Learn Manx
Manx is a Celtic language spoken on the Isle of Man, where it is known as Gaelg. It belongs to the Goidelic branch of Celtic, making it more similar to Irish and Scottish Gaelic than to Welsh or Cornish. The language was declared extinct by UNESCO in 2009, prompting locals who spoke Manx fluently to protest that it had never entirely died out, even after the death of the last native speaker in 1974. It was quickly reclassified as critically endangered. Nowadays the language is experiencing revitalisation, with one primary school teaching in Manx, as well as many playgroups and adult classes.
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Where is it spoken?
Isle of Man
Number of speakers
1,800
Language family
Indo-European
Celtic
Goidelic
Fun facts — Manx
- There is one school on the Isle of Man, the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh, where all lessons are taught in Manx.
- The language was declared extinct by UNESCO in 2009, which prompted Manx schoolchildren to write in Manx to UNESCO, asking what language they were speaking if Manx was extinct. The classification was subsequently changed to 'critically endangered'.
- The last native speaker, Ned Maddrell, died in 1974.
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