A GRAMMAR

OF THE

MANX LANGUAGE

By

J. J. KNEEN, M.A.

Author of ‘Place-names of the Isle of Man’

Published under the auspices of Tynwald by the Manx Museum andnbsp;Ancient Monuments Trustees

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD

1931

Instituut voor

Keltische taal —en letterkunde

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS AMEN HOUSE, E.C. 4nbsp;LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOWnbsp;LEIPZIG NEW YORK TORONTOnbsp;MELBOURNE CAPETOWN BOMBAYnbsp;CALCUTTA MADRAS SHANGHAI

HUMPHREY MILFORD

PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY

ln:amp;tituut voor

Keltische taal —en letterkuoci* der Rijksuniversiteit te Uireciil

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN

I

PREFACE

The greater part of this grammar was written during the winters of 1909-10, and as there seemed little hope of its ever being published the MS. was deposited in the Manx Museum in 1927. In 1930nbsp;T5mwald graciously granted £250 towards its publication and alsonbsp;that of a projected work on Manx personal names. The grammar hasnbsp;now been thoroughly revised and appendixes and index added.

Students of Manx have been seriously handicapped for many years by the need of a grammar, and it is hoped that the present work willnbsp;be not only of assistance to Manx people desirious of having anbsp;knowledge of their ancient mother-tongue, but also a source of interestnbsp;to our Celtic brethren across the seas.

Manx differs greatly from Irish and Scottish Gaelic, chiefly owing to Enghsh influence, and it was difficult to find a model on which tonbsp;base the grammar, especially as no complete grammar of the languagenbsp;had hitherto been written. Several Irish grammars lent by Mr.nbsp;Goodwin proved extremely helpful. Manx has gone its own waynbsp;during the centuries, but its grammar still resembles that of itsnbsp;parent language, Irish, although there are many deviations.

Pronunciation can, of course, only be learnt from the hps of Manx speakers, and these are, alas! becoming rarer every year. For thosenbsp;who have no access to a Manx speaker, the tables of vowel andnbsp;consonant sounds, which are based on phonetic principles, shouldnbsp;be a valuable guide to the student.

Although Manx spelling is clumsy and in many cases does not indicate the true pronunciation, it has been thought advisable tonbsp;follow the orthography of the Manx Bible as closely as possible, thenbsp;latter being the chief piece of literature written in the Manx language.nbsp;A few clumsy and awkward spellings have been simplified, and thesenbsp;alterations, it is hoped, wiU prove more of a help than a hindrancenbsp;to students.

Qh has been adopted throughout the work to indicate that sound which is represented by a slender t in Irish and Scottish Gaelic. Thisnbsp;will prevent the student from confusing this dental with the gutturalnbsp;spirant ch.

In the matter of verbal conjugation the Irish usage has been departed from, as the Manx verbs seem naturally to fall into twonbsp;divisions, viz. (i) those beginning with consonants, and (2) thosenbsp;beginning with vowels.

I have now to acknowledge obligations to many friends who have assisted and advised me in various ways. Some of these havenbsp;passed away since the grammar was committed to writing, notably

Vi nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;PREFACE

Mr. Edward Goodwin of Peel, author of Lessoonyn ayns Qhengey ny mayrey Elian Vannin] Professor Kuno Meyer of Liverpool University ; and Professor E. C. Quiggin of Cambridge University. Thenbsp;latter kindly revised the historical introduction.

Among those who have contributed valuable hints and suggestions the following must be mentioned:—The Ven. the Archdeacon of Man,nbsp;who kindly read the proofs; Professor Carl J. S. Marstrander of Oslonbsp;University, who revised the historical introduction; Mr. Williamnbsp;Cubbon, who, besides giving valuable technical advice, took overnbsp;the whole of the business arrangements; and Tynwald, who made thenbsp;publication of the grammar possible. To all these friends I am deeplynbsp;indebted for their unwearied energy and kindness.

I should also like to express appreciation to the printers of the grammar for the great care and assiduity which they have exercisednbsp;in its production.

J. J. KNEEN.

DOUGLAS, zst August 1931.

CONTENTS

PREFACE .....

ABBREVIATIONS .

HISTORICAL introduction ORTHOGRAPHYnbsp;The Lettersnbsp;The Spoken Languagenbsp;Table of Vowel Soundsnbsp;Table of Diphthongs .

Table of Consonant Sounds Vowels and Digraphs .

Diphthongs, amp;c.

Nasal Vowels Consonants

Consonants, General Remarks on the Accent

Table of Mutations Aspiration, Rules fornbsp;Echpsis, Rules fornbsp;The Insertion of n, g, d, t, and hnbsp;Attenuation and Broadeningnbsp;Syncope

ACCIDENCE The Nounnbsp;Kindnbsp;Gender .

Number.

Plurals, Examples of Case

Rules for the formation of The Genitive Pluralnbsp;The Declensionsnbsp;1st Declensionnbsp;2nd Declensionnbsp;3rd Declensionnbsp;4th Declensionnbsp;5th Declension

The Adjective Kind

Declension Gender .

Number.

Degrees of Comparison Irregular Comparisonsnbsp;The Numerals.

The Emphatic Particles

dü nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;CONTENTS

The Pronoun .

Personal Pronouns Reflexive Pronounsnbsp;Prepositionalnbsp;Relativenbsp;Demonstrativenbsp;Partitivenbsp;Interrogativenbsp;Reciprocal

The Verb.

Conjugations .

Moods and Tenses ist Conjugationnbsp;2nd Conjugationnbsp;Verbal Nouns, Rules for the Formation ofnbsp;Verb ve, ‘to be’. Conjugation ofnbsp;Verb coayl, ‘to lose’. Conjugation ofnbsp;Verb she, ‘it is’

Irregular Verbs cur, coyrt .nbsp;gra .

feddyn, geddyn jannoonbsp;fakin .nbsp;clashtynnbsp;§heet .nbsp;goll .nbsp;goaiU .

Defective Verbs fod

jarg . asnbsp;er

strooys, stroo-hene hioll, hiolleenbsp;dobbyrnbsp;Ihis

Impersonal Verbs

The Adverb

Adverb Classification Emphatic Adverbsnbsp;Up and down .

Over, in and out North, south, east, westnbsp;Days of the weeknbsp;Compound Adverbsnbsp;Prepositions, List ofnbsp;Conjunctions,

Interjections, ,,

CONTENTS

Word Building .

Prefixes, Prepositional Prefixes, Substantivenbsp;Prefixes, Adjectival.

Suffixes .

Diminutives .

Adjectives, Formation of Verbs derived from Nouns

SYNTAX ....

The Noun

Genitive Case, Examples of Genitive Case, Pluralnbsp;Genitive Case after Prepositionsnbsp;Dative, after Prepositionsnbsp;Time

The Adjective

Used Attributively .

Agreement of . nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.

Used Predicatively .

Examples of Comparisons Numeral Adjectivesnbsp;Possessive Adjectives

The Pronoun .

Personal Relativenbsp;Genitive Casenbsp;Examples with

The Verb.

Place of .

Subjunctive Mood, Use of Relative Eorm

Verbal Noun and its Functions The Verb she .

Enghsh Secondary Tenses, How to translate Prepositions after Verbsnbsp;Moods and Tenses, Examples of

The Adverb Place of .

Degrees of Comparison Adverbs of Placenbsp;The Negative Adverb—Notnbsp;Up and down .

Over ....

Head foremost However

The ....

Examples with Adverbs .

CONTENTS

The Preposition Examples with Nounsnbsp;Pronouns ....

Translation of the Preposition FOR Translation of the Preposition OFnbsp;Classification of the Uses of the Prepositionnbsp;ecnbsp;ernbsp;ass

hug, chum jehnbsp;da

fo, fy . gyn, dyn

gy. dy

gy, gys, dy, dys ayn, aynsnbsp;eddyr.nbsp;lesh .nbsp;rish, rynbsp;myr .nbsp;veih, voishnbsp;ro, roishnbsp;harrishnbsp;trooidnbsp;my, myshnbsp;my, myr, mdrishnbsp;liorishnbsp;derrey

Prepositional Phrases The Conjunctionnbsp;Co-Ordinativenbsp;Subordinativenbsp;Sentencesnbsp;Parsingnbsp;Idiomsnbsp;ta . . . aymnbsp;ta . . . Ihiamnbsp;I know .

I hke, I prefer, I wish I must .

I die I owenbsp;I meet .

Physical Sensations I cannot helpnbsp;I am alonenbsp;I ask

I do not care I ought to, I should

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

I. Prehistoric Man.

The earliest inhabitants of Britain, as far as is at present known, were the people of the river-gravels, and the flint-fashioners andnbsp;cave-dwellers of the Old Stone Age. Palaeohthic man has leftnbsp;behind many traces in the south of England, but there is as yetnbsp;no evidence that he ever extended as far north as the Isle of Man.nbsp;His successors belonged to that great invading race which, comingnbsp;from the south of Europe, occupied even the remotest comers of thenbsp;British Isles in the later Stone Age, leaving traces of their settlementsnbsp;from Kent to Connemara, from Orkney to the Isles of Scilly. Hutnbsp;circles scattered here and there, flint-flakes and arrow-heads foundnbsp;abundantly in certain localities as well as occasional barrows, testifynbsp;to the presence of these Neolithic folk in Man. They were huntersnbsp;and fishermen, having no knowledge of metal but fashioning theirnbsp;tools and weapons of wood and stone. There is no evidence that theynbsp;knew how to spin or weave or to grow grain for food. They doubtlessnbsp;possessed some form of speech but we have no means of ascertainingnbsp;what it was.

2. The Coming of the Celt.

It is supposed by many authorities that the use of bronze was introduced into the British Islands about 1800 b.c. Whether thisnbsp;advance was due to a fresh invasion from the Continent or to peaceful trading is not known. Certain it is, however, from an investigation of the burial-mounds that a series of invasions did take placenbsp;before the arrival of the Celts. From about 700 b.c. onwards we findnbsp;the Celts advancing from the south of Germany and overrunning thenbsp;whole of the west of Europe. In course of time they reached ournbsp;islands, crossing in all probability from the mouth of the Rhine andnbsp;the north of Gaul. There is reason to believe that this Celtic invasionnbsp;took place in successive waves extending over several centuries.nbsp;The latest comers introduced the knowledge of how to work iron.

At the beginning of the Christian era the whole of the British Islands were doubtless occupied by Celtic-speaking peoples, thoughnbsp;the earlier inhabitants had by no means been exterminated. Evennbsp;at this early period Irish differed very greatly from the languagesnbsp;of Gaul and Britain. This old Celtic tongue belonged to the greatnbsp;Indo-European family of languages and showed affinity to thenbsp;cognate dialects of Italy, chief amongst which was Latin. But Celticnbsp;in early times had gone its own way in one or two particulars, ofnbsp;which we may mention two, (i) all the Celtic dialects show the loss

B

2 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

of an original p, e.g. Latin pater, Old Irish athir, Manx ayr; Latin piscis, Irish iasc, Manx eeast; (ii) in primitive Celtic ë became ï,nbsp;e.g. Latin rex, Irish rï, Manx ree.

