Conducting Business In Manx

[zippy]

I don't think anyone is compelling people to conduct 'business' in Manx.

An occasional cheque with the words in manx would seem pretty manageable and harmless.

 

Companies on the Island use alot of manx, it's uniqueness makes it a useful advertising tool, a good brand.

Maybe in the future if it makes commercial sense (profit is usually the bottom line) they will expand this a bit

No-one is requesting forced learning of Manx or conducting business only in Manx that would be counter productive, Maybe instead of being concerned about the multi lingual society we should embrace it, most european countries dont have a problem with it.

[winchman]

A basic understanding of Manx is very good forgetting rid of the time share people in spain.

But seriously I feel Manx people should know a few words of there own language, I feel its just a little too far gone to ressurect quickly, but you never know.

When i go to Wales I feel embarrased as I havent a clue what they are saying, I would have more chance of answering a german, sad but true

[manshimajin]

A basic understanding of Manx is very good forgetting rid of the time share people in spain.

But seriously I feel Manx people should know a few words of there own language, I feel its just a little too far gone to ressurect quickly, but you never know.

When i go to Wales I feel embarrased as I havent a clue what they are saying, I would have more chance of answering a german, sad but true

Great idea about dealing with the time share folk. This could also be useful when our Government are negotiating with the UK Government. Handy to be able to make asides that the other folk don't understand.

 

How does this go with the idea of attracting foreign commercial investment onto the Island though? It is always going to be a minority language if we wish to live in the big bad world of international business. To promote Manx as a business language in any major way would be sending a signal that we wish to move towards a completely different type of living and working environment to the one we have now. It could be nice not to have all the foreign companies here but what future will that create for our kids?

[triskelion]

I thought I heard recently that it is actually possible to get translated versions of all Government documents?

 

(Though I believe that's only happened on two occassions)

[Sebrof]

he is just pointing out that he should be allowed to use his own language in his own country -

 

His language is English.

[Sebrof]

Slightly on topic, the pre School at Willaston teaches children Manx which i think is fantastic.

 

what a great idea, all kids should have the opportunity to learn the language of our island.

 

They already all do. The language is English.

[Sebrof]

I don't think anyone is compelling people to conduct 'business' in Manx.

 

The law is compelling people.

[keyboarder]

A basic understanding of Manx is very good forgetting rid of the time share people in spain.

Is it? I'd have thought Spanish would be better.

[WTF]

A complete waste of time and effort

 

DITTO

[winchman]

The reason the time share foke dont like it is they target you first in english and then try all the european languages, the chances of them having a manx speaker are almost nil, so if the cant talk they cant sell.

I think its really good that kids are taught Manx in schools

[P.K.]

Never mind all the previous long-winded bs put it in perspective. I worked for a multi-national which had a simple rule over recruitment - our business language was english. If you spoke it to a reasonable degree then we would hire you. If you didn't speak it to a reasonable degree then we would not hire you. There was never any comeback to this policy because english is globally recognised as the language of international business.

 

Obviously Mr Stowell set out to make a point - which he has done. I think the point he made was a bit pathetic really. We wouldn't do business with him as our language is english - his loss and from what I have read frankly our gain.

[The Bastard]

as I've mentioned before, English is the dominant language of business, science and a considerable amount of culture

 

Decline of language is not necessarily permanent. English ceased to be the language of business, law, science and culture in England for hundreds of years following the Norman conquest - all of the above were conducted in a mixture of Anglo-Norman, Norman French and Latin.

 

It was only when English became politically relevant as a means of asserting a separate English identity that it once again came back into use by the ruling classes. The Provisions of Oxford, released in 1258, were the first English government document to be published in the English language since the conquest, after almost two centuries.

 

Although clearly Manx and English are not in exactly the same boat, and I'm sure a lot of speakers of local languages are having the same conversation, I think it's too early to bang the final nail in the coffin, particularly with the recent renaissance of Manx. This isn't England, after all.

[parchedpeas]

The reason the time share foke dont like it is they target you first in english and then try all the european languages, the chances of them having a manx speaker are almost nil, so if the cant talk they cant sell.

I think its really good that kids are taught Manx in schools

 

Blshywog? Sweryby thingadip, frsdayy four times on a Wednesday.

 

Surely I don't have to learn Manx to speak gibberish to a Timeshare hawk?

[Sebrof]

as I've mentioned before, English is the dominant language of business, science and a considerable amount of culture

 

Decline of language is not necessarily permanent. English ceased to be the language of business, law, science and culture in England for hundreds of years following the Norman conquest - all of the above were conducted in a mixture of Anglo-Norman, Norman French and Latin.

 

It was only when English became politically relevant as a means of asserting a separate English identity that it once again came back into use by the ruling classes. The Provisions of Oxford, released in 1258, were the first English government document to be published in the English language since the conquest, after almost two centuries.

 

Although clearly Manx and English are not in exactly the same boat, and I'm sure a lot of speakers of local languages are having the same conversation, I think it's too early to bang the final nail in the coffin, particularly with the recent renaissance of Manx. This isn't England, after all.

 

English and Manx are not in the same boat at all. After the Norman Conquest, Norman French was used by the Normans, and those who had to deal with them, whilst English continued to be spoken by the majority. In the Isle of Man, by contrast, the Manx themselves have rejected the Manx language, and no longer speak it.

 

As the Normans settled and gradually became assimilated, so they adopted the local language. "Political relevance" had little to do with it.

[The Bastard]

English and Manx are not in the same boat at all. After the Norman Conquest, Norman French was used by the Normans, and those who had to deal with them, whilst English continued to be spoken by the majority. In the Isle of Man, by contrast, the Manx themselves have rejected the Manx language, and no longer speak it. Ein Volk, Ein Reich etc. etc.

 

Unfortunately, a growing number do speak Manx, which renders your arguments pretty much superfluous. Are you sure you're not living on the Isle of Wight by mistake ?