In the Isle of Man, the residents are being invited to participate in a five-day festival about the native language of the island.

Cooish, the annual event, opens on 5th November and the programme is full of 25 events where speakers of all ages and abilities can be found.

One of the three Manx Gaelic words that got into the latest update of the Oxford English Dictionary is Cooish, which means friendly conversation or chat.

The programme was organized by Ruth Keggin-Gell, the Manx language development officer of Culture Vannin, in partnership with a variety of community organizations and groups that have been promoting the language.

She explained that the many programmes were such that there will be things, she said, of absolute beginners, who have never uttered a word of Manx in their lives, up to very self-confident speakers who are fluent.

What is contained in the programme?

The activities include such events as formal lectures and board games in the language, and traditional Manx songs and music are also performed on the programme.

It goes further to provide an online beginner’s Manx lesson on opening day, and provides a taster session to those in other time zones who might have an interest in Manx.

According to Ms Keggin-Gell, Inclusivity was a major component of the festival since the language was an extremely significant component of the Isle of Man itself, and “I believe it should be made accessible to anyone to learn and be involved in.”

Her primary reason is to ensure that there is a nice breadth of events over the five days and that there is something that different groups of people could access due to this notion of Manx being for everybody, which it is, is very, very critical, as she put it.

Time and place of activities

Cooish Manx Language Festival is the annual festival, which is a vibrant combination of talks, workshops, music, and community events within the Isle of Man.

Wednesday, 5 Nov: Chill out over lunch, a talk by Sr Erin McNulty, and Manx conversation groups in Douglas and online in the evening.

Thursday, 6 Nov: Take open Manx classes, a language and place discussion in Port Erin, and evening discussions in Peel pubs.

Friday, 7 Nov: Children’s experience Manx songs, Ramsey walk tour, and traditional song night in Peel.

Saturday, 8 Nov: Participate in mural painting, workshops, family-friendly games, and guided tours to celebrate the Manx language.

Sunday, 9 Nov: Break up, with a Manx breakfast, brief addresses, and a lusty music session in Peell.

The majority of events are free, whereas certain ones have to be pre-booked because of the limited space.

Why is the festival held?

Culture Vannin is excited about growing the number of Manx speakers, as the most recent census of the Isle of Man in 2021 had 2,223 Manx speakers.

Ms Keggin-Gell said it is something they want to make sure that all people feel that they can access learning Manx, and it is something that is accessible to them, and there is no gatekeeping involved.

“I believe that is a great point that should be emphasized that we would like everyone to feel as much as possible to be a part of the Manx language community.”