View source for Goidelic languages

{{Short description|Celtic subfamily of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man}}
{{redirect|Gaelic language|the Gaelic language spoken in Scotland|Scottish Gaelic|the Gaelic language spoken in Ireland|Irish language}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{use Hiberno-English|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox language family
|name        = Goidelic
|altname     = Gaelic
|region      = {{Plainlist}}
* [[Ireland]]
* [[Scotland]]
* [[Isle of Man]]
{{Endplainlist}}
|familycolor = Indo-European
|fam2        = [[Celtic languages|Celtic]]
|fam3        = [[Insular Celtic languages|Insular Celtic]]
|ancestor    = [[Primitive Irish]]
|ancestor2   = [[Old Irish]]
|ancestor3   = [[Middle Irish]]
|child1      = ''[[Irish language|Irish]]''{{Indent|1}}{{*}}''[[Shelta language|Shelta]]''
|child2      = ''[[Scottish Gaelic]]''
|child3      = ''[[Manx language|Manx]]''
|glotto      = goid1240
|glottorefname= Goidelic
}}

The '''Goidelic''' ({{IPAc-en|ɡ|ɔɪ|ˈ|d|ɛ|l|ɪ|k}} {{respell|goy|DEL|ik}}) or '''Gaelic languages''' ({{IPAc-en|'|g|eI|l|I|k}} {{respell|GALE|ik}}; {{langx|ga|teangacha Gaelacha}}; {{langx|gd|cànanan Goidhealach}}; {{langx|gv|çhengaghyn Gaelgagh}}) form one of the two groups of [[Insular Celtic languages]], the other being the [[Brittonic languages]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Robert D. Borsley |author2=Ian G. Roberts |title=The Syntax of the Celtic Languages: A Comparative Perspective |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1996 |page=2 |isbn=978-0-521-48160-1}}</ref>

Goidelic languages historically formed a [[dialect continuum]] stretching from [[Ireland]] through the [[Isle of Man]] to [[Scotland]]. There are three modern Goidelic languages: [[Irish language|Irish]] (''{{lang|ga|Gaeilge}}''), [[Scottish Gaelic]] (''{{lang|gd|Gàidhlig}}''), and [[Manx language|Manx]] (''{{lang|gv|Gaelg}}''). Manx died out as a [[first language]] in the 20th century but has since been revived to some degree.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Robert D. Borsley |author2=Ian G. Roberts |title=The Syntax of the Celtic Languages: A Comparative Perspective |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1996 |page=3 |isbn=978-0-521-48160-1}}</ref>

==Nomenclature==
''Gaelic'', by itself, is sometimes used to refer to [[Scottish Gaelic]], especially in Scotland, and therefore is ambiguous. [[Irish language|Irish]] and [[Manx language|Manx]] are sometimes referred to as Irish Gaelic and Manx Gaelic (as they are Goidelic or Gaelic languages), but the use of the word ''Gaelic'' is unnecessary because the terms Irish and Manx, when used to denote languages, always refer to those languages.{{citation needed|reason=This is definitely not the case in non-English-language publications of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. It seems to be referring solely to colloquial English, but this is not clear, and a citation could be used to improve that.|date=March 2022}} This is in contrast to [[Scottish Gaelic]], for which "Gaelic" distinguishes the language from the [[Germanic languages|Germanic language]] known as [[Scots language|Scots]].{{citation needed|reason=This is only true when one carelessly refers to Scots variously as "Scotch" and "Scottish" and to Scottish Gaelic as "Scots" and "Scotch".|date=March 2022}}  In English, it is common to have distinct pronunciations of the word, with Scottish ''Gaelic'' pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|æ|l|ɪ|k}} compared to Irish and Manx ''Gaelic'' pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|eɪ|l|ɪ|k}}.

