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Manx ( or Gailck, or ),Jackson 1955, 49 also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Gaelic language of the insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family. Manx is the heritage language of the Manx people.
Although few children native to the Isle of Man speak Manx as a first language, there has been a steady increase in the number of speakers since the death of Ned 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 a heritage language, and it is still an important part of the island's culture and cultural heritage.
Manx is often cited as a good example of language revitalization efforts; in 2015, around 1,800 people had varying levels of second-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. the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer had been translated into Manx, and audio recordings had been made of native speakers.
To distinguish it from the two other forms of Gaelic, the phrases Gaelg/Gailck Vannin "Gaelic of Mann" and Gaelg/Gailck Vanninnagh "Manx Gaelic" are also used. In addition, the nickname Çhengey ny Mayrey, lit. "the mother's tongue" is occasionally used.
The word "Manx", often spelled historically as "Manks" (particularly by natives of the island), means "Mannish" and originates from Old Norse *manskr. The Isle of Man is named after the Irish god Manannán mac Lir, thus Ellan Vannin ("Mannanán's Island", "Mannanán's Island").
It has been suggested that a little-documented Brythonic language (i.e. related to modern Welsh language, Cornish language and Breton language) may have been spoken on the Isle of Man before the arrival of Christian missionaries from Ireland in the early Middle Ages. However, there is little surviving evidence about the language spoken on the island at that time.
The basis of the modern Manx language is Primitive Irish (like modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic). The island either lends its name to or takes its name from Manannán, the Brythonic and Gaelic sea god who is said in myth to have once ruled the island. Primitive Irish is first attested in Ogham inscriptions from the 4th century AD. These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain. Primitive Irish transitioned into Old Irish through the 5th century. Old Irish, dating from the 6th century, used the Latin script and is attested primarily in marginalia 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 words concerning religion, writing and record keeping entered Manx at this time.
The Isle of Man was conquered by Vikings in the 9th century. Although there is some evidence in the form of runic inscriptions that Old Norse was used by some of these settlers, the Vikings who settled around the Irish Sea and West Coast of Scotland soon became Gaelic speaking Norse–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, a small number of modern place names on the Isle of Man are Norse in origin, e.g. Laxey (Laksaa) and Ramsey (Rhumsaa). Other Norse legacies in Manx include and .
By the 10th century, it is supposed that Middle 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 the Stanley family in 1405. It is likely that until that point, except for scholarly knowledge of Latin and courtly use of Anglo-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 the English 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.
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 governor Isaac 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.
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 of The 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.
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%.Gunther 1990, 59–60 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.
According to Brian 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."
In 2009, UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger declared Manx an extinct language, despite the presence of hundreds of speakers on the Isle of Man. Historian and linguist Jennifer 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." Since then, UNESCO's classification of the language has changed to "critically endangered".
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, an increase of 134 people from the 2001 census. These individuals were spread roughly uniformly over the island: in Douglas 566 people professed an ability to speak, read or write Manx; 179 in Peel, 146 in Onchan, and 149 in Ramsey.
Traditional Manx given names have experienced a marked resurgence on the island, especially Moirrey and Voirrey (Mary), Illiam (William), Orry (from the Manx king Godred Crovan of Norse origin), Breeshey/Breesha (Bridget), Aalish/Ealish (Alice), Juan (Jack), Ean (John), Joney (Joan), Fenella (Fionnuala), Pherick (Patrick) and Freya (from the Freyja) remain popular.
The Standing Orders of the House 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." An example was at the sitting on 12 February 2019, when an MHK used the expression boghtnid, stated to mean "nonsense".However this word appears to have been adopted into Manx English, see [1] Braaid Eisteddfod: A poem by Annie Kissack (at 20 seconds)
Manx is used in the annual Tynwald ceremony and Manx words are used in official Tynwald publications.
For the purpose of strengthening its contribution to local culture and community, Manx is recognised under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and in the framework of the British-Irish Council.
The Isle of Man comprised the one site for the Manx language in the Atlas Linguarum Europae, a project that compared dialects and languages across all countries in Europe.
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 the Department of Education's Manx Language Team which teach up to A Level standard.
The Bunscoill Ghaelgagh, a primary school at St 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 in Peel.
The playgroup organisation Mooinjer Veggey, which operates the Bunscoill 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.
Medial and final * have generally become and in Manx, thus shiu 'you pl.' (Irish and Scottish Gaelic sibh; Lewis Gaelic siù), sharroo "bitter" (Scottish searbh , Irish searbh (Northern/Western) , (Southern) ), awin "river" (Scottish abhainn , Irish abhainn (Northern) ) (Western) (Southern) , laaue "hand" (Scottish làmh , Irish lámh (Northern) , (Western) , (Southern) ), sourey "summer" (Scottish samhradh , Irish samhradh (Northern) , (Western/Southern) ). Rare retentions of the older pronunciation of include Divlyn, Divlin "Dublin", Middle Irish Duibhlind .
