Manx language

Spoken in

• Indo-European celtic Inselkeltisch Goidelic Manx

GM

Glv

Glv

Manx ( other names Gaelg, Gailck, Manx Gaelic, own name Gaelg Vanninagh ) is extinct as a first language in the 20th century Gaelic ( Celtic island, q - Celtic, Goidelic ) language on the Isle of Man. Next relationship she has with the Irish and Scottish Gaelic. The language has distinct Scandinavian influences.

History

Even in the 18th century Manx was a living language with about 20,000 speakers - about the entire population at the time of the Isle of Man. This ended in 1765 when the island from the Kingdom of Great Britain annexed and funded by a political and social pressure displacement process in favor of English began. 1899 ( The Manx Gaelic Society) was founded to preserve the language Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh. In the 1901 census, though still showed 9.1% of the inhabitants of the island to speak Manx, but already at this time there were hardly any speaker under 50. The group of those who dominated Manx as their mother tongue, was in the 1930's only a handful of people. With great effort other remaining native speakers were sought on the island, still were in 1946 only 20 of them counted. In the 1950s, Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh began to make tape recordings to preserve the original pronunciation. At this time, still lived some very old speakers. 1974 died Ned Maddrell, the last time being the person whose native language was Manx.

Speaker

Meanwhile, back talking a few hundred people Manx as a second language ( 1991 census: 634 Manx spokesman of about 80,000 inhabitants on the island), which is due to years of effort by language activists to revive the language. For example, there are since 1992 in all schools in the Isle of Man students the opportunity to learn Manx. In the first year 1,400 students visited the appropriate courses. There are also five kindergartens ( Mooinjer Veggey ) and two elementary schools ( Bunscoill Ghaelgagh and Scoill Balley Cottier ), where Manx language of instruction. At the 2001 census, there were 1689 people, speak, read or write, with the degree of control was not charged Manx. Meanwhile, there are 28 native speakers again, the oldest of them was in 2005, 14 years old.

Manx as a written language

The oldest written records date from the 17th century. There is little literature. 1610 was the Book of Common Prayer translated into Manx by Bishop John Philipps. The so-called traditionary Ballad, a long poem on the history of the island, is present in a version of the 18th century, but is probably in the mid -16th century emerged. The majority of other written evidence of the language consists of verschriftlichten versions of traditional stories and songs.

Phonology

(*) If a syllable lengthened secondary with / ə / phoneme, so the / ə / as [ ø ː ] can be realized.