The Celtic Language
Six living Celtic languages exist. Four have a substantial number of native speakers: Breton, Irish, Scottish and Welsh. The last native speaker of Cornish died in 1777. The last native speakers of Manx died in 1974. Both Cornish and Manx are being revitalized. By 2010 it was estimated that there were more the 1.4 million speakers of Celtic languages.
The modern day concept of "Celtic" as a descriptor of a unique set languages and a group of culturally connected people dates to 1707. How we use the term "Celt" is the result of the work of the Welsh polymath Edward Lhuyd. This illegitimate off spring of Welsh gentry innovated and made significant discoveries in the fields of linguistics, botany, geography and the study of antiquity. Lhuyd is credited with creating the first scientific description of the creature now called the dinosaur. Lhuyd was a friend of Issac Newton. In fact Newton's financial support in 1699 allowed Lhuyd to publish the first catalog of fossils found in Briton. For his pioneering work is so many fields, Lhuyd was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Science.
Late in the 17th century a group of scholars hired Lhuyd to help them with efforts to preserve the Cornish language. With the help of his Welsh colleague Moses WIlliams, in 1707 Lhuyd published the first volume of a text that reshaped the study of linguistics. Archaeologia Britannica: an Account of the Languages, Histories and Customs of Great Britain, from Travels through Wales, Cornwall, Bas-Bretagne, Ireland and Scotland. showed that the Brythonic languages of Cornwall, Wales and Brittany were formed in France (Gaul) and the Goidelic languages of Ireland, Scotland and Galicia originated in the Iberian Peninsula. Lhuyd argued that because these languages were of Celtic origin, the people who spoke those languages most be known as Celts. Lhuyd's scholarship has held true over the course of three centuries and is supported by contemporary archaeological discoveries. The origins of the Celtics, their culture and language lie in the Iberian peninsula.
The Brittonic, Brythonic or British Celtic language one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family. The name Brythonic means an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael. Greeks writers used the word Prettanike to describe the British Isles. Prettanike morphed into the modern word Britain and is the source of the term Brittonic. A common Brittonic language was spoken throughout Great Britain south of the Firth of Forth from at least the Iron Age and well into the period of Roman occupation.
The Goidelic or Gaelic language is the second of the two branches of Insular Celtic languages. Dialects of the Goidelic language branch are spoken in Ireland, the Isle of Man and Scotland. The term "goidelic" derives from the Old Irish word "goidel" which means "Irishman".
A significant number of Welsh speakers are found in the Patagonia area of Argentina. The immigration of Welsh miners explains this unexpected appearance of a Celtic language in South America. Scottish Gaelic can be heard on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Welsh is the only Celtic language not classified as "endangered" by UNESCO.
During the 1st millennium BCE, six branches of the Celtic language were spoken across much of western Europe - from Ireland into Asia Minor (Turkey). Today only the Brythonic and Goidelic branches of the Celtic Languages continue to remain in use.
Six living Celtic languages exist. Four have a substantial number of native speakers: Breton, Irish, Scottish and Welsh. The last native speaker of Cornish died in 1777. The last native speakers of Manx died in 1974. Both Cornish and Manx are being revitalized. By 2010 it was estimated that there were more the 1.4 million speakers of Celtic languages.
The modern day concept of "Celtic" as a descriptor of a unique set languages and a group of culturally connected people dates to 1707. How we use the term "Celt" is the result of the work of the Welsh polymath Edward Lhuyd. This illegitimate off spring of Welsh gentry innovated and made significant discoveries in the fields of linguistics, botany, geography and the study of antiquity. Lhuyd is credited with creating the first scientific description of the creature now called the dinosaur. Lhuyd was a friend of Issac Newton. In fact Newton's financial support in 1699 allowed Lhuyd to publish the first catalog of fossils found in Briton. For his pioneering work is so many fields, Lhuyd was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Science.
Late in the 17th century a group of scholars hired Lhuyd to help them with efforts to preserve the Cornish language. With the help of his Welsh colleague Moses WIlliams, in 1707 Lhuyd published the first volume of a text that reshaped the study of linguistics. Archaeologia Britannica: an Account of the Languages, Histories and Customs of Great Britain, from Travels through Wales, Cornwall, Bas-Bretagne, Ireland and Scotland. showed that the Brythonic languages of Cornwall, Wales and Brittany were formed in France (Gaul) and the Goidelic languages of Ireland, Scotland and Galicia originated in the Iberian Peninsula. Lhuyd argued that because these languages were of Celtic origin, the people who spoke those languages most be known as Celts. Lhuyd's scholarship has held true over the course of three centuries and is supported by contemporary archaeological discoveries. The origins of the Celtics, their culture and language lie in the Iberian peninsula.
The Brittonic, Brythonic or British Celtic language one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family. The name Brythonic means an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael. Greeks writers used the word Prettanike to describe the British Isles. Prettanike morphed into the modern word Britain and is the source of the term Brittonic. A common Brittonic language was spoken throughout Great Britain south of the Firth of Forth from at least the Iron Age and well into the period of Roman occupation.
The Goidelic or Gaelic language is the second of the two branches of Insular Celtic languages. Dialects of the Goidelic language branch are spoken in Ireland, the Isle of Man and Scotland. The term "goidelic" derives from the Old Irish word "goidel" which means "Irishman".
A significant number of Welsh speakers are found in the Patagonia area of Argentina. The immigration of Welsh miners explains this unexpected appearance of a Celtic language in South America. Scottish Gaelic can be heard on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Welsh is the only Celtic language not classified as "endangered" by UNESCO.
During the 1st millennium BCE, six branches of the Celtic language were spoken across much of western Europe - from Ireland into Asia Minor (Turkey). Today only the Brythonic and Goidelic branches of the Celtic Languages continue to remain in use.