85-451: Onchan ( / ˈ ɔː ŋ k ən / ; Manx : Kione Droghad ) is a large village in the parish of Onchan on the Isle of Man . It is at the north end of Douglas Bay. Administratively a district, it has the second largest population of settlements on the island, after Douglas , with which it forms a conurbation . In Manx the name for the village is Kione Droghad meaning "bridge end". In
170-461: A British Stock Car Association stock car racing track. Onchan Village Commissioners purchased farmland after World War II to build new homes and a recreation area with a large park containing a stadium with the first ever banked cycle track which was opened by Reg Harris , World Champion Sprint Cyclist and Britain's Sportsman of the Year, on 19 June 1951. The park cost £50,000 to build. The stadium
255-477: A heritage language , and it is still an important part of the island's culture and cultural heritage . Manx is often cited as a good example of language revitalization efforts; in 2015, around 1,800 people had varying levels of second-language conversational ability. Since the late 20th century, Manx has become more visible on the island, with increased signage, radio broadcasts and a Manx- medium primary school. The revival of Manx has been made easier because
340-436: A microbrewery , The Old Laxey Brewing Company. The village is built around a wooded glen with a number of steep winding streets and paths leading to the floor of the glen, from where one can walk by the side of Laxey River to its outflow to the sea at the small harbour, and onto the beach and promenade. One can also walk around the cliffs to the north of the beach from opposite the "La Mona Lisa Restaurant". This walk goes over
425-516: A Manx phrase is the norm. Manx is one of the three daughter languages of Old Irish (via Middle Irish ), the other two being Irish and Scottish Gaelic . It shares a number of developments in phonology, vocabulary and grammar with its sisters (in some cases only with certain dialects) and shows a number of unique changes. There are two attested historical dialects of Manx, Northern Manx and Southern Manx . A third dialect may have existed in-between, around Douglas. Manx and Scottish Gaelic share
510-554: A barber shop and several residential dwellings in the area which leads to St Peter's Church via the one-way road. The Jubilee Lamp was erected in this road in 1987 after relocation from White City, and this was the first electrically lit lamp standard on the island. In the early 20th century the Port Jack area was being developed in connection with the Douglas Bay Estate Company's promotion of land sales on
595-464: A century later it was considered to be so backwards to speak the language that there were stories of Manx speakers getting stones thrown at them in the towns." Following the decline in the use of Manx during the 19th century, Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh (The Manx Language Society) was founded in 1899. By the middle of the 20th century, only a few elderly native speakers remained (the last of them, Ned Maddrell , died on 27 December 1974), but by then
680-514: A marked resurgence on the island, especially Moirrey and Voirrey (Mary), Illiam ( William ), Orry (from the Manx king Godred Crovan of Norse origin), Breeshey/Breesha ( Bridget ), Aalish/Ealish ( Alice ), Juan ( Jack ), Ean (John), Joney (Joan), Fenella ( Fionnuala ), Pherick ( Patrick ) and Freya (from the Norse goddess ) remain popular. Manx
765-480: A renewed sense of ethnic identity. The revival of Manx was aided by the recording work done in the 20th century by researchers. Most notably, the Irish Folklore Commission was sent in with recording equipment in 1948 by Éamon de Valera . Also important in preserving the Manx language was work conducted by the late Brian Stowell, who is considered personally responsible for the current revival of
850-423: A scholarly revival had begun and a few people had started teaching it in schools. The Manx Language Unit was formed in 1992, consisting of three members and headed by Manx Language Officer Brian Stowell , a language activist and fluent speaker, "which was put in charge of all aspects of Manx language teaching and accreditation in schools." This led to an increased interest in studying the Manx language and encouraged
935-531: A small shopping arcade and Avondale Court, both off Avondale Road, Main Road and Port Jack. A house on the Whitebridge Road at one time had its own (private) miniature railway in its grounds. This was never a public railway. Onchan Community Centre is located off School Road with a community hall, sports hall, games room and committee room. There are a number of hotels and guest houses in the village and
