Manx language

Goidelic Celtic language of the Isle of Man

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Manx

Manx Gaelic
Gaelg
Gailck
Pronunciation| [əˈɣɪlɡ]
[əˈɣɪlk]
[əˈɣeːlg] y Ghaelg
y Ghailk
Ethnicity| Manx
Extinct| Extinct as a first language by 1974 with the death of Ned Maddrell, before subsequent revival.[1]
Revival| 23 first language speakers and 2,200 second language speakers, including children (2021)[2]

Language family

Indo-European

* Celtic
* Insular Celtic
* Goidelic
* Manx

Early forms

Primitive Irish

* Old Irish
* Middle Irish

Dialects|

* Northern Manx †
* Southern Manx

Official status

Official language in

| Isle of Man
Regulated by| Coonceil ny Gaelgey (Manx Gaelic Council)
Language codes
ISO 639-1| `gv`
ISO 639-2| `glv`
ISO 639-3| `glv`
ISO 639-6| `glvx (historical)
rvmx (revived)`
Glottolog| `manx1243`
ELP| Manx
Linguasphere| `50-AAA-aj`

Manx is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger[3]

This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

A Manx speaker, recorded in the Isle of Man

Manx (Gaelg or Gailck, pronounced [ɡilɡ, geːlɡ] or [gilk]),[4] 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 historical language of the Manx people.

Although only 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 revival 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.

## Names[edit]

### In Manx[edit]

The endonym of the language is Gaelg/Gailck, which shares the same etymology as the word "Gaelic", as do the endonyms of its sister languages Irish (Gaeilge; Gaoluinn, Gaedhlag and Gaeilic) and Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig). Manx frequently uses the forms y Ghaelg/y Ghailck (with definite article), as do Irish (an Ghaeilge) and Scottish Gaelic (a' Ghàidhlig).

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 "the mother tongue, lit. the mother's tongue" is occasionally used.

### In English[edit]

The language is usually referred to in English as "Manx". The term "Manx Gaelic" is often used, for example when discussing the relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx) or to avoid confusion with Manx English, the form of English spoken on the island. A feature of Manx English deriving from Gaelic is the use of the definite article, e.g. "the Manx", "the Gaelic", in ways not generally seen in standard English.[5]

The word "Manx", often spelled historically as "Manks" particularly by natives of the island, means "Mannish" and originates from Old Norse *manskr.[6] The Isle of Man is named after the Irish god Manannán mac Lir, thus Ellan Vannin ("Mannanán's Island", Irish: Oileán Mhannanáin "Mannanán's Island").[7]

## History[edit]

An ogham inscription on a stone in the Manx Museum written in Primitive Irish and which reads DOVAIDONA MAQI DROATA, "Of Dovaido, son of Droata"[8]

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 toponymy and nomenclature.

Manx is a Goidelic language, closely related to Irish and Scottish Gaelic. On the whole it is partially mutually intelligible with these, and native speakers of one find it easy to gain passive, and even spoken, competency in the other two.

It has been suggested that a little-documented Brythonic language (i.e. related to modern Welsh, Cornish and Breton) may have been spoken on the Isle of Man before the arrival of Christian missionaries from Ireland in the early Middle Ages[citation needed]. 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 lexical items concerning religion, writing and record keeping entered Manx at this time.

The Isle of Man was conquered by Norse Vikings in the 9th century. Although there is some evidence in the form of runic inscriptions that 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 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,[9][10] 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 loanwords and personal names.

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 up until this point, except for scholarly knowledge of Latin and courtly use of Anglo-Norman, that 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.

Manx had diverged considerably from the Gaelic languages of Scotland and Ireland between 1400 and 1900. The seventeenth century Plantation of Ulster, the decline of Irish in Leinster and extinction of Galloway Gaelic led to the geographic isolation of Manx from other dialects of Gaelic. The development of a separate orthography also led Manx to diverge from Irish and Scottish Gaelic.[9]

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.[9][10]

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.[9][10]

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%.[11] Since the language was used by so few people, it had low linguistic "prestige", and parents tended to not teach Manx to their children, thinking it would be useless to them compared with English.[10]

### Revival[edit]

Following the decline in the use of Manx during the nineteenth century, Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh (The Manx Language Society) was founded in 1899. By the middle of the twentieth 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 and a few people had started teaching it in schools. The Manx Language Unit was formed in 1992, consisting of three members and headed by Manx Language Officer Brian Stowell, a language activist and fluent speaker, "which was put in charge of all aspects of Manx language teaching and accreditation in schools."[9] This led to an increased interest in studying the Manx language and encouraged a renewed sense of ethnic identity. The revival of Manx has been aided by the recording work done in the twentieth century by researchers. Most notably, the Irish Folklore Commission was sent in with recording equipment in 1948 by Éamon de Valera. Also important in preserving the Manx language was work conducted by the late Brian Stowell, who is considered personally responsible for the current revival of the Manx language.[12] The Manx Language Strategy was released in 2017, outlining a five-year plan for the language's continued revitalisation.[13][14] Culture Vannin employs a Manx Language Development Officer (Manx: Yn Greinneyder) to encourage and facilitate the use of the language.

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.[15] Since then, UNESCO's classification of the language has changed to "critically endangered".[12]

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,[16] an increase of 134 people from the 2001 census.[17] 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.[16]

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 Norse goddess) remain popular.[18]

### Estimated number of speakers by year[edit]

Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues.

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Isle of Man population

Manx speakers

Year  | Manx speakers  | Isle of Man
population  | Ref.

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Total  | Of Manx
population
1874  | 16,200  | 30%  | 54,000 (1871)  | [11]
1901  | 4,419  | 8.07%  | 54,752  | [19]
1911  | 2,382  | 4.58%  | 52,016  | [19]
1921  | 915  | 1.52%  | 60,284  | [19]
1931  | 529  | 1.07%  | 49,308  | [19]
1951  | 355  | 0.64%  | 50,253  | [19]
1961  | 165  | 0.34%  | 48,133  | [11]
1971  | 284  | 0.52%  | 54,481  | [citation needed]
1974  | Last native speaker dies | [11]
1991  | 643  | 0.90%  | 71,267  | [20]
2001  | 1,500  | 1.95%  | 78,266  | [21]
2011  | 1,650  | 1.97%  | 84,497  | [22]
2015  | 1,800  | 2%  | 88,000  | [12]
2021  | 2,223  | 2.64%  | 84,069  | [23]

## Status[edit]

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Manx is not officially recognised by any national or regional government, although its contribution to Manx culture and tradition is acknowledged by some governmental and non-governmental bodies.

