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The Cornish language (in Cornish: Kernewek/Kernowek in Standard Written Form; also written Kernewek in UC and KK, Kernowek in UCR, Curnoack in RLC) is one of the Brythonic group of Celtic languages. For the Cornish-English dialect see West Country dialects and List of Cornish dialect words. For the Cornish-English dialect see West Country dialects and List of Cornish dialect words. For the Cornish-English dialect see West Country dialects and List of Cornish dialect words. For the Cornish-English dialect see West Country dialects and List of Cornish dialect words. For the Cornish-English dialect see West Country dialects and List of Cornish dialect words. The Brythonic languages (or Brittonic languages or British languages) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family the other being The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. It is spoken in Cornwall. Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar Cornish continued to function as a community language until the late 18th century, and was revived early in the 20th century.

Current status

A revived language

"Welcome to Cornwall" sign in English and Cornish

In the 20th century a conscious effort was made to revive Cornish as a language for everyday use in speech and writing (see below for further details about the dialects of modern Cornish). The twentieth century of the Common Era began on

The study by Kenneth MacKinnon ^[1] in 2000 suggested that there were then about 300 people who spoke Cornish fluently, i. e. , were able to talk at ordinary speed on everyday matters. The Cornish Language Strategy project is in 2007 commissioning research to provide quantitative and qualitative evidence for the number of Cornish speakers. Due to the success of the revival project it is estimated that 2000 people are fluent as of spring 2008. A few people under the age of 30 have been brought up to be bilingual in Cornish and English.

Cornish exists in place names, and a knowledge of the language helps the understanding of old place names. Many Cornish names are adopted for children, pets, houses and boats. There is now an increasing amount of Cornish literature, in which poetry is the most important genre, particularly in oral form or as song or as traditional Cornish chants historically performed in marketplaces during religious holidays, public festivals and gatherings, and executions.

Cornwall County Council has, as policy, a commitment to support the language, and recently passed a motion supporting its being specified within the European charter for regional or minority languages. Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar

There are regular periodicals solely in the language such as the monthly An Gannas, An Gowsva, and An Garrick. BBC Radio Cornwall and Pirate FM have regular news broadcasts in Cornish, and sometimes have other programmes and features for learners and enthusiasts. Pirate FM is one of the Independent Local Radio stations for Cornwall. Local newspapers such as the The Western Morning News regularly have articles in Cornish, and newspapers such as The Packet, The West Briton and The Cornishman also support the movement. The Western Morning News is a daily Regional Newspaper covering Devon and Cornwall and parts of Somerset and Dorset.

The language has financial sponsorship from many sources, including the Millennium Commission. The Millennium Commission in the United Kingdom was set up to aid communities at the end of the 2nd millennium and the start of the 3rd millennium. A number of language organisations exist in Cornwall including (in alphabetical order) Agan Tavas (Our Language), the Cornish sub-group of the European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages, Gorseth Kernow, Kesva an Taves Kernewek (the Cornish Language Board), Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek (the Cornish Language Fellowship), and Teere ha Tavas (Land and Language). Agan Tavas ( Our Language) is a society which exists to promote the Cornish language. The European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages ( EBLUL) is a Non-governmental organisation promoting linguistic diversity and languages founded in 1982 Gorseth Kernow is a non-political Cornish organisation which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of the County of Cornwall in Kesva an Taves Kernewek ( Cornish Language Board in Cornish; in UCR orthography Kesva an Tavas Kernowek) is a representative body promoting the Cornish language Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek ( The Cornish Language Fellowship; in UCR orthography Cowethas an Yeth Kernowek)is a Cornish language association which exists One organisation, Dalleth, promoted the language to pre-school children. Dalleth ( beginning) was a support organisation for parents and families bringing up children to speak Cornish. There are many popular ceremonies, some ancient, some modern, which use the language or are entirely in the language. The language has been officially recognised as one of the languages of the British Isles (see European recognition below)

European recognition

Welcome sign at Truro Cathedral in several languages, including Cornish. The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary Truro is an Anglican Cathedral located in the city of Truro, Cornwall, in England

On November 5, 2002 in answer to a Parliamentary Question, Local Government and Regions Minister Nick Raynsford said:

After careful consideration and with the help of the results of an independent academic study on the language commissioned by the government, we have decided to recognise Cornish as falling under Part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Events 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier ( Brittany) See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Wyvill Richard Nicolls Raynsford, known as Nick Raynsford, (born 28 January 1945) is a British Labour Politician. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ( ECRML) is a European Treaty (CETS 148 adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe The government will be registering this decision with the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe (Conseil de l'Europe is the oldest International organisation working towards European integration, being founded in 1949

The purpose of the Charter is to protect and promote the historical regional or minority languages of Europe. It recognises that some of these languages are in danger of extinction and that protection and encouragement of them contributes to Europe's cultural diversity and historical traditions.