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#17327718872051020-515: A small harbour at the river mouth which was built in the 1850s to service the mining industry. It is now used by leisure craft and inshore fishing vessels that utilise Laxey Bay and further offshore. Laxey Bay is a protected Marine Nature Reserve . Laxey is the site of King Orry's Grave . The Isle of Man is a popular venue for conventions . As an example, Laxey was the venue for the Linux Bier Wanderung in 2016. Laxey lies on
1105-554: Is Primitive Irish (like modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic). The island either lends its name to or takes its name from Manannán , the Brythonic and Gaelic sea god who is said in myth to have once ruled the island. Primitive Irish is first attested in Ogham inscriptions from the 4th century AD. These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain . Primitive Irish transitioned into Old Irish through
1190-677: Is [t̪roᵇm] in the North but [t̪roː(ᵇ)m] in the South. This feature is also found in Cornish . Southern Manx tended to lose word-initial [ɡ] before [lʲ] , which was usually preserved in the North, e.g. glion "glen" and glioon "knee" are and [lʲɔᵈn] and [lʲuːᵈn] in the South but [ɡlʲɔᵈn] and [ɡlʲuːn] in the North. In modern times, the small size of the island and the improvement in communications precludes any regional dialect variations. Laxey Laxey ( Manx : Laksaa )
1275-530: Is a community-based fourth section brass band . It was founded in 1937. Manx language Manx ( endonym : Gaelg or Gailck , pronounced [ɡilɡ, geːlɡ] or [gilk] ), also known as Manx Gaelic , is a Gaelic language of the insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family , itself a branch of the Indo-European language family . Manx is the historical language of
1360-578: Is a newer, late Victorian section further inland is the area of shops and services around the railway station. The Great Laxey Mine was a silver, lead ore and zinc mine. The mine reached a depth in excess of 2,200 ft (670 m) and consisted primarily of three shafts: the Welsh Shaft, the Dumbell's Shaft and the Engine Shaft, each of these shafts being connected by a series of levels. There
1445-667: Is a village on the east coast of the Isle of Man . Its name derives from the Old Norse Laxa meaning 'Salmon River'. Its key distinguishing features are its three working vintage railways and the largest working waterwheel in the world. It is also the location of King Orry's Grave . The village lies on the A2 , the main Douglas to Ramsey road, and on the vintage Manx Electric Railway , and Snaefell Mountain Railway . Laxey Glen
1530-506: Is claimed to be the largest working waterwheel in the world. Designed by Robert Casement, it is 72 feet 6 inches (22.10 m) in diameter and 6 feet (1.83 m) wide. It revolves at about 3 rpm . The wheel was owned by Edwin Kneale from 1939 to 1965; he saved it from being dismantled and ran it as a tourist attraction, before passing it on to the Manx nation, with the agreement that it should be kept in perpetual running order for
1615-547: Is in Douglas, but through services often link all estates. There is now a regular through service to Nobles Hospital, north-west of Douglas. Onchan is also served by buses to Laxey and Ramsey as well as by local taxi firms. The Church of England parish church in Onchan is St Peter's on Church Road. The original church, dedicated to St Conchan, dated back to the 12th century. By 1760 the walls and roof had become dangerous and it
1700-400: Is known as pre-occlusion . In Southern Manx, however, there is also pre-occlusion of [d] before [l] and of [ɡ] before [ŋ] , as in [ʃuːᵈl] for shooyl "walking" and [lɔᶢŋ] for lhong "ship". These forms are generally pronounced without pre-occlusion in the North. Pre-occlusion of [b] before [m] , on the other hand, is more common in the North, as in trome "heavy", which
1785-409: Is no exact date for the start of mining at Laxey, but by 1782 workings were being opened. The mine yielded zinc , silver ore , copper pyrites and hematite iron in significant quantities; and by the 1830s over 200 men were employed in the mines, the figure rising steadily until over 600 were employed by 1900. Following various short-term closures, by May 1929 rumours had begun to circulate about
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#17327718872051870-532: Is no longer used for cycling. Groudle Glen and Molly Quirk's Glen meet at the Whitebridge, at the northern edge of the village on the main A2 coast road to Laxey . Groudle Glen extends right down to the coast and has been described as one of the most spectacular of all the island's glens. It was developed in the 1890s as a pleasure glen, with trees planted and long winding paths added. A bandstand, swings and various other minor attractions were also added. On