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."[24] An example was at the sitting on 12 February 2019, when an MHK used the expression boghtnid,[25] stated to mean "nonsense".[26][27]

Manx is used in the annual Tynwald ceremony and Manx words are used in official Tynwald publications.[28]

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.[29]

Sign at the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh at St John's

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.[30]

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.

Use of Manx on the national museum, underneath the English

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.

## Literature[edit]

Main articles: Manx literature and Gaelic literature

Manx never had a large number of speakers, so it would not have been practical to mass produce written literature. However, a body of oral literature did exist. The "Fianna" tales and others like them are known, including the Manx ballad Fin as Oshin, commemorating Finn MacCumhail and Oisín.[31] With the coming of Protestantism, Manx spoken tales slowly disappeared, while a tradition of carvals, Christian ballads, developed with religious sanction.[when?]

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.[9]

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 ⟨y⟩ to represent /ə/ (e.g. cabbyl [kaːβəl] "horse" and cooney [kuːnə] "help" as well as /ɪ/ (e.g. fys [fɪz] "knowledge"), though it is also used to represent [j], (e.g. y Yuan [ə juːan] "John" (vocative), yeeast [jiːəst] "fish").

Other works produced in the 18th and 19th centuries include catechisms, hymn books and religious tracts. A translation of Paradise Lost was made in 1796[by whom?].

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.[32]

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince was translated into Manx by Rob Teare in 2019.[33]

## Other media[edit]

See also: List of Celtic-language media

Two weekly programmes in Manx are available on medium wave on Manx Radio: Traa dy liooar on Monday and Jamys Jeheiney on Friday. The news in Manx is available online from Manx Radio, who have three other weekly programmes that use the language: Clare ny Gael; Shiaght Laa and Moghrey Jedoonee. Several news readers on Manx Radio also use a good deal of incidental Manx.

The Isle of Man Examiner has a monthly bilingual 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, CinemaNX and Isle of Man Film.[34] A series of short cartoons about the life of Cú Chulainn which were produced by BBC Northern Ireland are available[35] as are a series of cartoons on Manx mythology.[36] Most significant is a 13-part DVD series Manx translation of the award-winning series Friends and Heroes.[37]

## Manx and Christianity[edit]

### The Manx Bible[edit]

Main article: Bible translations into Manx

> 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.[38]

The Bible was first produced in Manx by a group of Anglican clergymen on the island. The Gospel of Matthew was printed in 1748. The Gospel and Conaant Noa nyn Jiarn as Saualtagh Yeesey Creest were produced in 1763 and 1767, respectively, by the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SPCK). In 1772 the Old Testament was printed, together with the Wisdom of Solomon and Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) from the Apocrypha.

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[citation needed] "a hostess, female inn-keeper."[38] 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.

### Church[edit]

Manx has not been used in Mass since the late 19th century,[38] though Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh holds an annual Christmas service on the island.[39]

## Classification and dialects[edit]

This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Manx is one of the three daughter languages of Old Irish (via Middle Irish), the other two being Irish and Scottish Gaelic. It shares a number of developments in phonology, vocabulary and grammar with its sisters (in some cases only with certain dialects) and shows a number of unique changes. There are two attested historical dialects of Manx, Northern Manx and Southern Manx.[40] A third dialect may have existed in-between, around Douglas.

### Similarities and differences with Irish and Scottish Gaelic[edit]

Manx and Scottish Gaelic share the partial loss of phonemic palatalisation of labial consonants; while in Irish velarised consonants /pˠ bˠ fˠ w mˠ/ contrast phonemically with palatalised /pʲ bʲ fʲ vʲ mʲ/.[41] A consequence of this phonemic merger is that Middle Irish unstressed word-final [əβʲ] (-⟨(a)ibh, (a)imh⟩ in Irish and Gaelic) has merged with [əβ] (-⟨(e)abh, (e)amh⟩ in Irish and Gaelic), in Manx; both have become [u] (-⟨oo, u(e)⟩), e.g. shassoo "to stand" (Irish seasamh), credjue "religion" (Irish creideamh), nealloo "fainting" (Early Modern Irish (i) néalaibh, lit. in clouds), and erriu "on you (pl.)" (Irish oraibh).[42]

Medial and final *⟨bh, mh⟩ have generally become /u/ and /w/ in Manx, thus shiu 'you pl.' (Irish and Scottish Gaelic sibh, Northern Irish siph, South Connacht Irish sip; Lewis Gaelic siù), sharroo "bitter" (Scottish searbh /ʃærav/, Irish searbh (Northern/Western) /ʃæru/, (Southern) /ʃærəβ/), awin "river" (Scottish abhainn /aviɲ/, Irish abhainn /aunʲ/), laaue "hand" (Scottish làmh /laːv/, Irish lámh (Northern) /læːw/, (Western) /lɑːw/, (Southern) /lɑːβ/), sourey "summer" (Scottish samhradh /saurəɣ/, Irish samhradh (Northern) /sauru/, (Western/Southern) /saurə/). Rare retentions of the older pronunciation of ⟨bh⟩ include Divlyn, Divlin "Dublin", Middle Irish Duibhlinn /d̪uβʲlʲinʲː/.

Moreover, similarly to Munster Irish, historical ⟨bh⟩ ([βʲ]) and ⟨mh⟩ (nasalised [βʲ]) tend to be lost word medially or finally in Manx, either with compensatory lengthening or vocalisation as [u] resulting in diphthongisation with the preceding vowel, e.g. geurey "winter" [ˈɡʲeurə], [ˈɡʲuːrə] (Irish geimhreadh; Southern Irish: gíre [ˈɟiːɾʲə]) and sleityn "mountains" [ˈsleːdʒən] (Irish: sléibhte; Southern Irish: sléte [ˈʃlʲeːtʲə]).[43] Another similarity to Munster Irish is the development of the Old Irish diphthongs [oi ai] before velarised consonants (⟨ao⟩ in Irish and Scottish Gaelic) to [eː], as in seyr "carpenter" [seːr] and keyl "narrow" [keːl] (Irish and Scottish saor and caol).[44]

Like Connacht and Ulster 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/, e.g. Middle Irish cnáid "mockery" and mná "women" have become craid and mraane respectively in Manx.[45] The affrication of slender "⟨d, t⟩" sounds is also common to Manx, Northern Irish, and Scottish Gaelic.[46]

Unstressed Middle Irish word-final syllable [iʝ] (-⟨(a)idh, (a)igh⟩) has developed to [iː] (-⟨ee⟩) in Manx, as in kionnee "buy" (cf. Irish ceannaigh) and cullee "apparatus" (cf. Gaelic culaidh),[47] 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 /a/ rather than /ə/ appears in unstressed syllables before /x/ (⟨agh⟩ in Manx), e.g. jeeragh "straight" [ˈdʒiːrax] (Irish díreach), cooinaghtyn "to remember" [ˈkuːnʲaxt̪ən] (Scottish Gaelic cuimhneachd).[48]

