| Manx | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Nish ta shin er jeet gys toshiaght blein noa elley as by vie lhiam geearree er nyn lhaihderyn ooilley yn shenn vannaght “Blein Noa Vaynrey as speeideilys erriu.” | Now we have come to the beginning of another new year and I would like to request of all our readers the old blessing “Happy New Year and success for you.” | |
| Car ny bleeaney shoh chaie ta shin er n’akin ymmodee kesmadyn er oai[1] jeant ec chengey ny mayrey, lioaryn noa currit magh as tooilley loayreyderyn noa cheet er nyn doshiaght. | During this past year we have seen many steps forward made by the native tongue, new books published and more speakers pregressing. | |
|
[1] er oai] Evidently a Manxification of the Irish
[ar aghaidh] ‘forward’. The usual Manx translation of forward is
[er toshiaght] —
[kesmadyn er nyn doshiaght] ‘steps forward’.
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| Veagh yn shenn sleih goaill yindys mooar dy beagh ad fakin as clashtyn yn feallagh aegey t’ayn nish as graih oc er y chenn ghlare. | The old people would be greatly surprised if they were to see and hear the young ones there are now who love the old language. | |
| Er hoh diu y skeeal s’jerree t’aym liorish Juan y Comish. | Here for you is the last story I have by John Comish. | |
| Ta Juan marroo nish as oanluckit ayns Y Chanadey, agh bee’n spyrryd echey bragh-bio ny mastey ny manninee dooie ayns Ellan e ghooie. | John is dead now and buried in Canada, but his spirit will be ever alive amongst the true Manx in his native Island. | |
| B’aillin dy jarroo skeealyn y gheddyn voish nyn lhaihderyn dy chur magh ayns “Noon as Noal”, red erbee, ayns Gaelg ny Baarle, mie ny sie, scruit dy moal ny dy yindyssagh. | I would indeed like to get stories from our readers to publish in “Noon as Noal”, anything, in Manx or English, good or bad, written poorly or wonderfully. | |
| Myr dooyrt Ned Maddrell dy mennick “Freill ee bio!” | As Ned Maddrell often said “Keep her alive!” | |
| Laa dy row, ayns Tanjong Priok (Jakarta, Indonesia), yn phurt son Batavia, cheayll shin dy beagh ben flah Yavanagh cheet er y lhong marin gys Jeddah, as dooyrt Illiam “Shenn chaillagh ghraney ennagh, ta mee sheiltyn, s’aillee goll gys Mecca roish my vow ee baase.” | One day, in Tanjong Priok (Jakarta, Indonesia), the port for Batavia, we heard that a Javanese princess would be coming on the ship with us to Jeddah, and William sad “Some ugly old hag, I imagine, she wants to go to Mecca before she dies.” | |
| As eisht, yarrood shin dagh ooilley nhee mychione y chooish! | And then, we forgot everything about the matter! | |
| Er y lhong ain va’n shamyr-choagyree ny lhie cheu chooylloo jeh “Thie-mean ny lhuingey” er lout eaghtyr ny lhong. | Er y lhong ain va’n shamyr-choagyree ny lhie cheu chooylloo jeh “Thie-mean ny lhuingey” er lout eaghtyr ny lhong. | |
| Er gagh heu[2] jeh’n lout eaghtyr shoh, ec yn jerrey jeh, va kiare shamyryn ayn as va cassan roie eddyr ocsyn as thie-mean ny lhuingey. | On our ship the galley lay outside of the bridge on the top deck of the ship. On each side of this top deck, at its stern, there were four rooms and there was a walkway running between them and the bridge. | |
|
[2] dagh heu]
[dagh çheu]
| ||
| Ec jerrey y chassan shoh va shamyr yn Earroo 1 Cleragh ayn as va’n dorrys as daa uinnag jeh ayns y chassan, as uinnag chruinn elley jeeaghyn lesh jerrey ny lhuingey, erskyn y voayrd raad va shinyn gaarlaghey y bee laaoil. | At the end of this walkway there was the room of the Number 1 Clerk and the door and two of its windows were in the walkway, with another round window looking towards the stern of the ship, over the table where we were preparing the daily food. | |
| Daag shin Tanjong Priok fastyr laa ny vairagh ec shey er y chlag, haink Illiam as mish veih’n thie tashtee (thie stoyr), cur lhien yn ’eill cour y laa, as, myr hug mee ee er y voayrd ain, cheayll mee peiagh ennagh cheusthie yn chamyr as meir neuyesh echey geabbey dy osley yn uinnag ghooint. | We left Tanjong Priok on the afternoon of the next day at six o’clock, William and I came from the storehouse, bringing the meat for the day, and, as I put it on our table, I heard someone inside the room and their clumsy fingers trying to open the closed window. | |
