Scotland Languages: Difference between revisions

Scotland Languages (view source)

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 Occasionally records will also contain Gaelic, often written in English phonetics. In the medieval documents about Orkney and Shetland, you may also encounter Norn, an early form of Norwegian.
-==Scottish Gaelic==
+== Scottish Gaelic ==
-Gaelic (Gaidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic language of Scotland. It is closely related to [[Ireland Language and Languages|Irish]] and Manx, and more distantly to [[Wales Language and Languages|Welsh]], Cornish and Breton.
-The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 gives some degree of recognition to Scotland's Celtic language. However, unlike [[Wales Language and Languages|Welsh]], Scottish Gaelic has been written down far less frequently, and is not taught in many schools. The language is generally associated with the Highlands, but was historically spoken in most of the Lowlands as well. Many Lowland surnames and areas have Gaelic derivations, e.g. Dundee, Stranraer etc. It was not spoken in Orkney and Shetland
+Gaelic (Gaidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic language of Scotland. It is closely related to [[Ireland Language and Languages|Irish]] and Manx, and more distantly to [[Wales Language and Languages|Welsh]], Cornish and Breton.
-Scottish Gaelic gives rise to many Scottish surnames, including any beginning with Mac or Mac, as well as names such as Campbell, Dewar, Menzies etc. Some of these were written down in English phonetics, e.g. MacDonald or McWhannel for MacDhomhnaill and/or were later translated e.g. Smith can translate Mac a' Ghobhainn, which is also anglicized as Gow or MacGowan. The old Scottish Gaelic naming system is extremely complex, and exists mainly in oral tradition.
+The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 gives some degree of recognition to Scotland's Celtic language. However, unlike [[Wales Language and Languages|Welsh]], Scottish Gaelic has been written down far less frequently, and is not taught in many schools. The language is generally associated with the Highlands, but was historically spoken in most of the Lowlands as well. Many Lowland surnames and areas have Gaelic derivations, e.g. Dundee, Stranraer etc. It was not spoken in Orkney and Shetland
-Many personal names such as Iain (John), Malcolm, Duncan, Fiona and Morag all ultimately derive from the language too. There are other, traditional, Gaelic names which have no direct equivalents in English: Oighrig, which is normally rendered as Euphemia (Effie) or Henrietta (Etta) (formerly also as Henny or even as Harriet), or, Diorbhal, which is "matched" with Dorothy, simply on the basis of a certain similarity in spelling; Gormul, for which there is nothing similar in English, and it is rendered as 'Gormelia' or even 'Dorothy'; Beathag, which is "matched" with Becky (> Rebecca) and even Betsy, or Sophie.
+Scottish Gaelic gives rise to many Scottish surnames, including any beginning with Mac or Mc, as well as names such as Campbell, Dewar, Menzies etc. Some of these were written down in English phonetics, e.g. MacDonald or McWhannel for MacDhomhnaill and/or were later translated e.g. Smith can translate Mac a' Ghobhainn, which is also anglicized as Gow or MacGowan. The old Scottish Gaelic naming system is extremely complex, and exists mainly in oral tradition.
-The most common class of Gaelic surnames are, of course, those beginning with ''mac'' (Gaelic for ''son''), such as ''MacGillEathain'' (MacLean). The female form is ''nic'' (Gaelic for ''daughter''), so Catherine MacPhee is properly called in Gaelic, ''Caitrìona Nic a' Phì''. [Strictly, "nic" is a contraction of the Gaelic phrase "nighean mhic", meaning "daughter of the son", thus Nic Dhomhnuill, really means "daughter of MacDonald" rather than "daughter of Donald".] Although there is a common misconception that "mac" means "son of", the "of" part actually comes from the genitive form of the patronymic that follows the prefix "Mac", e.g., in the case of MacNéill, Néill (of Neil) is the genitive form of Niall (Neil).
+Many personal names such as Iain (John), Malcolm, Duncan, Fiona and Morag all ultimately derive from the language too. There are other, traditional, Gaelic names which have no direct equivalents in English: Oighrig, which is normally rendered as Euphemia (Effie) or Henrietta (Etta) (formerly also as Henny or even as Harriet), or, Diorbhal, which is "matched" with Dorothy, simply on the basis of a certain similarity in spelling; Gormul, for which there is nothing similar in English, and it is rendered as 'Gormelia' or even 'Dorothy'; Beathag, which is "matched" with Becky (&gt; Rebecca) and even Betsy, or Sophie.
-Several colours give rise to common Scottish surnames: ''bàn'' (Bain – white), ''ruadh'' (Roy – red), ''dubh'' (Dow – black), ''donn'' (Dunn – brown), ''buidhe'' (Bowie – yellow).
+The most common class of Gaelic surnames are, of course, those beginning with ''mac'' (Gaelic for ''son''), such as ''MacGillEathain'' (MacLean). The female form is ''nic'' (Gaelic for ''daughter''), so Catherine MacPhee is properly called in Gaelic, ''Caitrìona Nic a' Phì''. [Strictly, "nic" is a contraction of the Gaelic phrase "nighean mhic", meaning "daughter of the son", thus Nic Dhomhnuill, really means "daughter of MacDonald" rather than "daughter of Donald".] Although there is a common misconception that "mac" means "son of", the "of" part actually comes from the genitive form of the patronymic that follows the prefix "Mac", e.g., in the case of MacNéill, Néill (of Neil) is the genitive form of Niall (Neil).
-===Alphabet and pronunciation===
+Several colours give rise to common Scottish surnames: ''bàn'' (Bain – white), ''ruadh'' (Roy – red), ''dubh'' (Dow – black), ''donn'' (Dunn – brown), ''buidhe'' (Bowie – yellow).
-Though the Scottish Gaelic and English alphabets are very similar, each has some letters not used in the other. The letters j, k, q, v, w, y, x and z are not used in the Gaelic language except in some 'adopted' words. Gaelic also uses the grave accent above vowels, and until recently used the acute accent over some of them as well.
-Spelling is similar to Irish, although some combinations such as "ae" and "bhf" will not be found in modern Scottish Gaelic. Older documents will use a spelling more similar to Irish, or are often in English phonetics.
+=== Alphabet and pronunciation ===
-As an example of how different Gaelic spelling is from English, the Lord's Prayer is reproduced here:
+Though the Scottish Gaelic and English alphabets are very similar, each has some letters not used in the other. The letters j, k, q, v, w, y, x and z are not used in the Gaelic language except in some 'adopted' words. Gaelic also uses the grave accent above vowels, and until recently used the acute accent over some of them as well.
-:Ar n-Athair a tha air nèamh, Gu naomhaichear d'ainm.
+Spelling is similar to Irish, although some combinations such as "ae" and "bhf" will not be found in modern Scottish Gaelic. Older documents will use a spelling more similar to Irish, or are often in English phonetics.
+As an example of how different Gaelic spelling is from English, the Lord's Prayer is reproduced here:
+:Ar n-Athair a tha air nèamh, Gu naomhaichear d'ainm.
 :Thigeadh do rìoghachd. Dèanar do thoil air an talamh, mar a nithear air nèamh.
 :Tabhair dhuinn an-diugh ar n-aran làitheil.
 :Agus maith dhuinn ar fiachan, amhail a mhaitheas sinne dar luchd-fiach.
 :Agus na leig ann am buaireadh sinn; ach saor sinn o olc:
 :oir is leatsa an rìoghachd, agus an cumhachd, agus a' ghlòir, gu siorraidh.