View source for Scottish Gaelic

{{Short description|Celtic language}}
{{For|the Germanic language that diverged from Middle English|Scots language}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use Scottish English|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Scottish Gaelic
| altname          = {{hlist|Scots Gaelic|Gaelic}}
| nativename       = {{lang|gd|Gàidhlig}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|gd|ˈkaːlɪkʲ|}}<!-- Do not add /gaːlɪgʲ/ from the Faclair Beag here, it uses a language-specific simplified form of the IPA not appropriate on Wikipedia which uses full IPA -->
| states           = [[United Kingdom]], [[Canada]]
| region           = [[Scotland]]; [[Cape Breton Island]], [[Nova Scotia]]
| ethnicity        = [[Scottish people|Scottish]] [[Gaels]]
| speakers         = {{sigfig|69,701|2}} L1 and L2 speakers in [[Scotland]]
| date             = 2022
| ref              = <ref name="2022 Census of Scotland">{{cite web | url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/2022-results/scotland-s-census-2022-ethnic-group-national-identity-language-and-religion/ | title=Scotland's Census 2022 - Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion }}</ref>
| speakers2        = {{sigfig|130,161|2}} people in Scotland reported having some Gaelic language ability in 2022;<ref name="2022 Census of Scotland" /> {{sigfig|1,275|2}} fluent in [[Nova Scotia]]<ref>Statistics Canada, [http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs‑enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E ''Nova Scotia (Code 12)''] (table), ''National Household Survey (NHS) Profile'', 2011 NHS, Catalogue No. 99‑004‑XWE (Ottawa: 2013‑06‑26)</ref>
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Celtic languages|Celtic]]
| fam3             = [[Insular Celtic languages|Insular Celtic]]
| fam4             = [[Goidelic languages|Goidelic]]
| ancestor         = [[Primitive Irish]]
| ancestor2        = [[Old Irish]]
| ancestor3        = [[Middle Irish]]
| dia1             = Argyll
* [[Arran Gaelic|Arran]] {{Extinct}}
* [[Beurla Reagaird]]
* [[Canadian Gaelic|Canadian]]
* [[Deeside Gaelic|Deeside]] {{Extinct}}
* [[East Sutherland Gaelic|East Sutherland]] {{Extinct}}
* [[Galwegian Gaelic|Galwegian]] {{Extinct}}
* [[Glasgow Gaelic|Glaswegian]]
* [[Kintyre Gaelic|Kintyre]]
* Hebridean
* Lewis
* [[Mid-Minch Gaelic|Mid-Minch]]
* Perthshire
* [[Skye Gaelic|Skye]]
* West Sutherland
* others
| script           = {{plainlist|
* [[Latin script|Latin]] ([[Scottish Gaelic orthography|Scottish Gaelic alphabet]])
* [[Insular script]] (historically)
* [[Ogham]] (historically)}}
| minority         = [[Canada]]
* [[Nova Scotia]]
| agency           = <!-- please don't insert Bòrd na Gàidhlig here, it's a development body, not a regulator -->
| iso1             = gd
| iso2             = gla
| iso3             = gla
| lingua           = 50-AAA
| map              = Daoine_aig_a_bheil_sgilean_ann_an_G%C3%A0idhlig,_Cunntas-Sluaigh_na_h-Alba,_2022.png
| mapcaption       = 2022 distribution of people with skills in Gaelic in Scotland
| notice           = IPA
| glotto           = scot1245
| glottorefname    = Scottish Gaelic
| nation           = [[Scotland]] <br />
| map2             = [[File:Lang Status 60-DE.svg|230px]]
| mapcaption2      = {{center|Scottish Gaelic is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''.<ref name="cite UNESCO Atlas">{{cite UNESCO Atlas}}</ref>}}
}}
{{Culture of Scotland}}
'''Scottish Gaelic''' ({{IPAc-en|'|g|æ|l|ɪ|k|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Gaelic.wav}} {{respell|GAL|ik}}; [[Endonym and exonym|endonym]]: {{lang|gd|Gàidhlig}} {{IPA|gd|ˈkaːlɪkʲ||Gaidhlig.ogg}}), also known as '''Scots Gaelic''' or simply '''Gaelic''', is a [[Celtic language]]  native to the [[Gaels]] of [[Scotland]]. As a member of the [[Goidelic language|Goidelic]] branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongside both [[Irish language|Irish]] and [[Manx language|Manx]], developed out of [[Old Irish]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Background on the Irish Language |url=http://www.udaras.ie/en/an-ghaeilge-an-ghaeltacht/stair-na-gaeilge/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224044952/http://www.udaras.ie/en/an-ghaeilge-an-ghaeltacht/stair-na-gaeilge/ |archive-date=Dec 24, 2019 |website=Údarás na Gaeltachta}}</ref> It became a distinct [[spoken language]] sometime in the 13th century in the [[Middle Irish]] period, although a [[Classical Gaelic|common]] [[literary language]] was shared by the Gaels of both [[Ireland]] and Scotland until well into the 17th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=MacAulay |first1=Donald |title=The Celtic Languages |date=1992 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=144 }}</ref> Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kavanagh|first=Paul|date=2011-03-12|title=Scotland's Language Myths: 4. Gaelic has nothing to do with the Lowlands|url=https://newsnet.scot/archive/scotlands-language-myths-4-gaelic-is-only-a-highland-language/|access-date=2021-04-20|website=Newsnet.scot|language=en-GB|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420100208/https://newsnet.scot/archive/scotlands-language-myths-4-gaelic-is-only-a-highland-language/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gaelic History / Highland Council Gaelic Toolkit / The Highland Council / Welcome to Northern Potential |url=https://www.highland.gov.uk/site/gaelic-toolkit/toolkit/gaelic_history/index.html |access-date=2021-04-20 |website= |publisher=HighlandLife |archive-date=19 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619154622/https://www.highland.gov.uk/site/gaelic-toolkit/toolkit/gaelic_history/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the [[2011 United Kingdom census#2011 Census for Scotland|2011 census of Scotland]], 57,375 people (1.1% of the Scottish population, three years and older) reported being able to speak Gaelic, 1,275 fewer than in 2001. The highest percentages of Gaelic speakers were in the [[Outer Hebrides]]. Nevertheless, there is a [[language revival]], and the number of speakers of the language under age 20 did not decrease between the 2001 and 2011 censuses.<ref>{{cite news|title=Census shows decline in Gaelic speakers 'slowed'|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-24281487|access-date=17 April 2017|work=BBC News|date=26 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525142714/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-24281487|archive-date=25 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>  In the [[2022 Scottish census|2022 census of Scotland]], it was found that 2.5% of the Scottish population had some skills in Gaelic,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scotland's Census 2022 - Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/2022-results/scotland-s-census-2022-ethnic-group-national-identity-language-and-religion/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240622100825/https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/2022-results/scotland-s-census-2022-ethnic-group-national-identity-language-and-religion/ |archive-date=2024-06-22 |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=Scotland's Census |language=en}}</ref> or 130,161 persons.  Of these, 69,701 people reported speaking the language, with a further 46,404 people reporting that they understood the language, but did not speak, read, or write in it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240622101034/https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ |archive-date=2024-06-22 |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=Scotland's Census |language=en}}</ref>

Outside of Scotland, a dialect known as [[Canadian Gaelic]] has been spoken in [[Canada]] since the 18th century. In the [[2021 Canadian census|2021 census]], 2,170 Canadian residents claimed knowledge of Scottish Gaelic, a decline from 3,980 speakers in the [[2016 Canadian census|2016 census]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Census Profile, 2016 Census |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=PR&Code2=11&Data=Count&SearchText=prince&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1 |website=2016 Census | date=8 February 2017 |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=20 May 2019 |archive-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515001005/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=PR&Code2=11&Data=Count&SearchText=prince&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&DGUIDList=2021A000011124&GENDERList=1,2,3&STATISTICList=1,4&HEADERList=0&SearchText=Canada |website=2021 Census | date=9 February 2022 |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=10 October 2023 |archive-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926002312/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&DGUIDList=2021A000011124&GENDERList=1,2,3&STATISTICList=1,4&HEADERList=0&SearchText=Canada |url-status=live }}</ref> There exists a particular concentration of speakers in [[Nova Scotia]], with historic communities in other parts of [[North America]], including [[North Carolina]] and [[Glengarry County, Ontario]] having largely disappeared.<ref name="Province of Nova Scotia">{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Nova Scotia/Alba Nuadh |url=https://gaelic.novascotia.ca/ |access-date=2020-04-21 |website=Province of Nova Scotia Gaelic Affairs |archive-date=23 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423125844/https://gaelic.novascotia.ca/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Scottish Gaelic is classed as an [[indigenous language]] under the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]], which the [[UK Government]] has ratified, and the [[Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005]] established a language-development body, {{lang|gd|[[Bòrd na Gàidhlig]]}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gaelic |url=https://www.gov.scot/policies/languages/gaelic/ |website=The Scottish Government |access-date=27 March 2021 |archive-date=4 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104033634/http://www.gov.scot/Topics/ArtsCultureSport/arts/GaelicLanguage/languageplan |url-status=live }}</ref> With the passing of the [[Scottish Languages Act 2025]], Gaelic, alongside Scots, has become an official language of Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gov.scot/news/scottish-languages-bill-passed/ |title=Scottish Languages Bill passed |website=Scottish Parliament |access-date=18 June 2025}}</ref>
{{TOC limit|3}}

==Name==
Aside from "Scottish Gaelic", the language may also be referred to simply as "Gaelic", pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|æ|l|ᵻ|k}} {{respell|GA|lik}} in [[English language|English]]. However, "Gaelic" {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|eɪ|l|ᵻ|k}} {{respell|GAY|lik}} also refers to the Irish language ({{lang|ga|Gaeilge}})<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of Gaelic in English by Oxford Dictionaries |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/Gaelic |website=Oxford Dictionaries |access-date=5 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818182046/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/gaelic |archive-date=18 August 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the Manx language ({{lang|gv|Gaelg}}).

Scottish Gaelic is distinct from [[Scots language|Scots]], the [[Middle English]]-derived language which had come to be spoken in most of the [[Scottish Lowlands|Lowlands of Scotland]] by the early [[human history#Modern history|modern era]]. Prior to the 15th century, this language was known as {{lang|sco|Inglis}} ("English")<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scotslanguage.com/articles/node/id/693/type/referance |title=1350–1450 Early Scots |first=Dauvit |last=Horsbroch |publisher=[[Scots Language Centre]] |access-date=30 July 2020 |archive-date=26 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200826033405/https://www.scotslanguage.com/articles/node/id/693/type/referance |url-status=live }}</ref> by its own speakers, with Gaelic being called {{lang|sco|Scottis}} ("Scottish"). Beginning in the late 15th century, it became increasingly common for such speakers to refer to Scottish Gaelic as {{lang|sco|Erse}} ("Irish") and the Lowland vernacular as {{lang|sco|Scottis}}.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=aKIKAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22Scottis%20toung%22&pg=RA1-PA50 ''Transactions of the Philological Society''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416043227/https://books.google.com/books?id=aKIKAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22Scottis%20toung%22&pg=RA1-PA50 |date=16 April 2023 }}, 1872, page 50</ref> Today, Scottish Gaelic is recognised as a separate language from Irish, so the word {{lang|sco|Erse}} in reference to Scottish Gaelic is no longer used.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McMahon |first1=Sean |title=Brewer's dictionary of Irish phrase & fable |date=2012 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |page=276 |location=London |isbn=9781849725927 }}</ref>

==History==
{{main|History of the Irish language|History of Scottish Gaelic}}

===Origins===
{{further|History of the Irish language|Primitive Irish|Old Irish|Middle Irish|Early Modern Irish}}
[[File:Scots lang-en.svg|thumb|left|Linguistic division in early 12th century Scotland.
{{legend|#0fe3e3|[[Goidelic languages|Gaelic]] speaking}}
{{legend|#eb82df|[[Norse–Gaels|Norse-Gaelic]] zone, use of either or both languages}}
{{legend|#eed4e0|English-speaking zone}}
{{legend|#0ff183|[[Cumbric language|Cumbric]] may have survived in this zone}}]]
[[File:Bal element in Scottish placenames.png|thumb|right|Place names in Scotland that contain the element ''bal-'' from the Scottish Gaelic {{lang|gd|baile}} meaning home, farmstead, town or city. These data give some indication of the extent of medieval Gaelic settlement in Scotland.]]

