| Language
programme under threat!
The long awaited Manx teaching
programme
in schools is in danger of being strangled at birth if funding is not
only
maintained but improved.
The overwhelming response which
took Government
totally by surprise could actually harm the programme if steps are not
taken to meet it. Already, there are several classes worth of
disappointed
children and their parents. Some may get the opportunity to climb
aboard
positions become available, but many have missed the boat. Unless the
programme
is expanded, they will not get a second chance.
Far from being an opportunity for
each
and every Manx child to learn their native tongue, a chance element has
been introduced that will bring disappointment and, worse still,
disaffection.
If the children are not guaranteed the lessons, many may not even
apply:
The current situation with the language is that each and every speaker
and potential speaker is precious. Over the years, Manx Gaelic classes
have been full of people who, having been denied the opportunity in
their
childhood, regret not knowing the language that is their birthright.
Sadly
many
of those never acquire a working knowledge of the language, much less
pass
it on. Although Dr. Brian Stowell declined to make any comment, it is
clear
from the way that the classes have been juggled and the fact that he is
teaching classes himself (not a part of the original plan) that the
project
is under immense pressure.
The programme, whilst requiring
Tynwald
approval, is not directly funded. It is funded from the Department of
Education
and must compete with other projects for its share of the cash. There
are
those within and without Government who, for reasons best known to
themselves,
would dearly like to see the project collapse and will seize any and
every
opportunity to "put the knife in." At the same time, the pro-Gaelic
groups
have been rather quiet about the whole thing, perhaps not wanting to
upset
the apple-cart.
The Department is planning its
budget for
next year now and will be under orders to cut everything to the bone.
This
could, if pressure is not brought, mean the Gaelic programme. Mec
Vannin
would have preferred not to have been the group to raise the flag on
this
matter, since the bigots will try to claim political motivation. A
native
language is above any politics it is all-embracing. Mec Vannin asks
anyone
who supports the teaching of the language in schools and most
particularly
the parents of the disappointed children, to write to your M.H.K.s and
make your views known.
Silence could mean the end of the
project
and the relegation of our native tongue, the potential vehicle for our
expression, culture and identity for
future
generations, to an item of academic curiosity.
Please speak out!
Cars
are killing Mannin
Roads in Mann are becoming daily
more congested
as the population increases and its materialist members feel the need
for
at least two cars per family. This situation does not appear likely to
improve as the car driving public call for new car parks and dual
carriageways.
We all know the benefits of personal freedom that such a wealth of cars
provides, but what about the costs to our Island?
All over the world the threat to
the environment
posed by vehicle emissions such as CO2 and harmful toxins is being
taken
seriously; but in Mann? The Manx Government positively encourages
consumerism
and the car is accepted as a major status symbol.
The car damages our island in the
following
ways:
It pollutes our air with the
gases it emits,
it puts pressure on our roads, it is a threat to life through accidents
and puts pressure on town centres with congestion, noise and pollution.
At a public meeting last year, it
was proposed
that the following ideas to lessen the impact of the car on the Island
should be put before Tynwald:
1. Pollution from vehicles - if
exhaust
emissions from a vehicle do not comply with E.E.C. levels, then a
licence
will not be issued.
2. Highways - to be maintained on
existing
infrastructure - in other words, no construction of new roads.
3. Car-parking - no new private
car-parking
to be built. No free car parking. Abolish the requirement to build
car-parking
spaces with offices - this is to encourage office-workers and shoppers
to use public transport.
4. Public transport - bus transport
improved,
pedestrian facilities integrated with public transport. Hospitals,
schools etc. all built within
walking
distance within towns. Cycle lanes and cycle-parking facilities.
5. Improvement of emissions and
noise
from commercial vehicles.
6. Abolish tax-relief on company
vehicles.
Bus passes provided by companies instead.
7. All government employees to be
issued
with bus passes.
These are a few ideas which would
hopefully
lessen the amount of traffic on our roads. On a small island like ours,
a comprehensive bus service with improvements such as mini buses like
the
Ramsey Skipper service covering rural routes, late night buses to avoid
drinking-driving; altogether a bus service that is more attractive to
use
could go a long way towards providing protection to our vulnerable
environment.
We have to decide to provide such
protection
before it's too late. Then, maybe, we could be an example to other
countries rather than trying to hold
onto
outmoded symbols of our prosperity which we will be forced to abandon
only
after they have irretrievably destroyed our greatest wealth: Our
beautiful
country.
C.C.
Manx
Gaelic more relevant than French
An article in the "Isle of Man
Courier"
of 25/9/92 reports on the widespread media attention given to the
introduction
of voluntary Manx lessons in Island schools and on Mr. David Corlett
M.H:K.'s
views on the subject.
I am pleased to see that the new
venture
(with its take-up of around 40% in the primary schools) is such a
success,
but there is one point where I completely agree with Mr. Corlett and
that
is his concern for the funding of the project which he appears to think
is inadequate. Surely the Government would never have decided to
initiate
such a scheme if it regarded it as an "indulgence"? The Government's
own
questionnaire on the subject gave a figure of 36% of all people
surveyed
in favour of the teaching of Manx.
