A new four-year study has been launched and aims to determine whether the Manx dialect is at risk of dying out.
The university study, conducted by former English teacher Andrew Booth who comes from Neath in South Wales, aims to find out how the Manx accent is changing and how much dialect there is still in use.
The Examiner spoke to island residents to find out their thoughts on whether the Manx dialect is dying out or evolving.
Andy Bass, 35, who was born and bred in Onchan but now lives in Grenaby:
‘I don’t hear it so much now but you know of the Bunscoill (Manx Primary School) and things like that so it seems to be quite popular and quite well attended, from what I know. It seems to be that they are certainly trying to retain Manx dialect, without a shadow of a doubt.
‘It’s part of our heritage so we should definitely retain it. If it was taken away and died out then no one would get the chance to learn.’
Manxman Andrew Newton, 27, from Douglas:
‘My sisters are big supporters of the Bunscoill and that seems to have brought back a resurgence in the Manx dialect and spoken Manx and I think that’s good. I think they make very valid arguments for why it should be encouraged in the Isle of Man.
‘I think it gives an attractiveness to the Isle of Man, a novelty, and you look at other places like Wales, Scotland and Ireland where they are encouraging the culture in languages and the Isle of Man should be no different and it would be a shame to lose that connection to the past.
‘The accent’s a difficult one because I don’t think I embody a Manx accent but my niece and nephew are going to go to the Bunscoill, where they’re taught Manx which seems bizarre but seems really interesting at the same time and I look to encourage it.’
Manxman Patrick Goodby, 40, from Baldrine:
‘I think it’s almost evolving, you’ve got, what I would consider, very old traditional Manx accents which are still thriving and then the younger generation who I think are evolving the language somewhat. I think it’s still quite distinct and I’m proud to be Manx. Me and my friends do it quite a lot in gest, we emphasise how Manx we are - I think it’s good.
‘Yes it should be preserved, absolutely, it doesn’t necessarily have a massive utilitarian use but it’s good to keep it alive. My daughter is learning it at school which I think is a positive thing. I don’t think it should be forgotten at all.’
Charlotte Green, 19, from Douglas and Caren Harrison, 38, from Castletown:
Caren said: ‘They’re teaching it at school now, whereas when I was at school we just used to do Lord’s Prayer in Manx and that was it. I think it’s getting more popular now.’
Charlotte said: ‘I think it’s important to preserve it. I think we’ve done well so far, most little islands don’t really have it do they?’
Alex Downie, 70, born and bred in Douglas:
‘I think the dialect is evolving and there’s always been new words coming into the local dialect. In my younger days lots of the terminology was a mixture of what we call the old Scouse and some of the old Manx because, unfortunately, most Manx people had to go away and earn a living in the North West and other places and they picked up anecdotes and different things.
‘What you’ve got to realise is the Manx are a minority but it’s good to see that lots of people who are coming into the Isle of Man are actually interested in keeping the indigenous language alive and if you look at the last census figures, we’ve now got over 980 Manx speakers.
‘If you go back 10 to 15 years ago, they were worried about losing the language altogether.
‘I think it’s important and I think people like John Dog Callister, who promote the Manxness, are actually doing a good job and I think they are keeping it alive.’
Mary Doyle from Douglas:
‘I do think there’s a strong dialect and some of my accent, even though I’m from Dublin, has changed a little bit but I think it’s a good thing.
‘We should have an accent, I think it’s important. It would be a shame if anything indigenous to here completely died out, it’s what makes us different.
‘To me, a dialect makes a place. It would be a real shame for it to die out and we all became neutral transatlantic people with no accent.’