| Manx | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ... v’ad goll-mygeayrt ny-cheerey? | ... they were going around the countryside? | |
| She. | Aye. | |
| Er y çhenn sleih? | On (visiting) the old people? | |
| Shen eh. | That’s it. | |
| Wahll, ta shoh skeeal beg my t’ou ... er ... va Benainshter Clague heose ayns Dhelby ... | Well, here is a short story, if you ... er ... there was a Mrs. Clague up in Dalby ... | |
| Dhelby? Aw, ... | Dalby? Oh, ... | |
| As v’eh roie reaghit aym’s son, son Danaher, va shen yn dooinney haink veih Nerin, va jannoo yn recoyrtys, son Beealydys Erin, Son y Folklife Sur... son y Folklife Commission, ayns Nerin. | And it was prearranged by me for, for Danaher, that was the man who came from Ireland, who was doing the recording, for The Irish Folklore Commission, For the Folklife Surv... for the Folklife Commission, in Ireland. | |
| As hie mee stiagh ayn as va Benainshter Clague ayns gien feer vie, as va ny skeealyn taaley magh ass-jee, dyn scuirr. | And I went in and Mrs. Clague was in a very good mood, and the stories were flowing forth from her, nonstop. | |
| As hie mee hene as Danaher[1] as cooid elley jeusyn seose gys y thie, as v’ee goll er er dy mie son mysh daa vinnid ny red ennagh, as va ny, va ny skeealyn as ny focklyn taaley magh ass-jee dy, dy yindyssagh, as eisht scuirr, cha row veg, cha daink fockle, as ... | And myself and Danaher and some others of them went up to the house, and she was going well for about two minutes or something, and the, and the stories and words were flowing forth from her, wonderfully, and then stopped, wasn’t anything, no word came, and ... | |
|
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Danaher
| ||
| Aw, cre’n fa? | Oh, why? | |
| As, jus’, cha row, as v’ee corree ree-hene, Benainshter Clague, as dooyrt eh ... | And, just, wasn’t, and she was cross with herself, Mrs. Clague, and she said ... | |
| As hie ooilley yn Gaelg magh ass yn kione eck. | And all the Manx went out of her head. | |
| As ... v’ee ... cha dooar shin veg elley, agh hooar ... as va mee gra ... | And ... she was ... we didn’t get anything else, but got ... and I was saying .... | |
| “Aw, gow my leshtal,” va mee gra rish Danaher, as dooyrt eshyn, “N’abbyr un ’ockle. Ta shen cadjin dy liooar. Ta shin braew clightit rish lhied as shen. Ny jean boirey. T’eh kiart dy liooar.” | “Oh, please excuse me” I was saying to Danaher, and he said, “Don’t mention it. That is pretty standard. We are well used to that sort of thing. Don’t worry. It’s fine.” | |
| As va shen yn jerrey jeh recoyrtyssyn Benainshter Clague dou ... son va ish feer vie. | And that was the end of the recordings of Mrs. Clague for me ... because she was very good. | |
| As va’n mac eck, as v’eh goll dys scoill ayns Forsdal, as va ram Gaelg echey, as cha row, cha row Baarle tra hie eh stiagh ayn hoshiaght, v’eh ooilliu Gaelg, va loayrt, va goll er loayrt eddyr yn jishag echeysyn as yn vummig. | And she had a son, and he was going to school in Foxdale, and he had a lot of Manx, and there wasn’t (didn’t know), there wasn’t (didn’t know) English when he went in (it) at first, it was all Manx that was spoken between his dad and his mum. | |
| Agh, tra hooar yn jishag baase cha row mummig cur cha wheesh Gaelg da, agh eisht va ny, va ny fir-ynsee, ny fir-ynsee, v’ad soie er[2] ... | But, when his dad died his mum wasn’t giving him as much Manx, but then the teachers were, were, they were manhandling him. | |
|
