The Celtic languages are a subfamily of the Indo-European language family. These languages are geographically and historically, divided into two sub-groups: a Continental group (now extinct) and an Insular group. The Insular languages fall into two groups: the Brythonic (or British), including Breton, Cornish, and Welsh; and the Gaelic (or Goidelic), including Irish, Scottish Gaelic (or Erse), and Manx.The characteristic of Celtic languages that most distinguishes them from other Indo-European linguistic groups is their loss of the original Indo-European sound p. Their rules of pronunciation are extremely complicated, as the spelling generally does not correspond to the pronunciation.
Breton, Cornish, and Welsh
The Breton language is spoken today in various dialects in Brittany; most Breton speakers also speak French. Once the language of Cornwall, Cornish survives only in a few proper names and certain words in the English dialect spoken in Cornwall. Welsh is the most flourishing of the Celtic languages. It is spoken in Wales (where the majority of its users also speak English) and in some communities in the United States and Argentina.
Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx
Irish, or Irish Gaelic, is the oldest of the Goidelic group of Celtic languages. It is spoken chiefly in the western and southwestern parts of the Republic of Ireland, where it is an official language, and in Northern Ireland. A form of Gaelic was brought to Scotland by Irish invaders about the 5th century, where it replaced an older Brythonic language. By the 15th century, with the inclusion of Norse and English loanwords, the Scottish branch differed significantly enough from the Irish to warrant the definition as a separate language. Scottish Gaelic also has a few thousand speakers in Nova Scotia. Manx, the language of the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea is classified as a dialect of Scottish Gaelic, with strong Norse influence. It began to decline in the 19th century, and in the early 20th century it became virtually extinct.
Please click here for a comparison of the languages in the Celtic days and months.
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