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Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic (Scottish Gaelic: Gàidhlig Chanada, A' Ghàidhlig Chanadach or Gàidhlig Cheap Bhreatainn), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada.
Outside of Scotland, a dialect known as Canadian Gaelic has been spoken in Canada since the 18th century. In the 2021 census, 2,170 Canadian residents claimed knowledge of Scottish Gaelic, a decline from 3,980 speakers in the 2016 census.
In Canada, according to the 2016 census, Scottish Gaelic is a mother tongue, or the language spoken most often at home for 1,545 people . Scottish Gaelic is classified as an indigenous language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which has been ratified by the UK government.
According to the 2006 census about 900 Nova Scotians are fluent in Gaelic languages (the census does not distinguish between Scottish Gaelic/Canadian Gaelic and Irish Gaelic), and about 6,015 in all of Canada.
At one time, it was believed that Gaelic was the third most spoken language in Canada after English and French. Nowadays, there’s still a community of around 2,000 Gaelic speakers in Nova Scotia and the province has its own Oifis Iomairtean na Gàidhlig, or Office of Gaelic Affairs.
Canadian Gaelic is a French- and First Nations- influenced dialect of Scottish Gaelic that has been spoken continuously for more than two centuries on Cape Breton Island and in isolated enclaves of the Nova Scotia mainland. The language is also spoken to a lesser extent on Prince Edward Island.
Apr 23, 2024 · Scots Gaelic language, a member of the Goidelic group of Celtic languages, spoken along the northwest coast of Scotland and in the Hebrides islands. Australia, the United States, and Canada (particularly Nova Scotia) are also home to Scots Gaelic communities.
