Although few children native to theIsle of Man speak Manx as afirst language, there has been a steady increase in the number of speakers since the death ofNed Maddrell in 1974. He was considered to be the last speaker to grow up in a Manx-speaking community environment. Despite this, the language has never fallen completely out of use, with a minority having some knowledge of it as aheritage language, and it is still an important part of the island'sculture andcultural heritage.
Manx is often cited as a good example oflanguage revitalization efforts; in 2015, around 1,800 people had varying levels ofsecond-language conversational ability. Since the late 20th century, Manx has become more visible on the island, with increased signage, radio broadcasts and a Manx-medium primary school. The revival of Manx has been made easier because the language was well recorded, e.g. theBible and theBook of Common Prayer had been translated into Manx, and audio recordings had been made of native speakers.
Theendonym of the language isGaelg/Gailck, which shares the same etymology as the word "Gaelic", as do the endonyms of itssister languages:Irish (Gaeilge;Gaoluinn,Gaedhlag andGaeilic) andScottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig). Manx frequently uses the formsy Ghaelg/y Ghailck (withdefinite article), as do Irish (an Ghaeilge) and Scottish Gaelic (a' Ghàidhlig).
To distinguish it from the two other forms of Gaelic, the phrasesGaelg/Gailck Vannin "Gaelic ofMann" andGaelg/Gailck Vanninnagh "Manx Gaelic" are also used. In addition, the nicknameÇhengey ny Mayrey "the mother tongue", lit. "the mother's tongue" is occasionally used.
The language is usually referred to in English as "Manx". The term "Manx Gaelic" is often used, for example when discussing the relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx) or to avoid confusion withManx English, the form of English spoken on the island. A feature of Manx English deriving from Gaelic is the use of the definite article, e.g. "the Manx", "the Gaelic", in ways not generally seen in standard English.[4]
The word "Manx", often spelled historically as "Manks" (particularly by natives of the island), means "Mannish" and originates fromOld Norse*manskr.[5] TheIsle of Man is named after the Irish godManannán mac Lir, thusEllan Vannin ("Mannanán's Island",Irish:Oileán Mhannanáin "Mannanán's Island").[6]
Anogham inscription on a stone in theManx Museum written in Primitive Irish and which reads DOVAIDONA MAQI DROATA, "Of Dovaido, son of Droata"[7]William Christian, better known asIlliam Dhone (Brown-haired William)Lag ny Keeilley ("Hollow of the Church") onCronk ny Arrey Laa ("Hill of the Day Watch"). The Manx language has had a substantial influence on the island'stoponymy and nomenclature.
Manx is aGoidelic language, closely related toIrish andScottish Gaelic. On the whole it is partiallymutually intelligible with these, and native speakers of one find it easy to gain passive, and even spoken, competency in the other two.
It has been suggested that a little-documentedBrythonic language (i.e. related to modernWelsh,Cornish andBreton) may have been spoken on the Isle of Man before the arrival of Christian missionaries from Ireland in the early Middle Ages.[8] However, there is little surviving evidence about the language spoken on the island at that time.
The basis of the modern Manx language isPrimitive Irish (like modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic). The island either lends its name to or takes its name fromManannán, the Brythonic and Gaelic sea god who is said in myth to have once ruled the island.Primitive Irish is first attested inOgham inscriptions from the 4th century AD. These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast ofGreat Britain. Primitive Irish transitioned intoOld Irish through the 5th century. Old Irish, dating from the 6th century, used theLatin script and is attested primarily inmarginalia to Latin manuscripts, but there are no extant examples from the Isle of Man.
Latin was used for ecclesiastical records from the establishment of Christianity in the Isle of Man in the 5th century AD. Many lexical items concerning religion, writing and record keeping entered Manx at this time.
The Isle of Man was conquered byNorse Vikings in the 9th century. Although there is some evidence in the form ofrunic inscriptions thatNorse was used by some of these settlers, the Vikings who settled around theIrish Sea and West Coast of Scotland soon became Gaelic speakingNorse–Gaels. During the 9th century AD, the Gaelic of the inhabitants of the Isle of Man, like those of Scotland and the North of Ireland, may have been significantly influenced by Norse speakers. While Norse had very little impact on the Manx language overall,[9][10] a small number of modern place names on the Isle of Man are Norse in origin, e.g.Laxey (Laksaa) andRamsey (Rhumsaa). Other Norse legacies in Manx includeloanwords andpersonal names.
By the 10th century, it is supposed thatMiddle Irish had emerged and was spoken throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.
The island came under Scottish rule in 1266, and alternated between Scottish and English rule until finally becoming the feudal possession of theStanley family in 1405. It is likely that until that point, except for scholarly knowledge ofLatin and courtly use ofAnglo-Norman, Manx was the only language spoken on the island. Since the establishment of the Stanleys on the Isle of Man, first Anglo-Norman and later theEnglish language have been the chief external factors in the development of Manx, until the 20th century, when Manx speakers became able to access Irish and Scottish Gaelic media.
