Ynsee Gaelg is a new site I found this week that contains Manx language lessons, games, stories, news and information about the language. The lessons are available at three levels: Toshiaghteyr (Beginners), Meanagh (Intermediate) and Ard (Advanced) and include sound files for all the phrases and texts, something that’s lacking from other online Manx lessons. The stories and news are in English or Manx.
I’m impressed with this site – it contains a lot of useful, well-presented content, and also looks good. Now if I can just find a bit of time amongst my other activities, I’ll use it to learn some more Manx.
I find Manx texts quite difficult to read due to lack of familiarity with the spelling system. If I read the texts aloud however, I can often understand them better.
I was really needing something like that in Manx Thank you very much
Absolutely – reading Manx aloud is a terrific help. Not that I have (before this) studied Manx, but I’ve puzzled my way through a few poems. Thanks for the pointer to the site!
Moghrey mie. Gura mie ayd a Simon!
I find the same with reading Manx. The orthography is much closer to Welsh and English than Irish/Scottish Gaelic…
So when I see it written down, it looks crazy – but when I read it out loud (phonetically) it starts to make sense.
I once heard a recording of Ned Maddrell and I could follow his Manx pretty well – it sounded so like Scottish Gaelic. But I find the modern Manx really hard to understand in its spoken form – perhaps as the accent has been so strongly influenced by English?
De tha thu a smaoineachadh? Agus ciamar a tha thu a faighinn air adhart leis a Ghaidhlig?
Seumas
Modern Manx pronunciation does seem to have been influenced quite a lot by English. Some Manx speakers have a bit of a Scouse accent as well.
Tha mi a faighinn air adhart meadhanach math leis a Ghaidhlig.
When Manx was first written down, it was by a Welshman when he was translating the bible into Manx. Thats why the spelling is so different from Irish and Scottish but the pronunciations can be very similar.