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Glite Dictionary
Gaelic-speaking

Gaelic-speaking

8.4
Able to speak Gaelic
  • adjective
translation icon : de habla gaélica
  • By this time, large colonies of Gaelic-speaking Irish were visible in the impoverished Point and Skunk Hollow districts.

Examples

  • In a Gaelic-speaking community, children learn to greet one another in their native language.

  • The horror of that tragedy, subsequent emigration from the Gaelic-speaking West, the rise in literacy, and the extension of the Catholic Church into the peasant countryside had all contributed to the demise of traditional Irish pastimes and beliefs.

    Academic text (1990)

  • As a proud Gaelic-speaking family, they often share stories and traditions passed down through generations.

  • The university offers courses for students who want to become fluent in Gaelic and participate in Gaelic-speaking events.

Surface Forms

Gaelic-speaking positive

Morphology

Gaelic-speaking = Gaelic + speaking (transparent) = Gaelic + speak + ing

The meaning is directly derived from combining 'Gaelic' and 'speaking' to indicate someone who speaks Gaelic.

Etymology

Gaelic-speaking comes from Gaelic, which comes from Gael, the name for people in parts of Ireland and Scotland who spoke that language. So Gaelic-speaking simply means 'speaking the language of the Gaels', and it describes people or places where Gaelic is used.