Manx had diverged considerably from the Gaelic languages of Scotland and Ireland between 1400 and 1900. The 17th centuryPlantation of Ulster, the decline of Irish inLeinster and the extinction ofGalloway Gaelic led to the geographic isolation of Manx from other dialects of Gaelic. The development of a separateorthography also led Manx to diverge from Irish and Scottish Gaelic.[9]
In the 17th century, some university students left the Isle of Man to attend school in England. At the same time, teaching in English was required in schools founded by governorIsaac Barrow. Barrow also promoted the use of English in churches; he considered that it was a superior language for reading the Bible; however, because the majority of ministers were monolingual Manx speakers, his views had little practical impact.[9][10]
Thomas Wilson began his tenure as Bishop of Mann in 1698 and was succeeded by Mark Hildesley. Both men held positive views of Manx; Wilson was the first person to publish a book in Manx, a translation ofThe Principles and Duties of Christianity (Coyrie Sodjey), and Hildesley successfully promoted the use of Manx as the language of instruction in schools. The New Testament was first published in Manx in 1767. In the late 18th century, nearly every school was teaching in English. This decline continued into the 19th century, as English gradually became the primary language spoken on the Isle of Man.[9][10]
In 1848, J.G. Cumming wrote, "there are ... few persons (perhaps none of the young) who speak no English."Henry Jenner estimated in 1874 that about 30% of the population habitually spoke Manx (12,340 out of a population of 41,084). According to official census figures, 9.1% of the population claimed to speak Manx in 1901; in 1921 the percentage was only 1.1%.[11] Since the language was used by so few people, it had low linguistic "prestige", and parents tended not to teach Manx to their children, thinking it would be useless to them compared with English.[10]
According toBrian Stowell, "In the 1860s there were thousands of Manx people who couldn't speak English, but barely a century later it was considered to be so backwards to speak the language that there were stories of Manx speakers getting stones thrown at them in the towns."[12]
Following the decline in the use of Manx during the 19th century,Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh (The Manx Language Society) was founded in 1899. By the middle of the 20th century, only a few elderlynative speakers remained (the last of them,Ned Maddrell, died on 27 December 1974), but by then a scholarly revival had begun and a few people had started teaching it in schools. The Manx Language Unit was formed in 1992, consisting of three members and headed by Manx Language OfficerBrian Stowell, a language activist and fluent speaker, "which was put in charge of all aspects of Manx language teaching and accreditation in schools."[9] This led to an increased interest in studying the Manx language and encouraged a renewed sense of ethnic identity. The revival of Manx was aided by the recording work done in the 20th century by researchers. Most notably, theIrish Folklore Commission was sent in with recording equipment in 1948 byÉamon de Valera. Also important in preserving the Manx language was work conducted by the late Brian Stowell, who is considered personally responsible for the current revival of the Manx language.[13] The Manx Language Strategy was released in 2017, outlining a five-year plan for the language's continued revitalisation.[14][15]Culture Vannin employs a Manx Language Development Officer (Manx:Yn Greinneyder) to encourage and facilitate the use of the language.
In 2009,UNESCO'sAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger declared Manx anextinct language, despite the presence of hundreds of speakers on the Isle of Man.[16] Historian and linguistJennifer Kewley Draskau reacted to this declaration, saying that saying that "Unesco ought to know better than to declare Manx a dead language. There are hundreds of speakers of Manx and while people are able to have productive conversations in the language then it is very much alive and well."[17] Since then, UNESCO's classification of the language has changed to "critically endangered".[13]
In the 2011 census, 1,823 out of 80,398 Isle of Man residents, or 2.27% of the population, claimed to have knowledge of Manx,[18] an increase of 134 people from the 2001 census.[19] These individuals were spread roughly uniformly over the island: inDouglas 566 people professed an ability to speak, read or write Manx; 179 inPeel, 146 inOnchan, and 149 in Ramsey.[18]
Traditional Manx given names have experienced a marked resurgence on the island, especiallyMoirrey andVoirrey (Mary),Illiam (William),Orry (from the Manx kingGodred Crovan of Norse origin),Breeshey/Breesha (Bridget),Aalish/Ealish (Alice),Juan (Jack),Ean (John),Joney (Joan),Fenella (Fionnuala),Pherick (Patrick) andFreya (from theNorse goddess) remain popular.[20]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found onPhabricator and onMediaWiki.org.
Manx is notofficially recognised by any national or regional government, although its contribution toManx culture and tradition is acknowledged by some governmental and non-governmental bodies.
The Standing Orders of theHouse of Keys provide that: "The proceedings of the House shall be in English; but if a Member at any point pronounces a customary term or sentence in Manx Gaelic or any other language, the Speaker may call upon the Member for a translation."[27] An example was at the sitting on 12 February 2019, when an MHK used the expressionboghtnid,[28] stated to mean "nonsense".[29][30]
Manx is used in the annualTynwald ceremony and Manx words are used in official Tynwald publications.[31]
The Isle of Man comprised the one site for the Manx language in theAtlas Linguarum Europae, a project that compared dialects and languages across all countries in Europe.[32]
Sign at the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh at St John's
Manx is taught as a second language at all of the island's primary and secondary schools. The lessons are optional and instruction is provided by theDepartment of Education's Manx Language Team which teach up toA Level standard.[33]
TheBunscoill Ghaelgagh, a primary school atSt John's, has 67 children, as of September 2016, who receive nearly all of their education through the medium of the language. Children who have attended the school have the opportunity to receive some of their secondary education through the language at Queen Elizabeth II High School inPeel.
The playgroup organisationMooinjer Veggey, which operates theBunscoill Ghaelgagh, runs a series of preschool groups that introduce the language.
Bilingual road, street, village and town boundary signs are common throughout the Isle of Man. All other road signs are in English only.
Business signage in Manx is gradually being introduced but is not mandated by law; however, the 1985 Tynwald Report on the use of Manx states that signage should be bilingual except where a Manx phrase is the norm.
Manx is one of the threedaughter languages ofOld Irish (viaMiddle Irish), the other two beingIrish andScottish Gaelic. It shares a number of developments in phonology, vocabulary and grammar with itssisters (in some cases only with certain dialects) and shows a number of unique changes. There are two attested historical dialects of Manx, Northern Manx andSouthern Manx.[34] A third dialect may have existed in-between, around Douglas[citation needed].