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" [klɔːn], dhone "brown" [d̪oːn] and eeym "butter" [iːᵇm] 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 [klˠɑːn̪ˠ], Southern Irish/Northern Scottish [kl̪ˠaun̪ˠ], [d̪ˠaun̪ˠ]/[d̪ˠoun̪ˠ], [iːm]/[ɤim]), but short vowels and 'long' consonants in Ulster Irish, Arran, and Kintyre, [kl̪ˠan̪ːˠ], [d̪ˠon̪ːˠ] and [imʲː].[49]

Another similarity with Southern Irish is the treatment of Middle Irish word-final unstressed [əð] (-⟨(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 "war" [ˈkaːɣə], moylley "to praise" [ˈmɔlə] (cf. Irish cogadh and moladh (Southern Irish) [ˈkˠɔɡˠə] and [ˈmˠɔl̪ˠə]).[50] In finite verb forms before full nouns (as opposed to pronouns) [əð] became [ax] in Manx, as in Southern Irish, e.g. voyllagh [ˈvɔlax] "would praise" (cf. Irish mholfadh (Southern Irish) [ˈβˠɔl̪ˠhəx]).[51]

### Dialects[edit]

Dialect map of Manx (boundaries are approximate)

Linguistic analysis of the last few dozen native speakers reveals a number of dialectal differences between the North and the South of the island. Northern Manx was spoken from Maughold in the northeast to Peel on the west coast. Southern Manx was spoken in the sheading of Rushen. It is possible that written Manx represents a 'midlands' dialect of Douglas and surrounding areas.

In Southern Manx, older ⟨á⟩, and in some cases ⟨ó⟩, became [æː]. In Northern Manx the same happened, but ⟨á⟩ sometimes remained [aː] as well, e.g. laa "day" (cf. Irish lá) was [læː] in the South but [læː] or [laː] in the North. Old ⟨ó⟩ is always [æː] in both dialects, e.g. aeg "young" (cf. Irish óg) is [æːɡ] in both dialects.[52] ⟨á, ó⟩ and lengthened ⟨a⟩ before ⟨rt, rd, rg⟩ became /œː/, as in paayrt '"part" /pœːrt/, ard "high" /œːrd/, jiarg "red" /dʒœːrɡ/, argid "money, silver" /œːrɡid/ and aarey "gold gen." /œːrə/.

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, e.g. kione "head" (cf. Irish ceann) is [kʲaun] in the North but [kʲoːn] in the South.[53]

Words with ⟨ua⟩, and in some cases ⟨ao⟩, in Irish and Scottish are spelled with ⟨eay⟩ in Manx. In Northern Manx, this sound was [iː], while in Southern Manx it was [ɯː], [uː], or [yː], e.g. geay "wind" (cf. Irish gaoth) is [ɡiː] in the north and [ɡɯː] in the South, while geayl "coal" (cf. Irish gual) is [ɡiːl] in the North and [ɡyːl], [ɡɯːl], or [ɡuːl] in the South.[54]

In both the North and the South, there is a tendency to insert a short [d] before a word-final [n] in monosyllabic words, as in [sleᵈn] for slane "whole" and [beᵈn] for ben "woman". This 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 "walking" and [lɔᶢŋ] for lhong "ship". These forms are generally pronounced without pre-occlusion in the North. Pre-occlusion of [b] before [m], on the other hand, is more common in the North, as in trome "heavy", which is [t̪roᵇm] in the North but [t̪roː(ᵇ)m] in the South.[55] This feature is also found in Cornish.

Southern Manx tended to lose word-initial [ɡ] before [lʲ], which was usually preserved in the North, e.g. glion "glen" and glioon "knee" are and [lʲɔᵈn] and [lʲuːᵈn] in the South but [ɡlʲɔᵈn] and [ɡlʲuːn] in the North.[56]

## Phonology[edit]

See also: Help:IPA/Manx

### Stress[edit]

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.[57] Examples include:

* buggane /bəˈɣæːn/ "sprite"
* tarroogh /t̪aˈruːx/ "busy"
* reeoil /riːˈoːl/ "royal"
* vondeish /vonˈd̪eːʃ/ "advantage"

### Consonants[edit]

The consonant phoneme inventory of Manx:[58]

| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Post-
alveolar | Palatal | Palato-
velar | 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 |  |  |  | ŋʲ |  | ŋ |  |
Trill |  |  |  |  |  | r |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Lateral |  |  |  | l |  |  |  | lʲ |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Semivowel |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | j |  |  |  | w |  |

The voiceless plosives are aspirated. The dental, postalveolar and palato-velar plosives /t̪ d̪ tʲ dʲ kʲ/ affricate to [t̪͡θ d̪͡ð t͡ʃ d͡ʒ k͡xʲ] 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 allophones [β ð z ʒ]. The voiced fricative [ʒ] may be further lenited to [j], and [ɣ] may disappear altogether. Examples include:[59]

Voiceless plosive to voiced plosive:

* /t̪/ > [d̪]: brattag [ˈbrad̪aɡ] "flag, rag"
* /k/ > [ɡ]: peccah [ˈpɛɡə] "sin"

Voiceless plosive to voiced fricative:

* /p/ > [v]: cappan [ˈkavan] "cup"
* /t̪/ > [ð]: baatey [ˈbɛːðə] "boat"
* /k/ > [ɣ]: feeackle [ˈfiːɣəl] "tooth"

Voiced plosive to voiced fricative:

* /b/ > [v]: cabbyl [ˈkaːvəl] "horse"
* /d̪/ > [ð]: eddin [ˈɛðənʲ] "face"
* /dʲ/ > [ʒ]: padjer [ˈpaːʒər] "prayer"
* /dʲ/ > [ʒ] > [j]: maidjey [ˈmaːʒə, -jə] "stick"
* /ɡ/ > [ɣ]: ruggit [ˈroɣət] "born"

Voiceless fricative to voiced fricative:

* /s/ > [ð] or [z]: poosit [ˈpuːðitʲ/ˈpuːzitʲ] "married"
* /s/ > [ð]: shassoo [ˈʃaːðu] "stand"
* /ʃ/ > [ʒ]: aashagh [ˈɛːʒax] "easy"
* /ʃ/ > [ʒ] > [j]: toshiaght [ˈt̪ɔʒax, -jax] "beginning"
* /x/ > [ɣ]: beaghey [ˈbɛːɣə] "live"
* /x/ > [ɣ] > ∅: shaghey [ʃaː] "past"