This is a positive step in acknowledging the symbolic importance the language has for Cornish identity and heritage.

Cornish will join Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Scots and Ulster Scots as protected and promoted languages under the Charter, which commits the government to recognise and respect those languages.

Officials will be starting discussions with Cornwall County Council and Cornish language organisations to ensure the views of Cornish speakers and people wanting to learn Cornish are taken into account in implementing the Charter. Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar

Government funding for the Cornish language

In June 2005, after much pressure from language groups and others such as the Gorseth Kernow, the government allocated £80,000 per year for three years of direct central government funding to the Cornish language. Gorseth Kernow is a non-political Cornish organisation which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of the County of Cornwall in There have been complaints however that in the same period the Ulster-Scots language is being allocated £1,000,000 per year of direct government funding. This comes after the British government acknowledged in its 1st European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages compliance report that: "There are no current demands from within the school system for Ulster-Scots to be taught as a language. Her Majesty's Government, or when the monarch is male His Majesty's Government, is the title used by the Government of the United Kingdom, based at The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ( ECRML) is a European Treaty (CETS 148 adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe There have been concerns that while the ECRML Level II Cornish language remains in the slow lane, the Ulster-Scots language is to be made a ECRML Level III language. ^[2][3]

Classification

Cornish belongs to Brythonic languages, a branch of Celtic languages. The Brythonic languages (or Brittonic languages or British languages) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family the other being The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. Brythonic also includes Welsh, Breton, the extinct Cumbric and perhaps the hypothetical Ivernic. Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic The Breton language ( Brezhoneg) formerly often called Armoric or Armorican, is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany Cumbric was the Brythonic Celtic language, often considered to be a Dialect of Welsh, spoken in Northern England and southern The Iverni or Hiberni (Ἰουερνοι Iouernoi) were an ancient Celtic people of Ireland mentioned in Ptolemy 's 2nd century The languages Scottish Gaelic, Irish and Manx are part of the separate Goidelic group. Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Manx ( Gaelg or Gailck, ɡilk or) also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Goidelic language once spoken on the Isle The Goidelic languages, (also sometimes called particularly in colloquial situations the Gaelic languages or collectively Gaelic) historically formed a Dialect Cornish shares about 80% basic vocabulary with Breton, 75% with Welsh, 35% with Irish, and 35% with Scottish Gaelic. Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. By comparison, Welsh shares about 70% with Breton.

History

General outlook

The proto-Cornish language developed after the Southwest Britons of Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall became linguistically separated from the West Britons of later Wales after the Battle of Deorham in about 577. Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county Dorset ( (or archaically, Dorsetshire) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar The Battle of Deorham was fought in southwestern Britain in 577, between the Saxons of Wessex and the Britons to their west The area controlled by the Southwest Britons was progressively reduced by the expansion of Wessex over the next few centuries. West Saxon redirects here For other meanings of Wessex or West Saxon see Wessex (disambiguation. In 927 Athelstan drove the south west Celts out of Exeter and in 936 he set the east bank of the Tamar as the boundary between Anglo-Saxon Wessex and Celtic Cornwall. Exeter ( (IPA ˈeksɪtər is a city, district and County town of Devon, England. West Saxon redirects here For other meanings of Wessex or West Saxon see Wessex (disambiguation. "Exeter was cleansed of its defilement by wiping out that filthy race". (William of Malmesbury, writing around 1120)^[4] There is no record of him taking his campaigns into Cornwall. Biography The education William received at Malmesbury Abbey included a smattering of Logic and Physics; Moral philosophy and History, It seems probable that Hywel, King of the Cornish, agreed to pay tribute to Athelstan, as did Alfred the Great, and thus avoided more attacks and maintained a high degree of autonomy. Huwal ( Welsh: Hywel; modern English: Howell) "King of the West Welsh" was a Celtic monarch of the early-mid 10th century Alfred the Great (also Ælfred from the Old English Ælfrēd ˈælfreːd (c ^[5]and in 936 Athelstan fixed Cornwall's eastern boundary at the Tamar. The Tamar is a River in south western England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east and Cornwall (to the west ^[6] However, the Cornish language continued to flourish well through the Middle Ages, reaching a peak of about 39,000 speakers (estimated by Ken George) in the 13th century. Kenneth J George, writing as Ken George, is an oceanographer and linguist noted as being the originator of Kernewek Kemmyn, an orthography for the Cornish language However the percentage of Cornish speakers in Cornwall declined:

The earliest written record of the Cornish language, dating from 525 AD, is a gloss in a Latin manuscript of De Consolatione Philosophiae by Boethius, which used the words ud rocashaas. This article is about the literary term For other uses see Gloss (disambiguation. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Consolation of Philosophy ( Consolatio Philosophiae) is a philosophical work by Boethius, written in about the year AD 524. Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (480&ndash524 or 525 was a Christian philosopher of the 6th century The phrase means "it (the mind) hated the gloomy places". ^[7][8]