1955-629: Is not officially recognised by any national or regional government, although its contribution to Manx culture and tradition is acknowledged by some governmental and non-governmental bodies. The Standing Orders of the House of Keys provide that: "The proceedings of the House shall be in English; but if a Member at any point pronounces a customary term or sentence in Manx Gaelic or any other language,
2040-622: Is occasionally used. The language is usually referred to in English as "Manx". The term "Manx Gaelic" is often used, for example when discussing the relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx) or to avoid confusion with Manx English , the form of English spoken on the island. A feature of Manx English deriving from Gaelic is the use of the definite article, e.g. "the Manx", "the Gaelic", in ways not generally seen in standard English. The word "Manx", often spelled historically as "Manks" (particularly by natives of
2125-483: Is one of the Manx National Glens ; another glen, Dhoon Glen, is about 1 1 ⁄ 4 miles away. The Raad ny Foillan long distance coastal footpath , opened in 1986, runs along the coast of Laxey Bay through the village. In the 19th century lead and zinc mining began; it became the largest industry in the village, but ended in 1929. The village also had a fishing industry. In the late 1800s
2210-624: Is provided by the Department of Education 's Manx Language Team which teach up to A Level standard. The Bunscoill Ghaelgagh , a primary school at St John's , has 67 children, as of September 2016, who receive nearly all of their education through the medium of the language. Children who have attended the school have the opportunity to receive some of their secondary education through the language at Queen Elizabeth II High School in Peel . The playgroup organisation Mooinjer Veggey , which operates
2295-524: Is that /a/ rather than /ə/ appears in unstressed syllables before /x/ ( ⟨agh⟩ in Manx), e.g. jeeragh "straight" [ˈdʒiːrax] (Irish díreach ), cooinaghtyn "to remember" [ˈkuːnʲaxt̪ən] (Scottish Gaelic cuimhneachd ). Like Southern and Western Irish and Northern Scottish Gaelic, but unlike the geographically closer varieties of Ulster Irish and Arran and Kintyre Gaelic, Manx shows vowel lengthening or diphthongisation before
2380-475: Is the largest village on the island. It also has a higher population than three of the four towns - Castletown , Peel and Ramsey , making it the second largest settlement on the island. Onchan is now principally a dormitory village, providing homes for workers in nearby Douglas . There are two primary schools in Onchan, Onchan Primary School on School Road with nearly 400 pupils and Ashley Hill Primary School ( Manx : Scoill Cronk Ashley ) on Ashley Road which
2465-732: Is the treatment of Middle Irish word-final unstressed [əð] (- ⟨(e)adh⟩ in Irish and Scottish Gaelic). In nouns (including verbal nouns ), this became [ə] in Manx, as it did in Southern Irish, e.g. caggey "war" [ˈkaːɣə] , moylley "to praise" [ˈmɔlə] (cf. Irish cogadh and moladh (Southern Irish) [ˈkɔɡə] and [ˈmˠɔl̪ˠə] ). In finite verb forms before full nouns (as opposed to pronouns) [əð] became [ax] in Manx, as in Southern Irish, e.g. voyllagh [ˈvɔlax] "would praise" (cf. Irish mholfadh (Southern Irish) [ˈβˠɔl̪ˠhəx] ). Linguistic analysis of
2550-428: Is thought that this continued until 1934, when all working finally ceased. The Isle of Man census 2011 lists the village district population as 1,705. It is the fourth largest village on the island. Historically, Laxey was in the parish of Lonan within the sheading of Garff. Until 2016, Laxey was a village district with its own commissioners. From 1 May 2016, it merged with the parishes of Lonan and Maughold to form
2635-532: Is today the village's heritage area and the location of Molly Carooin's Cottage, which is maintained by the Friends Of Onchan's Heritage, a local volunteer group. The area features period lamp standards, and since 2001 has been home to the newly developed Village Green which links Church Road with the Onchan Wetlands to the north west. There is also a vehicle garage, a highways department depot,
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2720-536: Is used to make a variety of items from hats, scarfs and kilt skirts to capes and rugs. The cloth is made of fine Manx Loaghtan wool and woven on traditional-style looms. One loom operates by bicycle-power. The mills are now mainly a working shop, but still weave the Manx tartan and other cloth. The Laxey Woollen Mills also contain a busy craft shop, a tea-room, and the Hodgson Loom Gallery, which holds monthly arts and crafts exhibitions. The village has
2805-540: The Bunscoill Ghaelgagh , runs a series of preschool groups that introduce the language. Bilingual road, street, village and town boundary signs are common throughout the Isle of Man. All other road signs are in English only. Business signage in Manx is gradually being introduced but is not mandated by law; however, the 1985 Tynwald Report on the use of Manx states that signage should be bilingual except where
