Manx language

Manx
y Ghaelg, y Ghailck
Pronunciation	[əˈɣɪlk], [əˈɣɪlɡ]
Native to	Isle of Man
Ethnicity	Manx people
Extinct	Extinct as a first language by 1974 with the death of Ned Maddrell.
Revival	About a hundred competent neo-Manx speakers and 50 children in immersion education (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
ISO 639-6	glvx (historical) rvmx (revived)
Glottolog	manx1243
Linguasphere	50-AAA-aj

Manx (native name Gaelg or Gailck, pronounced [ɡilk] or [ɡilɡ]), also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic Celtic 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. Manx is widely considered to be an important part of the island's culture and heritage. Although the last of the original native speakers, Ned Maddrell, died in 1974, the language has never fallen completely out of use. In recent years, it has been the subject of language revival efforts, so that despite the small number of speakers, Manx 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 audio recordings were made of native speakers.

Names of the language

In Manx

In Manx the language is called Gaelg or Gailck, a word which shares the same etymology as the word "Gaelic", borrowed into English from Northern Irish Gaelic. The sister languages of Irish and Scottish Gaelic, use Gaeilge (dialect variants Gaoluinn, Gaedhlag, Gaelge and Gaelic) and Gàidhlig respectively for their languages. As with Irish and Scottish, the form with the definite article is frequently used in Manx, e.g. y Ghaelg or y Ghailck (Irish an Ghaeilge, Scottish a' Ghàidhlig).

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.

In English

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 Anglo-Manx, the form of English spoken on the island. Scottish Gaelic is often referred to in English as simply Gaelic, but this is less common with Manx and Irish.

A calque in Anglo-Manx is use of the definite article, e.g., the Manx, the Gaelic, in ways not generally seen in standard English.

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 written in Primitive Irish and which reads DOVAIDONA MAQI DROATA, "Of Dovaido, son of Droata".

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 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.

The earliest known language of the Isle of Man was a form of Brythonic (the language which developed into Welsh, Cornish and Breton); however, like Scottish Gaelic and modern Irish, 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 Ramsey (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." 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.

Revival

Following the decline in the use of Manx during the 19th century, Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh (The Manx Language Society) was founded in 1899. By the middle of the 20th century only a few elderly native speakers remained (the last of them, Ned Maddrell, died on 27 December 1974), but by then a scholarly revival had begun and a few individuals had started teaching it in schools. In 1992 the Manx Language Unit was formed, consisting of three members and headed by Manx Language Officer Brian Stowell, "which was put in charge of all aspects of Manx language teaching and accreditation in schools." This led to an increased interest in studying the Manx language and encouraged a sense of ethnic identity along with it. 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 2009 Unesco's Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger declared Manx as an extinct language, despite the presence of hundreds of speakers on the Isle of Man. Since then Unesco's classification of the language has changed to "critically endangered".

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.

Speakership by year

Year	Manx speakers		Manx population
	Total	Of Manx population
1874	16,200	30%	54,000 (1871)
1901	4,419	8.1%	55,000
1911	2,382	4.8%	52,000
1921	896	1.5%	60,000
1931	529	1%	49,000
1951	275	0.5%	55,000
1971	Last native speaker dies
1991	650	0.9%	71,000
2001	1,500	1.9%	78,000
2011	1,650	1.9%	86,000
2015	1,800	2%	88,000

Literature

Main articles: Manx literature and Gaelic literature

Because Manx has never had a large number of speakers, 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. 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 [kaːβəl] "horse" and cooney [kuːnə] "help" as well as /ɪ/ (e.g. fys [fɪz] "knowledge"), though it is also used to represent [j], as in English (e.g. y Yuan [ə juːan] "John" (vocative), yeeast [jiːəst] "fish").

Later pieces included short stories and poetry. Translations were made, 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. There is an increasing amount of literature available in the language and recent publications include Manx versions of the Gruffalo and Gruffalo's Child.

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 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.

Many 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.

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 garey ("garden", from garðr, "enclosure") and sker meaning a sea rock. Examples of French loanwords include 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 Gaelic guilley and brock. Henry Jenner, on asking someone what he was doing, was told Ta mee smokal pipe ("I am smoking a pipe"), and that "[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. Despite this, calques exist in Manx, not necessarily obvious to its speakers.

