#Celtic langauges | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bison-appreciation-club · 7 months

Text

🍄 my names and pronouns 🍄

my names are dee, beathan, silas and any abbreviations of silas (si, sile). mutuals can call me dorris alexander challenge. i use they/she pronouns, but i prefer masculine or neutral honorifics (sir, dude, mr, mx, gentleman, etc). you may call me 'my liege' if you desire

🌾 more about me 🌾

i'm white and british. at the moment i'm learning more about my scottish and irish heritage. i'm also autistic. my special interest is the nez perce war.

🌻 my interests 🌻

nature, celtic reconstructionist paganism, the wild west, medieval europe, codes and spying during ww2, the ancient egyptians, bison, small fluffy things, nature, hiking, folk music, scottish stuff, bbc and cbs ghosts, lord of the rings, animal crossing, horror novels, found footage stuff, space, plushies and the history of maize. as you can see, i am a very well-rounded individual.

🌿 dni and byf 🌿

dni: terfs, general homophobes and transphobes, racists, conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers, pro-lifers and zionists. ik that if anyone in that list really wants to interact with me then they will, but i promise you WILL get blocked.

byf: i do complain a lot lmao. i'm trying to escape from my family's conservative beliefs that i have believed for years. i'm very bitchy about it. also, i swear a lot, in case you haven't noticed

🌊 where else to find me 🌊

my ao3

my pinterest

my cohost

my spotify

i'm not really active on any of them but there ya go

🪻 sideblogs 🪻

@doodlebugs-and-doodleart, @heneversmiledagain, @suairceagsionadh, @the-days-of-49, @aesthetics-hypothetics, @pipistrelle-s, @wyncandel, @mus-rusticus, @be-ace-eat-cake, @moodboard-creator, @rosehips-and-autism

🦜 tags 🦜

i don't tag things regularly at all, so if you're looking for a reasonable tagging system here then you ain't getting it. however:

#dee rambles - all my own posts

#dee's history stuff - all history related posts, both my own and reblogs

#dee reads history things and #dee watches history things - self explanatory really. mostly me watching everything with black kettle in, which isn't much

#dee speaks dialects - anything to do with my regional dialect (which i am relearning) and dialects in general

#dee studies languages - me studying latin, nahuatl, cheyenne and gaeilge

⚠️ i don't censor anything, including tags. all tw's are tagged 'tw [x]'. this applies to all my blogs ⚠️

🦬 links and donations 🦬

donations:

links for palestine

palestine fundraiser (please donate to help families escape from gaza)

donate to the wampanoag langauge reclaimation project

important links:

more links for palestine

even more links for palestine (mostly not donations but resources to learn more about palestinian culture)

shop palestinian brands

stuff to do for thanksgiving (*definitely* not links to resources about decolonisation (it totally is btw))

what to do if someone has hypothermia

executive dysfunction tips

suicide helplines

debunking the lies your abusive parents told you

how to adult successfully

just nice things:

time is a flat circle

the sound of every forest in the world

if you're having a bad night

internet guide

bison (!!!!)

#pinned post #blog intro #donations #this post is getting steadily long and longer...

29 notes · View notes

siarad-mewn-tafodau · 1 year

Text

Set up a langblr to keep my non-Celtic langauge posting separate to my writing.

At the minute, I'm a speaker of English (L1), Spanish (L2) and Welsh (L3). I've studied Irish and will study Scottish Gaelic in 2023 at University. I also teaching myself Russian !

This is a sideblog, I'm mainly active on my LGBTQ+ Welsh Dictionary sideblog @llyfrenfys - do follow there if you're interested in the project!

