Scottish Gaelic (Scottish Gaelic: Gàidhlig [ˈgaːlikʲ]  listen (help·info)) is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish.

The 2001 UK Census showed that a total of 58,652 (1.2% of the Scottish population aged over three years old) in Scotland had some Gaelic ability at that time, with the Outer Hebrides being the main stronghold of the language. The census results indicate a decline of 7,300 Gaelic speakers from 1991. Despite this decline, revival efforts exist and the number of younger speakers of the language has increased.

Scottish Gaelic is not an official language of the European Union, nor of the United Kingdom. (The only language that is de jure official in any part of the United Kingdom is Welsh.) However, it is classed as an autochthonous language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which the UK government has ratified. In addition, the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 gave official recognition to the language and established an official language development body ‒ Bòrd na Gàidhlig.

Scottish may refer to something of, from, or related to Scotland, a country in northern Europe, part of the United Kingdom since 1707.

Scottish may also refer to:

Julie Fowlis (born 1979) is a Scottish folk singer and multi-instrumentalist who sings primarily in Scottish Gaelic.

Fowlis grew up in North Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides, in a Gaelic-speaking community. She and has been involved in singing, piping and dancing since she was a child.

She is a member of the Scottish sextet, Dòchas, who were voted winners of Best Newcomer award at the Scots Trad Music Awards in 2004, where Fowlis herself was nominated for the Best Gaelic Singer award. In 2005, Fowlis released her first solo album Mar a Tha Mo Chridhe (As My Heart Is). The album was produced by Iain MacDonald and Fowlis and instantly gained her worldwide acclaim. It was the busiest year until then in her career, with the release of a new album with Dòchas as well. Fowlis has travelled worldwide with the group and as a solo artist with her own live band.

Her second solo album Cuilidh was released in March 2007, becoming a worldwide top-seller in the Traditional and World Music charts. Her album is a collection of songs from her native North Uist home. Her husband, Éamon Doorley plays bouzouki on the album and is a member of Irish traditional group Danú.

Karen Matheson OBE (born 11 February 1963) is a Scottish folk singer, who frequently sings in Scottish Gaelic. She is lead singer of the group Capercaillie and was a member of Dan Ar Braz's group L'Heritage des Celtes, with whom she often sang lead vocals, either alone or jointly with Elaine Morgan. She and Morgan received much acclaim for their joint lead vocal on the Breton language song "Diwanit Bugale", the French entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1996. She made a cameo appearance in the 1995 movie Rob Roy singing the song "Ailein duinn".

She grew up in the small village of Taynuilt in Argyll. She was awarded an OBE in the 2006 New Year's honours list.

Matheson also appeared as a guest musician on Spirit of the West's 1997 album Weights and Measures.

Matheson performed a solo in Secret Garden's song "Prayer" in the 1999 album Dawn of a New Century.

She is married to fellow Capercaillie member Donald Shaw, and they have a son named Hector.