Manx Culture in the Late Twentieth Century: An Overview
This overview is concerned virtually exclusively with the preservation and development
of Manx Gaelic culture, with particular reference to the native language, music and
songs. Throughout the nineteenth century, the Manx language was in decline. By
the early years of the twentieth century, Manx had virtually disappeared as a community
language, apparently despised and ridiculed by almost all Manx people themselves.
The word 'apparently' is used advisedly here, because more research is needed to
find out more (where possible) about the real attitudes of ordinary Manx people to their own
language. The issue of language, and particularly of language change, is infinitely
more complex than is generally acknowledged. There is more than a suspicion that
most Manx people had a love-hate relationship with the language and that, quite often,
their expressions of contempt for it masked deep feelings of impotent rage and regret
about its decline. Such complex attitudes are evident today.
Although Manx was no longer a community language by 1900 - 1910, the Bible and the
Anglican Book of Common Prayer were available in Manx, along with a respectable body
of native literature in Manx. The practice of summarising new legislation in Manx
was never discontinued. And there were always those learned to speak Manx fluently as
a second language. The last recognised native speaker of nineteenth Manx, Ned Madrell,
died in 1974, a date usually highlighted by academics as the 'death' of Manx. Whether one accepts this definition of language death or not, it is manifestly the case that
interest in, and support for, the language has grown markedly in the last few decades.
This growth has led to increasing willingness on the part of the Manx Government
to fund teaching of Manx in schools, a development which was almost unthinkable some
decades ago.
Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh
(Manx Language Society, or Manx Gaelic Society) was founded in 1899. Throughout most
of its history, it has operated as a preservationist society rather than a revivalist
one. And in society at large in Mann,
the study of Manx in order to be able to read the Manx Bible was tolerated, while
speaking Manx was seen as a dangerous activity. However, from the late 1930's, a
small group of non-native speakers of Manx took to using the language in an everyday
sense. After the Second World War and up to his death in 1987, this group was led by the
charismatic figure of Doug Fargher, nicknamed 'Yn Breagagh'
.
Doug Fargher organised language classes for adults and instituted the influential
Oieghyn Gaelgagh
(Manx Speaking Nights) in pubs, where Manx speakers and learners met to practice speaking
Manx - and to publicise its continuing existence.
From the late 1940's, native speakers of Manx had been tape-recorded by the Irish
Folklore Commission and the Manx Gaelic Society, giving precious archives of the
Manx of the late nineteenth century. Doug Fargher and his associates saw these recordings
as being of enormous importance in their efforts to promote the language.
Doug Fargher's life's work was his English-Manx Dictionary, which was published in
1979, with assistance from the Manx Government. This assistance was in itself significant
in view of the government's previously determined neglect of Manx.
Census returns in the Isle of Man have generally recorded the numbers of those claiming
to speak Manx. This number bottomed out in 1961 at 165 and rose steadily after that,
reaching 634 in 1991. While the numbers of really fluent speakers would have been significantly less than the census figures, these official returns act as a measure
of popular support for the language.
In 1991, influenced by political developments and a Gallup poll showing solid support
for Manx in schools, the Manx Government appointed a Manx Language Officer (Brian
Stowell) and seconded two Manx-speaking teachers (Phil Kelly and Peggy Carswell)
to teach the language in schools on a peripatetic basis. The scheme was modelled on the
teaching of instrumental music, where small numbers of children come out of classes
to be taught to play musical instruments.
When parents and pupils were canvassed in May 1992, the returns showed that the instrumental
music teaching model was not really valid. Almost 2,000 pupils (prmary and secondary)
wanted to study Manx (roughly 20% of the total school population. In the primary schools, about 40% of all pupils aged seven and over registered to take Manx
(with parental support). These numbers could not be coped with given the resources
allocated and tuition in Manx was delayed for a large number of pupils. Manx classes
started in the schools in September 1992.
In mid-November 1992, there were 1,141 pupils taking Manx in the primary schools and
282 in the secondary schools, giving a total of 1,423. In later years, the numbers
levelled out at roughly 700 - 800 in the primary schools and about 100 in the secondary schools. Critics of Manx in schools who had (mainly tacitly) expected the whole
thing to melt away quickly were confounded.
The introduction of optional Manx in schools has proved a great success, but the position
of the language is not particularly satisfactory. The Isle of Man unfortunately
adopted the English 'National' Curriculum which has resulted in over-loaded curricula and a simplistic adherence to 'useful' subjects. Manx (like music) is generally
regarded as peripheral.
There is a tendency for people in Mann (including some of those working for the national
cause) not to appreciate the importance of making tuition in Manx available in the
schools. In fact, this demonstrated the very strong demand for the language by the
public, thereby silencing vocal critics of Manx in Tynwald, the Manx parliament.
More importantly, there are now many hundreds of young people who can understand
and speak some Manx and think of the language in a sympathetic way. Following Brian
Stowell's retirement in 1996, Phil Kelly took over as the Manx Language Officer, with Catreeney
Craine being appointed as a peripatetic teacher of Manx in schools. Continuity of
the schools programme was thus retained.
