Celtic nations
The Celtic nations or Celtic countries[1] are a cultural area and collection of geographical regions in Northwestern Europe where the Celtic languages and cultural traits have survived.[2][failed verification] The term nation is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common identity and culture and are identified with a traditional territory.[according to whom?]
The six regions widely considered Celtic countries in modern times are Brittany (Breizh), Cornwall (Kernow), Ireland (Éire), the Isle of Man (Mannin, or Ellan Vannin), Scotland (Alba), and Wales (Cymru).[1][3] In each of these six regions a Celtic language is spoken to some extent: Brittonic or Brythonic languages are spoken in Brittany (Breton), Cornwall (Cornish), and Wales (Welsh), whilst Goidelic or Gaelic languages are spoken in Scotland (Scottish Gaelic), Ireland (Irish), and the Isle of Man (Manx).[4]
Before the expansions of
The concept of the Celtic nations is widely promoted by
Six recognized nations
Each of the six nations has its own Celtic language. In Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales these have been spoken continuously through time, while Cornwall and the Isle of Man have languages that were spoken into modern times but later died as spoken community languages.[9][10] In the latter two regions, however, language revitalisation movements have led to the adoption of these languages by adults and produced a number of native speakers.[11]
Ireland, Wales, Brittany and Scotland contain areas where a Celtic language is used on a daily basis; in Ireland these areas are called the Gaeltacht; in Wales Y Fro Gymraeg, Breizh-Izel (Lower Brittany) in western Brittany and Breizh-Uhel (Upper Brittany) in eastern Brittany.[12] Generally these communities are in the west of their countries and in more isolated upland or island areas. Welsh, however, is much more widespread, with much of the north and west speaking it as a first language, or equally alongside English. Public signage is in dual languages throughout Wales and it is now a requirement to possess at least basic Welsh in order to be employed by the Welsh Government. The term Gàidhealtachd historically distinguished the Gaelic-speaking areas of Scotland (the Highlands and islands) from the Lowland Scots (i.e. Anglo-Saxon-speaking) areas. More recently, this term has also been adopted as the Gaelic name of the Highland council area, which includes non-Gaelic speaking areas. Hence, more specific terms such as sgìre Ghàidhlig ("Gaelic-speaking area") are now used.[citation needed]
In Wales, the
Other regions
Parts of the northern Iberian Peninsula, namely Galicia, Cantabria, and Asturias in Spain, and North Region, Portugal, also lay claim to this heritage.[6] Musicians from Galicia and Asturias have participated in Celtic music festivals, such as the Ortigueira's Festival of Celtic World in the village of Ortigueira, and the Breton Festival Interceltique de Lorient, which in 2013 celebrated the Year of Asturias, and in 2019 celebrated the Year of Galicia.[15] Northern Portugal, part of ancient Gallaecia (Galicia, Minho, Douro and Trás-os-Montes), also has traditions quite similar to Galicia.[6] However, no Celtic language has been spoken in northern Iberia since probably the Early Middle Ages.[16]
Irish was once widely spoken on the island of Newfoundland, but had largely disappeared there by the early 20th century. Vestiges remain in some words found in Newfoundland English, such as scrob for "scratch", and sleveen for "rascal"[17] There are virtually no known fluent speakers of Irish Gaelic in Newfoundland or Labrador today. Knowledge seems to be largely restricted to memorized passages, such as traditional tales and songs.[17]
Canadian Gaelic dialects of Scottish Gaelic are still spoken by Gaels in other parts of Atlantic Canada, primarily on Cape Breton Island and adjacent areas of Nova Scotia. In 2011, there were 1,275 Gaelic speakers in Nova Scotia,[18] and 300 residents of the province considered a Gaelic language to be their "mother tongue".[19]
Patagonian Welsh is spoken principally in Y Wladfa in the Chubut Province of Patagonia, with sporadic speakers elsewhere in Argentina. Estimates of the number of Welsh speakers range from 1,500[20] to 5,000.[21]