Moreover, similarly to Munster Irish, historical () and (Nasalization ) tend to be lost word medially or finally in Manx, either with compensatory lengthening or vocalisation as resulting in with the preceding vowel, e.g. geurey "winter" (Irish geimhreadh (Southern) ) and sleityn "mountains" (Irish sléibhte (Southern) ).O'Rahilly 1932, 24; Broderick 1984–86 3:80–83; Ó Sé 2000:15, 120 Another similarity to Munster Irish is the development of the Old Irish diphthongs before velarised consonants ( in Irish and Scottish Gaelic) to , as in seyr "carpenter" and keyl "narrow" (Irish and Scottish saor and caol).Jackson 1955, 47–50; Ó Cuív 1944, 38, 91
Like Connacht Irish and Ulster Irish (cf. Irish phonology) and most dialects of Scottish Gaelic, Manx has changed the historical consonant clusters to , e.g. Middle Irish cnáid "mockery" and mná "women" have become craid and mraane respectively in Manx.O'Rahilly 1932, 22 The affrication of slender "" sounds is also common to Manx, Northern Irish, and Scottish Gaelic.O'Rahilly 1932, 203
Unstressed Middle Irish word-final syllable (-) has developed to (-) in Manx, as in kionnee "buy" (cf. Irish ceannaigh) and cullee "apparatus" (cf. Gaelic culaidh),O'Rahilly 1932, 57 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 rather than appears in unstressed syllables before ( in Manx), e.g. jeeragh "straight" (Irish díreach), cooinaghtyn "to remember" (Scottish Gaelic cuimhneachd).O'Rahilly 1932, 110; Jackson 1955, 55
Like Southern and Western Irish and Northern Scottish Gaelic, but unlike the geographically closer varieties of Ulster Irish and Arran and Kintyre Gaelic, Manx shows vowel lengthening or diphthongisation before the Old Irish fortis and lenis sonorants, e.g. cloan "children" , dhone "brown" and eeym "butter" correspond to Irish/Scottish Gaelic clann, donn, and im respectively, which have long vowels or diphthongs in Western and Southern Irish and in the Scottish Gaelic dialects of the Outer Hebrides and Skye, thus Western Irish , Southern Irish/Northern Scottish , , ), but short vowels and 'long' consonants in Ulster Irish, Arran, and Kintyre, , and .O'Rahilly 1932, 51; Jackson 1955, 57–58; Holmer 1957, 87, 88, 106; 1962, 41
Another similarity with Southern Irish is the treatment of Middle Irish word-final unstressed (- in Irish and Scottish Gaelic). In nouns (including ), this became in Manx, as it did in Southern Irish, e.g. caggey "war" , moylley "to praise" (cf. Irish cogadh and moladh (Southern Irish) and ).O'Rahilly 1932, 68; Broderick 1984–86, 2:56, 308 In finite verb forms before full nouns (as opposed to pronouns) became in Manx, as in Southern Irish, e.g. voyllagh "would praise" (cf. Irish mholfadh (Southern Irish) ).O'Rahilly 1932, 75
In Southern Manx, older , and in some cases , became . In Northern Manx the same happened, but sometimes remained as well, e.g. laa "day" (cf. Irish lá) was in the South but or in the North. Old is always in both dialects, e.g. aeg "young" (cf. Irish óg) is in both dialects.Broderick 1984–8,6 1:160 and lengthened before became , as in paayrt '"part" , ard "high" , jiarg "red" , argid "money, silver" and aarey "gold Genitive case" .
In Northern Manx, older before in the same syllable is diphthongised, while in Southern Manx it is lengthened but remains a monophthong, e.g. kione "head" (cf. Irish ceann) is in the North but in the South.Broderick 1984–86, 1:161
Words with , and in some cases , in Irish and Scottish are spelled with in Manx. In Northern Manx, this sound was , while in Southern Manx it was , , or , e.g. geay "wind" (cf. Irish gaoth) is in the north and in the South, while geayl "coal" (cf. Irish gual) is in the North and , , or in the South.Broderick 1984–86, 1:161–62
In both the North and the South, there is a tendency to insert a short before a word-final in monosyllabic words, as in for slane "whole" and for ben "woman". This is known as pre-occlusion. In Southern Manx, however, there is also pre-occlusion of before and of before , as in for shooyl "walking" and for lhong "ship". These forms are generally pronounced without pre-occlusion in the North. Pre-occlusion of before , on the other hand, is more common in the North, as in trome "heavy", which is in the North but in the South.Broderick 1984–86, 1:162–63 This feature is also found in Cornish language.
