Manx - The Native Language of the Isle of Man

One of the ideas behind the European Year of Languages is to increase awareness about Europe's linguistic diversity. There are dozens of indigenous languages in this part of the world, but many lesser known tongues are on the point of extinction. Others, though, have seen a gradual resurgence.

A case in point is Manx, spoken on the Isle of Man, which is situated in the middle of the Irish Sea.

Manx belongs to the Gaelic group of the Celtic languages. Like Scottish Gaelic, Manx was an offshoot of Irish. The earliest record of the Manx language dates back to 1610; It is a version of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer translated into Manx.

Today, the Manx language is virtually extinct. The last native speaker is said to have died in 1974.

Meanwhile, however, there are a number of people who have learnt Manx in an effort to help save the language. One indicator of the Manx revival movement are the many Manx websites on the internet.