The shifting of the linguistic boundary in Cornwall 1300-1750

At the time of the Prayer Book rebellion of 1549, which was a reaction to Parliament passing the first Act of Uniformity, people in many areas of Cornwall did not speak or understand English. The Prayer Book Rebellion, Western Rising or Western Rebellion was a popular revolt in Cornwall and Devon, in 1549 The Act of Uniformity 1549 (citation 2 & 3 Edward VI (reigned 1547 - 1553 c English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States (The intention of the Act was to replace worship in Latin with worship in English, which was known, by the lawmakers, not to be universally spoken throughout England. Instead of simply banning Latin, however, the Act was framed so as to enforce English. ) In 1549, this imposition of a new language was sometimes a matter of life and death: over 4,000 people who protested against the imposition of an English Prayer book were massacred by the King's army. Edward VI (12 October 1537 &ndash 6 July 1553 became King of England and Ireland on 28 January 1547 and was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine Their leaders were executed and the people suffered numerous reprisals.

The rebels' document claimed they wanted a return to the old religious services and ended 'We the Cornishmen (whereof certain of us understand no English) utterly refuse this new English'. (Altered spelling. ) Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, replied to the Cornishmen, inquiring as to why they should be offended by services in English when they had them in Latin, which they also did not understand. } Edward Seymour 1st Duke of Somerset (c 1506 &ndash 22nd January 1552 was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county Through many factors, including loss of life and the spread of English, the Prayer Book Rebellion proved a turning-point for the Cornish language. The Prayer Book Rebellion, Western Rising or Western Rebellion was a popular revolt in Cornwall and Devon, in 1549 Indeed, some recent research has suggested that estimates of the Cornish speaking population prior to the rebellion may have been low, making the decline even more drastic.

By this time the language was already arguably in decline from its earlier heyday, and the situation worsened over the course of the next century. It is often claimed that the last native speaker of Cornish was the Mousehole resident Dolly Pentreath, who died in 1777. A first language (also mother tongue, native language, arterial language, or L1) is the language a human being learns from birth See Mousehole (drilling for the Drilling term Mousehole (ˈmaʊzəl to rhyme with "cows'll" Porthynys ( is a village Dolly Pentreath (died December 1777 is often considered to have been the last Monoglot speaker of the Cornish language (that is the last person who spoke only Cornish Year 1777 ( MDCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Notwithstanding her supposed last words, "Me ne vidn cewsel Sawznek!" ("I don't want to speak English!"), she spoke at least some English as well as Cornish. The last known monoglot Cornish speaker is believed to have been Chesten Marchant, who died in 1676 at Gwithian. Monoglottism ( Greek monos, "alone solitary" + glotta, "tongue language" or more commonly monolingualism or unilingualism Chesten Marchant, who died in 1676 at Gwithian, Cornwall is believed to have been the last monoglot Cornish speaker as opposed to Dolly Gwithian is a village in the parish of Gwinear-Gwithian, located in the district of Penwith, in Cornwall, UK. It does, however, appear to be true that Dolly Pentreath spoke Cornish fluently and may have been one of the last to do so before the revival of the language in the 20th century. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on There is also, however, evidence that Cornish continued, albeit in limited usage by a handful of speakers, throughout the 19th century and into the early 20th century. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The twentieth century of the Common Era began on In 1875 six speakers all in their sixties were discovered; some claim that John Davey from St Just who died in 1891 at Boswednack, Zennor should be considered the last traditional speaker. Boswednack is a village in the parish of Zennor near the north coast of the Penwith peninula Cornwall, in the United Kingdom Local Government For the purposes of local government classification Zennor elects a parish Council every 3 years ^[9] Others, however, dispute this, saying that Alison Treganning, who died in 1906 was the last traditional speaker. ^[10] and by this time the revival was well underway. Fishermen were counting fish using a rhyme derived from Cornish into the 1940s. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be It has been suggested by Cornish linguist Richard Gendall that some dialects of English spoken in Cornwall (especially the dialect of West Penwith, where traditional Cornish was last spoken) display strong lexical and prosodic influences from the Cornish language that almost certainly go back several centuries. Richard Gendall is an expert on the Cornish language, born in 1924 English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States West Penwith Rural District was a Rural district in Cornwall, United Kingdom from 1894 to 1974.

Sources on Traditional Cornish

The Southwestern Brythonic, or Southwestern Brittonic, language evolved into Cornish, shrinking from the whole southwest of England into the western tip of Cornwall with time. Kenneth H. Jackson divided this long period into several sub-periods having different linguistic innovations. Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson (1 November 1909 – 20 February 1991 was an English linguist and a translator who specialised in the Celtic languages.