Southern Manx tended to lose word-initial before , which was usually preserved in the North, e.g. glion "glen" and glioon "knee" are and and in the South but and in the North.Broderick 1984–86, 1:164–65
In modern times, the small size of the island and the improvement in communications precludes any regional dialect variations.
The Voicelessness plosives are aspirated. The dental, postalveolar and palato-velar plosives affrication to in many contexts.
Manx has an optional process of lenition of plosives between vowels, where voiced plosives and voiceless fricatives become voiced fricatives and voiceless plosives become either voiced plosives or voiced fricatives. This process introduces the . The voiced fricative may be further lenited to , and may disappear altogether. Examples include:Broderick 1984–86, 3:3–13; Thomson 1992, 129
Voiceless plosive to voiced plosive:
Another optional process is pre-occlusion, the insertion of a very short plosive before a sonorant consonant. In Manx, this applies to stressed Monosyllable. The inserted consonant is homorganic with the following sonorant, which means it has the same place of articulation. Long vowels are often shortened before pre-occluded sounds. Examples include:Broderick 1984–86, 3:28–34; 1993, 236
The trill is realised as a one- or two-contact flap at the beginning of syllable, and as a stronger trill when preceded by another consonant in the same syllable. At the end of a syllable, can be pronounced either as a strong trill or, more frequently, as a weak fricative , which may vocalise to a nonsyllabic or disappear altogether.Broderick 1984–86; 3:17–18 This vocalisation may be due to the influence of Manx English, which is non-rhotic.Jackson 1955, 118; Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language, 1998, Isle of Man, retrieved 28 September 2008 Examples of the pronunciation of include:
The status of and as separate phonemes is debatable, but is suggested by the allophony of certain words such as ta "is", mraane "women", and so on. An alternative analysis is that Manx has the following system, where the vowels and have allophones ranging from through to . As with Irish and Scottish Gaelic, there is a large amount of vowel allophony, such as that of . This depends mainly on the 'broad' and 'slender' status of the neighbouring consonants:
| + Manx vowel phonemes and their allophones | ||
| (Middle Gaelic) | ||
| (Middle Gaelic) |
When stressed, is realised as .Broderick 1993, 232–33
Manx has a relatively large number of , all of them Height-harmonic:
| + Manx diphthongs ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | ! colspan="3" Second element |
When the auxiliary verb is a form of jannoo ("do"), the direct object precedes the verbal noun and is connected to it with the particle y:
As in Irish (cf. Irish syntax#The forms meaning "to be"), there are two ways of expressing "to be" in Manx: with the substantive verb bee, and with the copula. The substantive verb is used when the predicate is an adjective, adverb, or prepositional phrase.Broderick 1993, 276–77 Examples:
Where the predicate is a noun, it must be converted to a prepositional phrase headed by the preposition in ("in") + possessive pronoun (agreeing with the subject) in order for the substantive verb to be grammatical:
Otherwise, the copula is used when the predicate is a noun. The copula itself takes the form is or she in the present tense, but it is often omitted in affirmative statements:
In questions and negative sentences, the present tense of the copula is nee:
| +Initial consonant mutations in Manx ! colspan="2" | Unmutated ! colspan="2" | Lenition ! colspan="2" | Eclipsis | |
| p | Not attested in the late spoken language (Broderick 1984–86, 3:66) | |||
| t(h) | ||||
| çh | ||||
| c, k | ||||
| c, k qu | ch wh | g gu | ||
| b bw | b w | m mw | ||
| d(h) | ||||
| j | ||||
| g | ? | |||
| v w | colspan="2" align="center" | |||
| f fw | ∅ wh | ∅ v w | ||
| s sl sn | h l n | colspan="2" align="center" | ||
| sh | colspan="2" align="center" |
| + Manx personal pronouns |
| + Manx finite verb forms |
The fully inflected forms of the regular verb tilgey "to throw" are as follows. In addition to the forms below, a past participle may be formed using -it: tilgit "thrown".
| +Inflection of a regular Manx verb !Tense !Independent !Dependent !Relative |
2. First person plural, making the use of a following subject pronoun redundant
3. Used with all other persons, meaning an accompanying subject must be stated, e.g. tilgee eh "he will throw", tilgee ad "they will throw"
4. Singular subject.
5. Plural subject.
There are a few peculiarities when a verb begins with a vowel, i.e. the addition of d' in the preterite and n' in the future and conditional dependent. Below is the conjugation of aase "to grow".
