Award-winning broadcaster and writer Rob Watts, best known for his ‘Words Unravelled’ podcast and ‘RobWords’ YouTube channel, has been getting to grips with the Manx language during a recent visit to the island.
Rob, whose YouTube channel has more than one million subscribers, visited the Isle of Man last month with support from Visit Isle of Man as part of the Cooish Vooar festival.
After spending several days attending festival events and learning some Manx at a Blass Beg taster session, he took to the stage at the Erin Arts Centre alongside Manx speakers Jen Thistle and Ruth Keggin.
The trio presented ‘Around y Ghaelg in 60 minutes’, an entertaining exploration of the language, its history and its place in modern-day island life.
With experienced Manx teachers and speakers Jen and Ruth, Rob discussed the current use of Manx in schools and communities before turning his attention to one of the language’s more unusual features – its collection of pig-related proverbs.
One example, ‘Lhig dy chooilley vuc reuyrey jee hene’, translates as ‘let every pig dig for itself’.
Jen explained that the saying is a good message about independence and not getting involved in ‘another muc’s muck’.
Rob’s experience with other languages also allowed the audience to explore similarities between different tongues, including the names of the days and months.
He also had fun with Manx mutations, where the initial letter of a word can change depending on how it is used. One example is Mannin, the Manx name for the Isle of Man, becoming Ellan Vannin, meaning ‘island of Mannin’.
The discussion also turned to the way English is spoken in the island and how it has been influenced by Manx, including words such as ‘skeet’ and ‘callig’, the Manx word for pollock.
Audience members were then invited to share some of their favourite Manx words, with suggestions ranging from words describing different types of sea foam to poetic expressions such as ‘mermaid’s hair’.
Among the favourites were scammyltagh, meaning scandalous, and yindyssagh, meaning wonderful.
Rob said the experience had been ‘truly yindyssagh’.
‘It was a huge delight – truly yindyssagh – to explore the Manx language with Ruth and Jen, and before such a well-informed audience.
‘I certainly won't be forgetting the glorious Manx phrases for describing Guinness, “milk of the black cow”, and snow, “they're plucking geese in Scotland”, anytime soon.
‘I also won't be forgetting the warm welcome my camera operator Martyn and I received in the island. Gura mie eu!’
At the end of the evening, Rob impressed the audience by delivering four or five sentences in Manx that he had learnt only two days earlier.
The event formed part of Blein ny Gaelgey – Year of the Manx Language 2026, a year-long celebration of Manx being delivered across the island in partnership with Jeebin, the Manx language network.
Culture Vannin has been marking the year with a programme of events, grants and creative projects designed to encourage more people to engage with the language.
More information about learning Manx can be found at learnmanx.com, while details about the Year of the Manx Language are available at culturevannin.im/year-of-manx