Based on medieval traditional accounts and the apparent evidence from linguistic geography, Gaelic has been commonly believed to have been brought to Scotland in the 4th and 5th centuries CE by settlers from Ireland who founded the Gaelic kingdom of {{lang|gd|[[Dál Riata]]}} on Scotland's west coast, in what is present-day [[Argyll]].{{r|Jones1997 |page=551}}{{r|Chadwick1972|page=66}} An alternative view has been voiced by archaeologist [[Ewan Campbell]], who has argued that the putative migration or takeover is not reflected in archaeological or placename data (as pointed out earlier by [[Leslie Alcock]]). Campbell has also questioned the age and reliability of the medieval historical sources speaking of a conquest. Instead, he has inferred that Argyll formed part of a common [[Q-Celtic]]-speaking area with Ireland, connected rather than divided by the sea, since the Iron Age.<ref name=ewancampbell>{{cite journal |last=Campbell |first=Ewan |url=http://www.electricscotland.com/history/articles/scotsirish.htm |title=Were the Scots Irish? |journal=Antiquity |issue=288 |date=2001 |volume=75 |pages=285–292 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00060920 |s2cid=159844564 |doi-access=free |access-date=29 March 2019 |archive-date=10 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110002412/http://www.electricscotland.com/history/articles/scotsirish.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> These arguments have been opposed by some scholars defending the early dating of the traditional accounts and arguing for other interpretations of the archaeological evidence.<ref>[https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/and-they-won-land-among-the-picts-by-friendly-treaty-or-the-sword '... and they won land among the Picts by friendly treaty or the sword'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714023910/https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/and-they-won-land-among-the-picts-by-friendly-treaty-or-the-sword |date=14 July 2020 }}. By Cormac McSparron and Brian Williams. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 141, 145–158</ref>

Regardless of how it came to be spoken in the region, Gaelic in Scotland was mostly confined to {{lang|gd|Dál Riata}} until the eighth century, when it began expanding into [[Picts|Pictish]] areas north of the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. During the reign of [[Constantine II of Scotland|Caustantín mac Áeda]] (Constantine II, 900–943), outsiders began to refer to the region as the kingdom of Alba rather than as the kingdom of the Picts. However, though the Pictish language did not disappear suddenly, a process of [[Gaelicisation]] (which may have begun generations earlier) was clearly under way during the reigns of {{lang|gd|Caustantín}} and his successors. By a certain point, probably during the 11th century, all the inhabitants of Alba had become fully Gaelicised Scots, and Pictish identity was forgotten.<ref>Broun, "Dunkeld", Broun, "National Identity", Forsyth, "Scotland to 1100", pp. 28–32, Woolf, "Constantine II"; cf. Bannerman, "Scottish Takeover", passim, representing the "traditional" view.</ref> Bilingualism in [[Pictish language|Pictish]] and Gaelic, prior to the former's extinction, led to the presence of Pictish [[loanwords]] in Scottish Gaelic<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Kenneth |editor-last=Thomson |editor-first=D.S. |title=The Companion to Gaelic Scotland |date=1983 |pages=151–152 |chapter='Loanwords, British and Pictish'}}</ref> and syntactic influence<ref>{{cite book |last=Green |first=D. |editor-last=Thomson |editor-first=D.S. |title=The Companion to Gaelic Scotland |date=1983 |pages=107–108 |chapter='Gaelic: syntax, similarities with British syntax'}}</ref> which could be considered to constitute a Pictish substrate.<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=S. |editor-last=Driscoll |editor-first=S. |title=Pictish Progress: New Studies on Northern Britain in the Middle Ages|date=2010 |pages=67–119 |chapter=Pictish Placenames Revisited'}}</ref>

In 1018, after the conquest of [[Lothian]] (theretofore part of [[Kingdom of England|England]] and inhabited predominantly by speakers of [[Northumbrian Old English]]) by the [[Kingdom of Scotland]], Gaelic reached its social, cultural, political, and geographic zenith.{{r|Withers1984|pages=16–18 }} Colloquial speech in Scotland had been developing independently of that in Ireland since the eighth century.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Druim Alban, Dorsum Britanniae– 'the Spine of Britain'|first=Philip M.|last=Dunshea|date=1 October 2013|journal=Scottish Historical Review|volume=92|issue=2|pages=275–289|doi=10.3366/shr.2013.0178}}</ref> For the first time, the entire region of modern-day Scotland was called {{lang|la|Scotia}} in Latin, and Gaelic was the {{lang|la|lingua Scotica}}.{{r|Clarkson2011|page=276}}{{r| Baoill1997|p=554}} In [[Scottish Lowlands|southern Scotland]], Gaelic was strong in [[Galloway]], adjoining areas to the north and west, [[West Lothian]], and parts of western [[Midlothian]]. It was spoken to a lesser degree in north [[Ayrshire]], [[Renfrewshire]], the [[Clyde Valley]] and eastern [[Dumfriesshire]]. In south-eastern Scotland, there is no evidence that Gaelic was ever widely spoken.<ref name="Watson2010">{{cite book |author=Moray Watson |title=Edinburgh Companion to the Gaelic Language |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GwurBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 |date=30 June 2010 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-3710-2 |page=8 }}</ref>

===Decline===
Many historians mark the reign of King Malcolm Canmore ([[Malcolm III of Scotland|Malcolm III]]) between 1058 and 1093 as the beginning of Gaelic's eclipse in Scotland. His wife [[Saint Margaret of Scotland|Margaret of Wessex]] spoke no Gaelic, gave her children Anglo-Saxon rather than Gaelic names, and brought many English bishops, priests, and monastics to Scotland.{{r|Withers1984|p=19}} During the reigns of Malcolm Canmore's sons, Edgar, Alexander I and David I (their successive reigns lasting 1097–1153), [[Anglo-Normans|Anglo-Norman]] names and practices spread throughout Scotland south of the Forth–Clyde line and along the northeastern coastal plain as far north as Moray. Norman French completely displaced Gaelic at court. The establishment of royal burghs throughout the same area, particularly under [[David I of Scotland|David I]], attracted large numbers of foreigners speaking Old English. This was the beginning of Gaelic's status as a predominantly rural language in Scotland.{{r|Withers1984|pp=19–23}}

Clan chiefs in the northern and western parts of Scotland continued to support Gaelic bards who remained a central feature of court life there. The semi-independent [[Lord of the Isles|Lordship of the Isles]] in the Hebrides and western coastal mainland remained thoroughly Gaelic since the language's recovery there in the 12th century, providing a political foundation for cultural prestige down to the end of the 15th century.{{r|Baoill1997|pp=553–6}}

{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = Gaelic1400Loch.png
| width1 = 150
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
| image2 = Gaelic1400nich.png
| width2 = 150
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
| footer = Linguistic divide in the middle ages. Left: divide in 1400 after Loch, 1932; Right: divide in 1500 after Nicholson, 1974 (both reproduced from Withers, 1984)
* Note: Caithness Norn as shown in the orange was also spoken in the 1400s in the same region as the 1500s' picture, but its presence, exact timeline, and mixture with Scottish Gaelic is debated*
{{Legend|blue|Scottish Gaelic}}
{{Legend|#ff0|[[Scots language|Scots]]}}
{{Legend|#F87217|[[Norn language|Norn]]}}
}}

By the mid-14th century what eventually came to be called [[Scots language|Scots]] (at that time termed [[Early Scots|Inglis]]) emerged as the official language of government and law.{{r|Withers1988 |page=139 }} Scotland's emergent nationalism in the era following the conclusion of the [[Wars of Scottish Independence]] was organized using Scots as well. For example, the nation's great patriotic literature including John Barbour's ''[[The Brus]]'' (1375) and Blind Harry's ''[[The Wallace (poem)|The Wallace]]'' (before 1488) was written in Scots, not Gaelic. By the end of the 15th century, English/Scots speakers referred to Gaelic instead as 'Yrisch' or 'Erse', i.e. Irish and their own language as 'Scottis'.{{r|Withers1984|pp=19–23}}

===Modern era===

A steady shift away from Scottish Gaelic continued into and through the modern era. Some of this was driven by policy decisions by government or other organisations, while some originated from social changes. In the last quarter of the 20th century, efforts began to encourage use of the language.

The [[Statutes of Iona]], enacted by [[James VI and I|James VI]] in 1609, was one piece of legislation that addressed, among other things, the Gaelic language. It required the heirs of clan chiefs to be educated in lowland, Protestant, English-speaking schools. James VI took several such measures to impose his rule on the Highland and Island region. In 1616, the [[Privy Council of Scotland|Privy Council]] proclaimed that schools teaching in English should be established. Gaelic was seen, at this time, as one of the causes of the instability of the region. It was also associated with Catholicism.<ref name="Devine 1994">{{cite book |last1=Devine |first1=T. M. |title=Clanship to Crofters' War: The social transformation of the Scottish Highlands |date=1994 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-9076-9 |edition=2013 }}</ref>{{rp|110–113}}

The [[Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge]] (SSPCK) was founded in 1709. They met in 1716, immediately after the failed [[Jacobite rising of 1715]], to consider the reform and civilisation of the Highlands, which they sought to achieve by teaching English and the Protestant religion. Initially, their teaching was entirely in English, but soon the impracticality of educating Gaelic-speaking children in this way gave rise to a modest concession: in 1723, teachers were allowed to translate English words in the Bible into Gaelic to aid comprehension, but there was no further permitted use. Other less prominent schools worked in the Highlands at the same time, also teaching in English. This process of anglicisation paused when evangelical preachers arrived in the Highlands, convinced that people should be able to read religious texts in their own language. The first well known translation of the [[Bible]] into Scottish Gaelic was made in 1767, when James Stuart of Killin and [[Dugald Buchanan]] of [[Rannoch]] produced a translation of the New Testament. In 1798, four tracts in Gaelic were published by the Society for Propagating the Gospel at Home, with 5,000 copies of each printed. Other publications followed, with a full Gaelic Bible in 1801. The influential and effective Gaelic Schools Society was founded in 1811. Their purpose was to teach Gaels to read the Bible in their own language. In the first quarter of the 19th century, the SSPCK (despite their anti-Gaelic attitude in prior years) and the British and Foreign Bible Society distributed 60,000 Gaelic Bibles and 80,000 New Testaments.{{r|Hunter1976|p=98}} It is estimated that this overall schooling and publishing effort gave about 300,000 people in the Highlands some basic literacy.{{r|Devine 1994|pp=110–117}} Very few European languages have made the transition to a modern literary language without an early modern translation of the Bible; the lack of a well known translation may have contributed to the decline of Scottish Gaelic.{{r|Mackenzie1992 |pages=168–202}}

[[File:1891 Scotland Languages.jpg|thumb|1891 distribution of [[English language|English]] (including [[Scots language|Scots]]) and Gaelic in Scotland
----
{{legend|#aed0cb|75–80% Gaelic, and English}}
{{legend|#e7b0ad|25–75% Gaelic, and English; line indicates the 50% [[wikt:isogloss|isogloss]] |textcolor=#b8544e |text='''━''' }}
{{legend|#d59887|5–25% Gaelic, and English}}
{{legend|#d7927f|0–5% Gaelic, and English}}
{{legend|#b54640|Purely English}}
]]
Counterintuitively, access to schooling in Gaelic increased knowledge of English. In 1829, the Gaelic Schools Society reported that parents were unconcerned about their children learning Gaelic, but were anxious to have them taught English. The SSPCK also found Highlanders to have significant prejudice against Gaelic. T. M. Devine attributes this to an association between English and the prosperity of employment: the Highland economy relied greatly on seasonal migrant workers travelling outside the {{lang|gd|[[Gàidhealtachd]]}}. In 1863, an observer sympathetic to Gaelic stated that "knowledge of English is indispensable to any poor islander who wishes to learn a trade or to earn his bread beyond the limits of his native Isle". Generally, rather than Gaelic speakers, it was Celtic societies in the cities and professors of Celtic from universities who sought to preserve the language.{{r|Devine 1994|pp=116–117}}

The [[Education (Scotland) Act 1872]] provided universal education in Scotland, but completely ignored Gaelic in its plans. The mechanism for supporting Gaelic through the Education Codes issued by the Scottish Education Department were steadily used to overcome this omission, with many concessions in place by 1918. However, the members of Highland school boards tended to have anti-Gaelic attitudes and served as an obstacle to Gaelic education in the late 19th and early 20th century.{{r|Devine 1994|pp=110–111}}

Loss of life due to [[World War I]] and the 1919 sinking of the [[HMY Iolaire|HMY {{Lang|gd|Iolaire|nocat=y}}]], combined with emigration, resulted in the 1910s seeing unprecedented damage to the use of Scottish Gaelic, with a 46% fall in [[monolingual]] speakers and a 19% fall in [[bilingual]] speakers between the [[1911 United Kingdom census|1911]] and [[1921 United Kingdom census|1921]] Censuses.<ref name="Scotsman 2022-12-20">{{cite news |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/national/the-decade-when-scotland-lost-half-its-gaelic-speaking-people-3957569 |title=The decade when Scotland lost half its Gaelic speaking people |first=Alison |last=Campsie |work=The Scotsman |date=20 December 2022 |access-date=20 December 2022 |archive-date=20 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220081358/https://www.scotsman.com/news/national/the-decade-when-scotland-lost-half-its-gaelic-speaking-people-3957569 |url-status=live }}</ref> Michelle MacLeod of [[Aberdeen University]] has said that there was no other period with such a high fall in the number of monolingual Gaelic speakers: "Gaelic speakers became increasingly the exception from that point forward with bilingualism replacing monolingualism as the norm for Gaelic speakers."<ref name="Scotsman 2022-12-20"/>

The [[Linguistic Survey of Scotland]] (1949–1997) surveyed both the dialect of the Scottish Gaelic language, and also mixed use of English and Gaelic across the Highlands and Islands.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sgeulnagaidhlig.ac.uk/professor-cathair-o-dochartaigh/?lang=en |title=The Gaelic Story at the University of Glasgow |access-date=11 August 2019 |archive-date=24 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124224701/https://sgeulnagaidhlig.ac.uk/professor-cathair-o-dochartaigh/?lang=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Defunct dialects===
Dialects of Lowland Gaelic have been defunct since the 18th century. Gaelic in the Eastern and Southern Scottish Highlands, although alive until the mid-20th century, is now largely defunct. Although modern Scottish Gaelic is dominated by the dialects of the Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye, there remain some speakers of the Inner Hebridean dialects of Tiree and Islay, and even a few native speakers from Western Highland areas including [[Wester Ross]], northwest [[Sutherland]], [[Lochaber]] and [[Argyll]]. Dialects on both sides of the [[Straits of Moyle]] (the [[North Channel (British Isles)|North Channel]]) linking Scottish Gaelic with Irish are now extinct, though native speakers were still to be found on the [[Mull of Kintyre]], on [[Rathlin]] and in North East Ireland as late as the mid-20th century. Records of their speech show that Irish and Scottish Gaelic existed in a dialect chain with no clear language boundary.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Gaelic Continuum |first=Colm |last=Ó Baoill |date=2000 |journal=Éigse |volume=32 |pages=121–134 }}</ref> Some features of moribund dialects have been preserved in Nova Scotia, including the pronunciation of the broad or [[velarised]] l ({{IPA|l̪ˠ}}) as {{IPA|[w]}}, as in the [[Lochaber]] dialect.{{r|Kennedy2002|page=131}}

==Status==
{{anchor|Status}}

The [[Endangered Languages Project]] lists Gaelic's status as "threatened", with "20,000 to 30,000 active users".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/pdf/doi/10.4324/9780203645659.ch3|doi=10.4324/9780203645659|title=Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages|year=2008|last1=Moseley|first1=Christopher|isbn=9781135796419|access-date=26 January 2020|archive-date=26 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126133737/https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/pdf/doi/10.4324/9780203645659.ch3|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hill |first1=Bianca Meagan |title=Endangered Language, Endangered Identity, Endangered History: Exploring Scotland's Libraries Role in the Preservation and Revitalisation of Endangered Scottish Languages |publisher=Robert Gordon University |location=Edinburgh |pages=36}}</ref> UNESCO classifies Gaelic as "[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger|definitely endangered]]".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/endangered-gaelic-on-map-of-world-s-dead-languages-1-830316 |title='Endangered' Gaelic on map of world's dead languages |first=John |last=Ross |work=The Scotsman |date=19 February 2009 |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025185446/http://www.scotsman.com/news/endangered-gaelic-on-map-of-world-s-dead-languages-1-830316 |archive-date=25 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Number of speakers===
{{see also|List of Scottish Gaelic-speaking people}}
{{Gaelic demographics}}
The 1755–2001 figures are census data quoted by MacAulay.{{r|MacAulay1992|page=141}} The 2011 Gaelic speakers figures come from table KS206SC of the 2011 Census. The 2011 total population figure comes from table KS101SC. The numbers of Gaelic speakers relate to the numbers aged 3 and over, and the percentages are calculated using those and the number of the total population aged 3 and over.

