Manx is listed as extinct in a new edition of the Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger produced by the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

It's news that may come as a surprise to the pupils of the Bunscoill Gaelgagh in St John's – and is the cause of frustration for Manx language officer Adrian Cain who insists the development of the Manx language in the past 25 years has been 'truly remarkable'.

>> Manx language extinct, says UNESCO!
20 February 2009

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In a statement released to coincide with International Mother Language Day, UNESCO says its atlas mentions among the languages that have become extinct as 'Manx, which died out in 1974 when Ned Maddrell fell forever silent'.

Cornish is another language declared extinct.

Mr Cain said he was inundated with calls and emails on Friday morning after the atlas was launched.

He said: 'The Manx language is very much alive, growing and relevant, whatever UNESCO might say.'

But he was scathing in the evidence offered to support claims that Manx Gaelic was dead.

He said: 'This didn't come as too much of a surprise, as the previous night I had already made some comments to UNESCO about the report and had been frustrated to see that their research had been limited to one book printed in 1993.

'More frustrating were the links posted to me from articles printed on websites and newspapers around the world, all of which made the bold comment that: "the Manx language was thought to have died out in the mid-19th century".

'This "fact" seems to have been accepted without question. Such a factoid is not only erroneous but is as wide of the mark as stating the "Isle of Man is a tropical paradise located in the Pacific Ocean".'

He explained: 'By the turn of the 20th Century the language was in a perilous state. Nevertheless, it continued to be spoken, by a dwindling number of native speakers but thankfully, a growing band of Manx people who learnt the language from them.

'The linguistic link was never lost so, by the time of Ned Maddrell's death in December 1974, attitudes had changed towards Manx Gaelic. What has happened since the 25 years since his death has been truly remarkable.

'There now exists a Manx Gaelic School (Bunscoill Ghaelgagh) where over 50 primary school-aged children receive all their education through the language, Manx is an option in all Island schools, a growing number of students are doing GCSE and A level Manx whilst the language continues to be a visible reminder of the Island's uniqueness.'

>> Learn to count in 10 in Manx with Adrian Cain (video)

When Bunscoill Ghaelgagh opened in 2001, it had nine pupils. Today it has 55 pupils on its books and from September its number will rise to over 60.

All Key Stage One lessons are conducted in Manx. In Key Stage Two, all but English are conducted in Manx.

Head teacher Julie Matthews says many parents now learning Manx too.

Christopher Moseley, an Australian linguist and editor-in-chief of the atlas, said he would consider a new classification.

He said: 'I have always been optimistic about Cornish and Manx.

'There is a groundswell of interest in them, although the number of speakers is small. Perhaps in the next edition we shall have a 'being revived' category.'

He added that Manx was among a group of languages that turned out 'not to be extinct but merely sleeping'.

It's not the first time the death of the Manx language has been announced prematurely.

A year ago, the Oxford English Dictionary got in a lexographical muddle when it defined Manx as a 'the now extinct Celtic language formerly spoken in the Isle of Man, still used for some ceremonial purposes.'

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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YOUR COMMENTS

I think everyone is missing the point here. Its if the language is a FIRST language that it gets its listing in the atlas, I am sure everyone will agree that Manx is going from strength to strength, but as a first language, I am afraid, even as a true Manx man, it definitely can not be thought of as a first language yet….
DC

hi there nula at m&co we launched manx in store at begining of yr adrian has b n to store every mth this yr teaching us and we feel its right to use the manx we try to use it on phoe and doors and tills thanking customers and greeting them too more people and stores should spk it too we have got to keep it alive we are proud to be the 1st in high st to help adrain
FP

Manx Gaelic is a dead language, as there are no longer any monoglot Manx speakers, or even speakers with Manx as a first language. Sure, many people are learning it for reasons of preserving their heritage, but there is no reason for doing so beyond that. Also, teaching kids in Manx is a sure way of giving them a disadvantage in their early education. Whatever Manx nationalists (or the French, for that matter) may want to believe, English is the major language of the western world. By all means learn other languages, as both an intellectual pursuit and as a means of communication in foreign lands, but lets make sure our children can speak, read and write English first. And why is it that in the post office in Douglas, 'Bureau de Change' is translated into Manx but not English?
IAN WRIGHT

DC's point is absolutely correct. The efforts to revive Manx impress me greatly, and I will watch with keen interest over the next generation how they proceed. But, for now, I don't believe there is a single family on the island for whom the main medium of communication is Manx. Hopefully, when the current generation grow up, they will rear their children with Manx as the "family" language. And then the language will be alive again. But for now, UNESCO are absolutely correct in their classification. And there's no reason to take affront at this, or treat it is an insult to the island, and its language, which seems to be the way everybody wants to respond to this. The comments on the bottom of your article, by the editor-in-chief are 100% right – he recognises that there are efforts to revive it, but it's too soon to declare it alive yet…
JAMES