This is the Isle of Man.
It's located between Ireland and England. Right here.
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| Celtic Radio Community > Isle of Man > About Manx |
| Posted by: wizardofowls 30-May-2004, 09:30 AM |
| Hey manxman! Do you have any info aobut Manx that you could post? I live in the States and know very little about the place other than that there is a distinct branch of the Gaelic Language group there (Manx Gaelic). Come on! tell us a little about the place! I for one would love to learn more about it! |
| Posted by: manxman 30-May-2004, 03:05 PM | ||
Hi Wizard Yes Manx Gaelic is related to Welsh, Irish etc but a little different in many respects. I'm not a real manxman and so not an expert, but I did live for 20 years on the island and I still visit it often. There is some scandinavian influence in Manx and many manx surnames have origins in Viking names. Town names also may have viking origins. e.g. "Laxey" - "Lachs See" (a river mouth or lake where there are Salmon) A common piece of manx dialect is the use of the word "Yessir". People use this throw away phrase in a similar manner to "isn't it" or "you know" placed at the end of a statement. You can compare this to Danish or Swedish where the word "yassoo" is used in a similar manner. Actually, no native born speakers of Manx exist anymore, although the language has enjoyed a renaissance recently with evening classes and reintroduction as a school subject. The last native born speaker was "Harry Kelly" who died about 100 years ago. (I think? Please correct me someone if not) Enthusiasts sometimes meet in Pubs to try out their manx (occasionally pulling out a pocket dictionary) and often play traditional music on these evenings as well. There is also an annual festival on the Isle of Man called "Yn Cruinnacht" where performers from all the celtic nations perform. It's pretty amazing to see performers from Britanny who can't speak english to manage communication in their own version of Gaelic with the other celtic performers ! Maybe we could get some recordings from "Yn Cruinnacht" to MacFive for broadcast ? I'll certainly be at the festival this year. Well that's a start. What we really need are some manx experts to come into the forum. I'll see what I can do next time I'm on the Isle of Man. Best Regards Manxman - www.manxman.ch |
| Posted by: wizardofowls 30-May-2004, 03:54 PM |
| Thanks manxman! I'm studying Scottish Gaelic, and as such I have an interst in learning more about both Irish Gaelic and Manx Gaelic. Thanks for the info! Breton, Welsh, and Cornish, the other three Celtic languages, are actually not related to Gaelic! (I believe I'm correct in saying that! Please correct me if I'm wrong!) Thanks again, a chàraid! |
| Posted by: manxman 30-May-2004, 04:03 PM | ||
Yeh, Welsh is certainly very different to Scottish and Irish and it's only hearsay from me that some Bretons managed to communicate on a rudimentary level with other festival participants. I once heard trad music from the basques in Spain. It's very similar to celtic music but their language is really strange and doesn't seem to be related to anything at all. I believe Finish is also an isolated language like this. You're probably right though, that Manx has more in common with Irish and Scottish. Unfortunately the only manx I know is from street signs, which are often in English and Manx. Regards manxman |
| Posted by: manxman 30-May-2004, 06:32 PM |
| Hello again The info I posted about the last native Manx speaker was incorrect. He actually died in 1974 and was born over 100 years ago. His name was Ned Maddrell not Harry Kelly. There's lots of info on http://www.george-broderick.de (Mostly in English but some of it is in German!) George is of Manx descent and he is professor of Gaelic Studies at the University of Mannheim in Germany. Here is a summary of Manx that George mailed me today.... "Along with its sister languages Irish and Scottish Gaelic, Manx Gaelic belongs to the 'q'-Celtic branch of the Insular Celtic languages. The othe branch, the 'p'-branch includes Welsh Cornish and Breton. Manx is a direct descendant of Old and Middle Irish. Along with Scottish Gaelic it parted company with Irish in the 13th century and with Scottish Gaelic itself in the 15th century. It survived some 300 years in literature, from the early 17th century to the 20th century, and its last native speaker, Ned Maddrell, died on 27th December 1974 aged 97. Today Manx Gaelic is enjoying a spirited period of renaissance and revival. Unlike its sister languages Manx has a much reduced nominal and case system but its syntax is reminiscent of Early Modern Irish. It has developed a dual verbal system whereby analytic forms of verbs using the auxiliaries 'be' and 'do' stand in paralllel to a synthetic system. It has a double stress system whereby the stress falls on the first syllabe (as in Irish and Scottish Gaelic) in disyllables containing an original short first vowel and on the second syllable in words containing an original long first vowel, which becomes shortened. The numerical system is based on counting in twenties". Regards Dr. George Broderick |
| Posted by: WizardofOwls 31-May-2004, 02:46 PM |
| Thanks manxman! I went to that site. That guy has some interesting things on his site! Thanks for pointing me there! |
| Posted by: Raven 03-Jun-2004, 02:52 PM |
| So are Manx cats from the Isle of Man?? |
| Posted by: manxman 03-Jun-2004, 03:24 PM |
| Yep ! Manx cats are from the Isle of Man. They are bred by individuals and also in a state supported cattery. No one knows exactly where the breed came from. One theory is that seafarers imported them from the far east. There are also cross breed cats called "stumpys" but real manx cats have a small hole where the tail should be where the end of the spine is missing. Unfortunately they often have bowel trouble which makes them a problem in the house. I've attached a gif of a manx cat to this post. Regards manxman |
| Posted by: Raven 03-Jun-2004, 03:57 PM |
| Cool !! Thankz Manx man! Is it true that these cats are rather large also? It seems like I remember that from the movie "Harry and Tonto" THanks again for the pic Mikel |
| Posted by: manxman 04-Jun-2004, 11:32 AM |
| Hi Raven Now you mention it, they do seem to be well built cats. At least all the ones I've seen. There are a lot of breeders in the USA according to a quick search I did on Google. I mailed one address and asked if they would pop in here and give us some info. manxman |
| Posted by: greenldydragon 10-Jun-2004, 04:25 PM |
| I'm really lost, where is the Isle of Man? |
| Posted by: oldraven 11-Jun-2004, 09:57 AM |
| Welcome greenldydragon. This is the Isle of Man. It's located between Ireland and England. Right here. |
| Posted by: greenldydragon 11-Jun-2004, 12:03 PM |
| AAAAAAAAAAAAAahh okay, I'm no longer lost. |
| Posted by: WizardofOwls 04-Jan-2005, 10:46 AM |
| Is Zephyr still around? I was hoping that he would post some entires in Manx Gaelic here! Anybody heard from him lately? |
| Posted by: Monarch's Own 05-Jan-2005, 06:41 AM |
| Hello I own a Manx Cat and have to say - yes she can have some problems with bowlmovement - but usually only hairballs. Otherwise no problems. She loves to cuddle and put her paws around my neck like a little kid. We got her from the shelter - hard to believe that someone would was going to put her down for the only reason that he didn't fix her and she got kittens. She is very happy and very quiet. And I think the name we picked for her suits her very much. Avalon! As for the size - I think she looks bigger than she is. I guess it's because of all the thick hair she has - which doesn't need much grooming at all. |