Gaelicisation

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Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaelic, or gaining characteristics of the Gaels , a sub-branch of celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread from Ireland to Scotland and the Isle of Man.

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Gaelic, as a linguistic term, refers to the Gaelic languages but can also refer to the transmission of any other Gaelic cultural feature such as social norms and customs, music and sport.

It is often referred to as a part of Celtic identity as Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man are all considered Celtic Nations, and the Gaelic languages are considered a sub-group of the Celtic languages.

Early history

Examples of ethnic groups who have gone through a period of Gaelicisation in history include the Norse-Gaels, the Picts, the Britons of southwest Scotland, the Scoto-Normans, [1] and the Hiberno-Normans, [2]

Modern era

Today, Gaelicisation, or more often re-Gaelicisation, of placenames, surnames and given names is often a deliberate effort to help promote the languages and to counteract centuries of Anglicisation.

Isle of Man

The Manx language, which is very similar to Irish, [3] has undergone a major revival in recent years, [4] despite the language being so rarely used that it was even mislabelled as extinct by a United Nations report as recently as 2009. [5] The decline of the language on the island was primarily as a result of stigmatisation and high levels of emigration to England. [4]

There are now primary schools teaching in the medium of Manx Gaelic, after efforts mainly modelled on the Irish system. [6] The efforts have been widely praised, [7] with further developments such as using technology to teach the language being put into place. [8]

Ireland

Estimates of numbers of native speakers of the Irish language in the Republic of Ireland in 2000 ranged from 20,000 to 80,000. [9] [10] [11] According to the 2006 census for the Republic, 85,000 people used Irish daily outside of school and 1.2 million used Irish at least occasionally. [12] In the 2011 Census, these numbers increased to 94,000 and 1.3 million, respectively. [13] Active Irish speakers probably comprise 5 to 10 per cent of Ireland's population. [14]

In recent decades there has been a significant increase in the number of urban Irish speakers, particularly in Dublin. The dispersed but large, educated and middle-class urban Gaeilgeoir community enjoys a lively cultural life and is buoyed by the growth of Irish medium education and Irish-language media. [15]

In some official Gaeltachtaí (Irish-speaking regions) areas, Irish remains a vernacular language alongside English.

In Northern Ireland the Gaelicisation process is significantly slower and less-supported than elsewhere on the island and the status of the Irish language in Northern Ireland is the subject of heated political debates. [16] [17]

Scotland

In Scotland, Scottish Gaelic and traditional Gaelic customs such those manifested at the Highland Games, with traditional sports such as the caber toss, are mainly restricted to the Highlands and islands. In the 21st century, Scottish Gaelic literature has seen development and challenges within the area of prose fiction publication, [18] and phrases such as Alba gu bràth may be used today as a catch-phrase or rallying cry.

Areas which are Gaelicised are referred to as Gàidhealtachd.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celtic languages</span> Language family

The Celtic languages are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, following Paul-Yves Pezron, who made the explicit link between the Celts described by classical writers and the Welsh and Breton languages.

The Goidelic or Gaelic languages form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manx language</span> Goidelic Celtic language of the Isle of Man

Manx, also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Gaelic language of the insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family. Manx is the historical language of the Manx people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Gaelic</span> Goidelic Celtic language of Scotland

Scottish Gaelic, also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Goidelic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as both Irish and Manx, developed out of Old Irish. It became a distinct spoken language sometime in the 13th century in the Middle Irish period, although a common literary language was shared by the Gaels of both Ireland and Scotland until well into the 17th century. Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names.

Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the languages spoken in the United Kingdom

English, in various dialects, is the most widely spoken language of the United Kingdom, but a number of regional and migrant languages are also spoken. Regional indigenous languages are Scots and Ulster Scots and the Celtic languages, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and, as a revived language with few speakers, Cornish. British Sign Language is also used. There are also many languages spoken by immigrants who arrived recently to the United Kingdom, mainly within inner city areas; these languages are mainly from continental Europe and South Asia.

