THE CELTS.
At the beginning of the Christian era the whole of the British islands were doubtless
occupied by Celtic-speaking peoples, though the earlier inhabitants had by no means
been exterminated.
(jjk1)
THE CELTIC LANGUAGE.
Even at this early period Irish differed very greatly from the languages of Gaul
and Britain. This old Celtic tongue belonged to the great Indo-European family of
languages and showed affinity to the cognate dialects of Italy, chief amongst which
was Latin.
(jjk1)
The Celtic languages form a branch of the Indo-European family tree, with sounds and
soundings from other European and Eastern language groups, the languages of Greece
and Rome, Germanic and Slavonic tongues, as well as language families in the Middle
East. The remaining Celtic languages fall into two significant divisions: the Gaels of
Ireland, Man and Scotland and the speakers of Welsh, Cornish and Breton.
fd 178
GOIDELIC AND BRYTHONIC.
The original Indo-European tongue possessed a peculiar Q sound which was treated differently
by the various groups.
We may therefore speak of p-Celts and q-Celts, the former being also known,as far
as our islands are concerned, as Brythons, the latter as Goidels.
Goidelic speech was introduced by invaders from Ireland into the Isle of Man and the
Highlands of Scotland, where the Celtic that is still spoken is Goidelic and not
Brythonic.
The Celtic languages which survived in modern times may be classified as follows:
A. Goedelic: (i) Irish
(ii) Manx
(iii) Scottish Gaelic
B. Brythonic (i) Welsh
(ii) Cornish
(iii) Breton
(jjk2)
BORROWINGS.
At a very early date a number of words must have been borrowed by Goidelic from
Latin.The Isle of Man was probably converted to Christianity by monks from Ireland
in the fifth and sixth centuries, and as a large number of terms connected with the
new faith had no equivalent in the native Goidelic speech, we find the Latin words used in
Man, Ireland and Scotland.
MANX LATIN ENGLISH
baghyl baculum crozier
corp corpus body
peccah peccatum sin
jjk3
WRITING.
The pagan Irish introduced into Man a curious method of writing called Ogham which
they employed on the edges of stones they set up to commemorate their dead.
In the Isle of Man five burial pillars bearing such inscriptions have been found,
the last to be discovered being bilingual, i.e. Latin and Goidelic.
jjk5
THE VIKINGS.
During the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries the Isle of Man fell under the rule
of the Vikings, and a considerable number of Norwegians settled in the island.
Such prolonged occupation could not fail to leave its mark on the language, and we
find that the number of terms connected with seafaring and commerce were borrowed
from Norse.
MANX NORSE ENGLISH
baatey batr boat
clett klettr rock
stiur styri helm
jjk5
"It has been pointed out that of the forty personal names in the inscribed crosses,
twenty-nine are Norwegian and twelve Gaelic. In the end the Gaelic language prevailed
and now contains not fifty words of Norwegian origin."
PROC4.3.290 Farrant
"This conclusion is that Old Norse was the predominant language of Man from c.900
to c.1300, that it continued in use after the period of Old Norse rule, and that
it died out in the fifteenth century."
"It seems reasonable to suppose that Old Norse became extinct in Man during the fifteenth
century."
"The new ruling classes were English-speaking, and some English place-names probably
date from this period; but it
is Gaelic, not English, which now emerges as the language of the Island."
JMM7.87.174 Gelling
ISOLATION
For a vital period beginning in the late fifteenth century, Man became separate from
all Celtic relatives, as the Isle's English rulers imposed stringent isolation. Few
arrivals or departures were permitted, and the old language - when deprived of the
traditional Irish and Scottish cross-fertilisation - shrank.
fd 180
ENGLISH.
The language which has affected the vocabulary of Manx most profoundly is naturally
English.
Manx English
mainstyr master
persoon person
livrey deliver
In many cases an English word has been borrowed in its northern form which differs
from the one in use in the literary language.
Manx Northern English
roddan rotta rat
shickyr siker sure
jjk6
FOREIGN ELEMENTS IN THE MANX LANGUAGE
Foreign elements in the the Manx language are derived from
1. Latin
2. Old Norse
3. Anglo-Saxon
4. Lowland Scotch
5. Middle English
6. Modern English
YLM3.262
EARLY LITERATURE.
There is no early literature in Manx, though tradition speaks of the Isle as having
been the seat of learning of the Goidels.Whatever may have been written here in early
days has either perished, or has been so mixed up with the literature of the Irish
language as to be indistinguishable from it.
The only composition now known that may possibly belong to that period is a single
fragment written down from the recitation of an old woman in the Parish of Kirk.
Michael. This fragment is a real Ossianic poem
(jjk9)
Another old ballad called Mannanan Beg Mac y Leirr gives
the history of the Island in a curious mixture of fact and fiction up to the year
1507, and it would seem from its abruptly breaking off at that date that it was composed
then, but it is impossible to say when it was first written down.
(jjk9)
EARLY RECORDS.
The only records that we have of even the existence of the Manx language before the
seventeenth century consists of names of persons and places on Runic stones, and
in the Chronicon Manniae and the Rent-roll of 1511.
jjk7
THE MANNISH BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER.
Bishop Phillips, MS. of the Book of Common Prayer.
"This is the earliest, the longest, and the most precious MS. in the Manx language.
Its translation was completed by the Bishop in 1610."
PROC4.3.278
SPOKEN LANGUAGE.
22nd October 1577
Letter of John Merick, Bishop of Sodor, on the antiquities
of the Isle of Man.
"As they have received a separate language, so also they have both laws and money,
which are signs of an independent dominion."
