Manx language

Manx
[yn Ghaelg] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), [yn Ghailck] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
Pronunciation	[əˈɣilk], [əˈɣilɡ]
Native to	Isle of Man
Native speakers	Extinct as a first language in 1974; subsequently revived and now with about a hundred competent speakers, including a small number of children who are new native speakers, and 1,823 people (2.27% de facto population) in the Isle of Man professing some knowledge of the language (2011)
Language family	Indo-European Celtic Insular Goidelic Manx
Official status
Official language in	Isle of Man
Regulated by	Coonseil ny Gaelgey (Manx Gaelic Council)
Language codes
ISO 639-1	gv
ISO 639-2	glv
ISO 639-3	glv
ELP	Manx
Linguasphere	50-AAA-aj

Manx (native name [Gaelg] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) or [Gailck] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), pronounced [ɡilk] or [ɡilɡ]), also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Isle of Man's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it. It is widely considered to be an important part of the island's culture and heritage. The last native speaker, Ned Maddrell, died in 1974. However in recent years the language has been the subject of revival efforts. Mooinjer Veggey [muɲdʒer veɣə], a Manx medium playgroup, was succeeded by the [Bunscoill Ghaelgagh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [bʊn-skolʲ ɣɪlɡax], a primary school for 4- to 11-year-olds in St John's. In recent years, despite the small number of speakers, the language has become more visible on the island, with increased signage and radio broadcasts. The revival of Manx has been aided by the fact that the language was well recorded: for example the Bible was translated into Manx, and a number of audio recordings were made of native speakers.

Names of the language

Manx

In Manx the language is called Gaelg or Gailck, a word which shares the same etymological root as the English word "Gaelic". The sister languages of Irish and Scottish Gaelic, use Gaeilge and Gàidhlig respectively for their languages.

To distinguish it from the other two forms of Gaelic, the phrases Gaelg/Gailck Vannin (Gaelic of Mann) and Gaelg/Gailck Vanninnagh (Manx Gaelic) may also be used.

In addition, the nickname "Çhengey ny Mayrey" (the mother tongue/tongue of the mother) is occasionally used.

English

The language is usually referred to in English as Manx. The term Manx Gaelic is also often used, for example when discussing the relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx) or to avoid confusion with Anglo-Manx, the form of English as spoken in the Island. Scottish Gaelic is often referred to in English as simply Gaelic, but this is less common with Manx and Irish.

The word Manx is frequently spelled as Manks in historical sources, particularly those written by natives of the island; the word means Mannish, and originates from the Norse Mannisk. The name of the island, Man, is frequently spelled as Mann. It is sometimes accompanied by a footnote explaining that it is a two-syllable word, with the stress on the first syllable, "MAN-en". It comes from the name of the Celtic God "Manannán mac Lir"

History

An ogham inscription on a stone in the Manx Museum

William Christian, better known as Illiam Dhone (Brown-haired William)

Lag ny Keeilley (Hollow of the Church) on Cronk ny Arrey Laa (Hill of the Day Watch); the Manx language has had a substantial influence on the island's toponomy and nomenclature.

Manx is a Goidelic language, closely related to Irish and Scottish Gaelic. On the whole it is not mutually intelligible with these, though the speakers of the three languages find it easy to gain passive competency in each other's languages and even spoken competency.

Like Scottish Gaelic and modern Irish, Manx is derived from older forms of Irish. The earliest known language of the Isle of Man was a form of Brythonic.

Manx is descended from Primitive Irish, which 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. By the 10th century Old Irish had evolved into Middle Irish, which was spoken throughout Ireland, in Scotland and the Isle of Man. Like the coastal areas of Scotland and Ireland, the Isle of Man was colonised by the Norse, who left their legacy in certain loanwords, personal names, and placenames such as Laxey (Laksaa) and Ramsay (Rhumsaa).

During the later Middle Ages, the Isle of Man fell increasingly under the influence of England, and from then on the English language has been the chief external factor in the development of Manx. Manx began to diverge from Early Modern Irish in around the 13th century and from Scottish Gaelic in the 15th. The language sharply declined during the 19th century and was supplanted by English.

Manx-language books were not printed until the beginning of the 18th century, and there was no Manx–English dictionary until the 19th century. Except for a few ballads composed in the 16th century and some religious literature, there is no pre-20th century literature in the Manx language. The Manx were to all intents and purposes an oral society, with all folklore, history, interpersonal business and the like passed on by word of mouth.

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%. Since the language had fallen to a status of low prestige, 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] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (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 27 December 1974), but by then a scholarly revival had begun to spread and many people 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.

In the 2011 census, 1,823 out of 80,398, or 2.27% of the population, claimed to have knowledge of Manx. This is an increase of 134 people, from the 2001 census. The largest concentration of speakers was in Douglas, with 566 people professing an ability to speak, read or write in Manx. Peel had the second largest number of speakers, with 179 people professing an ability to speak, read or write in Manx. Other large concentrations included Onchan (146), and Ramsey (149).

Manx given 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-Manx speakers), Illiam (William), Orry (from the Manx King of Norse origin), Breeshey (also Breesha) (Bridget), Aalish (also Ealish) (Alice), Juan (Jack), Ean (John), Joney, Fenella (Fionnuala), Pherick (Patrick) and Freya (from the Norse Goddess) remain popular.

Classification and dialects

Manx is one of the three descendants of Old Irish (via Middle Irish and early Modern Gaelic), and is closely related to Irish and Scottish Gaelic. It shares a number of developments in phonology, vocabulary and grammar with Irish and Scottish Gaelic (in some cases only with dialects of these), but also shows a number of unique changes. There are two dialects of Manx, Northern Manx and Southern Manx.

Manx shares with Scottish Gaelic the partial loss of contrastive palatalisation of labial consonants; thus while in Irish the velarised consonants /pˠ bˠ fˠ w mˠ/ contrast phonemically with palatalised /pʲ bʲ fʲ vʲ mʲ/, in Scottish Gaelic and Manx, the phonemic contrast has been lost to some extent. A consequence of this phonemic merger is that Middle Irish unstressed word-final [əβʲ] (spelled -(a)ibh, -(a)imh in Irish and Gaelic) has merged with [əβ] (-(e)abh, -(e)amh) in Manx; both have become [u], spelled -oo or -u(e). Examples include [shassoo] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("to stand"; Irish [seasamh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)), [credjue] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("religion"; Irish [creideamh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)), [nealloo] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("fainting"; Early Modern Irish [(i) néalaibh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), lit. in clouds), and [erriu] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("on you (plural)"; Irish [oraibh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)). However, Manx is further advanced in this than is Scottish, where the verb ending -ibh second person plural is consistently [-iv], as it is in the second plural pronoun sibh (shiu in Manx).

Like western and northern dialects of Irish (cf. Irish phonology) and most dialects of Scottish Gaelic, Manx has changed the historical consonant clusters /kn ɡn mn tn/ to /kr ɡr mr tr/. For example, Middle Irish [cnáid] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("mockery") and [mná] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("women") have become [craid] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) and [mraane] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) respectively in Manx. The affrication of [t̪ʲ d̪ʲ] to [tʃ dʒ] is also common to Manx, northern Irish, and Scottish Gaelic.

