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Anyways, thread on Scottish languages, both modern and ancient (Gaelic, Scots, English, Pictish, and Norn) for anyone who's interested!
Firstly, let's divide the most common by language family. Gaelic and Pictish are both insular Celtic languages, with Gaelic being Goidelic and Pictish being theorized to have been Brittonic. Norn, Scots, and Scottish English are/were all Germanic languages!
No. 1 is an approximate map of the range of ethnicities around 450 AD. It may be surprising, but Gaelic was never spoken in all parts of Scotland. You can see the theorized approximate height of its range in the second map.
It's also theorized that Pictish did not disappear, but rather, that it was Gaelicized over time and through political alliance. Furthermore, Gaelic is not native to Scotland. The Kingdom of the Dál Riata, the primary ancestors of most Western Islanders, are responsible for
bringing the language over from Ireland. (It's also been theorized that it may simply have developed over time due to proximity, but there is a lack of archeological evidence supporting either claim.)
The zenith of Gaelic spread lasted from approximately 900-1070 CE.
The zenith of Gaelic spread lasted from approximately 900-1070 CE.
Around 1070, the King of Scotland married the thoroughly Anglo-Saxon Margaret of Wessex, who became Margaret of Scotland. This decision ended up leading to the first of many major conflicts between Anglo Scotland and Gaelic Scotland. Donald Bàn, the Gaelic challenger, is
sometimes called "The Last Celtic King of Scotland" and was the last King to be buried on Iona (a small island off the coast of Mull). By 1400, Gaelic was no longer the language of Scotland. Its replacement, Scots, is a Germanic language, descended from medieval English.
In the North, Pictish was replaced by Norn. Norn was spoken in Shetland +Orkney, and it is a descendant of Old Norwegian. It is thought to have become extinct, replaced by Scots, in the 1850s. This map shows dialect distribution of Scots, likely accurate back to the 1500s.
English has been the dominant language in Scotland since the 18th century. It continues to be the dominant language today. Gaelic was outlawed after the Jacobite rebellion, leading to its decline, but luckily the Western Isles are remote enough that the language survived.
Many people in lowland Scotland/Eastern Highlands speak both Scots and English, and in the Western Highlands and Isles, Gaelic is an endangered, but surviving, language. Here is a modern map of Gaelic distribution.$
It's really important to remember that Gaelic is a minority language, and that we as majority language speakers are not entitled to it. If you decide to learn it, you're welcome to it, but knowing it doesn't make you a Gael and it's very important to treat it with respect!
Tha beagan Gàidhlig agam, agus tha Gàidhlig sgoinneil. I can help point you in the right direction as far as resources go, but the best thing is to get connected in your community/on Instagram :) practice as often as you can and you'll succeed!
Sources: http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/en/colaiste/gaidhlig https://www.scotslanguage.com/What_is_Scots_Landing/History_of_the_Scots_Language
Trudgill, Peter (1984). Language in the British Isles. Cambridge University Press. p. 361.
North-western European language evolution: NOWELE, vols. 50-51 (Odense University Press, 2007), p. 240
A.O. Anderson, Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500–1286, (Edinburgh, 1922)
North-western European language evolution: NOWELE, vols. 50-51 (Odense University Press, 2007), p. 240
A.O. Anderson, Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500–1286, (Edinburgh, 1922)
Jones, Charles (1997). The Edinburgh history of the Scots language. Edinburgh University Press. p. 551.
Clarkson, pp. 238–244
Colm Ó Baoill, "The Scots–Gaelic interface", in Charles Jones, ed., The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 97
Clarkson, pp. 238–244
Colm Ó Baoill, "The Scots–Gaelic interface", in Charles Jones, ed., The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 97
