I sympathise with Jenny Colgan’s inability to fully embrace Gaelic (The Gaelic language is stunningly beautiful, but I just can’t get my tongue around it, 25 July), but the idea that this is the original language of the whole of Scotland is a myth.
It is essentially the Irish (Goidelic or Q-Celtic) version of the Celtic language family. It was carried over to Scotland and largely replaced the P-Celtic Pictish, which was more akin to Welsh. While the people of the Western Isles have a claim on Gaelic as their native language, it would be better for all concerned if Welsh were to be the language of choice for mainland Scots wishing to nourish their Celtic linguistic roots.
Sadly, not enough written Pictish has survived to build a modern language, but not much Cornish or Manx has survived either, and that hasn’t prevented their adherents from reviving them. Welsh involves less tongue-twisting than Gaelic and is spelled phonetically; Jenny and her compatriots might find that it is easier to learn as a second language, and thereby gain access to its rich poetry and prose.
John Edmondson
Holywell, Flintshire
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