Oliver I 96
"..... the island is divided into two parts, the south and the north, the latter in
its ordinary language approximates more nearly to the Scotch, the former to the Irish."
Oliver I 98
In Speed's Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain, published in 1611, the language
is mentioned as follows:
"The wealthier sort, and such as hold the fairest possessions do imitate the people
of Lancashire, both in their honest carriage and good housekeeping. Howbeit the common
sort of people, both in their language and manners, come nighest unto the Irish,
although they somewhat relish and savour of the qualities of the Norwegians."
SPE38
MANUSCRIPT TRANSLATIONS.
Between 1625 and 1630 Bishop John Phillips translated the Prayer Book into Manx (but
this was not printed until 1895).
Some speak of a translation of the Bible at the same time but this is doubtful.
This seems to be the first recorded instance of the language being written, and it
is supposed that the orthography was partially settled at this time.
jjk7
Bishop Phillips, a native of North Wales, who translated the Prayer-Book into Manks,
observes, that most of the radixes were Welsh, and that, but for his native language,
he could not have perfected the work.
FEL55
1656
James Chaloner, "A Short Treatise of the Isle of Man",
"Doubtless this Island was first peopled from the Hebrides, or Highlands of Scotland,
their language being the very same with that of the Scottish-Irish; which is the
same with that of Ireland; though spoken in a different Dialect: yet as the Isle
is named Man; so are the People styled Manksmen, and their speech is Manks."
"Doctor Philips late Bishop of Man, and a Native of North
Wales, attained the knowledge thereof so exactly, that he did ordinarily preach in
it, and undertook that most laborious, most difficult, but most useful Work, of the
translation of the Bible into Manks, taking to his assistance some of the Islanders;
as namely, Sir Hugh Cavoll,* Minister of the Gospel and now Vicar of Kirk Michael, perfected
the said Work in the space of twenty and nine years, yet he observed he could not
have been able to have gone through with it, but for the helps he found in his own
Native Tongue; and no marvell, since that the people of Ireland are descended of the
Brittains."
"It is worth the observing, that many of their words are derived from the Latine and
Greek, and some are of pure English; such words, for the most part, signifie things
Forraign, and which originally were not known to them. It
also may be observed, that they put the Noun-substantive always before the Adjective;
as, Horse-white, Cow-black, etc."
"In processe of time, by their conversation with Strangers, alteration of Manners,
Foraign Merchandize, and new Inventions, came to be introduced, which necessitated
them to an enlargement of their speech: But finding it more easie to take the words
of such by whom they were introduced, than to coyn new of their own, these Mixtures of Languages
have been produced. Few speak the English tongue."
CHA9,10
In 1658, Governor Chaloner made an order that Sir Hugh Cannell should have an increase
of fourteen pounds to his income,
"As being one of the first preachers in this Isle, and the first that taught the
Manks to read the Scriptures in the Manks tongue."
PROC5.5.487
BISHOP BARROW (1663 - 71)
Bishop Barrow was shocked at the Manx people's ignorance of the Scriptures, and took
the view that the 'cure' for this was through the medium of the English tongue. He
set about the task with great energy and by the end of the seventeenth century there
had been set up an English school in every parish.
PROC5.5.487
(Without doubt he acted with the best intentions, but his policy, viewed with retrospect,
would appear to have aimed at the obliteration of the Manx language - and this, had
it come about, would have meant the obliteration of Manx Nationality.)
PROC5.5.489
DIALECTS OF MANX.
William Sacheverell, Governor of the Isle 1692-1696,
writing in 1690 says:
"The common sort speak the native language, the gentry better English than in the
north of England."
"As for the native language, according to the best information I could get, it differs
no more from Irish than Scotch from English, and both of them different idioms of
the Erse, or Highland, though Bishop Philips, a native o North Wales, who translated
the the Common Prayer into the Manks tongue, observes most of the radixes to be Welch,
and pretends he had never been able to perfect the work but by the assistance of
his native language."
"For myself I observed many of their expressions to have some semblance to the Latin,
with an abbreviation common to the Irish; but as this was but my private opinion,
so I am satisfied no positive judgment can be framed of it ,unless the language were
reduced to writing; for Bishop Philips's attempt is scarce intelligible by the clergy
themselves, who translate it off hand more to the understanding of the people."
"As for their utensils and terms of art, most of them are English with a Manx termination,
as dorus for door."
"In the Northern part of the Island they speak a deeper Manx, as they call it, than
in the South, which is nearer to the original Highland, as being less corrupted with
English."
"Their original words are few, and adapted to mere necessity, but expressive, and
often prettily softened by their abbreviations."
SAC15
The Isle of Man is usually spoken of as divided into two parts, North and South.
The North consists of the eight following parishes:
Bride, Andreas, Jurby, Ballaugh, Michael,
Lezayre, Maughold, and Lonan.
The South consists of the following nine:
Rushen, Arbory, Malew, Patrick, German, Marown, Santan, Braddan and Onchan.
The differences between North and South are not considerable.
jjk29
SPOKEN LANGUAGE.
The edition of Camden's Britannia published in 1695, has the following:
"This island seems to have been peopled from the Hebrides or Western Isles of Scotland,
their language being the very same with the Scots-Irish. The people are styled Manksmen,
and their language Manks. Many of their words are derived from the Latin and Greek, and some are pure English; such words for the most part signify things foreign,
and which originally were not know to them, or in use amongst them. In their language
they always put the substantive before the adjective, as man good, woman fair."
"Their gentry are very courteous and affable, and are more willing to discourse with
one in English than in their own language."
CAM17
"Not only the gentry but likewise such of the peasants as live in the towns, or frequent
the town markets, do both understand and speak the English language."
