Gaelic

Bidh cuid de dhaoine a' cumail a‑mach nach eil anns a' Ghàidhlig ach cànan labhairteach nach deach a sgrìobhadh a‑riamh, ach tha seo gu tur ceàrr.

Tha eachdraidh fhada aig sgrìobhadh agus litreachas na Gàidhlig, gu dearbh 's i a' Ghàidhlig an cànan sgrìobhte as sine san Roinn Eòrpa a tha fhathast air a bhruidhinn gu gnàthach san latha an‑diugh.

'S e Leabhar Dhèir a' chiad eisimpleir a th' againn de sgrìobhadh sa Ghàidhlig ann an Alba, agus sgrìobhadh sin eadar an deicheamh agus an dàrna linn deug.

Ach bhathas a' sgrìobhadh sa Ghàidhlig ann an Èirinn fada ron a sin.

Tha snaidh‑sgrìobhaidhean , abairtean beaga goirid air an sgrìobhadh air clach, againn bho linn nan Ròmanach—bhon cheathramh gus an siathamh linn, ach b' ann anns an aibidil ogham a bha a' Ghàidhlig ga sgrìobhadh an uair sin.

Thòisich na manaich Chrìostaidh ann an Èirinn a' cleachdadh na h‑aibidil Ròmanaich, ach bha stoidhle sònraichte ann fad linntean airson sgrìobhadh ann an Gàidhlig ris an canar ann an Èirinn Cló Gaelach (Clò Gàidhealach), no anns an latha an‑diugh seancló (seann chlò), ach ann an Gàidhlig na h‑Alba canar corra‑litir ris an dòigh sgrìobhaidh seo.

English

Some people claim that Gaelic is only a spoken language that has never been written down, but this is completely wrong.

Gaelic writing and literature has a long history, in fact Gaelic is the oldest written language in Europe that is still commonly spoken today.

The Book of Deer is the first example we have of writing in Gaelic in Scotland, and that was written between the tenth and twelfth centuries.

But Gaelic was being written in Ireland long before that.

We have inscriptions , small short phrases written on stone, from the Roman era—from the fourth to the sixth century, but it was in the alphabet ogham that Gaelic was written then.

The Christian monks in Ireland began to use the Roman alphabet, but for centuries there was a special style of writing in Gaelic which is called Cló Gaelach (Clò Gàidhealach) in Ireland, or nowadays seancló , but in Scottish Gaelic this way of writing is called corra‑litir .