Similarities to and differences from Irish and Scottish Gaelic
Manx and Scottish Gaelic share the partial loss of phonemicpalatalisation oflabial consonants; while in Irishvelarised consonants/pˠbˠfˠwmˠ/ contrastphonemically with palatalised/pʲbʲfʲvʲmʲ/.[35] A consequence of thisphonemic merger is that Middle Irish unstressed word-final[əβʲ] (-⟨(a)ibh, (a)imh⟩ in Irish and Gaelic) has merged with[əβ] (-⟨(e)abh, (e)amh⟩ in Irish and Gaelic), in Manx; both have become[u] (-⟨oo, u(e)⟩), e.g.shassoo "to stand" (Irishseasamh),credjue "religion" (Irishcreideamh),nealloo "fainting" (Early Modern Irishi néalaibh, lit.in clouds), anderriu "on you (pl.)" (Irishoraibh).[36]
Medial and final *⟨bh, mh⟩ have generally become/u/ and/w/ in Manx, thusshiu 'you pl.' (Irish and Scottish Gaelicsibh;Lewis Gaelicsiù),sharroo "bitter" (Scottishsearbh/ˈʃɛɾˠɛv/, Irishsearbh (Northern/Western)/ʃaɾˠu/, (Southern)/ʃaɾˠəβˠ/),awin "river" (Scottishabhainn/aviɲ/, Irishabhainn (Northern)/oːn̠ʲ/) (Western)/aun̠ʲ/ (Southern)/aunʲ/,laaue "hand" (Scottishlàmh/l̪ˠaːvˠ/, Irishlámh (Northern)/l̪ˠæːw/, (Western)/l̪ˠɑːw/, (Southern)/l̪ˠɑːβˠ/),sourey "summer" (Scottishsamhradh/saurəɣ/, Irishsamhradh (Northern)/sˠauɾˠu/, (Western/Southern)/sˠauɾˠə/). Rare retentions of the older pronunciation of⟨bh⟩ includeDivlyn,Divlin "Dublin", Middle IrishDuibhlind/d̪uβʲlʲin̠ʲː/.
Moreover, similarly toMunster Irish, historical⟨bh⟩ ([βʲ]) and⟨mh⟩ (nasalised[βʲ]) tend to be lost word medially or finally in Manx, either withcompensatory lengthening or vocalisation as[u] resulting indiphthongisation with the preceding vowel, e.g.geurey "winter"[ˈɡʲeurə,-uːrə] (Irishgeimhreadh (Southern)[ˈɟiːɾʲə]) andsleityn "mountains"[ˈsleːdʒən] (Irishsléibhte (Southern)[ˈʃlʲeːtʲə]).[37] Another similarity to Munster Irish is the development of the Old Irish diphthongs[aioi] before velarised consonants (⟨ao⟩ in Irish and Scottish Gaelic) to[eː], as inseyr "carpenter"[seːr] andkeyl "narrow"[keːl] (Irish and Scottishsaor andcaol).[38]
LikeConnacht andUlster Irish (cf.Irish phonology) and most dialects of Scottish Gaelic, Manx has changed the historicalconsonant clusters/knɡnmntn/ to/krɡrmrtr/, e.g. Middle Irishcnáid "mockery" andmná "women" have becomecraid andmraane respectively in Manx.[39] Theaffrication of slender "⟨d, t⟩" sounds is also common to Manx, Northern Irish, and Scottish Gaelic.[40]
Unstressed Middle Irish word-final syllable[iʝ] (-⟨(a)idh, (a)igh⟩) has developed to[iː] (-⟨ee⟩) in Manx, as inkionnee "buy" (cf. Irishceannaigh) andcullee "apparatus" (cf. Gaelicculaidh),[41] like Northern/Western Irish and Southern dialects Scottish Gaelic (e.g.Arran,Kintyre).
Another property Manx shares with Ulster Irish and some dialects of Scottish Gaelic is that/a/ rather than/ə/ appears in unstressed syllables before/x/ (⟨agh⟩ in Manx), e.g.jeeragh "straight"[ˈdʒiːrax] (Irishdíreach),cooinaghtyn "to remember"[ˈkuːnʲaxt̪ən] (Scottish Gaeliccuimhneachd).[42]
Like Southern and Western Irish and Northern Scottish Gaelic, but unlike the geographically closer varieties ofUlster Irish and Arran and Kintyre Gaelic, Manx shows vowel lengthening or diphthongisation before the Old Irishfortis and lenis sonorants, e.g.cloan "children"[klɔːn],dhone "brown"[d̪oːn] andeeym "butter"[iːᵇm] correspond to Irish/Scottish Gaelicclann,donn, andim respectively, which have long vowels or diphthongs in Western and Southern Irish and in the Scottish Gaelic dialects of theOuter Hebrides andSkye, thus Western Irish[klˠɑːn̪ˠ], Southern Irish/Northern Scottish[kl̪ˠaun̪ˠ],[d̪ˠaun̪ˠ]/[d̪ˠoun̪ˠ],[iːm]/[ɤim]), but short vowels and 'long' consonants in Ulster Irish, Arran, and Kintyre,[klˠan̪ːˠ],[d̪ˠon̪ːˠ] and[imʲː].[43]
Another similarity with Southern Irish is the treatment of Middle Irish word-final unstressed[əð] (-⟨(e)adh⟩ in Irish and Scottish Gaelic). In nouns (includingverbal nouns), this became[ə] in Manx, as it did in Southern Irish, e.g.caggey "war"[ˈkaːɣə],moylley "to praise"[ˈmɔlə] (cf. Irishcogadh andmoladh (Southern Irish)[ˈkɔɡə] and[ˈmˠɔl̪ˠə]).[44] Infinite verb forms before full nouns (as opposed to pronouns)[əð] became[ax] in Manx, as in Southern Irish, e.g.voyllagh[ˈvɔlax] "would praise" (cf. Irishmholfadh (Southern Irish)[ˈβˠɔl̪ˠhəx]).[45]
Historical dialect map of Manx (boundaries are approximate)
Linguistic analysis of the last few dozen native speakers reveals a number ofdialectal differences between the North and the South of the island. Northern Manx (Manx:Gaelg Hwoaie) was spoken fromMaughold in the northeast toPeel on the west coast. Southern Manx was spoken in thesheading ofRushen. It is possible that written Manx represents a 'midlands' dialect ofDouglas and surrounding areas.