CAM18
"The inhabitants are very like the Irish, both in their speech and manners, and not
without something of the Norwegians in them."
CAM 4
FIRST MANX PUBLICATION. 1707
The first work published in Manx was Bishop Wilson's "Principles and Duties of Christianity",
with short and plain directions and prayers. In English and Manx. An edition had
probably appeared a few years earlier-about 1699.
WAL notes 95
"The translation was probably done by the Vicar-General Wm. Walker. He was the confidant
of Bishop Wilson, and was imprisoned with him for nine weeks in Castle Rushen."
PROC4.3.279
Bishop Thomas Wilson had his "Principles and Duties of Christianity" translated into
Manx, using a spelling different from Phillips' Welsh-based system and one which,
with modifications has continued to be used to the present day.
ajp1
EDWARD LHUYD 1707 Synonyms in Manx and other languages.
Archaeologia Britannica
(contains translations of 95 Manx words)
"This Manx material is the earliest collection of vocabulary that we have, and its
occurrence in Archaeologica Britannica is probably the first appearance of the language
in print."
18 January 1708
"Their language is not only a dialect of the Irish, but is also as intelligible to
the people of Ireland as a Scottishman is in South Britain."
R.L.T. Celtic Studies 176
wc815
COX'S MAGNA BRITANNIA 1720-31
"This island seems to have been peopled from the Hebrides, or western isles of Scotland,
and their language is a kind of Scotch-Irish, mingled with Latin, Greek and English."
COX83
"They have not the Bible in their own language: The ministers turn the English translations
into the Manks language in reading the lessons."
COX87
1731 WALDRON
On Dr. William Walker, rector of Ballaugh (died 1729)
"He, considering the profound ignorance of his countrymen, for their sakes undertook
a translation of the New Testament into the Manks tongue; of which work he had (as
I have been credibly informed) finished the four gospels, and had proceeded in it
if the publication thereof had not been prohibited by a superior power. Books written in
the Manks tongue they have none, except a catechism and instructions for youth, with
some prayers not many years since compiled."
On the People.
"Some who are willing to entertain the most favourable opinion of this people, impute
their general ignorance to their want of books; but I, who have lived and conversed
some time among them, attribute their want of books to their innate ignorance."
On the Clergy.
"Of such as are designed for Holy Orders, we find none of their writings made public,
nor would most of their sermons pass on any but a Manks congregation. If to this
they object that their language is obscure, and not well known in the world, let
them write (as they frequently preach) in English, or in Latin, a language universally known
to the learned world."
WAL16
WILSON'S HISTORY -1755
"But to return to the inhabitants, whose language is the Erse, or a dialect of that
spoken in the Highlands of Scotland, with a mixture of some words of Greek, Latin
and Welsh, and many of the English original, to express the names of things which
were not formerly known to the people of this island, whose ancient simplicity of living and
speaking appears in many instances."
"In this language, the substantive is generally put before the adjective."
WIL99
"It has been often said that the Holy Bible was, by Bishop Phillips's care, translated
into the Manks language; but, upon the best enquiry that can be made, there was no
more attempt by him than a translation of the Common Prayer, which is still extant,
but no use to the present generation."
WIL100
"The clergy are generally natives; and indeed it cannot well be otherwise, none else
being qualified to preach and administer the sacraments in the Manks language; for
the English is not understood by two-thirds at least of the Island, though there
is an English school in every parish, so hard is it to change the language of a whole country!"
WIL110
TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE.
The Gospel of St. Matthew translated by Bishop Wilson aided by the Vicars-general
Curphey and Walker during their confinement in Castle Rushen in 1722.
jjk10
The first attempt to print a part of the Scriptures was made in 1748. Yn Sushtal scruit
liorish yn Noo Mian, the Gospel according to St. Matthew.
PROC4.3.280
BISHOP HILDESLEY
Writing to the Archbishop of York in 1762,says, "They are taught to read........ the
English Bibles; which numbers can do very roundly, whilst they scarce understand
the meaning of a single sentence."
MANX DICTIONARY
Bishop Hildesley appears to have been the first to moot the question of a Manx Dictionary,
writing on the 3rd of February 1764, to the Rev. Philip Moore, as follows:- "We
have some curious thoughts here, you must know, of attempting an English and Manx
Dictionary, and thereby of recovering some of the many words that seem to have been
lost in the latter tongue."
"The Manks is a very ancient language, beyond doubt; and
could we get such a thing as an Erse Dictionary, we should be capable of improving
or, rather, restoring it."
In 1764 a paper was issued by the S.P.C.K. containing the
following statement:
"The population of the Isle is 20,000, of whom the far greater number are ignorant
of English."
jjk8
The Christian Monitor, translated into Manx by the Rev. Paul Crebbin, Vicar of Santan.
1763
jjk10
The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, in 1763,
gave out proposals for printing Bibles, Common Prayers, and other religious books,
in the vulgar tongue of the Isle of Man; and by the encouragement they met with,
they were enabled to print and disperse gratis, among the inhabitants, 2000 Church
Catechisms; 1,200 Christian Monitors; 2,000 Lewis's Exposition; 1,000 copies of the New Testament;
2,550 Common Prayers. Likewise 2,000 copies of the Old Testament and the same number
of the New, the former impression being inadequate; and they intend to proceed in this charitable work, and to supply the island with good books and tracts, or new
editions of those already published.
FEL58
The Manx Prayer Book was first printed by Oliver, in London, in the year 1765. The
work was aided by very large grants from the venerable Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge."
jjk10
It should be remembered that when the Manx scholars in 1765 translated their Common
Prayer, they had no knowledge of the translation made by Bishop Phillips a century
and a half before.
