| Manx | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Ta mee er chlashtyn ny shenn eeasteyryn genmys yn keayn ‘Juan Gorrym’ as yn pollonagh [1] yn ‘guilley beg’, er yn oyr dy row eh mee-lowit dy ve enmyssit pollonagh er boayrd baatey. | I have heard the old fishermen call the sea ‘Blue John’ and the merman the ‘little boy’, because it was forbidden to call him merman on board a boat. | |
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[1] pollonagh: ‘merman’ Broderick (1982: 129); Cregeen pohllinagh ‘a mermaid, or rather a merman’.
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| Veagh ny shenn eeasteyryn fakin eh dy mennick ayns yn traa t’er gholl shaghey, as veagh ad ceau braghtan dy arran corkey as eeym er huggey, kied echey v’eh gee eh ny dyn. | The old fishermen would often see him in the past, and they would throw a piece of buttered oatbread to him, whether he ate it or not. | |
| Va dooinney ginsh dou dy ren eh fakin eh keayrt snaue eddyr Cashtal yn Staggey as yn thalloo as v’eh jeeaghyn gollrish dooinney. | A man was telling me that he once saw him swimming between the Sugarloaf and the land and he looked like a man. | |
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[2] A sea-rock off Spanish head near Port St Mary.
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| V’eh cur war lesh un laue ec keayrt. | He was making strokes with one hand at a time. | |
| Ta my ayr er ve ginsh dou dy ren eh fakin yn pollonagh keayrt mooie er Geaylin yn Challoo, agh cha ren eh fakin veg jeh agh yn kione. | My father has been telling me that he saw the merman once out at Geaylin yn Cholloo, but did not see any of him except the head. | |
| As va shenn ghooinney elley ginsh dou dy ren eh hene as e ghaa huyr fakin ben y pollonagh ayns Cass Strooan ny hoie er creg, as va keeaghyn feer vooar urree. | Another old man was telling me that he and his two sisters saw the mermaid at Cass Strooan sitting on a rock, and she had very big breasts. | |
| Dooyrt eh, cha leah as ren ee fakin adsyn ren ee lheim ayns yn cheayn, as cha ren ad fakin ee arragh. | He said as soon as she saw them she jumped into the sea and they did not see her again. | |
| Agh ayns laghyn yn vea ain t’ad ersooyl gollrish ny ferrishyn. | But in our lifetime they have all gone like the fairies. | |
| Cha vel unnane fakin ad ec traa erbee, as ta’n pollonagh neesht er immeeaght marish ooilley ny bugganeyn elley. | No one sees them at any time, and the merman has also departed together with all the other bugganes. | |
| Va buggane goaill ayns towl t’ayns yn Chione Doo. | A buggane was living in a hole in Kione Doo. | |
| Ta mee er chlashtyn my ayr mooar ginsh mysh. | I have heard my grandfather tell about it. | |
| Veagh eh geamagh lesh coraa feer niartal. | He would shout with a very powerful voice. | |
| V’eh keayrt er-gerrey da’n towl geeastagh bollanyn, as v’ad greimmey feer tappee, agh ghow yn buggane toshiaght dy eamagh, as v’eh eginit dy roie er e hon. | He was once near the hole fishing for rock-fish, and they were biting very fast, but the buggane began to shout, and he had to run for it. | |
| Cha vel yn towl jeeaghyn agh myr scoltey ayns yn eaynin, as ta mish er ve ayns yn towl daa cheayrt. | The hole just appears like a cleft in the cliff, and I have been in the hole twice. | |
| Cha vel fys aym vel fer erbee elley er ve ayn, agh ta’n towl mooar cheu-sthie as laare dy chlaghyn baney ayn, as ta’n laare spreiht lesh red jiarg gollrish fuill. | I do not know if anyone else has been in it, but the hole is big inside with a floor of white stones in it, and the floor is splattered with a red thing like blood. | |
| Va’n sleih cliaghtey gra dy re dunverys v’er ve jeant ayn, as dy jarroo t’eh gollrish dy beagh lane saagh dy fuill er duittym er ny claghyn baney t’ayns yn laare. | The people used to say that a murder had been committed there, and indeed it is like as if a vesselful of blood had fallen on the white stones in the floor. | |
| Oie vie eu. | Good night to you. | |