7 - Conjunctions

Summary

Manx employs both co-ordinating and subordinating conjunctions.

Co-ordinating conjunctions

The principal co-ordinating conjunctions in Manx are as (and), agh (but), ny (or):

as (and)

V'eh jeant feayr ec aer yn oie as ghow eh toshiaght dy chur reddyn my ner

He was chilled by the night air and beginning to notice things

[Nigel Kneale, ‘Curphey's Follower’, tr. Brian Stowell, Duillagyn 1, November 2005]

Jeh reiltys niau lhig toiggal cooie ve ayd

As da dooyteilys ny cur arragh raad

Then know the truth of government divine

And let these scruples be no longer thine

[Thomas Parnell, The Hermit 194–195]

agh (but)

Va graih aym urree – cha row niart aym er –

Agh ish gyn graih, nagh ren goaill tastey jeem.

I loved her – I couldn't help myself –

But she was without love for me.

[R. C. Carswell, ‘Ushag y tappee’, Shelg yn Drane 1994]

ny (or)

Cha s' aym's vel mee er jannoo mie ny dyn

I don't know whether I've done well or not

[Ned Maddrell (1877–1974)]

In the last example, in both Manx and English, only one single word follows the conjunction, so it doesn't look much like a real clause. But both Manx ‘ny dyn’ and English ‘or not’ in this context correspond to a full clause, meaning ‘or whether I have not done well,’ so ny counts as a co-ordinating conjunction.