PROC4.3.279
"I began to correct, revise and transcribe the translation of the Manks Bible in June,
1766; and at that time began to collect and form the rules of this Grammar for my
assistance, having no printed or written documents to instruct me, except the four
Gospels."
J. Kelly
EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL 1767
"Another book of the Scriptures was Screeuyn Paul yn Ostyl gys ny Romanee. Contains
all the New Testament excepting the Four Gospels."
"It is the first book printed in Man."
"It was translated by Vicar-General James Wilks."
PROC4.3280
THE PUBLICATION OF THE SCRIPTURES (1769)
"On the accession of Bishop Hildesley, he found us in a condition of the most unfortunate
singularity, destitute of the scriptures in our native language. And though a design
had been formed by Bishop Wilson, for having the New Testament in the Manx tongue, and the Gospels and the Acts had been translated, yet they were not printed except
a few copies of St. Matthew's Gospel."
(Bishop Philips's translation of the Common Prayer, in 1605 was obsolete)
"It is impossible to describe the avidity with which these books are sought; with
what joy and gratitude they are received: as masters of families, and others, can
now read to the ignorant and illiterate the sacred oracles in their own language;
whereas, before, they never did, nor could hear, or know more of them than what they could learn
from crude and often extempore translations."
"The bulk of the common people understand very little, and many thousands nothing
at all, of the English language: though we have never been without the English Scriptures,
since the Reformation took place in these nations; yet our people, in general, like their neighbours, the ancient Britons, still retain their veteran, aboriginal language."
FEL57
The Manx Bible was first printed between the years 1772 and 1776 by Ware at Whitehaven.
SAC notes 143
May 1772
Rev. P. Moore to Christian Knowledge Society.
"I have, by the blessing of God, finished the revisions of the last tome of our Manx
Bible. Since the death of my learned friend and fellow-labourer, the Rev. Mr. Curphey,
the whole of this second volume has devolved on myself, with the assistance of a
very ingenious young man, my amanuensis, trained up to the work, and now ready to embark
for Whitehaven with his fair transcript of the second tome to attend to printing
and correct the press."
KELGRA
The Manx version of the Bible was completed under Bishop Mark Hildesley, who received
the last portion of it on Saturday, Nov. 28th, 1772. On the following Monday he was
seized with the palsy, and died on the 7th of the ensuing month.
GROSE'S ANTIQUITIES 1773
"Its language is peculiar to itself, and termed Manks, a mixture of Erse Greek, Latin,
Welch, and English originals."
GRO153
MANKS DICTIONARY
In a letter to the Rev. Mr. Corlett, of Lezayre, in 1774, from Mr. John Kelly, of
Douglas, he inquires for all the proper names of places, etc. and adds, "My intention
is to annex these proper names, which will prove as useful as curious, by way of
an appendix to a dictionary of the Manks language, which is almost compiled."
1775 Printing of the Bible.
1777 Printing of the Bible.
By the Society's books, for 1777, I also find 3500 copies of Bishop Wilson's Treatise
on the Sacrament, with the original in the opposite columns; and 3,000 Common Prayer-Books,
were printed.
FEL58
In 1778, Daniel Cowley, of Kirk Michael, translated an explanation of the Church Catechism,
and, in the same year, he published some of Wesley's hymns in Manx, which had been
translated by him.
MW 116
KELLY'S GRAMMAR
"He prepared a Manx Grammar in 1780, and submitted it to
the Duke of Atholl with a request that he should permit it to be dedicated to him.
The Duke did not trouble to answer
the letter or to return the manuscript.
PROC4.3.281
REV. PHILIP MOORE
The following curious observations on the Manks language and customs, is from the
pen of the late learned Rev. Philip Moore;-
"One great cause of their security in the Isle of Man arises from an ancient law,
still in force, that makes it felony to enter any man's house, without first calling
thrice, "Vel Peccagh s'thie?" - Is there any sinner within? And this furnishes another
strong presumptive proof of the originality, antiquity, and very expressive significance
for our language; that the whole human species is distinguished by the term or appellation
of peccagh, that is, sinner.
Would not this proof, taken from the very natural and moral state of man, incline
one to conclude, that the Manks language is coaeval, if not with the fall, at least
with the dispersion at Babel?"
fel 54
JOHN WESLEY
The preacher George Holder wished to publish a Manx Hymn Book.
Wesley wrote to him in November 1789:
"Dear George,- ....I exceedingly disapprove of your publishing anything in the Manx
language. On the contrary, we should do everything in our power to abolish it from
the earth, and to persuade every member of our Society to learn and talk English."
"This would be much hindered by providing them with hymns in their own tongue. Therefore,
gently and quietly, let the proposal drop."
PROC6.1.26, Mannin9.516
FELTHAM'S TOUR 1797 1798
The enlightened Manksman, if he is fond of his native language, must lament the barrenness
of its literary field, and the almost daily disuse of his mother tongue. The English
language is preferred in general. In the Church and in the courts of law, it is indispensably necessary: in general the lower class understand English, and few are
wholly ignorant of it; yet they are more ready at, and attached to, their Manks.
They have neither grammar nor dictionary, and few except the clergy know Manks well
enough to compose in it.
FELTHAM'S TOUR 53
HYMNS
In 1799, a large number of Wesley's hymns and some of Watts's translated into Manx
by George Killey, parish clerk and schoolmaster of Conchan, were published in the
fir edition of the "Book of Hymns," or Lioar dy Hymnyn.
MW 116
August 17 1802
A Manks Grammar (wrote about 30 years ago by the Rev. John Kelly, but never yet printed),
has lately been put into the hands of a Bookseller in London; and it is now in the
press, and will shortly be published. A work of so novel a nature will not fail,
we presume of exciting some degree of
curiosity in the literary world. It will be comprised in a neat quarto volume.