Across the whole of Scotland, the 2011 census showed that 25,000 people (0.49% of the population) used Gaelic at home. Of these, 63.3% said that they had a full range of language skills: speaking, understanding, reading and writing Gaelic. 40.2% of Scotland's Gaelic speakers said that they used Gaelic at home. To put this in context, the most common language spoken at home in Scotland after English and Scots is Polish, with about 1.1% of the population, or 54,000 people.<ref>{{cite web |title=Scotland's Census at a glance: Languages |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/census-results/at-a-glance/languages/ |website=Scotland's Census |access-date=7 June 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2011: Gaelic report (part 1) |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/media/cqoji4qx/report_part_1.pdf |website=Scotland's Census |access-date=7 June 2024}}</ref> In 2022, the census showed that 3,551 people recorded Gaelic as their 'main language'.<ref>{{cite web | title=Scotland's Census 2022 - UV212 - Main language (7 categories) by age (6 categories) | url=https://statistics.ukdataservice.ac.uk/dataset/scotland-s-census-2022-uv212-main-language |website=UK Data Service |access-date=23 July 2025 |language=en}}</ref> In [[Stornoway]], 195 people out of 6,796 residents aged 3 and over listed Gaelic as their main language, 2.9% of the population. In [[Na h-Eileanan Siar]] (the Outer Hebrides) in general, 1,761 out of 25,563 residents indicated it as their main language, or 6.9% of the population. Most (1,011) of these were 65 years and older.<ref>{{cite web | title=Scotland's Census 2022 - UV208b - Gaelic language skills (7 categories) by age (6 categories) | url=https://statistics.ukdataservice.ac.uk/dataset/scotland-s-census-2022-uv208b-gaelic-language-skills-7-categories-by-age-6-categories |website=UK Data Service |access-date=23 July 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

===Distribution in Scotland===

[[File:WIKITONGUES- Iain speaking Scottish Gaelic.webm|thumb|A Scottish Gaelic speaker, recorded in [[Scotland]].]]

{{anchor|Current distribution in Scotland|reason=Old section name (may be linked); "current" doesn't mean anything concrete.}}
The [[2011 UK Census]] showed a total of 57,375 Gaelic speakers in Scotland (1.1% of population over three years old), of whom only 32,400 could also read and write the language.<ref>[http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/data-warehouse.html 2011 Census of Scotland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140604200212/http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/data-warehouse.html |date=4 June 2014 }}, Table QS211SC. Viewed 23 June 2014.</ref> Compared with the 2001 Census, there has been a diminution of about 1300 people.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030405062501/http://www.scrol.gov.uk/scrol/common/home.jsp Scotland's Census Results Online (SCROL)], Table UV12. Viewed 23 June 2014.</ref> This is the smallest drop between censuses since the Gaelic-language question was first asked in 1881. The Scottish government's language minister and {{lang|gd|Bòrd na Gàidhlig}} took this as evidence that Gaelic's long decline has slowed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Census shows decline in Gaelic speakers 'slowed' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-24281487 |access-date=23 June 2014 |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=26 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705191626/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-24281487 |archive-date=5 July 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The main stronghold of the language continues to be the Outer Hebrides ({{lang|gd|Na h-Eileanan Siar}}), where the overall proportion of speakers is 52.2%. Important pockets of the language also exist in the [[Highland (council area)|Highlands]] (5.4%) and in [[Argyll and Bute]] (4.0%) and [[Inverness]] (4.9%). The locality with the largest absolute number is [[Glasgow]] with 5,878 such persons, who make up over 10% of all of Scotland's Gaelic speakers.
[[file:Cumbernauld Gaelic Choir at Rotary event in 2021 2.jpg|left|thumb|Cumbernauld Gaelic Choir in 2021]]
Gaelic continues to decline in its traditional heartland. Between 2001 and 2011, the absolute number of Gaelic speakers fell sharply in the Western Isles (−1,745), Argyll & Bute (−694), and Highland (−634). The drop in [[Stornoway]], the largest parish in the Western Isles by population, was especially acute, from 57.5% of the population in 1991 to 43.4% in 2011.<ref>{{cite news |title=Census shows Gaelic declining in its heartlands |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-24955839 |access-date=23 June 2014 |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=15 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705190857/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-24955839 |archive-date=5 July 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> The only parish outside the Western Isles over 40% Gaelic-speaking is [[Kilmuir, Skye|Kilmuir]] in Northern [[Isle of Skye|Skye]] at 46%. The islands in the [[Inner Hebrides]] with significant percentages of Gaelic speakers are [[Tiree]] (38.3%), [[Raasay]] (30.4%), [[Skye]] (29.4%), [[Lismore, Scotland|Lismore]] (26.9%), [[Colonsay]] (20.2%), and [[Islay]] (19.0%).

Today, no [[Civil parishes in Scotland|civil parish]] in Scotland has a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 65% (the highest value is in [[Barvas]], [[Isle of Lewis|Lewis]], with 64.1%). In addition, no civil parish on mainland Scotland has a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 20% (the highest is in [[Ardnamurchan]], [[Highland (council area)|Highland]], with 19.3%). Out of a total of 871 civil parishes in Scotland, the proportion of Gaelic speakers exceeds 50% in seven parishes, 25% in 14 parishes, and 10% in 35 parishes.

Decline in traditional areas has recently been balanced by growth in the [[Scottish Lowlands]]. Between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, the number of Gaelic speakers rose in nineteen of the country's 32 council areas.<ref name="o068">{{cite web | title=Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion | website=Scotland&#x27;s Census | date=2025-08-29 | url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/2022-reports/scotland-s-census-2022-ethnic-group-national-identity-language-and-religion/#section7 | access-date=2025-09-21}}</ref> The largest absolute gains were in [[Aberdeenshire]] (+526), [[North Lanarkshire]] (+305), the [[Aberdeen City Council|Aberdeen City council area]] (+216), and [[East Ayrshire]] (+208). The largest relative gains were in Aberdeenshire (+0.19%), East Ayrshire (+0.18%), [[Moray]] (+0.16%), and [[Orkney Islands|Orkney]] (+0.13%).{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

In 2018, the census of pupils in Scotland showed 520 students in publicly funded schools had Gaelic as the main language at home, an increase of 5% from 497 in 2014. During the same period, [[Gaelic medium education in Scotland]] has grown, with 4,343 pupils (6.3 per 1000) being educated in a Gaelic-immersion environment in 2018, up from 3,583 pupils (5.3 per 1000) in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pupil Census Supplementary Data |url=https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus |website=The Scottish Government |access-date=20 May 2019 |date=7 December 2011 |archive-date=9 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709123743/https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus |url-status=dead }}</ref> Data collected in 2007–2008 indicated that even among pupils enrolled in Gaelic medium schools, 81% of primary students and 74% of secondary students report using English more often than Gaelic when speaking with their mothers at home.<ref name="O'Hanlon 2012">{{Cite thesis |last=O'Hanlon |first=Fiona |year=2012 |title=Lost in transition? Celtic language revitalization in Scotland and Wales: the primary to secondary school stage |publisher=The University of Edinburgh }}</ref> The effect on this of the [[#Education|significant increase in pupils in Gaelic-medium education]] since that time is unknown.

=== Preservation and revitalization ===
[[Scottish Gaelic-medium education|Gaelic Medium Education]] is one of the primary ways that the Scottish Government is addressing Gaelic language shift. Along with the Bòrd na Gàidhlig policies, preschool and daycare environments are also being used to create more opportunities for intergenerational language transmission in the Outer Hebrides.<ref name="McEwan-Fujita-2022">{{Cite book |last=McEwan-Fujita |first=Emily |title=The Edinburgh Companion to the Gaelic Language |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780748637102-013/html |chapter=9. Sociolinguistic Ethnography of Gaelic Communities |date=2022-03-02 |pages=172–217 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-3710-2 |language=en |doi=10.1515/9780748637102-013 |access-date=19 December 2022 |archive-date=19 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219230007/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780748637102-013/html |url-status=live }}</ref> &nbsp;However, revitalization efforts are not unified within Scotland or Nova Scotia, Canada.<ref name="Mcewan-Fujita-2005">{{Cite journal |last=Mcewan-Fujita |first=Emily |date=2005-01-01 |title=Neoliberalism and Minority-Language Planning in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland |journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/ijsl.2005.2005.171.155/html |language=en |issue=171 |pages=155–171 |doi=10.1515/ijsl.2005.2005.171.155 |s2cid=144370832 |issn=1613-3668 |access-date=19 December 2022 |archive-date=19 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219230010/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/ijsl.2005.2005.171.155/html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> One can attend [[Sabhal Mòr Ostaig]], a national centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, based in [[Sleat]], on the [[Isle of Skye]]. This institution is the only source for higher education which is conducted entirely in Scottish Gaelic.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dachaigh – Sabhal Mòr Ostaig |url=https://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=www.smo.uhi.ac.uk |language=gd-GB |archive-date=19 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219230001/https://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> They offer courses for Gaelic learners from beginners into fluency. They also offer regular bachelors and graduate programmes delivered entirely in Gaelic. Concerns have been raised around the fluency achieved by learners within these language programmes because they are disconnected from vernacular speech communities.<ref name="McEWAN-FUJITA-2010">{{Cite journal |last=McEWAN-FUJITA |first=Emily |date=2010-01-15 |title=Ideology, affect, and socialization in language shift and revitalization: The experiences of adults learning Gaelic in the Western Isles of Scotland |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0047404509990649/type/journal_article |journal=Language in Society |language=en |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=27–64 |doi=10.1017/S0047404509990649 |s2cid=145694600 |issn=0047-4045|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Ó Giollagáin-2020">{{Cite book |last=Ó Giollagáin |first=Conchúr |url=https://doi.org/10.57132/mpub.14497417 |title=The Gaelic crisis in the vernacular community : a comprehensive sociolinguistic survey of Scottish Gaelic |date=2020 |publisher=Aberdeen University Press |others=Gòrdan Camshron, Pàdruig Moireach, Brian Ó Curnáin, Iain Caimbeul, Brian MacDonald, Tamás Péterváry |isbn=978-1-85752-080-4 |location=Aberdeen, Scotland |doi=10.57132/mpub.14497417 |oclc=1144113424 |access-date=19 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117111555/https://search.worldcat.org/title/1144113424 |archive-date=17 November 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> In regard to language revitalization planning efforts, many feel that the initiatives must come from within Gaelic speaking communities, be led by Gaelic speakers, and be designed to serve and increase fluency within the vernacular communities as the first and most viable resistance to total language shift from Gaelic to English.<ref name="Mcewan-Fujita-2005" /><ref name="McEWAN-FUJITA-2010" /> Currently, language policies are focused on creating new language speakers through education, instead of focused on how to strengthen intergenerational transmission within existing Gaelic speaking communities.<ref name="Mcewan-Fujita-2005" />

=== Challenges to preservation and revitalization ===
In the [[Outer Hebrides]], accommodation ethics exist amongst native or local Gaelic speakers when engaging with new learners or non-locals.<ref name="McEWAN-FUJITA-2010" /> Accommodation ethics, or ethics of accommodation, is a social practice where local or native speakers of Gaelic shift to speaking English when in the presence of non-Gaelic speakers out of a sense of courtesy or politeness. This accommodation ethic persists even in situations where new learners attempt to speak Gaelic with native speakers.<ref name="McEWAN-FUJITA-2010" /> This creates a situation where new learners struggle to find opportunities to speak Gaelic with fluent speakers. [[Affect (psychology)|Affect]] is the way people feel about something, or the emotional response to a particular situation or experience. For Gaelic speakers, there is a conditioned and socialized negative affect through a long history of negative Scottish media portrayal and public disrespect, state mandated restrictions on Gaelic usage, and [[Highland Clearances|highland clearances]].<ref name="McEwan-Fujita-2022" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Prebble |first=John |title=The Highland Clearances |publisher=Penguin |year=1969 |isbn=0140028374 |location=Harmondsworth, Middlesex}}</ref><ref name="McEwan-Fujita-2011">{{Cite journal |last=McEwan-Fujita |first=Emily |date=2011-01-01 |title=Language revitalization discourses as metaculture: Gaelic in Scotland from the 18th to 20th centuries |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0271530910000571 |journal=Language & Communication |language=en |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=48–62 |doi=10.1016/j.langcom.2010.12.001 |issn=0271-5309 |access-date=19 December 2022 |archive-date=8 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308104845/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0271530910000571 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> This negative affect towards speaking openly with non-native Gaelic speakers has led to a language ideology at odds with revitalization efforts on behalf of new speakers, state policies (such as the Gaelic Language Act), and family members reclaiming their lost mother tongue. New learners of Gaelic often have a positive affective stance to their language learning, and connect this learning journey towards Gaelic language revitalization.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2011-01-05 |title=Reversing Language Shift: The Social Identity and Role of Scottish Gaelic Learners (Belfast Studies in Language, Culture and Politics) by Alasdair MacCaluim |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9841.2009.00407_2.x |journal=Journal of Sociolinguistics |language=en |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=266–269 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9841.2009.00407_2.x |last1=Dorian |first1=Nancy C. |access-date=19 December 2022 |archive-date=19 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219230011/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9841.2009.00407_2.x |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The mismatch of these language ideologies, and differences in affective stance, has led to fewer speaking opportunities for adult language learners and therefore a challenge to revitalization efforts which occur outside the home. Positive engagements between language learners and native speakers of Gaelic through mentorship has proven to be productive in socializing new learners into fluency.<ref name="McEWAN-FUJITA-2010" /><ref name="McEwan-Fujita-2011" />