3. Goidelic and Brythonic. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;I

Now the original Indo-European tongue possessed a pecuUar q sound which was treated differently by the various groups. In thenbsp;Italic group, for instance, Latin retained the q, whilst Oscan andnbsp;Umbrian changed it to p. A similar dualism is found in Celtic. Mostnbsp;of the Celts appear to have substituted the labial for the guttural,nbsp;and it seems likely that at the beginning of our era p was pronounced nearly everywhere in Gaul and Great Britain. The gutturalnbsp;was retained in Ireland, where later on, possibly in the fifth century,nbsp;it became a simple k writteii. c. We may therefore speak of p-Celtsnbsp;and q-Celts, the former being also known, as far as our islands arenbsp;concerned, as Brythons, the latter as Goidels. Owing to greatnbsp;national movements in the first few centuries of our era the areanbsp;over which a Brythonic language was spoken became considerablynbsp;restricted. Goidelic speech was introduced by invaders from Irelandnbsp;into the Isle of Man and the Highlands of Scotland, where the Celticnbsp;that is still spoken is Goidelic and not Brythonic. At the same timenbsp;the ‘Welsh’ in England were driven by the Teutonic invaders intonbsp;Wales and Devon and Cornwall, whilst many thousands fled tonbsp;Brittany in the fifth and sixth centuries a.d. Thus the Celticnbsp;languages which survived in modem times may be classified asnbsp;follows:

Irish.

Manx.

Scottish Gaehc.

Welsh.

Cornish.

Breton.

As examples to illustrate the difference between the two divisions in the treatment of Indo-European q the following forms may benbsp;cited:

Latin quattuor, Oscan petora, Gaulish/irfor-, Old Irish cethir. Modem Irish ceithre, Manx kiare, Scottish Gaelic ceithear, Welsh pedwar,nbsp;Cornish peswar, Breton pewar, Manx coirrey cauldron, Irish coire,nbsp;Welsh pair.

We learn from Tacitus that the harbours of Ireland were well known to merchants from Gaul, and at a very early date a number ofnbsp;words must have been borrowed by Goidelic from Latin. The mostnbsp;important of such terms learnt from early traders were probably

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;3

¦words like Old Irish fin, wine, Manx feeyn from Latin vinum, and airh, gold, Irish dr from Latin aurum.

4. Christianity introduced into Man.

The Isle of Man was probably converted to Christianity by monks from Irelaa^ in the fifth and sixth centuries, and as a large nuinBernbsp;of terms connected with the new faith had no equivalent in thenbsp;native Goidelic speech, we find the Latin words used in Man, Ireland,nbsp;and Scotland. As the study of these borrowings is of great importance,nbsp;some of the commoner loan-words may be here enumerated:

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

Irish nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Latin

__ sagart, O. Ir. sacart sacerdos spiorad, 0. Ir. spirut spiritusnbsp;trionóid, O. Ir. trin- trinitat-emnbsp;dóit

At the same time or a little later a number of other words were introduced:

Very important are the names of the days of the week:

Jelune representing Irish Dia Luain, Latin dies Lunae.

Jemayrt, Irish Dia Mairt, Latin dies Martis.

Jecrean, Irish Dia Céadaoin, the day of the first aoine or fast Latin jejunium).

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;5

Jerdein, Irish Di’ ardaoin, the day between two fasts.

Jeheiney, Irish Dia h-aoine, the day of fast.

Jesarn, Irish Dia Sathairn, Latin dies Satwrni.

Jedoonee, Irish Dia domhnaigh, Lat. dies dominica, the Lord’s day.

S- Early Celtic monuments.

The pagan Irish introduced into Man a curious method of writing called Ogham which they employed on the edges of the stones theynbsp;set up to commemorate their dead. The alphabet was probablynbsp;developed in the south and south-west of Ireland, and is also foundnbsp;in Wales, Devon, and Man. The alphabet is as follows;

In the Isle of Man five burial pillars bearing such inscriptions * have been found, the last to be discovered being bilingual, i.e. Latin andnbsp;Goidelic. Only one such bilingual is known from Ireland, but severalnbsp;have been discovered in Wales. The one in question runs:

AMMECAT Finvs ROCAT HIC lACIT.

A. the son of R. lies here.

Observe that on the earliest Ogham inscriptions q had not yet become c.

6. Scandinavian rule.

During the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries the Isle of Man fell under _^e_rule of the Vikings, and a considerable number ofnbsp;Norwegians settled in the isTand. Numerous traces of these Scandinavians are to be found in our proper names—both surnames andnbsp;names of places—as weU as on the stone monuments bearing Old Norsenbsp;inscriptions in Runic characters. As these inscriptions are not in anbsp;Celtic tongue, they do not come within our province. When oncenbsp;the sea-rovers had firmly established themselves, they turned theirnbsp;attention to commerce, and two of our towns were probably foundednbsp;by them. Such prolonged occupation could not fail to leave its marknbsp;on the language, and we find that a number of terms connected withnbsp;seafaring and commerce were borrowed from Norse. In some casesnbsp;it is not easy to determine whether a word was taken over fromnbsp;Scandinavian^ or from Early English. As instances the following maynbsp;be mentioned;

' See Kermode, Manx Crosses, pp. 96 fi.

* The following words from this source may also be noted;

Bowe, a sunken rock; O. Norse bo¥i, a breaker, denoting hidden rocks. Burroo, a small round (fortified) hill; O. Norse borg, a hill.

6 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

baatey, boat, 0. Norse batr.

burling, hark, vessel. Mid. Ir. beirling, Norse byrSingr. garey, garden, Ir. gardha, O. Norse garSr.nbsp;giau, creek, cove. Sc. G. geodh, geodha, Norse gja.nbsp;margey, market, Ir. margadh, Norse markaSr, ultimately fromnbsp;Latin mercatum.

ping, penny, O. Norse penningr, O. Eng. penninc. sker, rock. Sc. G. sgeir, Norse sker.nbsp;stiur, helm, Ir. stiuir, O. Norse styri.

7. English influence.

But the language which has affected the vocabulary of Manx most profoundly is naturally English. And the words which Manx borrowed from English would repay a detailed study, as they enterednbsp;the language at different periods and from various sources. Thusnbsp;in words like ashoon, nation; livrey, to deliver; pardoon, pardon;nbsp;resoon, reason; persoon, person; sharmane, sermon, the Middlenbsp;English stress on the final syllable has been faithfully preserved. Innbsp;many cases an English word has been borrowed in its northern form,nbsp;which differs from the one in use in the literary language, e.g. coau,nbsp;chaff. North. Eng. caff, Scottish cauved The following list mightnbsp;be greatly extended,nbsp;drow, grains, Eng. draff,nbsp;foayr, favour.

goshtiu, sponsor. Mid. Ir. goistibe, Eng. godsib, gossip.

mainstyr, master, Ir. maighistir.

paitchey, child, Ir. paiste, Eng. page.

pooar, power. Mid. Eng. poër, pouer.

roddan, rat. North. Eng. ratton, rottan.

sambyl, sample.

saue, save.

scadoo, shadow.

Clegg, a horse-fly; O. Norse kleggi.

Clett, a rock; O. Norse klettr.

Gill, a ravine; O. Norse gil.

Naboo, a neighbour; O. Norse ndbu^, dwelling near to; ndbiii, a neighbour. Skimmee, a crew; O. Norse skip ma¥r, a shipmate, one of the crew.

Skort, a chasm; O. Norse skorta.

Stack, a detached rock; O. Norse stakkr.

* The following may also be noted; apricoc, apricot-. Dial. Eng. abrecock.

Avril, April.

bardoon, burden (of song); Mid. Eng. burdoon. berreman, a horse’s collar; Lancs, barriham.nbsp;coggyl, cockle; Mid. Eng. coccel.nbsp;crooin, crown; Mid. Eng. crune.nbsp;daunsin, dance; Mid. Eng. dansen.

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;7

shickyr, sure, Mid. Eng. and North. Eng. siker, sikker.

treishteil, trust, Mid. Eng. trist (?).

8. History of the Language.

The only records that we have of even the existence of the Manx Ian guage before the seventeenth century consist of names of persons andnbsp;placfö on Runic ston^^, and in the Chronicon Manniae and the Rent-roll of 1511. The inscribed stones, of which there are a good numbernbsp;Hi the Isle, are always in Norse, while the other records are in Latin.

In the year 1604 John Phillips,' rector of Hawarden, in Flintshire, I'vas consecrated bisEcip of Mann. He translated the Prayer Booknbsp;into Manx, which was not printed until 1895 by the now defunctnbsp;Manx Society. From the fact that it contains a prayer for Charles Inbsp;and his Queen but not for their son, the date must be placed betweennbsp;1^625 and 1630. This translation is mentioned by Challoner, Sache-verell. Bishop Wilson, and others, some of whom speak of a tran^-tion of the Bible made at the same time, but the existence of this isnbsp;doubtful. This seems to be the Erst recorded instance of the language being written, and it is supposed that the orthography wasnbsp;partially settled at this time.

In Speed’s Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine, rst ed., published in 1611, the language is mentioned as follows: ‘The wealthier sort,nbsp;und such as hold the fairest possessions do imitate the people ofnbsp;Lancashire,... howbeit the commoner sort of people, both in languagenbsp;and manners, come nighest unto the Irish.’

James Challoner, in a work entitled A Short Treatise of the Isle of Mann, forming part of his Vale Royal of England or the Countynbsp;Ealatine of Chester, published in 1656, after mention being made ofnbsp;Bishop Phillips and his translation, has the following short statement : ‘ Few speak the English tongue.’

The edition of Camden’s Britannia published in 1695, has among those additions that relate to the Isle of Mann, the following:

'Their gentry are very courteous and aEable, and are more willing to discourse with one in English than in their own language. Notnbsp;only the gentry, but likewise such of the peasants as live in the towns,nbsp;or frequent the town markets, do both understand and speak thenbsp;English language.’

William Sacheverell, sometime governor of the Isle, writing in 1690 says: 'In the Northern part of the Island they speak a deepernbsp;Manx, as they call it, than in the South.’

The next statement of importance is that of the great bishop of

' The Rev. John Kewley, M.A., archdeacon of Man, says that John Phillips, rector of Hawarden, was at the same time rector of Kirk Andreas and archdeacon of Man from 1587.

8 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

the Isle, Thomas Wilson. In his history, written early in the eighteenth century, he mentions Phillips’s Prayer Book, and saysnbsp;that it would have been of no use in his (Bishop Wilson’s) time. Henbsp;then says (in a chapter on the clergy);

‘The clergy are generally natives, and, indeed, it cannot weU be otherwise, none else being qualified to preach and administer thenbsp;sacraments in the Manx Language; for English is not understood bynbsp;two-thirds at least of the Island, though there is an English school innbsp;every parish, so hard is it to change the language of a whole country.’

At this time, though a translation of the Prayer Book had been made, there were no books printed in Manx, and the natives did notnbsp;f^ïadrhëiFbwn language. ¦ Bishop Wilson attempted to reform aÜ this,nbsp;and un^er his Erection certain réÏTgious books were published. Innbsp;the churches Manx services were the rule, an English service beingnbsp;in some parishes never heard, büE since there was no Manx Biblenbsp;and Prayer Book, the clergy were in the habit of translating extempore from an English copy. This gave rise to numberless varietiesnbsp;of renderings, and many stories are told of absurd mistakes madenbsp;by clergy who were insufficiently learned in one or other of the languages. For instance, it is said that one man, in the Gospel for Palmnbsp;Sunday, carefully translated the mocking speech of the Romannbsp;soldiers, Sniaghtey claghagh, Ree ny Hewnyn (Hail, King of the Jews),nbsp;inadvertently making use of the substantive ‘hail’ in place of thenbsp;inter] ection. And again in the Advent Sunday Gospel: Lheiy sharraghnbsp;assyl, for Lhiy sharragh assyl (i.e. ‘a calf the foal of an ass’, insteadnbsp;of a colt).

A young English clergyman, anxious to give his flock a sermon in their own language, chose the parable of the Prodigal Son as hisnbsp;theme, and much amused his hearers by referring to yn lheiy haihtnbsp;(the drowned calf), instead oiyn lheiy beiyht (the fatted calf).

9. Translation of the Bible into Manx.

In 1755, after nearly sixty years of work in the diocese. Bishop Wilson died, and Mark Hildesley succeeded him. In the course ofnbsp;negotiations of this Bishop with the S.P.C.K. for a pubhcation ofnbsp;a Manx translation of the Bible, a paper was issued in 1764 by thenbsp;Society, containing the following statement: ‘ The population of thenbsp;Isle is 20,000, of whom the far greater number are ignorant ofnbsp;English.’