Manks Advertiser.
26th May 1803
John Kelly to Duke of Atholl.
"I must, in addition to my letter of last week and many former letters, once more
request of your Grace that the manuscript of my Manks Dictionary may be sent to me."
YLM3.2.57
MANKS GRAMMAR.
1804
A Practical grammar of the Ancient Gaelic, or language of the Isle of Mann, usually
called Manks", by the Rev. John Kelly.
JJK11
1805
"To cultivate a language and to improve a people are similar offices. Under a conviction
of this truth I have, with much labour, compiled a dictionary of the Gaelic language
as it is spoken in Scotland, Ireland, and Man."
"It is true that in the process of time this cultivation of the Gaelic language will
destroy the language itself, as a living language; but it will have produced the
knowledge of a better, and will descend to posterity by means of the press in a more
perfect state, than if it should be found only in the conversation of unlettered individuals.
There would be no more cause for regret, then, that it was not a living language,
than there is at present, that the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin are no longer such."
KELGRAM
KELLY'S TRIGLOT DICTIONARY, 1809
"By February, 1808, the printing of the Dictionary had proceeded as far as the letter
"L" when a fire broke out in the printing office and destroyed the whole impression."
The only fragments rescued were the proof sheets from A to Le.
PROC4.3.282
1811
"The language of Man is naturally Erse; and many of the country people do not understand
a word of English."
WOOD94
1817
Of the 21,000 adult population not more than 7,000 understood English better than
Manx; and that the remaining 14,000 were little acquainted with English.
wc768
1819 Printing of the Bible. revised by James Kewley, of Ballanard, Onchan.
jjk10
Rev. Hugh Stowell writing to Gordon Kelly in 1819
"I am much gratified to hear from Mr. Kewley that you have still an intention of publishing
the Manks Dictionary. I should regret the loss of such a monument of industry and
ability."
YLM3.2.57
ILLITERACY.
TRAIN'S HISTORY gives the population in 1831 as 40,985.
There were 3,153 offenders who could neither read nor write; and 8199 who could read
or write imperfectly.
(Children were taught English, in order that they might read the Scriptures in English;
this, although they used the Manx language for all other purposes of daily life.)
PROC5.5.489
MANX DICTIONARY.
1835 (1838) "Dictionary of the Manx Language", by Archibald Cregeen.
"Some will be disposed to deride the endeavour to restore vigour to a decaying language.
Those who reckon the extirpation of the Manks a necessary step towards that general
extension of the English, which they deem essential to the interest of the Isle of
Man, will condemn every effort which seems likely to retard its extinction.
But those will think otherwise who consider that there are thousands of the natives
of the Island that can at present receive no useful knowledge whatever, except through
the medium of the Manks language; they will judge from experience, as well as from
the nature of the case, that no work of this description will hinder the progress of
the English, but in fact have the contrary effect."
"....the following Manks Dictionary, with the corresponding words in English, may
it is hoped by the Compiler, contribute in some degree to facilitate the acquisition
of both the Manks and English languages."
ac
1853
"A language which possesses no original literature beyond a few ballads, cannot offer
much attraction to the student, and probably all the information requisite for the
purposes of occasional reference, is to be found in a small
dictionary, published a few years ago, by the late Mr. Archibald Cregeen, of Kirk
Arbory. The few remaining copies of this work are in the hands of Messrs. Kerruish
and Kneale, Douglas, of whom it may be had a trifling charge.
The Manks is now only spoken in the north-western parishes and at a few localities
along the western coast, though, with few exceptions, the natives are able to converse
in the English language. The services in the parish churches are given alternately
in the Manks and English languages, though the Manks is not taught in any of the parochial
schools; and it is very probable that in the course of the next generation it will
become utterly extinct, like many other of the early languages, before the masterly
refinement and progress of the Anglo-Saxon race."
KERRUISH'S Guide
GEORGE BORROW 1855
Much of his time was spent conversing with the native speakers of Manx who were still
numerous, even though the language was fast falling into decay. All through his stay
he avidly sought them out - fishermen, farmers, coal porters, passers-by.
With two Manx sailors 22 August
"......one said he knew only a little of it as he was born on the coast, but that
his companion, who came from the interior, knew it well; said that it was a mere
gibberish; this I denied and said that it was an ancient language, and that it was
like Irish; his companion said that I was right, and that I was the only gentleman whom he had
ever heard ask questions about the Manx language."
YLM2.4.200
In Douglas 22 August
"Returned by another way through the heart of the town; crowded and bustling; heard
Manx language occasionally spoken;"
With old fisherman 23 August
"Said that he could speak Manx; that it was less used at present than formerly; that
it was like Irish; that it was also like Gaelic."
"I said that I believed there were a great many Manx people ashamed to speak Manx,
and that in a little time it would be discontinued; he said that no Manxman need
be ashamed of speaking the language of his country, and that Manx would be spoken
as long as Man floated."
"He said that he could read Manx and often read the Bible."
At Kirk Conchan
"discourse with a man who spoke almost unintelligible English; that there was occasionally
a service in Manx; that it was not so much used as it was; that he could read it
as well as speak it;"
At the Nunnery with uncouth fellow
"Are you Manx, said I; Yes, he replied, I am Manx. And what do you call a river in
Manx? A river, he replied. Can you speak Manx? I demanded. Yes, he replied, I speak
Manx. An you call a river, a river? Yes, said he, I do. You don't call it awin, said
I. I do not, said he."
"Seeing a woman looking out of the window, I asked her to
what place the road led. To Castletown she replied. And what do you call the river
in Manx, said I. We call it yn awin, said she."