| “Cha nee shen y cleragh,” smooinnee mee rhym pene, as myr shen, hass mee jeeaghyn er yn uinnag, goaill yindys quoi erbee va fosley yn uinnag er aght cha ordaagagh. | “That isn’t the clerk,” I thought to myself, and so, I stood looking at the window, wondering who at all was opening the window in such a fumbling way. | |
| Hooar mee my leagh, fy yerrey hoal, dy moal, dy moal, hie un uinnag er ’osley, as hooar mee shilley jeh oaie aeg bwoyagh, gyndys cre erbee veagh ry-akin eck, as eisht, honnick ee mish my-hassoo ayns shen! | I got my reward, at long last, slowly, slowly the window was opened, and I got a sight of a pretty young face, wondering what on earth she would see, and then, she saw me standing there! | |
| Ghooin yn uinnag dy tappee lesh polt, cheayll mee yn sollys-marroo (dead-light)[3] tuittym ayns yn ynnyd echey hene, as meir aaling (cha row ad cha moal as neuyesh nish!) chionney yn uinnag as y sollys-marroo. | The window closed quickly with a bang, I heard the dead-light falling in its own place, and beautiful fingers (they weren’t so poor and clumsy now!) tightening the window and the dead-light. | |
|
[3] Deadlight] ‘a shutter of wood or metal for sealing off a porthole or cabin window’ (Collins English Dictionary)
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| “She’n ven flah t’ayn cheusthie,” dooyrt mee, “as agglit dy mooar liorish yn eddin eck.” | “It’s the princess that’s inside,” I said, being very frightened by her face. | |
| Haink Illiam dys yn chamyr choagyree tammylt beg ny s’anmey, as dooyrt mee rish: ‘Illiam bwoie! Ta mee er n’akin y ven flah! | William came into the galley a little while later, and I said to him: “William, boy! I’ve seen the princess! | |
| Cha nee shenn chiallagh t’ayn noadyr! She caillin aeg bwoyagh ee, aalin erskyn insh! | She isn’t an old hag either! She’s a pretty young woman, incredibly beautiful! | |
| Agh bee ee marroo foddey roish my rosh-mayd Jeddah my t’ee smooinaghtyn dy vel ee goll dy veaghey ’sy chamyr shen, lesh dorrys as uinnag dooint dy chionn!” | But she’ll be dead long before we reach Jeddah if she thinks that she is going to live in that room, with door and window closed tight!” | |
| As dinsh mee da shen ny va mee er n’akin. | And I told him what I had seen. | |
| “Bee ish marroo dy jarroo gyn ourys,” dooyrt Illiam. “Er lheeish dy vel ee er boayrd lhong Hollanagh, dy likly.” | “She’ll be dead indeed, no doubt about it,” said William. “She thinks she is onboard a Dutch ship, probably.” | |
| Va Illiam er n’insh dou mooarane mychione y dwoaie v’er ny Hollanee er dagh ooilley pheiagh ayns ny h-Injyn Hollanagh, as dy jarroo va mee hene ynsaghey mooarane ny smoo myr hie ny bleeantyn shaghey, er yn oyr nagh row yn ghlare Valayu ec Illiam myr v’ee aym. | William had told me about the hatred the Dutch had for everyone in the Dutch Indies, and indeed, I was learning more as the years went by, because William didn’t know the Malayan language as I did. | |
| Vrie mee jeh Illiam kys v’eh dy row y ven flah ayns cabbane y chleree, as dreggyr eh, “Foddee dy vel yn ayr eck er chionnaghey y shamyr cour y turrys,” as she shen myr v’eh, hooar shin magh fys ny s’anmey. | I asked William how it was that the princess was in the clerk’s cabin, and he answered, “Perhaps her father has bought the room for the voyage,” and that is how it was, we found out later. | |
| Chreck yn chleragh y shamyr son kiare keead guilder. | The clerk sold the room for four hundred guilders. | |
| Haink yn Earroo 1 Cleragh marish y lhong myr chengeydeyr, dy loayrt eddyr ny troailtee crauee as skimmee ny lhong. | The Number 1 Clerk came with the ship as a translator, to interpret for pilgrims and the crew of the ship. | |
| Va’n currym echeysyn dy akin nagh row cowraghyn y Vreck Vooar brishey magh mastey ny troailtee crauee as dy hickyraghey dy row ad ooilley glen. | His responsibility was to see that signs of small pox weren’t breaking out amongst the pilgrims and to ensure that they were all clean. | |
| Ny s’odjey, fakin dy row y ven flah er y lhong, begin da’n chengeyder cur shilley urree dagh voghrey[5], dy vriaght row dagh ooilley nhee goll dy mie maree. | Furthermore, seeing that there was a princess on the ship, the translator had to visit her every morning, to ask if everything was going well with her. | |
