Talk:Islay

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[edit] Population

The population of Islay is just over 3000 inhabitants. I've some doubt here, locals told me that is is rather 9000/10000. Is there a source for this figure? Thijs - 12-07-05

2001 census says 3457 (see the "population" link on [1]). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 17:47, July 12, 2005 (UTC)
Note also that the census counts people who are "ordinarily" resident in a place (which, in this case, essentially means those who overwinter there). Many of the islands' populations rise in the summer months, with tourists, holiday-home owners, and those seasonally employed in connection with tourism. There's no accurate statistic for that; I'd guess maybe another thousand. This timeline gives a partial chart of the decline of Islay's population - 15,000 in 1831, 7,500 by 1881. So it hasn't been 9 or 10 thousand for a century. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:01, July 12, 2005 (UTC)
This posting gives more detail (showing the 1831 number is a peak) but it's unsourced and I've not (after a whole five minutes of trying) been able to find historical scottish census figures online with which to corroborate it. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:08, July 12, 2005 (UTC)
Haswell-Brown (The Scottish Islands ISBN 1841954543) quotes a figure of 15,772 in 1841 and lower thereafter. --JBellis 17:11, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Weather

I'm not sure that the weather stats for Tiree belong in this article arther than on Tiree and linked. Besides doesn't Tiree ofter hold Scottish the weather record for maximum sunshine? --JBellis 17:11, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

No-one's justified these figures - which seem slightly misleading, so I plan to remove them soon. Anyone object?--JBellis 20:45, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pronunciation

Does the following alteration make any sense?

Islay (pronounced in English as IPA: [ˈaɪlə], approximately "EYE-la"; in Gaelic: Ìle; pronounced IPA: [ˈiːʎə], approximately "EE-la")

Of course, some people pronounce it like "EYE-lay"... - calum 20:04, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

I don't see what's wrong (in terms of comprehension at least) with the text as it stands. It should be obvious unless otherwise stated that the first pronunciation is for the English form, which is the article title. Having "pronounced" link to IPA is fairly standard too. However, there's a discrepency between the IPA and the respelling of the Gaelic form: [ˈiːʎə] is pronounced more like "EE-lya". I previously changed the IPA from [ˈiːljə], which (I think) is a non-standard way of transcribing the same thing. So which is correct, EE-la or EE-lya? -- Blisco 23:05, 11 June 2006 (UTC)
I should learn IPA properly, I see what you mean. I'll get confirmation of the Gaelic pronunciation from a native speaker next week :) - calum 11:31, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Kildalton Cross

In my travels to Islay I've been told that, unlike the stone from which the surrounding church (ruins) were built, that the stone for the cross itself is not native to the island, and is thought to come from Iona. I don't have any sourcing for this, so I haven't added it -- any ideas? -- BlindVenetian 09:53, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps this link will provide good info? [2] and maybe this link can also be used in the churches section on the islay page? ronsteenvoorden 13 july 2007

The plaque describing the cross is slightly ambiguous as it says: "It was carved about A.D. 800, probably by a sculptor from Iona, from the local blue stone". Does this mean from the local blue stone of Iona or the local blue stone of Islay? --Armin Grewe 23:26, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Size

Islay is the fifth largest Scottish island and the sixth largest island surrounding Britain[citation needed].

  • I would agree with Islay being fifth largest Scottish island according to the figures here. But it it is seventh largest island surrounding Britain - Anglesey and Ireland are larger. --jmb 22:27, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
It's stretching a point somewhat to say that Ireland is one of the islands "surrounding" Britain. How about "the sixth largest in the United Kingdom"? If pedants argue that it's the seventh largest after the British mainland, "the sixth largest offshore island of the United Kingdom" would work. Either version is more precise than what's there.--Blisco 18:25, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
The island of Ireland is one of the British Isles (though some in Southern Ireland might not like it) so it seems quite reasonable to include it as one of "the islands surrounding Britain" as it is part of Britain itself. It is not a good choice of wording, "of the British Isles" might be better though would include the British mainland. --jmb 19:51, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
That's just the kind of logic that opponents of the term "British Isles" (of which there are a disproportionate number on Wikipedia) object to – "Ireland is one of the British Isles, therefore it's somehow subsidiary to Great Britain and/or the UK". Political implications aside, it's clear from a glance at the map that the British Isles consist of two main islands, not one, each surrounded by many much smaller ones; it therefore seems rather absurd to suggest that Ireland is an offshore island of GB in the same manner as Islay or Skye. In any case, as the neutrality of the term "British Isles" is disputed, it seems sensible to stick with unquestionably neutral terms wherever possible. --Blisco 22:15, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
So which island does the Isle of Man "surround"? I was just stating a geographic fact, you could equally say that Great Britain and Ireland "surround" the Isle of Man. As I suggested the best course is quote the relative position in size of the island in the whole island group of the British Isles. --jmb 23:12, 31 January 2007 (UTC)