#pinned #English #Langblr #Russian #Self taught russian #Spanish #Welsh #Irish #Scottish Gaelic

13 notes · View notes

mcknitface · 2 years

Text

My top 10 in advance of the final

so. i've finally written and thought about my actual top ten songs going into the final. i've actually also compiled my top 40 and my tops for the semis, but that's a bit late now. i'll do them in advance of next year though!

so, here, with comments, is my top ten for the final

1 - DE DIEPTE - an amazing song, by an amazing artist. i'm british but very into the dutch alt-pop scene (a joke scott and rylan made on tuesday) and when S10 was announced i was so excited. this song is everything i wanted and more - she's changed her style to suit a wider audience, and the da-da-da-da oeh-oeh aa-aa really brings in non dutch speakers, essential for this competition.

2 - MEÐ HÆKKANDI SÓL - wasn't too keen on the first listen (morning of sunday 13th march) but by the evening of the monday i was obsessed. amazing meaning behind the lyrics, and icelandic is such a lovely language to listen to. when this was announced as a qualifier i almost screamed (had to not tho as i was in the queue for a club) as i had prepared for the worst.

3 - LIGHTS OFF - one of the first entries to be released back in december. i had covid at the time, was on day 8 of 10 of isolation, and this buoyed me through the last two days. a great dance bop, the revamp arguably isn't as good but i love the pause before the chorus. she's improved a lot as a singer as well, literally screamed when this qualified, amazing song.

4 - IN CORPORE SANO - watched it, was bemused, watched again, watched again, looked up the lyrics, obsessed. amazing concept, almost performance art, i cannot get enough of this. look up the rest of her triptych, it's amazing. the other songs are called nobl and mekano, and the fact she entered the serbian national selection only to broaden her songs' reach, not intending to win, is iconic.

5 - HOLD ME CLOSER - i don't really have much to say here, it's just a very good song. a powerful chorus? maybe that's what draws me into it and separates it from other ballads for me.

6 - SENTIMENTAI - lithuanian is a beautiful language and it's amazing to finally have a song in it in the final. the older feeling of the song lends it an elegance and from everything that i've seen monika is an icon. i'm mostly excited about the lithuanian, but it's a song that i can't help swaying to. again i was thrilled when this qualified as it was borderline

7 - FULENN - i am in love with this devil-summoning masterpiece. something different from france, and in one of their marginalised langauges, really make this stand out. i particularly like the vibration-esque part of the second chorus, after the "tria' a ra ar c'haoud". great to have some celtic language representation as well, it's a travesty that we've (in the uk) never sent a welsh entry.

8 - TRENULEŢUL - this is another one which came out fairly early. i can't help bopping along to this and i really hope it does well in the final. it's such a jolly song with a serious meaning behind it, and the music video is so fun. not sure what i think of the slight revamp - i will still listen to the original - but i understand why it was revamped for the stage.

9 - SNAP - a non-offensive song with a great staging (that's unaffected by the broken sun). i didn't really pay attention to this until the second rehearsal on youtube, but i really do like it. maybe not something i'll still be listening to in a year, but definitely one i want to see do well.

10 - LLÁMAME - a nice surprise qualifier from thursday. the song definitely works better when you can see it being performed, but nonetheless it's a great song, with great choreo, and we love us some bisexual representation.

in case anyone is interested, my original top ten was the netherlands, iceland, czechia, slovenia, serbia, sweden, latvia, croatia, lithuania and france. semi one was particularly painful - i'd like to have seen thirteen of those songs through (but only seven from semi two)

judge me as you will, and enjoy the final!

#eurovision 2022 #eurovision #esc #eurovision song contest #top 10 #netherlands #iceland #czechia #serbia #sweden #lithuania #france #moldova #armenia #romania

6 notes · View notes

antixabound · 11 months

Text

alright since I want everyone to know I’m working on a fantasy setting, I am working on one btw and I am very super proud of it and no I do not have anything art related to show for it yet.

ok so basically in my funny and epic setting™ there are like five species that make up the kind of the basis of people and that is a lie there is more than five but the other kinds of people are something something I dunno. there aren’t any humans because I didn’t want to.