[2] soie er] ‘setting on’. Perhaps
[soieaghey er] ‘attacking’,
| ||
| Soie er? | Manhandling him? | |
| They were .. Er yn oyr dy row eh jannoo ymmyd jeh cha wheesh focklyn Gaelgagh. V’eh gra; | They were ... because he was using so many Manx words. He was saying; | |
| ‘She Baarle ta loayrit ayns shoh. Cha nee shoh boayl ta ry-hoi Gaelg. She ry-hoi Baarle.” | “It’s English that is spoken here. This is not a place that is for Manx. It is for English.” | |
| As va ... va’n dooinney boght corree, as v’eh lhag-chreeagh, mychione eh shen. | And the poor man was ... was angry, and he was discourged, about that. | |
| Ansherbee, haink dooinney elley, sorçh dy specteyr scoill, ny scoillyn, ‘inspector’, as, as va eshyn shirrey er y Ghaelg. | Anyway, another man came, a sort of school inspector, of the schools, ‘inspector’, and, and he looking for Manx. | |
| Hooar eh fys dy row Gaelg echey, agh cha row eh son loayrt, eshyn, son v’eh soit noi, as v’eh noi yn Ghaelg lurg shen, mm, shen, s’treih lhiam gra shen, agh cha row eh son goaill tastey erbee Gaelg er yn oyr dy row ad er soie ersyn as v’ad noi y chooish, | He learnt that he knew Manx, but he couldn’t talk, him, because he was set against it, and he was against Manx after that, mmm, that, I’m sorry to say that, but he couldn't take any notice of Manx because they had manhandled him and they were against the subject, | |
| ... ny fir-ynsee hene, ec y traa shen. | ... the teachers themselves, at that time. | |
| Agh ram ... ny yeih shen, lurg yn traa shen, v’ad shirrey er yn Ghaelg. | But many ... nevertheless, after that time, they were looking for Manx. | |
| As, as row ny meainyn goll er obbraghey, ec y traa shen? | And, and were the mines being worked at that time? | |
| O, cha row, v’ad foast goll er ec y traa shen, agh v’ad bunnys çheet gy-kione, bunnys, v’ad er ... va’n chooish feer lhag, leagh feer lhag, as Malay row? Nagh? | Oh, no, they were still continuing at that time, but they were almost coming to an end, almost, they were, the thing was very feeble, a very weak price, and Malaya, was it? Not? | |
| Va shen yn boayl va jannoo yn jeeyl er Forsdal as Laksey, er lhiam-pene, she, v’eh leaoie ass Malay, ny boayl ennagh gollrish, as foddee Affrick Jiass, ny red ennagh, cha ’sym’s. Ah, cha row, va ny meaineyryn goll gys Affrick Jiass. Agh er lhiam pene, v’ad , v’ad tayrn leaoie magh ass Malay. | That was the place that was doing harm to Foxdale and Laxey, I think myself, aye, it was lead from Malaya, or somewhere similar, and maybe South Africa, or something, I don’t know. But, wasn’t, the miners were going to South Africa. But, I think myself, they were, they were drawing lead out of Malaya | |
| Aw, Malay ... | . Oh, Malay ... | |
| As dyn, dyn, agh cha row, cha row eh ... v’ad, v’ad cheet magh ass son sloo argid, eer na va ny meaineyryn ayns Laksaa as Forsdal cosney. | And without, without, but (it) wasn’t, it wasn’t ... they were, they were coming out for less money, even than the miners in Laxey and Foxdale earning. | |
| Cha row adsyn cosney monney. | They weren’t earning much. | |
| Agh va, va ny meaineyryn ass malay cosney eer ny sloo na shen. Cha row ad ... jus’ ... pingyn. | But the miners from Malay, were, were earning even less than that. They weren’t ... just ... pennies. | |
| As va, va ny , va ram skeealyn goll mygeayrt ec y çhenn sleih, agh va kuse jeu, cha row ad, cha row ad er loayrt Gaelg rish feed blein ... | And there were, were, were many stories the old people had going around, but there were a few of them, they hadn’t, they hadn’t spoken Manx for twenty years ... | |
