Manx English
Encyclopedia
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
spoken on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, though today in decline. It has many borrowings from the original Manx language
Manx language
Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...
, a Goidelic language
Goidelic languages
The Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...
, and it differs widely from any other English, including other Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
-derived dialects such as Welsh English
Welsh English
Welsh English, Anglo-Welsh, or Wenglish refers to the dialects of English spoken in Wales by Welsh people. The dialects are significantly influenced by Welsh grammar and often include words derived from Welsh...
and Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English is the dialect of English written and spoken in Ireland .English was first brought to Ireland during the Norman invasion of the late 12th century. Initially it was mainly spoken in an area known as the Pale around Dublin, with Irish spoken throughout the rest of the country...
.
Early strata of Anglo-Manx contain much of Gaelic and Norse origin, but more recent Anglo-Manx displays heavy influence from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
in North West England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. A.W. Moore
Arthur William Moore
Arthur William Moore CVO SHK JP MA was a Manx antiquarian, historian, linguist, folklorist, and former Speaker of the House of Keys in the Isle of Man. He published under the sobriquet A. W. Moore.-Life:...
noted that the dialect varied to some slight extent from parish to parish and from individual to individual, but in the main the same turns of phrase and the same foundational stock of words pervaded the whole Island.
The best known recorder of the Anglo-Manx dialect was the poet, T.E. Brown.
In recent years, the Anglo-Manx dialect has almost disappeared in the face of increasing immigration and cultural influence from the United Kingdom. A few words remain in general use, but apart from the Manx accent, little remains of this dialect and it is seldom heard on the island in its original form today.
Sources such as A.W. Moore's A Vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx Dialect (Oxford University Press, 1924) and W.W. Gill's Manx Dialect Words and Phrases (J.W. Arrowsmith, 1934) document the dialect in the last stages before its decline from common use - few of the words noted are still in common parlance today.
Moore's work notes the specific patterns of pronunciation for words in the dialect, many of which are no longer present in the last vestiges of the Manx dialect because of the influence of mainstream English.
Modern Anglo-Manx lexicon
Some of the following terms surviving from the original Anglo-Manx dialect are still in occasional use today. The task of identifying dialectical usage is complicated by the large cross-over between Manx GaelicManx language
Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...
, idiomatic usage and technical/organisational terms such as "advocate" and "deemster".
- Across - The UK; i.e., across the water.
- At - In possession of (from Gaelic usage). He's got a nice house at him (from Gaelic description of possession),
- AyeYes and noYes and no are two words for expressing affirmatives and negatives respectively in English . Early Middle English had a four-form system, but Modern English has reduced this to a two-form system consisting of 'yes' and 'no'. Some languages do not answer yes-no questions with single words meaning...
- Yes. - Boy - Common address from one male to another, originally an unmarried male (from Gaelic usage).
- Bumbee - Bumblebees (which were thought to be bad fairies).
- Coalie - A coal fish, (specifically P. VirensPollachius virensPollachius virens is a species of marine fish in the Pollachius genus. Together with Pollachius pollachius it is generally referred to in the U.S. as Pollock. Other names include the Boston blues , coalfish and saithe in the UK.This species can be separated from P...
). - Comeover - A non-Manx-born person living in the Isle of Man.
- Down is used for going North, Up for going South, out for going West. The topology of the Isle of Man means that to go to the flat, glacial plains of the North of the island, one has to go down, whilst going South means climbing the slate uplands. This is in contrast to the English Up North, which new residents are more used to.
- Fairy Flower - Red CampionRed CampionRed campion is a flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native throughout central, western and northern Europe, and locally in southern Europe....
, Silene dioica. (from Gaelic blaa ny ferrishyn, "the fairies' flower") - Feller/Fella - A man/mate (fellow), common to other dialects, but much more frequent in Anglo-Manx.
- For - towards, to; at the period of; wherefore, the reason why; in order to. Are you for goin'? (From Gaelic usage, erson).
- Gilpin - Young fish of indeterminate species, especially Callig.
- Herrin - Herring
- Hey Boy - Informal verbal greeting to a male.
- Himself - The master of the house, the husband. Is himself in? (from Gaelic usage; direct translation of eh hene, "himself", emphatic "he").
- In - In existence. The best that's in (from Gaelic usage; direct translation of oan in it, there (is)).
- Ginnie Nettle - Local term for stinging nettle. Pronounced jinn-ee.
- Lhergy - a hill-slope, or high wasteland. Goin' down the lhergy means going downhill in life. (from Gaelic Lhiargee or Lhiargagh meaning "slope")
- Little People - Fairies, supernatural beings. (from Gaelic usage; direct translation of Deiney Beggey or Mooinjer Veggey, "fairies" or "little people")
- Mann - the Isle of Man; e.g., Gaut made it, and all in Mann
- Manx and Manks - Pertaining to, or originating from the Isle of Man.