Some religious terms come ultimately from 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"). These did not necessarily come directly into Manx, but from 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 (Irish teilefís) and çhellvane meaning television and telephone respectively. Foreign language words (usually known via English) are used occasionally especially for ethnic food, e.g., chorizo and spaghetti.

To make up for deficiencies in recorded Manx vocabulary, revivalists have referred to modern 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 a "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 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 department 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 ('the Reader') in Manx and English.

Manx is recognised under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. It is one of the regional languages recognised in the framework of the British-Irish Council.

Political parties have not generally been prominent in Manx politics. 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. The lessons are optional and instruction is provided by the Department of Education's Manx Language Team who teach up to A Level standard. At present roughly about 1000 children receive some Manx Language Provision each year in island schools.

The Bunscoill Ghaelgagh which is based in St Johns has, of September 2014, 71 children 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 QE2 which is based in Peel.

The playgroup organisation, Mooinjer Veggey which operates the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh runs a series of preschool groups for children that introduce the language.

The first native speakers of Manx (bilingual with English) in many years have now appeared: children brought up by Manx-speaking parents.

Learning the language

There are an increasing number of resources available for those wanting to learn the language. The Manx Language Development Officer for Culture Vannin manages the Learnmanx.com website which has a wide variety of resources. These include mobile apps a new podcast in Manx, the 1000 words-in-Manx challenge and the Video-a-day in Manx series.

Media

See also: List of Celtic-language media

Two weekly programmes in Manx are available on MW on Manx Radio: Traa dy liooar on Monday Jamys Jeheiney on Friday. The news in Manx is available on-line from Manx Radio who have three other weekly programmes that use the language. Clare ny Gael; Shiaght Laa and Moghrey Jedoonee.

The Isle of Man Examiner has a monthly bilingual column in Manx.

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. Recently a new short film, Solace, was produced with financial assistance of Culture Vannin. A series of short cartoons about the life of Cuchulain which were produced by BBC Northern Ireland are available as are a series of cartoons on Manx mythology. Most significant is a 13-part DVD series Manx translation of the award-winning series Friends and Heroes.

Signage

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.

The Manx Bible

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 Bible was first produced in Manx by a group of Anglican clergymen on the island. The Gospel of Matthew was printed in 1748. The four Gospels were produced in 1763 and Conaant Noa nyn Jiarn as Saualtagh Yeesey Creest (the New Testament) in 1767 by SPCK. In 1772 the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew and printed, with the Books of 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 Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) in 1775.

The bicentenary was celebrated on the Isle of Man in 1975 and included a set of stamps from the Isle of Man post office. This 1775 edition effectually fixed the modern orthography of Manx Gaelic which is little changed since. Jenner claims that some bowdlerisation had occurred in the translation, e.g., the occupation of Rahab the prostitute is rendered as ben-oast, a hostess or female inn-keeper.

There was a translation of the Psalmyn Ghavid (Psalms of David) in metre in Manx by the Rev John Clague, vicar of Rushden, 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 the Manx Language Society 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 (excluding 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 Cheshaght Ghailckagh (The Manx Gaelic Society) 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 is now available online on YouVersion and Bibles.org

Church

Manx was used in some churches into the late 19th century. Although church services in Manx were once fairly common, they occur infrequently now. Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh, the Manx Language Society, hold an annual Christmas Service at locations around the island.

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) and 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 ("to stand"; Irish seasamh), credjue ("religion"; Irish creideamh), nealloo ("fainting"; Early Modern Irish (i) néalaibh, lit. in clouds), and erriu ("on you (plural)"; Irish oraibh). 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 ("mockery") and mná ("women") have become craid and mraane 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 ("buy"; cf. Irish ceannaigh) and cullee ("apparatus"; cf. Gaelic culaidh).

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 ("straight") [ˈdʒiːrax] (Irish díreach), cooinaghtyn ("to remember") [ˈkuːnʲaxt̪ən] (Gaelic cuimhneachd).