Another optional process is pre-occlusion, the insertion of a very short plosive before a sonorant consonant. In Manx, this applies to stressed monosyllabic words. 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:[60]

* /m/ > [ᵇm]: trome /t̪roːm/ > [t̪roᵇm] "heavy"
* /n/ > [ᵈn]: kione /kʲoːn/ > [kʲoᵈn] "head"
* /nʲ/ > [ᵈnʲ]: ein /eːnʲ/ > [eːᵈnʲ], [eᵈnʲ] "birds"
* /ŋ/ > [ᶢŋ]: lhong /loŋ/ > [loᶢŋ] "ship"
* /l/ > [ᵈl]: shooyll /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.[61] This vocalisation may be due to the influence of Manx English, which is non-rhotic.[62] Examples of the pronunciation of /r/ include:

* ribbey "snare" [ˈɾibə]
* arran "bread" [ˈaɾan]
* mooar "big" [muːr], [muːɹ̝], [muːə̯], [muː]

### Vowels[edit]

The vowel phoneme inventory of Manx:[63]

| Front | Central | Back

|
|
|

Short | Long | Short | Long | Short | Long
Close | i | iː |  |  | u | uː
Mid | e | eː | ə | øː | o | oː
Open | æ | æː | a | aː | ɔ | ɔː

The status of [æ] and [æː] 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 /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/, /aː/. This depends mainly on the 'broad' and 'slender' status of the neighbouring consonants:

Manx vowel phonemes and their allophones  Phoneme  | "Slender"  | "Broad"

|
|

/i/, /iː/ | [i], [iː] | [ɪ], [ɪː]
/e/, /eː/ | [e]/[eː] | [ɛ]/[ɛː]
/a/, /aː/ | [ɛ~æ]/[ɛː~æː] | [a]/[aː]/[øː]
/ə/ | [ɨ] | [ə]
/əi/ (Middle Gaelic)  | [iː] | [ɛː], [ɯː], [ɪː]
/o/, /oː/ | [o], [oː] | [ɔ], [ɔː]
/u/, /uː/ | [u], [uː] | [ø~ʊ], [uː]
/uə/ (Middle Gaelic)  | [iː], [yː] | [ɪː], [ɯː], [uː]

When stressed, /ə/ is realised as [ø].[64]

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

Manx diphthongs  | Second element

|

/i/ | /u/ | /ə/
First
element  | Close  | ui |  | iə, uə
Mid  | ei, əi, oi | eu, əu |
Open  | ai | au |

## Grammar[edit]

Main article: Manx grammar

### Syntax[edit]

Like most Insular Celtic languages, Manx is a VSO language.[65] However, 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 ("be") or jannoo ("do"). Particles like the negative cha ("not") precede the inflected verb. Examples:

main verb

Hug

put-PRET

the

subject

saggyrt

priest

his

direct object

laue

hand

urree.

on her

{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."[66]

aux. verb

were

the

subject

eayin

lambs

main verb

gee

eat-V.N.

the

direct object

conney.

gorse

{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."[67]

Cha

not

modal verb

jarg

can

subject

shiu

you-PL

main verb

fakin

see-V.N.

direct object

red erbee.

anything

{} {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."[68]

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:

aux. verb

Ren

did

subject

they

direct object

my choraa

my voice

PTCL

main verb

chlashtyn.

hear-V.N.

{aux. verb} subject {direct object} {} {main verb}

Ren ad {my choraa} y chlashtyn.

did they {my voice} PTCL hear-V.N.

"They heard my voice."[69]

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.[70] Examples:

agglagh

awful/frightening

t' eh agglagh

is it awful/frightening

"It is awful/frightening."

dy mie

well

t' eh {dy mie}

is he well

"He is well"

ayns

the

thie-oast

house-ale

t' eh ayns y thie-oast

is he in the house-ale

"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 ("in") + possessive pronoun (agreeing with the subject) in order for the substantive verb to be grammatical:

in-his

wooinney

man

mie

good

t' eh ny wooinney mie

is he in-his man good

"He is a good man" (lit. "He is in his good man")[71]

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:

She

COP

Manninagh

Manxman

mish

She Manninagh mish

COP Manxman me

"I am a Manxman."[72]

Shoh

this

the

dooinney

man

Shoh 'n dooinney

this the man

"This is the man."[69]

In questions and negative sentences, the present tense of the copula is nee:

Cha

not

nee

COP

mish

him

Cha nee mish eh

not COP me him

"I am not him."[69]

Nee

COP

shoh

this

the

lioar?

book

Nee shoh 'n lioar?

COP this the book

"Is this the book?"[69]

### Morphology[edit]

#### Initial consonant mutations[edit]

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

Initial consonant mutation in Manx  Unmutated  | IPA  | Lenition | IPA  | Eclipsis | IPA

|
|
|
|
|

p  | /p/ | ph | /f/ | b | /b/[74]
t(h)  | /t̪/ | h | /h/, /x/ | d(h) | /d̪/
çh  | /tʲ/~/tɕ/ | h | /h/, /xʲ/ | j | /dʲ/[74]
c, k  | /kʲ/ | ch | /xʲ/ | g | /ɡʲ/[74]
c, k

| /k/ /kw/ | ch

| /x/, /h/ /hw/ | g

| /ɡ/

| /b/
/bw/ | b

| /v/
/w/ | m

| /m/[74]
/mw/[74]
d(h)  | /d̪/ | gh | /ɣ/, /w/ | n | /n/[74]
j  | /dʲ/~/dʑ/ | gh, y | /ɣʲ/, /j/ | n | /nʲ/
g  | /ɡʲ/ | gh, y | /ɣʲ/, /j/ | ng | /ŋ/?[74]

| /m/
/mw/ | v

| /v/
/w/ | (no change)

| /f/
/fw/ | f  | zero
/hw/ | v

| /v/[74]
/w/[74]

| /s/
/sl/
/snʲ/ | s

| /h/
/l/
/nʲ/ | (no change)
sh  | /ʃ/ | h | /h/ , /xʲ/ | (no change)

In the corpus of the late spoken language, there is also one example of the eclipsis (nasalisation) of /ɡ/: the sentence Ta mee er ngeddyn yn eayn ("I have found the lamb"), where ⟨ng⟩ is pronounced /n/. However, probably this was a mis-transcription; the verbal noun in this case is not geddyn "get, fetch", but rather feddyn "find".[75]

#### Nouns[edit]

Manx nouns display gender, number and sometimes case, for instance, for feminine cass "foot".

| Singular  | Plural

|
|

Nominative  | cass | cassyn
Vocative  | chass | chassyn
Genitive  | coshey | cassyn

#### Pronouns[edit]

In addition to regular forms, personal pronouns also have emphatic versions.

