Goidelic, also called the Gaelic languages, forms one of the two branches of Insular Celtic, alongside Brittonic, and historically made up a single dialect continuum stretching from Ireland through the Isle of Man to Scotland. Three modern Goidelic languages survive: Irish (Gaeilge), Scottish Gaelic (Gaidhlig) and Manx (Gaelg), the last of which died out as a first language in the twentieth century but has since been revived to some degree. The branch's earlier stages are named Primitive Irish, Old Irish and Middle Irish, marking the historical stages through which the modern languages diverged from a common ancestor.
Facts
RegionA dialect continuum historically stretching from Ireland through the Isle of Man to Scotland 1 Speaker CountAggregate: 1,774,437 in the Republic of Ireland reporting some ability to speak Irish, plus approximately 60,000 Scottish Gaelic speakers in Scotland and around 1,000 Canadian Gaelic speakers in Nova Scotia, all per the cited article; excludes the small revived Manx-speaking population, not separately quantified there. Proto-Language StatusProto-Goidelic, also called Proto-Gaelic, is the proposed common ancestor of all Goidelic languages; its later stages are named Primitive Irish, Old Irish and Middle Irish, marking the divergence into modern Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic. 1 Connections
Descends From
Goidelic (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx) is one of the two Insular Celtic branches alongside Brittonic.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Goidelic Languages
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, first paragraph
Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from Ireland through the Isle of Man to Scotland.
Classification section, Proto-Goidelic paragraph
Proto-Goidelic, or Proto-Gaelic, is the proposed proto-language for all branches of Goidelic.
Demographics section, Irish speaker figures
In the Republic of Ireland 1,774,437 (41.4% of the population aged three years and over) regard themselves as able to speak Irish to some degree.
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