Ellen wrote:
Repeatedly when I tell people here in NYC that I am studying Irish, they say, "You mean Gaelic?"
At the outset of my studies I read quite a bit on the terminology, and my understanding is that in Europe people generally use the term Irish for the language, and that Gaelic can be Irish or Scottish or Manx and is therefore ambiguous. Irish just seemed like the best choice all around, even though I am in the U.S.
My audience for my blog is global, but I do have far more readers in the U.S. than anywhere else. It seems it is rare enough in the U.S. to use Irish (although the Irish Arts Center here in NYC does, for its language classes, and they should know!) that I am wondering whether I should try something different, just for the sake of clarity.
I guess an alternative would be Irish Gaelic; I was happy with just Irish and would prefer to stick with that.
What do you think?
What it comes down to is there are three Gaelic (Goidelic) languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Techincally any or all of them can be called "Gaelic."
In reality, when speaking English, "Gaelic" by itself is used to refer to Scottish Gaelic. If you go to a bookstore and look for language books on any of these languages, the ones that only say "Gaelic" will be for Scottish Gaelic. Consequently, we kind of try to avoid using "Gaelic" by itself to refer to Irish unless the context is clearly understood.
As things stand now, "Irish" is the preferred term for An Ghaeilge in Ireland and among most Irish learners and speakers. That said "Gaelic" isn't "wrong," per se, and the term is actually used among many older people in Ireland.
I have never heard Manx referred to generically as "Gaelic." You could call it "Manx Gaelic," but most people just say "Manx," and there seems to be less confusion about it than with Irish and Scottish Gaelic...possibly because, in the U.S., not many people realize that "Manx" refers to anything other than tail-less cats!
In the U.S., people generally don't realize that there is such a thing as an Irish language. Consequently, those of us here who are learning or speak the language tend to use "Irish Gaelic" to make things crystal clear (and because we get tired of people asking us if we're learning to speak with an Irish accent!)
What it comes down to is that, technically, "Gaelic," "Irish," and "Irish Gaelic" are all perfectly correct. Which you use depends on your audience. I recommend avoiding using "Gaelic" by itself because of the confusion with Scottish Gaelic. You can either use "Irish" and be prepared to explain what you mean, or do what a lot of us do and compromise by using "Irish Gaelic."
Redwolf
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! Is that a source of employment or just a personal project? Can we have a link to your site?