Manx language

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Manx
Yn Ghaelg, Yn Ghailck
Spoken in: Isle of Man
Total speakers: Extinct as a spoken language in 1974; later revived and now with 59 native speakers[1]
and 1689 second language speakers(2.2% total population) (2001)
Language family: Indo-European
 Celtic
  Insular
   Goidelic
    Manx 
Official status
Official language in: Flag of the Isle of ManIsle of Man
Regulated by: Coonseil ny Gaelgey (Manx Gaelic Council)
Language codes
ISO 639-1: gv
ISO 639-2: glv
ISO 639-3: glv
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

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.

Contents

[edit] History

Manx began to diverge from Middle Irish sometime between the 10th and 17th centuries, 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%.[2] Since the language had fallen to a status of low prestige, owing in part to specific influences like Methodism,[3] parents tended not to teach the language to their children, thinking that Manx would be useless to them compared with English.

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. [NB. the University of Edinburgh does not offer a degree in Manx, it offers an Honours course about the Culture, History, and Language of the Isle of Man]

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,[4] which also operates the sole Manx primary school – the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh. The first film to be made in Manx - the 22-minute long Ny Kiree fo Niaghtey (The Sheep Under the Snow) - premiered in 1983 and was entered for the 5th Celtic and Television Festival in Cardiff in 1984. It was directed by Shorys Y Creayrie for Foillan Films of Laxey and is about the background to an early 18th century folk song.

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 and Voirrey (Mary, properly pronounced similar to the Scottish Moira, but often mispronounced as Moiree/Voiree when used as a given name by non-gaelic speakers), Illiam (William), Orry (from the Manx King), 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.

Although Manx is commonly used for written slogans by local businesses, and appears on departmental letterheads and promotional materials within the Isle of Man Government, it is not used as a spoken language within the business community, or spoken within the Government.

Attitudes to spoken Manx within the business and Government community can vary from sympathetic to hostile - speakers sometimes afraid to use it, or admit their knowledge of it, for fear of hostile reactions from their co-workers. Within the wider community, Manx can also elicit unfavourable reactions from monoglot English speakers, perhaps because of a fear of exclusion from conversation, xenophobia, or as a hangover of 19th Century attitudes to Manx, where the "unsophisticated" Manx language was discouraged for use by the younger generations in favour of English. Regrettably, with the decline of Manx, most Isle of Man residents are oblivious to the basics of Manx, and unable to properly pronounce the Manx place-names, street names and given names that surround them.

Manx is used in the annual Tynwald ceremony, 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.

[edit] Orthography

The spelling of Manx, unlike that of Irish and Scottish Gaelic, does not represent the Classical Gaelic orthography, and displays a degree of Welsh and English influence (seen, for example, in the use of 'y' and 'w' and in combinations such as 'oo' and 'ee'). For example, 'Isle of Man' if written using the Irish orthography would be written as Oileán Mhanainn or in the Scottish orthography as Eilean Mhanainn, whereas in the Manx orthography it is written as Ellan Vannin. The Irish name for the Isle of Man is Oileán Mhananáin, and the Scottish name is Eilean Mhananain - the three versions are pronounced in a similar way.

If Manx were 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 de Eilean Mhannain, 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 based partly on Welsh, and mainly on the English of the 1700s 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.

[edit] Initial consonant mutations

Many places, such as Douglas, sport bilingual welcome signs. Note here the consonant mutation of Doolish (Douglas) to Ghoolish.
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 and eclipsis in Manx
Unmutated Consonant Lenition Eclipsis
p [p] ph [f] b [b]
t, th [t] h [h] d [d]
çh [tʃ] h [h] j [dʒ]
c, k slender [c] ch [ç] g [ɟ]
c, k broad [k] ch [x] g [ɡ]
b [b] v [v, w] m [m]
bw [bw] w [w] mw [mw]
d, dh [d] gh [ɣ] n[n]
j [dʒ] y [j] n'y [nj]
g slender [ɟ] y, gh [j] ng [ŋ]
g broad [ɡ] gh [ɣ] ng [ŋ]
f [f] zero v [v]
s [s] h [h] or t [t] s [s]
st [st] t [t] st [st]
sl [sl] cl [cl] or l [l] sl [sl]
sh [ʃ] h [h, ç] sh [ʃ]
m [m] v [v, w] m [m]
mw [mw] w [w] mw [mw]

[edit] Vocabulary

Manx English Nearest
Irish
equivalent		 Nearest
Scottish Gaelic
equivalent
Moghrey mie Good morning Maidin mhaith Madainn mhath
Fastyr mie Good evening Tráthnóna maith Feasgar math
Slane lhiat. Slane lhiu Goodbye Slán leat, Slán libh Slàn leat, Slàn leibh
Gura mie ayd, Gura mie eu Thank you Go raibh maith agat, Go raibh maith agaibh tapadh leat, tapadh leibh
baatey boat bád bàta
barroose bus bus bus
blaa flower bláth blàth
booa cow bó bò
cabbyl. egh horse capall, each capall, each
cashtal castle caisleán, caiseal caisteal
creg rock carraig carraig, creag
eeast fish iasc iasg
ellan island oileán eilean
gleashtan car gluaisteán, carr càrr
kayt cat cat cat
moddey dog madra, madadh madadh
shap shop siopa
thie house tigh, teach taigh
eean bird éan eun, ian
jees pair beirt, dís dithis
oik office oifig oifis
ushtey water uisce uisge

[edit] Numbers

Manx English Nearest
Irish
equivalent		 Nearest
Scottish Gaelic
equivalent
un / nane one aon (a haon) / amháin aon
daa / jees two dó, dhá / beirt / dís dà / dithis
tree three trí trì
kiare four ceathair, ceithre ceithir
queig five cúig còig
sheh six sé sia
shiaght seven seacht seachd
hoght eight ocht (a hocht) ochd
nuy nine naoi naoi
jeih ten deich deich
nane jeig eleven aon déag aon deug
daa yeig twelve dó dhéag dà dheug

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ There are currently (March 2007) - 53 students at the Manx Language School; Y Vunscoill Gaelgagh, and 6 graduates of Y Vunscoill all of whom are classed as native speakers since they have been able to speak Manx as well as English from a very young age.
  2. ^ Fourth International Conference on Minority Languages, Vol. II, Gorter et al, 1990, pages 59-60.
  3. ^ John Wesley and Mann - Mannin vol 9 p511 et seq 1917
  4. ^ Mooinjer Veggey - Official site

[edit] External links

Wikipedia
Manx language edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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