UNESCO declared Manx Gaelic extinct in 2009. Years later, a letter from a primary school on the Isle of Man proved them wrong, so the organisation took a step back and set up a new category: revitalised languages.
When 97-year-old fisherman Ned Maddrell died in 1974, his native language, Manx Gaelic, died with him. At least, that’s what UNESCO believed when they declared the language extinct in 2009.
Until a letter, written in perfect Manx by primary school children, reached UNESCO headquarters: dozens of kids from the Isle of Man were asking the organisation to reverse its decision.
Here’s how a movement anchored in education and music brought a language back from the dead.
?? ENTR is a digital space for open discussion about what really matters, what holds us back and what connects us all.
ENTR exists in 6 languages: English, French, German, Polish, Romanian and Portuguese.
