I decided to not blog about the depressing situation of dead languages and blog about a language that was dead but has now found revival. I came across an interesting article on "How the Manx Language Came Back from the Dead." The Manx language is a language spoken on the Isle of Man, a self governing British Crown dependency located in the Irish Sea (according to Wikipedia, yeah I know Wikipedia is not a reliable source but I would hope that the location of this place wouldn't be incorrect on there). Or at least it was until it had been declared dead in 2009. But now it is alive again! And again, it is because of the citizens of the Isle of Man finally understanding that their language is no longer an unpleasant one anymore. You see, a person would be thrown out of a place for speaking Manx because it was seen as a provocative language. The Manx language had declined because of this and because of the economic advantage of ditching their language for the Great English language.
Now, the revival is because of the citizens of the Isle of Man and for the citizens of the Isle of Man. In fact, after their language had been declared dead, the citizens snapped back with letters asking if their language was dead then what language were they writing in. Sassy. Anyway, there were many revitalization projects of the Manx language. One included Douglas Faragher and Brian Stowell who spent time learning and documenting the Manx language (much like the linguists in that movie we watched last week). Another project is the primary school Bunscoill Ghaelgagh who teaches in the Manx language and allows their students to write letters in it (or at least in Scottish Gaelic which is fairly close to the Manx language). Then there is Adrian Cain who has made the Manx language grow through social media like Youtube and Twitter. Lastly, music has been a help in revitalization with Manx bands such as Barrule who communicate not only their language but culture through their music.
I really loved how the article ended saying that "...the X factor for reviving languages is really the pride and love for the language."
It is true! There must be something special about this language that makes it hard for the world to lose it.
...It is indeed the Isle of Man in which Thomas the Tank Engine came from...
This, this stuff right here, I like it. People should never forget where they descend from, but accept where they come from. Our roots and heritage are a foundation of who we are as people, culture and society. I think it is awesome that they finally saw this and proceeded accordingly by embracing who they were and are. The past can not be forgotten, just accepted.
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool how you thought of doing this instead. Maybe someday other languages too can find their way out as well. Although, it may be completely different meaning to the language than before.
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