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The Cornish language revival () is an ongoing process to revive the use of the
Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or , ) is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. Along with Welsh language, Welsh and Breton language, Breton, Cornish descends from Common Brittonic, ...
of
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, England. The Cornish language's disappearance began to hasten during the 13th century, but its decline began with the spread of
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
in the 5th and 6th centuries. The last reported person to have full knowledge of a traditional form of Cornish, John Davey, died in 1891. The revival movement started in the late 19th century as a result of
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...
and academic interest in the language, which was already
extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
, and also as a result of the
Celtic revival The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gae ...
movement. In 2009, UNESCO changed its classification of Cornish from "extinct" to "critically endangered", seen as a milestone for the revival of the language.


Revival

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. In 1904, the Celtic language scholar and Cornish cultural activist
Henry Jenner Henry Jenner (8 August 1848 – 8 May 1934) was a British scholar of the Celtic languages, a Cornwall, Cornish cultural activist, and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival. Jenner was born at St Columb Major on 8 August 1848. H ...
published ''A Handbook of the Cornish Language''. The publication of this book is often considered to be the start of the current revival movement. The spelling in this book was based on that used when Cornish was last a community language in the 18th century.


Unified Cornish

The first project to codify Cornish spelling and provide a regular orthography for the revived language was that of
Robert Morton Nance Robert Morton Nance (1873–1959) was a British writer and leading authority on the Cornish language, a nautical archaeologist, and joint founder of the Old Cornwall Society. Nance wrote many books and pamphlets on the Cornish language, incl ...
who outlined his work in ''Cornish for All'' in 1929. Unlike the Late Cornish-based work of Jenner, Nance's orthography, called
Unified Cornish Unified Cornish (UC) (''Kernewek Uny '', ''KU'') is a variety of the Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or , ) is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. Along with We ...
(), was based mainly on the Middle Cornish of the 14th and 15th centuries. Nance believed that this period represented a high point for Cornish literature. As well as presenting a standardised spelling system, Nance also extended the attested vocabulary with forms based largely on
Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...
and Welsh, and published a dictionary of Unified Cornish in 1938. Nance's purist approach favoured older 'Celtic' forms rather than the historically more recent forms deriving from Middle and Early Modern English. Nance's work became the basis of revived Cornish and his orthography was the only one in use for most of the 20th century. However, as the focus shifted from written to spoken Cornish, Nance's stiff, archaic formulation of the language seemed less suitable for a spoken revival. Also, Nance's phonology lacked some distinctions which later research showed must have existed in traditional Cornish. Unified Cornish is still in use by some speakers who, while acknowledging its shortcomings, feel it has served well for the first decades of the revival. Its
IETF language tag An IETF BCP 47 language tag is a standardized code that is used to identify human languages on the Internet. The tag structure has been standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in ''Best Current Practice (BCP) 47''; the subtags ...
is .


In 1986, in response to dissatisfaction with Unified Cornish, Ken George undertook a study of the sounds of Cornish and devised a new orthography, or ''Common Cornish'', based on his research.Ferdinand, Siarl (2-December-2013). "A Brief History of the Cornish Language, its Revival and its Current Status" (PDF). e-Keltoi 2: 199–227. Retrieved 18 April 2016 Like Unified Cornish, Kernewek Kemmyn retained a Middle Cornish base but implemented an orthography that aspired to be as
phonemic A phoneme () is any set of similar speech sounds that are perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single basic sound—a smallest possible phonetic unit—that helps distinguish one word from another. All languages con ...
as possible. George argued that this much closer relationship between sounds and writing would make Cornish much easier to teach and learn. In 1987, after one year of discussion, the Cornish Language Board agreed to adopt it. Its adoption by the Cornish Language Board caused a division in the Cornish language community, especially since people had been using Nance's old system for many years and were unfamiliar with the new one. While it was adopted by a majority of Cornish speakers (various estimates put it at around 55–80%), it was criticised by Nicholas Williams and Jon Mills for various reasons, as well as those who found its novel orthography too different from traditional Cornish spelling conventions. Its
IETF language tag An IETF BCP 47 language tag is a standardized code that is used to identify human languages on the Internet. The tag structure has been standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in ''Best Current Practice (BCP) 47''; the subtags ...
is .