2890-686: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and in the framework of the British-Irish Council . The Isle of Man comprised the one site for the Manx language in the Atlas Linguarum Europae , a project that compared dialects and languages across all countries in Europe. Manx is taught as a second language at all of the island's primary and secondary schools. The lessons are optional and instruction
2975-653: The Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man , the representative on the Isle of Man of the Lord of Mann , currently King Charles III , is Government House on Governor's Road. Originally named Bemahague House, the house was leased to Governor Henry Brougham Loch in 1865, and purchased by the Isle of Man Government in 1903 as the official residence for the Sovereign's representative. There are ten Manx Electric Railway stops in Onchan. Onchan Head railway station
3060-607: The Manx Electric Railway , a vintage line which runs for 17 miles along the coast, between Douglas and Ramsey. Laxey station is in the north of the village and is also the southern terminus of the Snaefell Mountain Railway which runs for five miles between Laxey and the top of Snaefell mountain. Laxey is also on the route of most buses between Douglas and Ramsey. Laxey had a number of Methodist chapels. Shore Road Primitive Methodist Chapel
3145-464: The Manx people . Although few children native to the Isle of Man speak Manx as a first language , there has been a steady increase in the number of speakers since the death of Ned Maddrell in 1974. He was considered to be the last speaker to grow up in a Manx-speaking community environment. Despite this, the language has never fallen completely out of use, with a minority having some knowledge of it as
3230-554: The 1890s, a 5,000-year-old stone age axe was found in the Cassa Field by Onchan wetlands. In the Viking reign Onchan became part of Middle sheading. The name of the village is identified with St Connachan who was Bishop of Sodor and Man in 540 and the church named after him, Kirk Coonachan. An early name for the village is Manx : Kiondroghad which literally translated means "bridgehead". The earliest written record of Kiondroghad
3315-512: The 1980s completely re-built the line after it was closed and ripped up in the early 1960s. Molly Quirk's Glen was reputedly named after a woman who was murdered in her cottage. The glen covers about 5 acres (20,000 m). At the far end of the glen the Clypse and Kerrowdhoo reservoirs now have a series of footpaths and ancient tracks for walkers. Bibaloe Glen was named after a ford at the bottom of Whitebridge Hill. The Raad ny Foillan (Way of
3400-487: The 5th century. Old Irish, dating from the 6th century, used the Latin script and is attested primarily in marginalia to Latin manuscripts, but there are no extant examples from the Isle of Man. Latin was used for ecclesiastical records from the establishment of Christianity in the Isle of Man in the 5th century AD. Many lexical items concerning religion, writing and record keeping entered Manx at this time. The Isle of Man
3485-740: The DHSOB Football Ground, Blackberry Lane and are in the Premier League. Onchan F.C. are based at Nivison stadium, Onchan Pleasure Park and are in Division 2. The stadium was opened in 1952. There is stock car racing held each week in the summer months in the Pleasure Park organised by the British Stock Car Association . There is also bowling, tennis and kart racing at the park as well as
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3570-464: The Gaelic languages of Scotland and Ireland between 1400 and 1900. The 17th century Plantation of Ulster , the decline of Irish in Leinster and the extinction of Galloway Gaelic led to the geographic isolation of Manx from other dialects of Gaelic. The development of a separate orthography also led Manx to diverge from Irish and Scottish Gaelic. In the 17th century, some university students left
3655-494: The Glen Dhoo and Lower Ballacottier campsites. DHSOB FC operate a campsite each year during the annual Isle of Man TT motorcycle racing . The area has a number of residential housing estates including a large collection of local authority housing at Nursery Avenue, an estate at Ballachrink which also houses more local authority dwellings, Lakeside Gardens to the north east side of the village, Birch Hill, which can be found above
3740-462: The Gull) long distance coastal footpath opened in 1986, and runs along the coast in the village. It starts at Port Jack where it connects with Douglas, and runs as far as Howstrake Head before continuing into the neighbouring parish of Lonan . The Onchan wetlands ( Manx : Curragh Kiondroghad ) is a 1-acre (4,000 m) nature reserve in Onchan village that contains a variety of habitats. The site