There is a small number of irregular verbs, the most irregular of all being ve "be".
| + Forms of verb ve "to be" |
| +Conjugation of Manx prepositions using pronominal ending |
| one | un nane | aon , (Northwest Ulster) | aon |
| two | daa , ghaa , jees | dó , d(h)á ,(people only) dís * | dà |
| three | tree | trí | trì |
| four | kiare | ceathair , ceithre | ceithir |
| five | queig | cúig | còig |
| six | shey | sé | sia |
| seven | shiaght | seacht | seachd , |
| eight | hoght | ocht | ochd |
| nine | nuy | naoi | naoi |
| ten | jeih | deich * | deich |
| eleven | nane jeig | aon déag * | aon deug/diag , |
| twelve | daa yeig | dó dhéag , d(h)á dhéag | dà dheug/dhiag , |
| thirteen | tree jeig | trí déag * | trì deug/diag , |
| twenty | feed | fiche ; fichid (sing. Dative case) * | fichead |
| hundred | keead | céad | ceud, ciad , |
However, evidence of Gaelic type ever having been used on the island has not been found.
| +Vowels ! colspan="2" | Letter(s) ! Phoneme(s) ! Examples | ||
| a | stressed | Ghaelg agh, cooin aghtyn p adjer, c abbyl | |
| unstressed | ardnieu, bodj al coll aneyn duill ag | ||
| a...e, ia...e | sl an e, bugg an e, k iar e | ||
| aa, aa...e | (north) | b aatey, aashagh f aarkey j aagh bl aa, aan e | |
| aai | f aaie | ||
| ae | G aelg Gh aelgagh aeg, aer | ||
| aew | br aew | ||
| ah | pecc ah | ||
| ai, ai...e | m aidjey aile p aitçhey | ||
| aiy | f aiyr | ||
| aue | cr aue, fr aue | ||
| ay | ayr, k ay | ||
| e | stressed | b en, v eggey m ess p eccah, eddin ch engey | |
| unstressed | padj er | ||
| ea | b eaghey | ||
| eai | eairk | ||
| eau, ieau | sl ieau | ||
| eay | (north) , or (south) | eayst, cl eaysh g eay, k eayn | |
| ee | kionn ee, j ees | ||
| eea | y eeast, k eead f eeackle, k eeagh eeast | ||
| eei, eey | f eeid, dr eeym, m eeyl | ||
| ei | sl eityn, ein qu eig g einnagh | ||
| eih | j eih | ||
| eoie | l eoie | ||
| eu, ieu | g eurey ardn ieu | ||
| ey | stressed | s eyr, k eyl | |
| unstressed | vegg ey, collan eyn | ||
| i | unstressed | edd in, rugg it poos it | |
| ia | çh iarn, sh iaght tosh iaght, sn iaghtey gr ian sk ian | ||
| m ie | |||
| io | gl ion | ||
| io...e | (north) (south) | k ion e | |
| o, oi | or or | lh ong, t oshiaght b odjal, l ogh, m oir v ondeish, b olg, bunsc oill h oght, ree oil str oin | |
| o...e | dh on e tr om e | ||
| oa | cl oan j oan | ||
| oh | sh oh | ||
| oie | or | oie | |
| oo, ioo, ooh | shass oo, c ooney, gl ioon, ooh | ||
| ooa, iooa | m ooar | ||
| ooi | m ooinjer, c ooinaghtyn | ||
| ooy | sh ooyl | ||
| oy | m oylley, v oyllagh | ||
| u, ui, iu | stressed | b unscoill r uggit, ushag, d uillag, f uill l urgey | |
| unstressed | b uggane | ||
| ua | y Y uan | ||
| ue | credj ue | ||
| uy | or | n uy | |
| wa | m wannal | ||
| y | cabb yl, sleit yn yngyn f ys y Yuan, yeeast | ||
| +Consonants | |||
| b, bb | usually | bunscoill, ben | |
| between vowels | or | ca bbyl | |
| c, cc, ck | usually | buns coill, cloan | |
| between vowels | pe ccah, ga ccan feea ckle, cra ckan | ||
| ch | cha | ||
| çh, tçh | çhiarn, çhengey, pai tçhey | ||
| d, dd, dh | broad | keea d, ar dnieu, te dd, dhone | |
| slender | or | feei d | |
| broad, between vowels | e ddin, mo ddey | ||
| f | fys, feeackle | ||
| g, gg | broad | Gaelg, Ghael gagh | |
| slender | geurey, geinnagh | ||
| between vowels | ve ggey, ru ggit | ||
| gh | usually | ∅ | Ghaelgagh, bea ghey sha ghey |
| finally or before t | jeera gh, cla gh, cooina ghtyn | ||