"Primitive Cornish" existed between about 600 and 800 AD but nothing survives from this time. The "Old Cornish" period was between 800 and 1200 AD, for which there is a Cornish-Latin dictionary (the Vocabulum Cornicum) and various 10th century glosses in Latin manuscripts such as the Bodmin manumissions giving the Cornish names of freed slaves.

The "Middle Cornish" period between 1200 and 1578 has many sources of information, mostly religious texts. There are about 20,000 lines of text in total. Various plays were written by the canons of Glasney College intended to educate the Cornish people about the bible and the Celtic saints.

The "Late Cornish" period from 1578 to about 1800 has fewer sources of information on the language. In this period there was considerable input from the English language. In 1776 William Bodinar, who had learnt Cornish from fishermen, wrote a letter in Cornish which was probably the last prose in the language. However, the last verse was the Cranken Rhyme written down in the late 19th century.

Further information on traditional Cornish can be obtained from the place names of Cornwall. The place names have been analysed into elements for which meanings have been inferred.

The rise of Cornish studies

In the late 17th century a group of scholars, led by John Keigwin of Mousehole, tried to preserve and further the Cornish language. They left behind a large number of translations of parts of the Bible, proverbs and songs. This group was contacted by the Welsh linguist Edward Lhuyd who came to Cornwall to study the language. Edward Lhuyd (sometimes rewritten as Llwyd in recent times (1660&ndash June 30, 1709) was a Welsh naturalist, botanist

Early Modern Cornish was the subject of a study published by Lhuyd in 1702, and differs from the mediæval language in having a considerably simpler structure and grammar. Year 1702 ( MDCCII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Such differences included the wide use of certain modal affixes that, although out of use by Lhuyd's time, had a considerable effect on the word-order of mediæval Cornish. The Mediæval language also possessed two additional tenses for expressing past events and an extended set of possessive suffixes. Edward Lhuyd theorises that the language of this time was heavily inflected, possessing not just the genitive, ablative and locative cases so common in Early Modern Cornish, but also dative and accusative cases, and even a vocative case, although historical references to this are rare. In Grammar, the genitive case or possessive case (also called the second case) is the case that marks a Noun as modifying another In Linguistics, ablative case ( abbreviated ABL) is a name given to cases in various languages whose common characteristic Locative (also called the seventh case) is a Grammatical case which indicates a location The accusative case ( abbreviated ACC) of a Noun is the Grammatical case used to mark the Direct object of a Transitive The vocative case is the case used for a Noun identifying the person (animal object etc

Robert Williams published the first comprehensive Cornish dictionary in 1865, the Lexicon Cornu-Britannicum. As a result of the discovery of additional ancient Cornish manuscripts, 2000 new words were added to the vocabulary by Whitely Stokes in A Cornish Glossary. William Borlase published Proverbs and Rhymes in Cornish in 1866 while A Glossary of Cornish Place Names was produced by John Bannister in the same year. Dr Fredrick Jago published his English-Cornish Dictionary in 1887.

Varieties of Revived Cornish

During the 19th century the Cornish language was the subject of antiquarian interest and a number of lectures were given on the subject and pamphlets on it were published.

Unified Cornish (UC)

The first successful attempt to revive Cornish was largely the work of Henry Jenner and Robert Morton Nance in the early part of the twentieth century. Language revitalization is the attempt by interested parties including individuals cultural or community groups governments or political authorities to recover the spoken use of a Henry Jenner FSA (1848-1934 was a Celtic scholar Cornish cultural activist and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival Robert Morton Nance (1873-1959 Born in Cardiff of Cornish parents Jenner published his "Handbook of the Cornish Language" in 1904 while Nance published "Cornish For All" in 1929. A S D Smith produced "Lessons in Spoken Cornish" in 1931.

The resulting system was called Unified Cornish or UC (Kernewek Uny[e]s, KU) and was based mainly on Middle Cornish (the language of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries — a high point for Cornish literature), with a standardised spelling and an extended vocabulary based largely on Breton and Welsh. Unified Cornish (UC ( Kernewek Unys KU) is a variety of revived Cornish. The Breton language ( Brezhoneg) formerly often called Armoric or Armorican, is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic A dictionary of Unified Cornish was published by Nance in the 1930s. For many years, this was the modern Cornish language, and many people still use it today.