| Oh. | Oh. | |
| Ny red gollrish shen. | Or something like that. | |
| Wahll, ... quoi v’ou goll mygeayrt marish? | Well, ... who were you going around with? | |
| Aw, wahll, Billy Radcliffe, as ... cha row mish jannoo monney, va mee gobbragh er y thalloo. Cha dod mee goll. Agh adsyn va gobbragh ayns oikyn as y lheid as va caa ocsyn as laghyn-seyrey oc, agh cha row mish cosney ersooyl veih fammanyn ny ollee, bunnys, va mee bunnys sneimmit rish fammanyn ny hollee. | Oh, well, Billy Radcliffe, and ... I wasn’t doing much, I was working on the land. I couldn’t go. But those who were working in offices and such and had a chance and had free days, but I wasn’t getting away from the tails of the cattle, almost, I was almost connected to the tails of the cattle. | |
| Oh, va ayns Mannin ec y traa shen, ayns y reilltys as y lhied, v’ad, yn chooid smoo jeu, noi’n Ghaelg. | Oh, there was in the Isle of Man at that time, in the government and such, they were, most of them, against Manx. | |
| As ... | And, ... | |
| As, ansherbee, cha row ad cooney. Mannagh row ad soie noi’n Ghaelg, cha row ad cooney. As va kuse jeu soie noi’n Ghaelg. | And, anyway, they weren’t helping. If they weren’t set against Manx, they weren’t helping. And some of them were set against Manx. | |
| As ... row, row monney Ghaelg dy ve[3] clasht ayns y valley? | And was, was there much Manx to be heard in the town? | |
|
[3] dy ve] recording
[dy bee]
| ||
| O, cha row. Va brastylyn ayn, agh oddagh oo goll mygeayrt Mannin dyn clashtyn fockle erbee. As va shen y red cheddin ayns Nerin ... ec y traa .. oddagh oo goll runt mygeayrt Nerin, Jiass as Twoiae, dyn clashtyn fockle erbee. Cha row eh gollrish Twoaie Vretin. | Oh, there wasn’t. There were classes, but you could go around the Isle of Man without hearing a single word. And that was the same in Ireland ... at the time ... you could go round about Ireland, South and North, without hearing a single word. It wasn’t like North Wales. | |
| Folklore Commission ... ec y traa shen ... | Folklore Commission ... at that time ... | |
| O, aye, va mee gobbraghey, hie mee dys shen dy ynsaghey, c’red, son Manx Folklife Survey, va mish yn fer ... yn chied çhymmseydagh, da’n chooish shen, çhymmseyr, as ... | Oh, aye, I was working, I went there to learn, what, for the Manx Folklife Survey, I was the one ... the first collector, for that project, a collector, and ... | |
| As ... as r’ou ... | And ... and were you ... | |
| Hooar mee ram Yernish ayns shen, | I learnt a lot of Irish there, | |
| As, row ad toiggal Gaelg Manninagh? Beggan? | And did they understand Manx Gaelic? A little? | |
| Yernagh? Vel mish toiggal Gaelg Yernagh? | Irish? Do I understand Irish? | |
| Mm, row ny Yernee ... | Mm, were the Irish ... | |
| Oh v’ou er ... O, ta ny Yernee toiggal yn Gaelg dy mie, agh, agh cha nod ad lhaih. | Oh you’ve ... O, the Irish understand Manx well, but, but they can’t read. | |
| Tra t’ad clashtyn t’ad toig, t’ad toiggal bunnys dy chooilley nhee. | When they hear, they under..., they understand almost every thing. | |
| Red beg quaagh, agh t’ad toiggal ee. | A little bit strange, but they understand it. | |