Also like northern and western dialects of Irish, as well as like southern dialects of Scottish Gaelic (e.g. Arran, Kintyre), the unstressed word-final syllable [iʝ] of Middle Irish (spelled -(a)idh and -(a)igh) has developed to [iː] in Manx, where it is spelled -ee, as in [kionnee] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("buy"; cf. Irish [ceannaigh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) and [cullee] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("apparatus"; cf. Gaelic [culaidh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)).

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/ (in Manx spelling, agh), for example [jeeragh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("straight") [ˈdʒiːrax] (Irish [díreach] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)), [cooinaghtyn] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("to remember") [ˈkuːnʲaxt̪ən] (Gaelic [cuimhneachd] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)).

Similarly to Munster Irish, historical bh [βʲ] and mh (nasalised [βʲ]) have been lost in the middle or at the end of a word in Manx either with compensatory lengthening or vocalisation as u resulting in diphthongisation with the preceding vowel. For example, Manx [geurey] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("winter") [ˈɡʲeurə], [ˈɡʲuːrə] and [sleityn] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("mountains") [ˈsleːdʒən] correspond to Irish [geimhreadh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) and [sléibhte] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (Southern Irish dialect spelling and pronunciation gíre ([ˈɟiːɾʲə]) and sléte ([ˈʃlʲeːtʲə])). Another similarity to Munster Irish is the development of the Old Irish diphthongs [oi ai] before velarised consonants (spelled ao in Irish and Scottish Gaelic) to [eː] in many words, as in [seyr] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("carpenter") [seːr] and [keyl] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("narrow") [keːl] (spelled [saor] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) and [caol] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) in Irish and Scottish, and pronounced virtually the same in Munster).

Like southern and western varieties of Irish and northern varieties of 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. For example, [cloan] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("children") [klɔːn], [dhone] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("brown") [d̪ɔːn], [eeym] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("butter") [iːᵇm] correspond to Irish/Scottish Gaelic [clann] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), [donn] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), and [im] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) 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 [klˠɑːn̪ˠ], Southern Irish/Northern Scottish [kl̪ˠaun̪ˠ], [d̪ˠaun̪ˠ]/[d̪ˠoun̪ˠ], [iːm]/[ɤim]), but short vowels and 'long' consonants in northern Irish, Arran, and Kintyre, [kl̪ˠan̪ːˠ], [d̪ˠon̪ːˠ] and [imʲː].

Another similarity with southern Irish is the treatment of Middle Irish word-final unstressed [əð], spelled -(e)adh in Irish and Scottish Gaelic. In nouns (including verbal nouns), this became [ə] in Manx, as it did in southern Irish, e.g. [caggey] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("war") [ˈkaːɣə], [moylley] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("to praise") [ˈmɔlə]; cf. Irish [cogadh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) and [moladh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), pronounced [ˈkˠɔɡˠə] and [ˈmˠɔl̪ˠə] in southern Irish. In finite verb forms before full nouns (as opposed to pronouns) [əð] became [ax] in Manx, as in southern Irish, e.g. [voyllagh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈvɔlax] ("would praise"), cf. Irish [mholfadh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), pronounced [ˈvˠɔl̪ˠhəx] in southern Irish.

Dialect map of Manx (boundaries are approximate)

Linguistic analysis of the last few dozen native speakers reveals a number of dialectal differences between the northern and the southern parts of the island. Northern Manx is reflected by speakers from towns and villages from Maughold in the northeast of the island to Peel on the west coast. Southern Manx is used by speakers from the Sheading of Rushen.

In Southern Manx, older á and in some cases ó have become [eː]. In Northern Manx the same happens, but á sometimes remains [aː] as well. For example, [laa] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("day", cf. Irish [lá] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is [leː] in the south but [leː] or [laː] in the north. Old ó is always [eː] in both dialects, e.g. [aeg] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("young", cf. Irish [óg] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is [eːɡ] in both dialects.

In Northern Manx, older (e)a before nn in the same syllable is diphthongised, while in Southern Manx it is lengthened but remains a monophthong. For example, [kione] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("head", cf. Irish [ceann] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is [kʲaun] in the north but [kʲoːn] in the south.

In both dialects of Manx, words with ua and in some cases ao in Irish and Scottish are spelled with eay in Manx. In Northern Manx, this sound is [iː], while in Southern Manx it is [ɯː], [uː], or [yː]. For example, [geay] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("wind", cf. Irish [gaoth] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is [ɡiː] in the north and [ɡɯː] in the south, while [geayl] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("coal", cf. Irish [gual] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is [ɡiːl] in the north and [ɡyːl], [ɡɯːl], or [ɡuːl] in the south.

In both the north and the south, there is a tendency to insert a short [d] sound before a word-final [n] in monosyllabic words, as in [sleᵈn] for [slane] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("whole") and [beᵈn] for [ben] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("woman"). This phenomenon is known as pre-occlusion. In Southern Manx, however, there is also pre-occlusion of [d] before [l] and of [ɡ] before [ŋ], as in [ʃuːᵈl] for [shooyl] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("walking") and [lɔᶢŋ] for [lhong] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("ship"). These forms are generally pronounced without pre-occlusion in the north. Preocclusion of [b] before [m], on the other hand, is more common in the north, as in [trome] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("heavy"), which is [t̪roᵇm] in the north but [t̪roːm] or [t̪roːᵇm] in the south. This feature is also found in Cornish.

Southern Manx tends to lose word-initial [ɡ] before [lʲ], while Northern Manx usually preserves it, e.g. [glion] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("glen") is [ɡlʲɔᵈn] in the north and [lʲɔᵈn] in the south, and [glioon] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("knee") is [ɡlʲuːn] in the north and [lʲuːᵈn] in the south.

Orthography

The Manx orthography is unlike that of Irish and Scottish Gaelic, both of which use closely related modernised variants of the orthography of Early Modern Irish, the language of the educated Gaelic elite of both Ireland and Scotland (where it is called Classical Gaelic) until the mid-19th century. These orthographies in general show both word pronunciation and word derivation from the Gaelic past, though not in a one-to-one system, there being only 18 letters to represent around 50 phonemes. While Manx in effect uses the English alphabet, except for ⟨x⟩ and ⟨z⟩, the 24 letters of its alphabet likewise do not cover a similar range of phonemes, and therefore many digraphs and trigraphs are used.

The orthography was developed by people who were unaware of traditional Gaelic orthography, as they had learned literacy in Welsh and English (the initial development in the 16th century), then only English (later developments). Therefore, the orthography shows the pronunciation of words mainly from the point of view of early Modern English "phonetics", and to a small extent Welsh, rather than from the Gaelic point of view. The result is an inconsistent and only partially phonetic spelling system, in the same way that English orthographic practices are inconsistent and only partially phonetic. T. F. O'Rahilly expressed the opinion that Gaelic in the Isle of Man was saddled with a corrupt spelling which is neither traditional nor phonetic; if the traditional Gaelic orthography had been preserved, the close kinship that exists between Manx Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic would be obvious to all at first sight.

There is no evidence of Gaelic script having been used on the island.

Cedilla

Manx uses relatively few diacritics, but a cedilla is often (but not always) used to differentiate between the two pronunciations of "ch".

