Gaelic

Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun, it may refer to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually.

Languages

Scottish Gaelic

Scottish Gaelic, sometimes also referred to as Gaelic (Gàidhlig [ˈkaːlikʲ]), is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus is ultimately descended from Old Irish.

The 2011 census of Scotland showed that a total of 57,375 people (1.1% of the Scottish population aged over three years old) in Scotland could speak Gaelic at that time, with the Outer Hebrides being the main stronghold of the language. The census results indicate a decline of 1,275 Gaelic speakers from 2001. A total of 87,056 people in 2011 reported having some facility with Gaelic compared to 93,282 people in 2001, a decline of 6,226. Despite this decline, revival efforts exist and the number of speakers of the language under age 20 has increased.

Scottish Gaelic is not an official language of the European Union or the United Kingdom. However, it is classed as an Indigenous language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which the British government has ratified, and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 established a language development body, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, "with a view to securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland.

Gaels

The Gaels (English pronunciation: /ɡeːlˠ/; Irish: Na Gaeil; Scottish Gaelic: Na Gàidheil), also known as Goidels, are an ethnolinguistic group indigenous to northwestern Europe. They are associated with the Gaelic languages; a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish (Munster Irish, Connacht Irish, Ulster Irish), Manx and Scottish Gaelic. Other ethnonyms prominently associated with the Gaels historically have included Irish and Scots, but the scope of those nationalities is today more complex.

Gaelic language and culture originated in Ireland, extending to Dál Riata in southwest Scotland. In the Middle Ages, it became dominant throughout Scotland and the Isle of Man also. However, in most areas, the Gaels were gradually anglicized and the Gaelic languages supplanted by English. The modern descendants of the Gaels have spread throughout much of Great Britain and as far as the Americas and Oceania.

Ethnonyms

Throughout the centuries, Gaels and Gaelic-speakers have been known by a number of names. The most consistent of these have been Gael, Irish and Scot, which continue to be used today, although the latter two have developed more ambiguous meanings (due to the early modern concept of the nation state and later romantic ideas, which encompasses non-Gaels). Other terms, such as Milesian, are not as frequently used. Informally, archetypal forenames such as Tadhg or Domhnall are sometimes used for Gaels.