Manx language

Manx
Manx Gaelic
y Ghaelg, y Ghailck
Native to	Isle of Man
Native speakers	Extinct as a first language in 1974; subsequently revived and now with about a hundred competent speakers, including a small number of children who are new native speakers, and 1,823 people (2.27% de facto population) in the Isle of Man professing some knowledge of the language (2011)
Language family	Indo-European Celtic Insular Goidelic Manx
Official status
Official language in	Isle of Man
Regulated by	Coonseil ny Gaelgey (Manx Gaelic Council)
Language codes
ISO 639-1	gv
ISO 639-2	glv
ISO 639-3	glv
ELP	Manx
Linguasphere	50-AAA-aj

Manx, or Manx Gaelic (known in Manx as Gaelg or Gailck), is a language spoken on the Isle of Man.

It is a Gaelic language, the same family as Scottish Gaelic and Irish. All of them are Celtic languages.

Manx is spoken mainly by people who learn it through interest. It died out as a natural community language in the 20th century. The last old native speaker died in 1974.

Manx is protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

History

Manx began to separate from Middle Irish in about 900–1600 AD and is called Yn Ghaelg Yn Ghailck by its speakers. There became fewer and fewer speakers during the 19th century, when the language was replaced by English. In the 1901 census, 9% of the people in the Isle of Man were said to speak Manx, but in the 1921 census, that had dropped to only 1%.

Today, Manx is used as the only language taught at five of the Isle of Man’s preschools. Manx is taught as a second language at all of the Isle of Man's primary and secondary schools.

Today

Today, Manx is used as the only language taught at five of the Isle of Man’s preschools. Manx is taught as a second language at all of the Isle of Man's primary and secondary schools.

There is now a school that teaches all of its lessons in Manx. According to the 2001 census, 2.2% of the population of the island could speak the language. There are currently 54,000 second-language speakers, mainly on the Isle of Man.