Languages of Scotland


The languages of Scotland are the languages spoken or once spoken in Scotland. The numerous languages spoken in Scotland during its recorded linguistic history fall into either the Germanic or Celtic language families. The classification of the Pictish language was once controversial but it is now generally considered a Celtic language. Today, the primary languages spoken in Scotland are English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic. The dialect of English spoken in Scotland is referred to as Scottish English.

Read more about Languages Of Scotland:  Celtic Languages, Germanic Languages, Norman French, Ancient Greek and Latin, Sign Languages, Overview and Statistics, Other

Famous quotes containing the words languages and/or scotland:

    “No doubt, to a man of sense, travel offers advantages. As many languages as he has, as many friends, as many arts and trades, so many times is he a man. A foreign country is a point of comparison, wherefrom to judge his own.”
    —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    “Four and twenty at her back
    And they were a’ clad out in green;
    Tho the King of Scotland had been there
    The warst o’ them might hae been his Queen.

    On we lap and awa we rade
    Till we cam to yon bonny ha’
    Whare the roof was o’ the beaten gold
    And the floor was o’ the cristal a’.”
    —Unknown. The Wee Wee Man (l. 21–28)