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Discussion Groups / British English / June 2006The word "Gaelic"
According to my dictionary, the word "Gaelic" should be pronounced gay-lick. However, on a recent visit to Scotland, it seemed to me that most people there pronounce it gah-lick. Is this a specifically Scottish pronunciation, or is my dictionary wrong? -- Claus Tondering Claus Tondering schrieb: > According to my dictionary, the word "Gaelic" should be pronounced gay-lick. > However, on a recent visit to Scotland, it seemed to me that most people there > pronounce it gah-lick. > > Is this a specifically Scottish pronunciation, or is my dictionary wrong? This is indeed the Scottish pronunciation - it mirror's the Scots Gaelic pronunciation of the name of the language - spelled Gaidhlig (pronounced roughlY "GALLig"), rather than the Irish Gaelic name, Gaeilge (pronounced roughly "GAYLgeh"). Regards, Einde O'Callaghan >According to my dictionary, the word "Gaelic" should be pronounced gay-lick. >However, on a recent visit to Scotland, it seemed to me that most people there >pronounce it gah-lick. > >Is this a specifically Scottish pronunciation, or is my dictionary wrong? Your dictionary's information is incomplete. In Scotland the word "gaelic" tends to be pronounced gah-lick, and in Ireland it tends to be pronounced gay-lick. There may be exceptions.  SignaturePeter Duncanson UK (posting from u.c.l.e) Correct, but Irish people seldom use the word Gaelic, unless they are dismissive of the language. They call it Irish. Linguists call it Irish Gaelic as it and Scots Gaelic come from middle Irish. They had the same literary form until about 1750 or so. If you speak one language it is very easy to learn the other, but they are not mutually intellligible in about 50% of sentences, due to some word which are different, and much more idioms etc. Both languages will be as good as dead in about 30 years I reckon, something that's a crying shame as they're older than most spoken languages in Europe. golaoi@gmail.com schrieb: > Correct, but Irish people seldom use the word Gaelic, unless they are > dismissive of the language. They call it Irish. When Irish people speak about Gaelic they mean a form of football played in Ireland (and a few other places with Irish immigrant populations). Regards, Einde O'Callaghan >Correct, but Irish people seldom use the word Gaelic, >unless they are dismissive of the language. The word may not be used of the language, but it is used heavily in reference to sport: Gaelic Athletic Association, Gaelic Football, Gaelic Games, etc. >They call it Irish. Linguists call it Irish >Gaelic as it and Scots Gaelic come from middle Irish. They had the same [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >30 years I reckon, something that's a crying shame as they're older >than most spoken languages in Europe. SignaturePeter Duncanson UK (posting from u.c.l.e) I agree. Gaeilic here means Gaelic football. Wasn't thinking about sport. I absolutely detest Irish people calling the language Gaelic, because it is done with contempt. |
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