==Usage==
===Official===
====Scotland====
In the 2022 census, 3,551 people claimed Gaelic as their 'main language.' Of these, 1,761 (49.6%) were in Na h-Eileanan Siar, 682 (19.2%) were in Highland, 369 were in Glasgow City and 120 were in City of Edinburgh; no other council area had as many as 80 such respondents.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SuperWEB2(tm) - Log in |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml?invalidSession=true&reason=Session+not+established. |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk}}</ref>

=====Scottish Parliament=====
[[File:Anne Lorne Gillies (421180978).jpg|thumb|[[Anne Lorne Gillies]] speaking publicly in the Scottish Gaelic language]]

Gaelic has long suffered from its lack of use in educational and administrative contexts and was long suppressed.<ref>See Kenneth MacKinnon (1991) ''Gaelic: A Past and Future Prospect''. Edinburgh: The Saltire Society.</ref>

The UK government has ratified the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]] in respect of Gaelic. Gaelic, along with Irish and Welsh, is designated under Part III of the Charter, which requires the UK Government to take a range of concrete measures in the fields of education, justice, public administration, broadcasting and culture. It has not received the same degree of official recognition from the UK Government as [[Welsh language|Welsh]]. With the advent of [[history of Scottish devolution|devolution]], however, Scottish matters have begun to receive greater attention, and it achieved a degree of official recognition when the [[Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005|Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act]] was enacted by the [[Scottish Parliament]] on 21 April 2005.

The key provisions of the Act are:<ref name="OPSI">{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2005/7/contents/data.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705200710/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2005/50007--a.htm#1|url-status=dead|title=Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005|archive-date=5 July 2007|website=www.legislation.gov.uk}}</ref>
* Establishing the Gaelic development body, {{lang|gd|Bòrd na Gàidhlig}} (BnG), on a statutory basis with a view to securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language and to promote the use and understanding of Gaelic.
* Requiring BnG to prepare a National Gaelic Language Plan every five years for approval by Scottish Ministers.
* Requiring BnG to produce guidance on [[Gaelic medium education in Scotland|Gaelic medium education]] and Gaelic as a subject for education authorities.
* Requiring public bodies in Scotland, both Scottish public bodies and cross-border public bodies insofar as they carry out devolved functions, to develop Gaelic language plans in relation to the services they offer, if requested to do so by BnG.

After its creation, Bòrd na Gàidhlig required a Gaelic Language Plan from the Scottish Government. This plan was accepted in 2008,<ref name="www.gov.scot">{{Cite web |title=CHAPTER II – CORE COMMITMENTS |url=http://www.gov.scot/publications/gaelic-language-plan/pages/4/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=www.gov.scot |language=en |archive-date=15 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115015617/https://www.gov.scot/publications/gaelic-language-plan/pages/4/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and some of its main commitments were: identity (signs, corporate identity); communications (reception, telephone, mailings, public meetings, complaint procedures); publications (PR and media, websites); staffing (language learning, training, recruitment).<ref name="www.gov.scot" />

Following a consultation period, in which the government received many submissions, the majority of which asked that the bill be strengthened, a revised bill was published; the main alteration was that the guidance of the {{lang|gd|Bòrd}} is now statutory (rather than advisory). In the committee stages in the Scottish Parliament, there was much debate over whether Gaelic should be given 'equal validity' with English. Due to executive concerns about resourcing implications if this wording was used, the Education Committee settled on the concept of 'equal respect'. It is not clear what the legal force of this wording is.{{cn|date=August 2025}}

The Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament unanimously, with support from all sectors of the Scottish political spectrum, on 21 April 2005. Under the provisions of the Act, it will ultimately fall to BnG to secure the status of the Gaelic language as an [[official language]] of Scotland.{{cn|date=August 2025}}
[[File:Police Scotland vehicle decal (Bilingual).jpg|thumb|Police Scotland vehicle logo (Bilingual)]]
Some commentators, such as {{lang|gd|[[Éamonn Ó Gribín]]}} (2006) argue that the Gaelic Act falls so far short of the status accorded to Welsh that one would be foolish or naïve to believe that any substantial change will occur in the fortunes of the language as a result of {{lang|gd|Bòrd na Gàidhlig}}'s efforts.<ref>Williams, Colin H., [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171011125129/http://geolinguistics.org/geo32articles/GEO-32-Williams-art.pdf Legislative Devolution and Language Regulation in the United Kingdom], Cardiff University</ref>

On 10 December 2008, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]], the [[Scottish Human Rights Commission]] had the UDHR translated into Gaelic for the first time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scottishhumanrights.com/news/latestnews/article/shrc60 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408090738/http://www.scottishhumanrights.com/news/latestnews/article/shrc60 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-04-08 |title=Latest News – SHRC |publisher=[[Scottish Human Rights Commission]] |date=12 October 2008 |access-date=13 November 2013 }}</ref>

However, given there are no longer any monolingual Gaelic speakers,<ref name="UK Ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages">{{cite web |url=http://www.ciemen.org/mercator/pdf/WP10-def-ang.pdf |title=UK Ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Working Paper 10 – R.Dunbar, 2003 |access-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926100538/http://www.ciemen.org/mercator/pdf/WP10-def-ang.pdf |archive-date=26 September 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> following an appeal in the court case of ''Taylor v Haughney'' (1982), involving the status of Gaelic in judicial proceedings, the [[High Court of Justiciary|High Court]] ruled against a general right to use Gaelic in court proceedings.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.arts.ed.ac.uk/celtic/papers/officialstatus.html |title=Official Status for Gaelic: Prospects and Problems |date=1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301005900/http://www.arts.ed.ac.uk/celtic/papers/officialstatus.html |archive-date=1 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

While the goal of the Gaelic Language Act was to aid in revitalization efforts through government mandated official language status, the outcome of the act is distanced from the actual minority language communities.<ref name="Ó Giollagáin-2020" /> It helps to create visibility of the minority language in civil structures, but does not impact or address the lived experiences of the Gaelic speaker communities wherein the revitalization efforts may have a higher return of new Gaelic speakers. Efforts are being made to concentrate resources, language planning, and revitalization efforts towards vernacular communities in the Western Isles.<ref name="Ó Giollagáin-2020" />

=====Qualifications in the language=====
The [[Scottish Qualifications Authority]] offer two streams of Gaelic examination across all levels of the syllabus: Gaelic for learners (equivalent to the modern foreign languages syllabus) and Gaelic for native speakers (equivalent to the English syllabus).<ref>{{cite web|author=Scottish Qualifications Authority, Resource Management|title=Gàidhlig|url=http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/74310.6130.html|website=www.sqa.org.uk|publisher=SQA|access-date=24 April 2017|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425123509/http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/74310.6130.html|archive-date=25 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Scottish Qualifications Authority, Resource Management|title=Gaelic (learners)|url=http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/74312.6133.html|website=www.sqa.org.uk|publisher=SQA|access-date=24 April 2017|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425122559/http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/74312.6133.html|archive-date=25 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{lang|gd|[[An Comunn Gàidhealach]]}} performs assessment of spoken Gaelic, resulting in the issue of a Bronze Card, Silver Card or Gold Card. Syllabus details are available on An Comunn's website. These are not widely recognised as qualifications, but are required for those taking part in certain competitions at the annual {{lang|gd|[[mod (Scotland)|mods]]}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=An Comunn Gàidhealach – Royal National Mod : Royal National Mod|url=http://www.ancomunn.co.uk/nationalmod/gaelic-assessment|website=www.ancomunn.co.uk|access-date=24 April 2017|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627171845/http://www.ancomunn.co.uk/nationalmod/gaelic-assessment|archive-date=27 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

=====European Union=====
{{Update|section|date=December 2020|reason=The UK has now left the EU}}
In October 2009, a new agreement allowed Scottish Gaelic to be formally used between Scottish Government ministers and [[European Union]] officials. The deal was signed by Britain's representative to the EU, Sir [[Kim Darroch]], and the [[Scottish Government|Scottish government]]. This did not give Scottish Gaelic [[languages of the European Union|official status]] in the EU but gave it the right to be a means of formal communications in the EU's institutions. The Scottish government had to pay for the translation from Gaelic to other [[Languages of Europe|European languages]]. The deal was received positively in Scotland; [[Secretary of State for Scotland]] [[Jim Murphy]] said the move was a strong sign of the UK government's support for Gaelic. He said; "Allowing Gaelic speakers to communicate with European institutions in their mother tongue is a progressive step forward and one which should be welcomed".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2009-10-07 |title=EU green light for Scots Gaelic |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8294853.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240623115615/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8294853.stm |archive-date=2024-06-23 |access-date=2024-06-23 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> Culture Minister [[Michael Russell (Scottish politician)|Mike Russell]] said; "this is a significant step forward for the recognition of Gaelic both at home and abroad and I look forward to addressing the council in Gaelic very soon. Seeing Gaelic spoken in such a forum raises the profile of the language as we drive forward our commitment to creating a new generation of Gaelic speakers in Scotland."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8294853.stm |title=EU green light for Scots Gaelic |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=7 October 2009 |access-date=7 October 2009 |archive-date=17 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117111723/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8294853.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=====Signage=====
{{see also|Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba}}

[[File:Bilingual Gaelic-English road sign in Scotland.jpg|thumb|Bilingual Gaelic–English road sign, at [[Lochaline]] in the Scottish Highlands]]
[[File:Scottish_Gaelic_road_sign_on_Harris.jpg|thumb|Monolingual Gaelic direction sign, at [[Rodel]] (Roghadal) on Harris in the Outer Hebrides]]
[[File:Welcome to Queen Street Fàilte gu Sràid na Banrighinn Glasgow.jpg|thumb|Bilingual English/Gaelic sign at Queen Street Station in Glasgow]]

Bilingual road signs, street names, business and advertisement signage (in both Gaelic and English) are gradually being introduced throughout Gaelic-speaking regions in the Highlands and Islands, including Argyll. In many cases, this has simply meant re-adopting the traditional spelling of a name (such as {{lang|gd|Ràtagan}} or {{lang|gd|Loch Ailleart}} rather than the anglicised forms ''Ratagan'' or ''Lochailort'' respectively).<ref name="North-harris.org-2005">{{Cite web|date=November 2005|title=Guide to the Gaelic Origins of Place Names in Britain|url=https://www.north-harris.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/gaelic_guide.pdf|access-date=July 29, 2021|website=North-harris.org|archive-date=30 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730031903/https://www.north-harris.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/gaelic_guide.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some monolingual [[Gaelic road signs in Scotland|Gaelic road signs]], particularly direction signs, are used on the [[Outer Hebrides]], where a majority of the population can have a working knowledge of the language. These omit the English translation entirely.

Bilingual railway station signs are now more frequent than they used to be. Practically all the stations in the Highland area use both English and Gaelic, and the use of bilingual station signs has become more frequent in the Lowlands of Scotland, including areas where Gaelic has not been spoken for a long time.<ref>{{cite web |title=Guidelines on Signage |url=https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/u52p4uqx/scotrail-guidelines-signage-p37-p47.pdf |website=transport.gov.scot |access-date=26 October 2025}}</ref>{{not in citation given|date=October 2025}}

This has been welcomed by many supporters of the language as a means of raising its profile as well as securing its future as a 'living language' (i.e. allowing people to use it to navigate from A to B in place of English) and creating a sense of place. However, in some places, such as Caithness, the Highland Council's intention to introduce bilingual signage has incited controversy.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/900201 |title=Caithness councillors harden resolve against Gaelic signs |work=The Press and Journal |date=24 October 2008 |access-date=22 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620201746/http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/900201 |archive-date=20 June 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Ordnance Survey]] has acted in recent years to correct many of the mistakes that appear on maps. They announced in 2004 that they intended to correct them and set up a committee to determine the correct forms of Gaelic place names for their maps.<ref name="North-harris.org-2005" /> [[Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba]] ("Place names in Scotland") is the national advisory partnership for Gaelic place names in Scotland.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba – Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland – About Us|url=http://www.ainmean-aite.org/aboutus.php|website=www.ainmean-aite.org|access-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425120718/http://www.ainmean-aite.org/aboutus.php|archive-date=25 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Canada====
{{main|Canadian Gaelic}}

