Gaelic << GAY lihk >> languages are Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. The Gaelic languages make up one of the two branches of the modern Celtic languages. Celtic, in turn, is a branch of the Indo-European family of languages. The other branch of Celtic is Brythonic, which includes the languages Breton and Welsh. The Gaels introduced the Celtic languages to Ireland from central Europe (see Gaels). Irish colonists took the languages to Scotland and the Isle of Man about A.D. 500.
Irish and Scottish Gaelic shared a common written form for centuries. From about A.D. 700 to 1000, authors wrote many poems, romances, sagas, and heroic tales in this form. Beginning in the 900’s, Irish and Scottish Gaelic developed as separate spoken languages. Spoken Irish began to split into dialects after 1200, the main ones being Munster, Connacht, and Ulster. In the 1500’s, the first major texts in Scottish Gaelic appeared. Manx was not a written language until the 1600’s. Although spoken Manx is closely related to Scottish Gaelic, its written form is more closely related to English and Welsh.
Invaders from England tried to impose the English language upon the Irish and Scots beginning in the 1100’s. By 1800, Scottish Gaelic speakers were in the minority in Scotland. By 1851, only about one-fourth of the population of Ireland spoke Irish. The Manx language went into decline on the Isle of Man in the 1800’s. In the 1970’s, the last native speaker of Manx died.
Since the late 1800’s, however, Irish and Scottish authors have revived the tradition of writing in Gaelic languages. In 1922, Irish became the official language of Ireland (see Ireland (Language)). It is the only Celtic language to receive full state recognition and support. Today, both Irish and English are official languages of Ireland, though Irish is still considered an endangered language. Scottish Gaelic is highly endangered, and few people speak it. However, efforts are underway to revive both languages. There are also attempts to try to reintroduce Manx as a language on the Isle of Man.