- Manxie - A Manx person or a Manx cat.
- Mark - A fishing-ground distinguished by landmarks.
- Middlin' - Tolerable, an equivalent of the Manx, castreycair.
- Neck - impudence; e.g., Oh, the neck of him!.
- SkeetSkeetSkeet may refer to:* Clay pigeon shooting, a target sport** Skeet shooting, a discipline of the sport*** Olympic skeet, a variant of the discipline*** Skeet Shoot, a skeet shooting video game for the Atari 2600 produced by Apollo...
- News, gossip, and also to take a look (take a skeet) at something. A partial translation from the Manx "Skeeal". - Skutch - A quantity of something; e.g., There were a skutch of people there. (from Gaelic cooid, "selection", "amount", "number")
- Snigs - Young eels, or sand-eels.
- Sowel - Archaic form of address; e.g., Poor sowel! (soul).
- Themselves - Fairies, supernatural beings.
- Twenty Four - The House of KeysHouse of KeysThe House of Keys is the directly elected lower branch of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council....
. - Ukered - Knackered (as in tired).
- Yessir - Recorded by A.W. MooreArthur William MooreArthur William Moore CVO SHK JP MA was a Manx antiquarian, historian, linguist, folklorist, and former Speaker of the House of Keys in the Isle of Man. He published under the sobriquet A. W. Moore.-Life:...
in 1924 as a "disrespectful form of addressing a boy or man", is used as an informal address to a local acquaintance in modern Anglo-Manx. Early 20th-Century sources suggest that its origin may lie in a contraction of You, Sir, but Gaelic scholars have suggested that it is a hangover from Ussey, the emphatic form of You in Manx Gaelic, which is used in a similar context. Not congruous with Yes, Sir in mainstream English.
Manx loanwords
Words of Manx GaelicManx language
Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...
origin frequently cropped up in the original dialect, as did patterns of speech derived from Gaelic usage. In modern usage, much fewer words of Gaelic origin are used, symptomatic of the decline of Manx Gaelic in its later years.
- Pollock (specifically P. Virens
Pollachius virens
Pollachius virens is a species of marine fish in the Pollachius genus. Together with Pollachius pollachius it is generally referred to in the U.S. as Pollock. Other names include the Boston blues , coalfish and saithe in the UK.This species can be separated from P...
), Saithe or Coalfish. - Mugwort. - A flat cake-bread, usually made with dried fruit. - To warm the backs of the legs by the fire. - A steep bank, a grassy cliff/headland. - Pollock (specifically P. Pollachius
Pollachius pollachius
Pollachius pollachius is a species of marine fish in the Pollachius genus. Together with Pollachius virens it is generally referred to as Pollock. Other names include the Atlantic pollock, European pollock, lieu jaune, and lythe. It is common in the north-eastern parts of the Northern Atlantic,...
). - The chimney. - Floodplain. - A horsefly. - Hill. - Mouth-bone of the Ballan Wrasse
Ballan wrasse
The Ballan wrasse or simply wrasse, Labrus bergylta, is a wrasse of the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Its maximum length is 66 cm. All Ballan wrasse are female for their first eight years before a few change into males...
, worn as a charm. - Cultural gathering. - An area of willow carr (swamp or bog). - ragwort, the National Flower of the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. - A small hollow, damp area or pool. - Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. - Hogweed. - Wasteland (sometimes mis-spelt garey which instead means garden). - A wooded valley (in Manx this is glioan or glion). - Pronounced govag, literally a dogfish, but used to mean someone from Peel. - Hallowe'en, possibly cognate with Hogmanay
Hogmanay
Hogmanay is the Scots word for the last day of the year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner...
, which is in origin not a Gaelic word. - From the Manx for forget; people will speak of being a bit jarrood. - A drink. - Shit
Shit
Shit is usually considered vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun it refers to fecal matter and as a verb it means to defecate or defecate in; in the plural it means diarrhea...
and its derivative, Keckin. - A small ancient monastic cell or chapel. - Lazy. - Manx for Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. Compare with Ellan Vannin; Mannin is the genitive of Mannan, the name of the son of the god of the sea (Líor), Mananán Mac Lír. - A festival or party to celebrate harvest. - Literally slow, but used in the sense of ill. - Peat-land. - A dogskin fishing float; e.g., as fat as a Mollag or as full of wind as a Mollag. - The first person met on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
, first-foot
First-Foot
In Scottish and Northern English folklore, the first-foot, also known in Manx Gaelic as quaaltagh or qualtagh, is the first person to cross the threshold of a home on New Year's Day and a bringer of good fortune for the coming year....
