[ELTWeekly Volume 7, Issue 5 | February 2, 2015 | ISSN 0975-3036]
English may be the mainstay language of Britain and its islands, but it’s far from the only tongue in town. But while languages like Welsh, Irish and Scottish Gaelic are fiercely protected, others are threatened.
“Vel oo geearree jough?” says Adrian Cain to his four-year-old son Orry who has stumbled into the kitchen in search of breakfast.
“Moghrey mie,” replies Orry. “Kys t’ou?”
To English-speakers, this family scene must sound as if it is being played out in a language from some far-flung island.
But we are far closer to English shores than you might suppose.
For Manx is the native tongue of the Isle of Man