In Bishop Wilson’s time 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. Wilsonnbsp;set to work to remedy this defect, and, with the assistance of some ofnbsp;his clergy, he managed to get some of the Bible translated, and the

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;9

Gospel of St. Matthew printed. Bishop Hildesley, his successor, with the help of the whole body of the Manx clergy, completed the work, ,nbsp;and in; 1775 the whole Bible was printed. On many poThfs'irdiffefs V,nbsp;trom the English, ffiei following being the most remarkable: J oshua ii,nbsp;Rahab is called hen-oast (a hostess or inn-keeper); Judges xv, Samson’s foxes with ribbons tied to their tails are explained (accordingnbsp;to a theory that foxes’ tails was a bit of Hebrew slang) to be sheavesnbsp;of com; I Kings xvii, in the account of Elijah and the ravens, thenbsp;Word Duty (ravens) is very rationalistically translated cummalteenbsp;Oreb (the inhabitants of Oreb). Job ii. 9. In the English versionnbsp;Job’s wife is made to say, ‘ Curse God and die. ’ In the Manx versionnbsp;it is Guee gys Jee dy ghoaill ersooyl dty vioys (Pray to God to takenbsp;away thy life).

^0- Literature.

There is no early literature in existence in Manx, though tradition speaks of the Isle as having been the great seat of learning of thenbsp;Goidels. Whatever may have been written here in early days hasnbsp;oither perished, or has been so mixed up with the literature of thenbsp;Irish language as to be indistinguishable from it. The only composition now known that may possibly belong to that shadowy period isnbsp;9- single fragment written down in the year 1789, hy Peter Johnnbsp;Reywood, from the recitation of an old woman in the parish ofnbsp;Kk. Michael, and now forming part of a collection relating to Celticnbsp;^natters by Professor Thorkelin of Copenhagen, preserved in thenbsp;Rritish Museum (Add. MS. 11215). This fragment is a real Ossianicnbsp;poem. It relates how Orry (Gorree), the enemy of Finn Mac Cooilnbsp;(Fionn mac Cumhail), was a prisoner in Finn’s house, and how thenbsp;Women of the household, on a daj^ when Finn had gone a-hunting,nbsp;tormented Orry by tying his hair to the ground as he lay asleep, andnbsp;how he in revenge set fire to the house and burnt them all, and wasnbsp;promptly punished by Finn by being tom in pieces by wild horses.

In a letter that accompanies the poem the transcriber says that many more Ossianic poems were known among the Manx people, but nonbsp;nther seems to have been preserved.

Another old ballad caUed^MannananJBeg^Mac^^Leirr gives the history of the Island in a curious mixture oflact aiTd! fiction up tonbsp;the year 1507, and it would seem from its abruptly breaking off atnbsp;that date that it was composed then, but it is impossible to say whennbsp;it was first written down. The two ballads mentioned above, withnbsp;nil others worthy of any note, may be found in Manx Ballads andnbsp;Music, by A. W. Moore, M.A.

The e^liest book known to have been written in Manx is a trmsla-tion of the Book of Common Prayer.

....... nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;g-

10 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

It was written by or for John Phillips, bishop of Sodor and Man, between 1625 and 1630, but the manuscript remained unprintednbsp;until 1895, when it was published by the Manx Society.

II. List of Publications in the Manx Language.

1699. ‘ The Principles and Duties of Christianity ’, by Thomas Wilson, ‘Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man’. In English and Manx, 8vo.nbsp;Manx title, Coyrle Sodjeh.

1707. Second edition, 8vo, and the Church Catechism.

1740. A corrected and improved edition re-named, ‘The Knowledge and Practice of Christianity’, i2mo.

1748. ‘ Yn Sushtal scruit liorish yn Noo Mian, prentyt ayns Lunnyng liorish Ean Oliver.’ The Gospel of St. Matthew translated bynbsp;Bishop Wilson aided by the Vicars-general Curghey and Walkernbsp;during their confinement in Castle Rushen in 1722,8vo, pp. 106.nbsp;1761. Another edition of ‘The Principles and Duties’. 8vo. J.nbsp;Sadler, Liverpool.

1763. ‘The Four Gospels and Acts.’ 8vo. ist edition. Only a few copies of these were done and supplied to the clergy with blanknbsp;pages for remarks and suggestions.

‘Yn Fer-crauee Creestee’ (The Christian Monitor), translated into Manx by the Rev. Paul Crebbin, Vicar of Santon.

1765. ‘The Book of Common Prayer, translated into Manks for the use of the Diocese of Mann.’ (S.P.C.K.) 8vo. J. and W. Oliver,nbsp;London.

1768. Second edition, i2mo, printed by W. Shepherd, Ramsey. Further editions followed in 1777,1808,1840, and 1842. Somenbsp;of the copies printed in 1842 were in quarto for the use ofnbsp;the clergy.

1767. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;‘The Epistles and Revelation’ (Manx), printed by W. Shepherd,nbsp;Whitehaven.

1768. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;‘The Christian Monitor’ (Manx), 2nd edition.

‘ Lewis’s Catechism, and Prayers for the Fishery.’ Ramsey. 1772. ‘Yn Vible Casherick’, printed by Ware amp; Son, Whitehaven.nbsp;In 3 vols. Further editions in 1775, 1777, and 1819. The lastnbsp;edition (1819) was revised by James Kewley, of Ballanard,nbsp;Onchan.

1775. ‘Yn Conaant Noa’ published separately, prentit liorish Juan Ware as e Vac, Whitehaven. Further edition 1810. i2mo.nbsp;1777. ‘Shibhery Chiarn’ (a short and plain instruction for the betternbsp;understanding of the Lord’s Supper), translated into Manxnbsp;from Bishop Wilson’s English edition of 1734, by the Rev.nbsp;Philip Moore and the Rev. John Kelly (English and Manx).nbsp;8vo. Whitehaven.

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ii

1778. ‘ Aght giare dy heet gys tushtey jeh’n Chredjue Chreestee, ny toiggal jeh Catechism ny Killagh’, by Daniel Cowley. ‘Lioarnbsp;dy Hymnyn ’, by Daniel Cowley.

^783- ‘ Sharmaneyn liorish Thomase Wilson, D.D., Qhiarn Aspick Sodor as Mannin ’, translated by J. Corlett and printed at thenbsp;expense of the Rev. Dr. Wilson, son of the Bishop, 22 sermons.nbsp;3 vols. 8vo. R. CrutweU, Bath.

^794- ‘ Pargys Caillit.’ Paraphrase of portions of Milton’s ‘ Paradise Lost’, done by the Rev. Thomas Christian, Vicar of Marown.nbsp;C. Briscoe, Douglas. Reprint by the Manx Society, 1872.

1795. 'Lioar dy Hymnyn.’ Translation of Wesley’s Hymns, printed by C. Briscoe, Douglas.

1799. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;‘New and Enlarged Edition of Wesley’s Hymns’, Lioar dynbsp;Hymnyn as Arraneyn Spyrrydoil’.

1800. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;‘ Ruleyn yn Robbie enmyssit ny Methodistyn er ny hoiaghey seosenbsp;liorish John Wesley, M.A.’ J. Nuttall, Liverpool.

1804. ‘A Practical Grammar of the Antient Gaelic, or language of the Isle of Mann, usually called Manks ’, by the Rev. John Kelly.nbsp;4to. Pp. 75. Nichols amp; Son, London. Reprint by the Manxnbsp;Society, 1869, and again by Bernard Quaritch, London, 1870.nbsp;1815. ‘Crossman’s Catechism’, done into Manx by the Rev. J.nbsp;Clague, Vicar of Rushen. Beatson amp; Copeland, Douglas.

1818. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;‘ Yn Chied Lioar Gailckagh’ by Rev. Hugh Stowell, Rector ofnbsp;Ballaugh. London.

A portion of this reprinted in 1898. Broadbent amp; Co., Douglas.

1819. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;‘ Cooney dy gheddyn aarloo son baase’,prentit liorish G. Jeffersonnbsp;Doolish.

1820. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;‘Mona Melodies’, collected by J. Borrow. Folio. Pp. 26.nbsp;Price 8s. Mitchells, New Bond St., London.

1822. ‘Banglaneyny Chredjue Creestee’ (the thirty-nine articles of the Christian Belief), printed for the Prayer Book and Homilynbsp;Society, EUerton amp; Henderson, London.

1826. 'Hymnyn ny Arraneyn Moyllee son Paitghyn, liorish I. Watts’, translated by George Killey, Clerk of Kk. Conchan. 32mo.nbsp;White, London. Reprint by Palmer, Peel, about 1895.nbsp;Between 1819 and 1845, numerous religious tracts werenbsp;published, chiefly at Bristol:

N.D. ‘ Coyrle Saggyrt da Cummalieeyn sheerey echey, mychione padjer foshlit.’ Chillcott, Bristol.

N.D. ‘ Coontey jeh dunnallys as baase maynrey Jamys Covey! Tilling, Liverpool.

N.D. ‘Joseph Boght! Tilling, Liverpool.

N.D. ‘ Ayrnyn goit voish y Scriptyr ta soilshaghey ynsagh as curmyn yn Chredjue Chreestee. Tilling, Chelsea, London.

12 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

N.D. ‘Taggloo crauee eddyr bochil anmey as fer jeh e hioltane, liorish Thos. Vivien, Saggyrt jeh Camwood, Devon.’ R.T.S.

N.D. ‘Carrey yn Pheccagh’, translated into Manx by the Rev. T. Howard, Rector of Ballaugh, at the author’s expense. i6mo.nbsp;Hall amp; Son, Maidstone.

N.D. Padjer y Loader.’ Douglas.

1830. ‘Lioar dyHymnyn’, collection of Wesley’s, Watts’s and other hymns. Quiggin, Douglas. 2nd edition, 1846.

1835. (Really 1838.) ‘Dictionary of the Manx Language by Archibald Cregeen.’ 8vo, pp. 188. 418 Subscription copies. J. Quiggin, Douglas. ‘The sheets left on hand were afterwardsnbsp;made up; some little difference is observable, arising from thenbsp;few sheets reprinted being in a larger type, when some wordsnbsp;were unavoidably omitted.’

Reprint 1911 (for Yn Qheshaght Ghailckagh). Brown amp; Son, Douglas.

1846. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;‘ Padjer ynLught-thie liorish A spick Wilson.’ S.P.C.K. Reprintnbsp;from Coyrle Sodjeh.

1847. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;‘Grammatik des Manxiscken’, von Heinrich Leo. Eduardnbsp;Anton, Halle, Germany.

Leo compiled this grammar without having been in the Isle of Man or having heard any Manx spoken. The onlynbsp;Manx book he had seen was ‘Yn Conaant Noa’, and it isnbsp;entirely from this book that he drew up his Grammar, withoutnbsp;the aid of any other grammar or dictionary. It is a work ofnbsp;great industry and insight, though not without errors andnbsp;misstatements unavoidable under the circumstances of itsnbsp;production.

1866. ‘The Manx Dictionary in Two Parts.’ Part I. ‘Fockleyr Manninagh as Baarlagh, liorish Juan y Kelly.’ Part II. Thenbsp;English and Manx Dictionary, prepared from Dr. Kelly’snbsp;Triglot Dictionary with alterations and additions from thenbsp;Dictionaries of A. Cregeen and J. I. Mosley, by the Rev. W.nbsp;Gill, Vicar of Malew, translator to the Tynwald Court, and thenbsp;Rev. J. T. Clarke, Chaplain of St. Mark’s. Both parts in i vol.nbsp;Printed for the Manx Society, Douglas, I.O.M.