In Southern Manx, older⟨á⟩, and in some cases⟨ó⟩, became[æː]. In Northern Manx the same happened, but⟨á⟩ sometimes remained[aː] as well, e.g.laa "day" (cf. Irishlá) was[læː] in the South but[læː] or[laː] in the North. Old⟨ó⟩ is always[æː] in both dialects, e.g.aeg "young" (cf. Irishóg) is[æːɡ] in both dialects.[46]⟨á, ó⟩ and lengthened⟨a⟩ before⟨rt, rd, rg⟩ became/œː/, as inpaayrt '"part"/pœːrt/,ard "high"/œːrd/,jiarg "red"/dʒœːrɡ/,argid "money, silver"/œːrɡid/ andaarey "goldgen."/œːrə/.
In Northern Manx, older⟨(e)a⟩ before⟨nn⟩ in the same syllable is diphthongised, while in Southern Manx it is lengthened but remains amonophthong, e.g.kione "head" (cf. Irishceann) is[kʲaun] in the North but[kʲoːn] in the South.[47]
Words with⟨ua⟩, and in some cases⟨ao⟩, in Irish and Scottish are spelled with⟨eay⟩ in Manx. In Northern Manx, this sound was[iː], while in Southern Manx it was[ɯː],[uː], or[yː], e.g.geay "wind" (cf. Irishgaoth) is[ɡiː] in the north and[ɡɯː] in the South, whilegeayl "coal" (cf. Irishgual) is[ɡiːl] in the North and[ɡyːl],[ɡɯːl], or[ɡuːl] in the South.[48]
In both the North and the South, there is a tendency to insert a short[d] before a word-final[n] in monosyllabic words, as in[sleᵈn] forslane "whole" and[beᵈn] forben "woman". This is known aspre-occlusion. In Southern Manx, however, there is also pre-occlusion of[d] before[l] and of[ɡ] before[ŋ], as in[ʃuːᵈl] forshooyl "walking" and[lɔᶢŋ] forlhong "ship". These forms are generally pronounced without pre-occlusion in the North. Pre-occlusion of[b] before[m], on the other hand, is more common in the North, as introme "heavy", which is[t̪roᵇm] in the North but[t̪roː(ᵇ)m] in the South.[49] This feature is also found inCornish.
Southern Manx tended to lose word-initial[ɡ] before[lʲ], which was usually preserved in the North, e.g.glion "glen" andglioon "knee" are and[lʲɔᵈn] and[lʲuːᵈn] in the South but[ɡlʲɔᵈn] and[ɡlʲuːn] in the North.[50]
In modern times, the small size of the island and the improvement in communications precludes any regional dialect variations.
Stress generally falls on the firstsyllable of a word in Manx, but in many cases, stress is attracted to along vowel in the second syllable.[51] Examples include:
Thevoiceless plosives areaspirated. The dental, postalveolar and palato-velar plosives/t̪d̪tʲdʲkʲ/affricate to[t̪͡θd̪͡ðt͡ʃd͡ʒk͡xʲ] in many contexts.
Manx has an optional process oflenition of plosives between vowels, wherevoiced plosives and voiceless fricatives become voiced fricatives and voiceless plosives become either voiced plosives or voiced fricatives. This process introduces theallophones[βðzʒ]. The voiced fricative[ʒ] may be further lenited to[j], and[ɣ] may disappear altogether. Examples include:[53]
Another optional process ispre-occlusion, the insertion of a very short plosive before asonorant consonant. In Manx, this applies to stressedmonosyllabic words. The inserted consonant ishomorganic with the following sonorant, which means it has the sameplace of articulation. Long vowels are often shortened before pre-occluded sounds. Examples include:[54]
/m/ >[ᵇm]:trome/t̪roːm/ >[t̪roᵇm] "heavy"
/n/ >[ᵈn]:kione/kʲoːn/ >[kʲoᵈn] "head"
/nʲ/ >[ᵈnʲ]:ein/eːnʲ/ >[eːᵈnʲ],[eᵈnʲ] "birds"
/ŋ/ >[ᶢŋ]:lhong/loŋ/ >[loᶢŋ] "ship"
/l/ >[ᵈl]:shooyll/ʃuːl/ >[ʃuːᵈl] "walking"
The trill/r/ is realised as a one- or two-contactflap[ɾ] at the beginning of syllable, and as a stronger trill[r] when preceded by another consonant in the same syllable. At the end of a syllable,/r/ can be pronounced either as a strong trill[r] or, more frequently, as a weak fricative[ɹ̝], which may vocalise to a nonsyllabic[ə̯] or disappear altogether.[55] This vocalisation may be due to the influence ofManx English, which isnon-rhotic.[56] Examples of the pronunciation of/r/ include:
The status of[æ] and[æː] as separate phonemes is debatable, but is suggested by the allophony of certain words such asta "is",mraane "women", and so on. An alternative analysis is that Manx has the following system, where the vowels/a/ and/aː/ have allophones ranging from[ɛ]/[ɛː] through[æ]/[æː] to[a]/[aː]. As with Irish and Scottish Gaelic, there is a large amount of vowel allophony, such as that of/a/,/aː/. This depends mainly on the 'broad' and 'slender' status of the neighbouring consonants:
Like mostInsular Celtic languages, Manx is aVSO language.[59] However, most finite verbs are formed periphrastically, using an auxiliary verb in conjunction with the verbal noun. In this case, only the auxiliary verb precedes the subject, while the verbal noun comes after the subject. The auxiliary verb may be amodal verb rather than a form ofbee ("be") orjannoo ("do"). Particles like the negativecha ("not") precede the inflected verb. Examples:
Where the predicate is a noun, it must be converted to a prepositional phrase headed by the prepositionin ("in") + possessive pronoun (agreeing with the subject) in order for the substantive verb to be grammatical:
t'
is
eh
he
ny
in-his
wooinney
man
mie
good
t' eh ny wooinney mie
is he in-his man good
"He is a good man" (lit. "He is in his good man")[65]
Otherwise, the copula is used when the predicate is a noun. The copula itself takes the formis orshe in the present tense, but it is often omitted in affirmative statements:
Like all modern Celtic languages, Manx showsinitial consonant mutations, which are processes by which the initial consonant of a word is altered according to itsmorphological and/orsyntactic environment.[67] Manx has two mutations:lenition andeclipsis, found on nouns and verbs in a variety of environments; adjectives can undergo lenition but not eclipsis. In the late spoken language of the 20th century the system was breaking down, with speakers frequently failing to use mutation in environments where it was called for, and occasionally using it in environments where it was not called for.