The [[endonym]]s ({{lang|ga|Gaeilge}}, {{lang|ga|Gaelic}} and {{lang|ga|Gaolainn}} in Irish, {{lang|gv|Gaelg}} in Manx and {{Lang|gd|Gàidhlig}} in Scottish Gaelic) are derived from [[Old Irish]] {{lang|sga|Goídelc}}, which in turn is derived from [[Old Welsh]] {{lang|owl|Guoidel}} meaning "wild men, savages".<ref>Koch, John. ''The Gododdin of Aneirin'', Celtic Studies Publications, 1997, p. xcvii, note 2</ref><ref>Koch, John (ed). ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia'', ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 739</ref> The medieval mythology of the {{lang|ga|[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]}} places its origin in an eponymous ancestor of the [[Gaels]] and the inventor of the language, {{lang|ga|[[Goídel Glas]]|italic=no}}.

==Classification==
The family tree of the Goidelic languages, within the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, is as follows<ref>{{cite book |last=McCone |first=Kim |date=1994 |editor-last=McCone |editor-first=Kim |title=Stair na Gaeilge |publisher=[[St Patrick's College, Maynooth]] |pages=63–65 |chapter=An tSean-Ghaeilge agus a Réamhstair |isbn=0-901519-90-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Stifter |first=David |date=2006 |title=Sengoídelc Old Irish for Beginners |publisher=Syracuse University Press |pages=1 |isbn=0-8156-3072-7}}</ref>

{{Tree list}}
*[[Primitive Irish]]
**[[Old Irish]]
***[[Middle Irish]]
****[[Early Modern Irish]]
*****[[Irish language|Modern Irish]]
****[[Scottish Gaelic]]
****[[Manx language|Manx]]
{{Tree list/end}}

==Origin, history, and range==
[[File:Map Gaels Brythons Picts.png|thumb|[[Great Britain|Britain]] and [[Ireland]] in the first few centuries of the 1st millennium, before the [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|founding of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms]].
{{legend|#548556|outline=#aaaaaa|Mainly Goidelic areas}}
{{legend|#2272C4|outline=#aaaaaa|Mainly [[Pictish language|Pictish]] areas}}
{{legend|#DE3333|outline=#aaaaaa|Mainly [[Brittonic languages|Brittonic]] areas}}{{paragraph break}}
Goidelic language and culture would eventually become dominant in the Pictish area and far northern parts of the Brittonic area.]]

During the historical era, Goidelic was restricted to [[Ireland]] and, possibly, the west coast of [[Scotland]]. Medieval Gaelic literature tells us that the kingdom of [[Dál Riata]] emerged in western Scotland during the 6th century. The mainstream view is that Dál Riata was founded by Irish migrants, but this is not universally accepted. Archaeologist [[Ewan Campbell]] says there is no archaeological evidence for a migration or invasion, and suggests strong sea links helped maintain a pre-existing Gaelic culture on both sides of the [[North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)|North Channel]].<ref name=ewancampbell>Campbell, Ewan. "[https://www.electricscotland.com/history/articles/scotsirish.htm Were the Scots Irish?]" in ''Antiquity'' #75 (2001).</ref>

Dál Riata grew in size and influence, and Gaelic language and culture was eventually adopted by the neighbouring [[Picts]] (a group of peoples who may have spoken [[Pictish language|a Brittonic language]]) who lived throughout [[history of Scotland|Scotland]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gillies |first=William |chapter=Scottish Gaelic |pages=145–227 |title=The Celtic languages |editor1=Martin J. Ball |editor2=James Fife |location=London |publisher=Routledge |year=1993 |isbn=0-415-01035-7}}</ref> Manx, the language of the [[Isle of Man]], is closely akin to the Gaelic spoken in the [[Hebrides]], the Irish spoken in northeast and eastern Ireland, and the now-extinct [[Galwegian Gaelic]] of [[Galloway]] (in southwest Scotland), with some influence from Old Norse through the [[Viking]] invasions and from the previous British inhabitants.

The oldest written Goidelic language is [[Primitive Irish]], which is attested in [[Ogham]] inscriptions from about the 4th century. The forms of this speech are very close, and often identical, to the forms of [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]] recorded before and during the time of the [[Roman Empire]].{{fact|date=December 2024}} The next stage, [[Old Irish]], is found in [[gloss (annotation)|glosses]] (i.e. annotations) to [[Latin]] [[manuscript]]s—mainly religious and grammatical—from the 6th to the 10th century, as well as in archaic texts copied or recorded in [[Middle Irish]] texts. Middle Irish, the immediate predecessor of the modern Goidelic languages, is the term for the language as recorded from the 10th to the 12th century; a great deal of literature survives in it, including the early Irish law texts.

