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Manx (Gaelg or Gailck), 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 Ulster and Galloway dialects.

History

Manx began to diverge from Middle Irish sometime around 900 - 1600 CE, and is called Yn Ghaelg / Yn Ghailck by Manx speakers. The language sharply declined during the 19th century and was supplanted by English. In 1848, J. G. Cumming wrote that "there are ... few persons (perhaps none of the young) who speak no English", and 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%.^[1] Since the language had fallen to a status of low prestige, parents tended to fail to teach the language to their children, thinking that Manx would be useless to them compared with English.

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 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 Gaelgagh (Manx language-medium school). Degrees in Manx are available from the Isle of Man College, the Centre for Manx Studies and the University of Edinburgh. Manx-language playgroups also exist, and Manx language classes are available in island schools. In the 1991 census, 650 out of a population of about 71,000 claimed to have knowledge of Manx, although the degree of knowledge in these cases presumably varied.

Manx is used by the 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.

The revival of Manx has been aided by the recording work done in the 20th century by researchers, notably the Irish Folklore Commission in 1948.

There has historically been little secular Manx literature. 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.

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

Today Manx is used as the sole medium for teaching at five of the Island's pre-schools by a group named Mooinjer Veggey, two primary schools; Bunscoill Ghaelgagh and Scoill Balley Cottier. Manx can be 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 of Manx Studies. Manx is also taught at the University of Edinburgh.

Orthography

The spelling of Manx, unlike that of Irish and Scottish Gaelic, does not represent the Goidelic etymology, and more closely resembles an English speaker's attempt to write Gaelic, with a degree of Welsh influence evident from the use of 'y' and 'w'. This is because Manx developed without a written literature, and when attempts were made to introduce a standardised orthography for the language, the choice was made to spell the words in an English manner. For example, 'Isle of Man' in Irish would be written as Oileán Mhanainn or in Scottish Gaelic as Eilean Mhanainn, whereas in Manx it is written as Ellan Vannin.

Although it is commonly said that Phillips, a Welsh-speaking bishop, introduced the writing system, it does appear to have some similarities with similar English based systems that have been found in Scotland. For example, the Book of the Dean of Lismore is written in Scottish Gaelic using such a system.

Initial consonant mutations

Many places, such as Douglas, sport bilingual welcome signs. Note here the consonant mutation of *Doolish* (Douglas) to *Ghoolish*.

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.

Lenition in Manx
Unmutated Consonant	Lenition	Nasalisation
[p]	[f]	[b]
[t]	[h]	[d]
[tʃ]	[h]	[d]
[k^j]	[ç]	[g^j]
[k]	[x]	[g]
[b]	[v, w]	[m]
[bw]	[w]	[mw]
[d]	[ɣ]	[d]
[dʒ]	[j]	[dʒ]
[g^j]	[j]	[ng]
[g]	[ɣ]	[ng]
[f]	zero	[v]
[s]	[h] or [t]	[s]
[st]	[t]	[st]
[sl]	[cl] or [l]	[sl]
[ʃ]	[h, ç]	[ʃ]
[m]	[v, w]	[m]
[mw]	[w]	[mw]

Vocabulary

Key: SCO - Scottish Gaelic, IRL - Irish

Manx	English	Nearest Irish or Scottish Gaelic equivalent
Moghrey mie	Good morning	Maidain mhath (SCO)
Fastyr mie	Good evening	Feasgar math (SCO)
Slane lhiu	Goodbye	Slán leat (IRL)
Gura mie ayd	Thank you	Go raibh maith agat (IRL)
baatey	boat	bata (SCO)
barroose	bus	bus (IRL & SCO)
blaa	flower	blath (IRL)
booa	cow	bó (IRL)
cabbyl	horse	capall (SCO/ IRL)
cashtal	castle	caisleán (IRL)
creg	rock	creag (SCO)
eeast	fish	iasc (IRL)
ellan	island	eilean (SCO)
gleashtan	car	gluaistean (IRL)
kayt	cat	cat (IRL & SCO)
moddey	dog	madadh (SCO)
shap	shop	siopa (IRL)
thie	house	taigh (SCO)
eean	bird	eán (IRL)
jees	pair	dís (IRL)

Numbers

Manx	English	Nearest Irish or Scottish Gaelic equivalent
un / nane	one	aon (IRL & SCO)
daa / jees	two	dhà / dithis (SCO)
tree	three	trí (IRL)
kiare	four	ceithir (SCO)
queig	five	cuig (IRL)
shey	six	sé (IRL)
shiaght	seven	seacht (IRL)
hoght	eight	ocht (IRL)
nuy	nine	naoi (IRL & SCO)
jeih	ten	deich (IRL & SCO)
nane jeig	eleven	aon déag (IRL)
daa yeig	twelve	dhà dheug (SCO)

Notes

^ Fourth International Conference on Minority Languages, Vol. II, Gorter et al, 1990, pages 59-60.

External links