Unified Cornish Revised

In 1995, was itself challenged by Nicholas Williams who in his book ''Cornish Today'' listed 26 supposed flaws in . As an alternative, Williams devised and proposed a revision of Unified Cornish, called Unified Cornish Revised (or UCR). UCR built on Unified Cornish, making the spellings regular while keeping as close as possible to the orthographic practices of the medieval scribes. In common with , UCR made use of Tudor and Late Cornish prose materials unavailable to Nance. A comprehensive English-Cornish dictionary of Unified Cornish Revised was published in 2000 and sold enough copies to merit a second edition. A response to the criticisms in ''Cornish Today'' appeared soon after in '' – Cornish for the Twenty First Century'' by Ken George and Paul Dunbar. A counter-reply to the latter appeared in 2007. Its
IETF language tag An IETF BCP 47 language tag is a standardized code that is used to identify human languages on the Internet. The tag structure has been standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in ''Best Current Practice (BCP) 47''; the subtags ...
is .


Modern Cornish

In the early 1980s, Richard Gendall, who had worked with Nance, published a new system based on the works of the later Cornish writers of the 17th and 18th centuries, just before the language died out. This variety, called Modern Cornish, also known as Late Cornish, uses later, somewhat simpler grammatical constructions and a vocabulary and spelling that was more influenced by English. The orthography has undergone a number of changes. The main body promoting Modern Cornish is
Cussel an Tavas Kernuak Cussül an Tavas Kernôwek (formerly ''Cussel an Tavas Kernûak''; the Cornish Language Council) is an association founded in 1987 to teach, research and further the Cornish language in Cornwall (Cornish: Kernow), UK. Since the adoption of a Stand ...
.


Cornish Language Partnership

In practice these different written forms did not prevent Cornish speakers from communicating with each other effectively. However, the existence of multiple orthographies was unsustainable with regards to using the language in education and public life, as no single orthography had ever achieved a wide consensus. Following the recognition in 2002 of Cornish under Part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, and the subsequent establishment of the
Cornish Language Partnership The Cornish Language Partnership ( , ) was a representative body that was set up in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, in 2005 to promote and develop the use of the Cornish language. and was dissolved in 2015. It was a public and voluntary secto ...
, the need for consensus became more urgent. In response to this, the Partnership initiated a process to agree on a standard form for use in education and public life. In 2007 an independent Cornish Language Commission consisting of sociolinguists and linguists from outside of Cornwall was formed to review the four existing forms (Unified, UCR, Late Cornish and Kemmyn) and consider whether any of these existing orthographies might be suitable for adoption as a standard form of Cornish, or whether a new fifth form should be adopted. Two groups made proposals of compromise orthographies: * The ''UdnFormScrefys'' (''Single Written Form'') Group developed and proposed an orthography, Kernowak Standard, based on traditional orthographic forms and having a clear relation between spelling and pronunciation, taking both Middle Cornish and Late Cornish dialects of Revived Cornish into account.Kernowek Standard website
/ref> Since the publication of the Standard Written Form, Kernowak Standard has evolved to become a set of proposed amendments to the SWF. * Two members of the CLP's Linguistic Working Group, Albert Bock and Benjamin Bruch, proposed another orthography called ''Kernowek Dasunys'' (Cornish Re-unified) which endeavoured to reconcile UC, KK, RLC, and UCR orthographies. This proposal was used as a source of input for the SWF but is not being used as a separate orthography. * Members of a group called ''Kaskyrgh Kernewek Kemmyn'' (Campaign for Kernewek Kemmyn) did not agree with the creation of a new standard, and argued that the existing Kernewek Kemmyn orthography should become the standard. The SWF process eventually decided that the existing orthographies were too contentious to be considered and that a new compromise orthography that all groups could support was needed.