Manx personal pronouns  Person  | Regular  | Emphatic

|
|

First singular  | mee | mish
Second singular  | oo | uss
Third singular  | masculine  | eh | eshyn
feminine  | ee | ish
First plural  | shin | shinyn
Second plural  | shiu | shiuish
Third plural  | ad | adsyn

#### Verbs[edit]

Manx verbs generally form their finite forms by means of periphrasis: inflected forms of the auxiliary verbs ve "to be" or jannoo "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.[76]

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 jilgey
(I am after throwing)[77] | –  | I have thrown
Pluperfect  | va mee er jilgey
(I was after throwing)[77] | –  | I had thrown
Preterite  | ren mee tilgey
(I did throwing)  | hilg mee | I threw
Future  | neeym tilgey
(I will do throwing)  | tilgym | I will throw
Conditional  | yinnin tilgey
(I would do throwing)  | hilgin | I would throw
Imperative  | jean tilgey
(Do throwing!)  | tilg | Throw!
Past participle  | –  | tilgit | thrown

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

|
|
|

Preterite  | hilg | (same as independent)  |
Future  | tilgym[1], tilgmayd[2], tilgee[3] | dilgym[1], dilgmayd[2], dilgee[3] | tilgys
Conditional  | tilgin[1], tilgagh[3] | dilgin[1], dilgagh[3] |
Imperative  | tilg | (same as independent)  |

1.^ First person singular, making the use of a following subject pronoun redundant

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"

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"  Form  | Independent  | Dependent  | Relative

|
|
|

Present  | ta | vel, nel | –
Preterite  | va | row | –
Future  | bee'm, beemayd, bee | (same as independent)  | vees
Conditional  | veign, veagh | beign, beagh | –
Imperative  | bee | (same as independent)  | –

#### Prepositions[edit]

Like the other Insular Celtic languages, Manx has inflected prepositions, contractions of a preposition with a pronominal direct object, as the following common prepositions show. Note the sometimes identical form of the uninflected preposition and its third person singular masculine inflected form.

Conjugation of Manx prepositions using pronominal ending  | 1st person  | 2nd person  | 3rd person

|
|
|

singular | plural  | singular | plural  | singular | plural
masculine  | feminine
ayns "in"  | aynym | ayn, ayndooin | aynyd | ayndiu | ayn | aynjee | ayndoo, ayndaue
da "to"  | dou | dooin | dhyt | diu | da | jee | daue
ec "at"  | aym | ain | ayd | orroo | echey | eck | oc
er "on"  | orrym | orrin | ort | erriu | er | urree | orroo
lesh "with"  | lhiam | lhien | lhiat | lhiu | lesh | lhee | lhieu
veih, voish "from"  | voym | voin | voyd | veue | voish, veih | voee | voue

#### Numbers[edit]

Numbers are traditionally vigesimal in Manx, e.g. feed "twenty", daeed "forty" ("two twenties"), tree feed "sixty" ("three twenties").

English | Manx[78] | Irish
cognate  | Scottish Gaelic
cognate

|
|
|

one  | un [æːn, oːn, uːn]
nane [neːn] | aon [eːnˠ, iːnˠ, (Northwest Ulster) ɯːnˠ] | aon [ɯːn]
two  | daa [d̪æː], ghaa [ɣæː],
jees [dʒiːs] | dó [d̪ˠoː], d(h)á [ɣaː/d̪ˠaː],(people only) dís [dʲiːʃ]*  | dà [t̪aː]
three  | tree [t̪riː] | trí [tʲrʲiː] | trì [t̪ʰɾiː]
four  | kiare [kʲæːə(r)] | ceathair [cahərʲ], ceithre [ˈcɛɾʲə] | ceithir [ˈkʲʰehɪɾʲ]
five  | queig [kweɡ] | cúig [kuːɟ] | còig [kʰoːkʲ]
six  | shey [ʃeː] | sé [ʃeː] | sia [ʃiə]
seven  | shiaght [ʃæːx] | seacht [ʃaxt̪ˠ] | seachd [ʃɛxk], [ʃaxk]
eight  | hoght [hoːx] | ocht [ɔxt̪ˠ] | ochd [ɔxk]
nine  | nuy [nɛi, nøi, niː] | naoi [n̪ˠiː (n̪ˠɰiː)] | naoi [n̪ˠɤi]
ten  | jeih [dʒɛi] | deich [dʲɛç, -ɛh, -ɛi]*  | deich [tʲeç]
eleven  | nane jeig [neːn dʒeɡ] | aon déag [eːnˠ/iːnˠ dʲeːɡ]*  | aon deug/diag [ɯːn dʲeːk], [ɯːn dʲiək]
twelve  | daa yeig [d̪eiɡʲ] | dó dhéag [d̪ˠoː jeːg], d(h)á dhéag [ɣaː/d̪ˠaː jeːɡ] | dà dheug/dhiag [t̪aː ʝeːk], [t̪aː ʝiək]
thirteen  | tree jeig [t̪ri dʒeɡ] | trí déag [tʲrʲiː dʲeːɡ]*  | trì deug/diag [t̪ʰɾiː tʲeːk], [t̪ʰɾiː tʲiək]
twenty  | feed [fiːdʒ] | fiche [fʲɪçə, -hə]; fichid (sing. dat.) [ˈfʲɪçədʲ, -ɪhə-]*  | fichead [fiçət̪]
hundred  | keead [kiːəd] | céad [ceːd̪ˠ, ciːa̯d̪ˠ] | ceud, ciad [kʲʰeːt̪], [kʲʰiət̪]

*In the northern dialects of Irish /dʲ tʲ/ may be affricated to [dʒ tʃ] or [dʑ tɕ].[79][80][81]

## Orthography[edit]

Manx orthography is based on Early Modern English, and to a lesser extent Welsh, developed by people who had an education in English (and Welsh until the 16th century).[82] The result is an inconsistent and only partially phonemic spelling system, similar to English orthography, unlike that of Irish and Scottish Gaelic, which both use similar spelling systems derived from Classical Gaelic, the written language of the educated Gaelic elite of both Ireland and Scotland until the mid-19th century, which makes them very etymological. Both use only 18 letters to represent around 50 phonemes. While Manx uses 24 letters (the ISO basic Latin alphabet, excluding ⟨x⟩ and ⟨z⟩), covering a similar range of phonemes, all three making use of many digraphs and trigraphs. T. F. O'Rahilly expressed the opinion that Manx spelling is inadequate, being neither traditional nor phonetic, and that if the traditional Gaelic orthography had been preserved the relationship between Manx, Irish and Scottish Gaelic would be obvious to readers at first sight.[83]

There is no evidence of Gaelic type being used on the island.