• Çhiarn (ˈtʃaːrn) means "lord" and is pronounced with a hard "ch" (/tʃ/) as in the English "watch"
• Cha' means "not", and is pronounced with a velar fricative, as in the correct pronunciation of the Scots "loch" (/ˈlɒx/ ), a sound which is more commonly represented by "gh" in Manx. This is one of the features Manx shares with the Northern dialects of Irish and Scottish Gaelic (instead of the negation ní used elsewhere in Ireland).

Examples

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 from Ned Maddrell, a speaker of Southern Manx.

Orthography	Phonetic transcription	Gloss
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 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?

Gaelic versions of the Lord's Prayer

The Lord's Prayer has been translated into all the Goidelic tongues. Although the wording is not completely cognate, they demonstrate the different orthographies.

The standard version of the Lord's Prayer in Manx

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.

Manx version of 1713

Ayr Ain, t'ayns Niau;

Caſherick dy rou dt'ennym;

Di jig dty Reereeaght;

Dt'aigney dy rou jeant er y Talloo

myr t'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 Reeriaght y Phooar as y Ghloyr, ſon dy bragh as dy bragh.

Amen

The prayer in Old Irish

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 do ríocht (alt.go dtagaidh do ríocht).

Go ndéantar do thoil ar an talamh (alt. ar an dtalamh),

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 olc (alt. ón olc).

Óir is leatsa an Ríocht agus an Chumhacht agus an Ghloir, tré shaol na saol (alt. le saol na saol / go síoraí).

Amen (alt. Âiméin).

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.

Spelling to sound correspondences

Vowels

Letter(s)		Phoneme(s)	Examples
a	stressed	/a/ /aː/	Ghaelgagh, cooinaghtyn padjer, cabbyl
	unstressed	/ə/ /i/ /a/	ardnieu, bodjal collaneyn duillag
a...e, ia...e		/eː/	slane, buggane, kiare
aa, aa...e		/ɛː/ /øː/ /eːa/ /eː/ /aː/ (north)	baatey, aashagh faarkey jaagh blaa, aane
aai		/ɛi/
ae		/i/ /ɪ/ /eː/	Gaelg Ghaelgagh aeg, aer
aew		/au/
ah		/ə/	peccah
ai, ai...e		/aː/ /ai/ /e/	maidjey aile paitçhey
aiy		/eː/	faiyr
aue		/eːw/	craue, fraue
ay		/eː/	ayr, kay
e	stressed	/e/ /eː/ /ɛ/ /i/	ben, veggey mess peccah, eddin chengey
	unstressed	/ə/	padjer
ea		/ɛː/	beaghey
eai		/eː/	eairk
eau, ieau		/uː/	slieau
eay		/eː/ /iː/ (north) /ɯː/, /uː/ or /yː/ (south)	eayst, cleaysh geay, keayn
ee		/iː/	kionnee, jees
eea		/iːə/ /iː/ /jiː/	yeeast, keead feeackle, keeagh eeast
eei, eey		/iː/	feeid, dreeym, meeyl
ei		/eː/ /e/ /a/	sleityn, ein queig geinnagh
eih		/ɛː/	jeih
eoie		/øi/	leoie
eu, ieu		/uː/ /eu/	geurey ardnieu
ey	stressed	/eː/	seyr, keyl
	unstressed	/ə/	veggey, collaneyn
unstressed i		/ə/ /i/	eddin, ruggit poosit
ia		/aː/ /a/ /iː/ /iːə/	çhiarn, shiaght toshiaght, sniaghtey grian skian
ie		/aɪ/
io		/ɔ/	glion
io...e		/au/ (north) /oː/ (south)	kione
o, oi		/ɔ/ or /a/ /ɔː/ or /aː/ /o/ /oː/ /u/	lhong, toshiaght bodjal, logh, moir vondeish, bolg, bunscoill hoght, reeoil stroin
o...e		/ɔː/ /oː/	dhone trome
oa		/ɔː/ /au/	cloan joan
oh		/ɔ/
oie		/ei/ or /iː/	oie
oo, ioo, ooh		/uː/	shassoo, cooney, glioon, ooh
ooa, iooa		/uː/	mooar
ooi		/u/	mooinjer, cooinaghtyn
ooy		/uː/	shooyl
oy		/ɔ/	moylley, voyllagh
u, ui, iu	stressed	/ʊ/ /o/ /ø/	bunscoill ruggit, ushag, duillag, fuill lurgey
	unstressed	/ə/	buggane
ua		/uːa/	y Yuan
ue		/u/	credjue
uy		/ɛi/ or /iː/	nuy
wa		/o/	mwannal
y		/ə/ /i/ /ɪ/ /j/	cabbyl, sleityn yngyn fys y Yuan, yeeast

Consonants

Letter(s)		Phoneme(s)	Examples
b, bb	usually	/b/	bunscoill, ben
	between vowels	/β/ or /v/	cabbyl
c, cc, ck	usually	/k/	bunscoill, cloan
	between vowels	/ɡ/ /ɣ/	peccah, gaccan feeackle, crackan
ch		/x/	cha
çh, tçh		/tʃ/	çhiarn, çhengey, paitçhey
d, dd, dh	broad	/d̪/	keead, ardnieu, tedd, dhone
	slender	/dʲ/ or /dʒ/	feeid
	broad, between vowels	/ð/	eddin, moddey
f		/f/	fys, feeackle
g, gg	broad	/ɡ/	Gaelg, Ghaelgagh
	slender	/ɡʲ/	geurey, geinnagh
	between vowels	/ɣ/	veggey, ruggit
gh	usually	/ɣ/ ∅	Ghaelgagh, beaghey shaghey
	finally or before t	/x/	jeeragh, clagh, cooinaghtyn
-ght		/x/	toshiaght, hoght
h		/h/	hoght
j, dj	usually	/dʒ/	mooinjer, jeeragh
	between vowels	/ʒ/ /j/	padjer maidjey, fedjag
k	broad	/k/	keyl, eairk
	slender	/kʲ/	kione, kiare
l, ll	broad	/l/	Gaelg, sleityn, moylley
	slender	/lʲ/	glion, blein, feill, billey
	finally, in monosyllabic words (S only)	/ᵈl/	shooyl
-le		/əl/	feeackle
lh		/l/	lhong
m, mm	normally	/m/	mooinjer, dreeym, famman
	finally, in monosyllabic words (N only)	/ᵇm/	eeym, trome
n	broad	/n/	bunscoill, cooinaghtyn, ennym
	slender	/nʲ/	ardnieu, collaneyn, dooinney, geinnagh
	finally, in monosyllabic words	/ᵈn/	slane, ben
	slender, finally, in monosyllabic words	/ᵈnʲ/	ein
ng	usually	/ŋ/ /nʲ/	yngyn chengey
	finally, in monosyllabic words (S only)	/ᶢŋ/	lhong
p, pp	usually	/p/	peccah, padjer
	between vowels	/v/	cappan
qu		/kw/	queig
r, rr	usually	/r/	geurey, jeeragh, ferrishyn
	finally	/ɹ̝/ or /ə/	aer, faiyr
s, ss	usually	/s/ /z/	bunscoill, sleityn, cass fys
	initially before n	/ʃ/	sniaghtey
	between vowels	/ð/ /z/	shassoo poosit
sh	usually	/ʃ/	shooyl, vondeish
	between vowels	/ʒ/ /j/	aashagh, ushag toshiaght
-st		/s/	eayst, eeast
t, tt, th	broad	/t̪/	trome, cooinaghtyn, thalloo
	slender	/tʲ/ or /tʃ/	poosit, ushtey, tuittym
	broad, between vowels	/d̪/ /ð/	brattag baatey
	slender, between vowels	/dʲ/ or /dʒ/	sleityn
v		/v/	veggey, voyllagh
w		/w/	awin

Literature

Main articles: Manx literature and Gaelic literature

Because Manx has never had a large user base, it has never been practical to produce large amounts of written literature. A body of oral literature, on the other hand, did exist. It is known that the "Fianna" tales and the like were known, with the Manx ballad Fin as Oshin commemorating Finn MacCool and Ossian. With the coming of Protestantism, this slowly disappeared, while a tradition of carvals, religious songs or carols, developed with religious sanction.

