1881 language [Gaelic] map of the British Isles
1881 language [Gaelic] map of the British Isles
How about today? How’re the celtic languages doing? How effective are the efforts to revive them? …. Welsh is doing well, it’s taught in most [if not all] Welsh schools aswell as some English schools. If you go to Northern Wales you hear spoken Welsh pretty commonly and all Welsh roadsigns are Bilingual by law.
Manx is also having a successful revival, with widespread education and recognition. Despite the Isle of Man’s relatively small size there are Manx radio stations and a school which teaches mostly in Manx. Considering the language was nearly dead 50 years ago this is brilliant to see.
Cornish is less successful, it is taught in clubs and societies but all Government funding has been dropped for it. There are a few hundred fluent speakers but it’s very rare to hear spoken in public. Cornish is the only living Celtic language still spoken in Mainland England, and has been after Cumbric died in the 13th century.
Scottish Gaelic (not to be confused with Scots) is also on the up, it is taught in a lot of Scottish schools and spoken natively in the Western Isles. Recently it has gained a lot of recognition and popularity.
Overall its very heartwarming to see such successful revival efforts. Cornish is the only one at risk of being lost, which is a great shame since Cornish is one of only 3 Brithonic languages still alive (The others being Welsh and Breton), Brithonic languages were the Original languages spoken in Great Britain before the Germanic conquests. The other Celtic languages spoken in Great Britain (Manx and Scots Gaelic) are Gaelic, and originated in Ireland’