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Celtic Nations

The six Celtic nations recognized by the Celtic League and Celtic Congress : Scotland Ireland Isle of Man Wales Cornwall Britain

Celtic countries or Celtic nations are the countries or regions of Europe who identify with the Celtic cultures and more specifically with the speakers of Celtic languages. These countries or regions are also characterized by Anglophones Belt Celtic or Celtic Fringe, because they are at the extreme northwest of the continent. Their residents prefer to speak of the Celtic or Celtic nations.

Them a global name is also given (in French ): Celts (in Brittany

Until the conquest of Roman and Germanic , the British Isles and much of Western Europe were mainly Celtic. Only the extreme northwest of the continent have kept their language and their Celtic culture because it was late romanization or absent and the Germanic invasions were stopped or were unsuccessful too late for local people are treated.

The six Celtic countries

Country	Celtic name	Language	People	Population	Number of fluent speakers
Scotland	Alba	Scottish (Gidhlig)	Scottish	5 000 000	92,400 (1.8%)
Ireland	ire	Irish (Gaeilge)	Irish	6 000 000	538 283 to 1,800,000 (9%)
Isle of Man	Ellan Vannin	Manx (Yn Ghaelg)	Manx	70 000	<1700 (<2.4%)
Wales	Cymru	Welsh (Cymraeg)	Welsh	3 000 000	> 750 000 (> 25%)
Cornwall	Kernow	Cornish (Kernewek)	Cornish	500 000	3500 (0.7%)
Britain	Breizh	Breton (Brezhoneg)	Breton	4 000 000	> 257,000 (6.4%)

Flag panceltique: Galicia in the upper left Ireland top center Scotland top right Cornwall bottom right Isle of Man on the lower middle right Wales down the middle left Britain in the lower left

Only these six countries are considered by the Celts Celtic League , the Celtic Congress and other organizations panceltiques. Each of them has a Celtic language clean.

In four countries (Britain, Ireland, Wales, Scotland), the Celtic languages are spoken in certain areas, usually located in the west, on islands or in the highlands. In the other two (British Cornwall and the Isle of Man), the local Celtic language is considered extinct, but it is still taught and maintains extensive documentation and literature.

There are also communities of origin celtophones Welsh Patagonia ( Cymru Newydd ) and the Island of Cape Breton.

In some events like the Festival of Lorient Inter-Celtic , the Galicia , the Asturias and Cantabria are considered as Celtic countries, although they have no Celtic language alive or dead, inscribed in a literature or documentation.

Other movements Celtic

The Celts in Europe in the past and today: areas where Celtic languages are spoken the six Celtic countries maximum expansion Celtic III ^century BC. JC Hallstatt in the sixth ^century BC. JC

Most countries in Western and Northern Europe have been influenced, to one degree or another, by the Celts. In a number of them, there are Celtic movements that seek to recognize the celtitude their country. None of them is speaking Celtic. For those who rely on the celtitude linguistics is a cause of controversy.

In Italy, the inhabitants of Val d'Aosta , French-speakers or Francoprovenal also claim a Celtic heritage, like the autonomy of the Northern League ^[ref. ^necessary].