| -ght | toshia ght, ho ght | ||
| h | hoght | ||
| j, dj | usually | mooin jer, jeeragh | |
| between vowels | pa djer mai djey, fe djag | ||
| k | broad | keyl, eair k | |
| slender | kione, kiare | ||
| l, ll | broad | Gae lg, s leityn, moy lley | |
| slender | g lion, b lein, fei ll, bi lley | ||
| finally, in monosyllabic words (S only) | shooy l | ||
| -le | feeack le | ||
| lh | lhong | ||
| m, mm | normally | mooinjer, dreey m, fa mman | |
| finally, in monosyllabic words (N only) | eey m, tro me | ||
| n | broad | bu nscoill, cooinaghty n, e nnym | |
| slender | ard nieu, colla neyn, dooi nney, gei nnagh | ||
| finally, in monosyllabic words | sla ne, be n | ||
| slender, finally, in monosyllabic words | ei n | ||
| ng | usually | y ngyn che ngey | |
| finally, in monosyllabic words (S only) | lho ng | ||
| p, pp | usually | peccah, padjer | |
| between vowels | ca ppan | ||
| qu | queig | ||
| r, rr | usually | geu rey, jee ragh, fe rrishyn | |
| finally | or | ae r, faiy r | |
| s, ss | usually | bun scoill, sleityn, ca ss fy s | |
| initially before n | sniaghtey | ||
| between vowels | sha ssoo poo sit | ||
| sh | usually | shooyl, vondei sh | |
| between vowels | aa shagh, u shag to shiaght | ||
| -st | eay st, eea st | ||
| t, tt, th | broad | trome, cooinagh tyn, thalloo | |
| slender | or | poosi t, ush tey, tui ttym | |
| broad, between vowels | bra ttag baa tey | ||
| slender, between vowels | or | slei tyn | |
| v | veggey, voyllagh | ||
| w | a win | ||
| 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. | |
| 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? |
The following table shows a selection of nouns from the Swadesh list and indicates their pronunciations and etymologies.
| aane | liver | Goidelic; from Mid.Ir. ae < O.Ir. óa; cf. Ir. ae, Sc.G. adha | |
| aer | sky | Latin; from O.Ir. aer < L. aër; cf. Ir. aer, Sc.G. adhar | |
| aile | fire | Goidelic; from O.Ir. aingel "very bright"; cf. Ir., Sc.G. aingeal | |
| ardnieu | snake | Apparently "highly poisonous" (cf. ard "high", nieu "poison") | |
| awin | river | Goidelic; from the M.Ir. dative form abainn of aba < O.Ir. abaind aba; cf. Ir. abha/ abhainn, dative abhainn, Sc.G. abhainn (literary nominative abha). | |
| ayr | father | Goidelic; from M.Ir. athair, O.Ir. athir; cf. Ir., Sc.G. athair | |
| beeal | mouth | Goidelic; from O.Ir. bél; cf. Ir. béal, Sc.G. beul/bial | |
| beishteig | worm | Latin; from M.Ir. piast, péist < O.Ir. bíast < L. bēstia | |
| ben | woman | Goidelic; from M.Ir and O.Ir. ben; cf. Ir., Sc.G. bean | |
| billey | tree | Goidelic; from O.Ir. bile | |
| blaa | flower | Goidelic; from O.Ir. bláth, Ir. bláth, Sc.G. blàth | |
| blein | year | Goidelic; from O.Ir. bliadain; cf. Ir. blian, dat. bliain, Sc.G. bliadhna | |
| bodjal | cloud | English/French; shortened from bodjal niaul "pillar of cloud" (cf. Sc.G. baideal neòil); bodjal originally meant "pillar" or "battlement" < E. battle < Fr. bataille | |
| bolg | belly, bag | Goidelic; from O.Ir. bolg, Ir., Sc.G bolg | |
| cass | foot | Goidelic; from O.Ir. cos, cf. Sc.G. cas, Ir.dialect cas, Ir. cos | |
| çhengey | tongue | Goidelic; from O.Ir. tengae; cf. Ir., Sc.G. teanga | |
| clagh | stone | Goidelic; from O.Ir. cloch; cf. Sc.G. clach, Ir. cloch | |
| cleaysh | ear | Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative clúais "hearing"; cf. Ir., Sc.G. cluas, dative cluais, Ir. dialect cluais | |
| collaneyn | guts | Goidelic; from O.Ir. cáelán; cf. Ir. caolán, Sc.G. caolan, derived from caol "thin, slender", -án nominaliser | |