Anglicisation is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into, influenced by or dominated by the culture of England. It can be socio-cultural, in which a non-English person, people or place adopt(s) the English language or English customs; institutional, in which institutions are modified to resemble or are replaced by the institutions of England or the United Kingdom; or linguistic, in which a foreign term or name is altered to become easier to say in English. It can also refer to the influence of English culture and business on other countries outside England or the United Kingdom, including media, cuisine, popular culture, technology, business practices, laws, or political systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of the Isle of Man</span> Overview of the culture of the Isle of Man

The culture of the Isle of Man is influenced by its Celtic and, to a lesser extent, its Norse origins, though its close proximity to the United Kingdom, popularity as a UK tourist destination, and recent mass immigration by British migrant workers has meant that British influence has been dominant since the Revestment period. Recent revival campaigns have attempted to preserve the surviving vestiges of Manx culture after a long period of Anglicisation, and significant interest in the Manx language, history and musical tradition has been the result.

Galwegian Gaelic is an extinct dialect of Scottish Gaelic formerly spoken in southwest Scotland. It was spoken by the people of Galloway and Carrick until the early modern period. Little has survived of the dialect, so that its exact relationship with other Gaelic language is uncertain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manx people</span> Ethnic group originating in the Isle of Man

The Manx are a minority ethnic group originating on the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea in Northern Europe. They belong to the diaspora of the Gaelic ethnolinguistic group, which now populate the parts of the British Isles and Ireland which once were the Kingdom of the Isles and Dál Riata. The Manx are governed through the Tynwald, the legislature of the island, which was introduced by Viking settlers over a thousand years ago. The native mythology and folklores of the Manx belong to the overall Celtic Mythology group, with Manannán mac Lir, the Mooinjer veggey, Buggane, Lhiannan-Shee, Ben-Varrey and the Moddey Dhoo being prominent mythological figures on the island. Their language, Manx Gaelic is derived from Middle Irish, which was introduced by settlers that colonised the island from Gaelic Ireland. However, Manx gaelic later developed in isolation and belongs as a separate Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manx English</span> Historic dialect of English

Manx English, or Anglo-Manx, is the historic dialect of English spoken on the Isle of Man, though today in decline. It has many borrowings from Manx, a Goidelic language, and it differs widely from any other variety of English, including dialects from other areas in which Celtic languages are or were spoken, such as Welsh English and Hiberno-English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norse–Gaels</span> Extinct people of mixed Gaelic and Norse heritage

The Norse–Gaels were a people of mixed Gaelic and Norse ancestry and culture. They emerged in the Viking Age, when Vikings who settled in Ireland and in Scotland became Gaelicised and intermarried with Gaels. The Norse–Gaels dominated much of the Irish Sea and Scottish Sea regions from the 9th to 12th centuries. They founded the Kingdom of the Isles, the Kingdom of Dublin, the Lordship of Galloway, and briefly ruled the Kingdom of York. The most powerful Norse–Gaelic dynasty were the Uí Ímair or House of Ivar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Scotland</span> Overview of the languages spoken in Scotland

The languages of Scotland belong predominantly to the Germanic and Celtic language families. The main language now spoken in Scotland is English, while Scots and Scottish Gaelic are minority languages. The dialect of English spoken in Scotland is referred to as Scottish English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of the Isle of Man</span>

The main language of the Isle of Man is English, predominantly the Manx English dialect. Manx, the historical language of the island, is still maintained by a small speaker population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish language</span> Celtic language native to Ireland

Irish, also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language group, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was the population's first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century. Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manx surnames</span> Surnames originating on the Isle of Man

Surnames originating on the Isle of Man reflect the recorded history of the island, which can be divided into three different eras — Gaelic, Norse, and English. In consequence most Manx surnames are derived from the Gaelic or Norse languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaels</span> Celtic ethnic group of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man

