Manx language

Manx (Gaelg or Gailck, pronounced /gɪlg/), also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Goidelic language spoken on the Isle of Man. It is a descendant of Old Irish, particularly similar to the old East Ulster and Galloway dialects.

History

Following the decline in the use of Manx during the 19th century, Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh (The Manx Language Society) was founded in 1899.

By the middle of the 20th century only a few elderly native speakers remained (the last of them, Ned Maddrell, died on December 27, 1974), but by then a scholarly revival had begun to spread to the populace and many had learned Manx as a second language. The revival of Manx has been aided by the recording work done in the 20th century by researchers. Most notably, the Irish Folklore Commission was sent in with recording equipment in 1948 by Éamon de Valera. There is also the work conducted by language enthusiast and fluent speaker Brian Stowell, who is considered personally responsible for the current revival of the Manx language.

The first native speakers of Manx (bilingual with English) in many years have now appeared: children brought up by Manx-speaking parents. Primary immersion education in Manx is provided by the Manx government: since 2003, the former St. John's School building has been used by the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh (Manx language-medium primary school). Degrees in Manx are available from the Isle of Man College, the Centre for Manx Studies and the University of Edinburgh.

Manx-language drama groups also exist, and Manx is taught as a second language at all of the Island's primary and secondary schools and also at the Isle of Man College and Centre for Manx Studies. Manx is used as the sole medium for teaching at five of the Island's pre-schools by a company named Mooinjer Veggey, which also operates the sole Manx primary school – the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh.

In the 2001 census, 1,689 out of 76,315, or 2.2% of the population, claimed to have knowledge of Manx, although the degree of knowledge in these cases presumably varied. Manx names are once again becoming common on the Isle of Man, especially Moirrey (Mary), Illiam (William), Orry (Harry), Breeshey (also Breesha) (Bridget) and Aalish (also Ealish) (Alice). Juan (Jack), Ean (John), Joney, Fenella (Fionnuala), Pherick (Patrick) and Freya (from the Norse Goddess) remain popular.

Manx is used by Tynwald, with new laws being read out by Yn Lhaihder ('the Reader') in both Manx and English.

Manx is recognised under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. It is also one of the regional languages recognised in the framework of the British-Irish Council. Some controversy has resulted over the omission of Manx culture from the Columba Initiative.

Little secular Manx literature has been preserved. Arguably, no trace of written Manx survives from before the 1600s, but the Book of Common Prayer and Bible were translated into Manx in the 17th and 18th centuries. A tradition of carvals, religious songs or carols, developed.

Orthography

If Manx was written with an orthography based on traditional Gaelic, the following sentence (taken from the Gaelg page):

Ta'n Gaelg feer ghoan çheumooie jeh Ellan Vannin, agh fod pobble ennagh screeu ee ayns çheeryn elley

would be written like the following in 'Gaelic' spelling:

Tà'n Ghaelg fìor-ghónn teabh a-muigh de Eilean Mhannain, ach faod pobal eanach scrìobh ì ans tìoran eile.

Compare the 'Irish' and 'Scottish' equivalents:

Tá an Ghaeilge an-ghann (fíor-ghann) taobh amuigh de Oileán Mhannanáin, ach féadann daoine [pobal] éigin(each) í a scríobh i dtíortha eile.

Tha a' Ghàidhlig glé-ghann (fìor-ghann) taobh a muigh d'Eilean Mhannanain, ach faodaidh daoine [pobal] igint(each) ì a sgrìobhadh ann an tìrean eile.

If any distinctively Manx written literature existed before the Reformation, it was unidentifiable or lost by the time that widespread literacy was being seriously advocated, so when attempts were made (mainly by the Anglican church authorities) to introduce a standardised orthography for the language, a new system was developed. It is commonly supposed that it was simply invented by John Phillips, the Welsh-born Bishop of Sodor and Man (1605-1633) who translated the Book of Common Prayer into Manx. However, it does appear to have some similarities with orthographical systems found occasionally in Scotland, also based on English orthographical practices. For example, the Book of the Dean of Lismore and the Fernaig manuscript are written in Scottish Gaelic using a similar system of spelling. However, it must be said that the Book of the Dean of Lismore is based on the orthography of Scots, and not Southern English.

Initial consonant mutations

Like all modern Celtic languages, Manx shows initial consonant mutations, which are processes by which the initial consonant of a word is altered according to its morphological and/or syntactic environment. The only productive mutation of literary Manx is lenition, though traces of the eclipsis found in Irish can also be found. In the late spoken language of the 20th century the system was breaking down, with speakers frequently failing to use lenition in environments where it was called for, and occasionally using it in environments where it was not called for.

!Unmutated Consonant

Vocabulary

Numbers

Notes

External links

• Information about the language
• isle-of-man.com language section
• Gaelic Dictionaries
• Manx-English dictionary
• A short Manx-English-Japanese phrasebook
• Online Manx Lessons with MP3 recordings

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Last updated on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 11:51:15 PDT (GMT -0700)
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