Culture Vannin’s Manx Language Development Officer Ruth Keggin Gell reflects on language, identity and International Mother Language Day...

Every language, no matter what it is, carries its own way of seeing the world around us, and helps us to expand our horizons.

After learning French at school, I started to learn Manx in my early-mid twenties, and as a result I quickly begin to feel both more rooted in the Island and better able to see beyond my own linguistic lens.

Understanding Manx has helped me to gain some understanding of what mattered to the people who went before us; their stories, songs, and the place names that surround us.

It also, however, has given me greater curiosity about the origin of words in my mother tongue – English – and deep interest and respect for languages in our neighbouring countries and beyond.

Manx has words that can’t be expressed easily in English, such as ‘soodraght’ – a beautiful word that describes the sound of the sea percolating through shingle on the shore; or ‘snauanee’ – those gossamer-fine cobwebs that blanket the ground and glint with light, on a fine day in unsettled weather.

Starting to learn Manx in my twenties also meant that I have had first-hand experience of “bumbling” my way through conversations in another language, and doing my best to make myself understood.

It reminded me how it feels to hesitate, to search, to risk getting something slightly wrong, and I think it helped me to build empathy, and listen more carefully to others. It helps you become more understanding and not judge mistakes.

Here on the Island, Manx and English are part of our linguistic landscape, but so too are the languages brought here by families from across the world.

Saturday 21st February marks International Mother Language Day: a worldwide celebration that promotes awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity, and promotes multilingualism.

This weekend, charities Culture Vannin and Mooinjer Veggey will be marking the day with a ‘language party’ in PromSpace (Loch Prom Methodist Church) that will celebrate the different cultures in our Island.

As a Blein ny Gaelgey – Year of the Manx Language – event, the Manx language will be at the heart of the event, but we will be working with people from a variety of different language communities in the Isle of Man, sharing songs, stories, and food.

In a world that can sometimes feel divided, learning another language is a quiet but powerful act of openness: it invites conversation, builds understanding, and helps to develop friendships.

If you’d like to come and find out more about the different languages spoken in the Island, come along to PromSpace between 12.30pm – 4.30pm on Saturday 21st February, where you’ll have the opportunity to attend workshops, see cultural displays, and meet new people.

Find out more about Manx at learnmanx.com and about Blein ny Gaelgey, Year of the Manx Language, at yearofmanx.im

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