Continuing the personal pronouns from my last blog, I’m now learning the negative forms. The examples I’ve come up with don’t entirely make a lot of sense (why would you have need to say “You are not learning”?), but I think it gives an extra level of flexibility in phrasing Manx.
| cha nel mee | I am not | Cha nel mee gynsaghey | I am not learning | |
| cha nel oo | thou art not | Cha nel ou gynsaghey | You are not learning | Used when speaking to a single person for politeness.Note use of “ou” instead of “oo”. Still wondering why this is. Need to check … |
| cha nel eh | he is not | Cha nel eh gynsaghey | He is not learning | |
| cha nel ee | she is not | Cha nel ee gynsaghey | She is not learning | |
| cha nel shin | we are not | Cha nel shin gynsaghey | We are not learning | |
| cha nel shiu | you are not | Cha nel shiu gynsaghey | You are not learning | Used to address more than one person. I’m beginning to differentiate this from “shin”, in that “you” rhymes with “shui” (“shoe”)! |
| cha nel ad | they are not | Cha nel ad gynsaghey | They are not learning |
“Cha” seems to prefix a negative statement, and is sometimes left alone to do its job (“Cha by vie lhiam” – I would not like, literally, “not good with me”) or “nel” is added. Another question for the experts.
It’s also interesting that I’m finding interest in learning the language in many quarters, but alas, antipathy towards the island in the Manx themselves.
