Manx Gaelic in the Year 2000

Brian Stowell

Scrudeyr ny Sheshaght Ghailckagh

16 Hilary Road

Douglas, Isle of Man

IM2 3EG

[email protected] Email

+44 1624 623821 Tel

Giare-chummey

Ga dy dooar y Ghaelg baase myr chengey theay Vannin mysh keead blein er dy henney as cha row y chooid smoo jeh ny Manninee coontey veg jee, ta sleih dy liooar ayns foayr jee nish. Ta'n Ghaelg myr cooish reihyssagh ayns scoillyn Vannin as ta possan-cloie Gaelgagh jannoo dy mie. Ta Reiltys Vannin arryltagh dy chooney lesh y chengey. Agh cha nel ee sauchey foastagh.

Introduction

Manx, or Manx Gaelic is the native language (Refs. 1 & 2) of the Isle of Man, or Mann, a quasi-autonomous miniature country in the north Irish Sea between Ireland and Britain. Mann is governed by its own ancient parliament, Tynwald, and is not part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, nor is it part of the European Union. The present population of Mann is about 74,000, about half of whom were not born there.

1974 saw the death of the recognised last native speaker, Ned Maddrell, of what might be called 'traditional Manx'. Linguists duly pronounced Manx to be 'dead' (Ref. 3). However, while mourning Ned's death, Manx language activists continued their efforts to promote the native language of the Isle of Man.

Manx Gaelic as an optional subject in schools

In 1990, a Manx government-commissioned quality of life survey showed that thirty-six percent of those interviewed were in favour of Manx as an optional subject in schools in Mann. And in the 1991 census the number of those claiming to speak Manx was 643, a significant increase on the previous census figure.

For a variety of reasons, the Council of Ministers of the Manx Government decided to appoint a Manx Language Officer along with two full-time peripatetic teachers of Manx. The language would be offered as an option in schools. This meant that for the first time ever Manx Gaelic was in the schools on something approaching a regular basis, albeit about a hundred years after its demise as a community language.

The Manx Language Officer (Brian Stowell) and the two teachers (Peggy Carswell and Phil Kelly) took up their posts in January 1992. In the virtually complete absence of teaching material which was suitable for children, the newly created Manx Language Unit had to create courses from scratch. It was not known what the response to an offer of Manx language tuition would be, but advisers in the Manx Government's Education Department had assumed that Manx would be taught in a similar way to instrumental music. School pupils opting to learn to play the violin, say, often come out of classes to be taught for twenty to thirty minutes per week by a peripatetic violin teacher. Typically, two or three pupils out of a group of twenty-five may be learning to play an instrument.

The Manx Language Unit, which was given a large degree of freedom within the government's Education Department, decided to offer thirty minutes of tuition to each pupil. This was thought sufficient to give an effective taster course while not causing undue upsets in schools. With reluctance, it was recognised that Manx could not be offered to pupils aged between four/five and seven: when consulted, infant teachers had expressed marked disquiet about younger children leaving other classes to take Manx.

The instrumental music model was shown to be inappropriate when parents were canvassed in May 1992 as to whether their children wanted to study Manx. The numbers were much higher than had been guessed at. About forty percent of those primary school children aged between seven and eleven and an average of seven percent of secondary school pupils (aged eleven to seventeen/eighteen) wanted to take Manx. Out of a total school population of roughly 10,000, there were 1,949 potential students of the language - more than two teachers and the Manx Language Officer could possibly cope with. The Language Officer's job description had not included teaching: his brief had been to establish optional Manx in the schools and then carry out a wide range of duties promoting the language in general. The very positive response to the offer of Manx language tuition meant that he had to teach in the schools, there being no prospect of appointing any more teachers.

Few teachers voiced outright opposition to the introduction of Manx, but there was appreciable unease on the part of some teachers about the advent of yet another subject in schools. Shortly beforehand, the Isle of Man Department of Education had embarked on an ambitious scheme of compulsory French for all primary school pupil aged seven and over. This came on top of the imposition of the English National Curriculum in Manx schools, causing considerable resentment among teachers (and significant numbers of early retirements).