### Spelling to sound correspondences[edit]

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/ | faaie
ae  | /i/
/ɪ/
/eː/ | Gaelg
Ghaelgagh
aeg, aer
aew  | /au/ | braew
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
i  | unstressed  | /ə/
/i/ | eddin, ruggit
poosit
ia  | /aː/
/a/
/iː/
/iːə/ | çhiarn, shiaght
toshiaght, sniaghtey
grian
skian
ie  | /aɪ/ | mie
io  | /ɔ/ | glion
io...e  | /au/ (north)
/oː/ (south)  | kione
o, oi  | /ɔ/ or /ɑ/
/ɔː/ or /ɑː/
/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/ | shoh
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 [ə̯] | 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

### Diacritics[edit]

Manx uses only one diacritic, a cedilla, which is (optionally) used to differentiate between the two phonemes represented by ⟨ch⟩:

* Çhiarn (/ˈt͡ʃaːrn/) "lord", is pronounced with /t͡ʃ/, as in the English "church"
* Chamoo (/xaˈmu/) "nor" or "neither", is pronounced with /x/, as in Scottish English "loch" (/ˈlɒx/) or Irish English "lough" (/ˈlɒx/), a sound commonly represented by ⟨gh⟩ at the ends of words in Manx (and Irish English).

### Example[edit]

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

vod̪

smooinaghtyn

ˈsmuːnʲaxt̪ən

d̪ə

beagh

biəx

cabbyl

ˈkaːbəl

jeeaghyn

dʒiːən

skee

skiː

deinagh

ˈd̪øinʲax

ayns

uns

voghree

ˈvoːxəri

d̪ə

beagh

biəx

ferrishyn

ˈferiʃən

fud

fod̪

h-oie

høi

beagh

biəx

əd̪

cur

kør

lesh

leʃ

saggyrt

ˈsaːɡərt̪

d̪ə

cur

kør

vannaght

ˈvanax

er.

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.

ben

ˈbɛn

aynshoh

əˈsoː

çhiaghtin

ˈtʃaːn

chaie

ˈkai

v'ee

vai

laccal

ˈlaːl

mish

ˈmiʃ

ynsagh

ˈjinðax

gra

ˈɡreː

Padjer

ˈpaːdʒər

Çhiarn.

ˈtʃaːrn

Dooyrt

d̪ot̪

row

ˈrau

gra

ɡreː

tra

ˈt̪reː

v'ee

vai

inneen

iˈnʲin

veg,

ˈveːɡ

agh

t'eh

t̪e

ooilley

ˈolʲu

jarroodit

dʒaˈrud̪ətʃ

eck,

v'ee

vei

laccal

ˈlaːl

gynsagh

ˈɡʲinðax

reesht

ˈriːʃ

son

san

gra

ˈɡreː

vrastyl

ˈvraːst̪əl

red

ˈrið

ennagh.

ənax

dooyrt

ˈd̪ut̪

mish

miʃ

jinnagh

ˈdʒinax

mee

jannoo

ˈdʒinu

share

ˈʃeː

son

san

cooney

ˈkunə

lhee

lʲei

ren

ˈrenʲ

çheet

ˈtʃit̪

aynshoh

oˈsoː

son

san

clashtyn

ˈklaːʃtʲən

eh,

vel

vel

laccal

ˈlaːl

clashtyn

ˈklaːʃtʲən

mee

gra

ˈɡreː

eh?

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?

## Vocabulary[edit]

Manx vocabulary is predominantly of Goidelic origin, derived from Old Irish and has cognates in Irish and Scottish Gaelic. However, Manx itself, as well as the languages from which it is derived, borrowed words from other languages, especially Latin, Old Norse, French (particularly Anglo-Norman), and English (both Middle English and Modern English).[84]

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

Manx  | IPA[78] | English  | Etymology[85]

|
|
|

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

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

### Phrases[edit]

Manx (Gaelg)  | English (Baarle)

|

Moghrey mie | Good mornin
Fastyr mie | Good afternoon/evening
Oie vie | Good nigh
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 yo
As oo hene?
As shiu hene? | And yourself
Slane lhiat
Slane lhiu | Goodby
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

### Loanwords[edit]

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

Loanwords are primarily Norse and English, with a smaller number coming from French. Some examples of Norse loanwords are garey "garden" (from garðr "enclosure") and sker "sea rock" (from sker). Examples of French loanwords are danjeyr "danger" (from danger) and vondeish "advantage" (from avantage).

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, calques 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 and Hebrew, e.g. casherick "holy" (from Latin consecrātus), agglish "church" (from Greek ἐκκλησία/ekklesia "assembly") and abb "abbot" (from Hebrew אבא/abba "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",[86] 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.

### Vocabulary comparison examples[edit]

Manx  | Irish  | Scottish Gaelic  | Welsh  | English

|
|
|
|

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

#### Gaelic versions of the Lord's Prayer[edit]

The Lord's Prayer has been translated into all of the Gaelic languages (and Old Irish). Although not direct, it is a good demonstration of the differences between their 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[87]

Ayr Ain, t'ayns Niau;
Casherick dy rou dt'ennym;
Di jig dty Reereeaght;
Dt'aigney dy rou jeant er y Talloo myr ta 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 Reereeaght y Phooar as y Ghloyr, son dy bragh as dy bragh.
Amen

|

The prayer in Old Irish[88]

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(idh) do ríocht.
Go ndéantar do thoil ar an (d)talamh,
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(n) olc.
Óir is leatsa an Ríocht agus an Chumhacht agus an Ghlóir, trí shaol na saol (alt. le saol na saol / go síoraí).
Áiméan.