August 24
"I asked a woman, who was coming over, the name of the bridge. She said it was called
the White Bridge. And in Manx? said I. In Manx, she replied, it is called Droghad
Vane. And what is the river called in Manx, I demanded. Yn
Awin Pulrose, that is Pulrose River she replied."
August 25
"I made some enquiries of the woman of the house in which we lived about Manx books;
the woman told me that her husband had several and read Manx well. That evening she
sent me up a Manx and English Dictionary, composed by one Archibald Cregeen of Arbory."
August 27
Of Mr. Goldsmith landlord.
"....found him a most intelligent man and a good Manx scholar. I asked him about Manx
literature; he said that the Manx version of the Scripture was an admirable one,
made from the original tongues;........"
"He said that the Prayer Book version was a very fair one."
August 29
"A woman who lived in a house by the bridge at Kirk Braddan to whom we said that a
Manx sermon was going to be preached, seemed offended at the idea, and said that
Manx had been for some time discontinued there and that nobody in the neighbourhood
was sufficiently acquainted with Manx to understand a sermon. As soon, however, as I began
to praise Manx, and to say that it was a very ancient language, she changed her
tone, and said it was a shame it had been dropped; that many people professed not
to understand Manx who had been bred up as Manx, and never
spoke anything else till they were thirty. She said that the clergyman of the parish
was a good Manx scholar; that she herself could not read Manx, but that her husband
could; that he had once an old liturgy book in Manx which
had been stolen out of his pocket at Liverpool."
Borrow walked to Malew church and had a long talk about runic stones with William
Gill, the vicar. Gill a Manx grammarian and lexicographer of distinction, lamented
the decay of the Manx language.
PROC8.3.303
On 18 October Borrow made a pilgrimage to the Colby birthplace of Archibald Cregeen
(1774-1841), whose dictionary he had come to admire greatly. Borrow visited Cregeen's
son, who took him to his sister. She told him that when her father died a sackful
of his books and papers had been sold to Mr. Cain, a bookseller in Douglas, upon whose
death they were all destroyed.
PROC8.3.303
DECLINE OF MANX. 1858
"The Manx language is one of the three dialects of Celtic which still continue to
be spoken in these kingdoms. It is now not much cultivated, but is rather falling
into desuetude - the natives, besides their mother tongue, generally speaking English,
with considerable propriety and correctness of enunciation."
QUIGGINS guide
Writing in 1859 the Rev. William Gill, vicar of Malew,
On Kelly's Grammar
"The object of this reprint is not to uphold the Manx as a spoken language,- that
were a hopeless attempt, were the end ever so desirable; but to afford some assistance
to the student of this interesting branch of the ancient Celtic, and to obtain for
it, when its lifetime is gone by, a place among the records of the dead languages of Europe.
The decline of spoken Manx, within the memory of the present generation, has been
marked. The courts are indeed
still fenced in Manx, according to ancient traditionary form; and the Island laws
are still promulgated in that language on the Tynwald Mount, where the last lingering
accents of the Gaelic in Manx - once the language of Europe, the universal language
of the British Isles - will probably be heard.
In our churches the language was used by many of the present generation of clergy
three Sundays in the month. It was afterwards restricted to every other Sunday; and
is now entirely discontinued in most of the churches. In the schools throughout the
Island the Manx has ceased to be taught; and the introduction of the Government system
of education has done much to displace the language.
It is rarely now heard in conversation, except among the peasantry. It is a doomed
language, - an iceberg floating into southern latitudes.
Let it not, however, be thought that its end is immediate.
Among the peasantry it still retains a strong hold. It is the
language of their affections and their choice - the language to which they habitually
resort in their communications with each other. And no wonder; for it is the language
which they find most congenial to their habits of thought and feeling. In English
even where they have a fair knowledge of the tongue, they speak with hesitation and
under restraint. In Manx they are fluent and at ease. There is little probability,
therefore, of their soon forgetting their chengey ny mayrey (mother-tongue)."
KELGRA
1859 J. Cummings
"It hardly needs to be noticed that the Manx belongs to the Gaelic division of the
Celtic language, and approaches to the Erse and Gaelic as spoken in Ireland and the
North of Scotland so far as to enable Manxmen generally to understand a person speaking
slowly in either of those languages.
I am not aware that there is now any great distinction between the dialects of the
North and South of the island, and it appears far from improbable that in another
generation the Manx, as a spoken language, may altogether die out; I doubt whether
at the present time there are any persons on the island who know no English."
SAC notes 143
1864 J. Cummings
The Manx, as a spoken language, now seems likely to share the fate of the Cornish,
and in a few years it may perhaps be written, "Few speak the Manks Tongue."
CHA notes 73
ATTITUDES TO MANX
Writing in 1872 the Rev. J.T.Clarke says:
"It delights my heart to hear that Manxmen at last, although the day after the fair,
are waking up out of their lethargy to save the mother tongue from being altogether
buried in the grave."
"People account little of their own native tongue, at the same time they could have
both Manks and English, without the one coming in the way of the other."
"The rulers of Man are opposed to the Manks; the ministers of the Word of every faith
are against it; judges and lawyers are against it; and the youth are now brought
up more ignorant of the mother tongue than the beasts of the field used to be."
"Before I was twenty years of age I had two Manks schools
in the parish of Jurby, and 150 scholars in them. Some of them had grandchildren."
(translated from Manx)
JMM6.74.30
PRIVATE LANGUAGE CENSUS.
In 1874 Mr. Jenner addressed a letter to each of the clergy of the Isle of Man, containing
questions relating to the existing amount of spoken Manx.