Standard Written Form

On 9 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, Kernewek Kemmyn and Modern Cornish were represented at this meeting. Reactions to the proposed orthography 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 orthography had been agreed on. 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."'' The fourth and final Standard Written Form draft was generated on 30 May 2008. On 17 June 2009, the bards of the Gorseth Kernow, under the leadership of Grand Bard Vanessa Beeman adopted, by overwhelming majority and after two decades of debate, the SWF for their ceremonies and correspondence. From the earliest days under Grand Bards
Henry Jenner Henry Jenner (8 August 1848 – 8 May 1934) was a British scholar of the Celtic languages, a Cornwall, Cornish cultural activist, and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival. Jenner was born at St Columb Major on 8 August 1848. H ...
and Morton Nance, Unified Cornish had been used for the Gorseth ceremony.


Kernowek Standard

(Standard Cornish) is a proposed set of revisions to the SWF. It is based on the initial proposal (called ''Kernowak Standard'' and now designated KS1) for the SWF, developed by a group called UdnFormScrefys. After the publication of the SWF specification, members of this group established a new group, Spellyans, to identify shortcomings in the SWF and propose solutions for consideration for the SWF review which took place in 2013. The orthography resulting from the application of these revisions, Kernowek Standard, has been used in a number of books, including an edition of the Bible and a comprehensive grammar, ''Desky Kernowek''. Its
IETF language tag An IETF BCP 47 language tag is a standardized code that is used to identify human languages on the Internet. The tag structure has been standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in ''Best Current Practice (BCP) 47''; the subtags ...
is .


Comparison tables

This table compares the spelling of some Cornish words in different orthographies (
Unified Cornish Unified Cornish (UC) (''Kernewek Uny '', ''KU'') is a variety of the Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or , ) is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. Along with We ...
,
Unified Cornish Revised Unified Cornish (UC) (''Kernewek Uny '', ''KU'') is a variety of the Cornish language of the Cornish revival. Developed gradually by Robert Morton Nance during and before the 1930s, it derived its name from its standardisation of the variant sp ...
,
Kernewek Kemmyn Kernewek Kemmyn (Common Cornish or "KK") is a variety of the revived Cornish language. Kernewek Kemmyn was developed, mainly by Ken George in 1986, based upon George's earlier doctoral thesis on the phonological history of Cornish. It takes mu ...
, Revived Late Cornish, the
Standard Written Form The Standard Written Form or SWF () of the Cornish language is an orthography standard that is designed to "provide public bodies and the educational system with a universally acceptable, inclusive, and neutral orthography". It was the outcome of ...
, and
Kernowek Standard Kernowek Standard (KS, ''Standard Cornish''), its initial version spelt Kernowak Standard, is a variety of the spelling of revived Cornish. It has two specifications, the first of which was published as a draft proposal in March 2007, and the s ...
).


Organisations

There are organisations set up to grow and strengthen the Cornish revival, many listed in the table below working together under the banner Speak Cornish. The
Gorsedh Kernow Gorsedh Kernow (Cornish Gorsedd) is a non-political Cornish organisation, based in Cornwall, United Kingdom, which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall. It is based on the Welsh-based Gorsedd, which was founded by Iolo Mo ...
have an annual Holyer an Gof Publishers Awards with a class dedicated to publications in the Cornish language.


See also

* List of revived languages *
Livonian language revival The Livonian language, spoken for centuries in Latvia, gradually declined until the death of its last fluent native speaker, Grizelda Kristiņa, on 2 June 2013. Nevertheless, today there are several ethnic Livonians that are striving for the rev ...
*
Māori language revival The Māori language revival is a movement to promote, reinforce and strengthen the use of the Māori language (''te reo Māori''). Primarily in New Zealand, but also in places with large numbers of expatriate New Zealanders (such as London and Me ...


References

{{Cornish language Celtic language revival Language revival