3825-583: The Howstrake Farm. They also built an electric urban railway which later became a coastal railway to Ramsey . There was then a mixture of private houses, terraced houses and guest houses to take the overflow of visitors to Douglas. There was further development in the 1930s. During the Victorian and Edwardian tourism boom Onchan made a bid to become the island's second resort, encouraging the building of hotels and guest houses. The Manx Electric Railway
3910-552: The Isle of Man to attend school in England. At the same time, teaching in English was required in schools founded by governor Isaac Barrow . Barrow also promoted the use of English in churches; he considered that it was a superior language for reading the Bible; however, because the majority of ministers were monolingual Manx speakers, his views had little practical impact. Thomas Wilson began his tenure as Bishop of Mann in 1698 and
3995-633: The Isle of Man. Since then, UNESCO's classification of the language has changed to "critically endangered". In the 2011 census, 1,823 out of 80,398 Isle of Man residents, or 2.27% of the population, claimed to have knowledge of Manx, an increase of 134 people from the 2001 census. These individuals were spread roughly uniformly over the island: in Douglas 566 people professed an ability to speak, read or write Manx; 179 in Peel , 146 in Onchan , and 149 in Ramsey. Traditional Manx given names have experienced
4080-593: The Manx Electric Railway line was built through the village, opening it up to tourists. Other attractions were built at that time, including Snaefell Mountain Railway and the Laxey Glen Pleasure Gardens. Laxey village is now a mainly residential and tourist area. There are several public gardens, primarily Laxey Glen Gardens. There is also a handweaving mill which sells its own products and many others. The village has five pubs and
4165-476: The Manx language overall, a small number of modern place names on the Isle of Man are Norse in origin, e.g. Laxey (Laksaa) and Ramsey (Rhumsaa). Other Norse legacies in Manx include loanwords and personal names . By the 10th century, it is supposed that Middle Irish had emerged and was spoken throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. The island came under Scottish rule in 1266, and alternated between Scottish and English rule until finally becoming
4250-542: The Manx language. The Manx Language Strategy was released in 2017, outlining a five-year plan for the language's continued revitalisation. Culture Vannin employs a Manx Language Development Officer ( Manx : Yn Greinneyder ) to encourage and facilitate the use of the language. In 2009, UNESCO 's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger declared Manx an extinct language , despite the presence of hundreds of speakers on
4335-948: The Old Irish fortis and lenis sonorants , e.g. cloan "children" [klɔːn] , dhone "brown" [d̪oːn] and eeym "butter" [iːᵇm] correspond to Irish/Scottish Gaelic clann , donn , and im respectively, which have long vowels or diphthongs in Western and Southern Irish and in the Scottish Gaelic dialects of the Outer Hebrides and Skye , thus Western Irish [klˠɑːn̪ˠ] , Southern Irish/Northern Scottish [kl̪ˠaun̪ˠ] , [d̪ˠaun̪ˠ]/[d̪ˠoun̪ˠ] , [iːm]/[ɤim] ), but short vowels and 'long' consonants in Ulster Irish, Arran, and Kintyre, [klˠan̪ːˠ] , [d̪ˠon̪ːˠ] and [imʲː] . Another similarity with Southern Irish
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#17327718872054420-562: The Onchan Squash and Social Club. The Abbeyland Equestrian Centre is on Scollag Road, but this has been knocked down and built over by houses. King Edward Bay Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course located in an elevated position on the east side of the village off the A11 King Edward Road. Onchan Pleasure Park is a leisure park which has a boating lake , miniature golf course, football pitch, tennis courts and
4505-509: The Speaker may call upon the Member for a translation." An example was at the sitting on 12 February 2019, when an MHK used the expression boghtnid , stated to mean "nonsense". Manx is used in the annual Tynwald ceremony and Manx words are used in official Tynwald publications. For the purpose of strengthening its contribution to local culture and community, Manx is recognised under
4590-544: The cairn (kern), from where there are views of Laxey Bay and Clay Head to the south. A Laxey-born and bred person would say, "I'm going over the kern for a walk". Many of Laxey's buildings were built as mining cottages in the traditional Manx style. To the southeast of the village centre, above the left bank of the Laxey River, is the Minorca area. Old Laxey has winding streets around the harbour. The village centre
4675-401: The core village area and a number of older residences in the centre, notably Royal Avenue, Port Jack and Alberta Drive all of which were developed in the earliest years of the twentieth century. The Isle of Man census 2021 lists the population as 9,039, down from the 2016 figure of 9,128, which was a decrease from the population of 9,273 in 2011, and an increase from the population of 0 in 1. It
