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Languages in Loch Ness
Languages in Loch Ness
English is the official language of Scotland and is spoken by more or less everyone. Gaelic is spoken by about 60,000, and many Gaelic words are commonly used. The Scots, like most Britons, generally flourish when they live abroad but at home have rather poor foreign language skills, although those in tourism-related industries generally have better language skills. French, German and Spanish are the most commonly known foreign languages.
Here are some useful Gaelic words:
Aber = river mouth (Aberdeen)
Ben = mountain (Ben Nevis)
Burn = stream (Bannockburn)
Cèilidh = informal celebration, party
Dale = Nordic word for valley, not actually Gaelic, but used alongside it.
Firth = estuary (Firth of Forth) Firth comes from the Nordic languages too and means fjord
Glen = valley (Glencoe) - usually refers to a steep-sided glaciated valley
Inver = mouth of or confluence of (Inverness)
Strath = vale (Strathspey) - tends to be a more shallow, wider, often flat-bottomed valley
Kyle = narrow strait of water, sound (Kyle of Sutherland)
Loch = lake (Loch Lomond) however not all lochs are enclosed. Loch Marie is a fjord and is open to the sea. So a lake can always be a loch, but a loch is not always a lake!
Lochan = small lake, pond
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Loch Ness Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.