the big four of the five that I want to bring up are Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, and Goblins. and additionally I have arbitrarily assigned groups of languages to them. this is to say that I am a hack fraud and I take words from languages that happen to be in the same general kind of language grouping and i mix them together to make a new one. An example being Kreӧdd, which is a particular culture of Orcs and to make it I literally just looked at a fuckin english to whatever language dictionary site, and then I typed in “blood” and picked the word Krew from polish and then I typed “born” and got född from swedish. anyway that is a nice little way to tell everyone I assigned germanic languages to the Orcs. I have also assigned Romance languages to the Elves because like that was obvious and you all know it, I put Celtic langauges with the Dwarves, and slavic languages with goblins because I needed to give them a language structure, and I couldn’t think of anything. the other species that exists on this funny continent, oh by the way the contient is called Hauldrak, are the Ogres, a collection of nomadic tribes who mostly keep to themselves in the frozen eternal winter of the north.

other funny types of people that exist are the Drakekin, a collective of people who just kinda appeared one day that all have strange and unusual bodies ranging from typically anthropomorphic to kinda all over the place. the Cog Folk, mechanical people who are often constructed originally to serve a purpose but eventually find their own individuality given time. Chimeras, some chimeras are made from the bodies of recently deceased people, and as such are capable of anything a person is, albeit asymmetrical, crudely stitched together and coursing with necrotic magic. And various kinds of demons and trolls that find some sort of appeal in living in a house and having a job and paying money for things.

most of the setting is just one one continent and its a weird and fucked up continent but it is also sometimes comfy as fuck like I don’t want it to be a grimdark setting but its not noblebright either, its cloudy, its a somber rainy day but you are comfy inside your home drinking tea sitting by the fire place, and for a moment you look outside the window and swear you saw a beast standing in the rain. the monsters in my setting are just kinda fantastical wild animals that abide to a strange concept of biology. there are cannibalistic gigantic necromancers that lead hordes of skeletons. Dragons are typically beasts so divorced from the natural order that their mere presence can cause permanent damage to the surrounding ecosystem, but there are also Dragons that fit a niche and removing them from an environment would cause catastrophe.

Also I really wanna talk about magic in my thing can I talk about magic in my setting I’ve been dying to talk about magic. there is no non-pretentious way to explain this in my eyes, Magic is like Art in my setting, every mage has to practice and do little things to hone their skills, everyone does magic a little differently, even those who try to copy someone else. A fire elemental wizard isn’t going to have the best grasp on illusion magic, and there are wizards who are jack of all trades, master of none. some do magic to make their lives easier, some to enhance performances, some to fight, and some to create nigh impossible structures. magic just kinda is, some animals and creatures can use magic alongside the people. everyone is able to do magic basically, any kind of person, they just have to at least try. the other thing is that elemental magic for classical elements like Fire, Water, Noise, Rot, etc. they are all slightly corruptive, there are ways to mitigate and or remove mutations and such but some sorcerers will often wear their strange gifts as some kind of badge of honor, or in the cases of mental changes where the caster is imbued with the hypothetical personality traits of these elements, they might not even notice.

I will elaborate further at some point and possibly make a whole ass ttrpg system or two.

#world building #fantasy setting stuff #magic systems #ramblings #the justification for all the things is that its fun #I have fun making worlds #I enjoy creation #::)

0 notes

gan-inscne · 2 years

Text

Dia daoibh! Rinne mé an cuntas nua seo, agus tá sceitiminí orm chun an pobal seo a bheith i mo bhall!!

Is mise Daimian, agus tá naoi mbliana déag slánaithe agam. Úsáidim na forainmneacha 'siad/iad' nó 'sé/é' as Gaeilge agus na forainmneacha 'xe/xem/xyr' nó 'they/them' as Béarla. Is duine gan inscne mé agus táim aerach agus éighnéasach. Is as Baile Átha Cliath dom agus is fearr liom úsáid canúint na Mumhan. Tá stad i mo chuid cainte agus ceapaim go bhfuil canúint na Mumhan is éasca. Is págánach Éireannach mé freisin. Is aoibhinn liom Bitheolaíocht, físchluichí agus Gaeilge.

