What the Isle of Man Teaches Us About Spelling

In the sea between Britain and Ireland, there lies a much smaller island that is geographically and politically separate from the two landmasses on either side. This land is nominally subject to its own Lord, passes laws in a Tynwald, and is called home by 84,000 humans, a population of tail-less cats, an internationally famous motorcycle race, and an embattled Celtic language. These are elements within the unique character of the Isle of Man. It’s a soup of historical ingredients, added into the mixture from all directions. The island passed in antiquity from the Romano-British sphere of influence to being an outpost of Irishness, later to form part of the Norse-Gaelic Kingdom of the Isles (a.k.a. Sodor – the inspiration for Thomas the Tank Engine’s home), before it then fell into the hands of Scotland and England. The Isle of Man has travelled between many countries without moving an inch. A map of Man, with its train lines shown, including the one that snakes up to the island’s…