| crackan | skin | Goidelic; from O.Ir. croiccenn; cf. Ir., Sc.G. craiceann, dialect croiceann | |
| craue | bone | Goidelic; from O.Ir. cnám; cf. Ir. cnámh, dative cnáimh, Sc.G. cnàimh | |
| cree | heart | Goidelic; from O.Ir. cride; cf. Ir. croí, Sc.G. cridhe | |
| dooinney | person | Goidelic; from O.Ir. duine, cf. Ir., Sc.G duine | |
| dreeym | back | Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative druimm, nominative dromm; cf. Ir. drom, dialect droim, dative droim, Sc.G. drom, dialect druim, dative druim | |
| duillag | leaf | Goidelic; from O.Ir. duilleóg; cf. Ir. duilleóg, Sc.G. duilleag | |
| eairk | horn | Goidelic; from O.Ir. adarc; cf. Ir., Sc.G. adharc, Ir. dialect aidhearc | |
| eayst | moon | Goidelic; from O.Ir. ésca; cf. archaic Ir. éasca, Sc.G. easga | |
| eeast | fish | Goidelic; from O.Ir. íasc; cf. Ir. iasc, Ul. /jiəsk/, Sc.G. iasg | |
| ennym | name | Goidelic; from O.Ir. ainmm; cf. Ir., Sc.G. ainm | |
| faarkey | sea | Goidelic; from O.Ir. fairrge; cf. Ir. farraige, Sc.G. fairge | |
| faiyr | grass | Goidelic; from O.Ir. fér; cf. Ir. féar, Sc.G. feur, fiar | |
| famman | tail | Goidelic; from O.Ir. femm+ -án nominaliser (masculine diminutive); cf. Ir. feam, Sc.G. feaman | |
| fedjag | feather | Goidelic; from O.Ir. eteóc; cf. Ir. eiteog "wing", Sc.G. iteag | |
| feeackle | tooth | Goidelic; from O.Ir. fíacail; cf. Ir., Sc.G. fiacail | |
| feill | meat | Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative feóil; cf. Ir. feoil, Sc.G. feòil | |
| fer | man | Goidelic; from O.Ir. fer; cf. Ir., Sc.G. fear | |
| fliaghey | rain | Goidelic; from O.Ir. flechud; cf. Ir. fleachadh "rainwater; a drenching", related to fliuch "wet" | |
| folt | hair | Goidelic; from O.Ir. folt, Ir. folt, Sc.G. falt | |
| fraue | root | Goidelic; from O.Ir. frém; cf. Ir. fréamh, préamh, Sc.G. freumh | |
| fuill | blood | Goidelic; from O.Ir. fuil, Ir., Sc.G. fuil | |
| geay | wind | Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative gaíth; cf. Ir., Sc.G. gaoth, dative gaoith | |
| geinnagh | sand | Goidelic; from O.Ir. gainmech; cf. Sc.G. gainmheach, Ir. gaineamh | |
| glioon | knee | Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative glúin; cf. Ir. glúin, Sc.G. glùn, dative glùin | |
| grian | sun | Goidelic; from O.Ir. grían; cf. Ir., Sc.G. grian | |
| jaagh | smoke | Goidelic, from M.Ir. deathach < O.Ir. dé; cf. Sc.G. deathach | |
| joan | dust | Goidelic; from O.Ir. dend; cf. Ir. deannach | |
| kay | fog | Goidelic; from O.Ir. ceó; cf. Ir. ceo, Sc.G. ceò | |
| keayn | sea | Goidelic; from O.Ir. cúan; cf. Ir. cuan "harbor", Sc.G. cuan "ocean" | |
| keeagh | breast | Goidelic; from O.Ir. cíoch; cf. Ir. cíoch, Sc.G. cìoch | |
| keyll | forest | Goidelic; from O.Ir. caill; cf. Ir. coill, Sc.G. coille | |
| kione | head | Goidelic; from O.Ir. cend, dative ciond; cf. Ir., Sc.G. ceann, dative cionn | |
| laa | day | Goidelic; from O.Ir. láa; cf. Ir. lá, Sc.G. latha, là | |
| laue | hand | Goidelic; from O.Ir. lám; cf. Ir. lámh, Sc.G. làmh | |
| leoie | ashes | Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative lúaith; cf. Ir. luaith, Sc.G. luath | |
| logh | lake | Goidelic; from O.Ir. loch | |
| lurgey | leg | Goidelic; from O.Ir. lurga "shin bone"; cf. Ir. lorga | |
| maidjey | stick | Goidelic; from O.Ir. maide, Ir., Sc.G. maide | |
| meeyl | louse | Goidelic; from O.Ir. míol; cf. Ir. míol, Sc.G. mial | |