Shortcomings in Unified Cornish had to do in part with the stiff and archaizing literary style Nance had employed, and in part with a realisation that Nance's phonology lacked some distinctions which must have existed in traditional Cornish. In the 1970s, Tim Saunders raised a number of issues of communicative efficiency, but his initiative had no influence and later developments are entirely independent. Tim Saunders is a Cornish language poet who also writes poetry and journalism in the Welsh, Irish, Breton and Cornish languages

Modern Cornish or Revived Late Cornish (RLC)

In the early 1980s, Richard Gendall, who had worked with Nance, published a new system based on the rather limited works of writers such as Nicholas Boson and John Boson, William Rowe, Thomas Tonkin and others, few of whom spoke Cornish as their first language. Richard Gendall is an expert on the Cornish language, born in 1924 Nicholas Boson (1624-1708 was a writer in and preserver of the Cornish language. John Boson (1655-1730 was a writer in the Cornish language. The son of Nicholas Boson, he was born in Paul Cornwall. This system, called Modern Cornish (Curnoack Nowedga, Kernowek Noweja in UCR) by its proponents, differs from Unified Cornish in using the English-based orthographies of the 17th and 18th centuries, though there are also differences of vocabulary and grammar. Disambiguation you may be looking for general contemporary forms of the Cornish language. It is sometimes called "Revived Late Cornish" or RLC as well. Disambiguation you may be looking for general contemporary forms of the Cornish language. Writers of Late Cornish often wrote Cornish using the English orthographic equivalent of the nearest equivalent English sound. For instance, the word for 'good' typically spelt dâ 'good' could also be written daa, and the word for 'month' could be spelt mîz or meez. The need for standard spelling when learning a language has led the Cornish Language Council to adopt the Revived Late Cornish spelling standardised by Gendall and Neil Kennedy. This makes sparing use of accents (as did writers of Modern Cornish at the time).

Kernewek Kemmyn or Common Cornish (KK)

In 1986 Ken George developed a revised orthography (and phonology) for Revived Cornish, which became known as Kernewek Kemmyn or KK (lit. Kenneth J George, writing as Ken George, is an oceanographer and linguist noted as being the originator of Kernewek Kemmyn, an orthography for the Cornish language Kernewek Kemmyn (Common Cornish or "KK" is a variety of the revived Cornish language. Common Cornish). It was subsequently adopted by the Cornish Language Board as their preferred system. Kesva an Taves Kernewek ( Cornish Language Board in Cornish; in UCR orthography Kesva an Tavas Kernowek) is a representative body promoting the Cornish language It retained a Middle Cornish base but made the spelling more systematic by applying phonemic orthographic theory, and for the first time set out clear rules relating spelling to pronunciation. A phonemic orthography is a Writing system where the written Graphemes correspond to Phonemes the spoken sounds of the language The revised system is claimed to have been taken up enthusiastically by the majority of Cornish speakers and learners, and advocates of this orthography claim that it was especially welcomed by teachers. Nevertheless, many Cornish speakers chose to continue using Unified Cornish. Despite later criticism by Nicholas Williams (see below), Kernewek Kemmyn has retained the support of many active Cornish speakers. Nicholas Jonathan Anselm Williams (born October 1942 in Walthamstow, Essex now London, England) writing as Nicholas Williams

Unified Cornish Revised (UCR)

In 1995 an alternative revision of Unified Cornish known as Unified Cornish Revised or UCR (Kernowek Unys Amendys, KUA) was proposed by Nicholas Williams. Unified Cornish (UC ( Kernewek Unys KU) is a variety of revived Cornish. UCR built on traditional Unified Cornish, making the spellings regular while keeping as close as possible to the orthographic practices of the mediæval scribes. The rationale behind UCR was that only attested Cornish can serve as a guide to its phonology, and that other attempts at regularisation had on the one hand introduced alien elements and on the other hand not known how to interpret the variations in extant material, which it turned to explain in accordance with the assumptions of nineteenth-century Middle European philology. In common with Kernewek Kemmyn, UCR made use of Tudor and Late Cornish prose materials unavailable to Nance. Williams published his English-Cornish Dictionary in this orthography in 2000; the second edition was published in 2006. Like the other orthographies, UCR also has its adherents and its detractors.

Toward unification

Unification projects

In practice these different written forms do not prevent Cornish-speakers from communicating with each other effectively. Cornish has been successfully revived as a viable language for communication. Nevertheless there is still much scope for improving the standard and accuracy of the spoken language. The language is spoken mainly with the older generations, but is currently being taught at some Cornish primary and secondary schools.

In response to the orthographic mayhem, the Cornish Language Partnership has initiated a period of review. In 2007 an independent Cornish Language Commission consisting of sociolinguists and linguists from outside of Cornwall was formed to review the four existing forms (UC, RLC, KK, and UCR) and consider whether any of those could be suitable to be a Single Written Form for Cornish, or whether a new fifth form should be adopted. Two groups made proposals of compromise orthographies.