4760-692: The feudal possession of the Stanley family in 1405. It is likely that until that point, except for scholarly knowledge of Latin and courtly use of Anglo-Norman , Manx was the only language spoken on the island. Since the establishment of the Stanleys on the Isle of Man, first Anglo-Norman and later the English language have been the chief external factors in the development of Manx, until the 20th century, when Manx speakers became able to access Irish and Scottish Gaelic media. Manx had diverged considerably from
4845-408: The forms y Ghaelg / y Ghailck (with definite article ), as do Irish ( an Ghaeilge ) and Scottish Gaelic ( a' Ghàidhlig ). To distinguish it from the two other forms of Gaelic, the phrases Gaelg/Gailck Vannin "Gaelic of Mann " and Gaelg/Gailck Vanninnagh "Manx Gaelic" are also used. In addition, the nickname Çhengey ny Mayrey "the mother tongue", lit. "the mother's tongue"
4930-495: The future of the mine. By then, most of the miners had left, with many emigrating to South Africa , Australia or the United States of America . Continued flooding in the lower reaches of the mine combined with antiquated pumping machinery finally led to the end of mining operations at Laxey, and on the Isle of Man. However some of the spoil residue was brought to the washing floors to extract any remaining worth from it. It
5015-749: The historical consonant clusters /kn ɡn mn tn/ to /kr ɡr mr tr/ , e.g. Middle Irish cnáid "mockery" and mná "women" have become craid and mraane respectively in Manx. The affrication of slender " ⟨d, t⟩ " sounds is also common to Manx, Northern Irish, and Scottish Gaelic. Unstressed Middle Irish word-final syllable [iʝ] (- ⟨(a)idh, (a)igh⟩ ) has developed to [iː] (- ⟨ee⟩ ) in Manx, as in kionnee "buy" (cf. Irish ceannaigh ) and cullee "apparatus" (cf. Gaelic culaidh ), like Northern/Western Irish and Southern dialects Scottish Gaelic (e.g. Arran , Kintyre ). Another property Manx shares with Ulster Irish and some dialects of Scottish Gaelic
5100-482: The island), means "Mannish" and originates from Old Norse * manskr . The Isle of Man is named after the Irish god Manannán mac Lir , thus Ellan Vannin ("Mannanán's Island", Irish : Oileán Mhannanáin "Mannanán's Island"). Manx is a Goidelic language , closely related to Irish and Scottish Gaelic . On the whole it is partially mutually intelligible with these, and native speakers of one find it easy to gain passive, and even spoken, competency in
5185-559: The language was well recorded, e.g. the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer had been translated into Manx, and audio recordings had been made of native speakers. The endonym of the language is Gaelg / Gailck , which shares the same etymology as the word "Gaelic", as do the endonyms of its sister languages : Irish ( Gaeilge ; Gaoluinn , Gaedhlag and Gaeilic ) and Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig ). Manx frequently uses
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#17327718872055270-516: The last few dozen native speakers reveals a number of dialectal differences between the North and the South of the island. Northern Manx ( Manx : Gaelg Hwoaie ) was spoken from Maughold in the northeast to Peel on the west coast. Southern Manx was spoken in the sheading of Rushen . It is possible that written Manx represents a 'midlands' dialect of Douglas and surrounding areas. In Southern Manx, older ⟨á⟩ , and in some cases ⟨ó⟩ , became [æː] . In Northern Manx
5355-510: The new parish district of Garff , within which it is a ward. Laxey is also part of the Keys constituency of Garff, whose representation increased in 2016 from one to two members. Laxey Wheel , also known as Lady Isabella after the wife of The Hon. Charles Hope , then Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man , was built in 1854 to pump water from the Laxey mine shafts. Now a tourist attraction, it
5440-413: The older pronunciation of ⟨bh⟩ include Divlyn , Divlin "Dublin", Middle Irish Duibhlind /d̪uβʲlʲin̠ʲː/ . Moreover, similarly to Munster Irish , historical ⟨bh⟩ ( [βʲ] ) and ⟨mh⟩ ( nasalised [βʲ] ) tend to be lost word medially or finally in Manx, either with compensatory lengthening or vocalisation as [u] resulting in diphthongisation with
5525-404: The other two. It has been suggested that a little-documented Brythonic language (i.e. related to modern Welsh , Cornish and Breton ) may have been spoken on the Isle of Man before the arrival of Christian missionaries from Ireland in the early Middle Ages. However, there is little surviving evidence about the language spoken on the island at that time. The basis of the modern Manx language