[[Classical Gaelic]], otherwise known as [[Early Modern Irish]],<ref>{{cite book |author=Adam Fox |author2=Daniel Woolf |title=The Spoken Word: Oral Culture in Britain, 1500–1850 |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=2003 |page=197 |isbn=978-0-7190-5747-2}}</ref> covers the period from the 13th to the 18th century, during which time it was used as a literary standard<ref>{{cite book |last=Lynch |first=Michael |title=The Oxford Companion to Scottish History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |page=255 |isbn=978-0-19-211696-3}}</ref> in Ireland and Scotland.<ref>{{cite book |last=Trudgill |first=Peter |title=Language in the British Isles |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1984 |page=289 |isbn=978-0-521-28409-7}}</ref> This is often called [[Classical Irish]], while ''[[Ethnologue]]'' gives the name "[[Hiberno-Scottish Gaelic]]" to this standardised written language. As long as this written language was the norm, Ireland was considered the Gaelic homeland to the Scottish [[intellectual|literati]].

Later [[orthography|orthographic]] divergence has resulted in standardised [[pluricentric language|pluricentristic]] orthographies. Manx orthography, which was introduced in the 16th and 17th centuries, was based loosely on English and Welsh orthography, and so never formed part of this literary standard.

===Proto-Goidelic===
Proto-Goidelic, or Proto-Gaelic, is the proposed [[proto-language]] for all branches of Goidelic. It is proposed as the predecessor of Goidelic, which then began to separate into different dialects before splitting during the [[Middle Irish]] period into the separate languages of [[Irish language|Irish]], [[Manx language|Manx]], and [[Scottish Gaelic]].<ref>{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |title=The Prosodic Structure of Irish, Scots Gaelic, and Manx |first=Antony Dubach |last=Green |date=15 May 1997 |doi=10.7282/T38W3C3K |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://aclanthology.org/2020.sltu-1.1 |title=Neural Models for Predicting Celtic Mutations |first=Kevin |last=Scannell |date=12 May 2020 |publisher=European Language Resources association |pages=1–8 |isbn=979-10-95546-35-1 |via=ACLWeb}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/uwp/jcl/2020/00000021/00000001/art00007?crawler=true&mimetype=application/pdf |title=Interarticulatory Timing and Celtic Mutations |first=Joseph F. |last=Eska |date=1 January 2020 |journal=Journal of Celtic Linguistics |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=235–255 |via=IngentaConnect |doi=10.16922/jcl.21.7 |s2cid=213769085|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite CiteSeerX |title=Some effects of the Weight-to-Stress Principle and grouping harmony in the Goidelic languages |first=Antony Dubach |last=Green |date=12 April 1996 |citeseerx=10.1.1.387.8008}}</ref>

