Gaelic

Scottish Gaelic is spoken by about 60,000 people in Scotland (Alba), mainly in the Highlands and in the Western Isles (Na h-Eileanan an Iar), but also in Glasgow (Glaschu), Edinburgh and Inverness. There are also small Gaelic-speaking communities in Canada, particularly in Nova Scotia (Alba Nuadh) and on Cape Breton Island . Other speakers can be found in Australia , New Zealand and the USA .

Scottish Gaelic is closely related to manx and irish and was brought to Scotland around the 4th century AD by the Scots from Ireland. Scottish Gaelic was spoken throughout Scotland (apart from small areas in the extreme south-east and north-east) between the 9th and 11th centuries, but began to retreat north and westwards from the 11th century onwards.