Re: Irish Gaelic is evil!

(After throwing away my own explaination after two excellent ones popped
up.)

Thomas Leigh wrote:

> Oooh, a Gaelic argument! :-)
>
> Sgrìobh Stephen:
>
>> First: "Gaelic" or "Scots Gaelic" (pronounced ["galIk]) is the
>> name of the Goidelic language of Scotland. In Ireland we call
>> our Goidelic language "Irish", not "Gaelic" or "Irish Gaelic".
>> The word "Gaelic" is still used (e.g. in the name of the Gaelic
>> Athletic Association), but it's then pronounced ["gajlIk]).
Interjection. Where I'm from (Sligo), "Gaelic" is ['ge:lIk] (yup, that's
an [e:] not an [E:]). I know on the east coast, the long vowel is a
diphthong ['gejlIk], but I've never heard it pronounce as ['gajlIk].

> There is a widespread misconception –- not that Stephen is guilty of
> this, but his message leans somewhat in this direction -- that
> /g&lIk/ is the language of Scotland and /gEjlIk/ is the language of
> Ireland, in other words that /g&lIk/ and /gEjlIk/ are two separate
> things.
Here here! Indeed they're not, and I question classifying them as
seperate languages too. Whatever divergences there might have been
after Middle Irish, they were never great enough to render them mutually
unintelligible. I reckon that had the classical language managed to
survive, people wouldn't ever think of regarding them as seperate.
Especially as there's as much variation between the southern dialects
here and the northern ones as there is between Caighdeán Oifigiúil and
that of Scotland.

Now, if only we could get the Scots to spell properly... :-)

> However, all of these distinctions
> are made only in English. When speaking Gaelic of any variety, it is
> always “Gaelic”: Irish “Gaeilge”, Scottish “Gàidhlig”, Manx “Gaelg”.
> It’s those darn English speaking folk that like to keep “Irish” stuff
> distinct from “Scottish” stuff; once you switch into Gaelic, though,
> it’s all about the cultural unity! ;-)
<various grumblings about the bloody sasanach>

K.

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