==Irish==
{{Main article|Irish language}}
{{More citations needed|section|date=January 2023}}
Irish is one of the [[Republic of Ireland]]'s two official languages along with [[English language|English]]. Historically the predominant language of the island, it is now mostly spoken in parts of the south, west, and northwest. The legally defined Irish-speaking areas are called the {{lang|ga|[[Gaeltacht]]}}; all government institutions of the Republic, in particular the [[Oireachtas|parliament]] (''{{lang|ga|Oireachtas}}''), its [[Seanad Éireann|upper house]] (''{{lang|ga|Seanad}}'') and [[Dáil Éireann|lower house]] (''{{lang|ga|Dáil}}''), and the [[Taoiseach|prime minister]] (''{{lang|ga|Taoiseach}}'') have official names in this language, and some are only officially referred to by their Irish names even in English. At present, the {{lang|ga|Gaeltachtaí}} are primarily found in Counties [[County Cork|Cork]], [[County Donegal|Donegal]], [[County Mayo|Mayo]], [[County Galway|Galway]], [[County Kerry|Kerry]], and, to a lesser extent, in [[County Waterford|Waterford]] and [[County Meath|Meath]]. In the Republic of Ireland 1,774,437 (41.4% of the population aged three years and over) regard themselves as able to speak Irish to some degree.<ref name="csoi2011">{{cite web |url=http://www.cso.ie/px/pxeirestat/Statire/SelectVarVal/Define.asp?maintable=CDD31&PLanguage=0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104124638/http://www.cso.ie/px/pxeirestat/Statire/SelectVarVal/Define.asp?maintable=CDD31&PLanguage=0 |archive-date=2017-11-04 |title=CDD31: Population Aged Three Years and Over and Percentage of Irish Speakers by Age Group, Sex, CensusYear and Statistic |website=Central Statistics Office Ireland}}</ref> Of these, 77,185 (1.8%) speak Irish on a daily basis outside school.<ref name="csoi2011"/> Irish is also undergoing a revival in [[Northern Ireland]] and has been accorded some legal status there under the 1998 [[Good Friday Agreement]], with it becoming an official language in 2022. The 2001 census in [[Irish language in Northern Ireland|Northern Ireland showed]] that 167,487 (10.4%) people "had some knowledge of Irish".{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} Combined, this means that around one in three people ({{circa|1.85 million}}) on the island of Ireland can understand Irish at some level.

[[File:Irish speakers in 2011.png|thumb|Regions where respondents stated they could speak Irish from 2011]]
Despite the ascent in Ireland of the English and Anglicised ruling classes following the 1607 [[Flight of the Earls]] (and the disappearance of much of the Gaelic nobility), Irish was spoken by the majority of the population until the later 18th century, with a huge impact from the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]] of the 1840s. Disproportionately affecting the classes among whom Irish was the primary spoken language, famine and emigration precipitated a steep decline in native speakers, which only recently has begun to reverse.<ref>{{cite web |last=Coleman |first=Karen |title=Gaelic enjoys a revival in Ireland |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1110628.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |access-date=27 November 2012 |date=10 January 2001}}</ref>

The Irish language has been recognised as an official and working language of the [[European Union]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/education/official-languages-eu-0_en |title=Official languages of the EU – Education and training – European Commission |website=Education and training|access-date=2017-03-11}}</ref> Ireland's national language was the twenty-third to be given such recognition by the EU and previously had the status of a treaty language.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/irish-becomes-the-23rd-official-language-of-eu-430615.html |title=Irish becomes the 23rd official language of EU |date=2007-01-03 |work=The Independent|location=London |access-date=2017-03-11}}</ref>

==Scottish Gaelic==
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Rosemary speaking Scottish Gaelic.webm|thumb|A Scottish Gaelic speaker, recorded in [[Scotland]]]]
[[File:Scots lang-en.svg|thumb|Linguistic division in early twelfth century Scotland:
{{legend|#0fe3e3|Gaelic speaking}}
{{legend|#eb82df|[[Norse–Gaels|Norse–Gaelic]] zone, characterized by the use of both languages}}
{{legend|#eed4e0|[[English language|English]]-speaking zone}}
{{legend|#0ff183|[[Cumbric]] may have survived in this zone; more realistically a mixture of Cumbric, Gaelic (west), and English (east).}}
]]

{{Main article|Scottish Gaelic}}
Some people in the north and west of mainland Scotland and many people in the [[Hebrides]] still speak Scottish Gaelic, but the language has been in decline. There are now believed to be approximately 60,000 native speakers of Scottish Gaelic in [[Scotland]], plus around 1,000 speakers of the [[Canadian Gaelic]] dialect in [[Nova Scotia]].

Its historical range was much larger. For example, it was the everyday language of most of the rest of the [[Scottish Highlands]] until little more than a century ago. [[Galloway]] was once also a Gaelic-speaking region, but the [[Galwegian Gaelic|Galwegian dialect]] has been extinct there for approximately three centuries. It is believed to have been home to dialects that were transitional between Scottish Gaelic and the two other Goidelic languages. While Gaelic was spoken across the [[Scottish Borders]] and [[Lothian]] during the early [[Scotland in the High Middle Ages|High Middle Ages]] it does not seem to have been spoken by the majority and was likely the language of the ruling elite, land-owners and religious clerics. Some other parts of the [[Scottish Lowlands]] spoke [[Cumbric]], and others [[Scots language|Scots Inglis]], the only exceptions being the [[Northern Isles]] of [[Orkney]] and [[Shetland]] where [[Norn language|Norse]] was spoken. Scottish Gaelic was introduced across North America with Gaelic settlers. Their numbers necessitated North American Gaelic publications and print media from Cape Breton Island to California.