• The group UdnFormScrefys ('Single Written Form') proposed an orthography called Kernowek Standard (KS) which is based on traditional orthographic forms and also has a clear relation between spelling and pronunciation, taking both Middle Cornish and Late Cornish dialects of Revived Cornish into account. Kernowek Standard (KS Standard Cornish) is a variety of revived Cornish. ^[11]
• Two members of the CLP's Linguistic Working Group, Albert Bock and Benjamin Bruch, proposed another orthography called Kernowek Dasunys (KD) which endeavours to reconcile UC, KK, RLC, and UCR orthographies. ^[12]

Standard Written Form (SWF)

In May 2008 the Partnership agreed on a single written form to be known as Standard Written Form (SWF), to be used by Cornwall County Council authorities for the purposes of education and public life. ^[13][14] No official spelling for the term has been established, but Furv Savonek Skrifys and Furv Savonek Scrifys have gained some currency. Users of UCR and KS prefer the term Form Standard Screfys. ^[15]

On Friday 9th May 2008 the Cornish Language Partnership met with the specification for the Standard Written Form as the main item on the agenda. All four Cornish language groups, Unified Cornish, Unified Cornish Revised, Common Cornish and Modern Cornish were represented at this meeting. Reactions were mixed from the various language groups, Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek, Cussel an Tavaz Kernûak, Kesva an Taves Kernewek and Agan Tavas, but the majority wanted resolution and acceptance. The Cornish Language Partnership said that it would 'create an opportunity to break down barriers and the agreement marked a significant stepping stone in the Cornish language. '. The vote to ratify the SWF was carried and on 19 May 2008 it was announced that the single written form had been agreed. Eric Brooke, chairman of the Cornish Language Partnership, said: "This marks a significant stepping-stone in the development of the Cornish language. In time this step will allow the Cornish language to move forward to become part of the lives of all in Cornwall. "^[16][17][18]

Culture

See: Cornish literature

Commemorative plaque in Cornish and English for Michael Joseph the Smith (An Gof) mounted on the north side of Blackheath common, south east London, near the south entrance to Greenwich Park. Cornish literature refers to written works in the Cornish language.

Cornwall has many other cultural events associated with the language, including the international Celtic film festival, hosted in St Ives in 1997, with the programme in Cornish, English and French. St Ives (Porth Ia is a seaside town, Civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar There have been many films, some televised, made entirely, or significantly, in the language. Some shops, such as Gwynn ha Du, in the town of Liskeard, sell books written in Cornish. Liskeard ( IPA /lɪˈskɑd/ — correctly stressed on the second syllable but often wrongly on the first (Lys Kerwyd or Lyskerrys is an ancient stannary and Many companies use Cornish names. The overnight physician's service in Cornwall is now called Kernow Urgent Care. Cornish is taught in some schools; it was previously taught at degree level in the University of Wales, though the only existing courses in the language at University level are as part of a course in Cornish Studies at the University of Exeter, or as part of the distance-learning Welsh degree from the University of Wales, Lampeter. The University of Wales ( Prifysgol Cymru in Welsh) is a confederal University founded in 1893. The University of Exeter (usually abbreviated as Exon for post-nominals) is a University in the South West of Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic University of Wales Lampeter (Prifysgol Cymru Llanbedr Pont Steffan is a University In March 2008, Benjamin Bruch started teaching the language as part of the Celtic Studies curriculum at the University of Vienna, Austria. The University of Vienna (Universität Wien is a Public university located in Vienna, Austria. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich

The Cornish language has been recognised as a minority language by the UK government under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ( ECRML) is a European Treaty (CETS 148 adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe This follows years of pressure by interest groups such as Mebyon Kernow and Kesva an Taves Kernewek. Mebyon Kernow ( Cornish for "Sons of Cornwall" often abbreviated MK) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Kesva an Taves Kernewek ( Cornish Language Board in Cornish; in UCR orthography Kesva an Tavas Kernowek) is a representative body promoting the Cornish language

A first complete edition of the New Testament in Cornish, Nicholas Williams' translation of the Testament Noweth agan Arluth ha Savyour Jesu Cryst, was published at Easter 2002 by Spyrys a Gernow (ISBN 0-9535975-4-7); it uses Unified Cornish Revised orthography. Nicholas Jonathan Anselm Williams (born October 1942 in Walthamstow, Essex now London, England) writing as Nicholas Williams Easter ( Greek: Πάσχα Pascha or Pasxa) is the most important religious feast in the Christian Liturgical year. The translation was made from the Greek text, and incorporated John Tregear's existing translations with slight revisions.

In August 2004, Kesva an Taves Kernewek published another Cornish translation of the New Testament (ISBN 1-902917-33-2), translated by six Bards of Gorseth Kernow under the leadership of Keith Syed; it uses Kernewek Kemmyn orthography. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " It was launched in a ceremony in Truro Cathedral attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary Truro is an Anglican Cathedral located in the city of Truro, Cornwall, in England The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the

The Celtic Congress and Celtic League are groups that advocate cooperation amongst the Celtic Nations in order to protect and promote Celtic languages and cultures, thus working in the interests of the Cornish language. The International Celtic Congress is a cultural organisation that seeks to promote the Celtic languagues of the nations of Ireland, Scotland, Wales The Celtic League is a political and cultural organisation in the modern Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany

The English composer Peter Warlock, an enthusiast for the Celtic languages, wrote a Christmas carol in Cornish. Peter Warlock was a Pseudonym of Philip Arnold Heseltine (30 October 1894 - 17 December 1930 an Anglo -Welsh composer and music critic Cornish electronic musician Richard D James has often used Cornish names for track titles, most notably on his DrukQs album. drukqs (sometimes spelled drukQs) is a 2001 Double album by Richard D

Phonetics and phonology

The pronunciation of traditional Cornish is a matter of conjecture, but varieties of Revived Cornish are more or less agreed about the phonology they use.

