Scots Gaelic Alphabet

The Scots Gaelic alphabet has 18 letters: 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 13 consonants (b, c, d, f, g, h, l, m, n, p, r, s, t). This makes it one of the smallest alphabets in Europe. The letters j, k, q, v, w, x, y, and z do not appear in traditional Scots Gaelic words, though they may appear in borrowed words and modern place names.

Lenition is a fundamental grammatical feature of Scots Gaelic where consonants are softened:

• It is indicated by adding an "h" after the consonant

• For example: "cat" (cat) becomes "mo chat" (my cat) with lenited "c" → "ch"

• Lenition occurs after certain words like possessive pronouns, feminine nouns after "an" (the), and in various grammatical contexts

• Nine consonants can be lenited: b, c, d, f, g, m, p, s, t

• Lenition changes the sound and sometimes the meaning of words!

The grave accent (stràc) indicates long vowel sounds:

• à sounds like "aw" in "saw"

• è sounds like "ay" in "day"

• ì sounds like "ee" in "see"

• ò sounds like "o" in "go"

• ù sounds like "oo" in "boot"

These accents are essential for proper pronunciation and meaning!

Scots Gaelic is spoken in several places:

• Scotland - where it's spoken by 57,375 people (1.1% of the population) ^[1]

• The Highlands and Islands - particularly the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides), Skye, and parts of the Inner Hebrides

• Nova Scotia, Canada - where Cape Breton Island has a historic Gaelic-speaking community

• Gaelic diaspora communities in places like the United States, Australia, and New Zealand

• It's an official language of Scotland ^[1] with protected status!

Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic are closely related sister languages from the Goidelic branch:

• Same alphabet - both use 18 letters with grave accents

• Mutual intelligibility - speakers can often understand each other with some effort

• Different pronunciation - Scots Gaelic has distinct sounds, like the "ch" sound

• Different spelling conventions - for example, Scots Gaelic uses "seo" while Irish uses "seo" (this)

• Different vocabulary - many everyday words differ between the two

They're like siblings in the Celtic language family!

Scots Gaelic has unique challenges but also helpful features:

• Small alphabet - only 18 letters to learn!

• Consistent spelling - once you learn the rules, pronunciation is predictable

• Lenition system - requires learning when and how consonants change

• Verb-Subject-Object word order - different from English (e.g., "Is eating I porridge")

• No verb "to have" - Gaelic uses "is at X to me" instead of "I have X"

• Rich resources available - BBC Learn Gaelic, LearnGaelic.net, and courses throughout Scotland

With dedication and the growing support for the language, Scots Gaelic is absolutely learnable!

Scots Gaelic's 18-letter alphabet is more phonetically efficient than English:

• Each letter represents specific sounds consistently

• Letter combinations create additional sounds (like "ch", "th", "dh")

• Broad and slender vowel positions modify consonant sounds

• Lenition (adding "h") creates sound variations without new letters

• The grave accent distinguishes long vowels from short ones

Unlike English, Scots Gaelic spelling is highly regular and phonetic!