1865-72. ‘Mona Miscellany.’ Vols. i and 2. Some Manx verse, amp;c., amongst much English matter. Manx Society, Douglas.

1872. ‘Manx Miscellanies’, Pargys Caillit, revised by W. Sayle. ‘Coontey ghiarejeh Elian Vannin ayns Gailck’, by J. Bridson.nbsp;Manx Society, Douglas.

1885-87. ‘Manx Note Book’, issued periodically under the direction of A. W. Moore, contains much interesting Manx matter.

1891. ‘Carvalyn Gailckagh’, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;and edited by A. W. Moore.

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;13

Eighty-six Manx carols, with English translation. Clucas amp; Fargher, Douglas.

1893-4. ‘ The Book of Common Prayer in Manx Gaelic, being translations made by Bishop Phillips in 1610, and by the Manx Clergy in 1765’, edited by A. W. Moore, M.A., assisted bynbsp;Sir John Rhys, M.A., LL.D. In two volumes. A treatise bynbsp;John Rhys on the ‘ Outlines of the Phonology of Manx Gaelic ’nbsp;forms part of vol. 2. Manx Society. The University Press,nbsp;Oxford, and H. Frowde, London.

1896. ‘Manx Ballads and Music’, edited byA.W. Moore. Johnson, Douglas.

1890. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;‘Surnames and Place-names of the Isle of Man’, by A. W.nbsp;Moore. 2nd edition. Published in 1903 under the title ofnbsp;‘ Manx Names ’. This work is valuable in tracing grammaticalnbsp;forms and words now obsolete. Also ‘ Place-names of the Islenbsp;of Man’, by J. J. Kneen, 1929.

1899. 'Coontey j eh Saggyrt William Tyndall.’ Chillcott, Bristol.

1901. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Aeso^’, by E. Faragher. Broadbent, Douglas.

1904. ‘ Manx Notes and Queries ’, by C. Roeder. Broadbent, Douglas. 'Psalmyn Ghavid’, a metrical version of the Psalms ofnbsp;David by the Rev. J. Clague, Vicar of Rushen. Also thenbsp;metrical psalms by the Vicars-general Robert Radcliff andnbsp;Matthew Curghey, first published in the Prayer Book ofnbsp;1768. Published by the Skeshaght Ghailckagh. Broadbent,nbsp;Douglas.

N.D. ‘ Ard-firrinyssyn, liorish yn Saggyrt Ean Wesley, mychione jannoo, creek, as giu stooghyn neu-heeltail.' Prentit da Sheshaghtnbsp;Slane-Obbaltys Skeerey Andreays liorish Shirrefs as Russell,nbsp;Straid Chiarn, Doolish.

N.D. 'Illiam as Ysbal, ny cooish eddyr Manninagh as e ven heshey liorish Illiam Sayle, Skeerey Andreays.’ Printed by M. Glover,nbsp;North Quay, Douglas. Republished towards the end of the nineteenth century with an English translation by W. Kneen.nbsp;Clucas amp; Fargher, Douglas.

About 1870. ' Coloayrtys eddyr Mannanan-beg-mac-y-Leirr,Ree Hroor~ Chassagh Elian Vannin, as shenn ven Vanninagh er mullaghnbsp;SniauV, by Thomas Kelly, Bridge St., Peel. Translated intonbsp;Manx by the Rev. J. T. Clarke. J. C. Fargher, Douglas.

1897- ‘ Ta Jee Graih’, a sermon in Manx and English, by W. Kneen. Manx Sun Office, Douglas.

1905- ‘Manx Proverbs and Sayings’, by S. Morrison. Broadbent, Douglas.

1891. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;‘Manx Folk-Lore’, by A. W. Moore. Manx Poetry, Proverbs,nbsp;amp;c.

14 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

1908. ‘Manx Cookery Book’ (contains recipes for cooking, making wines, amp;c., in Manx), by S. and L. Morrison, Peel. Printed bynbsp;Sherratt amp; Hughes, 60 Chandos Street, London, W.C.

1901. ‘Lessoonyn ayns Chengey ny Mayrey Elian Vannin’, by E.

Goodwin, Peel. Broadbent amp; Co., Douglas.

1901. 'Lessoonyn ayns Gailck’, by J. J. Kneen. Broadbent, Douglas. The Isle of Man Examiner devoted a colunrn to the Manxnbsp;language for several years, and much valuable matter appearednbsp;therein.

1911. ‘Yn Saase Jeeragh’ (The Direct Method), by J. J. Kneen.

Broadbent amp; Co., Douglas.

1931. ‘Kneen’s Manx Grammar’, by J. J. Kneen.

12. Decay of the Language.

During the last century the Manx Language has fallen into decadence. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, in manynbsp;parishes on three Sundays a month, services were held in it, thennbsp;two, and later only one, and at last, about sixty years ago, it ceasednbsp;to be taught in schools, and gradually the number of churches wherenbsp;it was found necessary dropped off, until at last only three or fournbsp;still kept it up, and now none do so.

Writing in 1872 the Rev. J. T. Clarke says: ‘Ta ard-reiltee Vannin noi’n Ghailck. Ta shirveishee yn Ghoo jeh dy-chooilley chredjue noi eck.nbsp;Ta aegid iroggit seose nish ny s’meehushtee jeh ghengey ny mayrey na vanbsp;mouse y vagheragh cliaghtey ve.

Ayns traa A spickyn Wilson as Hildesley, cha voddagh dooinney aeg erbee geddyn stiagh ayns oik y taggyrtys fegooish Gailck vie ve echey.

Ayns yn Chiare-as-feed she Gailck ooilley v’oc—as ayns traa ny briwnyn Kaye as Crellin cha b’loys da turneyr erbee gheet kiongoyrt roonbsp;nagh voddagh arganey ayns Gailck.

Ta cooinaghtyn aympene, ayns laghyn m’aegid, dy re ayns Gailck va shin ooilley loayrt risk nyn gabbil as nyn ollagh. Eer ny moddee henenbsp;mannagh loayragh shin roo ayns Gailck, cha jinnagh ad cloh dooin~aghnbsp;jeeaghyn mygeayrt y moo, goaill yn yindys s’moo ’sy theihll c’red va shinnbsp;laccal ad ’yannoo dooin.

Cha row ny moddee voghtey hene toiggal Baarl, son she Gailck ooilley v’oc, as cha row ad goaill nearey jee noadyr.’

Writing in 1859 the Rev. William Gill, vicar of Malew, says; ‘The decline of the spoken Manx, within the memory of the present generation has been marked. The language is no longer heard in our courtsnbsp;of law, either from the bench or the bar, and seldom from the witness-box. The courts are indeed still fenced * in Manx, according to ancient

* Now discontinued.

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;15

traditionary form; and the Island laws are still promulgated in that language on the Tynwald Mount, where the last lingering accents ofnbsp;the Gaelic in Manx—once the language of Europe, the universalnbsp;language of the British Isles—will probably be heard. ... It is rarelynbsp;now heard in conversation, except among the peasantry. It is anbsp;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 theirnbsp;affections and their choice,—the language to which they habituallynbsp;resort in their communications with each other. And no wonder;nbsp;for it is the language they find most congenial to their habits ofnbsp;thought and feeling. In English, even when they have a fair knowledge of the tongue, they speak with hesitation and under restraint.nbsp;In Manx they are fluent, and at ease. There is little probability,nbsp;therefore, of their soon forgetting their ghengey ny mayrey.’nbsp;13. The Manx Society.

This society was formed in^quot;l85^ nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;publication of National

Documents of the Isle of HaïT’.

Having practically finished the work for which it was originally formed, it was wound up in IQ07-

Much interesting matter appertaining to the Manx language was published by this society, the most interesting of which, from anbsp;philologist’s point of view, is Kelly’s Manx Grammar and Thenbsp;Manx Dictionary.

The former work is based upon the old plan of reducing the grammar of a language to a rigid conformity to Latin and Greek. In Manx the same thing was thought imperative. The modem rule is,nbsp;to have just as many cases, and as many moods and tenses, asnbsp;there are actual variations of the words, without the admission ofnbsp;prepositions or of auxiliary verbs. To this mle the laws of grammarnbsp;seem to require Manx, as well as English, to be conformed. As,nbsp;however, the adoption of such a principle would have involved thenbsp;re-arrangement, to a considerable extent, of the grammar, it wasnbsp;thought advisable not to attempt the change, but to give the work innbsp;its original integrity. Dr. Kelly’s Grammar, viewed as an originalnbsp;production unaided by any pre-existent grammar, reflects the highestnbsp;credit on the author’s industry and ingenuity.

Besides the grammar. Dr. Kelly had prepared two works of great labour, and, from a philological point of view, great value, a Manxnbsp;and English dictionary, and a triglot dictionary of Manx, Scottishnbsp;Gaelic, and Irish, based upon English. The dictionary has beennbsp;published, but the triglot still lies in manuscript.

r6 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

14. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;State of the Language in 1875.

The following extracts are taken from a paper read before the Philological Society, 18 June, 1875, entitled ‘The Manx Language:nbsp;its grammar, literature, and present state, by Henry Jenner, Esq.,nbsp;of the MS. Department, British Museum’.

‘The language of the Isle of Man belongs to the Gaelic branch of the Celtic family, in which it occupies almost exactly the samenbsp;place as that which was once held by Cornish in the Cymric branch,

i.e. it holds a middle place between Irish and Scottish, inclining considerably to the latter. The analogy between the two cases is very striking. Irish, like Welsh, is a literary and cultivated tongue, andnbsp;one that has been from an early period reduced to rule, and notnbsp;allowed to form itself how it pleased in the mouths of illiteratenbsp;peasants. Scottish, like Breton, has not had quite the same advantages, though it also has not been entirely neglected; while Manx,nbsp;like Cornish, has simply been allowed to go to pieces, and, until quitenbsp;recent times, has never been worked upon in any way, and, likenbsp;Cornish, in its decay it has preserved the characteristics of the lessnbsp;cultivated of its fellows. In support of this statement I have thenbsp;evidence of five Manxmen of the lower class—three fishermen, anbsp;farm-labourer, and a carpenter (i.e. a boatbuilder), all of them mennbsp;of fair intelligence, though unlearned, who, without any leadingnbsp;questions, told me, as the result of their own experience, that Scottishnbsp;was easily intelligible to them, while Irish was quite a foreign tongue,nbsp;in which words were frequently understood, but sentences never.nbsp;Moreover, as far as I have seen, it appears in the written language butnbsp;in only one case (that of ‘ eclipsis ’ initial mutation) has a form beennbsp;retained in both Manx and Irish that has been dropped in Scottish,nbsp;with the exception of certain ecclesiastical terms, such as names ofnbsp;festivals, amp;c.’

The introduction of Englishmen as clergy, and their ignorance of the language, may also have tended to displace the vernacular, for,nbsp;though several have learned it sufficiently for conversation, few werenbsp;able to conduct a service in it.

15. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;A Private Language Census.

In 1874 Mr. Jenner addressed a letter to each of the clergy of the Isle of Man, containing the following questions relating to the existing amount of spoken Manx:

1. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Is English or Manx the prevailing language in your parish?

2. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;If English, about how many persons speak Manx as theirnbsp;mother-tongue ?

3. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;How many speak no English, and of what ages and class are they ?

4. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do you ever preach or perform divine service or any part of it

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;17

in Manx ? if so, how often and what part ? and is a knowledge of Manx necessary in your parish work ?

5. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Which language do children of the present generation learn?nbsp;do they grow up with a knowledge of both ?

6. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Is the Manx of the present day substantially the same as thatnbsp;of Kelly’s Grammar, amp;c., and of the Manx Bible and Prayer Book,nbsp;and are these easily intelligible to the present Manx speakers ?

The answer to these questions Mr. Jenner tabulated as will be seen by the table on pp. 18-19.

In addition to the answers, the following interesting notes were supplied by some of the Clergy.