Táim ag iarraidh 'edits' as Gaeilge agus 'edits' aeistéitiúil as Gaeilge agus aistriúcháin a dhéanamh. Má tá ceisteanna faoi fhocail ag aon daoine, seol 'ask' chugam! Is aoibhinn liom a bheith a cabhrú le!

Go raibh maith agaibh as léamh! Slán libh!!

As Béarla:

Hello! I made this new account, and I am excited to join this community!

I am Daimian, and I am 19 years old. I use 'siad/iad' or 'sé/é' pronouns in Irish and I use 'xe/xem/xyr' and 'they/them' pronouns in English. I am agender and gay asexual. I am from Dublin and I prefer to use the Munster dialect. I have a speech impediment and I think that the Munster dialect is the easiest. I am also an Irish pagan. I love Biology, video games and the Irish language!

I want to make edits/aesthetic edits and translations in Irish! If anyone has questions about words, send me an ask! I love being able to help others!

Thank you for reading! Goodbye!!

#gaeilge #introduction #réamhrá #langblr #langauge learning #ireland #irish #celtic languages #éire

11 notes · View notes

groovycatcollector · 4 years

Text

Here's a thing y’all gotta understand about the Celtic cultures/religions/traditions.

There is no one Celtic language or tradition or customs so please stop using it as an umbrella term for Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Isle of man, France, Basque region and Switzerland . It’s like saying South Asian, its not one country or culture. All these countries have very different languages, mythology and cultures.

There is no one language or religion or tradition for all of them because its literally different countries. What makes them Celtic is the base root for languages and Le Tene art found on the artefacts (and a few other things im not entirly sure of)

Sorry just getting a little frustrated with seeing the word Celtic thrown around the gaff epically when refuting to Irish or Gaelic.

So stop it:)

#Celic #Celic Ireland #Sí #Gealic #Celtic traditions #I'm Getting sick of y'all refuring to my first langauge as the dead language of pagen wwarriors #ancient celts #celts #celtique #le tene

6 notes · View notes

melodies-and-memories · 6 years

Text

I just found out about the Manx language And I am Excited

#I love Celtic languages #Irish Gaelic and Welsh are my faves #Scottish Gaelic is great too #Manx is lovely #I wanna research Breton more #Celtic #Manx #Langauge #Isle of Man

3 notes · View notes

llyfrenfys · 4 months

Text

I'm making my opposition to the proposal to severely reduce language provision at the University of Aberdeen known - Scottish Gaelic, an endangered Celtic langauge, is one of the languages at risk of being cut. This would do immense damage to the language revitalisation effort. @uniofaberdeen must reverse this decision and commit to protecting Gaelic and other languages in their institution.

If you feel the same way, you're encouraged to make more posts and stories about the issue to show the University of Aberdeen just how much this decision is frowned upon. Use the hashtag #saveuoalanguages in your posts to get the word out about this.

I'll be travelling tomorrow and wish I could do more right now. But together we can make it known just how unpopular this decision is.

#university of Aberdeen #saveuoalanguages #scottish gaelic #gaidhlig #endangered languages #celtic languages #celtic #gaelic #scotland #scottish #language revitalization #cymblr #celtic studies

123 notes · View notes

thelonelywitchandthelonelytides · 5 years

Text

Scottish And Irish Magick

So for this i want to dive into good ol' Scottish and Irish folk Magick and history. I'll be bringing up background for both, the relation between the two and some rituals/pratice from each branch.

As a note I am Scottish and have Irish history so this is from my family and community. Added with my own research and knowledge. Not every witch, or practitioner was like this or is like this but many were. This is not saying what every Magick user was like but the ones from my community and knowledge.

Scottish Folk Magick : Background

Now as we all know when we dive into the background of Magick more specifically witches we will have to encounter the witch trials. Scotland faced many of these mainly aimed at midwives or healers unfortunately.

