Author: Julien Tromeur. Source: Pixabay
Epilogue
Let us say that we are Scythian Gaels around 600 BC. We come from Gaelic colonies in the Mediterranean region. We go up the Rhone (through Provence) and then settle. Later, according to Herodotus, merchants from the Greek colony of Massilia visit us on our territory. They did not understand our language but we wanted to mark our territory: ‘this is the home of the Gaels’. In 600 BC, how can we say that in Gaelic?
So there are three possibilities: Goídel teg, Gàidheil taigh (pronounced ‘kail taye’) or Gaeil teach. When we hear a new language, the tones are never familiar. In ancient Greek, the pronunciation of Keltoi is ‘kail tial’, which is very close to the pronunciation of Gàidheil taigh. In other words, the etymology of Celt could be based on a … misunderstanding.