Wikipedia
The Gàidhealtachd ( , English: Gaeldom), sometimes known as A' Ghàidhealtachd (English: The Gaeldom), usually refers to the highlands and islands of Scotland, and especially the Gaelic culture of the area. The corresponding Irish word Gaeltacht refers strictly to an Irish-speaking area. The term is also used to apply to the Gaelic-speaking Canadian areas of Nova Scotia and Glengarry County, Ontario.
The term the Gàidhealtachd is not truly interchangeable with the term highlands, as it refers to the language and not to the geography. Also, many parts of the highlands no longer have substantial Gaelic-speaking populations, and some parts of what is now thought of as the Highlands have long been Scots-speaking or English-speaking areas: Caithness, Cromarty, Grantown-on-Spey, Campbeltown, etc. Conversely, several Gaelic-speaking communities lie outwith the Highland, Argyll and Bute and Western Isles council areas, for example Arran and parts of Perth and Kinross. Gàidhealtachd also increasingly refers to regions in Scotland where Scottish Gaelic is spoken as a native language by much of the population.
Galldachd (Gall-dom, Gall referring to a non- Gael) is often used for the Lowlands, although it is also notable that the Hebrides are known as Innse Gall due to the historical presence of Norsemen.
- redirect Gàidhealtachd