STATE OF THE LANGUAGE. 1875
"The Manx Language: its grammar, literature, and present state." by Henry Jenner Esq.
"Manx, like Cornish, has simply been allowed to go to pieces, and, until quite recent
times, has never been worked upon in any way, and, like Cornish, in its decay it
has preserved the characteristics of the less cultivated of its fellows."
jjk16
Archdeacon Kewley wrote;-
"In the last decade of the 19th century, William Watterson,
farmer, moved to the house at Colby in which Archibald Cregeen had lived. Sometime
after he had settled in he told
me that among old rubbish in the house there was a quantity of papers printed in the
Manx language - which he burned."
wc2.818
1890
The Manx language is, beyond doubt, a branch of the Celtic. A popular writer in one
of the local papers thus writes concerning it - "The beautiful language of our
forefathers is fleeting away, and no effort is being made to retard or arrest its
flight. In a few short years its sonorous music will be heard no more, and its name will
pass for ever into the great big category of things that were." It may still
be heard in a few of the country districts, but only from the lips of the elders.
The young people know nothing of it.
The Penny Guide
1899 Edward Callow
"Although many of the older inhabitants can still speak Manx, there are very few
people who do not also speak and understand English."
"Unlike the Welsh people, they have had the good sense to see the advantages
of bringing up their children to use the English tongue, and only English is taught
in the schools."
Callow134
1899 ?
I read in the paper that you are getting on very well with the Manx in Douglas, and
I hope the Manx people will strive to get the mother tongue of the Isle of Man
up again. It seems to me that the people around the Howe take some pleasure in
the Manx. One of the people who came in the steamer last night was telling me that that
he had brought a book of religious songs in Manx with him and he was doing his
best to read it.
If all Manxmen took pleasure in reading Manx, they'd do well.
Edward Faragher
gb137
There was a revival of interest in Manx culture (traditional songs, etc., as well
as the language) in the 1890's
MANX LANGUAGE SOCIETY
1899 A society for the preservation of the Manx Language was formed.
jjk20
1909
"A very few more years now will perhaps see the death of the Manx language, and
the shrewd sayings, the dry wise knowledge, the wit and the soul and the heart of
it will pass like a shadow. There is a more than prophetic warning in the old proverb,
"Dyn ghlare, dyn cheer," No language, no country.
I think the Manx tongue began to decay as the subtle poetical atmosphere
commenced to fade in the nation."
HERBERT250
NEGLECT OF MANX 1910
"That a language so venerable for its antiquity and so estimable on many accounts
should be so generally neglected, is much to be lamented."
"Despised and neglected, however, as the language appears to be at present, it is
susceptible of high improvement, and justly entitled to the attention of the scholar."
"......let it not be said that the natives of Mona regard "Chengey ny mayrey Vannin
veg veen" with disgraceful apathy and heartless indifference.
As long as the Manks Bible and the Manks Liturgy remain they will testify that our
ancestors thought and felt more correctly."
ac preface J.J.Kneen
ON THE LANGUAGE 1958
"In the Island it survived invasions of Scandinavians and English and remained the
vernacular right down to this century, when it fell a victim to the "visiting industry",
killed by the English "come-over" and tripper, and today it is in effect dead, spoken fluently only by very few and nobody normally."
"The Manx language is no longer used. Attempts have been made from time to time to
revive it. But it has no literature and without literature languages must perish.
The number of men who can speak extempore Manx is few."
"It seems scarcely likely that the Manx language will ever become anything other than
a pleasant national study."
STEN145
MANX LANGUAGE CENSUS
1901 4,419
1911 2,382
1921 896
1931 531
--- ---
1951 355
1961 165
1971 284
1981 ---
1991 ?
Manx Language Census
1981 question on Manx omitted for first time
this century.
1991 question on Manx restored.
Can the person speak, read or write Manx Gaelic?
1 No - cannot speak, read or write Manx
2 Yes - speaks Manx
3 Yes - reads Manx
4 Yes - writes Manx
If the person does not speak, read or write Manx Gaelic, or
knows only a few words or phrases, tick 1.
LAST NATIVE SPEAKER
1974 Death of last native speaker Mr. Edward Maddrell of Glen Chass.
1975
"... it should, of course, be realised that under the conditions of the modern world
the possession of a separate language is, in itself, no longer regarded as the predominant
feature of a distinctive nationality."
KINVIG174
1976 Banglane Twoaie ny Sheshaght Ghailckagh
1977
MANX AND TOURISM
The Manxness of Man has been under pressure from outside influences ever since the
island was thrown open to the tourist boom of the nineteenth century. Nowhere is
this more clearly shown than in respect of the Manx language.
There is little danger at the moment of the language dying out altogether because
there are those anxious to maintain
it. The fate of small minority languages is a problem not confined to the Isle of
Man.
hsc 84
1983
Thirty years ago, it's true that there were still native speakers and that there was
a small group of men speaking
fluent Manx amongst themselves. But except for that, there wasn't much interest shown
by other people in the matter.
Certainly there were Manx services held occasionally but in truth there was only one
or two people partial to the idea of speaking Manx habitually.
Concerning the subject of Manx Gaelic in Mann at present, the state of the language
is better than it was a few years ago. There are more people now with good Manx,
and, although there are many people against the Manx language, there are enough in
favour of it.
(translated from Manx)
bs 282
SUBMISSION TO THE SELECT COMMITTEE
1985
...I am very concerned that an apparent attempt is being made by a small vociferous
and almost totally unrepresentative minority to give greater emphasis to Manx Gaelic
to an extent that it could effect (sic) detrimentally the economic well-being of
the whole Island.
