I came home today to this:

A mysterious envelope.

 ”United States of America?” I don’t think I have any friends odd enough to include my country in my address… Then I noticed the “Isle of Man Postal Office” tag.

 It was a goody package from Adrian Cain of the Manx Heritage foundation!

It included:

• (y vlein trooid caslyssyn) Dhooraght (the yearly Manx journal)
• Six “pocket guides” to Manx”
• A postcard from the Island
• A cute pin that says “Gaelg” (I’ll have to find something to which I can attach it).

It also had a small pamphlet: 6 oryn mie / 6 good reasons: Raising Children bilingually. The pamphlet details, in Manx and English, why parents should teach their children Manx as well as English.

 Remember, languages don’t go extinct the same way animals do: although a population my thrive, languages die when children cease learning it. Although it would be ridiculous to atttempt to stem the flow of English into Man (especially at this point), the fight against language extinction begins with creating more native speakers. The pamphlet details many advantages of bilingual education, all of which include adorable pictures such as the one above.

 The package also included a thorough introduction to Manx from Mr. Cain. Thank you very much, Mr. Cain, and I look forward to meeting you in July!