Book to support parents of pupils at Manx school

The guide can be found in bookshops in Ramsey and Port Erin

A unique handbook has been created to help support parents sending their children to a school which teaches pupils in Manx Gaelic.

Cre Ren Oo Jiu? - which translates as what did you do today? - teaches 40 lessons of "functional" Manx, such as how to tell the time.

It was penned by Yn Bunscoill Ghaelgagh teacher Adrian Cain, who said parents made a "big decision" to send their children to the school so the booklet was "a way of trying to support them".

He said: "The idea was when a mum or dad collects their child at the end of the day they can ask - cre ren oo jiu?"

Fisherman Ned Maddrell, who was believed to be the last native speaker of the island's native tongue, died in 1974.

A subsequent revival has led to schoolchildren currently being taught Manx-medium school in St John's.

The latest census figures showed about 2,200 people out of the 84,069 living on the island were able to speak, read or write the language.

'Plenty of Manx'

Lessons in the book include words to use when getting ready to leave the house, phrases you can use at the beach, and Manx sayings for holidays such as Christmas.

Mr Cain said it was "unlikely" parents' grasp of the language would "ever be as good as the children's, because of amount of exposure pupils get at school".

"But, using the book, hopefully the kids can hear a bit more Manx outside of the school environment and share the learning process," he said.

A former Manx language officer he said the booklet, which is filled with everyday phrases, would also help those interested in learning some "colloquial Manx".

"There's plenty of Manx in there which is accessible and useful for anyone who is keen to learn," he added.