Isle of Man: Ned Maddrell Lecture 2015

The annual Ned Maddrell Lecture, hosted jointly by Culture Vannin and Yn Ҫheshaght Ghailckagh, takes place on Saturday 7 November at St John's Mill (Tynwald Mills), and will feature a guest speaker who will be discussing a minority language situation with relevance to Manx Gaelic.

Previous lectures have focused on issues in Nova Scotia, Norfolk Island and the Aboriginal languages of Australia, but this year's lecture will centre on the language revitalisation in Guernsey and Jersey; drawing comparisons with the Isle of Man.

This year's speaker will be Julia Sallabank, a Senior Lecturer in Language Support and Revitalisation in the Department of Linguistics at SOAS (University of London), where she teaches and researches language revitalisation, policy and planning.

Ms Sallabank has been conducting language related research in Guernsey since the year 2000 and later in Jersey and the Isle of Man.

The Channel Islands have adopted some of the revitalisation work successfully practiced on the Isle of Man, such as appointing Language Officers, but there are significant differences in other aspects of both language planning processes and outcome.

Although Ms Sallabank's talk will focus on practical examples, she will also attempt to draw conclusions and lessons in relation to aims and priorities, and describe her recent research into the learning and teaching of minority languages to adults.

Manx Language Development Officer for Culture Vannin, Adrian Cain, commented, "The lecture and discussion should illustrate the leading role Manx has played in minority language revitalisation in these Islands."

Beginning at 2.00pm, the lecture is free of charge although booking is required by contacting Adrian Cain.

For more information about either the lecture or the Manx language please contact Adrian Cain on:

adrian@culturevannin.im
07624 451098
@greinneyder

Valerie Caine
© November 2015