In the nineteenth century, Canadian Gaelic was the third-most widely spoken European language in [[British North America]]<ref name="scots">{{cite web|last=Bumstead |first=J.M |year=2006 |title=Scots |url=http://multiculturalcanada.ca/Encyclopedia/A-Z/s2/12 |publisher=Multicultural Canada |access-date=30 August 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121226073110/http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/Encyclopedia/A-Z/s2/12| quote = By 1850 Gaelic was the third most commonly spoken European language in British North America. It was spoken by as many as 200,000 British North Americans of both Scottish and Irish origin as either a first or a second language.|archive-date=26 December 2012 }}</ref> and Gaelic-speaking immigrant communities could be found throughout what is modern-day Canada. Gaelic poets in Canada produced a significant literary tradition.<ref name="seanchaidh">{{cite book|last=Newton|first=Michael|title=Seanchaidh na Coille / Memory-Keeper of the Forest: Anthology of Scottish Gaelic Literature of Canada|publisher=Cape Breton University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-1-77206-016-4}}</ref> The number of Gaelic-speaking individuals and communities declined sharply, however, after the First World War.<ref>Jonathan Dembling, "[https://www.academia.edu/11339666/Gaelic_in_Canada_New_Evidence_from_an_Old_Census Gaelic in Canada: New Evidence from an Old Census] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171121075713/http://www.academia.edu/11339666/Gaelic_in_Canada_New_Evidence_from_an_Old_Census |date=21 November 2017 }}", Paper read at the 3rd biannual Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig, University of Edinburgh, 21–23 July 2004, in: ''Cànan & Cultar / Language & Culture: Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig 3'', edited by Wilson MacLeod, James E. Fraser & Anja Gunderloch (Edinburgh: Dunedin Academic Press, 2006), pp. 203–214, {{ISBN|978-1903765-60-9|}}.</ref>

===== Nova Scotia =====

[[File:AntigonishNovaScotia.jpg|thumb|right|[[Antigonish]], [[Nova Scotia]]]]

At the start of the 21st century, it was estimated that no more than 500 people in Nova Scotia still spoke Scottish Gaelic as a [[first language]]. In the 2011 census, 300 people claimed to have Gaelic as their first language (a figure that may include Irish Gaelic).<ref name="Curatorial Report No. 97">{{cite web |last1=Kennedy |first1=Michael |title=Gaelic Nova Scotia – An Economic, Cultural, and Social Impact Study |url=https://gaelic.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/files/Gaelic-Report.pdf |publisher=Nova Scotia Museum |access-date=13 January 2019 |pages=114–115 |date=2002 |archive-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011125127/https://gaelic.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/files/Gaelic-Report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In the same 2011 census, 1,275 people claimed to speak Gaelic, a figure that not only included all Gaelic languages but also those people who are not first language speakers,<ref>Statistics Canada, ''[http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E Nova Scotia (Code 12)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423074023/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E |date=23 April 2020 }}'' (table), ''National Household Survey (NHS) Profile'', 2011 NHS, Catalogue <abbr>№</abbr> 99-004-XWE (Ottawa: September 11, 2013).<br /></ref> of whom 300 claim to have Gaelic as their "mother tongue."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Patten |first1=Melanie |title=Rebirth of a 'sleeping' language: How N.S. is reviving its Gaelic culture |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/article/rebirth-of-a-sleeping-language-how-ns-is-reviving-its-gaelic-culture/ |website=Atlantic |access-date=12 July 2018 |language=en-CA |date=29 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713013924/https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/rebirth-of-a-sleeping-language-how-n-s-is-reviving-its-gaelic-culture-1.2797627 |archive-date=13 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|The replies are for all Gaelic languages, including [[Irish language|Irish]].<ref name="census">{{cite web |url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=12&Data=Count&SearchText=Nova%20Scotia&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=12 |title=National Household Survey Profile, Nova Scotia, 2011 |publisher=Statistics Canada |date= 8 May 2013|access-date=15 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513084229/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=12&Data=Count&SearchText=Nova%20Scotia&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=12 |archive-date=13 May 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

The Nova Scotia government maintains the Office of Gaelic Affairs ({{lang|gd|Iomairtean na Gàidhlig}}), which is dedicated to the development of Scottish Gaelic language, culture and tourism in Nova Scotia, and which estimates about 2,000 total Gaelic speakers to be in the province.<ref name="Province of Nova Scotia"/> As in Scotland, areas of North-Eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton have bilingual street signs. Nova Scotia also has {{lang|gd|Comhairle na Gàidhlig}} (The Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia), a non-profit society dedicated to the maintenance and promotion of the Gaelic language and culture in [[Maritime Canada]]. In 2018, the Nova Scotia government launched a new Gaelic vehicle licence plate to raise awareness of the language and help fund Gaelic language and culture initiatives.<ref name="plate">{{cite news|title=Nova Scotia unveils Gaelic licence plate, as it seeks to expand language|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/article/nova-scotia-unveils-gaelic-licence-plate-as-it-seeks-to-expand-language/|access-date=2 May 2018|work=Atlantic CTV News|agency=The Canadian Press|publisher=Bell Media|date=1 May 2018|language=en-CA|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816082804/https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/nova-scotia-unveils-gaelic-licence-plate-as-it-seeks-to-expand-language-1.3910559#_gus&_gucid=&_gup=Facebook&_gsc=sEr8tNZ|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2021, the first Gaelic-medium primary school outside of Scotland, named {{lang|gd|Taigh Sgoile na Drochaide}}, opened in Mabou, Nova Scotia.<ref name="primary">{{cite web|url=https://www.gaidhlig.scot/en/gaelic-education-in-nova-scotia/|title=Gaelic Medium Education in Nova Scotia|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=8 Sep 2021|publisher=Bòrd na Gàidhlig|access-date=8 Sep 2021|archive-date=8 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908183357/https://www.gaidhlig.scot/en/gaelic-education-in-nova-scotia/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===== Outside Nova Scotia =====
Maxville Public School in [[Maxville, Ontario|Maxville]], [[Glengarry County, Ontario|Glengarry]], [[Ontario]], offers Scottish Gaelic lessons weekly.<ref>{{Cite web|last=International|first=Radio Canada|date=2015-01-28|title=Gaelic language slowly gaining ground in Canada|url=https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2015/01/28/gaelic-language-slowly-gaining-ground-in-canada/|access-date=2020-06-09|website=RCI {{!}} English|language=en-US|archive-date=9 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609213435/https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2015/01/28/gaelic-language-slowly-gaining-ground-in-canada/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In [[Prince Edward Island]], the [[Colonel Gray High School]] now offers both an introductory and an advanced course in Gaelic; both language and history are taught in these classes. This is the first recorded time that Gaelic has ever been taught as an official course on Prince Edward Island.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2015-01-28 |title=Gaelic language slowly gaining ground in Canada |url=https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2015/01/28/gaelic-language-slowly-gaining-ground-in-canada/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=[[Radio Canada International]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

The province of [[British Columbia]] is host to the {{lang|gd|Comunn Gàidhlig Bhancoubhair}} (The Gaelic Society of Vancouver), the Vancouver Gaelic Choir, the Victoria Gaelic Choir, as well as the annual Gaelic festival {{lang|gd|Mòd}} ''Vancouver''. The city of [[Vancouver]]'s Scottish Cultural Centre also holds seasonal Scottish Gaelic evening classes.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Gaelic Society of Vancouver – Established 1908 |url=https://vancouvergaelic.com/wp/ |website=vancouvergaelic.com |access-date=26 October 2025 |language=en-CA}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=October 2025}}

===Media===
{{main|Gaelic broadcasting in Scotland}}
The [[BBC Scotland|BBC]] operates a Gaelic-language radio station {{lang|gd|[[BBC Radio nan Gàidheal|Radio nan Gàidheal]]}} as well as a television channel, {{lang|gd|[[BBC Alba]]}}. Launched on 19 September 2008, BBC Alba is widely available in the UK (on [[Freeview (UK)|Freeview]], [[Freesat]], [[Sky UK|Sky]] and [[Virgin Media]]). It also broadcasts across Europe on the [[Astra 28.2°E|Astra 2 satellites]].<ref name="astra">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070717172145/http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/info/sat_frequencies.shtml BBC Reception advice] – BBC Online</ref> The channel is being operated in partnership between BBC Scotland and {{lang|gd|[[MG Alba]]}} – an organisation funded by the Scottish Government, which works to promote the Gaelic language in broadcasting.<ref name="aboutbbcalba">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/alba/about/ About BBC Alba] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817073934/http://www.bbc.co.uk/alba/about/ |date=17 August 2011 }}, from BBC Online</ref> The ITV franchise in central Scotland, [[Scottish Television|STV Central]], has, in the past, produced a number of Scottish Gaelic programmes for both [[BBC Alba]] and its own main channel.<ref name="aboutbbcalba"/>

Until BBC Alba was broadcast on Freeview, viewers were able to receive the channel {{lang|gd|[[TeleG]]}}, which broadcast for an hour every evening. Upon BBC Alba's launch on Freeview, it took the channel number that was previously assigned to TeleG.

There are also television programmes in the language on other BBC channels and on the [[ITV (TV network)|independent commercial channels]], usually subtitled in English. The [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] franchise in the north of Scotland, [[Grampian Television|STV North]] (formerly ''Grampian Television'') produces some non-news programming in Scottish Gaelic.

===Education===
====Scotland====
{{Main|Scottish Gaelic medium education}}

[[File:Sgoil Ghàidhlig Ghlaschu.jpg|thumb|left|{{lang|gd|Sgoil Ghàidhlig Ghlaschu}} ([[Glasgow Gaelic School]])]]

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:1em;"
|-
! Year !! Number of<br />students in <br />Gaelic medium<br />education !! Percentage<br />of all<br /> students<br />in Scotland
|-
| 2005 || 2,480 || 0.35%
|-
| 2006 || 2,535 || 0.36%<ref>[http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/02/27083941/20 Pupils in Scotland, 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201074958/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/02/27083941/20 |date=1 December 2008 }} from scot.gov.uk. Published February 2007, Scottish Government.</ref>
|-
| 2007 || 2,601 || 0.38%
|-
| 2008 || 2,766 || 0.40%<ref>[http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/04/01090908/1 Pupils in Scotland, 2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607080846/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/04/01090908/1 |date=7 June 2011 }} from scot.gov.uk. Published February 2009, Scottish Government.</ref>
|-
| 2009 || 2,638 || 0.39%<ref>[http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/293700/0090772.pdf Pupils in Scotland, 2009] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607080948/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/293700/0090772.pdf |date=7 June 2011 }} from scotland.gov.uk. Published 27 November 2009, Scottish Government.</ref>
|-
| 2010 || 2,647 || 0.39%<ref name="scotland.gov.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/pupilsupdata |title=Scottish Government: Pupils Census, Supplementary Data |publisher=Scotland.gov.uk |date=14 June 2011 |access-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121222525/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/pupilsupdata |archive-date=21 November 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| 2011 || 2,929 || 0.44%<ref>[http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/supppupils2011 Pupil Census, Supplementary data 2011] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227162446/http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/supppupils2011 |date=27 February 2015 }} Spreadsheet published 3 February 2012 (Table 1.13)</ref>
|-
| 2012 || 2,871 || 0.43%<ref>[http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/pupcensus2012 Pupil Census, Supplementary data 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227162201/http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/pupcensus2012 |date=27 February 2015 }} Spreadsheet published 11 December 2012 (Table 1.13)</ref>
|-
| 2013 || 2,953 || 0.44%<ref>[http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/pupcensus2013 Pupil Census, Supplementary data 2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227170233/http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/pupcensus2013 |date=27 February 2015 }} Spreadsheet (Table 1.13)</ref>
|-
| 2014 || 3,583 || 0.53%<ref>[http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/dspupcensus Pupil Census, Supplementary data 2014] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227162443/http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/dspupcensus |date=27 February 2015 }} Spreadsheet (Table 1.13)</ref>
|-
| 2015 || 3,660 || 0.54%<ref>[http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/dspupcensus15 Pupil Census, Supplementary data 2015] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301030947/http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/dspupcensus15 |date=1 March 2016 }} Spreadsheet (Table 1.13)</ref>
|-
| 2016 || 3,892 || 0.57%<ref>[http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/dspupcensus16 Pupil Census, Supplementary data 2016] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214181332/http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/dspupcensus16 |date=14 February 2017 }} Spreadsheet (Table 1.13)</ref>
|-
| 2017 || 3,965 || 0.58%<ref>[http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/dspupcensus17 Pupil Census, Supplementary data 2017] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517223422/http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/dspupcensus17 |date=17 May 2018 }} Spreadsheet (Table 1.13)</ref>
|-
| 2018 || 4,343 || 0.63%<ref>[https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/dspupcensus18 Pupil Census, Supplementary data 2018] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404150300/https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/dspupcensus18 |date=4 April 2019 }} Spreadsheet (Table 1.13)</ref>
|-
| 2019 || 4,631 || 0.66%
|-
| 2020 || 4,849 || 0.69%
|-
| 2021 || 5,066 || 
|-
| 2022 || 5,110 || 
|-
| 2023 || 5,461 || <ref>[https://www.statista.com/statistics/331849/scotland-gaelic-language-student-figures/ Number of primary and high school students taught using the Gaelic language in Scotland from 2018 to 2023]</ref>
|}

The Education (Scotland) Act 1872, which completely ignored Gaelic and led to generations of Gaels being forbidden to speak their native language in the classroom is now recognised as having dealt a major blow to the language. People still living in 2001 could recall being beaten for speaking Gaelic in school.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pagoeta |first=Mikel Morris |title=Europe Phrasebook |publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] |year=2001 |page=416 |isbn=978-1-86450-224-4}}</ref> Even later, when these attitudes had changed, little provision was made for Gaelic medium education in Scottish schools. As late as 1958, even in Highland schools, only 20% of primary students were taught Gaelic as a subject, and only 5% were taught other subjects through the Gaelic language.<ref name="O'Hanlon 2012"/>

Gaelic-medium playgroups for young children began to appear in Scotland during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Parent enthusiasm may have been a factor in the "establishment of the first Gaelic medium primary school units in Glasgow and Inverness in 1985".<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=O'Hanlon |first=Fiona |year=2012 |title=Lost in transition? Celtic language revitalization in Scotland and Wales: the primary to secondary school stage |publisher=The University of Edinburgh |page=48 }}</ref>

The first modern solely Gaelic-medium secondary school, {{lang|gd|[[Glasgow Gaelic School|Sgoil Ghàidhlig Ghlaschu]]}} ("Glasgow Gaelic School"), was opened at Woodside in [[Glasgow]] in 2006 (61 partially Gaelic-medium primary schools and approximately a dozen Gaelic-medium secondary schools also exist). According to {{lang|gd|Bòrd na Gàidhlig}}, a total of 2,092 primary pupils were enrolled in Gaelic-medium primary education in 2008–09, as opposed to 24 in 1985.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/Gaelforce-wind-of-change-in.4637948.jp |title=Gael-force wind of change in the classroom |work=The Scotsman |date=29 October 2008 |access-date=8 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030114836/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/Gaelforce-wind-of-change-in.4637948.jp |archive-date=30 October 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Columba Initiative]], also known as {{lang|gd|colmcille}} (formerly {{lang|gd|Iomairt Cholm Cille}}), is a body that seeks to promote links between speakers of Scottish Gaelic and Irish.

