Exploring Kernewek; The Cornish Language

Situated in Cornwall, we enjoy the privilege of living in one of the most beautiful locations on earth. Not only are we lucky enough to be surrounded by breath taking landscapes and a beautiful coastline, but we also live in an area with a deep cultural and historical legacy.  In fact, there is so much rich history in Cornwall that it's very much a case of, the more you look, the more you find!

 

An area of particular interest is the Cornish language, known as Kernewek, a Britonnic language from the Celtic language family and the native language of Cornwall.   

 

Once the main language of Cornwall, it transitioned from being the mother tongue of the Cornish people, to a dying language with only a handful of living, fluent speakers all within around 700 years. 

 

Records show that in the year 1050, with an estimated population of 16000 people, there were approximately 15000 Cornish speakers, which is just over 93% of the Cornish population.  As the population grew, so did the number of Cornish speakers.  However, from around 1250, although the population continued to increase, the percentage of Cornish speakers began to decline, with 79% speaking the language in 1250, reducing to to 47% in 1500, 26% in 1600 and only 5% in 1700.  By 1800 there were no recorded daily speakers remaining.

 

Although there are a few contenders, and varying views on the finer details of what constitutes a fluent speaker, it's generally agreed that the last native speaker of the Cornish language was a woman named Dolly Pentreath, a Cornish fishwife from Mousehole, who died in 1777.  The language was declared extinct by the end of the 18th Century.

 

Despite this, one can assume that pockets of knowledge continued to exist within Cornish communities, having been handed down through generations. Plenty of anecdotal evidence exists of Cornish still being used, perhaps no longer fluently, but certainly well enough to be understood and passed on.

 

In 1679, realising the Cornish language was is danger of being lost forever, William Scawen, former Cornish politician, began writing detailed manuscripts.  Along with a group of scholars including his nephew, John Keigwin, the group helped to preserve the language by transcribing all manner of religious text, literature and songs.  The importance of their work and of others who dedicated themselves so diligently to preserve the language can not be underestimated, but for their dedication, vital parts of the language could've been lost in the mists of time.

 

Interestingly, the Cornish language is enjoying somewhat of a modern day revival, with a renewed interest in learning the language from people of all ages.  It seems a turning point for the fortunes of the Celtic language can be connected to the publication of a book written by Celtic language scholar,  Henry Jenner, called 'A Handbook of the Cornish Language' published in 1904, which kickstarted what has now come to be known as the Cornwall Language Revival. 

 

Indeed, the Council for Europe's Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has recognised Cornish as a protected minority language since 2002.

The Cornish Language Partnership was created in 2005 to promote and develop use of the Cornish language, as well as to create the standardised written form of the Cornish language, uniting a number of previous conflicting orthographies, in order to establish a unified orthography, allowing it to be taught and promoted in a standardised manner. This unified orthography was published in 2008. 

 

After having previously been classified as an extinct language by UNESCO, World Atlas of Languages, in 2009, Kernewek was then upgraded to 'Critically Endangered' marking an encouraging turning point in the Cornish language revival.

 

In 2015, the Cornish Language Partnership was dissolved and Cornwall Council took the lead in promoting the Cornish language.  

 Later that year, Cornwall Council estimated that around 5000 people could demonstrate a basic conversational ability.  According to the 2021 Census, the number of Cornish speakers sat at 563, and it has no doubt risen since then. 

 

To underpin it's commitment to supporting and preserving Kernewek, in 2019 the Government announced news of a £200,000 fund, £150,000 of which was allocated to the Cornish Language Programme, and the remaining £50,000 allocated between several other initiatives, designed to promote Cornwall's language, culture and heritage.

Communities Minister at the time, Lord Bourne said 

"As England’s only recognised regional or minority language, we should support the Cornish language and help it flourish for generations to come"

  

 Inspired by the Cornish Language Revival, we decided to create a new line of Cornish products, hand stamped in Kernewek.  What followed was a lot of enjoyable research rabbit holes!

 

There are plenty of resources available online for anyone who wishes to begin to learn, or brush up on their Kernewek.  A great place to start your journey is by visiting the Cornish Language section on Cornwall Council's website, where they have collated a wealth of information and recommended resources, from learning the basics of the Cornish Language, with Go Cornish to using it in every day conversation.  They even provide a free English to Cornish translation service!  We made several requests to check translations, all of which were answered very quickly

 

We highly recommend Korpus Kernewek The Cornish Dictionary which we found to be very useful for quickly finding particular words, along with their fantastic Corpus Search Function which gives real world examples of words and phrases used in various contexts, to enable the learner to see how words can be used in different ways. 

 

We've compiled a list of some key words and Cornish phrases.  

  

English	Kernewek (Cornish)
Hello	Dydh da
Good Morning	Myttin da
Good Afternoon	Dohajydh da
Good Evening	Gorthugher da
How are you?	Fatla genes?
I am fine, thanks.	Da lowr ov, meur ras.
Can I help you?	A allav vy dha weres?
My name is....	Ow hanow yw....
Thank you	Meur ras
Grandmother	Mamm wynn
I love you	My a’th kar
Where is the museum?	Ple'ma'n gwithti?
How do i get to....?	Fatel allav mos dhe…?
Merry Christmas	Nadelik Lowen

 

 

 

It's well known that immersing yourself in a language is the quickest way to pick it up, so it's particularly useful to listen to Cornish being spoken. 

There are some great Cornish Short Films available to view on BBC iPlayer.  Another highly recommended website to visit is anradyo.com, jam packed with plenty of radio podcasts, fascinating videos and Cornish music, from people from of all ages and all walks of life.  

 

Once you've mastered a few basic words and phrases, it's time to dip your toe in and join in with a real life conversation with other human beings! Speak Cornish promotes both classes and regular conversational 'meet-ups' throughout Cornwall, providing the opportunity to use your newfound Cornish language skills in a real life setting.

Speaking the language with others creates not only a wonderful sense of community but also helps to promote an understanding of how the language is used in everyday conversation in various contexts.

 

With Cornwall Council backed programmes set up to provide free educational resources via Go Cornish to Primary Schools, the younger generation are being introduced to the Cornish language in a fun and enjoyable way, through games, songs and art.  Creating a solid foundation for curiosity and further learning.

 

For anyone wanting to formalise their learning, it is now possible to obtain an Entry Level language qualification in Cornish, via the Welsh Joint Education Committee.  An assessment that requires the candidate to prove their competency based on spoken Cornish only, with no written assessment required.

 

With such positive promotion and readily available resources, it's not hard to see why so many people from different generations are choosing to learn Cornish.   Whether it's to provide a link to the past, bridging the historical gap between old and modern Cornwall, or renewing a long forgotten part of the Cornish identity, it seems plenty of people are enjoying learning the Cornish language.

 

Whatever the reason, It's heartening to see so much enthusiasm to ensure not only the survival, but also the thriving of this special language.  Kernewek holds a special place in Cornish hearts, and it's inspiring to witness the dedication to its preservation and growth from people both young and old.

Every festive season we are blown away by the response to our Cornish Christmas decorations.  The popularity of our Nadelik Lowen decorations demonstrates that the ties to the Cornish Language run as deep as ever.  

 

Kernow, y'm kolon bys vykken / Cornwall, forever in my heart.