In September 1997, a course leading to the General Certificate in Manx (equivalent
to a British General Certificate in Secondary Education) started in secondary schools,
with eleven candidates initially. It is expected that adults will be able to take
this course from September 1998.
Also in the government sector, use of Manx on departmental stationery has become general,
along with Manx on many government vehicles. Coonceil ny Gaelgey
(Gaelic Advisory Council) was set up as a quasi-government body to provide authoritative
Manx translations of official titles, street names, etc. Following the efforts
of a very effective supporter of Manx in Tynwald, Peter Karran, the Gaelic Broadcasting Committee was set up with a view to increasing the amount of Manx used on Manx Radio.
There has been some progress in this area, but there are difficulties at present
because of the small number of Manx speakers who can work in radio. Also, the Manx
Treasury has imposed restrictive criteria on the ways the Gaelic Broadcasting Committee
can use its budget. Nevertheless, there is optimism that further progress will be
made.
Hand in hand with the increasing interest in the language went the revival in Manx
music, song and dance. With the issue of their books of Manx folk songs, Kiaull yn Theay,
Colin and Cristl Jerry were pivotal in this revival. A significant number of young
people have been attracted to Manx folk music. In this, Mann is fortunate in having
an excellent system of peripatetic teaching of instrumental music in the schools
- a feature which is not appreciated by some teachers of other subjects.
Several groups of young Manx musicians have had a great measure of success, including
Paitçhyn Vannin
and Ny Fenee.
Among adult musicians, The Mollag Band, led by Greg Joughin, has pioneered new expression
of Manx music and song.
It cannot be overemphasised how important it is that the Manx Government has begun
to fund Manx language and culture in a regular way. Possibly because it has qualms
over such funding, the Manx Treasury has recently shown signs of wanting to 'rationalise' the ways the funding takes place. The Department of Education budgets for Manx in
the schools, the Manx Heritage Foundation funds projects concerned with Manx culture,
as does the Manx Arts Council to some extent. By far the lion's share of government
money goes to Manx National Heritage, which has an impressive track record in the
form of the Manx Museum in Douglas, castles at Castletown and Peel, a brand new heritage
centre at Peel, as well as other excellent centres of 'heritage'. However, the enormous amount of money allocated to Manx National Heritage has so far been spent in a
way which has paid little regard to the central role of the language in Manx heritage.
There is a danger that, in handing millions of pounds to Manx National Heritage,
Treasury officials think 'Right - that's taken care of Manx heritage and culture'. Hence
the call for the now highly effective Manx Heritage Foundation to get rid of the
debased word 'heritage' and adopt a new name. (Many people think that the Manx Heritage
Foundation is the same organisation as Manx National Heritage).
There have also been noteworthy developments outside the government sector.
A language support group called Caarjyn ny Gaelgey
(Friends of the Manx Language) was set up by Peter Karran. This group now rents a
government schoolhouse in the centre of Mann as its base, organising adult Manx classes
and social events there. This work complements that of the Manx Gaelic Society,
which has published essential Manx language books and has recently instituted a successful
Manx Language Week, held each November.
Potentially of great significance has been that a small number of families are raising
their children as bilingual in English and Manx (or 'Neo-Manx' as some scholars would
prefer). For the first time for about a hundred years it can be claimed that there are new native speakers of Manx. Following this development has been the official
opening in 1997 of a Manx language pre-school playgroup, Mooinjer Veggey
('Little Folk'), supported by Caarjyn ny Gaelgey
and the Manx Heritage Foundation. 1997 has also seen the beginnings of some form
of education through Manx for young children. For one half-day per week, a group
of about ten children who are either fluent in Manx or know sufficient Manx are receiving
tuition through the language, under the auspices of the Department of Education.
The academic study of Manx was relatively neglected for many years. To a large degree,
the balance has been redressed by the work of Robert Thomson and George Broderick,
the leading authorities on Manx. At present, George Broderick is engaged on a massive survey of Manx placenames.
The postgraduate Centre for Manx Studies was recently established in Douglas. This
is a tripartite venture involving Liverpool University, Manx National Heritage and
the Department of Education.
Manx is generally dismissed as having 'no literature'. While this is not true, there
is a dearth of original literature in Manx which relates to modern living. It is
therefore significant that, in the 1990's, the Manx Branch of the Allied Irish Bank
instituted a biennial prize for writing in Manx. Recipients of this prize have been Bob
Carswell and Joan Caine.
The Internet is now an important tool for the dissemination of information on Manx
culture. In this respect, invaluable work has been carried out by Phil Kelly and
Mark Kermode (see Website http://homepages.enterprise.net/kelly).
The same general trends are seen in Mann as in the other Celtic countries: a weakening
of aspects of the old, traditional culture which was saved and guarded by a small
number of dedicated people, while at the same time knowledge and awareness of that
culture diffuses out to a larger number of sympathetic people.
Mann is fortunate in being a compact island: it is foolish to think that all is lost
because the traditional Manx are in a minority. The time has long gone when incomers
could be Gaelicised. What is now emerging in Mann is not a Manx society in the old
sense. But neither is it truly English. We have a great creative future ahead of
us.
Orree Crennell 12.10.97