5610-1444: The partial loss of phonemic palatalisation of labial consonants ; while in Irish velarised consonants /pˠ bˠ fˠ w mˠ/ contrast phonemically with palatalised /pʲ bʲ fʲ vʲ mʲ/ . A consequence of this phonemic merger is that Middle Irish unstressed word-final [əβʲ] (- ⟨(a)ibh, (a)imh⟩ in Irish and Gaelic) has merged with [əβ] (- ⟨(e)abh, (e)amh⟩ in Irish and Gaelic), in Manx; both have become [u] (- ⟨oo, u(e)⟩ ), e.g. shassoo "to stand" (Irish seasamh ), credjue "religion" (Irish creideamh ), nealloo "fainting" ( Early Modern Irish i néalaibh , lit. in clouds ), and erriu "on you (pl.)" (Irish oraibh ). Medial and final * ⟨bh, mh⟩ have generally become /u/ and /w/ in Manx, thus shiu 'you pl.' (Irish and Scottish Gaelic sibh ; Lewis Gaelic siù ), sharroo "bitter" (Scottish searbh /ˈʃɛɾˠɛv/ , Irish searbh (Northern/Western) /ʃaɾˠu/ , (Southern) /ʃaɾˠəβˠ/ ), awin "river" (Scottish abhainn /aviɲ/ , Irish abhainn (Northern) /oːn̠ʲ/ ) (Western) /aun̠ʲ/ (Southern) /aunʲ/ , laaue "hand" (Scottish làmh /l̪ˠaːvˠ/ , Irish lámh (Northern) /l̪ˠæːw/ , (Western) /l̪ˠɑːw/ , (Southern) /l̪ˠɑːβˠ/ ), sourey "summer" (Scottish samhradh /saurəɣ/ , Irish samhradh (Northern) /sˠauɾˠu/ , (Western/Southern) /sˠauɾˠə/ ). Rare retentions of
5695-572: The people of the Isle of Man. In 1965 the Isle of Man Government bought the wheel and the site. Restoration work began, and in 1989 it was put under the control of Manx National Heritage . The Great Laxey Mine Railway re-opened with two small steam engines in September 2004 to carry passengers along the restored route. The Laxey Woollen Mills were founded in 1881 by Egbert Rydings, supported by John Ruskin , and were originally water powered . The mills are known for producing Manx tartan which
5780-404: The population claimed to speak Manx in 1901; in 1921 the percentage was only 1.1%. Since the language was used by so few people, it had low linguistic " prestige ", and parents tended not to teach Manx to their children, thinking it would be useless to them compared with English. According to Brian Stowell , "In the 1860s there were thousands of Manx people who couldn't speak English, but barely
5865-620: The preceding vowel, e.g. geurey "winter" [ˈɡʲeurə, -uːrə] (Irish geimhreadh (Southern) [ˈɟiːɾʲə] ) and sleityn "mountains" [ˈsleːdʒən] (Irish sléibhte (Southern) [ˈʃlʲeːtʲə] ). Another similarity to Munster Irish is the development of the Old Irish diphthongs [ai oi] before velarised consonants ( ⟨ao⟩ in Irish and Scottish Gaelic) to [eː] , as in seyr "carpenter" [seːr] and keyl "narrow" [keːl] (Irish and Scottish saor and caol ). Like Connacht and Ulster Irish (cf. Irish phonology ) and most dialects of Scottish Gaelic, Manx has changed
5950-508: The rocky headland, a small inlet had been dammed off to form a deep pool, which became the centre of the small headland zoo which exhibited sea lions and polar bears. To get visitors out to the highland zoo, the glen owners built a miniature railway. Today, the attractions have all but disappeared apart from the Groudle Glen Railway , which still runs during the summer months operated by a group of local railway enthusiasts, who in
6035-653: The same happened, but ⟨á⟩ sometimes remained [aː] as well, e.g. laa "day" (cf. Irish lá ) was [læː] in the South but [læː] or [laː] in the North. Old ⟨ó⟩ is always [æː] in both dialects, e.g. aeg "young" (cf. Irish óg ) is [æːɡ] in both dialects. ⟨á, ó⟩ and lengthened ⟨a⟩ before ⟨rt, rd, rg⟩ became /œː/ , as in paayrt '"part" /pœːrt/ , ard "high" /œːrd/ , jiarg "red" /dʒœːrɡ/ , argid "money, silver" /œːrɡid/ and aarey "gold gen. " /œːrə/ . In Northern Manx, older ⟨(e)a⟩ before ⟨nn⟩ in
6120-480: The same syllable is diphthongised, while in Southern Manx it is lengthened but remains a monophthong , e.g. kione "head" (cf. Irish ceann ) is [kʲaun] in the North but [kʲoːn] in the South. Words with ⟨ua⟩ , and in some cases ⟨ao⟩ , in Irish and Scottish are spelled with ⟨eay⟩ in Manx. In Northern Manx, this sound was [iː] , while in Southern Manx it
6205-421: The wetlands are silver birch , ash, holly, rowan, marsh marigold , yellow flag , reed canary grass , hemlock water-dropwort , woody nightshade and cuckoo flower . Birds recorded on the site are the grey wagtail , heron , mallard , goldcrest , woodcock , chiffchaff and hen harrier (rare) along with invertebrates and bats . There are also many frogs and spawn in early summer. Onchan Silver Band
6290-454: Was [ɯː] , [uː] , or [yː] , e.g. geay "wind" (cf. Irish gaoth ) is [ɡiː] in the north and [ɡɯː] in the South, while geayl "coal" (cf. Irish gual ) is [ɡiːl] in the North and [ɡyːl] , [ɡɯːl] , or [ɡuːl] in the South. In both the North and the South, there is a tendency to insert a short [d] before a word-final [n] in monosyllabic words, as in [sleᵈn] for slane "whole" and [beᵈn] for ben "woman". This