As far as is known, there was no distinctively Manx written literature before the Reformation, and by this 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 Book of Common Prayer, translated by John Phillips, the Welsh-born Bishop of Sodor and Man (1605–33). The early Manx script does have 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 in some cases extensive texts based on English and Scottish English orthographical practices of the time. Little secular Manx literature has been preserved.

When the Anglican church authorities commenced the production of written literature in the language in the 18th century, the system developed by John Philips was further "anglicized", the one Welsh-retention being the use of ⟨y⟩ to represent schwa (e.g. [cabbyl] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [kaːβəl] "horse" and [cooney] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [kuːnə] "help" as well as /ɪ/ (e.g. [fys] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [fɪz] “knowledge”), though it is also used to represent [j], as in English (e.g. [y Yuan] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ə juːan] "John" (vocative), [yeeast] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [jiːəst] "fish").

Later pieces included short stories and poetry. Translations also occurred, notably of Paradise Lost in 1796.

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.

The Railway Series

Although the books of The Railway Series by the Reverend W. Awdry were written in English, Manx had a significant influence on the world in which they were set. Thomas the Tank Engine and his fellow locomotive characters live on the fictional Island of Sodor, which is to the east of the Isle of Man, but at the same time loosely based on it. It has its own language "Sudric", which "is fast dying out and is akin to Manx and Gaelic" – but the difference between Manx and Sudric is not enough to prevent the two communities understanding one another.

A lot of the names, are clearly based on Manx forms, but often the nouns are inverted to match English word order. Some of the locations have quasi-Manx names, e.g. Killdane, which comes from "Keeill-y-Deighan" (Church of the Devil), hills are called Knock and Cronk, while "Nagh Beurla", means "I speak no English", a distortion of the Manx. The names of some of the 'historical' characters – used in the background but not appearing in the stories – were taken from locations on the Isle of Man, such as Sir Crosby Marown (Crosby being a small village in the parish of Marown) and Harold Regaby.

Phonology

See also: Affection (linguistics)

Consonants

The consonant phonemes of Manx are as follows:

Manx consonant phonemes

	Bilabial		Labio- dental		Dental		Alveolar		Post- alveolar		Palatal		Palato- velar		Velar		Labio- velar		Glottal
Plosive	p	b			t̪	d̪			tʲ	dʲ			kʲ	ɡʲ	k	ɡ
Fricative			f	v			s		ʃ				xʲ	ɣʲ	x	ɣ			h
Nasal		m				n				nʲ						ŋ
Trill								r
Approximant												j						w
Lateral						l				lʲ

The voiceless plosives are pronounced with aspiration. The dental, postalveolar and palato-velar plosives /t̪ d̪ tʲ dʲ kʲ/ are affricated to [t̪͡θ d̪͡ð t͡ʃ d͡ʒ kʲ͡ç] in many contexts.

Manx has an optional process of lenition of plosives between vowels, whereby voiced plosives and voiceless fricatives become voiced fricatives and voiceless plosives become either voiced plosives or voiced fricatives. This process introduces the allophones [β ð z ʒ] to the series of voiced fricatives in Manx. The voiced fricative [ʒ] may be further lenited to [j], and [ɣ] may disappear altogether. Examples include:

Voiceless plosive to voiced plosive

• /t̪/ → [d̪]: [brattag] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈbrad̪aɡ] "flag, rag"
• /k/ → [ɡ]: [peccah] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈpɛɡə] "sin"

Voiceless plosive to voiced fricative

• /p/ → [v]: [cappan] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈkavan] "cup"
• /t̪/ → [ð]: [baatey] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈbɛːða] "boat"
• /k/ → [ɣ]: [feeackle] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈfiːɣəl] "tooth"

Voiced plosive to voiced fricative

• /b/ → [v]: [cabbyl] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈkaːvəl] "horse"
• /d̪/ → [ð]: [eddin] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈɛðənʲ] "face"
• /dʲ/ → [ʒ]: [padjer] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈpaːʒər] "prayer"
• /dʲ/ → [ʒ] → [j]: [maidjey] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈmaːʒə], [ˈmaːjə] "stick"
• /ɡ/ → [ɣ]: [ruggit] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈroɣət] "born"

Voiceless fricative to voiced fricative

• /s/ → [ð] or [z]: [poosit] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈpuːðitʲ] or [ˈpuːzitʲ] "married"
• /s/ → [ð]: [shassoo] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈʃaːðu] "stand"
• /ʃ/ → [ʒ]: [aashagh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈɛːʒax] "easy"
• /ʃ/ → [ʒ] → [j]: [toshiaght] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈt̪ɔʒax], [ˈt̪ɔjax] "beginning"
• /x/ → [ɣ]: [beaghey] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈbɛːɣə] "live"
• /x/ → [ɣ] → ∅: [shaghey] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ʃaː] "past"

Another optional process of Manx phonology is pre-occlusion, the insertion of a very short plosive consonant before a sonorant consonant. In Manx, this applies to stressed monosyllabic words (i.e. words one syllable long). 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:

• /m/ → [ᵇm]: [trome] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /t̪roːm/ → [t̪roᵇm] "heavy"
• /n/ → [ᵈn]: [kione] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /kʲoːn/ → [kʲoᵈn] "head"
• /nʲ/ → [ᵈnʲ]: [ein] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /eːnʲ/ → [eːᵈnʲ], [eᵈnʲ] "birds"
• /ŋ/ → [ᶢŋ]: [lhong] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /loŋ/ → [loᶢŋ] "ship"
• /l/ → [ᵈl]: [shooyll] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /ʃuːl/ → [ʃuːᵈl] "walking"

The trill /r/ is realised as a one- or two-contact flap [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. This vocalisation may be due to the influence of Manx English, which is itself a non-rhotic accent. Examples of the pronunciation of /r/ include:

• [ribbey] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "snare" [ˈɾibə]
• [arran] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "bread" [ˈaɾan]
• [mooar] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "big" [muːr], [muːɹ̝], [muːə̯], [muː]

Vowels

The vowel phonemes of Manx are as follows:

Manx vowel phonemes

	Short			Long
	Front	Central	Back	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u	iː		uː
Mid	e	ə	o	eː		oː
Open	(æ)	a		(æː)	aː