Mr. Corlett also states that,
"You cannot
teach a language in half an hour a week," but the problem here lies in
the funding of the programme. It certainly would preferable to have
more
than one half hour lesson a week. In the mean time, the aim is "to
teach
a small amount very well."
According to Mr. Corlett, he
would prefer
to concentrate on "relevant modern languages." I sometimes wonder just
how "relevant" these languages are. How many people actually use the
French
or German they learned at school?
It is probably more difficult for
children
to identify with the language and culture of a country far away which
many
will never visit or have any opportunities to speak to its native
inhabitants
than it is to learn the language of their own ancestors. Manx was the
everyday
language of the majority of people in this Island as late as the 19th
century.
Reminders of our Gaelic speaking past are all around us, in our place
names
and in our colloquial speech patterns. Usage of Manx words such as
"jeeil"
and "moal" is still relatively common among older people.
Thanks to Government policy aided
by Yn
Cheshaght Ghailckagh, no one can be unaware that every place name and
Government
department has an alternative name in Manx. There is plenty here for
our
children to recognise and relate to. The question is also raised, "Who
will they speak to in Manx?" Well, how about each other? - the logical
result of learning the mother tongue of one's own country. Those with
Manx
accents will find pronunciation rather easier than, for example, French
or German.
The learning of any language is
of benefit
and what better to start with than one's own language as early as
possible,
thus giving a feeling for the reality of language itself and the
realisation
that other languages do exist. Bilingualism in children is demonstrably
an aid to multi-lingualism. Parental choice (and this has been heeded
with
regard to learning Manx) is a real factor in the world of education
these
days. We can only be grateful to Mr. Corlett for pointing out the real
and obvious difficulties of time and
resources
that must be met and overcome.
M.Clague
How
Manx
is Manx Radio?
For some months now, the Manx
public has
been fed a diet of speculation regarding the future of Manx Radio: Will
it be taken over by private enterprise? Will there be job losses? Will
it serve the Manx community more? Will it lose its "Manxness"? etc.
In this article I would like to
concentrate
on the latter point. More specifically and fundamentally, we need to
ask
ourselves, not whether it will lose its Manxness in any change, but if
it has any Manxness anyway, even before change. Manx Radio is made up
of
both Manx and non-Manx personnel, and it is tempting to suggest that
non-Manxness
of Radio is due to the no element in it. This need not necessarily be
the
case. First of all, we must be clear in our minds what we mean by
"Manxness"
and what we understand by loss of "Manxness".
"Manxness", to my mind, is
essentially
a matter of attitude, how one perceives one's self how one perceives
the
Island vis-a-vis the outside world and vice versa, the world-view one
has
of the world of Man and the outside world, a world-view that is
recognisably
Manx, in a way that there is a world-view that is recognisably English,
or German, or Chinese. Let me give some examples.
The staff at Manx Radio almost
without
exception, as far as I can see, would view the Island, its culture,
tradition
and politics as being part of the British scene, imbued with a way of
thinking
that an outsider would link with England, Scotland and Wales (i.e.
Britain),
even though the Island is politically not part of the U.K.. We can
narrow
it down even further than that, as an adjunct of England.
We hear constantly on the news
items of
things happening in the Island "compared with rest of Britain', the term
"government" is used to mean e
British
Government instead of the Manx Government, and conversely "Manx
Government"
is used when "Government" is all that is needed; the term
"Prime-Minister"
is used instead of the "British Prime-Minister" to mean the same, since
we do not have a "Prime-Minister". Many Manx politicians on (and off)
the
Radio refer to England as the "mainland", and matters in the Island,
e.g.
rates of pay for manual workers, are compared with those in the UK, and
not, say, with those in Germany, where they may be much higher.
The "nationals" refer to the
English (not
the Scottish or any other) papers, such as the London Times or London
Independent,
rather than properly the "Isle of Man Examiner" or the "Manx
Independent",
etc. When athletes are competing for the "national" team, instead of
the
Isle of Man, one understands Britain as a whole, or England. This
latter
came out quite explicitly during the World Cup when Manx Radio sports
commentators
readily supported England, as against Scotland, and lamented the fact
when
England was defeated, but did not accord the same sympathy to Scotland
when they lost.
More seriously, there is an
attitude prevalent
amongst many traditional Manx people, regrettably, of regarding things
Manx as of little or no worth or value and that anything from outside
must
be better. So when a complaint was sent in to the present Managing
Director
of Manx Radio about the sloppy pronunciation of Manx place names radio
aft he replied (13-12-90),
"Being an indigenous Manxman of
several
generations of pure Manx blood my heart is behind everything you say.
Realistically,
though..." and went on to suggest that correct "Manx pronunciation
(i.e.
generally current among ordinary Manx men and women) was an oddity". In
addition, we get "Mandate" presenters (Manxmen) who are reluctant to
use
Manx Gaelic on their programmes, saying that he who does, does so
"because
he's English and that's his privilege" and that he has "long passed the
age of learning Manx". Perhaps such Manxmen regard it as a "privilege"
not to use Manx? Fortunately, not all are like that, and the effusion
of
any "Manxness" on Manx Radio does not depend on that station's ethnic
make-up.