Consonants

This is a table of the phonology of Revived Cornish as recommended for the pronunciation of Unified Cornish Revised (UCR) orthography, using symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

Vowels

These are tables of the phonology of Revived Cornish as recommended for the pronunciation of Unified Cornish Revised (UCR) orthography, using symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). In Phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a Consonant articulated with both Lips The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet In Phonetics, labiodentals are Consonants articulated with the lower Lip and the upper Teeth. Interdental consonants are produced by placing the blade of the Tongue against the upper Incisors This differs from a Dental consonant in that the Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior Alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets Postalveolar consonants are Consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the Alveolar ridge, placing them a bit further back in the Palatal consonants are Consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the Hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth The term labiovelar is ambiguous It may mean labial-velar (a Consonant made at two places of articulation, one at the lips and the other at the soft Glottal consonants are Consonants articulated with the Glottis. A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. A nasal consonant (also called nasal stop or nasal continuant) is produced with a lowered velum in the mouth allowing air to escape freely through the Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together Approximants are speech sounds ( Phonemes) that could be regarded as intermediate between Vowels and typical Consonants In the articulation of approximants Laterals are "L"-like Consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue while air from the lungs escapes at one side or both

Grammar

Cornish is a member of the Celtic branch of the Indo-European family of languages, and shares many of the characteristics of the other Insular Celtic languages. A front vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far forward A central vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between A back vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as A close vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in many spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as A near-close vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a near-close vowel is that the tongue is positioned similarly A mid vowel is a Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an The open-mid vowels make a class of Vowel sounds used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of an open-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned A near-open vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a near-open vowel is that the tongue is positioned similarly An open vowel is a Vowel sound of a type used in most spoken Languages The defining characteristic of an open vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far as A front vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far forward A back vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as A close vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in many spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as A close-mid vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a close-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned two-thirds The open-mid vowels make a class of Vowel sounds used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of an open-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned A near-open vowel is a type of Vowel sound used in some spoken Languages The defining characteristic of a near-open vowel is that the tongue is positioned similarly An open vowel is a Vowel sound of a type used in most spoken Languages The defining characteristic of an open vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far as The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. These include:

• Initial consonant mutation. Consonant mutation is the phenomenon in which a Consonant in a word is changed according to its morphological and/or syntactic environment The first sound of a Cornish word may change according to grammatical context. There are four types of mutation in Cornish (compared to three in Welsh and two in Irish). Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. These are known as soft (b -> v, etc. ), hard (b -> p), aspirate (b unchanged, t -> th) and mixed (b -> f).

• inflected (or conjugated) prepositions. For fusion in Word formation, see Compound (linguistics. A fusional language (also called inflecting language) is a In Linguistics, conjugation is the creation of derived forms of a Verb, Noun or Adjective from its Principal parts by Inflection In Grammar, a preposition is a Part of speech that introduces a prepositional phrase. A preposition combines with a personal pronoun to give a separate word form. For example, gans (with, by) + my (me) -> genef; gans + ef (him) -> ganso.
• A zero indefinite article. Cath means "a cat" (there is, however a definite article: an gath means "the cat").
• For other grammatical characteristics of Cornish, see the section on grammar in the Welsh language article, until this section is finished. Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Dialects

There are, essentially, four orthographic 'dialects' of Revived Cornish, but in linguistic terms, Unified Cornish and Common Cornish reflect Middle Cornish grammar and pronunciation while Revived Late Cornish favours Late Cornish grammar and punctuation. UCR stands somewhere between but closer to the Middle Cornish end of the spectrum. The two new proposed compromise orthographies, Kernowak Standard and Kernowek Dasunys attempt to represent both dialects of Revived Cornish.

See: Varieties of Revived Cornish

It is also possible that a variety of Cornish was spoken in Devon as late as the 14th century: Then President of the Devonshire Association, Sir Henry Duke, said in 1922 that "various writers have made (assertions) of the continuance of British occupancy and of the British tongue in South and West Devon to a time well within the reigns of the Plantagenets. For the Cornish-English dialect see West Country dialects and List of Cornish dialect words. Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name Risdon, for example, says that the Celtic tongue was spoken throughout the South Hams in Edward the First's time". Tristram Risdon (c 1580 - 1640 was an Antiquary and Topographer and the author of the Survey of Devonshire.