The status of æ and æː as separate phonemes is debatable, but is suggested by the allophony of certain words such as [ta] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "is", [mraane] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "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/,/a:/. This depends mainly on the 'broad' and 'slender' status of the neighbouring consonants:

Manx vowel phonemes and their allophonic variation

Phoneme	"Slender"	"Broad"
/i/, /i:/	[i], [i:]	[ɪ], [ɪ:]
/e/,/e:/	[e]/[e:]	[ɛ]/[ɛ:]
/a/,/a:/	[ɛ~æ]/[ɛ:~æ:]	[a]/[a:]
/ə/	[ɨ]	[ə]
/əi/ (Middle Gaelic)	[i:]	[ɛ:],[ɯ:],[ɪ:]
/o/,/o:/	[o],[o:]	[ɔ],[ɔ:]
/u/,/u:/	[u],[u:]	[ø~ʊ],[u:]
/uə/ (Middle Gaelic)	[i:],[y:]	[ɪ:],[ɯ:],[u:]

When stressed, /ə/ is realised as [ø].

Manx has a relatively large number of diphthongs, all of them falling:

Manx diphthongs

	Second element is /i/	Second element is /u/	Second element is /ə/
First element is close	ui		iə • uə
First element is mid	ei • əi • oi	eu • əu
First element is open	ai	au

Stress

Stress generally falls on the first syllable of a word in Manx, but in many cases, stress is attracted to a long vowel in the second syllable. Examples include:

• [buggane] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /bəˈɣeːn/ "sprite"
• [tarroogh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /t̪aˈruːx/ "busy"
• [reeoil] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /riːˈoːl/ "royal"
• [vondeish] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) /vonˈd̪eːʃ/ "advantage"

Morphology

Manx nouns fall into one of two genders, masculine or feminine. Nouns are inflected for number (the plural being formed in a variety of ways, most commonly by addition of the suffix -yn [ən]), but usually there is no inflection for case, except in a minority of nouns that have a distinct genitive singular form, which is formed in various ways (most common is the addition of the suffix -ey [ə] to feminine nouns). Historical genitive singulars are often encountered in compounds even when they are no longer productive forms; for example [thie-ollee] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "cowhouse" uses the old genitive of [ollagh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "cattle".

Manx verbs generally form their finite forms by means of periphrasis: inflected forms of the auxiliary verbs [ve] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "to be" or [jannoo] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "to do" are combined with the verbal noun of the main verb. Only the future, conditional, preterite, and imperative can be formed directly by inflecting the main verb, but even in these tenses, the periphrastic formation is more common in Late Spoken Manx. Examples:

Manx finite verb forms

Tense	Periphrastic form (literal translation)	Inflected form	Gloss
Present	ta mee tilgey (I am throwing)	–	I throw
Imperfect	va mee tilgey (I was throwing)	–	I was throwing
Perfect	ta mee er tilgey (I am after throwing)	–	I have thrown
Pluperfect	va mee er tilgey (I was after throwing)	–	I had thrown
Future	neeym tilgey (I will do throwing)	tilgym	I will throw
Conditional	yinnin tilgey (I would do throwing)	hilgin	I would throw
Preterite	ren mee tilgey (I did throwing)	hilg mee	I threw
Imperative	jean tilgey! (Do throwing!)	tilg!	Throw!

The future and conditional tenses (and in some irregular verbs, the preterite) make a distinction between "independent" and "dependent" forms. Independent forms are used when the verb is not preceded by any particle; dependent forms are used when a particle (e.g. [cha] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "not") does precede the verb. For example, "you will lose" is [caillee oo] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) with the independent form [caillee] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("will lose"), while "you will not lose" is [cha gaill oo] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) with the dependent form [caill] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (which has undergone eclipsis to [gaill] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) after [cha] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)). Similarly "they went" is [hie ad] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) with the independent form [hie] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("went"), while "they did not go" is [cha jagh ad] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) with the dependent form [jagh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). This contrast is inherited from Old Irish, which shows such pairs as [beirid] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("(s)he carries") vs. [ní beir] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("(s)he does not carry"), and is found in Scottish Gaelic as well, e.g. [gabhaidh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("will take") vs. [cha ghabh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("will not take"). In Modern Irish, the distinction is found only in irregular verbs (e.g. [chonaic] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("saw") vs. [ní fhaca] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("did not see").

Like the other Insular Celtic languages, Manx has so-called inflected prepositions, contractions of a preposition with a pronominal direct object. For example, the preposition [ec] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "at" has the following forms:

Inflections of ec "at"

		Singular	Plural
First person		aym ("at me")	ain ("at us")
Second person		ayd ("at you")	eu ("at you")
Third person	Masculine	echey ("at him")	oc ("at them")
	Feminine	eck ("at her")

Numbers

Manx	IPA	English	Irish cognate	Scottish Gaelic cognate
[un nane] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[eːn], [oːn], [uːn] [neːn]	one	[aon [eːn], [iːn], [ɯːn]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[aon] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ɯːn]
[daa, ghaa jees] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[d̪eː]. [ɣeː] [dʒiːs]	two	[dó] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [d̪ˠoː], dhá/dá [ɣaː]/[d̪ˠaː] (people only) dís [dʲiːʃ]	[dà] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [t̪aː]
[tree] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[t̪riː]	three	[trí [t̪ʲrʲiː]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[trì] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [t̪ʰɾiː]
[kiare] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[kʲeːə(r)]	four	[ceathair, ceithre [kʲahirʲ], [kʲerʲhʲi]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[ceithir] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ˈkʲʰehɪɾʲ]
[queig] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[kweɡ]	five	[cúig [kuːɡʲ]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[còig] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [kʰoːkʲ]
[shey] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[ʃeː]	six	[sé [ʃeː]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[sia] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ʃiə]
[shiaght] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[ʃaːx]	seven	[seacht [ʃaxt]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[seachd] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ʃɛxk]
[hoght] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[hoːx]	eight	[ocht [oxt]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (dialect hocht [hoxt])	[ochd] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ɔxk]
[nuy] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[nɛi], [niː]	nine	[naoi [nˠeː], [nˠiː], [nˠəi]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[naoi] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [n̪ˠɤi]
[jeih] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[dʒɛi]	ten	[deich] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [dʲeç]	[deich] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [dʒeç]
[nane jeig] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[neːn dʒeɡ]	eleven	[aon déag [eːn dʲiaɡ], [iːn dʲeːɡ], [iːn/ɯːn dʒeːɡ]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[aon deug] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [ɯːn dʒiək]}
[daa yeig] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[d̪eiɡʲ]	twelve	[dó dhéag, dhá dhéag, dá dhéag [d̪ˠoː jiaɡ], [d̪ˠoː jeːɡ], [ɣaː jeːɡ], [d̪ˠaː jeːɡ]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[dà dheug] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [t̪aː ʝiək]
[tree jeig] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[t̪ri dʒeɡ]	thirteen	[trí déag [t̪ʲrʲiː dʲiaɡ], [t̪ʲrʲiː dʲeːɡ], [t̪ʲrʲiː dʒeːɡ]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[trì deug] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [t̪ʰɾiː dʒiək]
[feeid] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[fiːdʒ]	twenty	[fiche [fʲihʲi], [fʲiçə]; fichid [fʲiçidʒ] (dative)] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[fichead] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [fiçət̪]
[keead] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	[kiːəd]	hundred	[céad [kʲeːd]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), [kʲiad]	[ceud] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) [kʲʰiət̪]

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. Manx has two mutations: lenition and nasalisation, found on nouns and verbs in a variety of environments; adjectives can undergo lenition but not nasalisation. 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.

