Irish Gaelic
Emerald Isle language
Irish Gaelic is the Celtic language native to Ireland, one of the oldest written languages in Europe.
It's usually called simply Irish by its speakers and in official contexts—Gaelic alone more often refers to Scottish Gaelic.
Irish is a required subject in Irish schools and appears on road signs and government documents, though English dominates daily life.
She's learning Irish Gaelic to connect with her heritage.
Speech risking complete extinction
- native speakerOne who grew up speaking it
- heritage languageLanguage of one's ancestors
- immersion schoolSchool teaching only in target language
Three-leafed Irish emblem
- leprechaunMischievous Irish sprite
- Tuatha Dé DanannAncient Irish deity tribe
- SamhainCeltic harvest-end observance
- BeltaneCeltic spring fire festival
mythology · folklore · druid · bard · harp · bodhrán · saga · legend
Language's structural rules
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- phonologyScience of language sounds
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- dialectsRegional language variations
conjugation · declension · inflection · vocabulary · bilingualism · fluency · vernacular · etymology
Irish Atlantic coastal region
endangered language
Speech risking complete extinction
- native speakerOne who grew up speaking it
- heritage languageLanguage of one's ancestors
- immersion schoolSchool teaching only in target language
shamrock
Three-leafed Irish emblem
- leprechaunMischievous Irish sprite
- Tuatha Dé DanannAncient Irish deity tribe
- SamhainCeltic harvest-end observance
Beltane · mythology · folklore · druid · bard · harp · bodhrán · saga · legend · Tír na nÓg
grammar
Language's structural rules
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- phonologyScience of language sounds
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
dialects · conjugation · declension · inflection · vocabulary · bilingualism · fluency · vernacular · etymology · orthography
Connemara
Irish Atlantic coastal region
Gael
Celtic-speaking person
Welsh · Gaulish · Pictish · Indo-European · language family
- Indigenous LanguagesNavajo, Cherokee, Dakota, Lakota, Ojibwe
- Languages/DialectsMandarin, Cantonese, Levantine, Bavarian, Swiss German
- languagesEnglish, Arabic, Chinese, German, French
- Celtic CultureCelts, Celtic cross, Celtic knots, Celtic knot, Celtic music
- etymologyword origins, word history, word origin, etymon, root words
- Celticdruid, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Man
Irish GaelicEnglish
Britain's native tongue
Mandarin Chinese · Japanese · Arabic · Basque · Swahili
Irish GaelicEnglish
Britain's native tongue
British English · Mandarin Chinese · Spanish · Queen's English · Hindi
Irish, Ireland, Gaelic, Irishman, Irishwoman, Hibernian, Anglo-Irish, Irishness