Re: English & Gaelic [was Re: Swedish?]

Hi, Gerry:

Gaelic, Scots-Gaelic, and Manx form the Goidelic branch of the Celtic language family. Welsh, Breton, and Cornish form the Brythonic branch of the Celtic language family. Celtic, is a branch of the Indo-European language family, as are Germanic, Italic, Slavic, Baltic, Indo-Aryan, Iranic, Tocharian, Hellenic, etc. Indo-European is a branch of the proposed Nostratic macro-family. So, in answer to your question below, generally speaking, people who speak Gaelic are Celts.

Hope this helps:

Andy Howey

-----Original Message-----
From: Geraldine Reinhardt [mailto:waluk@...]
Sent: Saturday, February 22, 2003 10:58
To: ehlsmith@...
Cc: Nostratica@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Nostratica] Re: English & Gaelic [was Re: Swedish?]

If Gaelic is a Celtic language, then are Gaelic speaking people Celts? Gerry ----- Original Message ----- From: <ehlsmith@...> To: "Gerry" <waluk@...> Sent: Saturday, February 22, 2003 10:41 AM Subject: English & Gaelic [was Re: Swedish?] > --- In Nostratica@yahoogroups.com, "Gerry" <waluk@...> wrote: > > You mean that British is actually southern Celtic? Am I > misinformed about Irish folks speaking Celtic? Then what do the > Irish speak? Gaelic? > > Gerry, > > From http://www.surrey.ac.uk/ELI/sa/thesis3.html - > "The English language was imposed upon the Gaelic speaking populace > of Ireland over a span of 700 years. The most important period > insofar as the dissemination of the language was concerned was the > mid-seventeenth century, which saw colonisation of Ulster by British > immigrants and the (relatively) rapid spread of English through the > country. Today, only about 2% of the population use Gaelic on a > regular basis." > > Gaelic is a Celtic language. > > Ned Smith > > >

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