Lenition and nasalisation in Manx

Unmutated consonant	Lenition	Nasalisation
/p/	/f/	/b/
/t̪/	/h/, /x/	/d̪/
/tʲ/	/h/, /xʲ/	/dʲ/
/kʲ/	/xʲ/	/ɡʲ/
/k/	/x/, /h/	/ɡ/
/b/ /bw/	/v/ /w/	/m/ /mw/
/d̪/	/ɣ/, /w/	/n/
/dʲ/	/ɣʲ/, /j/	/nʲ/
/ɡʲ/	/ɣʲ/, /j/	/ŋ/?
/ɡ/	/ɣ/	/ŋ/?
/m/ /mw/	/v/ /w/	(no change)
/f/ /fw/	zero /hw/	/v/ /w/
/s/ /sl/ /snʲ/	/h/ /l/ /nʲ/	(no change)
/ʃ/	/h/ , /xʲ/	(no change)

Syntax

Like most Insular Celtic languages, Manx uses verb–subject–object word order: the inflected verb of a sentence precedes the subject, which itself precedes the direct object. However, as noted above, 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 a modal verb rather than a form of [bee] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("be") or [jannoo] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("do"). Particles like the negative [cha] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("not") precede the inflected verb. Examples:

main verb	subject		direct object
Hug	yn	saggyrt	e	laue	urree.
put-PRET	the	priest	his	hand	on her
"The priest put his hand on her."

 

aux. verb	subject		main verb	direct object
Va	ny	eayin	gee	yn	conney.
were	the	lambs	eat-V.N.	the	gorse
"The lambs used to eat the gorse."

 

	modal verb	subject	main verb	direct object
Cha	jarg	shiu	fakin	red erbee.
not	can	you-PL	see-V.N.	anything
"You can't see anything."

When the auxiliary verb is a form of [jannoo] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("do"), the direct object precedes the verbal noun and is connected to it with the particle [y] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help):

aux. verb	subject	direct object			main verb
Ren	ad	my	choraa	y	chlashtyn.
did	they	my	voice	PARTICLE	hear-V.N.
"They heard my voice."

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] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), and with the copula. The substantive verb is used when the predicate is an adjective, adverb, or prepositional phrase. Examples:

t'	eh	agglagh
is	it	awful/frightening
"It is awful/frightening."

 

t'	eh	dy mie
is	he	well
"He is well"

 

t'	eh	ayns	y	thie-oast
is	he	in	the	house-ale (pub)
"He is in the ale-house (pub)."

Where the predicate is a noun, it must be converted to a prepositional phrase headed by the preposition [in] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("in") + possessive pronoun (agreeing with the subject) in order for the substantive verb to be grammatical:

t'	eh	ny	wooinney	mie
is	he	in-his	man	good
"He is a good man" (lit. "He is in his good man")

Otherwise, the copula is used when the predicate is a noun. The copula itself takes the form [is] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) or [she] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) in the present tense, but it is often omitted in affirmative statements:

She	Manninagh	mish
COPULA	Manxman	me
"I am a Manxman."

 

Shoh	'n	dooinney
this	the	man	"This is the man."

In questions and negative sentences, the present tense of the copula is [nee] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help):

Cha	nee	mish	eh
not	COPULA	me	him
"I am not him."

 

Nee	shoh	'n	lioar?
COPULA	this	the	book
"Is this the book?"

Vocabulary

Manx vocabulary is predominantly of Goidelic origin, derived from Old Irish and closely related to words in Irish and Scottish Gaelic. However, Manx itself, as well as the languages from which it is derived, borrowed words from other languages as well, especially Latin, Old Norse, French (particularly Anglo-Norman), and English (both Middle English and Modern English).

The following table shows a selection of nouns from the Swadesh list and indicates their pronunciations and etymologies.

