What is the modern Celtic language? The Celts are ancient tribes named after the ancient Greeks. The Romans called the Celts Gauls. About three thousand years ago, this people settled almost throughout the territory of modern Europe. It was their culture that gave rise to such characters as Tristan and Isolde, the wizard Merlin, the knights Percival and Lancelot. The people of the Celts could not create their own state. However, they have reached great heights in culture.
Origin of language
Celtic belongs to a huge group of Indo-European languages. It is believed that its ancestor is Proto-Celtic. Scientists do not know for certain the moment when the Proto-Celtic dialect branched off from the common Indo-European tree. The Celtic languages are similar to both Scandinavian and Germanic and Italic languages.
The first mention of this nation in the territory of modern Great Britain dates back to 800 BC. e. From this moment begins the so-called era of the Celts in the UK.
Already in the 1st millennium BC, various dialects of Celtic were spread throughout Europe. These areas include France,Great Britain, part of Germany, Ireland, Spain. Over time, the zone of Celtic languages begins to shrink significantly. Many of his dialects have died out. Forever disappeared such dialects as Manx, Celtiberian, Cornish, Lepontian. Today there is no such thing as a living Celtic language. Several modern languages belong to this group. These are Gaelic, Irish, Welsh and Breton.
Cultural achievements of the Celtic tribes
The Celts were quite skilled and skillful for their time. For example, on the territory of modern Switzerland, archaeologists found a horse harness designed by the Celts. The book of the German researcher Helmut Birkahn speaks of a unique invention of the Celts at that time - a carpentry machine. In addition, the Celtic tribes were the first to lay s alt mines, and also managed to extract iron from iron ore. And with this they put an end to the Bronze Age throughout Europe. Their horse carts were among the finest in Europe. The Celts were the only tribes who knew how to make seamless glass bracelets.
Language in the Kingdom of Scotland
Celtic Scots is called Gaelic. Scottish Gaelic is spoken by a very small group of the population - only about 2 thousand people. Outside the Kingdom of Scotland, it is distributed in two regions: Cape Breton Island and Nova Scotia in Canada. Under no circumstances should Gaelic Scots be confused with English Scots.
Welsh and Breton
Welsh has also survived to this day. About 650 thousand inhabitants of Wales communicate on it, as well as in other parts of the world. For example, this is Canada, the USA, Australia, where its carriers meet. At the beginning of the twentieth century. for about half of the inhabitants of Wales, Welsh was the language of everyday communication. Then the number of its speakers began to decline.
Another Celtic language is Breton. About 360 thousand people communicate on it. Basically, this language is spoken on the territory of Brittany - the northwestern French region. Here the Breton language can be heard on the radio stations. However, this does not happen so often: only a few hours a week. There are also several printed editions in Breton. The Breton language has a very strong relationship with Welsh. However, it cannot be argued that these languages are mutually intelligible. The Breton language borrows a large amount of vocabulary from Latin, French and Gaulish languages that have not survived.
Gaelic in Ireland
Along with English, Celtic (Gaelic) is the official language of Ireland. From the language that was brought here by overseas conquerors, it turned into a dialect of the indigenous people. For a long time Gaelic was the main language of communication in Ireland. But a series of historical events led to his overthrow. Since 1922, the Irish government has been doing everything possible to promote the revival of the Gaelic Irish language. Gaelic has recently become a compulsory subject in public schools, andalso used in official business and road signs.
Celtic: State of the Art
To date, living Celtic languages are losing their prestigious status. Of all these, only Irish is the state language. But only a very small percentage of the population speaks it. Spontaneous Irish speech can be heard very rarely. The situation is little better in Wales, where the Welsh language teaching system is in good shape.
It should be noted that Celtic words can be found in modern English. For example, these are the words whiskey, plaid, slogan. It is believed that the word "Britain" itself comes from the Celtic brith, which means "painted". In the annals, there are references to the fact that the Celts, before going hunting, painted their faces and bodies with bright colors.