Scotland, known as Alba in Insular Celtic languages, takes its English language name from the Latin word for 'Gael', ''{{lang|la|Scotus}}'', plural ''{{lang|la|Scoti}}'' (of uncertain etymology).<ref>[http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50216347 ''Oxford English Dictionary'']: Scot, ''n''.<sup>1</sup>. The source of the late Latin word is obscure. There is no evidence that it represents the native name of any Gaelic-speaking people (the Irish ''Scot'', an Irishman, pl. ''Scuit'', appears to be a learned word from Latin), nor does it exist in Welsh, though Welshmen in writing Latin have from the earliest times used ''Scoti'' as the rendering of ''{{lang|cy|Gwyddel}}'' (Gaels). [...]. Retrieved 11 October 2010</ref> ''Scotland'' originally meant ''Land of the Gaels'' in a cultural and social sense. (In early Old English texts, ''Scotland'' referred to Ireland.)<ref>Lemke, Andreas: [https://www.univerlag.uni-goettingen.de/bitstream/handle/3/isbn-978-3-86395-189-4/GSEP8_lemke.pdf?sequence=1 The Old English Translation of Bede's ''Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum'' in its Historical and Cultural Context], Chapter II: The ''OEHE'': The Material Evidence; page 71 (Universitätsdrucke Göttingen, 2015)</ref> Until late in the 15th century, ''Scottis'' in [[Scottish English]] (or ''Scots Inglis'') was used to refer only to Gaelic, and the speakers of this language who were identified as ''Scots''. As the ruling elite became Scots Inglis/English-speaking, ''Scottis'' was gradually associated with the land rather than the people, and the word ''Erse'' ('Irish') was gradually used more and more as an act of culturo-political disassociation, with an overt implication that the language was not really Scottish, and therefore foreign. This was something of a propaganda label, as Gaelic has been in Scotland for at least as long as English, if not longer.

In the early 16th century the dialects of northern [[Middle English]], also known as [[Early Scots]], which had developed in [[Lothian]] and had come to be spoken elsewhere in the [[Kingdom of Scotland]], themselves later appropriated the name [[Scots language|Scots]]. By the 17th century Gaelic speakers were restricted largely to the Highlands and the Hebrides. Furthermore, the culturally repressive measures taken against the rebellious Highland communities by [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|The Crown]] following the second [[Jacobite risings|Jacobite Rebellion of 1746]] caused still further decline in the language's use – to a large extent by enforced emigration (e.g. the [[Highland Clearances]]). Even more decline followed in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The [[Scottish Parliament]] has afforded the language a secure statutory status and "equal respect" (but not full equality in legal status under [[Scots law]])<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4467769.stm |title=MSPs rule against Gaelic equality |date=21 April 2005 |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> with English, sparking hopes that Scottish Gaelic can be saved from extinction and perhaps even revitalised.

==Manx==
{{Main article|Manx language}}
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Owen speaking Manx.webm|thumb|A Manx speaker, recorded on the [[Isle of Man]].]]
Long the everyday language of most of the [[Isle of Man]], Manx began to decline sharply in the 19th century. The last monolingual Manx speakers are believed to have died around the middle of the 19th century; in 1874 around 30% of the population were estimated to speak Manx, decreasing to 9.1% in 1901 and 1.1% in 1921.<ref>{{cite book |title=Fourth International Conference on Minority Languages |edition=Vol. II: Western and Eastern European Papers |editor=D. Gorter |editor2=J. F. Hoekstra |editor3=L. G. Jansma |editor4=J. Ytsma |year=1990 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |location=Bristol, England |isbn=1-85359-111-4 |first=Wilf |last=Gunther |chapter=Language conservancy or: Can the anciently established British minority languages survive? |pages=53–67 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3XG8aROt64QC&pg=PA53}}</ref> The last native speaker of Manx, [[Ned Maddrell]], died in 1974.