Rector of Kirk Andreas. Children pick up a little Manx when they leave school. Old people, so to speak, ‘dream in Manx’. Servantsnbsp;like to keep it up as a class language not understood by their masters.

Vicar of Kirk Arhory. Dissenters make considerable way owing to the neglect of Manx by the Church.

Vicar of Kirk Lonan. Manx is preferred by the country people (in parochial ministrations), as they can understand every word, whichnbsp;they cannot in English.

Vicar of St. George’s, Douglas. In country parishes one finds three generations in one cottage: the old speaking Manx only, the middlenbsp;Manx and English, and the children English only.

Of course these statistics can hardly be taken to represent a perfect language census of the Island, and it would be very difficult to obtainnbsp;such a thing by answers from different people, as each man (as regardsnbsp;Mr. Jenner’s second question at any rate) would have his own standardnbsp;to judge by, and without doubt these standards vary considerably.nbsp;Compared with the Census of 1901 many discrepancies will be notednbsp;¦which can only be accounted for in one way, that the vicars of certainnbsp;parishes must have had a very uncertain knowledge of those whonbsp;spoke Manx or English in their respective parishes. Still Mr. Jenner’snbsp;tabulation may be said to give a fair approximate of the philological state of the Isle of Man in the year 1875.

Visiting the Island in the latter year, Mr. Jenner was present on the 4th Sunday after Easter at a service held in the parish church of Kirknbsp;Arbory in the Manx tongue. He remarks, ‘ the congregation consistednbsp;of fifty-three persons, almost all of them above fifty years of age. Itnbsp;was evident that they very much appreciated the benefits of anbsp;service in their own language, for they joined in it very heartily.’

Kirk Arbory I was the only church in which Manx was regularly used, and that only on the last Sunday morning in each month.

’ The archdeacon of Manx states that the Rev. J. Qualtrough, vicar of Kirk Arbory, conducted his last service in Manx on the last Sunday in Julynbsp;i®75, but he continued Manx services at Kirk Bride 1875-9 monthly.

20 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

The Rev. W. Drury, vicar of Kirk Braddan, sometimes introduced bits of Manx into his sermons, as he expressed it, ‘to clinch thenbsp;matter’, for the benefit of the older people; and if he happened tonbsp;see many such present, he would say the Lord's Prayer or give thenbsp;Blessing in Manx, He also often preached sermons in the open airnbsp;on Douglas Quay to fishermen and sailors in a mixture of Manx andnbsp;Enghsh.

16. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;A Modern Revival.

About thirty , or, forty years ago, the wave of Celtic enthusjasm which had swept over Ireland, reached tbe isle of Man. Societieamp;A-having the objecTTir teaching the language in view—sprang up innbsp;various parts of the Island. The Isle of Man Examiner aided thenbsp;movement to a considerable degree, by devoting a column iroekly,nbsp;mostly written in the Manx language, and everything pointed tonbsp;the rehabilitation of the language as the national vehicle of thought.

But Celtic enthusiasm, always of a fugitive nature, sadly waned again ^ring the last twenty yearsTthough there is nmcE evidencenbsp;that this revival has still left an impression which may not benbsp;effaced for many years to come.

Not many years ago the Manx Courts of Law were still fenced in the mother-tongue, but at the present time the only official use madenbsp;of it is the promulgation of all new laws made during the year, onnbsp;the summit of Tynwald Hill. This promulgation ceremony is one ofnbsp;the most interesting events of Manx national life, and always attractsnbsp;vast numbers of tourists from the adjacent isles.

17. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Manx Language Society.

On the 22nd of March 1899 ^ society for the preservation of the Manx language was formed, being the outcome of a visit to thenbsp;Island by Mr. E. E. Fournier, secretary of the Celtic Association.nbsp;The meeting was organized by Mr. W. Cubbon.

Mr. A. W. Moore, late Speaker of the House of Keys, was elected president; the late Deemster Gill, the late Dr. John Clague, Mr. J. C.nbsp;CreUin, H.K., and the Rev. Canon Savage, were appointed vice-presidents; the late Mr. W. Quayle secretary, and Mrs. Laughtonnbsp;treasurer. A strong committee was formed with power to add to theirnbsp;number. The executive and other sub-committees were to be electednbsp;by the above, the officials being ex-officio members of the committee.

The Objects, Constitution, etc.

That the name of the Society be the ‘Manx Language Society’— in Manx ‘ Yn Qheshaght Ghailckagh’.

That its objects be (i) the preservation of Manx as the national

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;2X

language of the Isle of Man; (2) the study and publication of existing Gaehc literature and the cultivation of a modem literature in Manx.

That its means be (i) the encouragement of the formation of classes for the study of Manx; (2) the holding of public meetings andnbsp;lectures for the purpose of stimulating and informing pubhc opinionnbsp;on behalf of the Manx language; (3) to encourage the people whonbsp;know Manx to speak it habitually, and to impart it to their young;nbsp;(4) to endeavour to secure facilities for teaching it in the publicnbsp;schools; (5) the publication and distribution of books and pamphletsnbsp;in or relating to Manx; (6) the encouragement of Manx music andnbsp;of songs in Manx; (7) to inform the public on questions relating tonbsp;the movement by contributions to magazines and journals; (8) thenbsp;collection of oral Gaelic literature, consisting of folk-tales, poemsnbsp;songs, proverbs, riddles, amp;c., still extant among the people.

Constitution: (i) the society shall consist of a president, vice-presidents, secretary, and committee (who shall form the council), and members; (2) the qualification of membership shall be an annualnbsp;subscription of two shillings and sixpence.

Executive Committee: (3) the business of the society shall be conducted by an executive committee, which shall consist of the president, vice-presidents, secretary, and treasurer, and seven other persons to be chosen annually by and from the members of the council. Fivenbsp;members of the executive committee shall form a quorum. (4) Thenbsp;council shall be elected by the members at a general meeting to benbsp;held on HoUantide Day (the 12th of November), and shall hold officenbsp;for the term of one year. (5) The president, vice-presidents, secretary, and treasurer shall be elected annually by the members.nbsp;(6) The secretary shall summon extraordinary general meetings onnbsp;receipt of a requisition signed by ten members.

The following literature has been published by the M.L.S.: Psalmyn Ghavid (metrical); Cregeen’s Manx Dictionary (reprint);nbsp;Yn Saase Jeeragh; and also several pamphlets and tracts.

18. The Manx Language Census of 1901.

The following statistics are taken from the language returns of 1901.

With the exception of H. Jenner’s statistics of 1874, no census of the language had hitherto been taken, and not until 1901, a lapse ofnbsp;nearly 30 years, was there an official census taken, and it is owing tonbsp;the indefatigable zeal of the late A. W. Moore that this was thennbsp;accomplished.

The total number of Manx speakers, 4,419, or 8-i per cent., is probably in excess of what would have been expected. This result

22 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

may be partly accounted for by the test as to what constitutes ‘ Speaking Manx ’ having been an easy one. On the other hand, therenbsp;were not a few who could speak Manx and would not admit it.

Number of Bilinguists {Manx-English) in the Isle of Man igoi.

1

From Captains of Parishes, t Taken by A. W. Moore from Census Returns.

(a) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Peel, German, Patrick, Michael, Ballaugh.

(b) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ramsey, Maughold, Lezayre, Andreas, Bride, Jurby.

(c) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Castletown, Malew, Santan, Arbory, Rushen.

{d) Douglas, Conchan, Lonan, Braddan, Marown.

23

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

ig. The Manx Language of 1911.

The figures for each parish were given in the 1901 census, but are not given in the above table. The fourteen males and seventeen females speaking Manxnbsp;only in Douglas are obviously errors, and should have been corrected by thenbsp;enumerators responsible.

From the official Census Returns of jg2i.

English and Manx languages. Proportion of persons to 1,000 of the population, aged three years and upwards, returned as able tonbsp;speak English only and both Enghsh and Manx.

Total number of persons speaking Manx and English in 1921. 896.

20. An Optimistic Review.

Commenting upon the results of the 1901 language returns, Mr. W. Cubbon then acting-editor of The Isle of Man Examiner wrote: ‘ As

24 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

a pleasant surprise will come to all patriotic Manx people the Census revelation, that Manx Gaelic is spoken by 4,419 of the inhabitants ofnbsp;this Isle. 8-1 per cent, of the Manx people resident in the Isle of Mannbsp;preserve the old tongue—one in twelve can make themselves understood in the language of their fathers. And pleasure is intensified bynbsp;the announcement that Manx is spoken even in these young days ofnbsp;the twentieth century by a number of children. Undoubtedly of latenbsp;a fillip has been given to the preservation of Manx as a spokennbsp;tongue, and we of the ‘ Examiner ’ pride ourselves that we have donenbsp;not a little to promote the revival of the study of the ancient languagenbsp;of the island. Doubtless during the last two years many Manxnbsp;people have set themselves to learn to read and speak Manx, and itnbsp;is more than probable that many adults, able to converse in Manx,nbsp;have gone to some trouble to impart their knowledge of the languagenbsp;to young children. Anyhow, Manx is far from being a dead languagenbsp;—it is not even moribund—and if the Manx people but respond asnbsp;they ought to the appeals of the leaders of the Pan-Celtic movement,nbsp;Manx will be spoken for centuries to come. The crusade for thenbsp;revival of the Gaelic has a practical as well as a sentimental value.nbsp;It is universally admitted that people who are bilingual have annbsp;advantage commercially and intellectually over people who speaknbsp;but one tongue, and this advantage is all the more pronounced whennbsp;one of the languages spoken by the bilinguist happens to be English.nbsp;Wherefore are Manx people who speak Manx in addition to Englishnbsp;likely to find their accomplishment a useful one. On the grounds,nbsp;then, of utility, as well as patriotism, the people of the Isle of Mannbsp;would do well to foster the study of Gaelic.’

21. The Relationship of Manx to the other Goidelic Dialects.

The Celtics£eech of the Isle of Man stands in a very close relationship to Irish and Scottish (laelic, though this is to a certain extent obscurednbsp;by.the.Qrthography. Early Irish may be regarded as the parent of allnbsp;living Gaelic dialects, and it is worthy of note that this tem^GaiMisnbsp;used by the Celtic-speaking inhabitants of Ireland, Man, aHTthenbsp;Highlands, to denote the native speech. Since the medieval periodnbsp;all the Goidelic dialects have gone their own way. But it may be saidnbsp;that the south of Ireland (Munster) has on the whole been conservative, whilst N. Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic have developed muchnbsp;more rapidly. Manx appears to approach more closely to the languagenbsp;of the Highlands than to Irish, but it is well to remember that the Irishnbsp;of County Down, which might be expected to present the greatest resemblance to Manx, is almost extinct and that our information concerning it is very imperfect. We shall first of all mention some of the featuresnbsp;which Manx shares in common with N. Irish and Scottish Gaelic.

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;25

(i) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Northern Gaelic, as opposed to the language of the south ofnbsp;Ireland, exhibits a tendency to use analytical and periphrastic formsnbsp;in the verb, and in this Manx and Scottish Gaelic go farther than thenbsp;Irish of Donegal. In Man and Scotland the verb ‘to do’ (Manxnbsp;jannoo, Scottish deanamh) is employed with an infinitive to expressnbsp;the past and present. The Manx carvals, however, retain a number ofnbsp;verb-inflexions which have long disappeared from the spoken language. Like the langu^Lge of the Highlands the old Manx present,nbsp;where used, has acquired a momentary (future) signification.

(ii) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Manx goes as far as many of the dialects of the Highlands innbsp;dropping unstressed final vowels, e.g. ghiarn, lord, Irish tighearna.nbsp;Similarly in pre-tonic position written Manx drops many syllablesnbsp;that are stiU written in Ireland and Scotland, though in a numbernbsp;of cases they are not preserved in these other dialects as spoken,nbsp;e.g. Manx noght, Ir. anocht; Manx nish, Ir. anois; Manx^iM, Ir. indiu;nbsp;Manx jea, Ir. indé.

