ARE THEY THE SAME?¿

[scottishlover4eva]

My name is Toni I'm 15 and i plan on moving to Scotland when I'm old enough!!! But... I want to learn how to speak Gaelic. And theres Irish-Gaelic and Scottish-Gaelic, but since I'm kinda slow I don't know the differce between them. And if i learn to speak Irish-Gaelic will Scottish-Gaelic know what I'm saying, and are they the same?¿ well... buh byez, Toni

[aNonnyMoose]

The short answer is no, they're not the same, though they share the same roots. They're about as similar as Scots Lallans is to American - some crossovers but not a lot, but if you take your time then one can understand the other.

D'yi ken whit eh mean hen?

[bd7447]

If your decision to learn Gaelic is purely a precurser to moving to, or visiting, Scotland then my advice to you is.... Don't bother. There would be absolutely no occasion that I can think of that you would need to be able to speak it in Scotland.

However, if you'd like to do it for the fun of it, then you'll find many many Scots only too willing to practice with you.

By the way... Ignore those who post phonetically as if they were speaking a foreign language. They are as far removed from Gaelic as you are.

[ANDY-J2]

On the contrary take note of those who post phonetically because that is the way that 4.8 million Scots converse in everyday life and it is that,not Gaelic,that you will encounter if you ever come to Scotland.

[Steaphan]

Hi Toni, I would take no notice of the last 3 replies to your message, as these people have displayed their ignorance about Gaelic and it's place in Scotland on numerous occasions.
I would say good luck with your learning of Scotland's beautiful language, and there are places you can go to hear it spoken- despite what they say. You'll need to search it out though, even in the areas where the majority are Gaelic-speaking such as the Western Isles, people have become so timid of negative reactions from relatively recent incomers to their islands who take their monoglot-English ignorance with them from the cities, that they won't speak it unless they know you. But of course the majority will be only too willing but they'll be older.
Many young people can also speak Gaelic in Skye, the Western Isles etc, but they don't tend to use it much outside school or the home. Some bigoted Anglo-scots, and English people will even intimidate or disparage young people for speaking their language, and this is shameful as mostly these will be older adults who should know better, but who wouldn't dare to target an older person they hear speaking Gaelic so they concentrate on intimidating the young.
Thankfully this type of behaviour, usually based on ignorance, is becoming rarer, and most people are supportive. Unfortunately the minority are quite vocal and can sometimes make their voices heard above the majority..such as on this website!

Well, anyway, good luck and enjoy the new experiences that the culture brings!

[scottishlover4eva]

Thanks, and no matter would anyone had said I would still try to learn the language becuz its fun to learn new things expecially from another country. ttyl