At the end of the 19th century a [[language revitalization|revival]] of Manx began, headed by the Manx Language Society (''{{lang|gv|Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh}}''). Both linguists and language enthusiasts searched out the last native speakers during the 20th century, recording their speech and learning from them. In the [[2011 United Kingdom census]], there were 1,823 Manx speakers on the island, representing 2.27% of the population of 80,398, following a steady increase in the number of speakers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Isle of Man Census Report 2011 |url=http://www.gov.im/lib/docs/treasury/economic/census/census2011reportfinalresized.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108113021/http://www.gov.im/lib/docs/treasury/economic/census/census2011reportfinalresized.pdf |date=April 2012 |archive-date=8 November 2012 |publisher=[[Isle of Man Government]]}}</ref>

Today Manx is the sole medium for teaching at five of the island's pre-schools by a company named ''{{lang|gv|[[Mooinjer veggey]]}}'' ("little people"), which also operates the sole Manx-medium primary school, the ''{{lang|gv|[[Bunscoill Ghaelgagh]]}}''. Manx is taught as a second language at all of the island's primary and secondary schools and also at the [[University College Isle of Man]] and [[Centre for Manx Studies]].

==Comparison==

===Numbers===
Comparison of Goidelic numbers, including Old Irish. Welsh numbers have been included for a comparison between Goidelic and Brythonic branches.
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan=2|No.
! colspan="4"|Goidelic
! Brythonic
|-
! Old Irish
! Irish
! Scottish Gaelic
! Manx
! Welsh
|-
|1 || {{lang|sga|óen}} || {{lang|ga|aon}} || {{lang|gd|aon}} || *{{lang|gv|un}} || {{lang|cy|un}}
|-
|2 || {{lang|sga|dá}} || {{lang|ga|dó}} || {{lang|gd|dà}} || *{{lang|gv|daa}} || ‡{{lang|cy|dau}}
|-
|3 || {{lang|sga|trí}} || {{lang|ga|trí}} || {{lang|gd|trì}} || {{lang|gv|tree}} || ‡{{lang|cy|tri}}
|-
|4 || {{lang|sga|cethair}} || {{lang|ga|ceathair}} || {{lang|gd|ceithir}} || {{lang|gv|kiare}} || ‡{{lang|cy|pedwar}}
|-
|5 || {{lang|sga|cóic}} || {{lang|ga|cúig}} || {{lang|gd|còig}} || {{lang|gv|queig}} || {{lang|cy|pump}}
|-
|6 || {{lang|sga|sé}} || {{lang|ga|sé}} || {{lang|gd|sia}} || {{lang|gv|shey}} || {{lang|cy|chwech}}
|-
|7 || {{lang|sga|secht}} || {{lang|ga|seacht}} || {{lang|gd|seachd}} || {{lang|gv|shiaght}} || {{lang|cy|saith}}
|-
|8 || {{lang|sga|ocht}} || {{lang|ga|ocht}} || {{lang|gd|ochd}} || {{lang|gv|hoght}} || {{lang|cy|wyth}}
|-
|9 || {{lang|sga|noí}} || {{lang|ga|naoi}} || {{lang|gd|naoi}} || {{lang|gv|nuy}} || {{lang|cy|naw}}
|-
|10 || {{lang|sga|deich}} || {{lang|ga|deich}} || {{lang|gd|deich}} || {{lang|gv|jeih}} || {{lang|cy|deg}}
|-
|11 || {{lang|sga|óen déac}} || {{lang|ga|aon déag}} || {{lang|gd|aon deug}} || {{lang|gv|nane-jeig}} || {{lang|cy|unarddeg}}
|-
|12 || {{lang|sga|dá dhéac/dhéuc}} || {{lang|ga|dó dhéag}} || {{lang|gd|dà dheug}} || {{lang|gv|daa-yeig}} || {{lang|cy|deuddeg}}
|-
|20 || {{lang|sga|fichi}} || {{lang|ga|fiche}} || {{lang|gd|fichead}} || {{lang|gv|feed}} || {{lang|cy|ugain}}
|-
|100 || {{lang|sga|cét}} || {{lang|ga|céad}} || {{lang|gd|ceud}} || {{lang|gv|keead}} || {{lang|cy|cant}}
|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki> {{lang|gv|un}} and {{lang|gv|daa}} are no longer used in counting. Instead the [[suppletion|suppletive]] forms {{lang|gv|nane}} and {{lang|gv|jees}} are normally used for counting. For comparative purposes, the historic forms are listed in the table above.

