The Celtic languages all have a similar grammatical structure, but have relatively little vocabulary in common. By ranking of speakers they are: - Scots (sco) 1.5 million speakers- Irish (gle) 1.1 million speakers- Scots-Gaelic (gla) 87,000 speakers
Scottish Gaelic was spoken throughout Scotland (apart from small areas in the extreme southeast and northeast) between the 9th and 11th centuries, but began to retreat north and westwards from the 11th century onwards. Today, Scottish Gaelic is spoken in Scotland (Alba), mainly in the Highlands (a' Ghaidhealtachd) and in the Western Isles (Na h-Eileanan an Iar),