In November 2019, the language-learning app [[Duolingo]] opened a [[Software testing|beta]] course in Gaelic.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-50579327|title=Thousands sign up for new online Gaelic course|date=28 November 2019|work=BBC News|access-date=30 November 2019|archive-date=30 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191130131550/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-50579327|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-gaelic-course-on-duolingo-app-has-20-000-signups-ahead-of-launch-1-5053411|title=Scottish Gaelic course on Duolingo app has 20,000 signups ahead of launch|website=www.scotsman.com|date=28 November 2019|access-date=30 November 2019|archive-date=29 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129165941/https://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-gaelic-course-on-duolingo-app-has-20-000-signups-ahead-of-launch-1-5053411|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/scotland/1030484/tens-of-thousands-sign-up-in-matter-of-hours-as-duolingo-releases-scottish-gaelic-course/|title=Tens of thousands sign up in matter of hours as Duolingo releases Scottish Gaelic course|first=Blair|last=Dingwall|date=28 November 2019 |access-date=30 November 2019|archive-date=29 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129144602/https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/scotland/1030484/tens-of-thousands-sign-up-in-matter-of-hours-as-duolingo-releases-scottish-gaelic-course/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Starting from summer 2020, children starting school in the [[Outer Hebrides|Western Isles]] will be enrolled in GME (Gaelic-medium education) unless parents request differently. Children will be taught Scottish Gaelic from P1 to P4 and then English will be introduced to give them a bilingual education.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-51221475|title=Gaelic to be 'default' in Western Isles schools|date=2020-01-23|work=BBC News|access-date=2020-01-24|language=en-GB|archive-date=24 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124024444/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-51221475|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Canada====
In May 2004, the Nova Scotia government announced the funding of an initiative to support the language and its culture within the province. Several public schools in Northeastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton offer Gaelic classes as part of the high-school curriculum.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/gaelic-core-class-increasingly-popular-in-nova-scotia-1.2932151 |title=Gaelic core class increasingly popular in Nova Scotia |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date=26 January 2015 |access-date=4 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115085959/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/gaelic-core-class-increasingly-popular-in-nova-scotia-1.2932151 |archive-date=15 November 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Maxville Public School in [[Maxville, Ontario|Maxville]], [[Glengarry County, Ontario|Glengarry]], [[Ontario]], offers Scottish Gaelic lessons weekly. In [[Prince Edward Island]], the Colonel Gray High School offer an introductory and an advanced course in Scottish Gaelic.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2015/01/28/gaelic-language-slowly-gaining-ground-in-canada/|title=Gaelic language slowly gaining ground in Canada|last=International|first=Radio Canada|date=28 January 2015|work=RCI {{!}} English|access-date=2018-02-03|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623060243/http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2015/01/28/gaelic-language-slowly-gaining-ground-in-canada/|archive-date=23 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Higher and further education====
A number of Scottish and some Irish universities offer full-time degrees including a Gaelic language element, usually graduating as Celtic Studies.

In [[Nova Scotia]], Canada, [[St. Francis Xavier University]], the [[Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts]] and [[Cape Breton University]] (formerly known as the "University College of Cape Breton") offer Celtic Studies degrees and/or Gaelic language programs. The government's Office of Gaelic Affairs offers lunch-time lessons to public servants in Halifax.

In Russia the [[Moscow State University]] offers Gaelic language, history and culture courses.

The [[University of the Highlands and Islands]] offers a range of Gaelic language, history and culture courses at the National Certificate, Higher National Diploma, Bachelor of Arts (ordinary), Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Master of Science levels. It offers opportunities for postgraduate research through the medium of Gaelic. Residential courses at {{lang|gd|[[Sabhal Mòr Ostaig]]}} on the Isle of Skye offer adults the chance to become fluent in Gaelic in one year. Many continue to complete degrees, or to follow up as distance learners. A number of other colleges offer a one-year certificate course, which is also available online (pending accreditation).

[[Lews Castle College]]'s [[Benbecula]] campus offers an independent 1-year course in Gaelic and Traditional Music (FE, SQF level 5/6).

===Church===
[[File:Church Services - geograph.org.uk - 35208.jpg|thumb|A sign indicating services in Gaelic and English at a [[Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)|Free Church of Scotland]] congregation in the community of [[Ness, Lewis|Ness]], [[Isle of Lewis]]]]
In the Western Isles, the isles of [[Isle of Lewis|Lewis]], [[Harris, Outer Hebrides|Harris]] and [[North Uist]] have a [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] majority (largely [[Church of Scotland]] – {{lang|gd|Eaglais na h-Alba}} in Gaelic, [[Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)|Free Church of Scotland]] and [[Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland]]). The isles of [[South Uist]] and [[Barra]] have a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] majority. All these churches have Gaelic-speaking congregations throughout the Western Isles. Notable city congregations with regular services in Gaelic are [[St Columba Church of Scotland, Glasgow|St Columba's Church, Glasgow]] and [[Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh|Greyfriars Tolbooth & Highland Kirk]], Edinburgh. {{lang|gd|Leabhar Sheirbheisean}}—a shorter Gaelic version of the English-language Book of Common Order—was published in 1996 by the Church of Scotland.

The widespread use of English in worship has often been suggested as one of the historic reasons for the decline of Gaelic. The Church of Scotland is supportive today,{{vague|date=April 2017}} but has a shortage of Gaelic-speaking ministers. The Free Church also recently announced plans to abolish Gaelic-language communion services, citing both a lack of ministers and a desire to have their congregations united at communion time.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Free-Church-plans-to-scrap.3644503.jp |location=Edinburgh |work=The Scotsman |first=Murdo |last=MacLeod |title=Free Church plans to scrap Gaelic communion service |date=6 January 2008 |access-date=19 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111185835/http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Free-Church-plans-to-scrap.3644503.jp |archive-date=11 January 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Literature===
{{main|Scottish Gaelic literature}}
From the sixth century to the present day, Scottish Gaelic has been used as a literary language. Two prominent writers of the twentieth century are [[Anne Frater]] and [[Sorley MacLean]].

===Names===
{{Main|Scottish Gaelic name}}

====Personal names====
Gaelic has its own version of European-wide names which also have English forms, for example: {{lang|gd|Iain}} (John), {{lang|gd|Alasdair}} (Alexander), {{lang|gd|Uilleam}} (William), {{lang|gd|Catrìona}} (Catherine), {{lang|gd|Raibeart}} (Robert), {{lang|gd|Cairistìona}} (Christina), {{lang|gd|Anna}} (Ann), {{lang|gd|Màiri}} (Mary), {{lang|gd|Seumas}} (James), {{lang|gd|Pàdraig}} (Patrick) and {{lang|gd|Tòmas}} (Thomas).
Not all traditional Gaelic names have direct equivalents in English: {{lang|gd|Oighrig}}, which is normally rendered as ''Euphemia'' (Effie) or ''Henrietta'' (Etta) (formerly also as Henny or even as Harriet), or, {{lang|gd|Diorbhal}}, which is "matched" with ''Dorothy'', simply on the basis of a certain similarity in spelling. Many of these traditional Gaelic-only names are now regarded as old-fashioned, and hence are rarely or never used.

Some names have come into Gaelic from [[Old Norse]]; for example, {{lang|gd|Somhairle}} ( < {{lang|non|Somarliðr}}), {{lang|gd|Tormod}} (< {{lang|non|Þórmóðr}}), {{lang|gd|Raghnall}} or {{lang|gd|Raonull}} (< {{lang|non|Rǫgnvaldr}}), {{lang|gd|Torcuil}} (< {{lang|non|Þórkell, Þórketill}}), {{lang|gd|Ìomhar}} ({{lang|non|Ívarr}}). These are conventionally rendered in English as ''Sorley'' (or, historically, ''Somerled''), ''Norman'', ''Ronald'' or ''Ranald'', ''Torquil'' and ''Iver'' (or ''Evander'').

Some Scottish names are Anglicized forms of Gaelic names: {{lang|gd|Aonghas}} → (Angus), {{lang|gd|Dòmhnall}}→ (Donald), for instance. {{lang|gd|Hamish}}, and the recently established {{lang|gd|Mhairi}} (pronounced {{IPA|[vaːri]}}) come from the Gaelic for, respectively, James, and Mary, but derive from the form of the names as they appear in the [[vocative case]]: {{lang|gd|Seumas}} (James) (nom.) → {{lang|gd|Sheumais}} (voc.) and {{lang|gd|Màiri}} (Mary) (nom.) → {{lang|gd|Mhàiri}} (voc.).

====Surnames====
The most common class of Gaelic surnames are those beginning with {{lang|gd|[[Irish surname prefixes|mac]]}} (Gaelic for "son"), such as {{lang|gd|MacGillEathain}}&thinsp;/&thinsp;{{lang|gd|MacIllEathain}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Alba air Taghadh – beò à Inbhir Nis |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p026xw3x/p026xvx0 |publisher=BBC Radio nan Gàidheal |access-date=19 January 2017 |archive-date=3 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103005759/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p026xw3x/p026xvx0 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SQA">{{cite web |title=Gaelic Orthographic Conventions|url=http://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/SQA-Gaelic_Orthographic_Conventions-En-e.pdf |publisher=Bòrd na Gàidhlig |access-date=19 January 2017 |date=October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116081948/http://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/SQA-Gaelic_Orthographic_Conventions-En-e.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> (MacLean). The female form is {{lang|gd|nic}} (Gaelic for "daughter"), so Catherine MacPhee is properly called in Gaelic, {{lang|gd|Catrìona Nic a' Phì}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Catrìona Anna Nic a' Phì |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/alba/oran/people/catriona_anna_nic_a_phi/ |website=BBC |access-date=19 January 2017 |language=gd |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910203707/http://www.bbc.co.uk/alba/oran/people/catriona_anna_nic_a_phi/ |archive-date=10 September 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> (strictly, {{lang|gd|nic}} is a contraction of the Gaelic phrase {{lang|gd|nighean mhic}}, meaning "daughter of the son", thus {{lang|gd|NicDhòmhnaill}}<ref name="SQA"/><!-- cite is just for correct spelling of name --> really means "daughter of MacDonald" rather than "daughter of Donald"). The "of" part actually comes from the genitive form of the patronymic that follows the prefix; in the case of {{lang|gd|MacDhòmhnaill}}, {{lang|gd|Dhòmhnaill}} ("of Donald") is the genitive form of {{lang|gd|Dòmhnall}} ("Donald").<ref>{{cite web |last1=Woulfe |first1=Patrick |title=Gaelic Surnames |url=http://www.libraryireland.com/names/gaelic-surnames.php |publisher=Library Ireland |access-date=24 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425204723/http://www.libraryireland.com/names/gaelic-surnames.php |archive-date=25 April 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Several colours give rise to common Scottish surnames: {{lang|gd|bàn}} ([[Bain (surname)|Bain]] – white), {{lang|gd|ruadh}} (Roy – red), {{lang|gd|dubh}} (Dow, [[Duff (surname)|Duff]] – black), {{lang|gd|donn}} ([[Dunn (surname)|Dunn]] – brown), {{lang|gd|buidhe}} ([[Bowie (surname)|Bowie]] – yellow) although in Gaelic these occur as part of a fuller form such as {{lang|gd|MacGille}} 'son of the servant of', i.e. {{lang|gd|MacGilleBhàin, MacGilleRuaidh, MacGilleDhuibh, MacGilleDhuinn, MacGilleBhuidhe}}.

==Phonology==
{{Main|Scottish Gaelic phonology and orthography}}

Most varieties of Gaelic show either eight or nine vowel qualities ({{IPA|/i e ɛ a ɔ o u ɤ ɯ/}}) in their inventory of vowel [[phonemes]], which can be either long or short. There are also two [[reduced vowel]]s ({{IPA|[ə ɪ]}}) which occur only in their short versions. Although some vowels are strongly nasal, instances of distinctive [[nasalized vowel|nasality]] are rare. There are about nine [[diphthong]]s and a few [[triphthong]]s.

Most consonants have both [[palatal]] and non-palatal counterparts, including a very rich system of [[liquid consonant|liquid]]s, [[nasal stop|nasal]]s and [[trill consonant|trill]]s (i.e. three contrasting "l" sounds, three contrasting "n" sounds and three contrasting "r" sounds). The historically voiced stops {{IPA|[b d̪ ɡ]}} have lost their voicing, so the phonemic contrast today is between unaspirated {{IPA|[p t̪ k]}} and aspirated {{IPA|[pʰ t̪ʰ kʰ]}}. In many dialects, these stops may however gain voicing through secondary articulation through a preceding nasal, for examples {{lang|gd|doras}} {{IPA|[t̪ɔɾəs̪]}} "door" but {{lang|gd|an doras}} "the door" as {{IPA|[ən̪ˠ d̪ɔɾəs̪]}} or {{IPA|[ə n̪ˠɔɾəs̪]}}.

In some fixed phrases, these changes are shown permanently, as the link with the base words has been lost, as in {{lang|gd|an-dràsta}} "now", from {{lang|gd|an tràth-sa}} "this time/period".

In medial and final position, the aspirated stops are [[preaspiration|preaspirated]] rather than postaspirated.