In the corpus of the late spoken language, there is also one example of the eclipsis (nasalisation) of/ɡ/: the sentenceTa mee erngeddyn yn eayn ("I have found the lamb"), where⟨ng⟩ is pronounced/n/. However, probably this was a mis-transcription; the verbal noun in this case is notgeddyn "get, fetch", but ratherfeddyn "find".[69]
Manx verbs generally form theirfinite forms by means ofperiphrasis: inflected forms of theauxiliary verbsve "to be" orjannoo "to do" are combined with theverbal noun of the main verb. Only thefuture,conditional,preterite, andimperative can be formed directly by inflecting the main verb, but even in these tenses, the periphrastic formation is more common in Late Spoken Manx.[70]
The fully inflected forms of the regular verbtilgey "to throw" are as follows. In addition to the forms below, a past participle may be formed using-it:tilgit "thrown".
There are a few peculiarities when a verb begins with a vowel, i.e. the addition ofd' in the preterite andn' in the future and conditional dependent. Below is the conjugation ofaase "to grow".
There is a small number of irregular verbs, the most irregular of all beingve "be".
Like the otherInsular Celtic languages, Manx hasinflected prepositions, contractions of apreposition with apronominal direct object, as the following common prepositions show. Note the sometimes identical form of the uninflected preposition and its third person singular masculine inflected form.
Conjugation of Manx prepositions using pronominal ending
Manxorthography is based onElizabethan English, and to a lesser extentMiddle Welsh, developed by people who had an education in English (and Welsh until the 16th century).[76] The result is an inconsistent and only partially phonemic spelling system, similar toEnglish orthography and completely incomprehensible to readers ofIrish andScottish Gaelic. This is because both Irish and Scottish Gaelic use spelling systems derived fromClassical Gaelic, the commonliterary language of Man, Ireland, and Scotland until the Bardic schools closed down in the 17th century, which makes them veryetymological. Both Irish and Scottish Gaelic use only 18 letters to represent around 50 phonemes. While Manx uses 24 letters (theISO basic Latin alphabet, excluding⟨x⟩ and⟨z⟩), covering a similar range of phonemes, all three make use of manydigraphs andtrigraphs. In 1932,CelticistT. F. O'Rahilly expressed the opinion that Manx orthography is inadequate, as it is neither traditional nor phonetic. Therefore, if a form of Classical Gaelic orthography adapted to Manx had survived or if one based on the reforms ofTheobald Stapleton were to be developed and introduced, the very close relationship between Manx, Irish, and Scottish Gaelic would be obvious to readers at first sight and Manx would be much easier for other Gaels to read and understand.[77]
There is no evidence, however, ofGaelic type ever having been used on the island.
Manx uses only onediacritic, acedilla, which is (optionally) used to differentiate between the two phonemes represented by⟨ch⟩:
Çhiarn (/ˈt͡ʃaːrn/) "lord", is pronounced with/t͡ʃ/, as in the English "church"
Chamoo (/xaˈmu/) "nor" or "neither", is pronounced with/x/, as inScottish English "loch" (/ˈlɒx/) orIrish English "lough" (/ˈlɒx/), a sound commonly represented by⟨gh⟩ at the ends of words in Manx (and Irish English).
The following examples are taken from Broderick 1984–86, 1:178–79 and 1:350–53. The first example is from a speaker of Northern Manx, the second fromNed Maddrell, a speaker of Southern Manx.
Orthography (+ phonetic transcription)
Gloss
V'ad
vod̪
smooinaghtyn
ˈsmuːnʲaxt̪ən
dy
d̪ə
beagh
biəx
cabbyl
ˈkaːbəl
jeeaghyn
dʒiːən
skee
skiː
as
as
deinagh
ˈd̪øinʲax
ayns
uns
y
ə
voghree
ˈvoːxəri
dy
d̪ə
beagh
biəx
eh
e
er
er
ve
vi
ec
ek
ny
nə
ferrishyn
ˈferiʃən
fud
fod̪
ny
nə
h-oie
høi
as
as
beagh
biəx
ad
əd̪
cur
kør
lesh
leʃ
yn
ən
saggyrt
ˈsaːɡərt̪
dy
d̪ə
cur
kør
e
ə
vannaght
ˈvanax
er.
er
V'ad smooinaghtyn dy beagh cabbyl jeeaghyn skee as deinagh ayns y voghree dy beagh eh er ve ec ny ferrishyn fud ny h-oie as beagh ad cur lesh yn saggyrt dy cur e vannaght er.
vod̪ ˈsmuːnʲaxt̪ən d̪ə biəx ˈkaːbəl dʒiːən skiː as ˈd̪øinʲax uns ə ˈvoːxəri d̪ə biəx e er vi ek nə ˈferiʃən fod̪ nə høi as biəx əd̪ kør leʃ ən ˈsaːɡərt̪ d̪ə kør ə ˈvanax er
They used to think if a horse was looking tired and weary in the morning then it had been with the fairies all night and they would bring the priest to put his blessing on it.
Va
və
ben
ˈbɛn
aynshoh
əˈsoː
yn
ən
çhiaghtin
ˈtʃaːn
chaie
ˈkai
as
as
v'ee
vai
laccal
ˈlaːl
mish
ˈmiʃ
dy
ði
ynsagh
ˈjinðax
ee
i
dy
ðə
gra
ˈɡreː
yn
in
Padjer
ˈpaːdʒər
yn
ən
Çhiarn.
