manxman2 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 you should post more often barbara.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Public Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 though I'm married to a Manxman. I'm just sorry I wasn't born Manx Thanks for your help with the gene pool though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbaraG Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 though I'm married to a Manxman. I'm just sorry I wasn't born Manx Thanks for your help with the gene pool though. Didn't help there either I'm afraid, we didn't have children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Public Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 though I'm married to a Manxman. I'm just sorry I wasn't born Manx Thanks for your help with the gene pool though. Didn't help there either I'm afraid, we didn't have children. I was going to say "you want to try it the other way round", but that would be rude. So I won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I recall a story I heard on the radio. A person came to live in a new place. He saw an elderly man sitting by the roadside: "what are the people like round here?" he asked, "what were they like where you came from" came the reply "very nice" "well in that case they'll be very nice here too". IMO how you find a place and how people see you is not a matter of nationality but of personality. I have lived in a number of countries and always felt at home. So personally 'feeling at home' is more important than feeling x, y or z nationality - in part because I have been a 'nomad'. I have Manx, English, Irish and goodness knows what other antecedants! I was married to a Chinese lady who passed away and am married now to a New Zealander. I have two passports and two 'official' nationalities. Wherever I have been lucky enough to live has been a great experience. I can't ask for more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladys Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Barbara, I have just caught up on your and Tom's blogs. I hope everything goes well for you. You may not have contributed to the gene pool but, I think, everyone who has read your blogs will know the enormous contribution you have both made to courage, humanity, humour and civility. Long may you both continue to contribute those dwindling qualities. Keep yer pecker up gal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Public Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Barbara, very remiss of me me not to notice that you are Tom's wife. Sorry for the inappropriate banter. regards Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaipyr Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I dont have a problem with people quoting Manx but recently I feel that it is becoming more than an interest and people are expected to speak more and more of it? 'Expected' to speak more of it? I don't think so, but because it's intrinsic to our cultural identity it would be good if people (both Manx and Stopovers) at least supported it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaipyr Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 So, at the end of the day, you're not an anarchist at all are you, you are an imperialist. I speak a few languages, and the fascinating thing about languages is the unique way of describing the world that each carries. The imperial languages have remarkably similar outlooks. I prefer speaking Manx because the language is free from a lot of what I dislike about modern English. Not an imperialist, but I recognise that Manx is a dead language and has no value as a tool to be used when communicating with people of others cultures. It was a victim of imperialism, but languages do not necessarily become supplanted or die out because of imperialism. Would you agree? I really want to learn though, but now at the moment. But what is Manx free from? Manx is a dead language to you, but not to me. It has considerable value as a tool when communicating with speakers of Irish and Scottish Gaelic. What value does English have as a tool for communicating with people of other cultures except to demand that they use your language? I always found it best to avoid English when communicating with speakers of other languages because they have often studied English for longer than you have studied their language, and you will likely end up speaking English and missing out on learning anything much of theirs. To address your last question, you need to be able to look at English from the outside to analyze it, I can't do that for you. English is the language of business, and is used as a universal tool for communication with people of other cultures. Manx is a dead language, and serves no useful purpose. Get over it. Manx is a living language all over the Island and you're wrong, as usual - get over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaipyr Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 The Manx do not speak Manx so why embarrasses them by expecting them to speak and understand it At the last census 2000 people claimed to speak Manx Gaelic - not all of them Manx born. Not all Scots speak Scottish Gaelic and not all Irish speak Irish Gaelic - what's embarrassing about it? Has someone being having a go at you for not taking an interest in Manx Gaelic? I don't give a shit about football or the TT but I don't feel embarrassed about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaipyr Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I've no problem with new residents - at least, not with the ones who come here from choice and do their level best to adapt to the way of life.If they love the place and make it their permanent home, should they be allowed to call themselves 'Manx?' Yes - why not - they probably take a greater degree of pride in living here than most local-born people ever do. Have they a right to complain about things? Of course they have - provided that they do it appropriately and don't turn it into a general rant about all things Manx.* On my father's side, I can trace my Manx roots back a very long way. My mother, however, was Irish. So, am I Manx? (You bet your ass, I am!) My wife is English (No, don't condemn her, it isn't her fault) so, are our kids Manx? (Again, you bet your ass, they are!) In the grand scheme of things, does any of this matter? No... not even the slightest little bit. *An exception has to be made to prove the rule and this exception is the poster who calls himself 'Port Erin' - someone ignorant and unpleasant enough to be considered an unwelcome tosser in any part of the planet. Completely agree - especially with the last bit!! Unfortunately it's people like him that tars all English with the same brush in some people's minds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaipyr Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Is claiming to be Celt any more bizarre than claiming to be Saxon? I think not. Anyway my point is just like some comeovers are grateful for not being Manx, I'm grateful not to be English. The point of my involvement with this thread however is not especially to demonstrate my Manx credentials, it's to take issue with the comeovers who moan about living here. Which I must confess is a pet irritant of mine. Why is it that you have to make out you are Celtic if you are of Manx origin? Couldn't you just as easily be Nordic (from Viking origins). The Island has had comeovers of many different varieties since ime immoral. Fortunately most appear to have come here out of love of the Island, and some have tried to assimilate parts of the culture and language. I was born in England (not my fault, your honour!) but dislike a lot of things English. I have lived in Wales, both North and South (which have language differences) and learned a little of the language to help with communication, and to try and fit in. Wales was a better place to live than England. For many years, I was a regular visitor to the Island, and grew to love the place, so much in fact, that I found when I arrived in Douglas on the boat, it felt like I was arriving home. Ultimately, it made sense to move here, as soon as an opportunity arose. I have been here for over 15 years, and no way am I going back, not even in a coffin. My origins are a crazy mix - Anglo Saxon, Scottish, Irish, possibly a bit of American - some of my ancestors were out there. I also have ancestors who were musos that played at Glen Helen 100 years or so back - so links to the Island must be in the blood! I do not like comeovers who immediately want to change everything. I am also very much against ghettos, and groups of foreigners who refuse to integrate. (That goes for anywhere in the world, too - when in Rome...etc...) If people do not like it here, they should not have come, and, you guessed it, there is a boat in the morning! A very sensible post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smooks Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I have been on the Island for 36 years and came over when I was 21. I have loved this Island ever since and could never dream of going back to my birth place. After all the years I've spent here, I'm still aware that I'm not Manx even though I'm married to a Manxman. I'm just sorry I wasn't born Manx and my love affair with the Island will continue until I die. I just love it here. Hi Barbara Throughout this thread I've tried to emphasise that, in my opinion, anybody who cares for our island is fine by me. You are Manx, it's in your soul it's as simple as that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaipyr Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Treating people with contempt because of where they come from isn't just boorish, it severely restricts your enjoyment of all that human culture has to offer. I don't like the word 'Comeover'. The Irish call them 'Blow-overs' - seems a bit gentler somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smooks Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Treating people with contempt because of where they come from isn't just boorish, it severely restricts your enjoyment of all that human culture has to offer. I don't like the word 'Comeover'. The Irish call them 'Blow-overs' - seems a bit gentler somehow. I agree wholeheartedly, a decent person is a decent person regardless of the trivia of place of birth. It's the moaners and the one's trying to make us like an English county who piss me off. That idiot who tries to introduce 'traditional' hunting, horse, stupid red coats and post horns at St Johns, for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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