The Gaels are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish island names</span>

The modern names of Scottish islands stem from two main influences. There are many names that derive from the Scottish Gaelic language in the Hebrides and Firth of Clyde. In the Northern Isles most place names have a Norse origin. There are also some island place names that originate from three other influences, including a limited number that are essentially English language names, a few that are of Brittonic origin and some of an unknown origin that may represent a pre-Celtic language. These islands have all been occupied by the speakers of at least three and in many cases four or more languages since the Iron Age, and many of the names of these islands have more than one possible meaning as a result.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish people</span> Ethnic group native to Scotland

The Scottish people or Scots are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century. In the following two centuries, Celtic-speaking Cumbrians of Strathclyde and Germanic-speaking Angles of Northumbria became part of Scotland. In the High Middle Ages, during the 12th-century Davidian Revolution, small numbers of Norman nobles migrated to the Lowlands. In the 13th century, the Norse-Gaels of the Western Isles became part of Scotland, followed by the Norse of the Northern Isles in the 15th century.

Doug Fargher also known as Doolish y Karagher or Yn Breagagh, was a Manx language activist, author, and radio personality who was involved with the revival of the Manx language on the Isle of Man in the 20th century. He is best known for his English-Manx Dictionary (1979), the first modern dictionary for the Manx language. Fargher was involved in the promotion of Manx language, culture and nationalist politics throughout his life.

References

  1. "Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland Part 5 X. The Vikings and Normans" . Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  2. MacLysaght, Edward (1982). More Irish Families. Irish Academic Press. ISBN   0-7165-0126-0. Archived from the original on 4 May 2006. Retrieved 20 November 2006. Some became completely integrated, giving rise to the well known phrase 'Hiberniores Hibernis ipsis' (more Irish than the Irish themselves). These formed septs on the Gaelic-Irish pattern, headed by a chief.
  3. "Belfast's role in Manx language revival - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Manx: Bringing a language back from the dead - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  5. "Europe | Isle of Man | UN declares Manx Gaelic 'extinct'". News.bbc.co.uk. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  6. "Can Northern Ireland learn lessons from the world's only Manx-speaking school? - BBC News". BBC News. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  7. "Manx Gaelic 'warriors' praised for language revival - BBC News". BBC News. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  8. "New app launched to 'boost' Manx language revival - BBC News". BBC News. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  9. Paulston, Christina Bratt. Linguistic Minorities in Multilingual Settings: Implications for Language Policies. J. Benjamins Pub. p. 81.
  10. Pierce, David (2000). Irish Writing in the Twentieth Century. Cork University Press. p. 1140.: 20,000 to 80,000 speakers out of a population of 3.5 to 5 million.
  11. Ó hÉallaithe, Donncha (1999). "Uair na cinniúna don Ghaeltacht". Cuisle (in Irish) (Feabhra 1999).
  12. "Table", Census, IE: CSO
  13. "Census 2011 – This is Ireland" (PDF). Central Statistics Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  14. Romaine, Suzanne (2008), "Irish in a Global Context", in Caoilfhionn Nic Pháidín and Seán Ó Cearnaigh (ed.), A New View of the Irish Language, Dublin: Cois Life Teoranta, ISBN   978-1-901176-82-7
  15. McCloskey, James (2006) [September 2005], "Irish as a World Language" (PDF), Why Irish? (seminar), The University of Notre Dame, archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2017, retrieved 6 March 2015
  16. "Stormont talks: Irish language act 'red lines' to the fore". BBC News. 3 January 2020.
  17. Caollaí, Éanna Ó. "Explainer: Breaking the deadlock over an Irish Language Act". The Irish Times.
  18. Storey, John (2011) "Contemporary Gaelic fiction: development, challenge and opportunity" Lainnir a’ Bhùirn' - The Gleaming Water: Essays on Modern Gaelic Literature, edited by Emma Dymock & Wilson McLeod, Dunedin Academic Press.

Bibliography