|
[5] dagh voghrey]
[dagh moghrey]
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| Tra haink eh dooinyn y moghrey shoh, dooyrt Illiam rish: “Chleragh! Insh da’n chaillin ayd cheusthie yn shamyr dy vel shinyn nyn gheiney doaieagh as mie as dyn aggle y ghoaill j’in. | When he came for us this morning, William said to him; “Clerk! Tell your young woman inside the room that we are decent and good men and not to be afraid of us. | |
| Insh j’ee dy gheddyn eaddagh ennagh dy yannoo curtanyn da’n dorrys as ny uinnagyn, as eisht dy vod adsyn ve foshlit oie as laa, my s’ailleeish[6], as nagh jean fer erbee er y lhong tayrn ad ry-lhiattee dy yeeaghyn stiagh urree. | Tell her to get some cloth to make curtains for the door and the windows, and then they can be opened day and night, as she pleases, and no one on the ship will pull them aside to look in at her. | |
|
[6] my s’ailleeish]
[my sailleeish] emphatic of
[my saillee] ‘if it pleases her’.
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| Ta fys mie ayd hene dy vel y shamyr shen cheh.” | You know well yourself that that room is hot.” | |
| Va mushtaa mooar troggit cheusthie jeh’n chamyr nish as cheayll shin coraaghyn troggit, agh coraaghyn aegey v’ad, myr dy beagh ad lesh guilley mysh jeih blein d’eash, as eisht, hooar shin shilley jeu! | There was a great uproar raised inside of the room now and we heard voices raised, but they were young voices, as if they belonged to by a boy of around ten years old, and then, we caught sight of them! | |
| V’adsyn ard as roauyr as eddinyn baney orroo, as va fys mie ain cre v’ayn! Fir spoiyt! Va ennym orroo ec Illiam ‘caboonyn’!” | They were tall and fat with white faces, and we well knew what they were! Eunuchs! William had a name for them; “capons!” | |
| Cha row eh feer foddey derrey va ceurtanyn jeant as croghit er yn dorrys as er ny uinnagyn agh cha row nane erbee croghit rish yn uinnag v’erskyn y voayrd ain, as va treisht mooar orrym nagh beagh! | It wasn’t very long until there were curtains made and hung on the door and on the windows, but there wasn’t one hung by the window that was above our table, and I greatly hoped there wouldn’t be! | |
| Ny yei, tra ghow mee toshiaght dy obbraghey ec y voayrd ec kiare er y chlag, va’n uinnag shen foslit as honnick mee dy row y ven flah ny lhie er y lhiabbee lesh e kione lesh toshiaght ny lhong, dyn monney coamrey urree as ish blakey orrym dy kinjagh! | Anyway, when I started to work at the table at four o’clock, that window was open and I saw that the princess was lying on the bed with her head towards the bow of the ship, without much clothing on her and she was gazing at me constantly! | |
| Agh cha dug mee geill j’ee. Va Illiam er n’akin dy row yn uinnag foslit, as dooyrt eh: “T’ee hene goaill dty howse, wooinney! Nar jean red erbee dy villey y chooish!” | But I didn’t pay attention to her. William had seen that the window was open, and he said: “‘Herself’ is taking the measure of you, man! Don’t do anything to spoil things!” | |
| Cha lheah’s hie mee ersooyl veih shen, va’n uinnag dooint, agh va mee er n’yannoo yn red cairagh, er lhiam, son, moghrey laa ny vairagh, cha lheah’s va mee (er) n’ghoaill toshiaght dy yiarrey yn ’eill, va’n uinnag foshlt reesht as va’n ven flah ee hene ayns shen kiongoyrt rhym, ny soie er boayrd-screeue y chleragh. | As soon as I went away from there, the window was closed, but I had done the right thing, I think, because, the morning of the next day, as soon as I had begun to cut the meat, the window was open again and the princess herself was there in front of me, sitting on the clerk’s desk. | |
| Cha ’saym cre cha foddey yeeagh shin er y cheilley, sooill ry hooill, as v’ee jeeaghyn orrym rea as dy jeeragh, gyn daanys erbee.[7] | I don’t know how long we looked at eachother, eye to eye, and she was looking at me plain and direct, without any boldness. | |
|
[7] gyn daanys erbee] ‘without any boldness’ — highly likley that the author intended to write something like
[gyn faitys erbee] ‘without any shyness’, or
[gyn nearey erbee] ‘without any embarassment’.