ˈtʃaːrn
‖
Dooyrt
d̪ot̪
ee
i
dy
ðə
row
ˈrau
ee
i
gra
ɡreː
eh
a
tra
ˈt̪reː
v'ee
vai
inneen
iˈnʲin
veg,
ˈveːɡ
‖
agh
ax
t'eh
t̪e
ooilley
ˈolʲu
jarroodit
dʒaˈrud̪ətʃ
eck,
ek
‖
as
as
v'ee
vei
laccal
ˈlaːl
gynsagh
ˈɡʲinðax
eh
a
reesht
ˈriːʃ
son
san
dy
ðə
gra
ˈɡreː
eh
ə
ec
əɡ
vrastyl
ˈvraːst̪əl
ny
nə
red
ˈrið
ennagh.
ənax
‖
As
as
dooyrt
ˈd̪ut̪
mish
miʃ
dy
ðə
jinnagh
ˈdʒinax
mee
mi
jannoo
ˈdʒinu
my
mə
share
ˈʃeː
son
san
dy
ðə
cooney
ˈkunə
lhee
lʲei
as
as
ren
ˈrenʲ
ee
i
çheet
ˈtʃit̪
aynshoh
oˈsoː
son
san
dy
ðə
clashtyn
ˈklaːʃtʲən
eh,
a
‖
as
as
vel
vel
oo
u
laccal
ˈlaːl
dy
ðə
clashtyn
ˈklaːʃtʲən
mee
mi
dy
ðə
gra
ˈɡreː
eh?
a
‖
Va ben aynshoh yn çhiaghtin chaie as v'ee laccal mish dy ynsagh ee dy gra yn Padjer yn Çhiarn. {} Dooyrt ee dy row ee gra eh tra v'ee inneen veg, {} agh t'eh ooilley jarroodit eck, {} as v'ee laccal gynsagh eh reesht son dy gra eh ec vrastyl ny red ennagh. {} As dooyrt mish dy jinnagh mee jannoo my share son dy cooney lhee as ren ee çheet aynshoh son dy clashtyn eh, {} as vel oo laccal dy clashtyn mee dy gra eh? {}
və ˈbɛn əˈsoː ən ˈtʃaːn ˈkai as vai ˈlaːl ˈmiʃ ði ˈjinðax i ðə ˈɡreː in ˈpaːdʒər ən ˈtʃaːrn ‖ d̪ot̪ i ðə ˈrau i ɡreː a ˈt̪reː vai iˈnʲin ˈveːɡ ‖ ax t̪e ˈolʲu dʒaˈrud̪ətʃ ek ‖ as vei ˈlaːl ˈɡʲinðax a ˈriːʃ san ðə ˈɡreː ə əɡ ˈvraːst̪əl nə ˈrið ənax ‖ as ˈd̪ut̪ miʃ ðə ˈdʒinax mi ˈdʒinu mə ˈʃeː san ðə ˈkunə lʲei as ˈrenʲ i ˈtʃit̪ oˈsoː san ðə ˈklaːʃtʲən a ‖ as vel u ˈlaːl ðə ˈklaːʃtʲən mi ðə ˈɡreː a ‖
There was a woman here last week and she wanted me to teach her to say the Lord's Prayer. She said that she used to say it when she was a little girl, but she has forgotten it all, and she wanted to learn it again to say it at a class or something. And I said I would do my best to help her and she came here to hear it, and do you want to hear me say it?
Manxvocabulary is predominantly of Goidelic origin, derived from Old Irish and hascognates in Irish and Scottish Gaelic. However, Manx itself, as well as the languages from which it is derived, borrowed words from other languages, especiallyLatin,Old Norse,French (particularlyAnglo-Norman), and English (bothMiddle English andModern English).[78]
The following table shows a selection of nouns from theSwadesh list and indicates their pronunciations and etymologies.
Loaghtan, a Manx breed of primitive sheep. The name means "mousy grey" in Manx.
Loanwords are primarilyNorse andEnglish, with a smaller number coming from French. Some examples of Norse loanwords aregarey "garden" (fromgarðr "enclosure") andsker "sea rock" (fromsker). Examples of French loanwords aredanjeyr "danger" (fromdanger) andvondeish "advantage" (fromavantage).
English loanwords were common in late (pre-revival) Manx, e.g.boy "boy",badjer "badger", rather than the more usual native Gaelicguilley andbrock. In more recent years, there has been a reaction against such borrowing, resulting in coinages for technical vocabulary. Despite this,calques exist in Manx, not necessarily obvious to its speakers. To fill gaps in recorded Manx vocabulary, revivalists have referred to modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic for words and inspiration.
Some religious terms come ultimately fromLatin,Greek andHebrew, e.g.casherick "holy" (from Latinconsecrātus),agglish "church" (from Greekἐκκλησία/ekklesia "assembly") andabb "abbot" (from Hebrewאבא/abba "father"). These did not necessarily come directly into Manx, but via Old Irish. In more recent times,ulpan has been borrowed frommodern Hebrew. Many Irish and English loanwords also have a classical origin, e.g.çhellveeish "television" (Irishteilifís) andçhellvane "telephone". Foreign language words (usually via English) are used occasionally especially for ethnic food, e.g.chorizo andspaghetti.
Going in the other direction, Manx Gaelic has influencedManx English (Anglo-Manx). Common words and phrases in Anglo-Manx originating in the language includetholtan "ruined farmhouse",[80]quaaltagh "first-foot",keeill "(old) church",cammag,traa-dy-liooar "time enough", andTynwald (tinvaal), which is ultimately of Norse origin, but comes from Manx. It is suggested that theHouse of Keys takes its name fromKiare as Feed (four and twenty), which is the number of its sitting members.
Ayr ain t'ayns niau, Casherick dy row dt'ennym. Dy jig dty reeriaght. Dt'aigney dy row jeant er y thalloo, myr t'ayns niau. Cur dooin nyn arran jiu as gagh laa, as leih dooin nyn loghtyn, myr ta shin leih dauesyn ta jannoo loghtyn nyn 'oi. As ny leeid shin ayns miolagh, agh livrey shin veih olk: Son lhiats y reeriaght, as y phooar, as y ghloyr, son dy bragh as dy bragh. Amen.