But the links to the core of Scottish Magick for a lot of practitioners, it wasn't evil or destructive as many viewed it but to them it was peace and harmony. A way to help those and themselves when they needed it.

Many uses of Magick where plant or talisman based. Healers who practiced would use herbs like foxglove to help the sick. Talisman were created from stone or wood to ward off illness and evil. This old Magick was peaceful for a large amount of practitioners and was a way to connect the people to the earth itself.

Scottish Folk Magick : Rituals or Practices

A common practice was to make charms charged with Magick intent. Charms were used for many purposes from good luck to helping with fertility. They were very common among small Magick communities in some places in Scotland.

Another common practice was to use stones which carried on to this day. In fact some Magick stones were famous such as St. Angus' Stone in Balquhidder Kirk. This stone was said to be charged with Magick and many visited it wether they were Magick practitioners or not.

One practice was to make garlands out of healing herbs such as Heather or Bog Myrtle were wound together around branches and placed on the heads of the ill especially children to help heal them.

Irish Folk Magick : Background

Now unlike in Scotland there was less Witch trials that took place in Ireland. In Ireland the magick was more surrounded by fairies which was a strong belief for many Magick users. Spells were also used but many didn't use the tools we have today as many Magick users were peasants.

Irish Folk Magick : Ritual and Practices

One spell used for Love was :

On a night of the full moon, walk to a spot beneath your beloved’s bedroom window. Whisper his/her name three times to the night wind (el alder).

= It is believed that the night breeze has a guardian. This guardian is compassionate to mortal requests between 12 Midnight and 1AM (the witching hour).

Another used for good fortune :

You will need a candle, some string, and a trinket.

Light the candle and loop the string in through the trinket and tie it. Then start passing it above the candle-flame (the trinket), then chant:

“A candle flickers, This trinket I pass, Good energy and fortune come to me, Wealth, Knowledge, Influence, Energy, By good means come to me, Wealth, Knowledge, Influence, Energy, This trinket I pass into power, To attract, To me, Wealth, Knowledge, Influence, Energy, Come To Me!!”

Repeat that three times, then wear the “necklace” around your neck. The more you do this- the more powerful.

The link between the two

Scotland and Ireland both shared Celtic and Pagan roots some practitioners followed these paths but some didn't. Also Scotland and Ireland also have variation of the language Gaelic. However these are not the same langauge they simply share similar roots. They also shared the term "cunning people" used to describe magick users.

Thanks for reading and blessed be!

#witchcraft #spells #witchblr #pagan witch #pagan #ecletic pagan #pagan wicca #wiccan #wicca for beginners #wiccalife #wiccamagic #witches #witchlife #witch #eclectic witch #baby witch

28 notes · View notes

thelanguagecommunity · 5 years

Photo

this post is meant to be a directory of every resource I come across for Galician. it will be a continuous work in progress so thank you for your patience! if you have any issues or things to add, please reply to this post!

info

fun facts

glottolog

overview of reintegrationism

playlist of samples

wikipedia

world atlas of language structures

alphabet

overview of the galician alphabet

book recommendations

book recommendations by @languages-and-tea

courses

bliubliu

memrise

cultural & historical info

acultura’s culture tag

list of galician surnames

real academia galega

dictionaries

corpus lexicográfico da lingua galega

dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval

dicionario estravix

dicts.info

english-galician cluvi

real academia galega

flashcards

quizlet

forums

quora

grammar

pronouns

listening practice

librivox [audiobook library]

literature

biblioteca virtual galega [virtual library]

cantigas de santa maria

catholic prayers

list of galician-language writers

logoslibrary [virtual library]

overview of galician-language literature

poetry international web [poetry library with translations]

project gutenberg [virtual library]

real academia galega [virtual library]

universal declaration of human rights

media

ted talks

movie & tv recommendations

letterboxd

music recommendations

list of galician-language singers

news

galiciaé

galicia hoxe

sermos galiza

phrasebooks & travel guides

wikitravel

wikivoyage

pronunciation

dicionario de pronuncia da lingua galega [pdf, in galician]