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| Cha s’ayms cre honnick ish, agh va graih aym er shen honnick mish! | I don’t know what she saw, but I loved what I saw! | |
| Va mee hannah er n’akin dy row ee aeg as bwoayagh (hoght bleeaney jeig myr hooar mee magh ny s’anmey) agh nish ghow mee stiagh dagh ooilley nhee mychione eck. | I had already seen that she was young and pretty (eighteen years old as I found out later) but now I took in everything about her. | |
| Cha row e crackan dorraghey er chor erbee, agh bane-wuigh slayntoil. | Her skin wasn’t dark at all, but a healthy pale yellow. | |
| Va’n folt eck cha doo as y feeagh mooar, as va e sooillyn doo neesht as lane dy vree, e beeal[8] beg as cha jiarg as y cheirn ta gaase ayns sleityn Vannin. | Her hair was as black as the great raven, and her eyes were black too, and full of vigour, her little mouth was as red as the mountain ash (rowan) that grows in the hills of the Isle of Man. | |
|
[8] e beeal] text gives
[e beill]
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| Cha row jesheen ny cliejeen ry akin urree, cha row eer fainey er e mair, as cha row feme ecksh er y lheid, v’ee cha bwoyagh nyn’ghooish.[9] | There was no adornment or piece of jewelry visible on her, there wasn’t even a ring on her finger, and she didn’t need such a thing, she was so pretty without them. | |
|
[9] nyn ’ghooish] a contraction of
[nyn vegoosih] ‘without them’.
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| Son ooilley v’ee ny chaillin, oor, follan as dooghyssagh. | For all that, she was a young woman, fresh, healthy and natural. | |
| Myr by chair eh, v’ish y chied ’er dy loayrt. | As was proper, she was the first to speak. | |
| Va’n coraa eck rea as beggan injil myr dooyrt ee “Failt Hiarn”, | Her voice was even and a little low as she said “Welcome Lord”, | |
| “Failt,” dreggyr mish. | “Welcome,” I answered. | |
| “Cre’n naight?” vrie ee eisht, as dooyrt mish, myr by chliaghtey daue gra, “Naight vie!” | “What’s the news?” she then asked, and I said, as they usually said “Good news!” | |
| She myr shen t’ad goaill toshiaght dy loayrt, cha nel ad gra, “Kys ta shiu”, myr ta shinyn gra. | That is how they start to talk, they don’t say, “How are you”, as we say. | |
| Cha lheah’s va mee er loayrt, chroymm ish e kione derrey jeeaghyn er y voayrd, as dooyrt ee, red beg ny s’troshey, “Cre ta Chiarn jannoo?” | As soon as I had spoken, she bent her head until, looking at the table, she said, a little stronger “What is Lord doing?” | |
| “Giarrey feill ayns meeryn beggey dy yannoo ‘curry’, dooyrt mee. | “Cutting meat into little pieces to make ‘curry’, I said. | |
| “Cre’n sorch d’eill t’ee?” vrie ee jeem. | “What sort of meat is it?” she asked me. | |
| “Feill vart,” as mish. | “Beef,” I said. | |
| “Cha nee feill vuc ee, Hiarn?” dooyrt ee, craplaghey e stroin veg, as feoh dowin ayns e coraa. | “It isn’t pork is it Lord?” she said, scrunching her little nose, with deep disgust in her voice. | |
| “Cha nee, feill vart,” dreggyr mish. | “No, beef,” I answered. | |
| Ghow ee toshiaght dy vriaght jeem mychione y bee va shin gee er y lhong, as ren mee mie dy liooar maree er lhiam, fakin dy row ny enmyn ayns Malayu aym son dagh ooilley ’nhee va shin gee, as hoig mee ee tra vrie ee jeem mychione ny cheeraghyn va shin er ve ayn roish my daink shin gys Java, | She started to ask me about the food we were eating on the ship, and I did well enough with her, I think, seeing that I knew the names in Malay for everything we were eating, and I understood her when she asked me about the countries we had been in before we came to Java, | |
| agh tra vrie ish, “Cre gollrish ta’n cheer Shapaan, Hiarn?” va mee bunnys ec kione my cheeaylley er y fa dy row y Malayu aym bunnys ooilley jeant! | but when she asked, “What is the land of Japan like, Lord?” I was almost at the end of my wits because my Malay was almost all done! | |