== Orthography ==
{{Main|Scottish Gaelic orthography}}

Scottish Gaelic [[orthography]] is fairly regular; its standard was set by the 1767 [[New Testament]]. The 1981 [[Scottish Examination Board]] recommendations for Scottish Gaelic, the Gaelic Orthographic Conventions, were adopted by most publishers and agencies, although they remain controversial among some academics, most notably Ronald Black.<ref>The Board of Celtic Studies Scotland (1998) ''Computer-Assisted Learning for Gaelic: Towards a Common Teaching Core''. The orthographic conventions were revised by the [[Scottish Qualifications Authority]] (SQA) in 2005: {{cite web |date=August 2005 |title=Gaelic Orthographic Conventions 2005 |url=http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/controller?p_service=Content.show&p_applic=CCC&pContentID=7339 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070507071828/http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/controller?p_service=Content.show&p_applic=CCC&pContentID=7339 |archive-date=7 May 2007 |access-date=24 March 2007 |publisher=SQA publication BB1532}}</ref>

The quality of consonants (broad or slender) is indicated by the [[vowel]]s surrounding them. Slender ([[palatalization (phonetics)|palatalised]]) consonants are surrounded by slender vowels ({{vr|e, i}}), while broad (neutral or [[velarization|velarised]]) consonants are surrounded by broad vowels ({{vr|a, o, u}}). The spelling rule known as {{lang|gd|caol ri caol agus leathann ri leathann}} ("slender to slender and broad to broad") requires that a word-medial consonant or consonant group followed by {{vr|i, e}} is preceded by {{vr|i, e}} and similarly, if followed by {{vr|a, o, u}} is preceded by {{vr|a, o, u}}.

This rule sometimes leads to the insertion of a [[Silent letter|silent]] written vowel. For example, plurals in Gaelic are often formed with the suffix {{lang|gd|-an}} {{IPA|gd|ən|}}, for example, {{lang|gd|bròg}} {{IPA|[prɔːk]}} ("shoe") / {{lang|gd|brògan}} {{IPA|[prɔːkən]}} ("shoes"). But because of the spelling rule, the suffix is spelled -{{vr|ean}} (but pronounced the same, {{IPA|gd|ən|}}) after a slender consonant, as in {{lang|gd|muinntir}} {{IPA|[mɯi̯ɲtʲɪrʲ]}} ("[a] people") / {{lang|gd|muinntirean}} {{IPA|[mɯi̯ɲtʲɪrʲən]}} ("peoples") where {{vr|e}} is purely a graphic vowel inserted to conform with the spelling rule because {{vr|i}} precedes the {{vr|r}}.

[[Lexical stress|Unstressed]] vowels omitted in speech can be omitted in informal writing, e.g. {{lang|gd|Tha mi an dòchas.}} ("I hope.") > {{lang|gd|Tha mi 'n dòchas.}}

Scots English orthographic rules have also been used at various times in Gaelic writing. Notable examples of Gaelic verse composed in this manner are the [[Book of the Dean of Lismore]] and the [[Fernaig manuscript|{{lang|gd|Fernaig|nocat=y}} manuscript]].

===Alphabet===
[[File:Oghamgigha.jpg|thumb|right|The Giogha Stone bearing a Goidelic Ogham inscription]]
====Ogham====
The [[Ogham]] [[writing system]] was used in Ireland to write [[Primitive Irish]] and [[Old Irish]] until it was supplanted by the [[Latin script]] in the 5th century [[Common Era|CE]] in Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Celtic languages – Irish &#124; Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Celtic-languages/Irish |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031851/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Celtic-languages/Irish |archive-date=26 March 2023 |access-date=25 April 2023 |website=www.britannica.com}}</ref> In Scotland, the majority of Ogham inscriptions are in [[Pictish language|Pictish]] but a number of Goidelic Ogham inscriptions also exist, such as the [[Giogha|Giogha Stone]] which bears the inscription VICULA MAQ CUGINI 'Viqula, son of Comginus',<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |title=GIGHA/1 |url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp/database/stone/gigha_1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527222134/https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp/database/stone/gigha_1.html |archive-date=27 May 2023 |access-date=25 April 2023 |website=Celtic Inscribed Stones Project |publisher= |quote=}}</ref> with Goidelic MAQ (modern ''mac'' 'son') rather than Brythonic MAB (cf. modern Welsh ''mab'' 'son').

====Insular script====
[[File:Uilleam-MacDhunShleibhe-Eirinn_a_Gul.jpg|thumb|{{lang|gd|A' maidin neochiontas na h-óige}} ([[William Livingston (poet)|Uilleam MacDhunléibhe]], 19th century)]]
The [[Insular script]] was used both in Ireland and Scotland but had largely disappeared in Scotland by the 16th century. It consisted of the same 18 letters still in modern use {{vr|a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u}}.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Graiméar Gaeilge na mBráithre Críostai. |date=1999 |publisher=An Gúm |others=L. A. Ó hAnluain, Christian Brothers |isbn=1-85791-327-2 |edition=Eagrán nua |location=Baile Átha Cliath |oclc=46449130 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Irish Orthography |url=http://www.nualeargais.ie/gnag/ortho.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031917/http://www.nualeargais.ie/gnag/ortho.htm |archive-date=26 March 2023 |access-date=2022-10-23 |website=www.nualeargais.ie}}</ref> and generally did not contain {{vr|j, k, q, v, w, x, y, z}}.

In addition to the base letters, vowels in the Insular script could be [[Diacritic|accented]] with an [[acute accent]] ({{vr|á, é, í, ó, ú}} to indicate length. The [[Dot (diacritic)#Overdot|overdot]] was used to indicate [[lenition]] of {{vr|ḟ, ṡ}}, while the following {{vr|h}} was used for {{vr|ch, ph, th}}. The lenition of other letters was not generally indicated initially but eventually the two methods were used in parallel to represent the lenition of any consonant and competed with each other until the standard practice became to use the overdot in the Insular Script and the following {{vr|h}} in Roman type, i.e. {{vr|ḃ, ċ, ḋ, ḟ, ġ, ṁ, ṗ, ṡ, ṫ}} are equivalent to {{vr|bh, ch, dh, fh, gh, mh, ph, sh, th}}. The use of Gaelic type and the overdot today is restricted to decorative usages.
[[File:An Comunn Gaidhealach Memorial Plaque.jpg|thumb|Plaque commemorating the founders of the {{lang|gd|Comunn Gàidhealach}} in Oban in 1891, using the [[Insular script]] for decorative purposes]]
Letters with an overdot have been available since [[Unicode|Unicode 5.0]] .<ref>Unicode 5.0, {{cite web |title=Latin Extended Additional |url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1E00.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410091257/http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1E00.pdf |archive-date=10 April 2018 |access-date=24 March 2018 |df=dmy-all}}&nbsp;{{small|(163&nbsp;KB)}}. Retrieved 13 October 2007.</ref>

====Latin script====
{{further|Scottish Gaelic orthography#Alphabet|}}

The modern Scottish Gaelic [[alphabet]] has 18 [[letter (alphabet)|letter]]s: {{vr|a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u}}. {{vr|h}} is mostly used to indicate [[lenition]] of a [[consonant]]. The letters of the alphabet were traditionally [[Bríatharogam|named after trees]], but this custom has fallen out of use.

[[Long vowels]] are marked with a [[grave accent]] ({{vr|à, è, ì, ò, ù}}), indicated through [[digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] (e.g. {{vr|ao}} for {{IPA|[ɯː]}}) or conditioned by certain consonant environments (e.g. {{vr|u}} preceding a non-intervocalic {{vr|nn}} is {{IPA|[uː]}}). Traditionally the [[acute accent]] was used on {{vr|á, é, ó}} to represent long [[close-mid vowels]], but the [[spelling reform]]s replaced it with the grave accent.<ref name="SQA" />

Certain 18th century sources used only an acute accent along the [[Irish orthography|lines of Irish]], such as in the writings of [[Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair]] (1741–51) and the earliest editions (1768–90) of [[Duncan Ban MacIntyre]].<ref>O'Rahilly, T F, ''Irish Dialects Past and Present''. Brown and Nolan 1932, {{ISBN|0-901282-55-3}}, p. 19</ref>

==Grammar==
{{Main|Scottish Gaelic grammar}}

Scottish Gaelic is an [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] with an [[fusional language|inflecting]] [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]], [[verb–subject–object|verb–subject–object word order]] and [[grammatical gender|two grammatical genders]].

===Noun inflection===
Gaelic nouns inflect for four cases (nominative/accusative, vocative, genitive and dative) and three numbers (singular, dual and plural).

They are also normally classed as either masculine or feminine. A small number of words that used to belong to the neuter class show some degree of gender confusion. For example, in some dialects {{lang|gd|am muir}} "the sea" behaves as a masculine noun in the nominative case, but as a feminine noun in the genitive ({{lang|gd|na mara}}).

Nouns are marked for case in a number of ways, most commonly involving various combinations of [[lenition]], [[palatalization (phonetics)|palatalisation]] and [[suffix]]ation.

===Verb inflection===
There are 12 irregular verbs.<ref>Cox, Richard {{lang|gd|Brìgh nam Facal}} (1991) {{lang|gd|Roinn nan Cànan Ceilteach}} {{ISBN|0-903204-21-5}}</ref> Most other verbs follow a fully predictable paradigm, although polysyllabic verbs ending in [[Lateral consonant|laterals]] can deviate from this paradigm as they show [[Syncope (phonetics)|syncopation]].

There are:
* Three [[Grammatical person|persons]]: 1st, 2nd and 3rd
* Two [[Grammatical number|numbers]]: singular and plural
* Two [[Voice (grammar)|voices]]: traditionally called active and passive, but actually personal and impersonal
* Three non-composed combined TAM forms expressing [[grammatical tense|tense]], [[grammatical aspect|aspect]] and [[grammatical mood|mood]], i.e. non-past (future-habitual), conditional (future of the past), and past (preterite); several composed TAM forms, such as pluperfect, future perfect, present perfect, present continuous, past continuous, conditional perfect, etc. Two verbs, {{lang|gd|bi}}, used to attribute a notionally temporary state, action, or quality to the subject, and {{lang|gd|is}} (a defective verb that has only two forms), used to show a notional permanent identity or quality, have non-composed present and non-past tense forms: ({{lang|gd|bi}}) {{lang|gd|tha}} [perfective present], {{lang|gd|bidh}}/{{lang|gd|bithidh}} [imperfective non-past]<ref name="SQA"/> and all other expected verb forms, though the verb adjective ("past participle") is lacking; ({{lang|gd|is}}) {{lang|gd|is}}, {{lang|gd|bu}} past and conditional.
* Four moods: independent (used in affirmative main clause verbs), relative (used in verbs in affirmative relative clauses), dependent (used in subordinate clauses, anti-affirmative relative clauses, and anti-affirmative main clauses), and subjunctive.

===Word order===
Word order is strictly verb–subject–object, including questions, negative questions and negatives. Only a restricted set of preverb particles may occur before the verb.

==Lexicon==
The majority of the vocabulary of Scottish Gaelic is of [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] origin. However, Gaelic contains substantially more words of non-Goidelic extraction than Irish. The main sources of loanwords into Gaelic are the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] languages English, Scots and Norse. Other sources include [[Latin]], [[French language|French]] and the [[Brittonic languages|Brittonic]] languages.<ref name="macbain96" />

Many direct Latin loanwords in Scottish Gaelic were adopted during the [[Old Irish|Old]] and [[Middle Irish]] (600–1200 CE) stages of the language and are often terms related to Christianity. Latin is also the source of the days of the week {{lang|gd|Diluain}} ("Monday"), {{lang|gd|Dimàirt}} (Tuesday), {{lang|gd|Disathairne}} ("Saturday") and {{lang|gd|Didòmhnaich}} ("Sunday").<ref name="macbain96" />

=== Brittonic ===
The Brittonic languages Cumbric and Pictish were spoken in Scotland during the Early to High Middle Ages, and Scottish Gaelic has many Brittonic influences. Scottish Gaelic contains a number of apparently P-Celtic loanwords, but it is not always possible to disentangle P and Q Celtic words. However, some common words such as {{lang|gd|dìleab}} ("legacy"), {{lang|gd|monadh}} ({{lang|cy|mynydd}}; "mountain") and {{lang|gd|preas}} ({{lang|cy|prys}}; "bush") are transparently Brittonic in origin.<ref name="auto"/>

Scottish Gaelic contains a number of words, principally toponymic elements, that are sometimes more closely aligned in their usage and sense with their Brittonic cognates than with their Irish. This is indicative of the operation of a Brittonic substrate influence. Such items include:<ref name="pp">{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Mark A |last2=Driscoll |first2=Stephen T |last3=Geddess |first3=Jane |title=Pictish Progress: New Studies on Northern Britain in the Early Middle Ages |date=11 November 2010 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004188013 |page=93 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6d55DwAAQBAJ |access-date=30 June 2019 |archive-date=5 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005115932/https://books.google.com/books?id=6d55DwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="cpns">{{cite book |last1=Watson |first1=W.J. |last2=Taylor |first2=Simon |title=The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland |date=2011 |publisher=Birlinn LTD |isbn=9781906566357 |edition=reprint}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Gaelic
! Meaning
! Brittonic
! Meaning
! Irish
! Meaning
|-
| lios
| palace (in place-names)
| llys
| palace, court
| les (Old Irish)
| land between a house and its enclosure
|-
| srath
| river-valley
| ystrad (Welsh)
| river-valley
| srath
| grassland
|-
| tom
| thicket, knoll, mound
| tom/tomen (Welsh)
| dung, mound
| tom
| shrub
|}

