Manx language

Manx (Gaelg), also known as Manx Gaelic, is an extant Goidelic language spoken on the Isle of Man. It is an offshoot of Old Irish, particularly the Ulster and Galloway dialects. Manx dates to around the 5th century AD and is called Gaelg Vanninagh by Manx speakers. The last "native speaker" died in 1974, but by then a scholarly revival had begun to spread to the populace and many have learned Manx as a second language. Manx is used by the Tynwald, with new laws being read out by Yn Lhaihder ('the Reader') in both Manx and English.

The spelling of Manx, unlike those of Irish and Scottish Gaelic, does not represent the Goidelic phonology, and more closely resembles an English-speaker's attempt to write Gaelic. This is because Manx developed without a written literature, and when attempts were made to introduce a standardised orthography for the language, the choice was made to spell the words in an English manner. For example, 'Isle of Man' in Irish or Scottish Gaelic would be written as Oileann Mhannain, whereas in Manx it would be written as Ellan Vannin.

This had the unfortunate result of making the spelling much harder than that of the other Gaelic languages, as many Goidelic grammatical features were lost in the process.

External links

• isle-of-man.com language section