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 ("winter") [ˈɡʲeurə], [ˈɡʲuːrə] and sleityn ("mountains") [ˈsleːdʒən] correspond to Irish geimhreadh and sléibhte (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 ("carpenter") [seːr] and keyl ("narrow") [keːl] (spelled saor and caol 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 ("children") [klɔːn], dhone ("brown") [d̪ɔːn], 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 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 ("war") [ˈkaːɣə], moylley ("to praise") [ˈmɔlə]; cf. Irish cogadh and moladh, 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 [ˈvɔlax] ("would praise"), cf. Irish mholfadh, 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 ("day", cf. Irish lá) is [leː] in the south but [leː] or [laː] in the north. Old ó is always [eː] in both dialects, e.g. aeg ("young", cf. Irish óg) 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 ("head", cf. Irish ceann) 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 ("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.

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 ("whole") and [beᵈn] for ben ("woman"). This phenomenon is known as pre-occlusion. In Southern Manx, however, there is 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. Preocclusion 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 [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 ("glen") is [ɡlʲɔᵈn] in the north and [lʲɔᵈn] in the south, and glioon ("knee") is [ɡlʲuːn] in the north and [lʲuːᵈn] in the south.

Phrases

The following are some simple words and phrases in Manx that might be used in conversation between two people :

English (Baarle)	Manx (Gaelg)
Good day	Laa Mie
How are you?	Kys t'ou?
Very well	Feer vie
Thank you	Gura mie ayd
And yourself?	As oo hene?
Goodbye	Slane Lhiat
Isle of Man	Ellan Vannin

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 exclusively) used to differentiate between the two pronunciations of ch:

• Çhiarn (/ˈt͡ʃaːrn/), meaning lord, is pronounced with the palato-alveolar affricate /t͡ʃ/, as in the English "church"
• Chamoo (/xaˈmu), meaning nor or neither, is pronounced with the velar fricative /x/, as in the Scottish pronunciation of the word "loch" (/ˈlɒx/), a sound which is commonly represented by gh at the ends of words in Manx.

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 Ghlóir, trí shaol na saol (alt. le saol na saol / go síoraí).

Amen (alt. 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.

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

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 [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], [ˈmaːjə] "stick"
• /ɡ/ > [ɣ]: ruggit [ˈroɣət] "born"

Voiceless fricative to voiced fricative

• /s/ > [ð] or [z]: poosit [ˈpuːðitʲ] or [ˈpuːzitʲ] "married"
• /s/ > [ð]: shassoo [ˈʃaːðu] "stand"
• /ʃ/ > [ʒ]: aashagh [ˈɛːʒax] "easy"
• /ʃ/ > [ʒ] > [j]: toshiaght [ˈt̪ɔʒax], [ˈt̪ɔjax] "beginning"
• /x/ > [ɣ]: beaghey [ˈbɛːɣə] "live"
• /x/ > [ɣ] > ∅: shaghey [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 /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. 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 "snare" [ˈɾibə]
• arran "bread" [ˈaɾan]
• mooar "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 "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 allophonic variation

Phoneme	"Slender"	"Broad"
/i/, /iː/	[i], [iː]	[ɪ], [ɪː]
/e/, /eː/	[e]/[eː]	[ɛ]/[ɛː]
/a/, /aː/	[ɛ~æ]/[ɛː~æː]	[a]/[aː]
/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].

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

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 /bəˈɣeːn/ "sprite"
• tarroogh /t̪aˈruːx/ "busy"
• reeoil /riːˈoːl/ "royal"
• vondeish /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 "cowhouse" uses the old genitive of ollagh "cattle".

