>>In Europe I never found that people spoke any kind of special patois near
>>the borders. They do learn the basics of the other language, without
>>altering their own.
>
> The Gaelic of Ireland and Scotland used to exist as a continuum from
> southern Ireland to the Highlands of Scotland with one dialect gradually
> merging into the next. With the shrinking of the Gaeltacht (and other
> historical factors) this continuum has been interrupted, especially
> between Scotland and Ireland.
>
> Gary Ingle
> garyi@halcyon.com
thanks. By the way, is there a general descriprion of related celtic
modern languages as a whole?