| Sionse[4] ‘tuigeáil’, ta shen ocsyn, cha nel ad jannoo ymmyd jeh monney, ta’n chooid smoo jeu gra ‘tuiscint’, ny Albinee as ny Yernee, agh t’an fock(le) .. ta’n ... ta’n ayrn shen, ta ‘tuigeáil’, ta shen yn jerrey er ‘toig’, shen yn bun, bun-y-chooish ny vel, ‘toig’ the root, yn fraue. | So, ‘tuigeáil’, they have that, they don’t use it much, most of them say ‘tuiscint’, the Scottish and the Irish, but the word is ... the ... that part, that is ‘tuigeáil’, that is the ending of ‘toig’, that is the stem, the root of the matter isn’t it, ‘toig’ the root, the root. | |
|
[4] sionse] (an Irish word) ‘so’
| ||
| As eisht ta ‘tuiscint’, agh ta ‘tuigeáil’ oc neesht, as ta shen yn ‘toiggal’ ain. | And then there is ‘tuiscint’, but they have ‘tuigeáil’ too, and that is our ‘toiggal’. | |
| As row Éamon De Valera toiggal beggan, as ... | And did Éamon De Valera understand a little, and ... | |
| Oh, va, v’eh toiggal dy mie, aye, agh cha nod ad lhaih dy vie, dy mie, cha nod ad, cha nod ad toiggal yn aght screeuee. | Oh, yes, he undertood well, aye, but they can’t read well, well, they can’t, they can’t understand the orthography. | |
| Wahll, t’eh beggan ... | Well, it’s a little ... | |
| Cha nod mish lhaih eh shimmey keayrt, ny keayrtyn. | I can’t read it many’s the time, sometimes. | |
| Ta mee er ve leih chied blein shirrey er y chooish, agh shimmey keayrt cha nel mee toiggal yn aght screeuee, as t’eh ooilley jarroodit aym bunnys nish, er yn oyr dy vel mish smooinaghtyn ass yn çhengey kiart dy liooar, agh cha nel mee lhaih cha wheesh, son ... cha nel mee lhaih cha wheesh nish. | I have been a half-century searching for the thing, but many’s the time I don’t understand the orthography, and I have forgotten almost it all now, for the reason that I think in the language alright, but I don’t read as much, because ... I don’t read so much now. | |
| Ta shenn eash orrym. | I am old. | |
| Ta mee my Hwoaiagh nish, lesh ‘shenn eash’ ayns ynnyd jeh ‘shenn eash’. | I’m a Northerner now, with ‘old age’ (Northern pronunciation) instead of ‘old age’ (Southern pronunciation). | |
| Aye. As ... | Aye. And ... | |
| As ‘kione’ aym’s ayns ynnyd jeh ‘kione’. | And I have ‘a head’ (Northern pronunciation) instead of ‘a head’ (Southern pronunciation). | |
| As s’cummey veg mychione. | And no worries about it. | |
| Ta faaie Vannin as faaie Nerin neesht. | There’s an Isle of Man ??? and an Ireland ??? too. | |
| Ta reddyn ayn myr shen as fod oo clashtyn Gaelg, ayns Ire... ayns paart ... buill ayns Nerin fod oo clashtyn Gaelg ayn feer faggys da’n ... Yernish ayn ... feer faggys da’n Gaelg ny keayrtyn. | There are things like that and you can here Gaelic, in Ire ... in some ... places in Ireland you can hear Manx existing that is very close to ... Irish existing ... (that is) very close to our Gaelic sometimes. | |
| As t’ad jannoo reddyn quaagh ayns shen gollrish y Gaelg. | And they do strange things there like Manx. | |
| Ha, t’ad jannoo jeeyl er y çhengey bunnys cha olk as yn Ghaelg ny keayrtyn. | Ha, they do damage to the language almost as bad as Manx sometimes. | |
| Agh ta shen y boirey lesh y Gaelg ooilley cooidjagh, çheshvean goit magh ass jee, as yn jerrey. | But that is the trouble with Manx altogether ... centre taken out of it, and the ending. | |
| Whall, ta’n jerrey goit magh ass, as yn jerrey noa lhisagh er ve yn çheshvean jeh’n fockle, lhisagh eh er ve mean yn ockle agh t’ad er jeet dy ve jerrey, er yn oyr dy vel yn jerrey kiart er n’gholl ersooyl lesh yn roayrt, ny red ennagh. Eebyrt ersooyl, magh ass. | Well, the ending is taken out of it, and the new ending that ought to have been the centre of the word, ought to have been the middle of the word, but the correct ending has gone away (vanished) with the spring tide, or something. Driven away, out of it. | |
