LANGUAGE
Any encyclopedia will state that the ‘official ‘ language of Scotland is English, although such a reference would probably go on to make mention of there having long been another, very ancient language, still spoken in parts of the Highlands and in the Western Isles: Gaelic. This is a tongue which is not like English in any way; not in sound, not in sentence structure nor in spelling. Scots Gaelic is related to Irish or Manx, being that these three are what linguists have long called Goidellic , or "Q" Celtic, as differenced from other Celtic tongues such as Cymric( Welsh), Cornish, or Breton, the so called "P" Celtic linguistic group. Long before ever there was a language called "English", both "Q" Celtic and "P" Celtic tongues were the predominant languages of the land which we now know as Scotland. Scots from Ireland in Argyll and parts of Galloway were speaking Gaelic, while the folk of Strathclyde and some of the Picts were using Cymric and related dialects.
Despite the erosion of differences in speech or dialects as a result of films, videos and television in our own time, it is fairly safe to say that English in its written form is well understood from one part of Scotland to another. However there remains a great difference between those words which are written and how they are pronounced by the native Scot in his own district, or even as that native goes out from his particular area. An example of this might be that of one’s receiving a letter from a man or woman who lives in a town in Aberdeen, and finding both the style and the content of the letter to be really quite beautiful, and certainly easily understood, only to be totally astonished at what is heard when the same individual decides to call by telephone. There might not appear to be any similarity between the written and the spoken words and phrases whatever! After all, the people in the south and the east of Scotland speak varying dialects of what is called "Scots" or "Lallans", and while these dialects have something in common with English, it would be difficult to say that they are simply dialects of English. In fact, Scots may well be a language in its own right, having grown up contemporaneously beside English, but deriving from slightly different sources and having a great number of words which are absolutely unknown in the English of England.
Gaelic had been the dominant mode of communication at one time, probably having reached its zenith in the mid 11th century. There has been since then a gradual, then a tremendous decline, particularly in the past two centuries. Having held on in the West Highlands, the Western Isles, Nova Scotia, as well as other isolated pockets of the Scottish Diaspora, the language has been making something of a come-back in recent years. Many parents in Scotland are entering their young children into Gaelic pre-schools and it is also being taught in an increasing number of schools throughout the country. Another great boost to the return of the Gaelic has come from an unexpected quarter : music groups of the young folk who have been writing new tunes with Gaelic lyrics ,yet who are not adverse to offering some traditional music as well. There is this phenomenon called "Celtic Rock" also(some of which is not bad at all, but quite good!). Several sources of Celtic music and songs sung in Gaelic you will find listed by us in the section labeled "Music".
One of our Siol nan Gaidheal members out in Colorado has suggested that we set forth a few Gaelic phrases for you.We'll add some idea of pronunciation, just in case you may want to try them yourselves.
Maiduinn mhath ( pro. " MAHD'een Vah ")........Good Morning Cia mar a tha sibh ? ( Kimmerra HAH Sheevf ) .....How are you ?......[.this is formal or plural] Cia mar a tha thu ? (Kimmerra Hah'oo) How are you?....[.informal , singular] Tha'n latha math (Hah'n Lah'a mah)....... It's a good day Tha mi gu math (Hah mee g'mah)...I am well ; Tapaidh leibh( Tah'peh leav) ...Thank you Tha mi gu doigheal ( guh doy'ill ) " in good shape" ; Tha mi sgith (Skee)...tired Ma 's e bhur toil e ( Mah shay voor TAWL ae ) ...Please (if it pleases you) Ma 's e do thoil e ( mah shay dtoe HAWL ae )......, " {informal or singular] 'S e do bheatha ( shay dtoe VEH ha ).....You're welcome! AND......a Gaelic word spoken by all Scots: "Slainte " Slahnjjt')...."Health!" (
Eilean Donan (in ruins)Here are some sources which you may wish to check out if you wish to know more about Gaelic, or if you are interested in learning this very beautiful language :