forvo [pronunciation dictionary]

ghaeda / overview of gheada

overview of galician phonology

quizzes & exercises

vocabulary quizzes - iteslj

social media

wikipedia

verbs

irregular verbs

vocabulary

animals

babadada [vocabulary tool]

days of the week

months

numbers / counting

seasons

swadesh list

words derived - celtic languages

words derived - germanic langauges

in galician / en español

e’galego

#o #galician #langblr #galician language #galego

20 notes · View notes

trans-mando · 6 years

Text

i really enjoy listening to songs in other languages bc there’s absolutely no pressure to understand what’s being said so i can just enjoy how it sounds

#right now i've got Celtic Woman - Óró sé do bheatha 'bhaile on repeat #also i really enjoy hearing people speak foreign languages in general??#like yes!!! whole different langauge!!! with unique speech pattern and inflection!!!! new sounds!!!!

0 notes

hetalia-lover-is-here · 5 years

Text

Tagged by: @cluless-in-more-ways-than-one

Nicknames: Kat, KitKat, Kitty

Zodiac: Proudly Leo!

Height: 5'7

Last movie I watched: Steven Universe the Movie

Last thing I looked up: someone living in the country they were born in (I had forgotten the word)

Favorite Musician: Dont really have one, I like songs no people.

Song stuck in my head: Lucky by Jason Mraz

Other blogs: Nothing yet

Followers: 30 (Lol, why are you following me anyway? I'm so lame tho.)

Following: 149

Amount of sleep: Today? Uh 9 hours. Yesterday? About 3 hours.

Lucky Numbers: 17, 14, 7, 31

Dream job: Owner of a bakery!!

What I'm wearing: An old nightgown

Favorite food: Dessert wise, chocolate. Normal food, garlic bread or spaghetti

Langauges: English is my first language but I'm learning French

Can I play an instrument?: I've never been taught an instrument, but I do know the note scale so I can make up something pretty on relatively anything.

Favorite song atm?: A Spaceman Came Traveling - Celtic Woman

Random fact: I'm asexual and I think you're all pretty

Describe Yourself in Asthetic Things: Oh? Uh... Appearence wise... Old book pages, violets, cinnamon, dead pink roses, blue pens. (Did I do this right?)

Favorite Color: Blues and Purples.

@emoticonreview @just-shower-thoughts @nekophy @fuckyeahasexual @blogthegreatrouge @rainbowchibbit @writingideasandrandomstuff @galahadwilder @monieedraws @youraverageunstableteen

0 notes

llyfrenfys · 3 months

Text

Sooner or later I've gotta make a better post regarding the appropriation of indigenous terminology by proponents of (certain kinds of) Welsh nationalism. But for now here's a very whistle-stop version of that post. I have a degree in Celtic Studies so these topics are very near and dear to my heart.

[Note: I wrote this post originally during a migraine. I'm revisiting the draft while I'm ill but hopefully can fix this up into something somewhat understandable. As always, this is only a very brief description of the history and I strongly reccomend reading about these topics in your own time to develop a deeper understanding of them. These are topics not even well known in Britain, but if you can spend a short time just to read this, you can help to combat misinformation about British (particularly Welsh) history - and that could aid in preventing the misappropriation of history in the long run. Diolch eto for reading!]

Very often, (certain) Welsh nationalists use terminology that positions the Welsh as if they are an 'indigenous' population who have been 'colonised'. They use language (which in this climate) heavily draws upon the language typically used for peoples who are the victims of British colonialism (of which Wales was an active participant). There's multiple issues with this and many of them lie in whether its appropriate to use this language (regardless of its accuracy or not) as a country which was actively involved in the colonisation of much of the world. What I mean in short is that additional language is needed which doesn't step on the toes of endangered cultures and groups directly affected by British colonialism.