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. 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 "not") does precede the verb. For example, "you will lose" is caillee oo with the independent form caillee ("will lose"), while "you will not lose" is cha gaill oo with the dependent form caill (which has undergone eclipsis to gaill after cha). Similarly "they went" is hie ad with the independent form hie ("went"), while "they did not go" is cha jagh ad with the dependent form jagh. This contrast is inherited from Old Irish, which shows such pairs as beirid ("(s)he carries") vs. ní beir ("(s)he does not carry"), and is found in Scottish Gaelic as well, e.g. gabhaidh ("will take") vs. cha ghabh ("will not take"). In Modern Irish, the distinction is found only in irregular verbs (e.g. chonaic ("saw") vs. ní fhaca ("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 "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	[eːn], [oːn], [uːn] [neːn]	one	aon [eːn], [iːn], [ɯːn]	aon [ɯːn]
daa, ghaa jees	[d̪eː]. [ɣeː] [dʒiːs]	two	dó [d̪ˠoː], dhá/dá [ɣaː]/[d̪ˠaː] (people only) dís [dʲiːʃ]	dà [t̪aː]
tree	[t̪riː]	three	trí [t̪ʲrʲiː]	trì [t̪ʰɾiː]
kiare	[kʲeːə(r)]	four	ceathair, ceithre [kʲahirʲ], [kʲerʲhʲi]	ceithir [ˈkʲʰehɪɾʲ]
queig	[kweɡ]	five	cúig [kuːɡʲ]	còig [kʰoːkʲ]
shey	[ʃeː]	six	sé [ʃeː]	sia [ʃiə]
shiaght	[ʃaːx]	seven	seacht [ʃaxt]	seachd [ʃɛxk], [ʃaxk]
hoght	[hoːx]	eight	ocht [oxt] (dialect hocht [hoxt])	ochd [ɔxk]
nuy	[nɛi], [niː]	nine	naoi [nˠeː], [nˠiː], [nˠəi]	naoi [n̪ˠɤi]
jeih	[dʒɛi]	ten	deich [dʲeh], [dʒeç], [dʒei]	deich [dʒeç]
nane jeig	[neːn dʒeɡ]	eleven	aon déag [eːn dʲiaɡ], [iːn dʲeːɡ], [iːn/ɯːn dʒeːɡ]	aon deug [ɯːn dʒiək]}
daa yeig	[d̪eiɡʲ]	twelve	dó dhéag, dhá dhéag, dá dhéag [d̪ˠoː jiaɡ], [d̪ˠoː jeːɡ], [ɣaː jeːɡ], [d̪ˠaː jeːɡ]	dà dheug [t̪aː ʝiək]
tree jeig	[t̪ri dʒeɡ]	thirteen	trí déag [t̪ʲrʲiː dʲiaɡ], [t̪ʲrʲiː dʲeːɡ], [t̪ʲrʲiː dʒeːɡ]	trì deug [t̪ʰɾiː dʒiək]
feed	[fiːdʒ]	twenty	fiche [fʲihʲi], [fʲiçə]; fichid [fʲihʲidʲ], [fʲiçidʒ] (dative)	fichead [fiçət̪]
keead	[kiːəd]	hundred	céad [kʲeːd], [kʲiad]	ceud [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 ("be") or jannoo ("do"). Particles like the negative cha ("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 ("do"), the direct object precedes the verbal noun and is connected to it with the particle y:

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, 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 ("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 or she 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:

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 < O.Ir. óa; cf. Ir. ae, Sc.G. adha
aer	[eːə]	sky	Latin; from O.Ir. aer < L. aër; cf. 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	[ˈeːar]	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. 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	[bleː]	flower	Goidelic; from O.Ir. bláth, Ir. bláth, Sc.G. blàth
blein	[blʲeːnʲ], [blʲiᵈn]	year	Goidelic; from O.Ir. bliadain; cf. Ir. 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	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, Ir. dialect cluais "ear", dative cluais
collaneyn	[ˈkalinʲən]	guts	Goidelic; from O.Ir. cáelán; cf. Ir. caolán, Sc.G. caolan, derived from caol "thin, slender"
crackan	[ˈkraːɣən]	skin	Goidelic; from O.Ir. croiccenn; cf. Ir., Sc.G. craiceann, dialect croiceann
craue	[kreːw]	bone	Goidelic; from O.Ir. cnám; cf. Ir. cnámh, 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
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. 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, 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; 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	[freːw]	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 gáith; 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	[ˈdʒeːax]	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	[kʲeː]	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	[leː]	day	Goidelic; from O.Ir. láa; cf. Sc.G. latha,là
laue	[leːw]	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	[laːx]	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	[maːɹ]	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, Sc.G. ugh
paitçhey	[ˈpetʃə]	child	French; from E.M.Ir. páitse "page, attendant" < O.Fr. page; cf. Ir. páiste, Sc.G. pàiste
raad	[reːd̪], [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	[roˈleːɡ]	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. dative 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.

See also

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

External links

• 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
• Fockleyreen – Downloadable Manx–English & English–Manx Dictionary
• Fockleyreen – 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
• Manx: Bringing a language back from the dead