Talk:Gàidhealtachd

Map

Might there be a map of the Gaidhealtachd? -- Anon

Loanword

Gaeltacht as a loanword of scottish gaelic is somewhat dubious due to both being dialects of the same language and also the name in itself can be formed from roots in both irish and scots gaelic

I've rephrased the reference to Gaeltacht and removed the reference to it being a loanword. I don't know whether it is or isn't, but if you add it back, please leave some sort of citation or reference here. ☸ Moilleadóir 06:55, 14 February 2007 (UTC) ☏

Does anyone know if there is a linguistic correspondence between 'Gaeltacht' and 'Gaidhealtachd' that matches other correspondences between the languages/dialects? I've not taken phonetics yet, so..

Not sure exactly what you mean (& you really should sign your posts), but as whoever-it-was said above they are both reasonable formations from the respective words Gael (Irish, older spelling Gaedheal) and Gaidheal (Scottish Gaelic). Both words go back to Old Irish Goídel, itself a loan from Old Welsh Guoidel.

Ó Dónaill (Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla 1977) gives these meanings:

Gael, 1. Irishman, Irishwoman. 2. (Scottish) highlander.

Gaeltacht, 1. Lit: Irishry; Irish(-speaking) people. 2. Irish-speaking area. 3. Gaelic-speaking area of Scotland.

Dinneen (Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla 1927):

Gaedheal, an Irishman, a Highlander; a Catholic; cf. Sasanach, a Protestant, and Albanach, a Presbyterian...[!]

Gaedhealtacht, the state of being Irish or Scotch; Gaeldom, Irishry, the native race of Ireland; Irish-speaking district or districts; the Gaeltacht [i.e. the then new officially defined area?]; bean de'n Gh., a woman of the Irishry (Art MacC.*); G. Alban, the Highlands of Scotland.

*Art McC.—Art McCooey, an Armagh poet of the 18th century.

I don't have the equivalent Gaelic dictionaries to make a comparison, but I imagine there is a parallel development there. The reference to Art McCooey in Dinneen shows that the word Gaedhealtacht is likely to have existed in Irish for some time, though with a slightly different meaning than the geographical/linguistic one, which probably wouldn't have been a useful one in Ireland prior to the famine since Irish was widely spoken.

So, perhaps the specific meaning of a defined area of Gaelic/Irish speakers did come from Gaelic, but it's quite hard to tell.

☸ Moilleadóir 06:16, 11 September 2007 (UTC) ☏

Pictish

Note that much of the east of Scotland was a Pictish speaking area and, although some parts switched from Pictish to Gaelic, others switched from Pictish to Scots, so it's a little exaggerated to claim that all of Scotland was Gaelic speaking at any time. -- Derek Ross 22:01, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)

It's not so much that, more that Pictish was absorbed into Gaelic. Northumberland was Gaelic-speaking at one time, actually. --Gabriel Beecham/Kwekubo 19:29, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)

That's nonsense, all Picts went from Pictish to either Gaelic or Norse, unless you suppose Pictish survived until the thirteenth century, when we have the first evidence for English north of the Forth. - Calgacus 22:11, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Caithness

The inclusion of Caithness as a traditionally lowland scots speaking area is as misleading as it is common. The northernmost part of Caithness went from Norse to Lallans but Gaelic was also widely spoken in the region as well. An Siarach

Removed Caithness; the BBC says the remnants of an indigenous Gaelic population were still speaking the [Gaelic] language into the twentieth century. --Bangalamania (talk) 14:07, 3 October 2020 (UTC)

Numbers

How about adding a rough estimate of how many people are in the Gàidhealtachd, or how many speak Scottish Gaelic. It may be depressing but it's essential. Quis separabit? 21:32, 8 September 2013 (UTC)

Maps and numbers

I may try to SVG-ise the map, but a nagging doubt: it shows the number of people able to speak Gaelic, to some level of competence, not those who do speak it. Plenty will learn the language, which is encouraging, but with no thought that they will use it in everyday life. By the same reckoning, the whole of the Irish Republic could be marked as "Gaeltacht" as everyone learns Irish at school (and almost everyone abandons it as soon as they can).

In the Hebrides though and elsewhere in the west Gaelic is indeed a vibrant mother tongue, used at home and in everyday life. Those are the relevant figures - are they available? Hogweard (talk) 18:23, 5 June 2015 (UTC)