A group of masters students in Switzerland studying the dialect of English-speaking Manx people will be visiting the island next month .

They plan to talk with people who were born and raised in the Isle of Man.

The 12 students will be visiting to study the ways that Manx people speak English and the differences in this dialect and others around the world of english-speakers.

Dr Hannah Hedegard is the seminar instructor for the course at the University of Bern in Switzerland, she said: ‘The Isle of Man, although recently has had some research done on this subject, such as by Andrew Bruce and Culture Vannin, this has mostly seen a lot of stuff on the Manx language but not as much on Manx English and this has been a hole in the field of world English studies.’

Dr Hedegard explained why studies like this are important for the documenting of dialects, she said: ‘There’s this interest in smaller pocket dialects of English that are changing a lot as a result of lots of social changes in the UK, especially as a result of events like Brexit which mean the relationship between places like the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands is evolving.’

There’s also a personal connection for Dr Hedegard who has a Manx grandfather and would visit the island whilst at university in Edinburgh as she lived with a Manx flatmate, who will now be assisting the group’s visit.

Whilst people may expect participation in a university study to come with a set of complicated questions, Dr Hedegard said that they will mainly just want to hear people speaking casually.

She said: ‘We call it an interview because it’s an academic activity but it tends to be more of just a chit chat, we want people to feel comfortable because what we’re looking for is the most natural form of speech, people don’t have to feel like they need to be someone else.

‘I’ve done this kind of work in the Falkland Islands and in islands close to Australia and most of it is people talking about what they did that day, holiday plans, their family and background, we don’t really mind what’s discussed.’

Though the group would like to meet people at their homes, as that is where they would feel most natural, Dr Hedegard says she understands some may not want strangers entering their house so a room is available at Culture Vannin in St Johns or a quiet cafe is also an option.

She explained what will happen with the research: ‘The recordings will all be anonymised so nobody would be identifiable and that body of recordings will be made into a speech corpus.

‘Then in the spring next year another group of masters students here will do a general analysis of the dialect, comparing the youngest and oldest and the regional differences as well as looking at how the Isle of Man compares to other areas.’

The group are looking for participants who were born or at least grew up in the island from before the age of six. Those who want to participate are asked to contact Dr Hedegard through her email, [email protected].