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages form a branch of the greater
Taken together, there were roughly one million native speakers of Celtic languages as of the 2000s.[citation needed] In 2010, there were more than 1.4 million speakers of Celtic languages.[23]
Celtic identity
Formal cooperation between the Celtic nations is active in many contexts, including politics, languages, culture, music and sports:
The
Established in 1917, the Celtic Congress is a non-political organisation that seeks to promote Celtic culture and languages and to maintain intellectual contact and close cooperation between Celtic peoples.[25]
Festivals celebrating the culture of the Celtic nations include the Festival Interceltique de Lorient (Brittany), the Pan Celtic Festival (Ireland), CeltFest Cuba (Havana, Cuba), the National Celtic Festival (Portarlington, Australia), the Celtic Media Festival (showcasing film and television from the Celtic nations), and the Eisteddfod (Wales).[8][26][27][28]
Inter-Celtic music festivals include Celtic Connections (Glasgow), and the Hebridean Celtic Festival (Stornoway).[29][30] Due to immigration, a dialect of Scottish Gaelic (Canadian Gaelic) is spoken by some on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, while a Welsh-speaking minority exists in the Chubut Province of Argentina. Hence, for certain purposes—such as the Festival Interceltique de Lorient—Gallaecia, Asturias, and Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia are considered three of the nine Celtic nations.[8]
Competitions are held between the Celtic nations in sports such as
The Republic of Ireland enjoyed a period of rapid economic growth between 1995 and 2007, leading to the use of the phrase Celtic Tiger to describe the country.[33][34] Aspirations for Scotland to achieve a similar economic performance to that of Ireland led the Scotland First Minister Alex Salmond to set out his vision of a Celtic Lion economy for Scotland, in 2007.[35]
Genetic studies
A Y-DNA study by an Oxford University research team in 2006 claimed that the majority of Britons, including many of the English, are descended from a group of tribes which arrived from Iberia around 5000 BC, before the spread of Celtic culture into western Europe. However, three major later genetic studies have largely invalidated these claims, instead showing that
In 2015 a genetic study of the United Kingdom showed that there is no unified 'Celtic' genetic identity compared to 'non-Celtic' areas. The 'Celtic' areas of the United Kingdom (Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Cornwall) show the most genetic differences among each other.[40] The data shows that Scottish and Cornish populations share greater genetic similarity with the English than they do with other 'Celtic' populations, with the Cornish in particular being genetically much closer to other English groups than they are to the Welsh or the Scots.[41]
Terminology
The term Celtic nations derives from the
These areas of Europe are sometimes referred to as the "Celt belt" or "Celtic fringe" because of their location generally on the western edges of the continent, and of the states they inhabit (e.g. Brittany is in the northwest of France, Cornwall is in the south west of Great Britain, Wales in western Great Britain and the Gaelic-speaking parts of Ireland and Scotland are in the west of those countries).[44][45] Additionally, this region is known as the "Celtic Crescent" because of the near crescent shaped position of the nations in Europe.[46]
Endonyms and Celtic exonyms
The Celtic names for each nation in each language illustrate some of the similarity between the languages. Despite differences in orthography, there are many sound and lexical correspondences between the
English | Breton (Brezhoneg) |
Irish[47] (Gaeilge) |
Scottish Gaelic[48] (Gàidhlig) |
Welsh (Cymraeg) |
Manx (Gaelg) |
Cornish[49] (Kernowek) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brittany | Breizh [bʁɛjs, bʁɛχ] |
an Bhriotáin [ənˠ ˈvʲɾʲit̪ˠaːnʲ] |
a' Bhreatainn Bheag [ə ˈvɾʲɛht̪əɲ ˈvek] |
Llydaw [ˈɬədau] |
yn Vritaan | Breten Vian |