...I believe that the Board of Education has a duty to see that school leavers have
sound training in English and Mathematics to enable them to communicate with people
world wide, instead of making invaluable resources available for what must be regarded
as a toy language, bearing in mind the whole population is little more than 60,000,
of which probably less than half are Manx born.
From private discussion I have had throughout the Island, I believe there is an overwhelming
majority who have little or no concern for the Manx language, but presumably they
will represent the "silent majority" and I trust that in your Committee's deliberations they will bear this strongly in mind and not be seduced by the elitist minority."
P. R. OATES
OFFICIAL RECOGNITION
In 1985, through a resolution in Tynwald, the Island's Parliament, the Manx language
was for the first time in Manx history given limited official recognition, and under
the government-sponsored Manx Heritage Foundation a Manx Gaelic Advisory Council
was set up (Coonceil ny Gaelgey) to regulate and standardise the official use of Manx.
ajp3
FIRST HEADQUARTERS
1986 Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh was able to open its first ever headquarters, named Thie
ny Gaelgey, a former school building at St. Jude's in the North of the Island.
ajp3
PREDICTED DEMISE OF MANX
1986
In their death and dying, Manx and Cornish have been reduced to the status of sad
curiosity and antiquarian linguistic study.
The funeral of the Manx language tolls a much more bitter bell - because in its case
all the apparatus existed whereby it could have remained alive. If circumstances
had combined to create the cultural will, Manx might even have become the official
language of the island's administration. The geography and the constitution already offered
the means of at least a pretended political and and cultural autonomy.
fd 179
PRESENT USE OF MANX
The language continues to be spoken, more hesitantly (and grammatically less corruptly)
than earlier this century but no less naturally, in the sense that there are today
living on the island people who, though having themselves learnt the language, regularly use it to communicate between themselves and resort to English only in case of
difficulties.
ajp2
March 1991 Joint application by the Dept. of Ed and the Museum for the appointment
of a Manx Language Officer.
1991
The Manx Language has been vilified, scorned, ignored and paid lip service to for
well over a century. It remains, however, one of the essential things "Manx".
Its disappearance would leave the Island's culture impoverished and its public servants
guilty, if not of neglect, then of lack of foresight in providing for future generations.
There are now only about 10 fluent speakers of the Manx Language. Of these, half are
elderly and the other half are less competent in the language.
In order to balance an ever broadening view of an international world, it is clearly
desirable to retain that hallmark of national identity - the heritage of language
and culture. For many, it is an emotionally-charged issue in which future trends
have to be reconciled without detriment to the past.
Manx is neither a "Modern" language nor a "Foreign" language. Neither is it a "Native"
language since the death
of the last native speaker. Nor is it best called a "Community" language.
It is perhaps most appropriate to refer to Manx as a "Heritage" language since it
bears witness to our Island's past. It reflects former societies and cultures and
carries attitudes and values which they held dear.
Minister of Education June 1991
"This appointment will help us to encourage the learning of Manx, which is a valued
aspect of our national heritage. It will be voluntary and on offer to those children
whose parents wish them to learn the language.
This is an exciting and long overdue project for which I know there will be much support
both on and off the Island.
Examiner
Museum Director
"This new post recognises the importance and scope of the work to be done and is essential
to ensure the survival and revival of the Manx language for posterity."
Examiner
JUNE 1991 Stadtler Waldorf
"A gradual but significant change in the political climate has resulted in a new initiative
designed to ensure the survival, and hopefully revival, of the Manx language.
For too long the political will necessary for the proper promotion of the language
simply did not exist. Manx was regarded as a cultural hobby, as quaint and pointless
as folk dancing, with little relevance to the modern world.
Gaelic may not be much of a tourist attraction, but without it Manx heritage has no
heart. It is the most complex, distinctive and unique feature of that heritage."
Manx Independent
OPPOSITION TO LANGUAGE
At the moment there is a very loud and very small (in my view) minority that claims
that Manx, an obscure Celtic language with no possible use outside this Island, should
be the official language. My own guess is that not a lot of people care about it,
and consider that the matter is tedious and trivial. Let's find out, and then we can
act accordingly. How many Manx speakers are there living here today? Perhaps one
percent?
If Manx is to be the official language, then what are the natural consequences that
flow from this decision? It will need to be properly taught in schools at all levels.
The bulk of the government employees will be handicapped by not having much idea
of what is going on. The banks and similar organisations will have to look for other staff,
the financial sector (who pay a large proportion of our bills) may well decided to
escape from what would be an oppressive regime and go elsewhere. Our young would
have to learn English, if they are to get anywhere in life and so on.
Many of the loudest advocates of enforced usage of Manx, are, from my experience,
first and second generation residents only.
Vox Pop
Examiner August 13 1991
There are more important priorities such as pre-school training, such as the serious
development of modern languages, for example Spanish. I find this (the teaching of
Manx) to be a somewhat costly indulgence.
D. Corlett M.H.K. B.B.C. Television
ac Dictionary of Manx Archibald Cregeen
wc Bibliography of the Literature of the Isle of Man
William Cubbon
hsc The Isle of Man H.S. Corran
ajp Outline of Manx Language and Literature
Adrian Pilgrim, Robert Thomson
jjk A Grammar of the Manx Language Kneen
fd The Celts Frank Delaney
bs Carn Brian Stowell
FEL A Tour through the Isle of Man Feltham
WAL Waldron
WIL Wilson
GRO Grose
JMM Journal of the Manx Museum
KINVIG The Isle of Man R.H.Kinvig
STEN The Isle of Man Stenning
CHA Chalenor
YLM Yn Lioar Manninagh
PROC Proceedings
SAC Sacheveral
SPE Speed