{"id":27,"date":"2009-05-06T00:01:04","date_gmt":"2009-05-06T04:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=27"},"modified":"2009-05-06T00:01:04","modified_gmt":"2009-05-06T04:01:04","slug":"logainmneacha-ceilteacha-agus-naisiuntachtai-a-ceathair-celtic-place-names-and-nationalities-4-%e2%80%93-the-isle-of-man-mann-and-the-manx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/logainmneacha-ceilteacha-agus-naisiuntachtai-a-ceathair-celtic-place-names-and-nationalities-4-%e2%80%93-the-isle-of-man-mann-and-the-manx\/","title":{"rendered":"Logainmneacha Ceilteacha agus N\u00e1isi\u00fantachta\u00ed a Ceathair: Celtic Place Names and Nationalities 4 \u2013 The Isle of Man (Mann) and the Manx"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve recently discussed the place names Albain<\/strong> (Scotland), \u00c9ire<\/strong> (Ireland), and An Bhreatain Bheag<\/strong> (Wales).\u00a0 <\/span>Today we\u2019ll turn to the Isle of Man (IOM), an island which is not part of Britain nor of the United Kingdom, but which has been a British crown possession since 1828.\u00a0 <\/span>Under the auspices of the British Home Office, it is self-governing for internal affairs.\u00a0 <\/span>Below you\u2019ll find some examples of how to use the place name and how to indicate that a person, thing, or, we can\u2019t resist for this lesson, a cat, is Manx.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve seen or heard about the famous Manx cats which are gan ruball <\/strong>(tailless).\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The island can either be referred to using the word \u201cisland,\u201d as in the Irish \u201cOile\u00e1n Mhanann<\/strong>\u201d and the Manx \u201cEllan Vannin,\u201d or just by saying \u201cManainn,\u201d which has the \u00a0<\/span>possessive forms, \u201cManann\u201d and \u201cMhanann.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Likewise, in English, the island can be called simply, Man, sometimes spelled \u201cMann.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Manannach<\/span><\/strong>, a Manxman or Manx person.\u00a0 <\/span>Like the terms for Irish, Scottish, and Welsh, it can be made feminine, \u201cManannach<\/strong> mn\u00e1,<\/strong>\u201d but, as I\u2019ve previously mentioned, this form is rarely used.\u00a0 <\/span>The feminine form basically means \u201ca woman Manxman.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

an Manannach<\/span><\/strong>, the Manxman.\u00a0 <\/span>Since \u201cManannach<\/strong>\u201d starts with a consonant, there are no special rules to remember for prefixing letters when you add the definite article, as we had with \u201can tAlbanach<\/strong>\u201d and \u201can t\u00c9ireannach<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Manannach<\/span><\/strong> is also the adjective form but sometimes just the place name itself is used as an attributive noun, eg. \u201cslinn Mhanann<\/strong>\u201d (Manx slate, the island\u2019s bedrock).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The cat Manannach (<\/strong>Manx cat) is famous for being tailless.\u00a0 <\/span>In the Manx language, they are called <\/span>Kayt Manninagh<\/span><\/strong> or Stubbin.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong>There are two folk explanations for the cat being tailless.\u00a0 <\/span>One is that Noah shut the door on the cat\u2019s tail in his rush to get all the animals into the Ark.\u00a0 <\/span>The other is that they are the offspring of a cat and a rabbit.\u00a0 <\/span>In reality, the explanation is genetic.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Then there is the Manx Rumpy chicken, for which I cannot find and decline to attempt a translation into Irish.\u00a0 <\/span>Ironically, it\u2019s not actually a breed found on the IOM but it is named because of its similarity to the Manx cat in terms of taillessness.\u00a0 <\/span>Well, maybe I should attempt a translation.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019ll teach some interesting vocabulary anyway.\u00a0 <\/span>Generally speaking, there\u2019s no equivalent in Irish to the \u201c-less\u201d suffix in English, so Irish will use a two-word phrase, like \u201cgan ainm<\/strong>\u201d (nameless, lit. without name) or \u201cgan dochar<\/strong>\u201d (harmless, lit. without harm).\u00a0 <\/span>Sometimes a negating prefix \u201cneamh<\/strong>-\u201c is also used, as in \u201cneamhurch\u00f3ideach<\/strong>\u201d (harmless) or \u201cneamhrialta<\/strong>\u201d (irregular).\u00a0 <\/span>For \u201crumpless,\u201c we could start with \u201cprompa<\/strong>\u201d (rump) and say \u201cneamhphrompach,<\/strong>\u201d calling the bird \u201cSic\u00edn Manannach Neamhphrompach<\/strong>,\u201d which does seem a bit verbose and, admittedly, doesn\u2019t have the folksy appeal of \u201cManx Rumpy.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>I could be tempted to use an existing Irish word, proimp\u00edn<\/strong>, meaning \u201ca bird\u2019s posterior\u201d or \u201ca small rump,\u201d but given the unfamiliarity of the actual bird, I\u2019m not sure that using \u201cproimp\u00edn<\/strong>\u201d would convey the bird\u2019s true rumplessness.\u00a0 <\/span>We could improvise with \u201cNeamhphrompa Manannach<\/strong>,\u201d and trust that word order will distinguish this from a rumpless Manxman.\u00a0 <\/span>On the other hand, since this breed of chicken is named after the Manx cat, and is not necessarily Manx itself, perhaps we should remove the reference to Mann altogether.\u00a0 <\/span>Bhur mbar\u00falacha<\/strong> (your opinions)?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There is a precedent for geographic references not being used as terms get translated from language to language.\u00a0 <\/span>Consider, for example, the Manx shearwater (a type of sea-bird).\u00a0 <\/span>The Irish phrase for it, c\u00e1n\u00f3g dhubh<\/strong>, doesn\u2019t refer to Mann at all, but simply means \u201ca black shearwater\u201d).\u00a0 <\/span>Another case of the missing geographic reference is in the Irish for \u201cJerusalem artichoke.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Anyone care to guess? \u00a0<\/span>Hint: it has nothing to do with Jerusalem itself; that much is a misunderstanding of \u201cgirasole\u201d (turning to the sun).\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Some phrases with the place name Manainn <\/strong>or Oile\u00e1n Mhanann<\/strong> include: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

