[Shasown]

Early written languages were done using runes, its from these runes most (but not all) modern letters are derived, however there will always be differences in languages because of local factors, the difference between English and Irish alphabets can be explained by the fact of both Roman (Latin) and Saxon influences on the English language as opposed to the almost pure original Irish.

Old English as in Celtic would have been very similar to Irish/Scottish - Gaelic. And Welsh - Celtic.

[Oooo_get_her]

Originally Posted by Shasown

Old English as in Celtic would have been very similar to Irish/Scottish - Gaelic. And Welsh - Celtic.

Sorry - I don't understand.

Old English is a Germanic language and not at all related to Irish or Scots Gaelic*, which belong to one branch of the Celtic language family. Welsh is, of course, a Celtic language, but it is from a different branch of the Celtic 'tree' and is quite different.

Yes - the people of what is now England were Celts before the Anglo-Saxons became dominant, but their language is never referred to as Old English. Old English is an Anglo-Saxon thing - see Beowulf.

* bar as an Indo European language, both Celtic and Germanic being descendants of Proto-Indo-European

[StGeorge]

Originally Posted by Oooo_get_her

Sorry - I don't understand.

Old English is a Germanic language and not at all related to Irish or Scots Gaelic*, which belong to one branch of the Celtic language family. Welsh is, of course, a Celtic language, but it is from a different branch of the Celtic 'tree' and is quite different.

Yes - the people of what is now England were Celts before the Anglo-Saxons became dominant, but their language is never referred to as Old English. Old English is an Anglo-Saxon thing - see Beowulf.

* bar as an Indo European language, both Celtic and Germanic being descendants of Proto-Indo-European

Oooo is correct, and if you look up the English written language, i beleive Chaucers Canterbury Tales was one of the first forms of a universal English language that was able to be read by the masses, (if you knew a bookstore ), and was known as Middle English. But even that piece of works is unrecognisable in its original form to todays language.

Oooo.
The more i read your link the better it gets, and i say to anyone who has the same inquisitiveness as me, it is the piece to read.
This gets me though:

While problems of discrepancies still continue to exist, one must recognize that great strides have already been made.
and
the spelling system of Irish will still have to undergo revision before it will be completely acceptable and satisfactory.

Personally i dont think there needs to be a change in how Irish is spelt/spoke, as long as the Irish understand and accept it, (like Jessica & Niamhxo do) and that there is an understanding and acceptance when unknowledgeable folk like me mis-pronounce someones Irish spelt name. I say this because it was the mis-pronunciation of a blokes tattoo spelling of his wifes name Siobhan that first introduced me to this anomaly. His reaction was way over the top and was if i was being rude for not knowing. Duh get a life mate i thought.