=== Neologisms ===
In common with other [[Indo-European languages]], the [[neologism]]s coined for modern concepts are typically based on [[Greek language|Greek]] or [[Latin]], although often coming through English; ''television'', for instance, becomes {{lang|gd|telebhisean}} and ''computer'' becomes {{lang|gd|coimpiùtar}}. Some speakers use an English word even if there is a Gaelic equivalent, applying the rules of Gaelic grammar. With verbs, for instance, they will simply add the verbal suffix ({{lang|gd|-eadh}}, or, in [[Isle of Lewis|Lewis]], {{lang|gd|-igeadh}}, as in, "{{lang|gd|Tha mi a'}} watch {{lang|gd|eadh}} (Lewis, "watch {{lang|gd|igeadh}}") {{lang|gd|an}} telly" (I am watching the television), instead of "{{lang|gd|Tha mi a' coimhead air an telebhisean}}". This phenomenon was described over 170 years ago, by the minister who compiled the account covering the parish of [[Stornoway]] in the ''New Statistical Account of Scotland'', and examples can be found dating to the eighteenth century.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair|title=Smeòrach Chlann Raghnaill|url=http://www.moidart.org.uk/datasets/gbarramcma/about.htm|website=www.moidart.org.uk|publisher=Archaeology Archive Moidart History|access-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011125130/http://www.moidart.org.uk/datasets/gbarramcma/about.htm|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> However, as Gaelic medium education grows in popularity, a newer generation of literate Gaels has become more familiar with modern Gaelic vocabulary.{{cn|date=April 2017}}

===Loanwords into other languages===
Scottish Gaelic has also influenced the [[Scots language]] and [[English (language)|English]], particularly [[Scottish Standard English]]. Loanwords include: whisky, slogan, brogue, jilt, clan, galore, [[trousers]], gob, as well as familiar elements of Scottish geography like ben ({{lang|gd|beinn}}), glen ({{lang|gd|gleann}}) and {{lang|gd|[[loch]]}}. [[Irish language|Irish]] has also influenced Lowland Scots and English in Scotland, but it is not always easy to distinguish its influence from that of Scottish Gaelic.<ref name="macbain96">{{cite book |title=An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language |first=Alexander |last=Macbain |author-link=Alexander Macbain |year=1896 |edition=Digitized facsimile |publisher=BiblioBazaar |isbn=978-1-116-77321-7 }}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2018}}

=== Common words and phrases with Irish and Manx equivalents ===
{{further|Differences between Scottish Gaelic and Irish}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Scottish Gaelic
! [[Irish language|Irish]]
! [[Manx Gaelic]]
! English
|-
| {{lang|gd|sinn}} {{IPA|[ʃiɲ]}}
| (South) {{lang|ga|sinn}} {{IPA|[ʃɪn̠ʲ]}}<br />(West/North) muid {{IPA|[mˠɪdʲ]}}
| {{lang|gv|shin}} {{IPA|[ʃin]}}
| we
|-
| {{lang|gd|aon}} {{IPA|[ɯːn]}}
| {{lang|ga|aon}} (South) {{IPA|[eːnˠ]}} (North/West) {{IPA|[iːnˠ]}} (older North) {{IPA|[ɯːnˠ]}}
| {{lang|gv|nane}} {{IPA|[neːn]}}<br />({{lang|gv|un}} {{IPA|[œn]}})
| one
|-
| {{lang|gd|mòr}} {{IPA|[moːɾ]}}
| {{lang|ga|mór}} (North/West) {{IPA|[mˠoːɾˠ]}} (South) {{IPA|[mˠuəɾˠ]}}
| {{lang|gv|mooar}} {{IPA|[muːɾ]}}
| big
|-
| {{lang|gd|iasg}} {{IPA|[iəs̪k]}}
| {{lang|ga|iasc}} {{IPA|[iəsˠk]}}
| {{lang|gv|eeast}} {{IPA|[jiːs(t)]}}
| fish
|-
| {{lang|gd|cù}} {{IPA|[kʰuː]}}<br />({{lang|gd|madadh}} {{IPA|[mat̪əɣ]}},<br />{{lang|gd|gadhar}} {{IPA|[gə(ɣ)ər]}})
| {{lang|gd|madadh}} (North) {{IPA|[mˠad̪ˠu]}} (West) {{IPA|[mˠad̪ˠə]}} (South){{lang|ga|madra}} {{IPA|[mˠad̪ˠɾˠə]}}<br>{{lang|ga|gadhar}} (South/West) {{IPA|[ɡəiɾˠ]}} (North) {{IPA|[ɡeːɾˠ]}}<br />({{lang|ga|cú}} {{IPA|[kuː]}} "hound")
| {{lang|gv|moddey}} {{IPA|[mɔːðə]}}<br />({{lang|gv|coo}} {{IPA|[kʰuː]}} ''hound'')
| dog
|-
| {{lang|gd|grian}} {{IPA|[kɾʲiən]}}
| {{lang|ga|grian}} {{IPA|[ɟɾʲiənˠ]}}
| {{lang|gv|grian}} {{IPA|[ɡriᵈn]}}
| sun
|-
| {{lang|gd|craobh}} {{IPA|[kʰɾɯːv]}}<br />({{lang|gd|crann}} {{IPA|[kʰɾaun̪ˠ]}} ''mast'')
| {{lang|ga|crann}} (North) {{IPA|[kɾan̪ˠ]}} (West) {{IPA|[kɾɑːn̪ˠ]}} (South) {{IPA|[kɾaun̪ˠ]}}<br />({{lang|ga|craobh}} "''branch"'' (North/West) {{IPA|[kɾˠiːw, -ɯːw]}} (South) {{IPA|[kɾˠeːv]}})
| {{lang|gv|billey}} {{IPA|[biʎə]}}
| tree
|-
| {{lang|gd|cadal}} {{IPA|[kʰat̪əl̪ˠ]}}
| {{lang|ga|codladh}} (South) {{IPA|[ˈkɔl̪ˠə]}} (North) {{IPA|[ˈkɔl̪ˠu]}}({{lang|ga|codail}} "to sleep" {{IPA|[kɔdəlʲ]}})
| {{lang|gv|cadley}} {{IPA|[kʲadlə]}}
| sleep (verbal noun)
|-
| {{lang|gd|ceann}} (North) {{IPA|[kʰʲaun̪ˠ]}} (South) {{IPA|[kʰʲɛun̪ˠ]}}
| {{lang|ga|ceann}} (North) {{IPA|[can̪ˠ]}} (West) {{IPA|[cɑːn̪ˠ]}} (South) {{IPA|[caun̪ˠ]}}
| {{lang|gv|kione}} (South) {{IPA|[kʲoᵈn̪ˠ]}} (north) {{IPA|[kʲaun̪]}}
| head
|-
| {{lang|gd|cha do dh'òl thu}} {{IPA|[xa t̪ə ɣɔːl̪ˠ u]}}
| {{lang|ga|níor ól tú}} {{IPA|[n̠ʲiːɾˠ oːl̪ˠ t̪ˠuː]}}(North) {{lang|ga|char ól tú}} {{IPA|[xaɾˠ ɔːl̪ˠ t̪ˠuː]}}
| {{lang|gv|cha diu oo}} {{IPA|[xa dju u]}}
| you did not drink
|-
| {{lang|gd|bha mi a' faicinn}} {{IPA|[va mi (ə) fɛçkʲɪɲ]}}
| {{lang|ga|bhí mé ag feiceáil}} {{IPA|[vʲiː mʲeː (ə(ɡ)) fʲɛcaːlʲ]}}<br>(Munster) {{lang|ga|bhí mé/bhíos ag feiscint}} {{IPA|[vʲiː mʲeː/vʲiːsˠ (ə(ɡ)) fʲɪʃcintʲ]}}
| {{lang|gv|va mee fakin}} {{IPA|[væ mə faːɣin]}}
| (Scotland, Man) I saw, I was seeing<br /> (Ireland) I was seeing
|-
| {{lang|gd|slàinte}} {{IPA|[s̪l̪ˠaːɲtʲə]}}
| {{lang|ga|[[sláinte]]}} {{IPA|[sˠl̪ˠaːn̠ʲtʲə]}}
| {{lang|gv|slaynt}} {{IPA|[s̪l̪ˠaːɲtʃ]}}
| health; cheers! (toast)
|}
Note: Items in brackets denote archaic, dialectal or regional variant forms

==Sample text==
Article 1 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] in Scottish Gaelic:
:{{lang|gd|Rugadh na h-uile duine saor agus co-ionnan nan urram 's nan còirichean. Tha iad reusanta is cogaiseach, agus bu chòir dhaibh a ghiùlain ris a chèile ann an spiorad bràthaireil.}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://omniglot.com/udhr/celtic.htm|title=UDHR in Celtic languages|website=omniglot.com|access-date=9 May 2022|archive-date=3 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703125315/https://omniglot.com/udhr/celtic.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English:
:All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights |publisher=[[United Nations]] |access-date=9 May 2022 |archive-date=16 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316050452/https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References==
=== Explanatory notes ===
{{Notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|29em|refs=
<ref name="Chadwick1972">{{cite book |last1=Chadwick |first1=Nora Kershaw |first2=Myles |last2=Dyllon |title=The Celtic Realms |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-7607-4284-6 }}</ref>
<ref name="Clarkson2011">{{cite book|last1=Clarkson|first1=Tim|title=The Makers of Scotland: Picts, Romans, Gaels, and Vikings|date=2011|publisher=Birlinn Ltd|location=Edinburgh|isbn=978-1906566296}}</ref>
<ref name="Hunter1976" >{{cite book |last=Hunter |first=James |year=1976 |title=The Making of the Crofting Community|publisher=Donald |isbn=9780859760140 |url=https://archive.org/details/makingofcroftin00hunt |url-access=registration }}</ref>
<ref name="Jones1997">{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Charles |title=The Edinburgh history of the Scots language |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-7486-0754-9 }}</ref>
<ref name="Kennedy2002">{{cite book |last1=Kennedy |first1=Michael |title=Gaelic in Nova Scotia: An Economic, Cultural and Social Impact Study |date=2002 |publisher=Province of Nova Scotia |url=https://gaelic.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/files/Gaelic-Report.pdf |access-date=5 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304033420/https://gaelic.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/files/Gaelic-Report.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name=MacAulay1992>{{cite book |last=MacAulay |first=Donald |author-link=Donald MacAulay |title=The Celtic Languages |year=1992 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521231275 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y3kIq1DYAkMC&pg=PA141 |access-date=13 January 2017 |archive-date=17 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117111552/https://books.google.com/books?id=y3kIq1DYAkMC&pg=PA141#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="Mackenzie1992">{{cite journal |last=Mackenzie |first=Donald W. |year=1990–92 |title=The Worthy Translator: How the Scottish Gaels got the Scriptures in their own Tongue |journal=Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness |volume=57 }}</ref>
<ref name="Baoill1997">Ó Baoill, Colm. "The Scots–Gaelic interface", in Charles Jones, ed., The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1997</ref>
<ref name="Withers1984">{{cite book |last1=Withers |first1=Charles W. J. |title=Gaelic in Scotland, 1698–1981 |date=1984 |publisher=John Donald Publishers Ltd |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-0859760973 }}</ref>
<ref name="Withers1988">{{cite book |first=Charles W. J. |last=Withers |chapter=The Geographical History of Gaelic in Scotland |editor=Colin H. Williams |title=Language in Geographic Context |year=1988}}</ref>
}}

== Further reading ==
* Gillies, H. Cameron. (1896). ''Elements of Gaelic Grammar''. Vancouver: Global Language Press (reprint 2006), {{ISBN|1-897367-02-3}} (hardcover), {{ISBN|1-897367-00-7}} (paperback)
* Gillies, William. (1993). "Scottish Gaelic", in Ball, Martin J. and Fife, James (eds). ''The Celtic Languages (Routledge Language Family Descriptions)''. London: [[Routledge]]. {{ISBN|0-415-28080-X}} (paperback), pp.&nbsp;145–227
* Lamb, William. (2024). ''Scottish Gaelic: A Comprehensive Grammar''. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|9780367189181}}
* {{Lang|gd|MacAoidh, Garbhan}}. (2007). ''{{lang|gd|Tasgaidh}} – A Gaelic Thesaurus''. Lulu Enterprises, North Carolina
* McLeod, Wilson (ed.). (2006). ''[https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Revitalising_Gaelic_in_Scotland.html?id=amViAAAAMAAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y Revitalising Gaelic in Scotland: Policy, Planning and Public Discourse]''. Edinburgh: Dunedin Academic Press, {{ISBN|1-903765-59-5}}
* Robertson, Charles M. (1906–07). "[[s:Scottish Gaelic Dialects|Scottish Gaelic Dialects]]", ''The Celtic Review'', vol. 3 pp.&nbsp;97–113, 223–39, 319–32.

== External links ==
{{InterWiki|code=gd}}
{{Wiktionary category|type=Scottish Gaelic|category=Scottish Gaelic language}}
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikibooks|Scottish Gaelic}}
* {{lang|gd|[https://www.bbc.co.uk/alba BBC Alba]}} – Scottish Gaelic language, music and news
* [https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/pba167p349.pdf "Gaelic in Medieval Scotland: Advent and Expansion"] by Thomas Owen Clancy, Sir John Rhys Memorial Lecture, 4 March 2009
* [http://www.gaelicresources.co.uk/about ''Gaelic Resource Database''] – founded by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
* [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Scottish_Gaelic_Swadesh_list Scottish Gaelic Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words] (from Wiktionary's [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Swadesh_lists Swadesh-list appendix])
* {{lang|gd|[http://www.faclair.com/ Faclair Dwelly air Loidhne]}} – Dwelly's Gaelic dictionary online
* {{lang|gd|[http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/english.html Gàidhlig air an Lìon]}} – {{lang|gd|Sabhal Mòr Ostaig}}'s links to pages in and about Scottish Gaelic
* [http://dasg.ac.uk/ DASG] – The Digital Archive of Scottish Gaelic
* [http://www.ancomunn.co.uk/ An Comunn's website]
* [https://gaelic.novascotia.ca/ Nova Scotia Office of Gaelic Affairs]

{{Scottish Gaelic linguistics}}
{{Celtic languages|state=autocollapse}}
{{Scotland topics}}
{{Gaels|state=autocollapse}}
{{Languages of the United Kingdom}}
{{Portal bar|Scotland|Linguistics|Language}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Scottish Gaelic language| ]]
[[Category:Endangered Celtic languages]]
[[Category:Fusional languages]]
[[Category:Verb–subject–object languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Canada]]
[[Category:Languages of Scotland]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]