Talk:Kirkwall

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According to "The Concise Scots Dictionary" both "wa" and "waw" mean wall. However it seems more likely that the "waa" part of "Kirkwaa" was mistaken for "wa" than "waw".

I have removed the gaelic version of the name "Kirkwall" as I do not feel that it is appropriate here; the language has never been spoken on the islands. Robert Scarth 13:53, 9 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Its been added again and its inapropriate to remove a Gaelic placename from a Scottish location. There have certainly been Gaelic speakers in Kirkwall just as there have been French, German and Spanish speakers. In fact if anything, there are likely to be more Gaelic speakers there, now they have access to Gaelic tv. Seamusalba (talk) 23:45, 11 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with Robert Scarth. The language doesn't belong in most Scotland related articles. It's spoken by less than 2% of the bloody population.

Etymological route[edit]

The etymology in the head paragraph is very dodgy. It also fails to cite any source.

The origin of the name of Kirkwall is undoubted, but there is no material I am aware of to support the idea that the "-ll" comes from a recent English error of assumption. There may be many explanations.

It is interesting to note that in the earliest version of Scots (which is to say Old English), the direct equivalent of the Norse word vagr is wæl.

Can anyone cite any relable source on this question? What is the first appearance of Kirkwall as such?

Howard Alexander (talk) 17:23, 1 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Proposals for improving the article[edit]

This article could do with some enhancements - Kirkwall is capital of the Orkneys and an important Scottish city. (1) The introduction is much too long for the article and needs both incorporating into main text and also having some additional material in main text. (2) I added a location box and was about to add a climate box, but the whole geography section was then reverted - I propose we re-add it with more material. (3) Kirkwall has a vivid and well-documented history and this deserves a section. (4) It could do with some info about the economy of the port, etc. Jamesinderbyshire (talk) 17:29, 21 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

twin cities[edit]

Hi! Is something known about twin cities? gangLeri ‫·‏לערי ריינהארט‏·‏T‏·‏m‏:‏Th‏·‏T‏·‏email me‏·‏‬ 23:35, 3 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Restructure July 2018[edit]

I intend to start restructuring to use the recommended section headings in [1]. Some sections might be empty or material in the wrong place whilst this is happening. Help welcome when the 'In use' hatnote is not in place.SovalValtos (talk) 20:48, 25 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

First session done. Help appreciated in removing any errors that have crept in and adding content to the empty or sparsely filled sections. The lead could wait until the dust settles.SovalValtos (talk) 21:56, 25 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]