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Manx English, or more commonly Anglo-Manx, is the dialect of English which was formerly spoken by the people of the Isle of Man. It has many borrowings from the original Manx language, a Goidelic language, and it differs widely from any other English, including other Celtic-derived dialects such as Welsh English and Hiberno-English.

Early strata of Anglo-Manx contain much of Gaelic and Norse origin, but more recent Anglo-Manx displays heavy influence from Liverpool and Lancashire in North West England. A.W. Moore 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 thanks to the influence of mainstream English.

Contents 1 Modern Anglo-Manx lexicon 1.1 Manx loanwords 1.2 Superstitions and word replacement 1.3 Anglo-Manx dialect sayings / phrases 2 References

[edit] 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 Gaelic, idiomatic usage and technical/organisational terms such as "advocate" and "deemster".

• Across - England, i.e. across the water
• At - in possession of - from Gaelic usage. "He's got a nice house at him".
• At all - in the least, whatever. "I don't know at all".
• Aye - yes
• Boy - common address from one male to another, originally an unmarried male
• Coalie - a coal fish
• Comeover - a non-Manx person living in the Isle of Man, usually used in a derogatory sense for arrogant people who believe themselves superior.
• Fell - hill, of Scandinavian origin
• 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' ?"
• Gilpin - young fish of indeterminite species, especially callig
• Herrin - herring, pronounced the same as 'heron'
• Himself - the master of the house, the husband. "Is Himself in ?"
• In - in existence. "The best that's in"
• Kirk - Church, used in parish names, of Scandinavian origin
• Mann - the Isle of Man - "Gaut made it, and all in Mann"
• 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 - "Oh, the neck of him !"
• Sally/Sallie - a willow tree, where the placename Ballasalla derives
• Skeet - news, gossip, [possibly cognate with "skite" in English dialect] also to take a look at something.
• Skutch - a quantity of something - "There were a skutch of people there"
• Sowel - archaic form of address. "Poor Sowel !"
• Themselves - fairies
• Twenty Four - the House of Keys
• Ukered - knackered (as in tired)
• Up is used for going south, down for going north, out for going west
• Yessir - form of address to a male person, from the "Ussey" (ussa) form of "you" in Manx Gaelic. Not uniquely Manx.

[edit] Manx loanwords

Words of Manx Gaelic 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.

• Bollan Bane - mugwort
• Bonnag - a flat loaf of bread
• Bravvag - to warm the backs of the legs by the fire
• Broogh - a riverbank
• Callig - the Pollack fish
• Chymlee - the actual Manx word for chimney
• Claddagh - floodplain
• Croggan - a horsefly
• Cronk - hill
• Cruinnaght - cultural gathering
• Curragh - an area of willow carr (swamp/bog)
• Cushag - ragwort, the National Flower of the Isle of Man
• Dub - a small hollow, damp area or pool
• Ellan Vannin - Isle of Man
• Fastyr mie - good afternoon
• Ferrain - hogweed
• Garee - wasteland (sometimes spelt 'garey' which confusingly means 'garden')
• Glen - a wooded valley
• Gobbag pronounced "govag", literally a dogfish, but used to mean someone from the city of Peel
• Hop-tu-Naa - Hallowe'en, possibly cognate with Hogmanay
• Jarrood - from the Manx for "forget", people will speak of being "a bit jarrood"
• Jinney/Ginney/Jinny/Ginny - a stinging nettle
• Jough - a drink
• Keck - shit and derivative Keckin
• Keeill - a small church or chapel
• Mannin - Manx for Isle of Man - compare Ellan Vannin
• Mhelliah - a festival or party to celebrate harvest
• Moal - literally "slow", but used to mean "ill"
• Moaney - peat-land
• Moghrey mie - good morning
• Mooinjer Veggey - little people or fairies
• Mollag - a herring gull chick or dogskin fishing float - "as fat as a Mollag" or "as full of wind as a Mollag"
• Oie vie - good night
• Qualtagh - the first person met on New Year's Day, first-foot.
• Slaynt - health, cheers
• Tholtan - an abandoned farm
• Tramman - an elder tree
• Tynwald - the Manx parliament, from Norse 'Thingvollr'
• Ushtey - water

[edit] 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" (roddan 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 & 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 :

• Iron fella
• Joey
• Longtail
• Queerfella
• Ringie
• r-a-t - a more recent expression, owing to increased immigration, note that for 'an', in stead of 'a' is used as the indefinite article

[edit] Anglo-Manx dialect sayings / phrases

A few have survived to be common parlance, amongst these :

• Traa dy Liooar - Manx for "time enough"
• Lhiam-Lhiat - An inconsistent person who changes sides easily - from Manx Gaelic for "with me - with you"
• Bock Yuan Fannee - "John the Flayer's Pony" - on foot

[edit] References

• An Anglo-Manx Vocabulary published by Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh
• A.W. Moore's "A Vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx Dialect" (Oxford University Press, 1924)
• W.W. Gill's "Manx Dialect Words and Phrases" (J.W. Arrowsmith, 1934)