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Hey M2

In the modern era the Celtic Languages are basically split into two main groups - the Goidelic group (Scots, Irish and Manx) being the first, and the Brythonic group (Cornish, Welsh and Breton) being the other. There are dialects with completely different words between regions within each language just as there are within any language. Welsh and Irish are nothing like each other, but Irish and Scots are a lot more alike - showing the two groupings.

I've never been to the Isle of Man so don't know how much Manx is spoken - but I understand it is largely only a ceremonial language now as the Isle speaks English as a rule. Cornish is rare (Cornish being the language of the county of Cornwall: the very south-west tip of England below Wales), and its a long time since I've been to say but I understand that, like Welsh and Irish it is seeing a resurgance, though if to the same extent I don't know.  I understand Breton (the language of Britanny: the far north-west corner of France) is still widely spoken as an everyday language.  Crow would be the best person to advise on Scots - but i've never heard it spoken when i've been as I have Welsh when Ive been to Wales, but I'm sure it is and given the Scots are going to be voting for further if not full independence from the UK in 2014, I would imagine it is seeing a ressurgance!

There was also Gaulish (France was Gaul in Celtic times) but that is now said to be defunct: though it is said that the Basque language and some of the other minority languages of areas of south/south-west France and north/western Spain have hints of Gaulish in there. Gaulish seems to have died out long before the Celtic of the British Isle and Britanny, so its not easy to say what it sounded like, though maybe Breton is a clue.

One thing I would say if you do want to learn Welsh and are going to check out sites on the net for resources - try and find one that is based in Wales: or at least is using material directly from a Welsh source. You are far more likely to find sites on the web from America and in my experience of trying to find Celtic cultural resources, the US sites tend to be at best second-hand sources plaguarised from sources that are themselves suspect or taken from ill-advised UK authors and interpreted badly from those ill-advised sources: I've yet to find a good Celtic Spirituality site on the net and had to search far and wide to find the reliable Irish language resource I found: but yes, I did find it again after a three-hour search last night!! So thanks for the reminder.

For a bit of fun, here's a little Welsh for ya: the name of a town on the Isle of Anglesey - the small island off the north-west coast of Wales....

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

and yes that really is the name of a town!!! Its reputed to be the longest place name in the UK. If you do get to learn Welsh, you can answer a question for me - when I was growing up and going to Wales for holidays, the double "L" at the beginning was always prounounced "clan" but in theory it's "th". It's a very "back of the throat" raspy/breathy/gutteral sound - as if you are trying to bring some flem up from the back of your throat whilst touching your upper teeth with your tongue and saying "clan" and with a "th" at the beginning all at the same time! When I was in Abu Dhabi I was staying in a part of town called Khalifa - and that had the same back of the throat pronunciation - aiming for the H but with the back of the throat thing giving you the K at the beginning - sorta sliging into the "H" from the raspy sound, so Im presuming that its the same with the "clan" and "th" of the LL in Welsh - you get the C sound (I understand "C" is always hard in Welsh like a K unless its with a "h" as at the end of the town name above -then its that same gutteral sound again like the German "ch") from the back of your throat and then prounce a soft "th". So, if you do decide to take up Welsh, you can tell me if I have that right!

I had a look on You Tube and found a few video's of people trying to pronounce the town name - I think this one is quite funny - but then it does remind me of asking a local how you pronounce it and having the same reaction to the guy in the video- so maybe that is why I find it funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H-NlufFQUU&feature=related