- Official language in
- United Kingdom
- Script
- Latin
Where it's spoken
The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act states that the Gaelic language has official status within Scotland.
In the most recent census, 2.5% of people aged 3 and over in Scotland had some skills in Gaelic. In Na h-Eileanan Siar the majority of people had some Gaelic skills (57.2%), far higher than in the next highest council areas, Highland (8.1%) and Argyll and Bute (6.2%).
Sources
Script & pronunciation
Scottish Gaelic uses the same alphabet as English, but only 18 of its 26 letters. The letters J, K, Q, V, W, X, Y and Z are not used in the Gaelic alphabet, though they sometimes appear in loan words.
Vowels may be written with a grave accent (à, è, ì, ò, ù), which marks long vowels. In this app's Halò ("Hello"), the ò carries a grave accent.
The beginnings of words also mutate by processes such as lenition (softening). A late nineteenth-century grammar describes the aspiration of an initial consonant as writing h after it. In this app's Madainn mhath ("Good morning"), the card note says that mhath is math with lenition, shown by the written h.
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Grammar essentials
A computational study of Gàidhlig morphology lists VSO word order among the typological features of the insular Celtic languages. A late nineteenth-century grammar says the subject, whether noun or pronoun, is ordinarily placed after the verb, as in ta mi ("I am"). In this app's Tha mi glasraicheach. ("I am vegetarian."), Tha comes first and is followed by mi.
The same grammar says an adjective is usually placed after the noun it qualifies, as in ceann liath ("a hoary head"). The card for Mòr ("Big") in this app says the same: adjectives follow the noun, as in taigh mòr ("a big house").
The grammar lists cha ("not") among the particles used in negative statements, as in cha d'fholaich mi ("I did not hide"). In this app, the card for "No" says that Gaelic has no word for "no": you answer with Chan eil ("is not"). The card for "Yes" likewise says there is no word for "yes", and the answer is Tha, the present of "to be".
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Politeness & etiquette
The late nineteenth-century grammar says the plural pronoun sibh is used almost universally in addressing a single person of superior rank or of greater age, while the singular (which it spells tu) is used in addressing an inferior or an equal. It adds that the degree of seniority or superiority that entitles a person to this token of respect varies in different parts of the Highlands.
This app's cards follow the same pattern. Ciamar a tha thu? ("How are you?") is marked as a greeting for friends, family or children, while Ciamar a tha sibh? is marked for strangers, elders and groups. The card for "You" (formal / plural) says that sibh is both the plural and the polite singular.
The same distinction appears in thanks: Tapadh leat ("Thank you") is marked as for one person you know well, and Tapadh leibh as for strangers, elders or several people.