| mess | fruit | Goidelic; from O.Ir. mes; cf. Ir., Sc.G. meas | |
| moddey | dog | Goidelic; from O.Ir. matrad; cf. Ir. madra, N.Ir. mada, madadh madu, Sc.G. madadh | |
| moir | mother | Goidelic; from O.Ir. máthir; cf. Ir. máthair, Sc.G. màthair | |
| mwannal | neck | Goidelic; from O.Ir. muinél; cf. Ir. muineál, muinéal, Sc.G. muineal | |
| oie | night | Goidelic; from O.Ir. adaig (accusative aidchi); cf. Ir. oíche, Sc.G. oidhche | |
| ooh | egg | Goidelic; from O.Ir. og; cf. Ir. ubh,ugh, Sc.G. ugh | |
| paitçhey | child | French; from E.M.Ir. páitse "page, attendant" < O.Fr. page; cf. Ir. páiste, Sc.G. pàiste | |
| raad | road | English; from Cl.Ir. rót,róat< M.E. road; cf. Ir. ród, Sc.G. rathad | |
| rass | seed | Goidelic; from O.Ir. ros | |
| rollage | star | Goidelic; from M.Ir. rétlu < O.Ir. rétglu + feminine diminutive suffix -óg; cf. Ir. réaltóg, Sc.G. reultag | |
| roost | bark | Brythonic; from O.Ir. rúsc Brythonic (cf. Welsh rhisg(l); cf. Ir. rúsc, Sc.G. rùsg | |
| skian | wing | Goidelic; from O.Ir. scíathán; cf. Ir. sciathán, Sc.G. sgiathan | |
| slieau | mountain | Goidelic, from O.Ir. slíab; cf. Ir., Sc.G. sliabh | |
| sniaghtey | snow | Goidelic; from O.Ir. snechta; cf. Ir. sneachta, Sc.G. sneachd | |
| sollan | salt | Goidelic; from O.Ir., Ir., Sc.G. salann | |
| sooill | eye | Goidelic; from O.Ir. súil; cf. Ir. súil, Sc.G. sùil | |
| stroin | nose | Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative sróin; cf. Ir. srón, dialect sróin, dative sróin, Sc.G. sròn, dative sròin | |
| tedd | rope | Goidelic; from O.Ir. tét; cf. Ir. téad, Sc.G. teud, tiad | |
| thalloo | earth | Goidelic; from O.Ir. talam; cf. Ir., Sc.G. talamh | |
| ushag | bird | Goidelic; from O.Ir. uiseóg "lark"; cf. Ir. fuiseog, Sc.G. uiseag | |
| ushtey | water | Goidelic; from O.Ir. uisce; cf. Ir. uisce, Sc.G. uisge | |
| yngyn | fingernail | Goidelic; from O.Ir. ingen; cf. Ir., Sc.G. ionga, dative iongain, plural Ir. iongna, Sc.G. iongnan, etc. |
See for the complete list in all the Celtic languages.
| Moghrey mie | Good morning |
| Fastyr mie | Good afternoon/evening |
| Oie vie | Good night |
| Kys t'ou? ("tu" form) Kys ta shiu? (plural) Kanys ta shiu? ("vous" form) | How are you |
| Feer vie | Very well |
| Gura mie ayd ("tu" form) Gura mie eu ("vous" form) | Thank you |
| As oo hene? As shiu hene? | And yourself |
| Slane lhiat Slane lhiu | Goodbye |
| Whooiney | Yessir (Manx English equivalent of "man" (US: "dude"), as an informal term of address; found as a dhuine in Irish and Scottish Gaelic) |
| Ellan Vannin | Isle of Man |
English loanwords were common in late (pre-revival) Manx, e.g. boy "boy", badjer "badger", rather than the more usual native Gaelic guilley and brock. In more recent years, there has been a reaction against such borrowing, resulting in coinages for technical vocabulary. Despite this, 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 from Latin, Greek language and Hebrew language, e.g. casherick "holy" (from Latin consecrātus), agglish "church" (from Greek ἐκκλησία/ "assembly") and abb "abbot" (from Hebrew אבא/ "father"). These did not necessarily come directly into Manx, but via Old Irish. In more recent times, ulpan has been borrowed from modern Hebrew. Many Irish and English loanwords also have a classical origin, e.g. çhellveeish "television" (Irish teilifís) and çhellvane "telephone". Foreign language words (usually via English) are used occasionally especially for ethnic food, e.g. chorizo and spaghetti.
