Culture Vannin has created an interactive map aimed to help with the pronunciation of Manx place names.

The map is part of Culture Vannin’s offering for those who want to learn Manx.

Ruth Keggin-Gell, Manx language development officer at Culture Vannin, said: ‘A few years ago, the late Dr. Brian Stowell created a number of sound files so that people would feel confident in pronouncing the Manx place names around them.

‘These have been available on learnmanx.com for a while, ordered alphabetically.

‘Given the usefulness of these recordings, I wanted to utilise them in a new way, and embed them as part of an interactive map.

‘You can zoom in on the map, much like you would with Google Maps or similar, and click on the place name to see and hear it.

‘It’s a great way to build confidence in expressing a sense of place.

‘We have a rich tradition of place names here in the Isle of Man, some of which are Manx Gaelic, some of which are Scandinavian, and some of which are English – and of course there are some hybrid place names too.

‘The resource aims to help demystify some of the aspects of pronunciation.

‘It’s a good reference and starting point for people unfamiliar with our place names.

‘We do recognise, of course, that there is sometimes more than one way to say something.’

Ms Keggin-Gell said that the map is by no means a comprehensive list, and is the sort of resource that can easily be, and will be added to over time.

If there are place names that you think should be included, Culture Vannin says it is happy to consider suggestions.

Ms Keggin-Gell added: ‘Manx place names are often a way in for people to be interested in Manx.

‘The visibility of place names around the Isle of Man reminds us of the value of our rich cultural heritage.

‘It’s hoped that this map will be a useful resource to anyone who would value support with the pronunciation, and to know where certain places are located.

‘The response to the interactive map has been great, along with other place names resources that we have been developing on the website such as short videos explaining common words found in place names, such as “magher”, “cronk”, “reayrt” and “traie”.’

For instance ‘magher’ means field, ‘cronk’ means hill, reyart is the Manx word for view and ‘traie’ means beach.

Ms Keggin-Gell said: ‘If you are interested in place names and would like to take your learning even further, we’d recommend A Dictionary of Manx Place-Names by George Broderick. The book offers a great introduction to lots of place names around the island, giving their meanings, and pronunciations, and showing how they have developed over time.’

The interactive map can be found on https://www.learnmanx.com/maps/place-names/