Celtic languages

The Celtic languages are a group of languages that belong to the larger Indo-European language family. They come from an older language called Proto-Celtic. People started calling these languages "Celtic" in the year 1707, thanks to a man named Edward Lhuyd. He noticed that languages like Welsh and Breton were connected to the ancient Celts written about by old writers.

Long ago, during the first thousand years before Christ, Celtic languages were spoken all over Europe and even in central Anatolia. Today, these languages are mainly found in the northwestern part of Europe and some communities far from their homes. There are six Celtic languages still used today: Breton, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Cornish, and Manx. Even though these languages are used by fewer people, many are working hard to keep them alive. Welsh is an official language in Wales, and Irish is an official language in Ireland and the European Union.

Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic are called the Goidelic languages, while Welsh, Cornish, and Breton are known as Brittonic languages. All of these are Insular Celtic languages because Breton, the only Celtic language still spoken in Europe outside of Britain, came from settlers who came from Britain. There were also many Celtic languages in Europe that are no longer spoken, such as Galatian, Lepontic, Gaulish, Celtiberian, and Gallaecian.

Celtic languages have a long and rich history of writing. The oldest known Celtic writings are from the 6th century BC, found in the Alps. Early writings used different scripts, but later on, the Latin script was used for all Celtic languages. Welsh has had a steady tradition of writing since the 6th century AD.

Living languages

SIL Ethnologue lists six living Celtic languages. Four of these still have many native speakers. These are the Goidelic languages (Irish and Scottish Gaelic), and the Brittonic languages (Welsh and Breton). The other two, Cornish and Manx, lost their last native speakers in modern times. However, efforts in the 2000s helped these languages regain native speakers as adults and children learned them.

Demographics

Mixed languages

• Beurla Reagaird, Highland travellers' language
• Shelta, based largely on Irish and Hiberno-English (some 86,000 speakers in 2009).

Classification

Celtic languages are usually divided into different groups. One group is called Continental Celtic languages, which are now extinct and were spoken in Europe. Another group is Insular Celtic languages, still spoken today in places like the British Isles and Brittany.

Some specific Celtic languages include:

• Hispano-Celtic languages, such as Celtiberian and Gallaecian, spoken in ancient times in places like Iberian Peninsula, Old Castile, and Aragon.
• Lepontic, the oldest known Celtic language, spoken in Switzerland and Northern-Central Italy.
• Gaulish languages, once spoken from Belgium to Turkey, but now extinct.
• Brittonic languages, including living languages like Breton, Cornish, and Welsh.
• Goidelic languages, including Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic.

Scholars sometimes group these languages in different ways, such as separating them into P-Celtic and Q-Celtic based on sound changes. These groupings help us understand how the languages developed over time.

Possible members

Some languages from the past might have been Celtic, but we don’t have enough information to be sure. These are often called Para-Celtic.

One such language is Noric, which may have been spoken in areas like modern Austria and Slovenia. We only know about it from a few inscriptions, so it’s hard to say for certain if it was a real language.

Ancient Belgian might have been spoken in what is now Belgica. Most experts think it was Celtic, but some believe it could have been Germanic or related to another language family.

Camunic was spoken in valleys in the Central Alps a long time ago. Some think it might have been a Celtic language.

Ligurian was spoken along the coast where France and Italy meet today. One expert thinks it was similar to the Celtic language Gaulish.

Lusitanian was spoken in parts of Portugal and Spain. We only know about it from a few inscriptions and place names. Some think it might have been related to Celtic languages.

Rhaetic was spoken in parts of Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. We know about it from short inscriptions, but it’s not clear if it was Celtic or related to the Etruscan language.

Tartessian was spoken in southern Portugal and southwest Spain. One expert believes it was a Celtic language.

Characteristics

The Celtic languages share many similarities despite their differences. They often change the beginning sounds of words depending on their use, use special words to show relationships, and count using a system based on twenties.

They also have unique ways of forming sentences and expressing ideas, such as using special forms of verbs instead of simple "to be" constructions. For example, instead of saying "I have a cat," they might say something like "there is a cat with me."

The table below shows how words in these languages compare, especially for basic ideas. You can see that some languages are more similar to each other than others.

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: 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.

• Irish: Saolaítear gach duine den chine daonna saor agus comhionann i ndínit agus i gcearta. Tá bua an réasúin agus an choinsiasa acu agus ba cheart dóibh gníomhú i dtreo a chéile i spiorad an bhráithreachais.
• Manx: Ta dagh ooilley pheiagh ruggit seyr as corrym ayns ard-cheim as kiartyn. Ren Jee feoiltaghey resoon as cooinsheanse orroo as by chair daue ymmyrkey ry cheilley myr braaraghyn.
• Scottish Gaelic: Tha gach uile dhuine air a bhreith saor agus co-ionnan ann an urram 's ann an còirichean. Tha iad air am breith le reusan is le cogais agus mar sin bu chòir dhaibh a bhith beò nam measg fhèin ann an spiorad bràthaireil.
• Breton: Dieub ha par en o dellezegezh hag o gwirioù eo ganet an holl dud. Poell ha skiant zo dezho ha dleout a reont bevañ an eil gant egile en ur spered a genvreudeuriezh.
• Cornish: Genys frank ha par yw oll tus an bys yn aga dynita hag yn aga gwiryow. Enduys yns gans reson ha kowses hag y tal dhedha omdhon an eyl orth y gila yn spyrys a vrederedh.
• Welsh: Genir pawb yn rhydd ac yn gydradd â'i gilydd mewn urddas a hawliau. Fe'u cynysgaeddir â rheswm a chydwybod, a dylai pawb ymddwyn y naill at y llall mewn ysbryd cymodlon.