In the Welsh numbers, in cases where there are differences between masculine and feminine forms (marked ‡), the masculine forms are given.

===Common phrases===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Irish
! Scottish Gaelic
! Manx
! English
|-
| {{lang|ga|Fáilte}} || {{lang|gd|Fàilte}} || {{lang|gv|Failt}} || Welcome
|-
| ''Ulster:'' {{lang|ga|Goidé mar atá tú?}}<br>''Connacht:'' {{lang|ga|Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú?}}<br>''Munster:'' {{lang|ga|Conas taoi?, Conas tánn tú?}}
| ''Over-regional:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.faclair.com/ViewEntry.aspx?ID=7123581E17762B4AB0AF2CB2D3D47D23 |title=ciamar |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Am Faclair Beag |publisher=[[Michael Bauer (linguist)|Michael Bauer]] and Will Robertson |access-date=15 January 2019}}</ref>'' {{lang|gd|Ciamar a tha thu?}}<br>''Lewis:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.faclair.com/ViewEntry.aspx?ID=A7C7C7F79FF119E43F21D9369F658E6F |title=dè man |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Am Faclair Beag |publisher=[[Michael Bauer (linguist)|Michael Bauer]] and Will Robertson |access-date=15 January 2019}}</ref>'' {{lang|gd|Dè man a tha thu?}}<br>''[[Argyll]] and [[Outer Hebrides]]:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.faclair.com/ViewEntry.aspx?ID=191A74F7352B0C373D62C140D266797E |title=dè mar |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Am Faclair Beag |publisher=[[Michael Bauer (linguist)|Michael Bauer]] and Will Robertson |access-date=15 January 2019}}</ref>'' {{lang|gd|Dè mar a tha thu?}}
| {{lang|gv|Kys t'ou?}}
| How are you?
|-
| ''Ulster:'' {{lang|ga|Cad é an t-ainm atá ort?}}<br>''Connacht:'' {{lang|ga|Cén t-ainm atá ort?}}<br>''Munster:'' {{lang|ga|Cad is ainm duit?}}
| ''Over-regional:'' {{lang|gd|Dè an t-ainm a tha ort?}}<br>''West coast mainland:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.faclair.com/ViewEntry.aspx?ID=C9935419513362FB7A945F15A9570B74 |title=c' ainm a tha ort? |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Am Faclair Beag |publisher=[[Michael Bauer (linguist)|Michael Bauer]] and Will Robertson |access-date=15 January 2019}}</ref>'' {{lang|gd|C' ainm a tha ort?}}
| {{lang|gv|Cre'n ennym t'ort?}}
| What is your name?
|-
| {{lang|ga|Is mise...}} || {{lang|gd|'S mise...}} || {{lang|gv|Mish...}} || I am...
|-
| {{lang|ga|Lá maith}} || {{lang|gd|Latha math}} || {{lang|gv|Laa mie}} || Good day
|-
| {{lang|ga|Maidin mhaith}} || {{lang|gd|Madainn mhath}} || {{lang|gv|Moghrey mie}} || Good morning
|-
| {{lang|ga|Tráthnóna maith}} || {{lang|gd|Feasgar math}} || {{lang|gv|Fastyr mie}} || Good afternoon/evening
|-
| {{lang|ga|Oíche mhaith}} || {{lang|gd|Oidhche mhath}} || {{lang|gv|Oie vie}} || Good night
|-
| {{lang|ga|Go raibh maith agat}}
| ''[[Outer Hebrides]] and [[Skye]]:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.faclair.com/ViewEntry.aspx?ID=F32D8F6D1B411A0A4B814BF74B33D0E1 |title=tapadh leat |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Am Faclair Beag |publisher=[[Michael Bauer (linguist)|Michael Bauer]] and Will Robertson |access-date=15 January 2019}}</ref>'' {{lang|gd|Tapadh leat}}<br>''Over-regional:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.faclair.com/ViewEntry.aspx?ID=8852ED4E2874410DE605945060E410D8 |title=mòran taing |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Am Faclair Beag |publisher=[[Michael Bauer (linguist)|Michael Bauer]] and Will Robertson |access-date=15 January 2019}}</ref>'' {{lang|gd|Mòran taing}}<br>''Southwestern:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.faclair.com/ViewEntry.aspx?ID=AD852EC9B9E2B3EDDD69AEBE2C97E52C |title=gun robh math agad |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Am Faclair Beag |publisher=[[Michael Bauer (linguist)|Michael Bauer]] and Will Robertson |access-date=15 January 2019}}</ref>'' {{lang|gd|Gun robh math agad}}
| {{lang|gv|Gura mie ayd}}
| ‡Thank you
|-
| {{lang|ga|Slán leat}} || {{lang|gd|Mar sin leat}} || {{lang|gv|Slane lhiat}} || ‡Good-bye
|-
| {{lang|ga|[[Sláinte]]}} || {{lang|gd|Slàinte}} || {{lang|gv|Slaynt}} || Health (used as a toast<br>[cf. English "cheers"])
|-
|}

