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Re: Celtic, semitic, etc.

From:John Cowan <cowan@...>
Date:Friday, April 28, 2000, 18:57
Raymond Brown scripsit:

> Oh - but Wiccan is of Germanic origin, surely. Ireland was anciently the > land of Saints & Scholars. And the modern Irish tend to be over-zealous > about their form of Christianity - either 'more Catholic than the Pope' or, > donning bowler hats [darbies, I believed they're called in the US - the > things Laurel & Hardy wore] during the "Marching Season" (which begins on > Easter Monday), assert their Protestantism in all its 'purity'. Perhaps > these Wiccans should actually settle in Ireland, it might give the native > Irish something to unite about at last :)
Ack, what a dreadful thought.
> Does Gaelic still survive in Nova > Scotia? I hope so.
It does, but hard statistics are hard to come by -- which suggests to me that they are not encouraging. It is taught as a subject in N.S. schools, and there is a radio program. The clearest statement I have found is "less than 1000". Oddly, the Ethnologue does not list it as a language of Canada at all, although the U.K. entry says "Also in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, Canada; and New South Wales, Australia."
> I know Galicia is often added, tho I've never really understood why. > Galician is well & truly a Romance language and AFAIK there's no tangible > 'Celtic' survival there?
The pipes, the kilt, and all that. -- John Cowan cowan@ccil.org I am a member of a civilization. --David Brin