Gaelic type
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (November 2016) ) |
Gaelic script | |
---|---|
Script type | |
Time period | 1571 – |
Direction | Left-to-right |
Languages | Irish, Scottish Gaelic |
Related scripts | |
Parent systems | Latin script
|
ISO 15924 | |
ISO 15924 | Latg (216), Latin (Gaelic variant) |
Gaelic type (sometimes called Irish character, Irish type, or Gaelic script) is a family of
The terms Gaelic type, Gaelic script and Irish character translate the Irish phrase cló Gaelach (pronounced [ˌkl̪ˠoː ˈɡeːl̪ˠəx]). In Ireland, the term cló Gaelach is used in opposition to the term cló Rómhánach, Roman type.
The Scottish Gaelic term is corra-litir (pronounced [ˌkʰɔrˠə ˈliʰtʲɪɾʲ]). Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair (c. 1698–1770) was one of the last Scottish writers with the ability to write in this script,[1] but his main work, Ais-Eiridh na Sean Chánoin Albannaich, was published in the Roman script.
Characteristics
Besides the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, Gaelic typefaces must include all vowels with
Gaelic typefaces also often include insular forms: ⟨ꞃ ꞅ⟩ of the letters ⟨r⟩ and ⟨s⟩, and some of the typefaces contain a number of
Many modern Gaelic typefaces include Gaelic letterforms for the letters ⟨j k q v w x y z⟩, and typically provide support for at least the vowels of the other
Origin
The Irish uncial alphabet originated in medieval manuscripts as an "insular" variant of the Latin alphabet. The first Gaelic typeface was designed in 1571 for a catechism commissioned by Elizabeth I to help attempt to convert the Irish Catholic population to Anglicanism.[citation needed]
Use
Typesetting in Gaelic script remained common in Ireland until the mid-20th century. Gaelic script is today used merely for decorative typesetting; for example, a number of traditional Irish newspapers still print their name in Gaelic script on the first page, and it is also popular for pub signs, greeting cards, and display advertising. Edward Lhuyd's grammar of the Cornish language used Gaelic-script consonants to indicate sounds like [ð] and [θ].
In 1996
The GAA logo uses the script to incorporate both the English language GAA acronym and the Irish language CLG acronym (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael). The logo more strongly shows the more widely used acronym GAA but taking a closer look a C joins with an L and then to a G lying down.
In Unicode
According to Michael Everson, in the 2006 Unicode proposal for these characters:[2]
To write text in an ordinary Gaelic font, only ASCII letters should be used, the font making all the relevant substitutions; the insular letters [proposed here] are for use only by specialists who require them for particular purposes.
Unicode 5.1 (2008) added a capital G (Ᵹ) and both capital and lowercase letters D, F, R, S, T, besides "turned insular G", on the basis that Edward Lhuyd used these letters in his 1707 work Archæologia Britannica as a scientific orthography for Cornish.
- Ꝺ ꝺ Insular D (U+A779, U+A77A)
- ◌ᷘ Combining Small Insular D (U+1DD8) (Used for Old Norse)[3]
- Ꝼ ꝼ Insular F (U+A77B, U+A77C)
- Ᵹ ᵹ Insular G (U+A77D, U+1D79)
- Ꝿ ꝿ Turned insular G (U+A77E, U+A77F)
- Ꞃ ꞃ Insular R (U+A782, U+A783)
- Ꞅ ꞅ Insular S (U+A784, U+A785)
- Ꞇ ꞇ Insular T (U+A786, U+A787)
Unicode 14.0 (2021) added characters, including Insular letters, for the Ormulum:[4]
- Ꟑ ꟑ Closed Insular G (U+A7D0, U+A7D1)
- ◌ᫌ Combining Insular G (U+1ACC)
- ◌ᫍ Combining Insular R (U+1ACD)
- ◌ᫎ Combining Insular T (U+1ACE)
Samples
Chuaigh bé mhórshách le dlúthspád fíorfhinn trí hata mo dhea-phorcáin bhig,
Ċuaiġ bé ṁórṡáċ le dlúṫspád fíorḟinn trí hata mo ḋea-ṗorcáin ḃig,
meaning "A maiden of great appetite with an intensely white, dense spade went through my good little porker’s hat".
The second sentence (bottom line) reads:
Duibhlinn/Ceanannas an cló a úsáidtear anseo,
meaning "Duibhlinn/Ceannanas is the font used here".
The second sentence uses the short forms of the letters r and s; the first uses the long forms. See: Long s and R rotunda.
Gallery
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Gaelic script used on an information plaque outside City Hall, near Dublin Castle.
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Gaelic script on the gates of the Pontifical Irish College in Rome.
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Gaelic script on a gravestone in County Kerry.
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Gaelic script on an Irish national monument.
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Old road sign, reading Áth na gCasán
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Stencilled Gaelic type
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Poem
See also
- Blackletter
- Fraktur
- Irish orthography
- ISO/IEC 8859-14
- Theobald Stapleton (who devised an Antiqua orthography for Irish in 1639)
References
- ^ Quinnell, Teàrlach (8 July 2009). "Moladh air deagh bhàrd..." Naidheachdan (in Scottish Gaelic). BBC Alba. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ^ Everson, Michael (6 August 2006). "N3122: Proposal to add Latin letters and a Greek symbol to the UCS" (PDF). ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
- ^ "N3027: Proposal to add medievalist characters to the UCS" (PDF). ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2. 30 January 2006.
- ^ Everson, Michael; West, Andrew (5 October 2020). "L2/20-268 Revised proposal to add ten characters for Middle English to the UCS" (PDF). Retrieved 19 September 2022.
Sources
- Lynam, E. W. 1969. The Irish character in print: 1571–1923. New York: Barnes & Noble. First printed as Oxford University Press offprint 1924 in Transactions of the Bibliographical Society, 4th Series, Vol. IV, No. 4, March 1924.)
- McGuinne, Dermot. Irish type design: A history of printing types in the Irish character. Blackrock: Irish Academic Press. ISBN 0-7165-2463-5
External links
- Brendan Leen's Four centuries of printing in the Irish character, Cregan Library, St Patrick's College, Drumcondra
- Vincent Morley's An Cló Gaelach (in Irish)
- Mícheál Ó Searcóid's The Irish Alphabet, an article on the origin, history and present-day usage of the Irish typeface, 1990
- Mathew D. Staunton's Trojan Horses and Friendly Faces: Irish Gaelic Typography as Propaganda. La revue LISA. ISSN 1762-6153. Vol. III; n°1. 2005.
- Bunchló GC (in Irish), a Gaelic modern minuscule font in Unicode for non-commercial use.
- Glanchló GC (in Irish), a Gaelic type font in Unicode for non-commercial use.
- Gadelica, a Gaelic traditional minuscule font in Unicode.
- More information about Gaelic fonts