(iii) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The negative particle in common use in Manx is cha as innbsp;N. Irish and Scottish Gaelic.

(iv) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;It is very interesting to find that Manx agrees with Scottishnbsp;Gaelic and the Irish of County Down in retaining the short e soundnbsp;in a word hke fer, whereas elsewhere in Ireland it has become d. Thenbsp;vowels a, 6 are much confused as in Scotland, e.g. Manx cass, foot.nbsp;Sc. cas, Ir. cos.

(v) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;On the other hand Manx agrees with Irish as against Scottishnbsp;Gaehc in retaining the echpse in the genitive plural of substantivesnbsp;a-fter the article.

(vi) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;As in Scotland, there is a tendency to make the plural of allnbsp;substantives except masculine monosyllables end in -yn (Sc. -aw),nbsp;e.g. Manx cassyn, Sc. casan, Ir. cosa.

(vii) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In Scotland and Man the initial group sr becomes str, e.g. Ir.nbsp;syutkdn, stream, Scottish struthan, Manx strooan.

As features peculiar to Manx the following may be mentioned.

(i) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ir. a which in Ireland varies from a (Munster) to a palatal anbsp;(Donegal), which is also common in Scotland, has in Manx becomenbsp;fronted to amp;. Ir. 5 has in Manx lost its rounding and also given amp;.nbsp;The beginning of this is visible in N. Irish. Hence Ir. has, óg appearnbsp;in Manx as baase, aeg.

(ii) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ir. mh, bh after back vowels tend to become u or w. This isnbsp;also regular in Manx, e.g. Manx laue, hand, Ir. Idmh; Manx doo,nbsp;Ir. dubh. But in Manx ƒ also exhibits this tendency, e.g. Manx coau,nbsp;chaff, from Engl. dial, caff, cauve; Manx lout, Engl, loft; Manx gioot,nbsp;Engl. gift.

(iii) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Intervocalic s and sh in Manx become lisped and voiced to d.nbsp;This goes hand in hand with a fondness to turn medial stops into

E

26 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

spirants. Certain consonants in intervocalic position may disappear

entirely. See § 9 below.

(iv) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In monosyllables final m, n when following a vowel, are oftennbsp;preceded by an intrusive b, d respectively, a phenomenon that is alsonbsp;found in late Cornish. Thus ben, woman, becomes bedn. See § 10nbsp;below.

(v) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ir. sc becomes st, sht, e.g., Ir.feascar, evening, Manx fastyr;nbsp;Ir. uisce, Manx ushtey.

(vi) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In the matter of stress Manx exhibits great originality, goingnbsp;farther even than the dialects of the south of Ireland in shiftingnbsp;the stress from the initial syllable. Not only does it shift the stressnbsp;in the case of heavy derivative suffixes like -an and reduce the preceding vowel, e.g. Ir. fuardn, Sc. fuaran, Manx frdn, spring, butnbsp;even in cases like caghlaa, variety, Ir., Sc. caochladh) Manx coraa,nbsp;voice, Ir. comhradh. See § ii below.

22. A Comparison between Bishop Phillips’s Translation of the Prayer Book and that of the Manx Clergy.

The Phillips version of the Prayer Book and Psalms contains many Words and grammatical forms which are now obsolete. The possessivenbsp;adjectives ar, nar (Ir.: or, arn), our; an, nan (Ir.; a, an), their; arenbsp;found, and one would naturally expect to find vur, vurn (Ir.: hhur,nbsp;bhurn), your; also, but it does not occur. Dóyrt is the eclipsed formnbsp;of toyrt, giving; now coyrt (from ec ioyrt).

In many respects the PhiUips orthography is superior to that of later Manx.

cedilla (1) is placed under the dental gh to distinguish it from the Ural ch, and is generally used in modern Manx for that purpose, but isnbsp;not found in the Bible, Prayer Book, amp;c.

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

23. The Irish Alphabet.

For the sake of comparison the Irish alphabet is here given:

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;29

The Scottish Gaels use the ordinary roman letters, and aspirate with h (as ph). Eclipsis does not occur in Scottish Gaelic.

24. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Lord’s Prayer in Manx, Irish, and Scotch.

Padjer y Qhiarn

Ajn: ain t’ayns niau, casherick dy row dt’enn5nn. Dy jig dty reeriaght. Dt’aigney dy row jeant er y thalloo myr te ayns niau.nbsp;Cur dooin nyn arran jiu as gagh laa, as leih dooin nyn loghtyn; myrnbsp;ta shin leih dauesyn ta jannoo loghtyn n5m ’oi. As ny leeid shin aynsnbsp;miolagh agh livrey shin veih oik. Son Ihiats y reeriaght, as y phooarnbsp;as y ghloyr. Son dy bragh as dy bragh. Amen.

Atl pAIOin

Aji n-AcAiti, ACA Atl ncAth, 50 nAomcAii c-Ainm; 50 ucisib t)o ttijeAcc; 50 nueuncAti 00 co»t Att An cAtAth mAti sniceAttnbsp;Att ncAih. CAbAift bninn inuiw Ati n-AttAn tAecsAihAit, A5«t*nbsp;tWAic buinn aii fip'-^kCA uiAp ihAiceAmuit) UAt^ ^pdiceAinnAifinbsp;Téinj Asuf HA téis 135CACU5AÓ, acc fAOti finn 6 otc.

Urnuighe an Tighearna

Ar n Athair ata air Neamh gu ma beannuicht’ tainm, gu tigeadh do Rioghacht, gu deanthar do thoill air Tallamh mar ata i air Neamh,nbsp;thoir dhuinn an diugh ar n Arran laitheil, agus maith dhuinn airnbsp;fiacha, mar mhaitheas sinn d’ar feicheannaibh, agus na leig ann amnbsp;buairreadh sinn, ach saor siim o Ole: Oir is leats’ an Rioghachd, agusnbsp;a Chiunhachd, agus a Ghloir gu siorruidhe.

25. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Laws of Manx Accentuation.

These are in the main the same as those of Irish; but Manx has in one particular gone its own way, namely, in that it allows, contrarynbsp;to the general rule, a long vowel to attract the stress to itself in suchnbsp;Words, for example, as the following, accentuated on the finalnbsp;syllable: banglane, a branch; fhyndaa, turning; graihoil, loving. Itnbsp;is worthy of note that French words borrowed through Anglo-Norman channels had the accent on the ultima, where it remains tonbsp;this day, as for example in the case of ashoon, lessoon, jinnair,nbsp;pyeaghoor, emperoor.

26. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Dialect.

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, BaUaugh, Michael, Lezayre, Maughold, and Lonan.

The South consists of the following nine: Rushen, Arbory, Malew, Patrick, German, Marown, Santan, Braddan, and Conchan.

30 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

The differences of dialect between North and South are not considerable. Here are enumerated the points most deserving of notice:

Words like cloan, children; kione, head; and joan, dust; are pronounced in the South klo:dn, Uo:dn, dzo:dn; while in the North they are apt to be diphthongized into kla'^n, Ua'^n, dzO^n; with the parasitic d much less pronounced than in the Southern forms with thenbsp;simple vowel.

On the other hand the reverse is more nearly the case with such a word as hane, white; or slane, whole; which become hcedn, slcednnbsp;in the North, whereas in the South the vowel retains more or lessnbsp;completely its quantity and quality of d, and the d is not verynbsp;perceptibly developed.

Words like leagh, a reward; geay, wind; are pronounced liix, gH in the South, while in the North they are almost disyllables lUsx, gü9.nbsp;This, however, must not be construed to mean anything more thannbsp;a tendency, certainly not a sharp line of difference, in the pronunciation.

In the South, combinations like cha vel, is not, and cha vow, will not get, are more usual than in the North, where one says cha nel,nbsp;cha now.

Of course individual words vary in pronunciation here and there, and one or two may be added to those just mentioned, such asnbsp;the stock instance of clagh, a stone; which is pronounced in thenbsp;South klo.'x and in the North kla.'x- This applies to aU words of thisnbsp;kind containing the broad vowel a. This peculiarity of dialect isnbsp;also observable in the English spoken. Thus ‘high’, ‘lie’, are pronounced h' in the South, and ha*, la*, in the North.

The Scandinavian name of Snaefell, the highest mountain in the Island, is pronounced in the North sn*cel, fn*cBl, and in the Southnbsp;sn*o:l, fn*o:l. The words doo, black; ooh, an egg; are soundednbsp;dA'‘, a“, in the North; and du, u in the South. Qhibbyr, a well; isnbsp;pronounced tfivsr in the North and tfAhdrt in the extreme South.

It might be remarked here, that the tendency to soften a medial consonant when flanked by vowels is not nearly so noticeable in the South asintheNorth. Thus: (South)ca6amp;y/(pron.Aa.'69/); cabbil{^xon. kavil*).

PART I

ORTHOGRAPHY

CHAPTER I

§ I. THE LETTERS

The Manx alfabet is identical with English except that x and z are wanting.

Of the two forms of small s the second is very often found in Manx literature in books 'p™ted quot;Before the beginning of the nineteenthnbsp;century, s is used at the end ofji word, ƒ in all other positions; as,nbsp;and; ajs, out of; arryffagh, repentant; foaft, yet; tofhiaghi, beginning.

As a general rule all proper nouns and adjectives begin with a capital letter, as: Mannin, Man; Manninagh, Manx.

All pronouns, including mee, I, begin with small letters.

§ 2. THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE

Letters are signs and symbols representing sounds. In Manx, as in English, however, the symbols used in the written language do notnbsp;always accurately represent the sounds of the spoken language.

Thusthe same symbo^may represent^fferent^soimds. Eng.: case, rfeë; get, gin; Manx : fMam, c/sied, cass, cass5m; and (aj^differentnbsp;symbols may represent the same sound. Eng. : cat, character, ^ueen;nbsp;Manx: cam, k^y\, ^aiyl. This is due to the fact that English andnbsp;Manx spellings are based either upon a former pronunciation, or uponnbsp;a real or imaginary derivation.

The following^ compaiative tables contain the chief simple vowel lt;lt;L— and consonant sounds of English, Manx, German, and French.

Few sounds, however, in one language are exactly reproduced in another; hence the correspondence of the sounds in the followingnbsp;tables is only approximate.

For purpose of convenience and comparison, phoneticians employ S5mibols of their own, each representing a single sound. Such annbsp;alphabet is given in the right-hand column of each page.

The sign (:) after a vowel is a sign of length, as: bred {breed), bread {brcB'.d). Manx words are always stressed on the long vowels; asnbsp;farrane (farsn), a foimtain; phadeyr (fadsér), a prophet.

The signs -) are placed over Manx words not written in phonetics, when it is necessary to show whether the vowel elementnbsp;is short or long.

ORTHOGRAPHY

§ 3. TABLE OF VOWEL SOUNDS

• The a in English fate is not a pure vowel. Avoid (in Manx) the faint ee sound in which it ends.

^ The o in English no is not a pure vowel. Avoid (in Manx) the faint 00 sound in which it ends.

3 Pronounce with protruded and rounded lips.

33

THE LETTERS

§ 4. DIPHTHONGS

§ 5. TABLE OF CONSONANT SOUNDS

ORTHOGRAPHY

§ 6. VOWELS AND DIGRAPHS

Vowels are either long or short. A vowel doubled, or followed by h is sure to be long. Before a group of consonants a vowel is, as anbsp;rule, short.