Ayr Ain, t'ayns Niau; Casherick dy rou dt'ennym; Di jig dty Reereeaght; Dt'aigney dy rou jeant er y Talloo myr ta ayns Niau; Cur dooin nyn Arran jiu as gagh laa; As leih dooin nyn Loghtyn, myr ta shin leih dauesyn ta janoo loghtyn ny noi shin; As ny leeid shin ayns Miolagh; Agh livrey shin veih olk; Son liats y Reereeaght y Phooar as y Ghloyr, son dy bragh as dy bragh. Amen
A athair fil hi nimib, Noemthar thainm. Tost do flaithius. Did do toil i talmain amail ata in nim. Tabair dun indiu ar sasad lathi. Ocus log dun ar fiachu amail logmaitne diar fhechemnaib. Ocus nis lecea sind i n-amus n-dofulachtai. Acht ron soer o cech ulc. Amen ropfir.
The Prayer in modern Irish
Ár n-Athair, atá ar neamh: go naofar d'ainm (alt. go naomhaíthear t'ainm). Go dtaga(idh) do ríocht. Go ndéantar do thoil ar an (d)talamh, mar dhéantar ar neamh. Ár n-arán laethúil tabhair dúinn inniu, agus maith dúinn ár bhfiacha (alt. ár gcionta), mar mhaithimid dár bhféichiúna féin (alt. mar a mhaithimíd dóibh a chiontaíonn inár n-aghaidh). Agus ná lig sinn i gcathú (alt. i gcathaíbh), ach saor sinn ó(n) olc. Óir is leatsa an Ríocht agus an Chumhacht agus an Ghlóir, trí shaol na saol (alt. le saol na saol / go síoraí). Áiméan.
The Prayer in Scottish Gaelic
Ar n-Athair a tha air nèamh, Gu naomhaichear d' ainm. Thigeadh do rìoghachd. Dèanar do thoil air an talamh, mar a nithear air nèamh. Tabhair dhuinn an-diugh ar n-aran làitheil. Agus maith dhuinn ar fiachan, amhail a mhaitheas sinne dar luchd-fiach. Agus na leig ann am buaireadh sinn; ach saor sinn o olc: oir is leatsa an rìoghachd, agus a' chumhachd, agus a' ghlòir, gu sìorraidh. Amen.
Ta dy chooilley ghooinney ruggit seyr as corrym rish dy chooilley ghooinney elley ayns ooashley as ayns cairys. Ta resoon as cooinsheanse stowit orroo as lhisagh ad dellal rish y cheilley lesh spyrryd braaragh.[83]
English
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.[84]
Two weekly programmes in Manx are available on medium wave on Manx Radio:Traa dy liooar on Monday andJamys Jeheiney on Friday. The news in Manx is available online from Manx Radio, who have three other weekly programmes that use the language:Clare ny Gael;Shiaght Laa andMoghrey Jedoonee. Several news readers on Manx Radio also use a good deal of incidental Manx.
TheIsle of Man Examiner has a monthlybilingual column in Manx.
The first film to be made in Manx, 22-minute-longNy Kirree fo Niaghtey "The Sheep Under the Snow", premiered in 1983 and was entered for the 5thCeltic Film and Television Festival inCardiff in 1984. It was directed by Shorys Y Creayrie (George Broderick) for Foillan Films ofLaxey, and is about the background to an early 18th-century folk song. In 2013, a short film,Solace in Wicca, was produced with financial assistance fromCulture Vannin,CinemaNX andIsle of Man Film.[85] A series of short cartoons about the life ofCú Chulainn which was produced byBBC Northern Ireland is available[86] as are a series of cartoons on Manx mythology.[87] Most significant is a 13-partDVD series Manx translation of the award-winning seriesFriends and Heroes.[88]
Manx never had a large number of speakers, so it would not have been practical to mass-produce written literature. However, a body of oral literature did exist. The "Fianna" tales and others like them are known, including the Manx balladFin as Oshin, commemoratingFinn MacCumhail andOisín.[89] With the coming of Protestantism, Manx spoken tales slowly disappeared, while a tradition of carvals, Christian ballads, developed with religious sanction. Even so, BishopMark Hildesley, after his gardener overheard him discussing theOssian poems ofJames Macpherson and admitted to known of Fionn and Oisin, the Bishop collected from the localoral tradition multiple lays in Manx from theFenian Cycle ofCeltic Mythology, which were accordingly preserved for the future.[90]
There is no record of literature written distinctively in Manx before theReformation. By that time, any presumed literary link with Ireland and Scotland, such as through Irish-trained priests, had been lost. The first published literature in Manx wasThe Principles and Duties of Christianity (Coyrie Sodjey), translated byBishop of Sodor and ManThomas Wilson.[9]
TheBook of Common Prayer was translated byJohn Phillips, the Welsh-bornAnglicanBishop of Sodor and Man from 1605 to 1633. The early Manx script has some similarities with orthographical systems found occasionally in Scotland and in Ireland for the transliteration of Gaelic, such as theBook of the Dean of Lismore, as well as some extensive texts based on English and Scottish English orthographical practices of the time. Little secularManx literature has been preserved.
TheNew Testament was first published in 1767. When theAnglican church authorities started to produce written literature in the Manx language in the 18th century, the system developed by John Philips was further "anglicised"; the one feature retained fromWelsh orthography was the use of⟨y⟩ to represent/ə/ (e.g.cabbyl[kaːβəl] "horse" andcooney[kuːnə] "help" as well as/ɪ/ (e.g.fys[fɪz] "knowledge"), though it is also used to represent[j], (e.g.y Yuan[əjuːan] "John" (vocative),yeeast[jiːəst] "fish").