Some people from Devon have begun to learn a language based on Joseph Biddulph's booklet 'A handbook of Westcountry Brythonic' which attempts to recreate the hypothetical southwestern Brythonic tongue which would have been spoken in the southwestern peninsula in around 700AD. However these self-published booklets have been heavily criticised by other scholars.

Examples

Comparison table

This table compares some Cornish words (written using UCR, Kernewek Kemmyn and the Standard Written Form^[19] orthographies) with equivalents from its sister Brythonic languages of Welsh and Breton and its cousin languages Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx.

Common phrases

The spelling and pronunciation below follow the recommendations of Kernewek Kemmyn:

See also

• List of Celtic language media
• Languages in the United Kingdom
• List of topics related to Cornwall
• language revival
• The Cornish Language Council (Cussel an Tavas Kernuak)
• European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

References

1. ^ http://www.gosw.gov.uk/gosw/docs/254795/mode_of_use.doc
2. ^ BBC News - June 2005 - Cash boost for Cornish language
3. ^ Suppression of Cornish identity and language
4. ^ Philip Payton. The list below contains information on the different types of media available in the Celtic languages. The United Kingdom does not have a constitutionally defined Official language. This is a list of topics related to Cornwall, United Kingdom. Language revitalization is the attempt by interested parties including individuals cultural or community groups governments or political authorities to recover the spoken use of a The Cornish Language Council (CLC Cornish Cussel an Tavas Kernuak) is an organisation promoting the revival of the Cornish language. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ( ECRML) is a European Treaty (CETS 148 adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe Philip John Payton is professor of Cornish and Australian Studies at the University of Exeter and Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies (1996). Cornwall. Fowey: Alexander Associates
5. ^ Cornwall Council timeline 927-936
6. ^ Philip Payton. Philip John Payton is professor of Cornish and Australian Studies at the University of Exeter and Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies (1996). Cornwall. Fowey: Alexander Associates
7. ^ Oxford scholars detect earliest record of Cornish
8. ^ Sims-Williams, P. 'A New Brittonic Gloss on Boethius: ud rocashaas', Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 50 (Winter 2005), 77-86.
9. ^ The Cornish Language and Its Literature: A History By Peter Berresford Ellis
10. ^ Alison Treganning
11. ^ Kernowek Standard website
12. ^ Kernowek Dasunys website
13. ^ Breakthrough for Cornish language BBC News, 19 May 2008
14. ^ An Outline of the Standard Written Form of Cornish Maga Kernow
15. ^ Kernowek Standard website
16. ^ BBC News 19 May 2008 - Breakthrough for Cornish language
17. ^ BBC News 19 May 2008 - Standard Cornish spelling agreed
18. ^ Cornish Language Partnership - Standard Written Form Ratified
19. ^ Cornish Language Partnership - Outline of SWF (pdf)

Notes

• Berresford Ellis, P. Peter Berresford Ellis (born 10 March 1943) is a historian literary biographer and novelist who has published over 80 books to date under his own name and his pseudonym The Story of the Cornish Language, Truro: Tor Mark Press. 1990.
• Jackson, Kenneth. Language and History in Early Britain. 1953.
• Weatherall, C. Cornish Place names and Language. 1995.

External links

• Cornish Language Partnership website
• A Cornish Internet radio station in nascent state featuring weekly podcasts in Cornish
• UdnFormScrefys' site for the proposed compromise orthography, Kernowek Standard
• Bock and Bruch's site for the proposed compromise orthography, Kernowek Dasunys
• Kernewek dre Lyther - Cornish by Post - online Cornish correspondence course
• Kensa Kernewek - An Introduction to the Cornish Language
• Blas Kernewek - A Taste of Cornish - basic Cornish lessons hosted by BBC Cornwall
• Cornish Language Fellowship
• The Cornish Language in education in the United Kingdom
• Cornish today by Kenneth MacKinnon - from the BBC^
• International Celtic Congress
• Cornish language of Wikisource, a collection of free texts
• The Ordinalia - A Synoptic Website
• A short Cornish - English - Japanese phrasebook with pronunciation
• Oxford scholars detect earliest record of Cornish
• Oxford scholars detect earliest record of Cornish

Biblical material

• Bibel Kernewek Cornish Bible Translation Project
• Testament Noweth—New Testament in Cornish
• Downloadable Machine Translation of the Entire Bible into Cornish with English Parallel Text

Dictionaries

• English-Cornish Dictionary, in UCR orthography, 2nd edition
• Cornish-English Dictionary: from Webster's Online Dictionary Rosetta Edition. Wikisource is a Wikimedia project to build a free, Wiki Library of Source texts along with translations into any language
• Lexicon Cornu-Britannicum: a Dictionary of the Ancient Celtic Language of Cornwall by Robert Williams, Llandovery, 1865.