No fewer than 22 Manx words and phrases have been added to the latest update of the Oxford English Dictionary.
So
for the first time, it includes hop tu naa (*, of uncertain origin)
defined as ’the night of 31 October as celebrated on the Isle of Man,
often marked by children singing songs door-to-door and the display of
lanterns carved out of turnips’.Also featured is traa dy liooar (phr, a borrowing from Manx), meaning ’time enough’ - used, says the OED, ’to express or assert that something can (or should) be postponed, or that there is no need to hurry’.
Here too is skeet (meaning a quick look or glance, or gossip) and gobbag (a person regarded as uncultured, rough, or backward and latterly a resident of Peel, especially one born there).
And there is yessir (used as a familiar form of address, esp. to another Manx person: mate, pal).
Manx folklore is featured - phynnodderee (a supernatural being characterized as having a thick coat of hair and said to assist farmers whose lands he lives near), and buggane (an imaginary evil spirit or creature; a bogeyman).
Other new additions include the ball game cammag and tholtan, meaning a ruined barn or cottage.
The dictionary, which already holds about 100 Manx words, has redefined and updated other words, including Tynwald, curragh (a bog), jough (a warm ale drunk at Christmas) and kishen (a unit of capacity).
Other Manx words featured are loaghtan, deemster, cushag, sheading and jeel (meaning damage or mischief), bonnag, keeill (a small medieval chapel or monastic cell) and Jinny (a stinging nettle).
OED researchers trawled a variety of local sources, including newspapers, books, twitter feeds and Tynwald Hansard to identify words and phrases that are characteristic of English as spoken in the island.
They were supported by Manx Museum’s library and archives and Culture Vannin.
And the inclusion of the 22 Manx words and phrases can be attributed in part to the fact that a member of the OED editorial team is Manxman Kelvin Corlett.
Kelvin, who is senior assistant editor of the OED said: ’One of the most striking features of the Manx-English dialect words newly added to the OED is how clearly they demonstrate the island’s diverse linguistic heritage, with words of Norse, Gaelic, and English origin.
’The words reflect many aspects of life in the island, its culture and its history, ranging from politics and legal institutions, to agriculture, folklore, and everyday matters. Above all, perhaps, these words exemplify the way that even relatively small communities contribute to the richness of the English language as spoken and written around the world.’
The inclusion of the Manx words is a welcome boost for the 2018 Year of Our Island.
Chris Thomas MHK, chairman of Culture Vannin, said: ’Year of Our Island is celebrating the Isle of Man as a special place to live and work and what greater way of celebrating than to have multiple Manx entries in the latest update of the OED.
’Language tells the story of who we are, of how we interpret the world around us, so it’s wonderful to have a much longer list of dialect words and terminology specific to the Isle of Man published in the OED, including many words whose origins lie in Manx Gaelic.’
He added: ’I am delighted my use of traa dy liooar in the 2017 Illiam Dhone address regarding implementation of FoI gets a mention as modern usage of this Manx-English word.’
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