. - A willow tree, where the placename Ballasalla
Ballasalla
Ballasalla is a village in the parish of Malew in the south-east of the Isle of Man, close to the town of Castletown. The village was built mostly from the ruins of the nearby Rushen Abbey, a Cistercian abbey founded in the 12th century and dissolved in the 16th century.-Governance:The local...
derives, from the Manx Sailley, tr. willow. - tr. story, or news. - Manx translation of health sometimes used as cheers. - A small sealing peg from a dog-skin fishing float (Mollag). Used colloquially to refer to something/someone small. - Straw rope. - Abandoned traditional building. - An elder tree. - Literally, time enough.
Norse Origin
- FellFell“Fell” is a word used to refer to mountains, or certain types of mountainous landscape, in Scandinavia, the Isle of Man, and parts of northern England.- Etymology :...
- hill, of NorseOld NorseOld Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
origin. - KirkKirkKirk can mean "church" in general or the Church of Scotland in particular. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.-Basic meaning and etymology:...
- Church, used in parish names, of NorseOld NorseOld Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
origin - TynwaldTynwaldThe Tynwald , or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It is claimed to be the oldest continuous parliamentary body in the world, consisting of the directly elected House of Keys and the indirectly chosen Legislative Council.The Houses sit jointly, for...
- the Manx parliament, from Old-Norse Thingvollr and originally written similarly to Icelandic with a þ which is pronounced [θ]. The thing means an assembly or court of justice and the vollr is a field or plain.
Superstitions and word replacement
Because of the unpredictable nature of weather in the Irish sea, fishing could be a dangerous business - sailors were consequently very superstitious and it was considered taboo to use certain words or behaviours (using the word "conney" for rabbit, or whistling, for example) whilst on board ship. Some names were substituted for others - "rat" became "long-tailed fella".This has evolved into a modern superstition where the word "rat" ( in Manx) is considered unlucky, even when not used aboard ship. This may have originally been used in a jokey fashion, but seems to have been adopted in modern times by those who wish to make themselves sound "more Manx" by adopting this mannerism and indeed is often quoted as typical Manx behaviour even though the old Manx had few qualms about using the word. In reality this is a rather warped version of the original sea-taboo.
Alternate words for rat in neo-Anglo-Manx dialect :
- Longtail
- Iron fella
- Joey
- Jiggler
- Queerfella
- Ringie
- Scratcher
- r-a-t - a more recent expression, owing to increased immigration, note that 'an' instead of 'a' is used as the indefinite article
Anglo-Manx phrases
A few phrases have survived to become common parlance, amongst these (all of Gaelic origin):- Manx for "time enough", either an incitement to take things easier, or as an insult for a lazy person. - An inconsistent person who changes sides easily - from Manx Gaelic for "with me - with you" - "John the Flayer's Pony" - on foot, cf "Shanks' pony" in English dialect.
See also
- Regional accents of English speakersRegional accents of English speakersThe regional accents of English speakers show great variation across the areas where English is spoken as a first language. This article provides an overview of the many identifiable variations in pronunciation, usually deriving from the phoneme inventory of the local dialect, of the local variety...
- GalloGallo languageGallo is a regional language of France. Gallo is a Romance language, one of the Oïl languages. It is the historic language of the region of Upper Brittany and some neighboring portions of Normandy, but today is spoken by only a small minority of the population, having been largely superseded by...
(Brittany) - Lowland ScotsScots languageScots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
Other English dialects heavily influenced by Celtic languages
- Anglo-CornishAnglo-CornishAnglo-Cornish is a dialect of English spoken in Cornwall by Cornish people. Dialectal English spoken in Cornwall is to some extent influenced by Cornish grammar, and often includes words derived from the Cornish language...
- Bungi creole
- Hiberno-EnglishHiberno-EnglishHiberno-English is the dialect of English written and spoken in Ireland .English was first brought to Ireland during the Norman invasion of the late 12th century. Initially it was mainly spoken in an area known as the Pale around Dublin, with Irish spoken throughout the rest of the country...
- Highland EnglishHighland EnglishHighland English is the variety of Scottish English spoken by many in the Scottish Highlands. It is more strongly influenced by Gaelic than other forms of Scottish English. Island English is the variety spoken as a second language by native Gaelic speakers in the Outer Hebrides...
(and Scottish EnglishScottish EnglishScottish English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Scotland. It may or may not be considered distinct from the Scots language. It is always considered distinct from Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language....
) - Welsh EnglishWelsh EnglishWelsh English, Anglo-Welsh, or Wenglish refers to the dialects of English spoken in Wales by Welsh people. The dialects are significantly influenced by Welsh grammar and often include words derived from Welsh...