Re: Gaelic or what?

Michael Adams wrote:
> I used lingo, cause it is easier to type on the key board versus
> language, which you have to use the whole keyboard to type it
> in..
Yes, 'language' is a bit of a handful to type. The normal abbreviation
on the Conlang list is simply 'lang'. Whether that is current on other
lists, I do not know.

> And it is possibly a natural outgrowth of latins Lingua?
It is thought to be derived from an Occitan form such as 'lengo' or
'lingo'. The Latin final -a became -o in (most) Occitan dialects. But it
entered English as slang and, on this side of the Pond, still retains
meanings: a language, despised or not understood; a trade jargon.

> Irish, but isn't it one of several languages called collectively
> Gaelic? To include Scot Gaelic, Manx, and New Foundland Irish..
Yes, they are all more closely related than, say, the Romance langs are,
even tho Manx disguises it with a different spelling system. Gaelic is a
convenient term to describe them generally, hence, if it is not clear
from context that one is specifically talking about the Scots variety,
it is useful to be explicit and say Scots Gaelic. But Irish & Manx are
normally know as, simply, Irish & Manx   :)

[snip]

> Erse, Ireland, Eire and like all come from, or so the story goes
> back when the Irish (Miliesians or ..) came to Ireland, and made
> some pact with a goddes and her sisters.  There was three
> goddesses, and I forget all three of their names..
Myth.

The word 'Erse' was a Scots Lowland dialect variant of the English word
'Irish'. The Protestant Lowlanders applied it to the people and language
of the western Highlands and Isles of _Scotland_, with the implication
that these people were not true Scots, but of Irish origin*. At the time
of the Jacobite rebellions, these people were Catholic just as the Irish
were. It was meant as a linguistic, religious and cultural insult.

It was taken up by the English as a term of term of insult, showing
their contempt for Highlanders.

In these more enlightened times the term is IMO best avoided.

*Yes, I know the Scot in Scotland, Scots etc is derived from the
_Scotti_ of Ireland who settled in the western Highlands in the 6th cent
- but, as I've observed before: "There's nowt as queer as folk."

--
Ray
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