What is gaelic?

Question

Like is it like a english language with an irish accent or is it....its own language?

Answer 1

"Gaelic" is a group of distinct languages, of which Irish is one.

Scottish & Welsh are other Gaelic tongues. Gaelic languages are quite different from English.

Answer 2

I learned the KRAP at skool and i still don't know the answer to that question

Answer 3

its our language go maith

Answer 4

It's its own language. My grandparents on both side spoke it quite well.

Answer 5

its irish

Answer 6

Gaelic is a celtic language, and as such has no real relationship to English (with or without an Irish accent), becuase English is derived from Germanic languages.

There are two branches of Celtic languages, "c" celtic and "p" celtic, because certain key words in one language may use a "p" where others use a "c" (pronounced always as "k"). Gaelic is "c" celtic, and includes Scottish gaelic, Irish gaelic and Manx, whereas Welsh, Breton (in France) and Cornish are "p" celtic.

The populations who speak Gaelic on a daily basis as a first language are quite small - in Ireland it's about 50,000, but a much larger population can speak it fairly fluently. There is a thriving literature though, a weekly and daily newspaper, and a radio service and television service. In the south of the country, Irish Gaelic is quite fashionable in recent years and it has the status of an official working language in the European Community.

Incidentally, in Ireland, it's usually referred to as simply "Irish".

Answer 7

gaelic is a language that originates from the gauls but is the earliest form of english that we know of

Answer 8

Gaelic as it is commonly referred to, is one of the languages of Ireland.  Not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, or Scots Gaelic, it is a language of Celtic origin that was originally brought to Ireland when the Celts settled there thousands of years ago.  It is distantly related to English and other Germanic languages such as the ones spoken in Scandinavia.  Belonging to the Goidelic family of Celtic languages, it's closest relatives are Scottish Gaelic and the lesser-known language of the Isle of Man which is known as Manx.  

In Ireland, the language is not referred to as Gaelic, but rather just "Irish".  It has gone through several reforms and changes, most recently being a spelling reform in 1948.  Irish generally is known to have 4 dialects in Ireland, which are Ulster dialect, Munster Dialect, Connacht dialect, and Leinster dialect which is sometimes known as "standard Irish", "Dublin Irish", or "Book Irish".  

Irish is spoken in the household by a minority of Irish people mostly in the regions in the western part of the country, or what is known as the "Gaeltacht".  It is taught in school as a mandatory subject, and is known fluently by a good portion of the population.  The Irish language is also recognized as the country's official language alongside English, and is also recognized as an official language by the E.U.  All government and public documents must be bi-lingual, and many if not all government employees as well as school teachers are required to speak Irish.  Anyone traveling to Ireland will not need to have any knowledge of Irish whatsoever to get around, and will not encounter anyone whom they cannot communicate with in English.  However, to hear some locals speaking Irish, one will most likely need to travel to a pub in far reaching western locales such as the tiny island of Inis Mor in County Galway, or the parish of Gweedore or (Gaoth Dobhair in Irish) in Donegal.  In Ireland, one can find many signs in Irish, especially in the Gaeltacht.

My personal suggestion to anyone who wishes to learn is to make good friends with a native speaker, as the pronunciation is extremely difficult to an English-speaking individual.  Try and buy teaching materials that comes with audio CD's.  Learning a specific dialect is less important, as they are all pretty much mutually intelligible to a fluent or native speaker.

Answer 9

Gaelic is the ancient language of Ireland and still spoken. It is a Celtic language and not very closely related to English. English is much closer to German. The Saxons from which most words in English are derived originated from Germany. There are many different Celtic languages, there are two main branches of the Celtic language. Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic an Manx are all quite similar. Similarly Welsh, Cornish and Bretagne (Brittany) are similar Celtic languages. there are also some remnants of the Celtic language spoke in Northwest Spain (Gallicia). Welsh is the most widely spoken Celtic language (over 1 million people speak Welsh), it is even spoken in parts of Argentina.

Answer 10

its its own language. all irish people learn it in school and there are cartain parts of the country where only gaelic is spoken

Answer 11

its not like english at all ,i can speak gaelic   theres noo  comparason

Answer 12

gaelic is a language of its own and has 3 distinct dialects "munster irish, connaght irish and ulster irish" while they may sound similar they have slight differences but one person speaking one dialect can easily understand another person speaking a different dialect. these days most irish people dont speak it anymore on a daily basis except in regions called "gaeltachts" (pronounced gale tocks) located mainly in the west, south west, and north west of ireland. it originates from the ancient CELTIC language and it is not the earliest form of english like one person above posted. Welsh and Scottish people also have their own version of a language that has come from the ancient celtic language.

Answer 13

It's completely different from English. In fact, Ireland is trying to popularize it again.