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.

|
|

## Example text[edit]

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Manx
Ta dy chooilley ghooinney ruggit seyr as corrym rish dy chooilley ghooinney elley ayns ooashley as ayns cairys. Ta resoon as cooinsheanse stowit orroo as lhisagh ad dellal rish y cheilley lesh spyrryd braaragh.[89]

English

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.[90]

|

## See also[edit]

* Language portal

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

## References[edit]

1. ^ Manx at Ethnologue (21st ed., 2018)
2. ^ Isle of Man Government (27 January 2021). Isle of Man Census Report (PDF) (Report). Isle of Man Government. p. 27-28. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
3. ^ UNESCO (2010). Moseley, Christopher; Nicolas, Alexander (eds.). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (PDF) (3rd ed.). Paris. ISBN 978-92-3-104096-2. Archived from the original on 23 July 2022.
4. ^ Jackson 1955, 49
5. ^ Moore, A.W. (1924). A Vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx Dialect. Oxford University Press.
6. ^ "Manx", Wiktionary, 5 March 2022, retrieved 9 April 2022
7. ^ Koch, John T., ed. (2005). Celtic Culture : A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 2\. ABC-CLIO. pp. 673–690. ISBN 978-1851094400.
8. ^ West, Andrew (30 June 2011). "The Ogham Stones of the Isle of Man". BabelStone. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
9. ^ a b c d e f Ager, Simon. "A Study of Language Death and Revival with a Particular Focus on Manx Gaelic." Master's Dissertation University of Wales, Lampeter, 2009. PDF.
10. ^ a b c d Broderick, George (1999). Language death in the Isle of Man : an investigation into the decline and extinction of Manx Gaelic as a community language in the Isle of Man. Niemeyer. ISBN 9783110911411. OCLC 300505991.
11. ^ a b c d Gunther 1990, 59–60
12. ^ a b c Whitehead, Sarah (2 April 2015). "How the Manx language came back from the dead". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
13. ^ "Isle of Man Government - Five year strategy salutes and celebrates Manx language". www.gov.im. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
14. ^ "Lifelines for indigenous languages | The World Weekly". www.theworldweekly.com. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
15. ^ "UN declares Manx Gaelic 'extinct'". BBC News. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
16. ^ a b "Isle of Man Census Report 2011" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2012.
17. ^ "Manx Gaelic Revival 'Impressive'". BBC News. 22 September 2005.
18. ^ The Art of Naming. "World-Wide Wednesday: Manx Names". Retrieved 24 November 2021.
19. ^ a b c d e "Censuses of Manx Speakers". www.isle-of-man.com. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
20. ^ Belchem, John (1 January 2000). A New History of the Isle of Man: The modern period 1830-1999. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 9780853237266 - via Google Books.
21. ^ "2001 Isle of Man Census: Volume 2" (PDF). Gov.im. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
22. ^ "2011 Isle of Man Census" (PDF). Gov.im. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
23. ^ "2021 Isle of Man Census" (PDF). Gov.im. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
24. ^ "Standing Orders of the House of Keys" (PDF). p. 17. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
25. ^ http://www.tynwald.org.im/business/hansard/20002020/k190212.pdf House of Keys Hansard
26. ^ "Kathleen Faragher's Manx Words & Manx Dialect Words". 18 January 2015.
27. ^ However this word appears to have been adopted into Manx English, see [1] Braaid Eisteddfod: A poem by Annie Kissack (at 20 seconds)
28. ^ "Tynwald - the Parliament of the Isle of Man". Retrieved 15 June 2018.
29. ^ Eder, Birgit (2003). Ausgewählte Verwandtschaftsbezeichnungen in den Sprachen Europas [Selected kinship terms in the languages of Europe] (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. p. 301\. ISBN 3631528736.
30. ^ "Isle of Man Department of Education, Sport and Culture". Retrieved 16 June 2018.
31. ^ "pp2/5 Manx Ballads - Fin as Oshin". Isle-of-man.com. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
32. ^ "Books - Lioaryn | Culture Vannin | Isle of Man". Culture Vannin. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
33. ^ "Antoine de Saint-Exupery - "The Little Prince" / Gaelic Manx / 2019, Edition Tintenfass, Neckarsteinach". petit-prince-collection.com.
34. ^ "Solace: A Film in Manx Gaelic". YouTube. 17 February 2014. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
35. ^ "Cuchulainn Part One". YouTube. 17 February 2013. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
36. ^ "Manannan Episode 4 (part two) Come Dine With Us". YouTube. 3 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
37. ^ "Gaelg (Manx) | Children's Animated Bible Stories | Friends and Heroes | UK Website". Friends and Heroes. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
38. ^ a b c "Henry Jenner - The Manx Language, 1875". Isle-of-man.com. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
39. ^ "Manx Gaelic Christmas Service". YouTube. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
40. ^ Broderick 1984–86, 1:xxvii–xxviii, 160
41. ^ Jackson 1955, 66. Jackson claims that northern Irish has also lost the contrast between velarised and palatalised labials, but this seems to be a mistake on his part, as both Mayo Irish and Ulster Irish are consistently described as having the contrast (cf. Mhac an Fhailigh 1968, 27; Hughes 1994, 621; see also Ó Baoill 1978, 87)
42. ^ O'Rahilly 1932, 77–82; Broderick 1984–86, 2:152
43. ^ O'Rahilly 1932, 24; Broderick 1984–86 3:80–83; Ó Sé 2000:15, 120
44. ^ Jackson 1955, 47–50; Ó Cuív 1944, 38, 91
45. ^ O'Rahilly 1932, 22
46. ^ O'Rahilly 1932, 203
47. ^ O'Rahilly 1932, 57
48. ^ O'Rahilly 1932, 110; Jackson 1955, 55
49. ^ O'Rahilly 1932, 51; Jackson 1955, 57–58; Holmer 1957, 87, 88, 106; 1962, 41
50. ^ O'Rahilly 1932, 68; Broderick 1984–86, 2:56, 308
51. ^ O'Rahilly 1932, 75
52. ^ Broderick 1984–8,6 1:160
53. ^ Broderick 1984–86, 1:161
54. ^ Broderick 1984–86, 1:161–62
55. ^ Broderick 1984–86, 1:162–63
56. ^ Broderick 1984–86, 1:164–65
57. ^ Broderick 1993, 236
58. ^ Thomson 1992, 128–29; Broderick 1993, 234
59. ^ Broderick 1984–86, 3:3–13; Thomson 1992, 129
60. ^ Broderick 1984–86, 3:28–34; 1993, 236
61. ^ Broderick 1984–86; 3:17–18
62. ^ Jackson 1955, 118; Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language, 1998, Isle of Man, retrieved 28 September 2008
63. ^ Broderick 1993, 230–33
64. ^ Broderick 1993, 232–33
65. ^ Broderick 1993, 276
66. ^ Broderick 1984–86, 1:181
67. ^ Broderick 1984–86, 1:179
68. ^ Broderick 1993, 274
69. ^ a b c d Thomson 1992, 105
70. ^ Broderick 1993, 276–77
71. ^ Broderick 1993, 277
72. ^ Broderick 1993, 278
73. ^ Broderick 1984–86, 1:7–21; 1993, 236–39; Thomson 1992, 132–35
74. ^ a b c d e f g h i Not attested in the late spoken language (Broderick 1984–86, 3:66)
75. ^ (Broderick 1984–86 2:190, 3:66).
76. ^ Broderick 1984–86, 75–82; 1993, 250, 271; Thomson 1992, 122
77. ^ a b The particle er is identical in form to the preposition er "on"; however, it is etymologically distinct, coming from Old Irish íar "after" (Williams 1994, 725).
78. ^ a b Broderick 1984–86, vol. 2
79. ^ de Búrca, Seán (1958). The Irish of Tourmakeady, Co. Mayo. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. pp. 24–25. ISBN 0-901282-49-9.
80. ^ Mhac an Fhailigh, Éamonn (1968). The Irish of Erris, Co. Mayo. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0-901282-02-2.
81. ^ Wagner, Heinrich (1959). Gaeilge Theilinn [Telin Irish] (in Ga). Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. pp. 9–10. ISBN 1-85500-055-5.
82. ^ Kelly 1870:xiii footnote in Spoken Sound as a Rule for Orthography, credited to W. Mackenzie.
83. ^ O'Rahilly 1932, p. 128.
84. ^ Broderick 1993, pp. 282–283.
85. ^ Macbain 1911; Dictionary of the Irish Language; Broderick 1984–86, vol. 2
86. ^ "A snapshpot of Manx history". Stamp and Coin Mart. Warners Group Publications. February 2018. p. 38.
87. ^ MANX GAELIC ( Gaelig, Gaelg ) from www.christusrex.org. Source of text: "ORATIO DOMINICA – Polyglottos, Polymorphos – Nimirum, Plus Centum Linguis, Versionibus, aut Characteribus Reddita & Expressa" ("Lord's Prayer - many languages and forms - restored and rendered in certainly over 100 languages, versions or types"), Daniel Brown, London, 1713.
88. ^ Ta'n lhieggan shoh jeh'n Phadjer aascreeuit 'sy chlou Romanagh veih'n çhenn chlou Yernagh. Son d'akin er y lhieggan shen jeh'n phadjer gow dys y duillag shoh ec www.christusrex.org
89. ^ "Fockley-Magh Cairyssyn Deiney cour y Theihll Slane". udhr.audio (in Manx).
90. ^ "Universal Declaration of Human Rights". United Nations.

