According to Ted Wragg (“Inspect the uninspected”, TES, October 10) Manx is an extinct language. In writing this, he must not be aware of the current promising outlook for Manx Gaelic.
It is estimated that there are now approximately 60 fluent speakers. There is a new Manx Gaelic-medium primary school. Before the last “old-style” native speaker died in 1974, there was already a core of fluent speakers, who have supported the re-establishment of our language. Unlike Cornish, the chain was never broken. The most recent census (2001) has confirmed a trend that an increasing number of people have some knowledge of our island’s language.
Why not contact Reiltys Ellan Vannin (the Isle of Man government) for more details? They can be found on the website www.gov.im Ian Whiteway 78 Magherbreekyn, Purt Chiarn (Port Erin) Ellan Vannin (Isle of Man)