Wales not only participated in British colonialism as a whole (alongside Scotland, Ireland* and England) but itself colonised parts of patagonia in Argentina.

I can't think of any similar terminology to 'indigenous' or 'colonised' which would also get the idea which is meant across. 'Native' in certain contexts is permissible, e.g. 'native speaker' in the context of a Welsh speaker. But in other contexts other than langauge, things get tricky when you argue 'nativeness' (this is a topic I will come back to - especially re. Celtic as a language descriptor vs Celtic as a so-called ethnicity). When (certain) Welsh nationalists talk about being 'indigenous' , being 'native' or 'colonised' what is meant by that?

(Map of the expansion of the Bronze Age Bell Beaker culture circa 2400 BC in Britain and Ireland) - from this map

What makes a Welsh person 'indigenous' to this island that doesn't immediately disqualify other peoples who also have a deep history here? Historically, the island of Britain has been lived on by many, many peoples.

In the Bronze Age you had the arrival of the Bell Beaker people. Then in the Iron-Age, you had tribes speaking (mostly) Brittonic. I say mostly, because we have direct evidence that in the Iron Age Gaulish speaking tribes also moved to parts of Britain but later became integrated with the rest of the population (which, I will add, were not a united peoples but a scattering of different groups who often went to war against each other). Then the Romans invaded Britain (and much of Western Europe) and over time integrated into the local population. So now Britain is Romano-British. Eventually the Western Roman Empire collapses and Britain enters into the sub-Roman Britain phase of its existence. Kingdoms begin to form, with the population speaking Brittonic and British-Latin. So you have different kingdoms in (what would become Wales) and in (what would become Northern England and Southern Scotland) you have more Brittonic-speaking kingdoms.

These kingdoms were also not a united peoples. They shared a language - but it's like claiming that Ancient Greeks were a united people simply because they all spoke Greek. Sparta, Athens, Cornith etc. were independent of each other and the same is true of the kingdoms of the Hen Ogledd (the Old North) and the kingdoms of Wales. They all had a common language but also went to war with each other sometimes. Eventually, the Brittonic language began to diverge into different languages. Namely, Old Welsh and Cumbric (the language spoken in what is today Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland and Southern Scotland). The two languages were still very closely related but had diverged by a certain point.

At the same time this is happening, Anglo-Saxons begin to arrive in what is now Kent. They form kingdoms and the Britons living there are either displaced or become absorbed into the Anglo-Saxon populace. Then the Norse rock up and conduct viking raids around the coast before finally settling in parts of the country and forming their own territories.

So now Britain has several groups living on the island (keeping in mind even before settlement from the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse that the British kingdoms were already composed of different groups themselves). Northern Scotland was also having a time re: Picts, Gaels and Britons - but we'll gloss over that for brevity. Also, Ireland was also raiding the Welsh coast at this time too.

Then the Normans rock up and in 1066 William the Conqueror, well, conquers. More history happens after this point but I will try and keep this as brief and as non-messy as I can.

So, to recap:

One of the earliest cultures in Britain was the Bell Beaker people in the Bronze Age. They had their lands settled by the Iron Age Britons ('Celts'). Then the Romans came and the 'Celts' became Romano-Britons. After the Western Roman Empire collapses the remaining population forms kingdoms with distinct political identities. These kingdoms eventually find themselves fighting the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse. Then the Normans turn up and so on and so forth.

So- which group is the original native group to Britain? (Trick question - this question cannot be satisfactorily answered in favour of one group without leaning into claims of historicity which the other groups can also claim).

Which brings me to modern Welsh identity and those who came before.

Something I see in Welsh nationalist groups is a claim to the legacy (or even claims of direct descendance from) the Iron Age Britons (commonly called Celts for shorthand, but as I said before I'm gonna get back to that point). And this narrative is what the "Welsh people are native to Britain" argument is based off of.

It may seem like #praxis to argue the Welsh people are the true inhabitants of Britain and the English are evil invaders. But you have to make *several* logical leaps to get to that point if you're genuinely arguing that point.