In spite of these negative factors, optional Manx was introduced surprisingly smoothly. The Manx Language Unit observed primary school French lessons in the spring and summer of 1992 to enable them to teach Manx in a similar way - using the target language and games and other activities. Because of the large demand for Manx, arbitrary decisions had to be made which were educationally undesirable. In larger primary schools, tuition had to be delayed for many potential students of Manx. And in many cases, pupils were limited to just two years of study of the language. For this purpose, a two-year course called 'Bun Noa' ('New Base' or 'New Meaning') was prepared. The course is divided into six modules, one for each school term of roughly twelve weeks. For each module, pupils are issued with booklets.

Formal Manx language tuition started in September 1992, with 1,141 primary school pupils and 314 secondary school pupils. In many primary schools there were pupils with ages ranging from seven to eleven in the one class (this did not cause appreciable problems.) Overall, the numbers in the classes ranged from ten to thirty, highlighting the fact that peripatetic Manx teaching could not really be operated in the same way as peripatetic music teaching with the numbers wanting to take Manx being so much higher. By clever timetabling, staff in some schools avoided the undesirable feature of pupils' leaving other classes to take Manx. But in many cases, pupils had to face the often embarrassing routine of informing teachers they were leaving to go to a Manx class. This has been the major negative feature in the whole scheme of Manx language tuition in schools. While most teachers have been supportive, a minority have openly expressed their opposition to having Manx in the schools. In spite of these and other difficulties, almost all pupils took to Manx with great enthusiasm and enjoyment, irrespective of whether they were from old established Manx families or from recently arrived families.

Initially, secondary school pupils took the same course as those in primary schools - Bun Noa. Later, a separate course was developed for secondary schools. This is a conversation based course called Bun-Choorse Gaelgagh (Basic Manx Course).

In secondary schools, the very full curriculum meant that there were significant problems in introducing Manx, leading to a much higher dropout rate than in primary schools. When parents realised that many pupils were leaving other classes to take Manx, it often happened that they persuaded their children to give up Manx, even when Manx was timetabled to minimise clashes.

Nevertheless, in Manx terms, the introduction of optional Manx Gaelic into schools has been a success. In January 1996, a move to greatly increase the number of peripatetic teachers of Manx was defeated by just one vote in Tynwald. Significantly, no politician openly expressed opposition to the language in the preceding debate, showing the realisation by politicians of the general popularity of having Manx as an optional subject in the schools. A comprehensive Education Department report on the future of the language was received by Tynwald at this time.

In September 1996, Brian Stowell retired and Phil Kelly was appointed as the Manx Language Officer. Another teacher of Manx (Catreeney Craine) was recruited, increasing the staff of the government Manx Language Unit to four (the Language Officer plus three full-time teachers.)

In the first few years of the Manx language scheme in the schools, the Manx Language Unit agreed to attempt to teach about one thousand pupils per year under the tacit assumption that more teachers of Manx would be appointed. This did not happen, so recruitment was cut back to give the present figure of about eight hundred pupils. The popularity of Manx shows no sign of declining, but the future of the language in the schools remains very vulnerable to changes in the political climate.

Qualifications in Manx Gaelic

Until recently, Manx Gaelic was the only Celtic language in which it was not possible to gain formal qualifications. In the early 1980's it was possible to take an Ordinary Level General Certificate of Education (O-Level GCE) in Manx under the auspices of the English examinations system. However, the academically inclined GCE O-Levels (taken mainly by 16 year olds) were phased out and replaced by General Certificates in Secondary Education (GCSE's) which, for languages, are orientated towards conversation and the spoken language. For various reasons, a GCSE in Manx Gaelic was not developed to follow the GCE O-Level.

In 1997, a course leading to Teisht Chadjin Ghaelgagh (General Certificate in Manx) was made available in secondary schools in Mann and in adult evening classes in various locations round the island, as well as to individuals taking it by distance learning (some via the Internet). This qualification is equivalent to a GCSE and is validated by a committee in association with the Manx Government's Department of Education.

A course leading to Ard-Teisht Ghaelgagh (Higher Certificate in Manx) is being prepared. This will be equivalent to an Advanced Level GCE in the English system.