| Agh ny yeih shen, ta ny Yernee hene jannoo shen neesht. | But, nevertheless, the Irish themselves are doing that too. | |
| As row ny loayrtee ayns y Twoaie, ny, er, ny, ayns y Jiass, quoi va, quoi va share lesh Gaelg? | And were the speakers in the North, or, or in the South, which were, which were better with Manx? | |
| Aw, wahll, va Ned. Vel Ned Maddrell as y lhied t’ou çheet er? | Oh, well, Ned was. Is it Ned Maddrell and such that you are alluding to? | |
| Oh aye, v’eh Ned. | Oh, aye, it was Ned. | |
| As va ram sleih chammah er y Twoaie as er y Jiass, ram shenn sleih, eer ayns y lhing ainyn va foast ram ayn, as, myr dooyrt mee roie, v’eh feed blein, er, neayr’s v’ad loayrt, as tra hie shin stiagh lesh shirrey orroo ayns nyn dhieyn, mm, v’ad sprettal dy agglagh hoshiaght. | And there were many people both in the North and in the South, many old people, even in our day there were a lot of them, and, as I said before, it was twenty years, er, since they were speaking, and when we went in to see them in their houses, mm, they were spluttering awfyully at first. | |
| Cha row peiagh erbee dy ... va’n Ghaelg ayns nyn ghing, kiart dy liooar, agh cha row cliaghtey erbee oc. | There wasn’t anyone to ... there was Manx in their heads, right enough, but they didn’t have any practice. | |
| As row, row ny loayrtee politack erbee? | And were, were the speakers ‘politack’ in any way? And were, were the speakers ‘politack’, political in any way? | |
| Um? As row, row ny loayrtee politack, political erbee? [5] | ||
|
[5] row ny loayrtee politack erbee] intended meaning: ‘were the speakers in any way political?” for which we might expect
[Row ny loayrtee politickagh er chor erbee?]
| ||
| O, cha row. O cha row ad. Y chooid smoo jeu, cha row ad, dy jarroo. | O, no. They weren’t. Most of them, they weren’t, definitely. | |
| V’ad ... cha row ad ... v’ad ... cha row traa oc. | They were ... they weren’t ... they were ... they didn’t have time. | |
| Va orroo dy obbragh, as cosney ping ny jees dy reayll yn lught-thie as ny paitçhyn as y lhied bio. | They had to work, and earn a penny or two to keep the family and the children and such alive. | |
| Dy reayll bea ayndoo.[6] Cha row, cha row traa oc ... mychione red erbee myr shen. Kuse jeu, kiart dy liooar, agh yn chooid smoo ... | To keep life in them. There wasn’t, they didn’t have time ... about anything like that. Some of them, right enough, but the majority ... | |
|
[6] dy ‘reayll bea ayndoo] ‘to keep life in them’ — either
[dy ‘reayll bioys ayndoo] or
[dy ’reayll ad bio] would be expected here.
| ||
| Agh va ny smooinaghtyn oc ayns, agh cha row ad jannoo monney. | But they had the thoughts, but they weren’t doing much. | |
| V’ad smooinaghtyn dy dowin, mychione cooishyn politickagh, agh cha row ad jannoo monney, as eer cha row ad loayrt monney. | They thought deeply, about political matters, but they weren’t doing much, and they weren’t even speaking much. | |
| Y chooid smoo jeu. Foddee, ... cha row ad loayrt rhym ansherbee, | The majority of them. Maybe, ... they weren’t speaking to me anyway. | |
| Foddee dy row ad loayrt rish sleih elley, agh cha row ad loayrt rhym mychione y lhied. | Maybe they spoke to other people, but they didn’t speak to me about the like. | |
| Agh, v’ad graihagh er y Ghaelg. Adsyn as y Ghaelg oc, v’ad graihagh urree. O, va. | But, they loved Manx. Those who knew Manx, they loved it. Oh, yes. | |