A digraph is a double symbol with only a single vowel sound, in contradistinction to a diphthong, which contains two vowel sounds.nbsp;Thus: faik (fak) contains a digraph, while ain (ain) contains anbsp;diphthong.

a is short in ad, labh, mac a ,,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;,, lane

a is long in rollage, drollane a ,,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;,, fakin, cha, shiaght

a nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;,,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;,,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;mar00, sdrey

The prefix aa is pronounced aah is long in raah, daah .nbsp;aenbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;aeg

ai is short in caill, faik, faill ay is long in kaynbsp;ahnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;cah, gah

e is short in hen, beg, kesh ê is long in meriu, venbsp;eanbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;bea, rea

ea is short in leagh . ee is long in feed, feesh, reenbsp;eenbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;fheet, hee’m .

ei nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;treigeil

ey nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;key

ey nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ley

ey is short in keyl ey is long in keyrreynbsp;ehnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;eh,feh

i is short in idd, Ihig, pick i is diphthongal in bine, sidenbsp;iy is short in kiytnbsp;onbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;son, sock

Ó is long in dhdne, 6ney oanbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;deal, moal

oe nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;croe

oe nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;„nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;coe

oi is short in croitt . oi is long in roish, roin, voishnbsp;oo is short in dooin, rooinnbsp;00 is long in noo, loo, doon

Sometimes these digraphs are further lengthened by adding another vowel, such as e, i, h or y, but the pronunciation usuallynbsp;remains the same. Examples: aae, caaig, caayr, eairk, leeid, meeyl,nbsp;coayl, cooid. These are occasionally pronounced slightly disyllabic,nbsp;as cooid (ku'd‘).

What is meant by d', t'.Jac., is not that a distinct i is heard after the consonant, but a slight whispered sound. Say ‘had you’, andnbsp;then try and omit the ou, the result being ‘had y’; the sound thusnbsp;produced will be nearly identical with the Manx slender d. It isnbsp;really the effect of the slender preceding vowel which causes thisnbsp;phenomenon. This may be more plainly demonstrated by taking annbsp;Irish word as an example, as the Manx orthography disguises it tonbsp;a certain extent: Ir. bds; sing. gen. bdis, and pronounced respectivelynbsp;bo:s, bo:f. Manx: baase, baaish {bce:s, blt;2:f).

36 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ORTHOGRAPHY

which are notoriously clumsy—it is impossible to give any fixed rules. Many simple vowel sounds have a group of two or morenbsp;symbols to represent them. To assist the student, the principalnbsp;combinations are here given. If a vowel be preceded or followed bynbsp;i a slight ‘yot’ is heard, as kione (k‘o:n), head; aitt (at% queer.

In many words the ‘yot’ is hardly heard, as: Mark (kark), hen; Mart (kart), right.

§ 8. NASAL VOWELS

A hst of words is here given containing all the nasal vowels and diphthongs in the Manx language. Nasalization is shown thus (^).

Phon. Symb.

1. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Maghal, niart, cha, sniaghtey ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;a:

2. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;mainstyr, ainle, aile, ain, kianlt ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;a‘

3. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;niau, awin .......nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;a“

4. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;mwaagh, quaagh, carrane, haink .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;. se:

5. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;craue, laue .......nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;£è“

6. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;mairagh, Kneale (pron. kre:l‘) ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ê:

7. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Kneen (pron. kri:n'), mee, nee, niee, hene .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;1:

8. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;insh, injil ........nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;I

9. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;cloan, croan, moddey, noa, Sniaul, poanrey, ronsey .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;5:

10. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;moddee ........nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;5

11. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ayns, noid .......nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;o

12. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;moir ........nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;5‘

13. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;mow ........nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;6“

14. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;chamoo, smoo, noo, troo, mooar, jymmoogh, thal-

looin ........ nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ü:

15. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;coonlagh ........nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ü

16. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;kys .........nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;o

17. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;smayl, Mayl .......nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;o:

18. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Meayll, meayl .......nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;u:

As a general rule, most of these words had originally a nasal consonant, which in modem Manx has either disappeared, or has been changed into another consonant. Examples: niau (Ir. neamh) ;nbsp;laue (Ir. lamh); craue (Ir. cnamh). From these instances it will benbsp;observed that, although the nasal consonant has disappeared, thenbsp;nasal vowel—which always accompanies it—still remains.

§ 9. CONSONANTS

b initially and finally is pronounced like b in Eng., as in bea (be:), lifetime; cab (kab), jaw. Occurring medially, and flanked bynbsp;vowels, it is pronounced something like Eng. v in ‘heavy’, as innbsp;IMabbee (l'a;vi), bed; cabbyl (ka:val), horse. Medially, but preceded

THE LETTERS nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;37

by I or r, it is pronounced like Eng. b, as in colbagh (kolba^), heifer; carbyd (karbad), bier.

p initially and finally like p in Eng., as in paag (pseg), kiss; shapp (Jap), shop. Medially like b in the same position, as in tappeenbsp;(ta:vi), quick.

V except in a few words such as voish, amp;c., never occurs as a radical initial, but an aspiration of b or m. It never occurs finally.nbsp;It is usually pronounced like Eng. v, but sometimes slides into anbsp;sound more akin to w, or a pure labial v, i.e., a sound formed by thenbsp;lips alone, as distinguished from a v uttered with the aid of thenbsp;lower lip and the upper teeth. These sounds are distinguished bynbsp;phoneticians by the terms ‘bi-labial’ and ‘denti-labial’.nbsp;f like /in Eng., as in fer, a man. It never occurs medially or finally.nbsp;_d before or after the broad vowels a, 0, u, or y, and sometimes e,

¦ is pronounced much more explosively than is the case in English. In the phrase ‘he had the book ’, the sound formed by the conjunction of d and th, conveys a very good idea of the Manx broad d,nbsp;as in daa (dae: or döae:), two. In a few monosyllables it is pronounced 5, as: dy (öa), to or of. Medially, it is pronounced ö ifnbsp;preceded or followed by a broad vowel, as moddey (mo:Ö3), dog.nbsp;Before or after i, initially, it is pronounced like Eng. d in ‘dew’.nbsp;Initially, this sound is written j in modem Manx, in the majoritynbsp;of cases. This slender d is heard in such words as noid (no:d'),nbsp;enemy; mayd (mad‘), we; glennid (glenid'), cleanliness. Medially,nbsp;slender d is pronounced like an Eng. / as in troiddey (trAdsa), scolding, and often as a Frenchy, as in sheidey (fe.'sa), blowing; sheeideynbsp;(Ji:33), silk. Colloquially, slender medial d is frequently elided, asnbsp;in credjal (krae:jal), believing.

t broad is pronounced much more exj[)losively than Eng. t. Slender t is usually writeen gh in modem Manx, except finally.nbsp;T is broad in tarroo (tarn), bull; jeant (d3aent), done. Broad tnbsp;medially is pronounced 8 as in baatey (bae;9a), boat; Ihiatteenbsp;(l’a:9i), side. Slender/medially is pronounced 3, as in aaitin (a:3in),nbsp;gorse. Final slender / is pronounced like / in ‘tutor’, as in cailtnbsp;(kalt'), lost; aspit (aspit‘), colloquial of aspick, bishop,nbsp;j is pronounced like j in Eng. in jiarg (d3arg), red. Medially itnbsp;is generally preceded by d and is pronounced 3 as in padjernbsp;(pa;3ar), prayer; maidjeynbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;stick. It occurs without d in

lajer (la:3ar), strong, j is never found as a final consonant. See d. ch like ch in Eng. ‘ cherry ’ and often written in modem Manxnbsp;with a cedilla as in ghiarn (tjam), lord; ghiamble (tjambal), temple.nbsp;Medially, ch is generally preceded by / as bwoailtghyn (bultJan),nbsp;folds, gh never occurs finally. See t.nbsp;s in Manx, as an initial or final, is pronounced with a more lisped

38 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ORTHOGRAPHY

sound than Eng. s, as sap (sap), wisp; cass (kas), foot. Medially, s is pronounced nearly like th in ‘ that ’, as in shassoo (Ja:5u), standing ; and sometimes like z as assyl (a:zal), ass. Finally, when notnbsp;doubled, it is pronounced z, as in as (a:z), and.nbsp;sh is the mouille form of s, i.e. the sound of s before a slendernbsp;vowel, written in Irish se, in Welsh si, and in English and Manxnbsp;sh. S/jamyr (Jaemar), room; teslj (taj), moist. Medially, it is pronounced 3, as in aashag (aeisag), sofa,nbsp;g is sounded exactly like g in English, as in goh (gob), beak; lhag (lag),nbsp;slack; boggey (boigo), joy.

c, k: c is used before a broad vowel, and k before a slender one, and pronounced like c and k in the same position in English, as innbsp;cappan (kavan), a cup; kione (k‘o:n), head. Medially, c is oftennbsp;elided, as in laccal (la:l), wanting.

gh at the beginning of a word is pronounced like gh in Irish, as in ghow (gou), took. Medially, it is usually silent, as in magher (ma:r),nbsp;a field; staghyl (sta;il‘), an awkward person. In such words itnbsp;merely serves to lengthen the preceding vowel. Finally, it isnbsp;pronounced y, as in magh (ma:x), out.nbsp;ch usually occurs as an aspiration of c or It is seldom foundnbsp;medially or finally. It is pronounced y, as in chab (xab), jaw.

1 broad is sounded rather differently from Eng. 1. It is formed by bringing the point of the tongue in contact with the edge of thenbsp;upper teeth, when a kind of thick sound is produced, as in lauenbsp;(laequot;), hand; ooyl (u:l), apple; boalley (borla), wall. I slender isnbsp;pronounced like Eng. I in ‘million’, as in lieh (1'e:), half; baileynbsp;(bad’a), town; sooill (su:l'), eye.

r broad is pronounced with the point of the tongue on a lower level than is the case with Eng. r, as in reih (rsé), choose; mooarnbsp;(muar), big; carrey (kara), friend, r slender is pronounced analogously to nS 1', i.e. a palatalized r; as in riu (fiu), to you; airhnbsp;(ae:r‘), gold; mdrish (me:rish), with,nbsp;m like m in English, as in mee (mi), I; ennym (enam), name,nbsp;n broad is produced with the tip of the tongue brought near thenbsp;edge of the upper teeth, as in noa (no), new. n slender is like n innbsp;‘Britannia’, as in niart (n'art), strength; blein (ble:n‘), year,nbsp;ngas in Eng. ‘king’ (slender); ‘long’ (broad). Bing (big), jury;nbsp;er n’ghoaill (asrqal’), having taken. Never like ng in ‘singe’.

§ 10. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE CONSONANTS

Double consonants generally occim in the middle or at the end of words, and are pronounced as though they were single.

B, d, I, m, n, r, and t followed by h do not differ in pronunciation from the single consonants.

THE LETTERS nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;39

Ph is pronounced like ph in ‘Philip’ in phadeyr (fadae'x), prophet.

Qu is pronounced like qu in ‘quail’ in queig (kweg), five.

Wh\s pronounced like wh in ‘when’ in whing (hwiq), yoke.

W is pronounced like w in ‘wean’ in warp (worp), three.

H is pronounced like h in ‘heal’ in hie (ha‘), went, h beginning a word is never silent as in ‘honour’.

Hi is pronounced like h in ‘hue’ in hiarn (h'am), lord. When an initial h is an aspiration of sh or gh it is pronounced like h in ‘hue’, asnbsp;in hooyl (h'u:l), walked; haglym (h'argbm), gathered.

Medial mutation of consonants is by no means a rigid rule, for mediaT^ and J are often pronounced as in ‘copper’, ‘labour’, amp;c.,nbsp;as in ghibbyrt (t ƒ Abort), a well (South); ghibbyr (tjivor), a wellnbsp;(North); napin (napon), a turnip. In regard to this phenomenonnbsp;Sir John Rhys says: ‘ this mutation is not yet quite closed, for betweennbsp;p, h, and v one may still hear various grades of pronunciation. . . .nbsp;In a word this mutation is one which is establishing itself, and tiU itnbsp;is established a certain latitude would be allowed in the pronunciation.'