6375-484: Was built in 1825, and closed in 1870. Glen Road Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was opened in 1850. It closed in 1966. Minorca Primitive Methodist Chapel was opened in 1870 and Sunday School was built in 1898 in land across the road; the chapel closed in 1966 when Glen Road and Minorca combined. In 1970 Minorca's Sunday School building became the new Methodist chapel for Laxey. Christ Church, the Church of England parish church ,
6460-453: Was condemned in 1771. But nothing was done until the Bishop of Sodor and Man , Bishop Ward commissioned a new church. Its foundation stone was laid in 1830, but due to pressures from the parishioners, it was moved to its current position. The church was built by John Samuel Skillicorn, and was consecrated in 1833. It was dedicated to Saint Peter . The church was refurbished in 1863. In 1897 it
6545-619: Was conquered by Norse Vikings in the 9th century. Although there is some evidence in the form of runic inscriptions that Norse was used by some of these settlers, the Vikings who settled around the Irish Sea and West Coast of Scotland soon became Gaelic speaking Norse–Gaels . During the 9th century AD, the Gaelic of the inhabitants of the Isle of Man, like those of Scotland and the North of Ireland, may have been significantly influenced by Norse speakers. While Norse had very little impact on
6630-522: Was constructed in 1893, but never achieved its goal of connecting with the heart of Douglas for commuter journeys. In the early 20th century Lower Onchan, around the Port Jack area, was the first area on the island to have electric-powered street lighting, powered by the Manx Electric Railway generators. After World War II development gradually continued, and in the 1960s the village commissioners built local authority housing. The official residence of
6715-472: Was donated to the Manx Wildlife Trust in 1988 and is open to the public for viewing and has a footpath which is suitable for wheelchair users. The site contains curragh (wetlands - willow scrub), broadleaved trees, dub (pond), neutral grassland and embankments of tall grassland. This variety of habitats leads to a diversity of wildlife and plant life. Some of the plants and trees that grow in
6800-455: Was in the 1643 Manorial Roll, when it was very small. The name Kiondroghad appeared on the 1841 census but not the one in 1851. Gradually the village spread beyond Church Road, known locally as The Butt . At the junction with the track that led towards the mountains (Avondale Road) a few more cottages appeared in the early 19th century. In the late 19th century land was sold off for terraces of houses to be built. The area surrounding Church Road
6885-514: Was opened in 1972 and has about 350 pupils. For secondary education children in Onchan usually go to either Ballakermeen High School in Douglas or St Ninian's High School which has a lower school (years 7–9) in Onchan and an upper school (years 10–11 and sixth form) in Upper Douglas. Onchan is home to two football clubs, both of which compete in the Isle of Man Football League . Douglas High School Old Boys F.C. (DHSOB FC) are based at
6970-404: Was succeeded by Mark Hildesley. Both men held positive views of Manx; Wilson was the first person to publish a book in Manx, a translation of The Principles and Duties of Christianity ( Coyrie Sodjey ), and Hildesley successfully promoted the use of Manx as the language of instruction in schools. The New Testament was first published in Manx in 1767. In the late 18th century, nearly every school
7055-431: Was teaching in English. This decline continued into the 19th century, as English gradually became the primary language spoken on the Isle of Man. In 1848, J.G. Cumming wrote, "there are ... few persons (perhaps none of the young) who speak no English." Henry Jenner estimated in 1874 that about 30% of the population habitually spoke Manx (12,340 out of a population of 41,084). According to official census figures, 9.1% of
7140-500: Was the first church on the island to be lit by electricity, to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria ; the electricity was supplied by the Isle of Man Tramways and Power Company. St Anthony's Roman Catholic Church is located on Ridgeway Road. Onchan Methodist Church, part of the Douglas and Peel circuit, is on Main Road. Onchan Baptist Church is on Whitebridge Road. The main shopping areas are The Village Walk,
7225-505: Was the first official stop on the line and served the former White City pleasure grounds. There are also stops at Port Jack Halt , Gandhi Indian Restaurant , the former Majestic Hotel, Braeside, Far End, Howstrake, Groudle Old Road, Groudle Glen and Eskadale. The village has a frequent bus service of Bus Vannin : there are several local services in Onchan and Douglas; these serve the various housing estates including Ballachrink, Lakeside Gardens, Birch Hill and Governor's Hill. The last of these
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