This year’s Manx language week – the Cooish – is the annual celebration of language and culture. It will take place from the 7th to 13th of October and is supported by the Manx Heritage Foundation and a number of local businesses providing an excellent opportunity for those involved with Manx to demonstrate the current vibrancy of the language to the rest of the Island community.
The Cooish is made up of a wide-range of activities including lectures, classes and concerts with a number of events likely to be of interest to a wide-range of people.
Sunday, 7th sees the annual Ned Maddrell Lecture which, this year, will be delivered by Dr. Emily McEwan Fujita from Canada who will be talking about the current status of Scottish Gaelic in Nova Scotia. The lecture will take place at St John’s Mill at 2pm and is free.
Presently a Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at St Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Dr Fujita is a linguistic anthropologist, specialising in the study of Scottish Gaelic language shift and revitalisation efforts in Scotland. Having received a Ph. D and M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Illinois, Dr Fujita has conducted ethnographic field research in the Western Isles, Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow, but also has a personal interest in Japanese language and culture.
On Friday 12th the Centenary Centre in Peel will host the annual Cooish music Concert which this year will see Mary Macmaster and Donald Hay from Scotland taking to the stage.
Described as ‘truly inspirational’ (fRoots) and ‘moody, meaningful new Scottish music’ (Scotland on Sunday), Mary Macmaster and Donald Hay blend Scottish Gaelic vocals, harp and percussion with samples and electronica in a true mix of ancient and modern. They have made two recordings – ‘Love and Reason’ and ‘Hook’. Donald was on the Island a few years ago with the Nuala Kennedy Band and Mary is the well known voice and sound of The Poozies and Sileas.www.myspace.com/macmasterhay
Tickets £10/£7 concessions on the door or from the usual Centenary Centre outlets.
Saturday, 13th of October will see a get-together outside the Regent Street Post Office involving information stands and music whilst there will be plenty of opportunities during the week for those unfamiliar with the language to find out more about this fantastic cultural asset.
For more information about the Manx language and the Cooish then contact Adrian Cain, the Manx Language Development Officer for the Manx Heritage Foundation on 451098 or at greinneyder@mhf.org.im and at twitter @greinneyder. More information about the festival is available online: www.learnmanx.com
