Manx language
| Manx | |
|---|---|
| Gaelg, Gailck | |
| Pronunciation | [əˈɣɪlg], [əˈɣɪlk] |
| 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 Manx speakers and 50 children in immersion education (2011) |
| 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 | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| ISO 639-6 | glvx (historical) |
| Glottolog | manx1243 |
| Linguasphere | 50-AAA-aj |
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Manx (native name Gaelg or Gailck, pronounced [ɡilg] or [ɡilk]), also known as Manx Gaelic, and also historically spelled Manks, 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 and Manx is considered an important part of the island's culture and heritage. Although the last surviving native speaker of the language, Ned Maddrell, died in 1974, the language has never fallen completely out of use. Manx has been the subject of language revival efforts, and in recent years Manx has become more visible on the island, with increased signage, radio broadcasts and a bilingual primary school. The revival of Manx has been made easier because the language was well recorded; for example, the Bible has been translated into Manx, and audio recordings were made of native speakers.
In Manx, the language is called Gaelg or Gailck, a word which shares the same etymology as the word "Gaelic", borrowed from northern Irish dialects. 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 two other forms of Gaelic, the phrases Gaelg/Gailck Vannin (Gaelic of Mann) and Gaelg/Gailck Vanninnagh (Manx Gaelic) also are used. In addition, the nickname "Çhengey ny Mayrey" (the mother tongue/tongue of the mother) is occasionally used.
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