| Son y traa shoh myrgeddin, va’n ’eill ooilley er ny yiarrey as b’egin dou goaill toshiaght er obbyr elley, as cha lheah’s hie mee ersooyl va’n uinnag eck dooint reesht! | For this time too, the meat was all cut and I had to start on another job, and as soon as I went away her window was closed again! | |
| She myr shen v’eh derrey’n laa s’jerree eck er y lhong tra va shin ny lhie cheumooie jeh Jeddah. | That’s how it was until her last day on the ship, when we were lying outside of Jeddah. | |
| Cha lheah’s haink mish faggys da’n chamyr eck, doshil ish yn uinnag as cha lheah’s hie mee ersooyl, ghooin ee reesht ee! | As soon as I came near to her room, she opened the window and as soon as I went away, she closed it again! | |
| Cheayll mee fer ennagh cheet ny keayrtyn as hug mee raaue j’ee lesh my hooillyn, as chelleeragh ghooin yn uinnag! | I heard someone coming sometimes and I warned her with my eyes, and straight away the window closed! | |
| Un laa haink Illiam shagh’ain choud’s va shin coloayrt as hie eh roish stiagh ’sy chamyr choagyree as hass eh ayns shen lane thanvaanit lesh shen v’eh er n’akin, e hooillyn as e veeal feayn-foshlit, jeeaghyn orrin. | One day William came past us whilst we were talking together and he stood there astonished with what he had seen, his eyes and his mouth wide open, looking at us. | |
| “Cha nel mee er n’akin y lhied shen roie ayns ooilley ny bleeantyn ta mee er ve shiaulley ’sy Niar,” as eshyn: | “I have never seen the like of that before in all the years I have been sailing in the East,” said he, | |
| “Tra honnick mee uss as ish coloayrt ayns shen gollrish daa henn charrey, ren mee bunnys tuittym er y lout! | “When I saw you and her talking together there like two old friends, I almost fell on the deck! | |
| Car ooilley ny bleeanyn ta mee er ve shiaulley voish ny h-Injyn gys Jeddah, cha geayll mee rieau ben jeh’n chynney ocsyn loayrt rish fer erbee jeh’n skimmee ain ny eer troggal e sooilleyn rish fer erbee elley er y lhong! | In all the years I have sailed from the Indies to Jeddah, I have never heard a woman of their race speaking to anyone of our crew or even raise her eyes to anyone else on the ship! | |
| Myr ta mee er n’insh dhyt hannah, t’ad freayll ad hene dauesyn hene, as dy beagh dauesyn hene, as dy beagh fer jeh’n skimmee jeeaghyn orroo veagh skynn ’sy ghreeym echey dy tappee! Cre’n aght ghow eh toshiaght?” | As I have told you already, they keep themselves to themselves, and if they were to themselves, and if one of the crew were to look at them there’d quickly be a knife in his back! How did it start?” | |
| Dinsh mee yn clane skeeal da, as ec y jerrey, dooyrt mee, “Cha nee myr joarree, ish dou, shynney lhiam[10] ee, as ta mee gennaghtyn dy vel shin er ve nyn gaarjyn ooilley nyn mea!” | I told the whole story to him, and at the end I said, “She isn’t like a stranger to me, I am very fond of her, and I feel that we have been friends all our lives!” | |
|
[10] shynney lhiam] although this is often translated as ‘I love’, it is not used for romantic love so is translated here as ‘I am very fond of’.
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| Jeh un red va mee shickyr. Cha ren ish rieau loayrt rish dooinney bane roish y traa loayr ee rhym. | Of one thing, I am sure. She never spoke to a white man before the time she spoke to me. | |
| Ayns thie e hayrey veagh ny mraane freilt fo dy chionn ayns shamyryn beaghee oc hene. | In her father’s house the women would be firmly restricted to their own living quarters. | |
| Dy beign[11] ayns graih r’ee, veagh y chooish caillt roish my yinnagh ee goaill toshiaght. | If I were in love with her, the affair would be lost before it started. | |
|
[11] Dy begin] text gives
[dy beign]
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| V’eh orrym eisht, dy yarrood my ven flah Yavanagh as dy hannaghtyn myr va mee dy kinjagh, coagyrey er lhong vree shiaulley mygeayrt y theihll! | I had to, therefore, forget my Javanese princess and to remain as I always was, cooking on a steamship, sailing around the world! | |
| Juan y Comish | John Comish | |
| Kirkland Lake, | Kirkland Lake, | |
| Ontario. | Ontario. | |