Editing Benbecula (section)

==Language==
===Etymology===
The first written record of the name is as "Beanbeacla" in 1449.<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Benbecula.aspx#2-1O40:Benbecula-full "Benbecula"]. Encyclopedia.com quoting Mills, A.D. (2003) ''A Dictionary of British Place-Names''. Retrieved 16 April 2011.{{dead link|date=June 2015}}</ref> The names {{lang|gd|Beinn nam Fadhla}}<ref name="MacT1" /> and {{lang|gd|Beinn na Faoghla}}<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> are used in Scottish Gaelic today. All these names are assumed to derive from ''Peighinn nam Fadhla'' (pronounced {{IPA|gd|pʰe.ɪɲəmˈfɤːlˠ̪ə|}}) "[[pennyland]] of the fords" as the island is low-lying.<ref name=MacT/> ''Peighinn'' is very similar phonetically to the unstressed form of ''Beinn'' ({{IPA|[peɲ]}} "mountain", and appears to have been subject to [[folk etymology]] or re-analysis, leading to the modern forms containing ''Beinn'' rather than ''Peighinn''. Through a process of [[Language change|language assimilation]], the {{IPA|[mˈfɤːlˠ̪ə]}} sequence has resulted in the modern pronunciation of {{IPA|[vɤːlˠ̪ə]}}. The spelling variations ''faola'' and ''fadhla'' are due to [[phonetic merger]] of {{IPAslink|ɤ}} with {{IPAslink|ɯ}} in certain Gaelic dialects. Spelling variants include: ''Beinn a' Bhaoghla'', ''Beinn na bhFadhla'' and ''Beinn nam Faola''.{{original research inline|date=January 2020}}

The second element is a loan from [[Old Norse|Norse]] ''vaðil(l)'' "ford" which was borrowed as Gaelic ''fadhail'' ([[genitive]] ''fadhla'').<ref>Oftedal, M. ''The Gaelic of Leurbost'' Norsk Tidskrift for Sprogvidenskap 1956</ref> Through the process of reverse [[lenition]] ''fadhla'', with the ethnonymic suffix ''-ach'' has led to the formation of ''Badhlach'' "a person from Benbecula".

Other interpretations that have been suggested over the years are ''Beinn Bheag a' bhFaodhla'', supposedly meaning the "little mountain of the ford", ''Beinn a' Bhuachaille'', meaning "the herdsman's mountain"<ref name=Smith/> and from {{lang|gd|Beinnmhaol}}, meaning "bare hill".<ref>This last according to [[Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair]]- see Robert Forbes (1895), ''The Lyon in Mourning: Or a Collection of Speeches, Letters, Journals Etc., Relative to the Affairs of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. Volume I'', Printed at the University Press by T. and A. Constable for the Scottish History Society. Page 326.</ref>

The island is also known in Gaelic poetry as ''An t-Eilean Dorcha'' "the dark island".<ref name="MacT1"/>

===Current language use===
Benbecula has historically been a very strong Gaelic-speaking area. In both the 1901 and the 1921 censuses, all parishes were reported to be over 75% Gaelic-speaking. By 1971, Benbecula and [[South Uist]] were classed as 50–74% Gaelic-speaking.<ref name=MacT>Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2004) {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20101207211745/http://www.linguae-celticae.org/dateien/Gaelic_1901-2001.ppt  ''1901-2001 Gaelic in the Census'']}} (PowerPoint ) Linguae Celticae. Retrieved 1 June 2008.</ref>

It remains a relatively strong Gaelic-speaking area in spite of a continued decline. In the 2001 census, Benbecula overall had 56% Gaelic speakers. The weakest Gaelic-speaking area is [[Balivanich]], with only 37%. All other areas on Benbecula range between 74% (Lionacleit) and 62% (Gramsdale and [[Uachdar]]).<ref name=MacT/>