Foreign nationals who live on the island and apply for British citizenship here are tested on their knowledge of the Isle of Man as well as of the United Kingdom.

They are asked questions based on a government handbook called ’Life in the Isle of Man’, which is available online.

It has recently been updated and includes information that will be unknown to quite a few long established residents.

How many of those who regard themselves as Manx could pass the local part of the citizenship test? And what does ’Manx’ mean anyway?

Proud natives may be disappointed to learn that, in terms of international law, there is no such thing as Manx nationality. Nor is there any adequate formal definition of a Manx person.

Although the Isle of Man sits outside of the United Kingdom, its people are still British citizens. Some may pretend otherwise, but the clue is in the name. British Crown Dependency.

We do have ’Manx’ passports but these are just British ones issued locally.

What looks like an official definition of Manxness can be found, of all places, in the terms of the island’s Protocol 3 relationship with the European Union (which will disappear if and when Brexit finally happens).

Under the protocol islanders with no links to the UK or other EU state - through a parent or grandparent for example - have no automatic right to take up employment across the EU, and their passports are stamped accordingly.

This has been taken to indicate that a real Manx person is a local whose parents and grandparents are all from the Isle of Man. However, an islander with no links to the UK could also be a foreign national who becomes a British citizen here.

So European ’Manxman’ status could apply equally to Ffinlo Kaighen, whose family has been in Cronk-y-Voddy since the dawn of time, and to his naturalised neighbour, originally from Afghanistan. Try explaining that to Ffinlo.

The work permit rules offer little help in determining who is and isn’t Manx. Ways to qualify as an ’Isle of Man worker’ include living here continuously for at least five years, which seems nowhere near long enough to achieve full Manxhood.

Just under half - 49 per cent - of the population were born in the Isle of Man and this might appear to be the key criterion.

The title of the island’s national anthem certainly supports that view.

But being born in a stable does not make a man a horse.

Some of those born and brought up here, particularly in families that came from off-island, still do not feel themselves to be properly Manx.

The adjective ’Manx’ ought to mean simply ’of or relating to the Isle of Man’.

But we use it much more narrowly than that, to apply only to things or people with unfathomably deep insular roots.

I remember my mother once informing me, with an air of regret and apology, that her father’s family were not really Manx because they had come over from England in the 17th century.

Our notion of identity is further biased towards Gaelic and folk traditions, which are seen as more authentic than imported elements that have also contributed to the character of the island.

Thus a Manx-speaking crofter with a surname starting with C,K, or Q is an ethnically superior ancestor to a Lancastrian boarding-house keeper in Douglas, though both play their part in the national story.

The Manx language is the most potent manifestation of a unique culture, but it is by no means the only strand in the tapestry of our heritage.

Then there is the accent, an obvious marker of a true aborigine. Today it can sound closer to scouse than the pure dialect of T.E. Brown, but it is still reassuring to hear the occasional ’yessir’ on the streets.

Quaint peculiarities, though, are not the same thing as a national identity. We need a new definition of ’Manx’ - or a new word completely - to embrace all those who belong here and for whom this island is now home.

To conclude here’s a quick quiz to test your level of basic island knowledge. The answers can all be found in the aforementioned ’Life in the Isle of Man’ handbook, at:

https://www.gov.im/media/1364593/life-in-the-iom-jan2019.pdf

* The Millennium of Tynwald, marking 1,000 of the island’s parliament, was celebrated in which year?

* The man regarded as the last ’traditional’ speaker of Manx Gaelic died in 1974. What was his name?

* What and when was the Act of Revestment?

* What is the total land area of the Isle of Man in square miles or square kilometres?

* Name the two branches of Tynwald.