‡ Singular forms.

==Influence on other languages==
There are several languages that show Goidelic influence, although they are not Goidelic languages themselves:
*[[Shelta language]] is sometimes thought to be a Goidelic language, but is in fact a [[cant (language)|cant]] based on Irish and [[English language|English]], with a primarily Irish-based grammar and English-based [[syntax]].
*The [[Bungi dialect]] in [[Canada]] is an English dialect spoken by [[Métis people (Canada)|Métis]] that was influenced by [[Orkney]] English, [[Scots English]], [[Cree language|Cree]], [[Anishinaabe language|Ojibwe]], and [[Scottish Gaelic]].
*[[Beurla Reagaird]] is a cant spoken by Scottish travelling folk, which is to a large extent based on Scottish Gaelic.
* The [[Welsh language]] spoken in West Wales may still retain some influences of its Goidelic speaking past – the same applies to [[Cornish language|Cornish]] spoken in Western Cornwall and the English dialect of Merseyside [[Scouse]].{{Fix|text=Please give examples to illustrate this.}}
*[[List of English words of Scottish Gaelic origin|English]] and especially [[Highland English]] have numerous words of both Scottish Gaelic and Irish origin.

==See also==
[[File:Portmahomack Water-Feature - geograph.org.uk - 549028.jpg|thumb|upright|Water feature commemorating the first supply of water by gravitation to [[Portmahomack]] in 1887. It carries an inscription in poor Gaelic, "{{lang|gd|Uisce Tobar Na Baistiad}}" (which, if it read ''Uisge Tobar a' Bhaistidh'' would translate as "Water of the Well of Baptism")]]

* [[Comparison of Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic]]
* [[Goidelic substrate hypothesis]]
* [[Proto-Celtic language]]
* Specific dialects of Irish:
** [[Connacht Irish]]
** [[Munster Irish]]
** [[Newfoundland Irish]]
** [[Ulster Irish]]
* Specific dialects of Scottish Gaelic:
** [[Canadian Gaelic]]
** [[Galwegian Gaelic]]
* [[Literature in the other languages of Britain]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|Goidelic}}
* [[:gd:|Scottish Gaelic Wikipedia]]
* [[:ga:|Irish language Wikipedia]]
* [[:gv:|Manx Wikipedia]]
* [https://www3.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ga-ge/coimeas.html Comparison of Irish and Scottish Gaelic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329110925/http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ga-ge/coimeas.html |date=29 March 2016}}

{{Gaels}}
{{Celtic languages}}
{{Celts}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Goidelic languages| ]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]