i Manainn<\/span><\/strong> or in Oile\u00e1n Mhanann<\/strong>: in the Isle of Man \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ar Mhanainn<\/span><\/strong> or ar Oile\u00e1n Mhanann<\/strong>: on the Isle of Man<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

go Manainn <\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>or go hOile\u00e1n Mhanann: <\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>to the Isle of Man<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013 \u00a0<\/span>Bhur mblag\u00e1la\u00ed, R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve recently discussed the place names Albain (Scotland), \u00c9ire (Ireland), and An Bhreatain Bheag (Wales).\u00a0 Today we\u2019ll turn to the Isle of Man (IOM), an island which is not part of Britain nor of the United Kingdom, but which has been a British crown possession since 1828.\u00a0 Under the auspices of the British Home Office…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[3903,3912,4042,4095,4122,4202,4215,4314,4379,4439,4471,4472,4544,4545,4578,4657,4834,4836,4943,4999,5060,5082,5083,5224,5323,5325,5326,5327,5374,5405,5406,5408,5487,5532,5659,97,5746,5765,5781,5782,5986,5987,5988,5989,5992,5993,5994,5995,5996,5997,5998,5999,6000,6001,6070,6071,6128,6213,6230,6232,6233,6234,6235,6272,6347,6348,6513,6536,12159,6641,6642,6643,6729,6783,6807,6809,6849,6958,7013,7014,7020,7054,7214,7259],"class_list":["post-27","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-less-suffix","tag-3912","tag-albain","tag-an-bhreatain-bheag","tag-an-manannach","tag-ar-mhanainn","tag-ark","tag-bedrock","tag-black-shearwater","tag-breatain","tag-british-crown-possession","tag-british-home-office","tag-canog","tag-canog-dhubh","tag-cat-manannach","tag-chicken","tag-crown-dependency","tag-crown-possession","tag-dependency","tag-dubh","tag-eire","tag-ellan","tag-ellan-vannin","tag-folksy-appeal","tag-gan-ainm","tag-gan-dochar","tag-gan-eireaball","tag-gan-ruball","tag-girasole","tag-go-hoilean","tag-go-hoilean-mhanann","tag-go-manainn","tag-harmless","tag-home-office","tag-iom","tag-irregular","tag-isle-of-man","tag-jerusalem-artichoke","tag-kayt","tag-kayt-manninagh","tag-manainn","tag-manann","tag-manannach","tag-manannach-mna","tag-mann","tag-manninagh","tag-manx","tag-manx-cat","tag-manx-cats","tag-manx-rumpy","tag-manx-shearwater","tag-manx-slate","tag-manxman","tag-manxwoman","tag-mhanainn","tag-mhanann","tag-mna","tag-nameless","tag-neamh","tag-neamhphrompa-manannach","tag-neamhphrompach","tag-neamhrialta","tag-neamhurchoideach","tag-noah","tag-oilean","tag-oilean-mhanann","tag-possessive-forms","tag-proimpin","tag-prompa","tag-rump","tag-rumpless","tag-rumplessness","tag-sea-bird","tag-shearwater","tag-sicin","tag-sicin-manannach-neamhphrompach","tag-slinn-mhanann","tag-stubbin","tag-tailless","tag-taillessness","tag-talbanach","tag-teireannach","tag-two-word-phrase","tag-vannin"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}