Other works produced in the 18th and 19th centuries include catechisms, hymn books and religious tracts. A translation ofParadise Lost was made by Rev. Thomas Christian of Marown in 1796.[91]
A considerable amount of secular literature has been produced in the 20th and 21st centuries as part of the language revival. In 2006, the first full-length novel in Manx,Dunveryssyn yn Tooder-Folley ("The Vampire Murders") was published by Brian Stowell, after being serialised in the press. There is an increasing amount of literature available in the language, and recent publications include Manx versions of theGruffalo andGruffalo's Child.[92]
In the time of Bishop Wilson it had been a constant source of complaint among the Manx clergy that they were the only church in Christendom that had no version of the Bible in the vulgar tongue. Wilson set to work to remedy the defect, and, with the assistance of some of his clergy, managed to get some of the Bible translated, and the Gospel of St. Matthew printed. Bishop Hildesley, his successor, with the help of the whole body of Manxclergy, completed the work, and in 1775 the whole Bible was printed.[94]
Yn Vible Casherick "The Holy Bible" of the Old and New Testaments was published as one book by the SPCK in 1775, effectively fixing the modern orthography of Manx, which has changed little since. Jenner claims that somebowdlerisation had occurred in the translation, e.g. the occupation ofRahab the prostitute is rendered asben-oast[citation needed] "a hostess, female inn-keeper."[94] The bicentenary was celebrated in 1975 and included a set of stamps from theIsle of Man Post Office.
There was a translation of thePsalmyn Ghavid ("Psalms of David") in metre in Manx by the Rev John Clague, vicar of Rushen, which was printed with theBook of Common Prayer of 1768. Bishop Hildesley required that theseMetrical Psalms were to be sung in churches. These were reprinted byYn Çheshaght Ghailckagh in 1905.
TheBritish and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) published theConaant Noa "New Testament" in 1810 and reprinted it in 1824.Yn Vible Casherick "The Holy Bible" of the Old Testament and New Testament (without the two books of the Apocrypha) was first printed as a whole in 1819. BFBS last printed anything on paper in Manx in 1936 when it reprintedNoo Ean "the Gospel of St John"; this was reprinted byYn Çheshaght Ghailckagh in 1968. The Manx Bible was republished by Shearwater Press in July 1979 asBible Chasherick yn Lught Thie (Manx Family Bible), which was a reproduction of the BFBS 1819 Bible.
Since 2014 the BFBS 1936 Manx Gospel of John has been available online on YouVersion and Bibles.org.
^abcdefAger, Simon. "A Study of Language Death and Revival with a Particular Focus on Manx Gaelic." Master's Dissertation University of Wales, Lampeter, 2009. PDF.
^abcdBroderick, George (1999).Language death in the Isle of Man : an investigation into the decline and extinction of Manx Gaelic as a community language in the Isle of Man. Niemeyer.ISBN9783110911411.OCLC300505991.
^Eder, Birgit (2003).Ausgewählte Verwandtschaftsbezeichnungen in den Sprachen Europas [Selected kinship terms in the languages of Europe] (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. p. 301.ISBN3631528736.
^Jackson 1955, 66. Jackson claims that northern Irish has also lost the contrast between velarised and palatalised labials, but this seems to be a mistake on his part, as bothMayo Irish and Ulster Irish are consistently described as having the contrast (cf. Mhac an Fhailigh 1968, 27; Hughes 1994, 621; see also Ó Baoill 1978, 87)
^abThe particleer is identical in form to the prepositioner "on"; however, it is etymologically distinct, coming from Old Irishíar "after" (Williams 1994, 725).
^Macbain 1911;Dictionary of the Irish Language; Broderick 1984–86, vol. 2
^"A snapshpot of Manx history".Stamp and Coin Mart. Warners Group Publications. February 2018. p. 38.
^MANX GAELIC ( Gaelig, Gaelg )Archived 27 September 2009 at theWayback Machine from www.christusrex.org. Source of text: "ORATIO DOMINICA – Polyglottos, Polymorphos – Nimirum, Plus Centum Linguis, Versionibus, aut Characteribus Reddita & Expressa" ("Lord's Prayer - many languages and forms - restored and rendered in certainly over 100 languages, versions or types"), Daniel Brown, London, 1713.
^Ta'n lhieggan shoh jeh'n Phadjer aascreeuit 'sy chlou Romanagh veih'n çhenn chlou Yernagh. Son d'akin er y lhieggan shen jeh'n phadjer gow dys yduillag shohArchived 15 March 2009 at theWayback Machine ec www.christusrex.org
^Mannanan's Cloak: An Anthology of Manx Literature byRobert Corteen Carswell, London: Francis Boutle Publishers, 2010, pp. 80–86. (translation by Robert Corteen Carswell)
Hughes, Art (1994). "Gaeilge Uladh" [Ulster Irish]. In McCone, K.; McManus, D.; Ó Háinle, C.; Williams, N.; Breatnach, L. (eds.).Stair na Gaeilge in ómós do Pádraig Ó Fiannachta [History of Irish in honor of Pádraig Ó Fiannachta] (in Irish). Maynooth: Department of Old Irish, St. Patrick's College. pp. 611–660.ISBN0-901519-90-1.
Lewin, Christopher (2020).Aspects of the historical phonology of Manx (PhD thesis). Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh.doi:10.7488/era/557.
Lewin, Christopher.Sheean as Screeu. St John's: Culture Vannin.
Macbain, Alexander (1911).An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language (2nd ed.). Stirling: E. Mackay. Reprinted 1998, New York: Hippocrene.ISBN0-7818-0632-1.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Ó Baoill, Colm (1978).Contributions to a Comparative Study of Ulster Irish and Scottish Gaelic. Institute of Irish Studies,Queen's University of Belfast.
O'Rahilly, Thomas F. (1932).Irish Dialects Past and Present. Dublin: Browne and Nolan. Reprinted 1976, 1988 by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.ISBN0-901282-55-3.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Williams, Nicholas (1994). "An Mhanainnis" [Manx]. In McCone, K.; McManus, D.; Ó Háinle, C.; Williams, N.; Breatnach, L. (eds.).Stair na Gaeilge in ómós do Pádraig Ó Fiannachta [History of Irish in honor of Pádraig Ó Fiannachta] (in Irish). Maynooth: Department of Old Irish, St. Patrick's College. pp. 703–44.ISBN0-901519-90-1.
