In the recent (2021) highly-publicised Nature study into a bronze age migration into Britain that likely brought Celtic languages, they find that the migration doesn't seem to affect Scotland, and they say this:
>a later arrival of Celtic languages in Scotland is consistent with evidence that non-Celtic and Celtic languages coexisted there into the first millennium CE
They connect this with a recent (2020) publication by Simon Rodway, the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Celtic Linguistics, that concludes that (some of?) the medieval Ogham inscriptions from Scotland are not Celtic.
I don't have access to the latter study, so I'm wondering what people here think. Has there been a shift in evidence/consensus in favour of a late survival of pre-Celtic languages?
Hello, everyone!
I used to participate in this sub a bit by replying to posts, and now I want to make a post of my own as I decide which language I want to learn next.
I want to choose a more endangered language. My main thoughts are one of the six living Celtic Languages (Welsh, Irish, Breton, Cornish, Manx, or Scottish Gaelic) or West Frisian. But I'm open to any rarer language. None of this will be "useful" to me, so that doesn't factor into this decision here at all
West Frisian obviously intrigues me as the supposed closet living language to English (ignoring Scots for a bit). But I will admit I don't really have a pull towards the Netherlands specifically. But adding another Germanic language after German has an appeal. I liked the sound of it.
As for the Celtic languages, they all interest. I admire how they have survived after so long, and they all sound beautiful. My top three choices would probably be Welsh, Breton, or Scottish Gaelic over the other three. I would only lean against Irish because it supposedly has the hardest grammar of the six (not that difficult grammar automatically deters me from a language).
Practically, Welsh supposedly has the easiest grammar of the six, is the most popular one, and (likely) has the most resources available. I also (I believe) has the most loan words of the six- at least from Latin and English (correct me if I'm wrong on this one). However, I admire it when a language tries to invent its own words instead of borrowing
Breton would be interesting because, as a learner of French as well, I might try to learn it from French. Not only would it be easier to find resources in French, but I would have the experience of learning a foreign language through one that is not my native one.
The other thought I had is that I don't want to lead towards Cornish or Manx only because they're the two most endangered ones of the six.
Let me know which one I should do! I only made the poll like that because I couldn't make more that six options/choices.
Here's a basic overview of my understanding.
Since the corded ware language must have been neither centum nor satem, post-corded ware descendant languages must have innovated it independently from both Greek, and Tocharian.
Is that logic right?
Gaelic the language with the most resources at least outside of Europe (enough that Rosetta Stone even offers it as a course). I have a general interest in Celtic culture because my grandma played around with Wicca and other paganism involving Celts so eventually I would expand to Cymraeg and other Celtic languages that survived today.
So would you recommend going right ahead learning Gaelic to make it easier to learn Gaidhlig? Would knowing Brezhoneg help with Gaelic and same with knowing other surviving Celtic languages too? Would knowing any of the modern Celtic Languages including Kernewek be a big starting point for knowing the ancient languages those of Celtic pagan religions that have been dead for centuries and are now only being reconstructed?
The other day I met a Frenchman of Breton origin who mentioned that his grandmother was a native Breton speaker whose French was poor. However, he recalled an occasion in his childhood when a pair of Welsh tourists visited his village and his grandmother was able to translate what they were saying. Considering the geographic and political separations of Wales and Brittany, this surprised me. Does the story sound plausible?
I'm currently coming up with a magical language, and I need help finding magical words, but I want the language to be heavily inspired by gaelic and other celtic langauges.
Is this just a dead end since there was no writing?
Before the Anglo-Saxon arrival, Britain was Celtic-speaking. After that, the Welsh and Highland Scots remained Celtic speakers and interacted extensively with the English speakers.
In Modern Welsh: A Comprehensive Grammar (King; (1996) 2016), King states:
โCeltic also shows unexplained similarities with certain languages of North Africaโ
Anyone know which languages these may be and how theyโre similar to Celtic? Iโve never studied African languages.
Of Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, (Probably not Breton or Manx), which should I study?
Gaelic the language with the most resources at least outside of Europe (enough that Rosetta Stone even offers it as a course). I have a general interest in Celtic culture because my grandma played around with Wicca and other paganism involving Celts so eventually I would expand to Cymraeg and other Celtic languages that survived today.
So would you recommend going right ahead learning Gaelic to make it easier to learn Gaidhlig? Would knowing Brezhoneg help with Gaelic and same with knowing other surviving Celtic languages too? Would knowing any of the modern Celtic Languages including Kernewek be a big starting point for knowing the ancient languages those of Celtic pagan religions that have been dead for centuries and are now only being reconstructed?
Gaelic the language with the most resources at least outside of Europe (enough that Rosetta Stone even offers it as a course). I have a general interest in Celtic culture because my grandma played around with Wicca and other paganism involving Celts so eventually I would expand to Cymraeg and other Celtic languages that survived today.
So would you recommend going right ahead learning Gaelic to make it easier to learn Gaidhlig? Would knowing Brezhoneg help with Gaelic and same with knowing other surviving Celtic languages too? Would knowing any of the modern Celtic Languages including Kernewek be a big starting point for knowing the ancient languages those of Celtic pagan religions that have been dead for centuries and are now only being reconstructed?
Gaelic the language with the most resources at least outside of Europe (enough that Rosetta Stone even offers it as a course). I have a general interest in Celtic culture because my grandma played around with Wicca and other paganism involving Celts so eventually I would expand to Cymraeg and other Celtic languages that survived today.
So would you recommend going right ahead learning Gaelic to make it easier to learn Gaidhlig? Would knowing Brezhoneg help with Gaelic and same with knowing other surviving Celtic languages too? Would knowing any of the modern Celtic Languages including Kernewek be a big starting point for knowing the ancient languages those of Celtic pagan religions that have been dead for centuries and are now only being reconstructed?
Gaelic the language with the most resources at least outside of Europe (enough that Rosetta Stone even offers it as a course). I have a general interest in Celtic culture because my grandma played around with Wicca and other paganism involving Celts so eventually I would expand to Cymraeg and other Celtic languages that survived today.
So would you recommend going right ahead learning Gaelic to make it easier to learn Gaidhlig? Would knowing Brezhoneg help with Gaelic and same with knowing other surviving Celtic languages too? Would knowing any of the modern Celtic Languages including Kernewek be a big starting point for knowing the ancient languages those of Celtic pagan religions that have been dead for centuries and are now only being reconstructed?
Gaelic the language with the most resources at least outside of Europe (enough that Rosetta Stone even offers it as a course). I have a general interest in Celtic culture because my grandma played around with Wicca and other paganism involving Celts so eventually I would expand to Cymraeg and other Celtic languages that survived today.
So would you recommend going right ahead learning Gaelic to make it easier to learn Gaidhlig? Would knowing Brezhoneg help with Gaelic and same with knowing other surviving Celtic languages too? Would knowing any of the modern Celtic Languages including Kernewek be a big starting point for knowing the ancient languages those of Celtic pagan religions that have been dead for centuries and are now only being reconstructed?
Gaelic the language with the most resources at least outside of Europe (enough that Rosetta Stone even offers it as a course). I have a general interest in Celtic culture because my grandma played around with Wicca and other paganism involving Celts so eventually I would expand to Cymraeg and other Celtic languages that survived today.
So would you recommend going right ahead learning Gaelic to make it easier to learn Gaidhlig? Would knowing Brezhoneg help with Gaelic and same with knowing other surviving Celtic languages too? Would knowing any of the modern Celtic Languages including Kernewek be a big starting point for knowing the ancient languages those of Celtic pagan religions that have been dead for centuries and are now only being reconstructed?
