Ireland, Isle of Man, Wales, Scotland, Devon, Cornwall
Era
6th–10th century; evolved into Middle Irish by around the 10th century
Language family
Indo-European
Celtic
Insular Celtic
Goidelic
Old Irish
Early form
Primitive Irish
Writing system
Latin, Ogham
Language codes
ISO 639-2
sga
ISO 639-3
sga
Glottolog
oldi1246
Linguasphere
50-AAA-ad
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Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic[1][2][3] (Old Irish: Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; Irish: Sean-Ghaeilge; Scottish Gaelic: Seann-Ghàidhlig; Manx: Shenn Yernish or Shenn Ghaelg), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from c. 600 to c. 900. The main contemporary texts are dated c. 700–850; by 900 the language had already transitioned into early Middle Irish. Some Old Irish texts date from the 10th century, although these are presumably copies of texts written at an earlier time. Old Irish is thus forebear to Modern Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic.[2]
Old Irish is known for having a particularly complex system of morphology and especially of allomorphy (more or less unpredictable variations in stems and suffixes in differing circumstances), as well as a complex sound system involving grammatically significant consonant mutations to the initial consonant of a word. Apparently,[* 1] neither characteristic was present in the preceding Primitive Irish period, though initial mutations likely existed in a non-grammaticalised form in the prehistoric era.[4]
Contemporary Old Irish scholarship is still greatly influenced by the works of a small number of scholars active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Rudolf Thurneysen (1857–1940) and Osborn Bergin (1873–1950).
^"CE3063: Introduction to Old Gaelic 1A - Catalogue of Courses".
^ abKoch, John Thomas (2006). Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 831. The Old Irish of the period c. 600–c. 900 AD is as yet virtually devoid of dialect differences, and may be treated as the common ancestor of the Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx of the Middle Ages and modern period; Old Irish is thus sometimes called 'Old Gaelic' to avoid confusion.
^Ó Baoill, Colm (1997). "13: The Scots-Gaelic Interface". The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language. Edinburgh University Press. p. 551. The oldest form of the standard that we have is the language of the period c. AD 600–900, usually called 'Old Irish' – but this use of the word 'Irish' is a misapplication (popular among English-speakers in both Ireland and Scotland), for that period of the language would be more accurately called 'Old Gaelic'.
^Jaskuła 2006. sfn error: no target: CITEREFJaskuła2006 (help)
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