Cornwall | Kernev-Veur [ˈkɛʁnev ˈvøːr] |
Corn na Breataine [ˈkoːɾˠn̪ˠ n̪ˠə ˈbʲɾʲat̪ˠənʲə] |
a' Chòrn [ə ˈxoːrˠn̪ˠ] |
Cernyw [ˈkɛrnɨu] |
yn Chorn | Kernow |
Ireland | Iwerzhon [iˈwɛʁzɔ̃n] |
Éire [ˈeːɾʲə] |
Èirinn [ˈeːɾʲɪɲ] |
Iwerddon [iˈwɛrðɔn] |
Nerin | Wordhen Iwerdhon |
Mann Isle of Man |
Manav [mɑ̃ˈnaw] Enez-Vanav [ˈẽːnes vɑ̃ˈnaw] |
Manainn [ˈmˠanˠən̠ʲ] Oileán Mhanann [ˈɛlʲaːn̪ˠ ˈwanˠən̪ˠ] |
Manainn [ˈmanɪɲ] Eilean Mhanainn [ˈelan ˈvanɪɲ] |
Manaw [ˈmanau] Ynys Manaw [ˈənɨs ˈmanau] |
Mannin [ˈmanʲɪn] Ellan Vannin [ˈɛlʲan ˈvanɪnʲ] |
Manow Enys Vanow |
Scotland | Bro-Skos [bʁo ˈskos] Skos [skos] |
Albain [ˈalˠəbˠənʲ] |
Alba [ˈal̪ˠapə] |
yr Alban [ər ˈalban] |
Nalbin [ˈnalbənʲ] |
Alban |
Wales | Kembre [ˈkɛ̃mbʁe] |
an Bhreatain Bheag [ənˠ ˈvʲɾʲat̪ˠənʲ ˈvʲaɡ] |
a' Chuimrigh [ə ˈxɯmɯɾɪ] |
Cymru [ˈkəmrɨ] |
Bretin | Kembra |
Celtic nations | broioù keltiek [ˈbʁoju ˈkɛltjɛk] |
náisiúin Cheilteacha [ˈn̪ˠaːʃuːnʲ ˈçɛlʲtʲəxə] |
nàiseanan Ceilteach [ˈn̪ˠaːʃanən ˈkʲʰeltʲəx] |
gwledydd Celtaidd [ɡʊˈlɛið ˈkɛltaið] |
ashoonyn Celtiagh | broyow keltek |
Celtic languages | yezhoù keltiek [ˈjeːsu ˈkɛltjɛk] |
teangacha Ceilteacha [ˈtʲaŋɡəxə ˈcɛlʲtʲəxə] |
cànanain Cheilteach [ˈkʰaːnanɪɲ ˈçeltʲəx] |
ieithoedd Celtaidd [ˈjɛiθɔɨð ˈkɛltaið] |
çhengaghyn Celtiagh | yethow keltek |
Great Britain | Breizh-Veur [ˈbʁɛjs ˈvøːʁ] |
an Bhreatain Mhór [ənˠ ˈvʲɾʲat̪ˠənʲ ˈwoːɾˠ] |
Breatainn Mhòr [ə ˈvɾʲɛht̪əɲ ˈvoːɾ] |
Prydain Fawr [ˈpr̥ədaɨn ˈvaur] |
Bretin Vooar | Breten Veur |
Territories of the ancient Celts
Iberian Peninsula
Modern-day
England
Movements of population between different parts of Great Britain over the last two centuries, with industrial development and changes in living patterns such as the growth of
Formerly Gaulish regions
Most French people identify with the ancient Gauls and are well aware that they were a people that spoke Celtic languages and lived Celtic ways of life.[53]
Walloons occasionally characterise themselves as "Celts", mainly in opposition to the "Teutonic" Flemish and "Latin" French identities.[54] Others think they are Belgian, that is to say Germano-Celtic people different from the Gaulish-Celtic French.[54]
Italian Peninsula
The Canegrate culture (13th century BC) may represent the first migratory wave of the proto-Celtic
Italy is home to the Lepontic, the oldest attested Celtic language (from the 6th century BC).[59] Anciently spoken in Switzerland and in Northern-Central Italy, from the Alps to Umbria.[60][61][62][63] According to the Recueil des Inscriptions Gauloises, more than 760 Gaulish inscriptions have been found throughout present-day France—with the notable exception of Aquitaine—and in Italy.[64][65]
The French- and
The Northern League autonomist party often exalts what it claims are the Celtic roots of all Northern Italy or Padania.[67]Central and Eastern European regions
Celtic tribes inhabited land in what is now southern Germany and Austria.[68] Many scholars have associated the earliest Celtic peoples with the
Celtic diaspora
In the years between 1815, when vast industrial changes began to disrupt the old life-styles in Europe, and Canadian Confederation in 1867, when immigration of that era passed its peak, more than 150,000 immigrants from Ireland flooded into
After the partitioning of the British colony of Nova Scotia in 1784 New Brunswick was originally named New Ireland with the capital to be in Saint John.[77]
In New Zealand, the southern regions of
See also
- Anglo-Celtic
- Breton nationalism
- Celt
- Celtic Christianity
- Celtic Revival
- Celtic art
- Celtic fusion
- Celtic mythology
- Galician nationalism
- Germanic languages
- Irish nationalism
- Pan-Celticism
- Norse-Gaelic
- Romance-speaking Europe
- Scottish national identity
- Slavic Europe
- Welsh nationalism
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Bibliography
- Koch, John (2006). Celtic Culture : A Historical Encyclopedia. ABL-CIO. p. 2128. ISBN 978-1-85109-440-0. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
Further reading
- O'Neill, Tom (March 2006). "The Celtic Realm". National Geographic. Archived from the originalon 18 December 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
External links
- Celtic nations at Curlie
- Celtic League