Nevertheless, the "Manxness" of
Manx Radio
is minimal, and whether the Radio is to be privatised or remain under
Government
control, major surgery will be required before we have an thing like a
truly Manx Radio. Additional editions of the "Mannin Line" are not
sufficient.
S.y.C.
Editor's Note
A recent Mec Vannin press
statement was
critical of Manx Radio's Managing Director, Mr. Stewart Watterson, for
declining to accept guidelines on correct pronunciation.
Mr. Watterson has written to Mec
Vannin
pointing out that after a series of correspondence, Dr. George
Broderick
was asked to compile a written reference.
This is true, but the change in
heart came
only after there was substantial press coverage of Mr. Watterson's
initial
reaction of indifference, as is demonstrated in the article above.
Illiam
retires
Illiam Costain has retired as
Screeudeyr
for Mec Vannin, since he has to go to University in Scotland. He will
be
badly missed as an active member.
Cristl Jerry has moved from
Tashteyder
to Screeudeyr and the new Tashteyder is Jacqualine McVerry.
Great
British Justice
The last remaining function of
the Lieutenant
Governor would appear to be to hand down, or more correctly, deny
justice
to the local populace. Tony Teare, convicted of murder, has the right
of
appeal. We would have hoped that the "Great British Sense of Justice"
(a
prime excuse for colonial oppression) would prevail and Mr. Teare be
given
access to a lawyer with adequate experience. It would be interesting to
find out who advised the Governor in this matter.
Celtic
Europe Project
Gregory Joughin has been asked to
assist
Asiantaeth Ieuenctid Cymru (Wales Youth Agency) in staging a Celtic
Arts
Project for young people as part of the European Arts Festival. The
project
will take place in Bala, Wales, from 14th to 19th December and a grant
has been obtained to fund a group of four young people and leader from
each of the Celtic nations.
Gregory is looking for, "four
young Manks
persons who are able exponents of traditional Manks music, song, dance
and language, and who are keen to join in and try something new and
perhaps
a little different."
He says the project's Artistic
Director
displayed particular interest in the Moirrey ny Cainle dance, which
symbolises
the re-birth of the new seasons and was traditionally performed at
Candlemas.
Beware
of the Right-Wing
In the last few years, there has
been an
alarming upsurge in right wing nationalism throughout Europe. The
collapse
of the former Eastern Bloc countries created in the aftermath of World
War II has left millions of people seeking a new identity or the
re-establishment
of an old one. Parties of the extreme right wing are finding their work
done for them as people feeling directionless and confused search for
answers
to rising unemployment exacerbated by massive influxes of refugees both
economic and political. Even in France, which in comparison with
countries
further east has relatively few of these problems, Jean-Marie Le Pen's
National Front claims up to 32% of the vote. The whole political
spectrum
seems to have shifted to the right.
This may seem to have no
relevance whatsoever
to the Isle of Mann, and I would in no way suggest that the level of
violence
occurring m some European countries could ever occur here. However, we
do have a situation here where, due to Government Policy, we have a
large
recent influx of incomers. Of course, there has always been a natural
fluctuation
in population; as some people leave, others arrive to take their place.
This is acceptable and normal in any population. On the other hand,
if a government deliberately sets
out
to create an imbalance in the population in the mistaken belief that
this
increase will of itself create an increase in prosperity for all, and
chooses
to ignore the inevitable feelings of resentment and helplessness
experienced
by its own people, then it must be prepared to respond to its critics.
The kind of "nationalism" that
seems to
attract both Manx people and some of those who have come to live here
seems
to take the form of unreasoning adherence to archaic an irrelevant
laws.
Manx people do not like to see laws changed both from a dislike of
change
itself and a perception that this change is being forced on us from the
outside. The kind of people who come here to live unfortunately often
cite
our laws, particularly on capital and corporal punishment (both now
defunct),
as reasons for coming here. I am excluding here the people who arrive
here
directly as a result of the finance sector and who have no interest in
any kind of nationalism. Those here who do express such an interest
tend
to bring their own prejudices with them and ascribe them to us, failing
to appreciate that certain laws are still in situ not due to our
excessive
zeal in these matters, but rather the reverse. They are less aware of
the
differences and feelings of a small island community, tending to focus
only on the similarities to their own society.
Right wing nationalism, which
works by
reinforcing people's feeling of insecurity and exploiting prejudice,
appears
attractive. In times of economic recession, Celtic nationalist groups
are
perennially targeted by fascist activists for infiltration or the
receipt
of "nationalist" news sheets which, on closer inspection, turn out to
be
no more than thinly veiled fascist propaganda:. Mec Vannin must,
therefore,
reiterate its socialist principles and distance itself from those with
right wing nationalist tendencies. Nationalism and Fascism are not
synonymous
and the party must clearly state and keep to its left wing republican
course,
while remaining equidistant from the designer left and the fascist
right.
M. Clague.
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