germanic tribes (saxons, angles, and jutes) came to britain from around 449 ad. they made their home in the south and east of the island, pushing out the celtic britons who were there before them, or making them speak the english language instead of the old celtic languages. some people still speak celtic languages today, in wales (welsh) and elsewhere. gaelic is the scottish celtic language, still spoken by some in the scottish highlands and islands. "scots" is a dialect of english, taken from the english spoken in northumbria. irish gaelic is spoken by very few people today.