Celtic Cultures Lesson 1: The Manx
I feel that people misunderstand Celtic cultures way too much. So, being a person fairly well-versed in Celtic culture (at least for an American), here I am to teach you about Celtic cultures. I'm going to break my pattern today, but here's the way I'm going to usually go:
I'm going to arrange it by lingual development, because being someone who studies lingual development for fun...you know. And we're using the Insular/Continental Hypothesis. I don't like the P/Q Hypothesis. If you understand that, good for you. If not, it's not really important.
So, we'll start with the Insular Celts, because they're more...stereotypically Celtic I guess. I'm going to start with the Goidelics, because they're my favorites.
We should technically start with the Irish (their language came first), but I'm starting with the Manx (second in the Insular Celtic languages), because I want to start with someone obscure. Then we'll go to the Irish followed by the Scottish (their language came third).
We will then move on the Brythonic Insular Celts. We'll start with a quick stop at the Picts, and another quick stop in Cumbria. The Welsh will then be learned about, followed by the Bretons. We'll talk a bit about Cornish, but that's more of a language than a culture.
We will then leave the Insular Celts to focus on the few Continental Celts there are. We'll start with Gauls and then move to the Galatians. I'm don't think we'll stop for the Leponti, unless someone wants us to, and I don't know enough about the Noric to talk about them.
Today's Celtic culture is...Manx!!
The Manx are an interesting people. They are native to the Isle of Man, a small island in the Irish sea, between England and Ireland. It is not part of the UK, but the Queen of England holds the title of the "Lord of Mann." It is also not part of the EU. It is considered one of the six Celtic nations (Ireland, Scotland, Island of Man, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany). It's name comes basically from the Manx Gaelic word for "Island." There are approximately 85,000 people who live on this island, and their language is Manx Gaelic, though most everybody there also speaks English today. Their economy subsists off of salmon and other seafoods, and most of the people eat meats that have been raised on the island or seafood that has been caught of it's coast. Cheese is also popular, the island being popular for its special kind of cheddar cheese. As you can imagine, it being a small British Isle, it is not very conducive to farming. The National Dish is "Spuds and Herrin." It's just potatoes and herring all mixed together.
A little word about mythology. It's most famous myths are that the Isle of Man was the home of the Celtic sea god, and that he protected it. It is also traditionally the home of many fairies and spirits. In Irish mythology, the Isle of Man was created when the Irish giant, Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) picked up some dirt to throw at Scotland, and some dirt chunked off midway through the Irish sea, creating the Isle of Man. Not even making that up. It's really in Irish mythology.
The Manx language is very endangered, very beautiful, and a descendant of middle Irish. The main difference between Irish and Manx is that Manx uses guttural sounds a bit more. I have attached one of my favorite Manx songs for your enjoyment, so that you can hear it being sung and spoken a bit. This song is sung by Emma Christian (or Christiani), who was born and raised on the Isle of Man.
Note: I'm working on the one I like most. It's called Ushag Veg Ruy, but my upload feature isn't working the way it usually does. So, here's a snippet for the time being. Same artist, but this one is called Oikan Anys Bethlehem.
HERE YOU GO!
Also, This whole thing is about my trying to get a break from my homework. Everything due tomorrow is done. But I'm going to try to finish some Pre-Calculus tonight too. I LOVE genetics, so that wasn't draining at all. It's so much easier than some other things.
UPDATE: I decided that'd it just be easier to put this nice song with a movie. So, I made a slideshow of some pictures from The Isle of Man at the same time. It's a pretty place, so I thought it'd be nice, and it wasn't hard to whip up at all.
I'm going to arrange it by lingual development, because being someone who studies lingual development for fun...you know. And we're using the Insular/Continental Hypothesis. I don't like the P/Q Hypothesis. If you understand that, good for you. If not, it's not really important.
So, we'll start with the Insular Celts, because they're more...stereotypically Celtic I guess. I'm going to start with the Goidelics, because they're my favorites.
We should technically start with the Irish (their language came first), but I'm starting with the Manx (second in the Insular Celtic languages), because I want to start with someone obscure. Then we'll go to the Irish followed by the Scottish (their language came third).
We will then move on the Brythonic Insular Celts. We'll start with a quick stop at the Picts, and another quick stop in Cumbria. The Welsh will then be learned about, followed by the Bretons. We'll talk a bit about Cornish, but that's more of a language than a culture.
We will then leave the Insular Celts to focus on the few Continental Celts there are. We'll start with Gauls and then move to the Galatians. I'm don't think we'll stop for the Leponti, unless someone wants us to, and I don't know enough about the Noric to talk about them.
Today's Celtic culture is...Manx!!
The Manx are an interesting people. They are native to the Isle of Man, a small island in the Irish sea, between England and Ireland. It is not part of the UK, but the Queen of England holds the title of the "Lord of Mann." It is also not part of the EU. It is considered one of the six Celtic nations (Ireland, Scotland, Island of Man, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany). It's name comes basically from the Manx Gaelic word for "Island." There are approximately 85,000 people who live on this island, and their language is Manx Gaelic, though most everybody there also speaks English today. Their economy subsists off of salmon and other seafoods, and most of the people eat meats that have been raised on the island or seafood that has been caught of it's coast. Cheese is also popular, the island being popular for its special kind of cheddar cheese. As you can imagine, it being a small British Isle, it is not very conducive to farming. The National Dish is "Spuds and Herrin." It's just potatoes and herring all mixed together.
A little word about mythology. It's most famous myths are that the Isle of Man was the home of the Celtic sea god, and that he protected it. It is also traditionally the home of many fairies and spirits. In Irish mythology, the Isle of Man was created when the Irish giant, Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) picked up some dirt to throw at Scotland, and some dirt chunked off midway through the Irish sea, creating the Isle of Man. Not even making that up. It's really in Irish mythology.
The Manx language is very endangered, very beautiful, and a descendant of middle Irish. The main difference between Irish and Manx is that Manx uses guttural sounds a bit more. I have attached one of my favorite Manx songs for your enjoyment, so that you can hear it being sung and spoken a bit. This song is sung by Emma Christian (or Christiani), who was born and raised on the Isle of Man.
Note: I'm working on the one I like most. It's called Ushag Veg Ruy, but my upload feature isn't working the way it usually does. So, here's a snippet for the time being. Same artist, but this one is called Oikan Anys Bethlehem.
HERE YOU GO!
Also, This whole thing is about my trying to get a break from my homework. Everything due tomorrow is done. But I'm going to try to finish some Pre-Calculus tonight too. I LOVE genetics, so that wasn't draining at all. It's so much easier than some other things.
UPDATE: I decided that'd it just be easier to put this nice song with a movie. So, I made a slideshow of some pictures from The Isle of Man at the same time. It's a pretty place, so I thought it'd be nice, and it wasn't hard to whip up at all.
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