Manx	IPA	English	Etymology
aane	[eːn]	liver	Goidelic; from Mid.Ir. [ae] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) < O.Ir. [óa] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [ae] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [adha] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
aer	[eːə]	sky	Latin; from O.Ir. [aer] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) < L. [aër] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Sc.G. [adhar] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
aile	[ail]	fire	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [aingel] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "very bright"; cf. Ir., Sc.G. [aingeal] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
ardnieu	[ərd̪ˈnʲeu]	snake	Apparently "highly poisonous" (cf. [ard] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "high", [nieu] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "poison")
awin	[aunʲ], [ˈawənʲ]	river	Goidelic; from the M.Ir. dative form abainn of [aba] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) < O.Ir. abaind [aba] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. abha/abhainn, dative abhainn, Sc.G. [abhainn] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (literary nominative abha).
ayr	[ˈeːar]	father	Goidelic; from M.Ir. athair, O.Ir. [athir] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [athair] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
beeal	[biəl]	mouth	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [bél] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [béal] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [beul/bial] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
beishteig	[beˈʃtʲeːɡ], [prəˈʃtʲeːɡ]	worm	Latin; from M.Ir. [péist] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) < O.Ir. [bíast] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) < L. [bēstia] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
ben	[beᵈn]	woman	Goidelic; from M.Ir and O.Ir. [ben] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [bean] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
billey	[ˈbilʲə]	tree	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [bile] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
blaa	[bleː]	flower	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [bláth] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Ir. bláth, Sc.G. blàth
blein	[blʲeːnʲ], [blʲiᵈn]	year	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [bliadain] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [bliain] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [bliadhna] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
bodjal	[ˈbaːdʒəl]	cloud	English/French; shortened from [bodjal niaul] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "pillar of cloud" (cf. Sc.G. [baideal neòil] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)); [bodjal] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) originally meant "pillar" or "battlement" < E. battle < Fr. [bataille] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
bolg	[bolɡ]	belly	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [bolg] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Ir., Sc.G bolg
cass	[kaːs]	foot	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [cos] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), cf. Sc.G. [cas] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Ir.dialect cas, Ir. cos
çhengey	[ˈtʃinʲə]	tongue	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [tengae] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [teanga] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
clagh	[klaːx]	stone	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [cloch] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Sc.G. [clach] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Ir. cloch
cleaysh	[kleːʃ]	ear	Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative [clúais] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "hearing"; cf. Ir., Sc.G. [cluas] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Ir. dialect cluais "ear", dative cluais
collaneyn	[ˈkalinʲən]	guts	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [cáelán] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [caolán] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [caolan] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), derived from caol "thin, slender"
crackan	[ˈkraːɣən]	skin	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [croiccenn] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [craiceann] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), dialect croiceann
craue	[kreːw]	bone	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [cnám] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [cnámh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [cnàimh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
cree	[kriː]	heart	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [cride] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [croí] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [cridhe] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
dooinney	[ˈd̪unʲə]	person	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [duine] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
dreeym	[d̪riːm], [d̪riᵇm]	back	Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative [druimm] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), nominative dromm; cf. Ir. drom, dialect [droim] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), dative droim, Sc.G. drom, dialect [druim] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), dative druim
duillag	[ˈd̪olʲaɡ]	leaf	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [duilleóg] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Sc.G. [duilleag] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
eairk	[eːak]	horn	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [adarc] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [adharc] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Ir. dialect aidhearc
eayst	[eːs]	moon	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [ésca] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. archaic Ir. [éasca] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [easga] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
eeast	[jiːs]	fish	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [íasc] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [iasc] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [iasg] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
ennym	[ˈenəm]	name	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [ainmm] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [ainm] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
faarkey	[ˈføːɹkə]	sea	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [fairrge] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [farraige] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [fairge] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
faiyr	[feːə]	grass	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [fér] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [féar] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [feur,fiar] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
famman	[ˈfaman]	tail	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [femm] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [feam] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [feaman] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
fedjag	[ˈfaiaɡ]	feather	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [eteóc] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [eiteog] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "wing", Sc.G. [iteag] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
feeackle	[ˈfiːɣəl]	tooth	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [fíacail] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [fiacail] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
feill	[feːlʲ]	meat	Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative [feóil] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [feoil] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [feòil] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
fer	[fer]	man	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [fer] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [fear] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
fliaghey	[flʲaːɣə]	rain	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [flechud] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [fleachadh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "rainwater; a drenching", related to fliuch "wet"
folt	[folt̪]	hair	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [folt] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Ir.folt, Sc.G. falt
fraue	[freːw]	root	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [frém] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [fréamh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), préamh, Sc.G. [freumh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
fuill	[folʲ]	blood	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [fuil] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Ir.,Sc.G. fuil
geay	[ɡiː]	wind	Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative [gáith] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [gaoth] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), dative gaoith
geinnagh	[ˈɡʲanʲax]	sand	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [gainmech] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Sc.G. [gainmheach] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Ir. gaineamh
glioon	[ɡlʲuːnʲ]	knee	Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative [glúin] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [glúin] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [glùn] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), dative glùin
grian	[ɡriːn], [ɡriᵈn]	sun	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [grían] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [grian] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
jaagh	[ˈdʒeːax]	smoke	Goidelic, from M.Ir. [deathach] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) < O.Ir. [dé] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Sc.G. [deathach] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
joan	[dʒaun]	dust	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [dend] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [deannach] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
kay	[kʲeː]	fog	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [ceó] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [ceo] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [ceò] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
keayn	[kiᵈn]	sea	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [cúan] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [cuan] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "harbor", Sc.G. [cuan] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "ocean"
keeagh	[kiːx]	breast	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [cíoch] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [cíoch] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [cìoch] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
keyll	[kiːlʲ], [kelʲ]	forest	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [caill] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [coill] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [coille] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
kione	[kʲaun], [kʲoːn]	head	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [cend] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), dative ciond; cf. Ir., Sc.G. [ceann] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), dative cionn
laa	[leː]	day	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [láa] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Sc.G. [latha,là] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
laue	[leːw]	hand	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [lám] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [lámh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [làmh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
leoie	[løi]	ashes	Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative [lúaith] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [luaith] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [luath] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
logh	[laːx]	lake	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [loch] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
lurgey	[løɹɡə]	leg	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [lurga] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "shin bone"; cf. Ir. [lorga] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
maidjey	[ˈmaːʒə]	stick	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [maide] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Ir.,Sc.G. maide
meeyl	[miːl]	louse	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [míol] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [míol] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [mial] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
mess	[meːs]	fruit	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [mes] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [meas] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
moddey	[ˈmaːðə]	dog	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [matrad] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. madra, N.Ir. mada,madadh [madu], Sc.G. [madadh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
moir	[maːɹ]	mother	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [máthir] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. máthair, Sc.G. [màthair] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
mwannal	[ˈmonal]	neck	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [muinél] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [muineál] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), muinéal, Sc.G. [muineal] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
oie	[ei], [iː]	night	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [adaig] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (accusative [aidchi] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)); cf. Ir. [oíche] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [oidhche] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
ooh	[au], [uː]	egg	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [og] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [ubh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [ugh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
paitçhey	[ˈpetʃə]	child	French; from E.M.Ir. [páitse] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "page, attendant" < O.Fr. [page] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [páiste] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [pàiste] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
raad	[reːd̪], [raːd̪]	road	English; from Cl.Ir. [rót,róat] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) < M.E. [road] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [ród] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [ rathad] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
rass	[raːs]	seed	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [ros] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
rollage	[roˈleːɡ]	star	Goidelic; from M.Ir. [rétlu] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) < O.Ir. [rétglu] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) + feminine diminutive suffix -óg; cf. Ir. [réaltóg] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [reultag] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
roost	[ruːs]	bark	Brythonic; from O.Ir. [rúsc] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) < Brythonic (cf. Welsh [rhisg(l))] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [rúsc] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [rùsg] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
skian	[ˈskiːən]	wing	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [scíathán] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [sciathán] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [sgiathan] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
slieau	[slʲuː], [ʃlʲuː]	mountain	Goidelic, from O.Ir. [slíab] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [sliabh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
sniaghtey	[ˈʃnʲaxt̪ə]	snow	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [snechta] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [sneachta] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [sneachd] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
sollan	[ˈsolan]	salt	Goidelic; from O.Ir.,Ir.,Sc.G. [salann] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
sooill	[suːlʲ]	eye	Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative [súil] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. súil, Sc.G. [sùil] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
stroin	[st̪ruᵈnʲ], [st̪raiᵈnʲ]	nose	Goidelic; from O.Ir. dative [sróin] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. srón, dialect sróin, dative sróin, Sc.G. [sròn] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), dative sròin
tedd	[t̪ed̪]	rope	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [tét] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. [téad] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [teud,tiad] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
thalloo	[ˈtalu]	earth	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [talam] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [talamh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
ushag	[ˈoʒaɡ]	bird	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [uiseóg] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) "lark"; cf. Ir. [fuiseog] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Sc.G. [uiseag] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
ushtey	[ˈuʃtʲə]	water	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [uisce] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir. uisce, Sc.G. [uisge] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
yngyn	[ˈiŋən]	fingernail	Goidelic; from O.Ir. [ingen] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); cf. Ir., Sc.G. [ionga] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), dative iongain, plural Ir. iongna, Sc.G. iongnan, etc.

See Celtic Swadesh lists for the complete list in all the Celtic languages.

Loanwords

Loaghtan, a Manx breed of primitive sheep. The name means "mousy grey" in Manx

Foreign loan words are primarily Norse and English with a smaller number coming from French. Examples of Norse loanwords include ellan (island) from eyland, sker meaning a sea rock; examples of French loanwords include shamyr (room) from chambre, cognate with the English chamber.

English loanwords were common in late (pre-revival) Manx, e.g. boy (boy), badjer (badger), rather than the more usual Gaelic gille/giolla and broc. Henry Jenner on asking someone what he was doing was told "Ta mee smokal pipe" (I am smoking a pipe), and that "and he certainly considered that he was talking Manx, and not English, in saying it." In more recent years, there has been a reaction against such borrowing, resulting in coinages for technical vocabulary.