Manx Gaelic playgroup

In February 1997, the officially approved Manx language playgroup Mooinjer Veggey ('Little Folk') was formally opened by the President of Tynwald, Charles Kerruish, in a disused schoolhouse at Braddan, near Douglas. This important step for Manx was largely due to the initiative of Phil Gawne, a prominent language activist. A playgroup leader and assistants were recruited, it being most important that their command of spoken Manx was good enough to run the playgroup entirely through Manx.

Mooinjer Veggey caters for children aged between three and five and operates between 9 am and 12.15 pm on weekdays in schools terms. Under government regulations, up to ten children can attend any one session. Parents pay by the hour, but external financial assistance has been needed to get the playgroup under way. This assistance has come from the Manx Heritage Foundation, a government funded body which supports Manx culture.

Children attending Mooinjer Veggey take part in games and activities through the medium of Manx, thereby gaining an understanding of aspects of the spoken language. Although some of the children originally attending the playgroup were essentially new native speakers of Manx (they are being brought up through Manx as well as English), most parents with children in Mooinjer Veggey know little or no Manx.

Naturally, a demand has arisen from parents with children at Mooinjer Veggey for some form of continuity as regards Manx when their children leave the playgroup to attend primary school at the age of five. The Department of Education agreed to designate a school where parents could take their children for one half-day's schooling through Manx. This represents a tentative step towards Manx medium education, following in the footsteps of the movements in Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Brittany.

Manx Language Development Officer

In 1997 a proposal was made by the committee of Yn ‚heshaght Ghailckagh (Manx Gaelic Society) that a part-time Manx Language Development Officer be appointed to work on aspects of Manx not involving the schools and the Department of Education. It had been known since 1992 that the job description of that department's language officer was too broad to be practicable, since the demand for Manx tuition in the schools had proved much higher than had been guessed at.

The Education Department's language officers (Brian Stowell followed by Phil Kelly) had succeeded in fulfilling various wider functions, such as some public relations work in Mann and outside, establishing Manx language summer schools, making contact with the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages and presenting papers on Manx at conferences. But there was clearly work for more than one Language Officer.

Phil Gawne was duly appointed part-time Manx Language Development Officer, being paid jointly under a three year contract by the Manx Heritage Foundation and Manx National Heritage (the trading name for the Manx Museum and National Trust). Phil Gawne's main briefs are to look at language policy and planning in other countries and to work for Manx in a way implied by the Manx Gaelic title for ths job - 'Yn Greinneyder' ('The Encourager'). He has strengthened links with language activists in Scotland, Ireland and Wales, in particular with Finlay Mac Leod, a major driving force behind the Gaelic medium education movement in Scotland. This strengthening of links is complemented by the work of Phil Kelly, the Education Department's language officer, in organising attendance at Scottish Gaelic courses at Sabhal M˜r Ostaig for the Manx Language Unit, participation in international language conferences, etc.

Before becoming Yn Greinneyder, Phil Gawne had initiated the higly successful Feailley Ghaelgagh (Manx Language Festival), a week long event of lectures, song and music now held every November. The festival includes the annual Ned Maddrell Lecture, named in honour of the last native speaker of traditional Manx.

More recently, Yn Greinneyder has been instrumental in enlarging Coonceil ny Gaelgey (Manx Gaelic Advisory Council). This is a quasi-governmental body which was set up by Tynwald in 1985 to supply the Manx translations of summaries of laws passed by Tynwald, as well as titles of government departments, street names, etc. In 1999 the membership of the council was increased from three to eleven and the work of developing new words and terms assigned to sub-groups.

Coonceil ny Gaelgey is chaired by Rev. Robert Thomson, who is, overall, the leading academic authority on Manx Gaelic.

References

1. R.L. Thomson and A.J. Pilgrim, Outline of Manx Language and Literature (Douglas 1998), ISBN 1-870029-04-6.

2. B. Stowell and D. î Breasl‡in, A Short History of the Manx Language (An Cloch‡n, Belfast 1996), ISBN 1-900286-02-5.

3. Broderick, George, Language Death in the Isle of Man. (Niemeyer, TŸbingen, Germany, 1999), ISBN 3-484-30395-6).