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Geography
Gaelic is historically the language of the Highlands and Islands, and a language which was heard across much of Scotland at one time. The very name of the Highlands in Gaelic is linked to the Gaelic word for a Gaelic speaker, Gàidheal, and so we get a’ Ghàidhealtachd. Today more than two thirds of Gaelic speakers in Scotland live in the Highlands and Islands, and so the language and the culture are still rooted in the landscape and geography of the area. The high mountains (beanntan àrda) of the Highlands, the long, beautiful lochs (lochan fada, brèagha), the sheltered glens (glinn fhasgach), the exposed shores (cladaichean fosgailte) and the expansive moors (monaidhean farsaing) reach deep into the psyches of many Gaels still, and much of the land bears the mark of Gaelic culture through place names. However, the Lowland cities and Central Scotland are also the landscapes of the Gaels, giving a very different Gaelic geography.
Geography and landscapes have had a profound effect on Gaelic, and its speakers, and the language in turn has left its mark on the geography of Scotland. When we talk about glens and lochs, we are talking about the Gaels’ glinn and lochan. Then there is the seemingly endless list of words to describe the hills and mountains of Scotland: beinn, cnoc, sgùrr, binnean, bidean, càrn, màm, meall and stùc? They describe a wonderful variety of shapes and can be seen in many Highland place names. And the coastland is littered with kyles (caolais) and invers (inbhirean). Scotland and Gaelic speakers are bound through geography and names: the land and the language are in a sense inseparable.
More information on the Geography of Scotland:
Bartholomew Maps - A Gaelic map of Scotland
Gazetteer for Scotland - Contains a wealth of information on the geography, history and place names of Scotland
VisitScotland - Information from VisitScotland on the geography of Scotland
Geography of Scotland - A map and information on the geography of Scotland
itravel UK - A map of Scotland
National Library of Scotland - Historic maps of Scotland
Wikipedia - Information on the geography of Scotland
