Learn a language

As many of you will know, I have family ties to the Isle of Man, that gorgeous little lump of rock ‘twixt England and Ireland. And, on the Isle of Man, they speak Manx Gaelic. Or rather, they did. It’s been dying out now for a long while and the Manx Heritage Foundation have decided to do something about it.

Their latest step in this direction is a free smartphone app to assist people with learning Manx:

The ‘Learn Manx’ app is based on the successful adult language course ran by the Manx Heritage Foundation in the Island and is a fantastic resource for all those who are interested in getting to grips with Manx Gaelic.  ‘Learn Manx’ consists of ten units, each consisting of a variety of activities, whilst two additional revision lessons feature the TT Races as learning tools. The app will eventually cover 30 units in total, providing a fantastic introduction to the language to those unfamiliar with it, as well as a great revision course for those who already know some Manx.

The app development has been supported by a telecommunications company on the island.
Their spokesperson:

It was a pleasure and a privilege to be able to support the Manx Heritage Foundation in a merger between 21st Century technology and our Manx Gaelic language with origins dating back to the 4th Century.
Whether you use the Manx Language App for fun or serious learning it keeps our language very much alive.

And that’s the idea, right?

I’m going to give it a go and see how I get on. There are more gutteral sounds than in Afrikaans, so it might sound like I’m struggling with a nasty cough at first, but pretty soon, I’ll be able to fluently order a pint of Okell’s Ale or fluently find my way to the nearest pub to fluently order a pint of Okell’s Ale.

What could possibly go wrong?

Now all I need is an app to learn isiXhosa as well. Anyone?

Learn Manx (or Ynsee Gaelg) is available FREE from the Google Play store or from iTunes if you’re more Apple than Android.

Android link:

 

6 thoughts on “Learn a language

  1. I already speak one language that makes me sound like the radio’s on static. Definitely don’t need another. Would be very interested in the Xhosa app if you do find it. I can speak a little but would love to get fluent.

  2. Ronnie > What’s that petal, English? Ahahahahahahahaha!
    Just joking of course, I’ve never met you.
    All the Xhosa ones I’ve found so far have been rubbish.
    This is quite fun though: Xhosa tweets.

  3. “dying for some time” – I’m sure I read somewhere on t’interweb that the last native speaker died in the 1930s. It’s not so much a revival as a case for CSIEllanVannin.

    Just to get my feet firmly under the table , my late dad was a cooper at Okells my sister was born in Douglas and Onchan Primary was my first school.

  4. Ronnie > I can only begin to imagine.

    Henry Crun > Lucky you. 😉

    TheJannie > There you go, hey? You and Henry Crun might be related! 😀
    Seriously, the Manx diaspora is unbelievable. They’re everywhere.

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