Some religious terms originating in Latin, Greek and Hebrew e.g. casherick (holy), from the Latin consecrātus; mooinjer (people) from the Latin monasterium (originally a monastery; agglish (church) from the Greek ἐκκλησία (ekklesia, literally meaning assembly) and abb (abbot) from the Hebrew "אבא" (abba, meaning "father"). Many English loanwords also have a classical origin, e.g. çhellveeish and çhellvane meaning television and telephone respectively.

To make up for deficiencies in recorded Manx vocabulary, revivalists have also gone to Irish and Scottish Gaelic for words and inspiration.

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" (the "th" is pronounced as "t") meaning a ruined farmhouse, qualtagh meaning a first-foot, keeil meaning a church (especially an old one), cammag, traa-dy-liooar meaning "time enough", and tynwald (tinvaal), which is ultimately of Norse origin, but comes via Manx. It is also suggested that the "House of Keys" takes its name from Kiare as Feed (four and twenty), which is the number of its sitting members.

Official recognition

Parliament and politics

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.

Manx is used in the annual Tynwald ceremony, with new laws being read out by [Yn Lhaihder] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ('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.

Political parties have not generally been prominent in Manx politics, but notably two of them, Mec Vannin and Liberal Vannin bear Manx names, although the former no longer stands in elections.

Education

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 preschools by a company named [Mooinjer Veggey] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), which also operates the [Bunscoill Ghaelgagh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help).

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 sole Manx primary school, the [Bunscoill Ghaelgagh] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (Manx language-medium primary school). Degrees in Manx are available from the Isle of Man College and the Centre for Manx Studies, while the University of Edinburgh offers an Honours course on the Culture, History, and Language of the Isle of Man.

Media

See also: List of Celtic-language media

Occasional broadcasts in Manx are made on local stations such as Manx Radio (Radio Vannin), including the news. ChellVeeish, an independent production company based on the Island are currently looking into broadcasting television in the language, but currently, there are no television broadcasts.

Manx newspapers also carry a few short pieces in the language.

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 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.

The first Manx television show, Cronk ny Marrey will pilot in early 2013

Signage

Use of Manx on the national museum; note the smaller font size of the Manx.

Bilingual road and street signs, and village and town boundary signs, are gradually being introduced throughout the Isle of Man as signage is replaced (unless a village has only a Manx name). All other roadsigns are in English only.

Business signage in Manx is gradually being introduced, but is not mandated by law.

Church

Although church services in Manx were once fairly common, they occur infrequently now.

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 Manx clergy, completed the work, and in 1775 the whole Bible was printed.

The Manx Bible was reprinted in the 1970s, in a "family" edition. Jenner claims that some of bowdlerisation had occurred in the translation, e.g. Rahab, the prostitute is translated as hen-oast (a hostess or female inn-keeper).

Manx was used in some churches into the late 19th century.

See also

• List of Celtic-language media
• List of television channels in Celtic languages
• Irish language revival
• List of revived languages
• Cornish, another revived Celtic language.

References

• Broderick, George (1984–86). A Handbook of Late Spoken Manx (3 volumes ed.). Tübingen: Niemeyer. ISBN 3-484-42903-8 (vol. 1), ISBN 3-484-42904-6 (vol. 2), ISBN 3-484-42905-4 (vol. 3). {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Broderick, George (1993). "Manx". In M. J. Ball and J. Fife (eds.) (ed.). The Celtic Languages. London: Routledge. pp. 228–85. ISBN 0-415-01035-7. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help)
• Cumming, Joseph George (1848). "The Isle of Man". London: John Van Voorst. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Dictionary of the Irish Language based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0-901714-29-1.
• Gunther, Wilf (1990). "Language conservancy or: Can the anciently established British minority languages survive?". In D. Gorter, J. F. Hoekstra, L. G. Jansma, and J. Ytsma (eds.) (ed.). Fourth International Conference on Minority Languages (Vol. II: Western and Eastern European Papers ed.). Bristol, England: Mulitilingual Matters. pp. 53–67. ISBN 1-85359-111-4. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
• Holmer, Nils M. (1957). The Gaelic of Arran. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. ISBN 0-901282-44-8.
• Holmer, Nils M. (1962). The Gaelic of Kintyre. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. ISBN 0-901282-43-X.
• Hughes, Art (1994). "Gaeilge Uladh". In K. McCone, D. McManus, C. Ó Háinle, N. Williams, and L. Breatnach (eds.) (ed.). Stair na Gaeilge in ómós do Pádraig Ó Fiannachta (in Irish). Maynooth: Department of Old Irish, St. Patrick's College. pp. 611–60. ISBN 0-901519-90-1. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
• Jackson, Kenneth Hurlstone (1955). Contributions to the Study of Manx Phonology. Edinburgh: Nelson.
• Kelly, John (1870). Gill, William (ed.). A Practical Grammar of the Antient Gaelic, or Language of the Isle of Man, Usually Called Manks. Douglas: The Manx Society. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |unused_data= ignored (help)
• Kewley-Draskau, Jennifer (2008). Practical Manx. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 1-84631-131-4.
• Kneen, John J. (1911). A Grammar of the Manx Language. Edinburgh: Ams Pr Inc. ISBN 978-0-404-17564-1.
• Macbain, Alexander (1911). An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language (2nd ed.). Stirling: E. Mackay. Reprinted 1998, New York: Hippocrene. ISBN 0-7818-0632-1.
• Mhac an Fhailigh, Éamonn (1968). The Irish of Erris, Co. Mayo. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. ISBN 0-901282-02-2.
• 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. ISBN 0-901282-55-3.
• Ó Cuív, Brian (1944). The Irish of West Muskerry, Co. Cork. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. ISBN 0-901282-52-9.
• Ó Sé, Diarmuid (2000). Gaeilge Chorca Dhuibhne (in Irish). Dublin: Institiúid Teangeolaíochta Éireann. ISBN 0-946452-97-0.
• Thomson, Robert L. (1992). "The Manx language". In Donald MacAulay (ed.) (ed.). The Celtic Languages. Cambridge University Press. pp. 100–36. ISBN 0-521-23127-2. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help)
• Williams, Nicholas (1994). "An Mhanainnis". In K. McCone, D. McManus, C. Ó Háinle, N. Williams, and L. Breatnach (eds.) (ed.). Stair na Gaeilge in ómós do Pádraig Ó Fiannachta (in Irish). Maynooth: Department of Old Irish, St. Patrick's College. pp. 703–44. ISBN 0-901519-90-1. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)

External links

• Percentage of resident population with a knowledge of Manx Gaelic
• A bit of Manx Gaelic history

• Ethnologue: Languages of the World (unknown ed.). SIL International.
• Manx language, alphabet and pronunciation at Omniglot
• Information about the language
• isle-of-man.com language section
• Fockleyreen – Downloadable Manx–English & English–Manx Dictionary
• Manx–English dictionary to download or look up online
• Gaelic Dictionaries
• English–Manx & Manx–English interactive online dictionary
• Manx–English dictionary
• A short Manx–English–Japanese phrasebook
• Online Manx Lessons with MP3 recordings
• Bilingual Bible in Manx and English by the Manx Language Project