Hr is pronounced yr as in hreih (xrse'), wretched.

T immediately following certain consonants, as nt, U, is generally pronouncedii, asincoontey (kunda), account; moUeyragh (moldae:rax),nbsp;fraudulent.

The more or less latent yot (j or ') at the end of words like blein, becomes, when the word is closely followed by a vowel, clearlynbsp;perceptible, as in blein elley (ble:n jsela), another year; yn aspicknbsp;(in jarspik), the bishop, (Ir. easpog); yn Arragh (in jarax), thenbsp;Spring, (Ir. earrach); the initial vowel in all such words being pronounced ‘broad’ when not preceded by the article.

The combination of n tnouilU and yot is liable to be changed into a palatal q, as in shinyn (Jiqin), we; dooinyn (diqin), to us; ainynnbsp;(iqin), at us. This change has also occurred in such words as kingnbsp;(Ir. cinn), heads; ghing (Ir. tinn), ill; ping (Ir. pighinn), penny.nbsp;A medial t followed by n is often pronounced k in conversation, asnbsp;taitnys (tatnjis or taknis), pleasure.

The nasal of the articley w-r-the element of which consisted originally of nd—takes ffs colouring from the word to which it is prefixed, andnbsp;in case the latter is one beginning with a dental nasal, the languagenbsp;has a tendency to treat the nasal as a part only of the article. Thusnbsp;yn before the word oor becomes yn (with n broad), whereas beforenbsp;Erin, it becomes(with n mouille or slender), and so in other cases.nbsp;Further, the English word ‘nation’ when borrowed into Manx camenbsp;to be treated as if it were yn ation, so that dtiun, and later ashoon,nbsp;came to be regarded as the complete word. The same thing happensnbsp;in native words, as for example Tn ardnieu, a snake, adder. Here thenbsp;syllable ar represents nar = Irish nathair, Welsh neidr. In fact

40 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ORTHOGRAPHY

the English ‘an adder’ forms an apt phonological parallel, as it stands for ‘a nadder’ with the latter word of the same origin as thenbsp;Celtic ones. Siinilarly in the case of the words edd, a nest (Ik. nead);nbsp;OlUck, Christmas (Ir. Nodlaig). Occasionally the nasal n is prefixednbsp;where it has no etymological standing, as in nah, second; fromytt aa.nbsp;In the case of ‘ Kirk Cairbre ’ and ‘ Kirk Conchan ’ a similar changenbsp;has taken place, the generally accepted forms now being ‘Kirknbsp;Arbory’ (the spelling ‘arbory’ probably being a fanciful derivationnbsp;from the English word ‘arbour’, a wooded place), and ‘Kirk On-chan ’. In Manx these are Skeeyll Cairbre and Skeeyll Connaghyn.

The final oo in iroo, envy; chamoo, not more, neither; is sometimes pronounced with an q, as (tru:q, ha'muq).

A phenomenon of considerable importance in the present pronunciation of Manx consists in prefixing to a final nasal consonant ynbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;the corresponding voiced mute. Thus trome {txo'ihm), heavy, kione

(k'o:dn}, head; Ihong (lAgq), ship. The same thing happens with rn and rl, as oarn (ordn), barley; Baarl (baerdl), the English language.

This modification has in its extreme form no Celtic parallel except in the later stages of O. Cornish, where for instance camm, crooked,nbsp;axAgwyn, white, became cahm and gwydn. It is far more interesting,nbsp;however, as being suggestive of historical connexion, to find thatnbsp;this phonetic pectiliarity is one of the actual characteristics of thenbsp;lowland Scottish dialect of Caithness. There, for example, the oldnbsp;Norse word steinn, a stone, has become steidn.

In the spoken language, an I is often introduced between a labial andyot, just as in the Slavonic languages. Bio (bl'o:), hve-, fiogheynbsp;(fl'o:ga), wither. Note also the following: blanc (Fr. white); bianconbsp;(Sp.); bianco (Port.); ban (Ir. and Sc.); bane (Mx.).

There is a change which is undergone by r when it is pronounced z; as in poanrey (beans), pronouncedor pö:zo\ and sometimesnbsp;ynrick pronounced inzik (upright). Similarly, the name writtennbsp;Kinry derived from Mac Henry is pronounced Kinzi.

§ II. ACCENT

Three degrees of accent may be distinguished: principal ('), secondaQy_('), weak (o), which are represented in English ‘victory’nbsp;and in Manx bdrridghi.

In nearly all native Manx words the principal accent rests on the root-syllable, which is usually the first syllable in a word, e.g., glen,nbsp;clean; gUnney, cleaning; glénnèydèr, a cleaner; glénnèydêr'^n, cleaners.

Exceptions are (i) Nouns ending in age, atg, eig, ane, een, eyr, oon, and oor; (2) Adjectives ending in oil; (3) Verbs ending in ean,nbsp;ail, eil.

(i) Rollage, a star; car dig, a beetle; keilUig, a church-enclosure;

THE LETTERS nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;41

dhidne, a worm; cliegéen, a jewel; scrudéyr, a writer; cahóon, a capon; wardóor, a gaoler.

(2) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Sheeóil, peaceful; thieóil, domestic.

(3) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Soüshéan, shine; cumrdil, hinder; treigéil, forsake.

These exceptions to the rule given above always retain the accent on the second syllable, although one or more syllables be added, as:nbsp;rolldgëydër, astronomer; scrüdéyr^s, penmanship.

In rèeridght the accent is on the penultimate.

In compound word^the principal accent rests on the qualifying part, i.e. as a rule the second part, the first part then having anbsp;secondary accent, as :feïll-vüc, pork; moöinjêr-véggëy, fairies; thie-óast,nbsp;an inn, hotel; Ihidnndn-shée, a familiar spirit. But if the first partnbsp;is the qualifying one, both parts bear a principal accent, as in^6oc^-góayr, a he-goat; móir-dgglish, a cathedral.

The inseparable prefixes and all suffixes—excepting those given above—are unaccented.

Loan-words as a rule retain the accent which they have in the language from which they are borrowed, as ashóon, nation; lessóon,nbsp;lesson (Fr. legón); jinndir, dinner (Fr. dinér); preaghóor, preachernbsp;(Fr. prêcheür). These are French words borrowed through Anglo-Norman channels.

TABLE OF MUTATIONS

CHAPTER II

§ 12. ASPIRATION, ECLIPSIS,' ETC.

The word ‘aspiration’ comes from the Latin verb aspirare, to breathe; hence, when we say in Manx that a consonant is aspirated,nbsp;we mean that the breath is not completely stopped in the formationnbsp;of the consonant, but rather that the consonant sound is breathed.

Take, for example, the consonant b. To form this consonant soimd the lips are pressed closely together for an instant, and the breath isnbsp;forced out separating the lips. Now, if we wish to get the sound of bnbsp;aspirated, we must breathe the whole time whilst trying to form thenbsp;sound of b; i.e. we must not close the lips entirely, and the resultingnbsp;sound is like the English consonant v. Hence, we shall see that vnbsp;rarely occurs in Manx as a radical or root initial, but is nearly alwaysnbsp;an aspiration of b or m.

§ 13. RULES FOR ASPIRATION

The principal rules are here given.

(a) The possessive adjectives my, my; dty, thy; and e, his; aspirate the first consonant of the following word, as my wooa (booa), mynbsp;cow; dty voir (moir), thy mother; e chabbyl {cabbyl), his horse. Thenbsp;radical or root-word is given in brackets.

{b) The article aspirates a noun in the nominative and accusative feminine singular, and also in the genitive masculine singular: ynnbsp;ven {ben), the woman; mac yn er {fer), the man’s son.

Exceptions : the letters t, d, gh, j, s, sh are exceptions to the rule given above, as; yn taitnys (fern.), the pleasure; mac yn dooinney, thenbsp;man’s son.

(c) In compound words the initial consonant of the second word is aspirated, except when the second word begins with t, d, gh ox j, andnbsp;the first ends in one of the letters t, d, gh, j, n, I, s ox sh: shenn-voir,

’ Also called nasalization.

ASPIRATION, ECLIPSIS, ETC. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;43

a grandmother; cam-hooillagh, squint-eyed; lieh-hooillagh, one-eyed; but shenn-dooinney, an old man; shenn-thie, an old house, a shanty.

Whenever the first word is preceded by a possessive adjective, the second is usually aspirated, as: my henn ghooinney, my old man.

(d) The interjection 0 or Y, the sign of the vocative case, causes aspiration in nouns of both genders and both numbers: y ghooinney!nbsp;man! y Yuan I John! This sign is generally omitted in modem Manx,nbsp;but the aspiration remains, as: Hiarn! {Qhiarn), Lord! Yee! (Jee),nbsp;God!

{e) An adjective is aspirated when it agrees with a feminine noun in the nominative or accusative singular, or with a masculine nounnbsp;in the genitive singular, and in the dative and vocative singular ofnbsp;both genders; also in the nominative plural when the noun ends in anbsp;slender consonant; as booa vane (bane), a white cow; macyn er vooarnbsp;(mooar), the big man’s son; voish yn ven vie, from the good woman;nbsp;tree cabhil vooarey, three big horses.

if) When a noun is immediately followed by an indefinite' noun in the genitive case, singular or plural, the initial of the noun in thenbsp;genitive is usually subject to precisely the same rales as if it were thenbsp;initial of an adjective; e.g. ooh chirkey (coll, ooh chiark), a hen(’s) egg;nbsp;meinn-chorkey, oatmeal. The letters t, gh, d, j, n, I, s and sh are notnbsp;aspirated; and ƒ is often excepted, as the change in sound is so great.

(g) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The initial of a verb is aspirated (i) in the imperfect and thenbsp;conditional, active voice; (2) after the particle my, if; (3) after thenbsp;simple relative particle ny, expressed or understood :

(i) va{ba)shin, we were; hass(shass)ee, she stood; woaillin, I should strike; (2) my huitt eh, if he fell; (3) eshyn (ny) hooylys, he who walks.

(h) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The initial of the word following by (the past tense and conditional of the verb she) is usually aspirated.

by vie Ihiam, I liked or would like.

V are (fare) lesh, he preferred or would prefer.

(i) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Some of the simple prepositions aspirate the initials of the nounsnbsp;immediately following them: fo halloo, under land or underground,nbsp;subterranean; ta shin goll gy Ghoolish (Doolish), we are going tonbsp;Douglas.

§ 14. ECLIPSIS

Eclipsis is the term used to denote the suppression of the sounds of certain Manx consonants by substituting others produced by the samenbsp;organ of speech.

There is usually a great similarity between the eclipsing letter and the letter eclipsed: thus p is eclipsed by 6; i is eclipsed by d, amp;c.nbsp;If the student pronounce the letters p and b, t and d, he will imme-

'¦ i.e. one not preceded by the del. art., poss. adj., amp;c.

44 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ORTHOGRAPHY

diately notice the similarity above referred to. Thus h and d are like p and t, except that they are pronounced with greater stress ofnbsp;the breath, or, more correctly, with greater vibration of the vocalnbsp;chords.

Eleven of the consonants can be eclipsed, viz. h, c, gh, d, ƒ, g, j, k, p, q, t. Each consonant has its own eclipsing letter, and can be eclipsednbsp;by no others. In Manx the eclipsed letter is not written.

Formerly eclipsis was shown by placing the eclipsing letter immediately before the eclipsed letter, and this is stiU done in Irish.

Manx : nyn darroo, their bull.

Irish : a dtarhh, their bull, b is eclipsed by m as hard, mard.

f cahbyl, gahhyl; kione, gione;

® nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;” Xquail, guaiyl.

j „ ghiarn, jiarn. n „ darragh, n’gharragh; jee, n’yeenbsp;Vnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;vuill.