Project to double Manx speakers gets boost

The charity aims to double the number of Manx speakers by 2032.

A project which aims to double the number of Manx speakers by 2032 has been given a £28,800 boost.

Mooinjer Veggey, which is Manx for little people, has been awarded the grant by the Manx Lottery Trust to kickstart its Bunneydys project.

The grant will part fund a project officer, equipment, resource development and promotion and venue hire.

Chief executive Phil Gawne said: "Building and growing strong Manx speaking communities needs investment at all levels, but particularly in early years."

'Valuable project'

As well as promoting the benefits of bilingualism, the project officer will also work to provide targeted lessons and strengthen parent and toddler groups, known as Possan Cloie in Manx, with a vision of building a community of language speakers.

Mr Gawne said: ‘For over 25 years we have been providing support to parents through our nurseries, Possan Cloie and the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh, the Manx primary school in St Johns."

He said that it became clear at a recent planning workshop that the charity needed to do more to support families who were looking to use more Manx.

"There is strong evidence in other minority language communities that supporting families and children to acquire the target language reaps the biggest reward, and building strong, supportive language communities is key to this success," Mr Gawne added.

Trust chairman Stephen Turner said the scheme was a "truly valuable project".

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