> > On Tue, 21 Jun 1994, Stephanie Preuitt wrote: > > > > > Manx. BTW are there any Manx speakers left? As has been reported, Ned Maddrell died in 1974 (though there is some doubt about whether he could strictly be called a native speaker; he reported that his first home language was English, and he didn't start to learn Manx until the age of 5. He was certainly the last fluent speaker who had acquired his Manx by interacting with a native-speaking community). There are reckoned to be some 400 or so fluent (`revivalist') speakers, and some, including Brian Stowell, the Manx Government's adviser on Manx in education, have brought up their children through the medium of Manx. (Stowell is the nearest thing the Isle of Man has had to a language planning officer; it may not be a lot, but it's a positive sign that they're prepared to pay someone to promote Manx language in education.) Max Wheeler