 2011). "Scotland's Language Myths: 4. Gaelic has nothing to do with the Lowlands". Newsnet.scot. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- ^ "Gaelic History / Highland Council Gaelic Toolkit / The Highland Council / Welcome to Northern Potential". HighlandLife. Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- ^ "Census shows decline in Gaelic speakers 'slowed'". BBC News. 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "Scotland's Census 2022 - Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion". Scotland's Census. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ "Home". Scotland's Census. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ "Census Profile, 2016 Census". 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ^ "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". 2021 Census. Statistics Canada. 9 February 2022. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "Nova Scotia/Alba Nuadh". Province of Nova Scotia Gaelic Affairs. Archived from the original on 23 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ McLeod, Wilson (1997). "Official Status for Gaelic: Prospects and Problems". Scottish Affairs. 21: 95–118. doi:10.3366/scot.1997.0059. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
At present Gaelic enjoys no official status in the United Kingdom or even within Scotland. There is no Act of Parliament conveying such status to the language, as with Welsh; nor, given Britain's lack of a written constitution, is there any constitutional protection, such as Irish enjoys in the Irish Republic.
- ^ "Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005". legislation.gov.uk.
- ^ "Sgìrean Gàidhlig Sònraichte gan Stèidheachadh le Bile Ùr" [Areas of Linguistic Significance to be established under new bill]. BBC Alba (in Scottish Gaelic). 3 November 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
Cuiridh am bile ùr inbhe na Gàidhlig – agus na Beurla Gallta – mar chànan oifigeil na h-Alba ann am faclan nas treasa agus nas simplidhe. (Cha tuirt Achd na Gàidhlig 2005 ach gun deadh Bòrd na Gàidhlig a stèidheachadh "with a view to securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language").
[The new bill will establish Gaelic - and Scots - as official languages in stronger and simpler terms. (The 2005 Gaelic language act only stated that the Gaelic Language Board would be established “with a view to securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language”).] - ^ "Gaelic". The Scottish Government. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
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