## Bibliography[edit]

* Broderick, George (1984–1986). A Handbook of Late Spoken Manx (3 volumes ed.). Tübingen: Niemeyer. ISBN 3-484-42903-8. (vol. 1), (vol. 2), (vol. 3).
* Broderick, George (1993). "Manx". In Ball, M. J.; Fife, J. (eds.). The Celtic Languages. London: Routledge. pp. 228–85. ISBN 0-415-01035-7.
* Cumming, Joseph George (1848). The Isle of Man. London: John Van Voorst.
* Dictionary of the Irish Language based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. 1983. ISBN 0-901714-29-1.
* Gunther, Wilf (1990). "Language conservancy or: Can the anciently established British minority languages survive?". In Gorter, D.; Hoekstra, J. F.; Jansma, L. G.; Ytsma, J. (eds.). Fourth International Conference on Minority Languages (Vol. II: Western and Eastern European Papers ed.). Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters. pp. 53–67. ISBN 1-85359-111-4.
* 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" [Ulster Irish]. In McCone, K.; McManus, D.; Ó Háinle, C.; Williams, N.; Breatnach, L. (eds.). Stair na Gaeilge in ómós do Pádraig Ó Fiannachta [History of Irish in honor of Pádraig Ó Fiannachta] (in Ga). Maynooth: Department of Old Irish, St. Patrick's College. pp. 611–660. ISBN 0-901519-90-1.
* 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.
* Kewley-Draskau, Jennifer (2008). Practical Manx. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1-84631-131-4.
* 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 [Chorca Dhuibhne Irish] (in Ga). Dublin: Institiúid Teangeolaíochta Éireann. ISBN 0-946452-97-0.
* Thomson, Robert L. (1992). "The Manx language". In MacAulay, Donald (ed.). The Celtic Languages. Cambridge University Press. pp. 100–36. ISBN 0-521-23127-2.
* Williams, Nicholas (1994). "An Mhanainnis" [Manx]. In McCone, K.; McManus, D.; Ó Háinle, C.; Williams, N.; Breatnach, L. (eds.). Stair na Gaeilge in ómós do Pádraig Ó Fiannachta [History of Irish in honor of Pádraig Ó Fiannachta] (in Ga). Maynooth: Department of Old Irish, St. Patrick's College. pp. 703–44. ISBN 0-901519-90-1.

## External links[edit]

Manx edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manx language.

For a list of words relating to Manx, see the Manx language category of words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikivoyage has a phrasebook for Manx.

Manx language repository of Wikisource, the free library

* Percentage of resident population with a knowledge of Manx Gaelic
* A bit of Manx Gaelic history
* Manx language, alphabet and pronunciation at Omniglot
* Information about the language
* isle-of-man.com language section
* Manx dictionaries via Multidict
* Online Manx Lessons with MP3 recordings
* Bilingual Bible in Manx and English by the Manx Language Project
* Manx: Bringing a language back from the dead
* Media article about the Manx revival
* Manx free online course

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* Gaelic football (Ladies')
* Gaelic handball
* Gouren
* Rounders
* Highland games
* Hurling
* Road bowls
* Shinty
* Welsh handball

* v
* t
* e

Languages of the United Kingdom

Official language|

English

Recognised regional languages|

* Cornish
* Irish
* Manx
* Norman
* Auregnais
* Guernésiais
* Jèrriais
* Sercquiais
* Scots
* Ulster Scots
* Scottish Gaelic
* Welsh

Other languages|

* Angloromani
* Beurla Reagaird
* Scottish Cant
* Shelta

Sign languages|

* British
* Irish
* Northern Irish
* Old Kentish

Languages by region|

* Cornwall
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* Wales

* v
* t
* e

Languages of Europe

Sovereign states|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Armenia
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Georgia
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
*   * Italy
* Kazakhstan
* Latvia
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Monaco
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* San Marino
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* England
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* Wales
* Vatican City

States with limited
recognition|

* Abkhazia
* Artsakh
* Kosovo
* Northern Cyprus
* South Ossetia
* Transnistria

Dependencies and
other entities|

* Åland
* Faroe Islands
* Gibraltar
* Guernsey
* Isle of Man
* Jersey
* Svalbard

Other entities|

* European Union
* Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Authority control: National |

* Germany
* Czech Republic
* Poland

|

*[†]: Extinct
*[Ref.]: Reference
*[PRET]: preterite
*[V]: verb(al)
*[N]: neuter gender
*[PL]: plural number
*[PTCL]: particle
*[COP]: copula
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*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template