A Word to the Wise
Gaelic vs. Celtic
Irish. Gaelic. Celtic. What’s the difference?
And do you pronounce Celtic with a hard or soft C?
Celtic refers to the Celtic people, a group of Indo-Europeans that spoke some early version of the Celtic language (proto-Celtic) and shared similar cultural practices. They wandered around Europe for more than 1000 years before settling in what is now Ireland and northern England (Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall), the Isle of Mann, and Brittany at or about 400 AD.
Gaelic refers to the Irish language (spelled “Gaelige” in Irish), which is one of several Celtic languages. People have been speaking Gaelic in and around Ireland for 1500 years, but its use has diminished greatly in the past century. Today, there are about 75,000 Irish people that speak it daily, and another 1.5 million learning it as a second language.
So… Celtic refers to both a language family and an ethnic group. Gaelic is the Irish name for the Celtic language that is spoken (by a few) in Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. And Celtic can be pronounced with a hard or a soft C.