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The Celtic nations are territories in Northern and Western Europe where Celtic languages or cultural traits have survived. The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common identity and culture and are identified with a traditional territory. It is not synonymous with "sovereign state". The six territories recognised as Celtic nations are Brittany (''Breizh''), Cornwall (''Kernow''), Wales (''Cymru''), Scotland (''Alba''), Ireland (''Éire''), and the Isle of Man (''Mannin'').〔 Each has a Celtic language that is either still spoken or was spoken into modern times. Territories in north-western Iberia—particularly Galicia, Northern Portugal and Asturias; sometimes referred to as Gallaecia, which includes North-Central Portugal—are sometimes included due to their culture and history.〔 Unlike the others, however, no Celtic language has been spoken there in modern times. Before the expansions of Ancient Rome and the Germanic tribes, a significant part of Europe was dominated by Celtic culture. ==Six Celtic nations== Each of the six nations has its own Celtic language. In Wales, Scotland, Brittany, and Ireland, these have been spoken continuously through time, while Cornwall and the Isle of Man have languages that were spoken into modern times but later died as spoken community languages. In the latter two regions, however, language revitalization movements have led to the adoption of these languages by adults and produced a number of native speakers. Ireland, Wales, Brittany and Scotland contain areas where a Celtic language is used on a daily basis – in Ireland the area is called the ''Gaeltacht'' on the west coast; ''Y Fro Gymraeg'' in Wales, and in Brittany ''Breizh-Izel''. Generally these communities are in the west of their countries and in more isolated upland or island areas. The term ''Gàidhealtachd'' historically distinguished the Gaelic-speaking areas of Scotland (the Highlands) from the Lowland Scots (i.e. Anglo-Saxon)-speaking areas. More recently, this term has also been adopted as the Gaelic name of the Highland council area, which includes non-Gaelic speaking areas. Hence, more specific terms such as ''sgìre Ghàidhlig'' ("Gaelic-speaking area") are now used. In Wales, the Welsh language is a core curriculum (compulsory) subject, which all pupils study. Additionally, 20% of school children in Wales go to Welsh medium schools, where they are taught entirely in the Welsh language. In the Republic of Ireland, all school children study Irish as one of the three core subjects up until the end of secondary school, and 7.4% of primary school education is through Irish medium education, which is part of the Gaelscoil movement.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Celtic nations」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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