Going in the other direction, Manx Gaelic has influenced Manx English (Anglo-Manx). Common words and phrases in Anglo-Manx originating in the language include tholtan "ruined farmhouse", quaaltagh "first-foot", keeill "(old) church", cammag, traa-dy-liooar "time enough", and Tynwald ( tinvaal), which is ultimately of Norse origin, but comes from Manx. It is suggested that the House of Keys takes its name from Kiare as Feed (four and twenty), which is the number of its sitting members.
| Moghrey mie | Maidin mhaith | Madainn mhath | Bore da | good morning |
| Fastyr mie | Tráthnóna maith | Feasgar math | Prynhawn da Noswaith dda | good afternoon/evening |
| Slane lhiat, Slane lhiu | Slán leat, Slán libh | Slàn leat, Slàn leibh | Hwyl fawr | goodbye |
| Gura mie ayd, Gura mie eu | Go raibh maith agat, Go raibh maith agaibh | Tapadh leat, Tapadh leibh | Diolch | thank you |
| baatey | bád | bàta | cwch | boat |
| barroose | bus | bus | bws | bus |
| blaa | bláth | blàth | blodyn | flower |
| booa | bó | bò | buwch/bo | cow |
| cabbyl | capall | each | ceffyl | horse |
| cashtal | caisleán, caiseal | caisteal | castell | castle |
| creg | carraig | carraig, creag | carreg, craig | crag, rock |
| eeast | iasc | iasg | pysgodyn | fish sg. |
| ellan | oileán | eilean | ynys | island, eyot |
| gleashtan | gluaisteán, carr | càr | car | car |
| kayt | cat | cat | cath | cat |
| moddey | madra, madadh | cù | ci | dog, hound |
| shap | siopa | bùth | siop | shop |
| thie | tigh, teach | taigh | tŷ | house |
| eean | éan | eun, ian | aderyn, edn | bird |
| jees, daa | dá, dhá, dó; (people) beirt, dís | dà, dhà; (people) dithis | dau (m.)/dwy (f.) | two |
| oik | oifig | oifis | swyddfa | office |
| ushtey | uisce | uisge | dŵr, dwfr | water |
The Isle of Man Examiner has a monthly Multilingualism column in Manx.
The first film to be made in Manx, 22-minute-long Ny Kirree fo Niaghtey "The Sheep Under the Snow", premiered in 1983 and was entered for the 5th Celtic Film and Television Festival in Cardiff in 1984. It was directed by Shorys Y Creayrie (George Broderick) for Foillan Films of Laxey, 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 from Culture Vannin, Pinewood Group and Isle of Man Film. A series of short cartoons about the life of Cú Chulainn which was produced by BBC Northern Ireland is available as are a series of cartoons on Manx mythology. Most significant is a 13-part DVD series Manx translation of the award-winning series Friends and Heroes.
There is no record of literature written distinctively in Manx before the Reformation. 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 was The Principles and Duties of Christianity (Coyrie Sodjey), translated by Bishop of Sodor and Man Thomas Wilson.
The Book of Common Prayer was translated by John Phillips, the Welsh-born Anglican Bishop 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 the Book of the Dean of Lismore, as well as some extensive texts based on English and Scottish English orthographical practices of the time. Little secular Manx literature has been preserved.
The New Testament was first published in 1767. When the Anglican 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 from Welsh orthography was the use of to represent (e.g. cabbyl "horse" and cooney "help" as well as (e.g. fys "knowledge"), though it is also used to represent , (e.g. y Yuan "John" (vocative), yeeast "fish").
Other works produced in the 18th and 19th centuries include catechisms, hymn books and religious tracts. A translation of Paradise Lost was made by Rev. Thomas Christian of Marown in 1796.
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 the Gruffalo and Gruffalo's Child.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince was translated into Manx by Rob Teare in 2019.
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 some bowdlerisation had occurred in the translation, e.g. the occupation of Rahab the prostitute is rendered as ben-oast "a hostess, female inn-keeper." The bicentenary was celebrated in 1975 and included a set of stamps from the Isle of Man Post Office.
There was a translation of the Psalmyn Ghavid ("Psalms of David") in metre in Manx by the Rev John Clague, vicar of Rushen, which was printed with the Book of Common Prayer of 1768. Bishop Hildesley required that these Metrical Psalms were to be sung in churches. These were reprinted by Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh in 1905.
The British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) published the Conaant 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 reprinted Noo Ean "the Gospel of St John"; this was reprinted by Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh in 1968. The Manx Bible was republished by Shearwater Press in July 1979 as Bible 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.
In a move towards the Catholic Church in the Isle of Man having a Bishop of its own, in September 2023 St. Mary of the Isle Church in Douglas was granted Co-Cathedral status by Pope Francis. During the Mass of dedication by Malcolm McMahon, the Archbishop of Liverpool, the Lord's Prayer was recited in Manx and the Manx National Anthem was also performed.
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