For starters, many more people than just the Britons (read: Romano Britons/early Brittonic kingdoms) have called Britain home since the Early Middle Ages. For example, there's the settlement of Scotland by the Gaels, the Irish settlement of certain parts of costal Wales. You have (much later) Roma and traveller groups, Jewish diaspora and many more diverse cultures and peoples existing in Britain at this time. The Romano-British population, which developed into the Early Middle Ages kingdoms of Wales and the Hen Ogledd, was also multicultural. Many black Romans started families with white Britons. By the sub-Roman period, Britain was ethnically and culturally diverse.

But those who argue in favour of a such thing as 'Celtic ethnicity' in order to support the idea Britons (and only Britons) were native to these islands typically imagine that history as white. White Brits, white Romans, white Gaels. When we know this isn't true. Did you know that the Northernmost Ancient Egyptian temple in the world is in Yorkshire because Roman Egyptians in the military brought their religion with them? Mary Beard did a fantastic documentary about a Roman Soldier from modern day Syria who was stationed at Hadrian's Wall who started a family with a British woman. Point is, that some people like to imagine a purely white Britain that they can pine for. And I'm afraid it simply isn't true. The version of history many white supremacists look to simply didn't exist.

I'll quickly bring up one last point before I draw this to a close. And it's about Celtic as a linguistic term vs Celtic as a so-called ethnicity. You see, any first year Celtic Student would tell you that there is no such thing as 'Celts'. Crazy, I know from people studying *Celtic* studies. But hear me out - there is good reasoning why (beyond language groups) Celtic is not a good term for describing an ethnic group. Much of it relates to what I've already mentioned, but we categorise Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Mann, Cornwall and Brittany as Celtic not because of the ethnicity of the people living there (which I've mentioned is pretty diverse) but because they are all places where Celtic languages are spoken. It wasn't until Edward Llwyd (d. 1709) that the term Celtic was coined to describe these languages. Up until that point, nobody was thinking of Irish and Welsh as related because the languages do not sound like they have a common origin. By extension, people didn't think of the Welsh and Irish as being the same peoples (or Celtic) either. Its only in the modern day there is a sense of Celtic identity. The Iron Age Britons were not going around calling themselves Celts. There was no common Celtic identity. But very often people argue Celticness based on a pseudohistory which insists on a false and misleading interpretation of history. Whether or not Celticness exists now is a different matter entirely. But it sure does not rest upon race or ethnicity as a qualifier. This is quite foundational stuff to first year and above Celtic Scholars, but is not generally well known outside of academia because the misinformation is quite strong. So if you read is far, diolch mawr and please share this with anyone you think might be interested in it. Any amount of knowledge of these things would greatly improve understanding of what it means to be Welsh and what it means to speak a Celtic language.

Lastly,

all of that begs us to ask the question:

What does it mean to claim nativeness in a Western European context?

More under the cut

What does it mean to claim nativeness in a Western European context? Especially in a Western Europe post-colonialism.

It means, to me, to claim what isn't our right to claim. To argue and make our points with language that isn't ours and isn't designed to be ours. That this language of indigeneity may sound appealing, but is it improper to use this terminology when our country was directly responsible for the atrocities in which this very language became relevant?

What do we do in response to the misinterpretation of our culture instead of relying on language of indigeneity? These are the questions I want to leave you with and invite you to share your thoughts on. How do we build a Wales which advocates for itself without relying upon inaccurate language which betrays a reliance upon the ahistorical to make its point?

What kind of Wales do we want to live in?

#cymraeg #welsh #cymru #cymry #cymblr #Wales #welsh language #welsh nationalism #nationalism #indigeneity #?#white supremacist mention #white nationalism cw #please add on if you have any thoughts on the matter - I'd love to hear other's takes on the topic!#this post was also mostly made when I was ill/had a migraine so it may not be perfect #but gets most of what I want across well enough I think

101 notes · View notes