Cornish Language: History and Resources

The early Cornish language developed in the regions of Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. The development resulted as the region became separated from other West Britons the Battle of Deorham in the year 577. The area controlled by the Southwest Britons was gradually reduced by the expansion of Wessex over the following centuries until Cornwall was finally defeated by the Saxon king Athelstan in the 930. The diminishment of territory played a part in the gradual decline of Cornish language.

Another major impact on the decline of the Cornish language was the Prayer Book rebellion of 1549. The rebellion which was originally stemmed from the English Parliament's passing of the first Act of Uniformity replaced the Latin mass with an English mass. Consequently, instead of simply banning Latin, the Act wound up enforcing and imposing English language usage. The rebel's asserted their desire to return to an original Latin service as a primary motive.

Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, responded to the Cornish speakers by asking them why they were so offended by services in English when they also did not understand Latin, and indication of the fact that many Cornish speakers were not fluent in English. The spread of English as a natural occurrence and a direct result of the Rebellion proved a critical point for the Cornish language.

A decline ensued, but Cornish continued in limited usage in significantly reduced numbers until the 19th century and into the early 20th century.

Vocabulary Builder Cornish
IF your child's face lights up when they see a brightly colored picture, cuddly toy animal or a game, then this is for them. Vocabulary Builder Cornish is designed for kids who like to be entertained. It has lots of brightly colored pictures and fun games to get your child hooked on learning. Adults love this program too!

Will it work for my child?

Vocabulary Builder Cornish is designed for children aged 4-12. It's a simple piece of educational software that they'll find easy to use. It's fun, engaging and encouraging - even for children who are easily distracted.

No reading required. Vocabulary Builder is all based on spoken language and pictures, so children don't have to be able to read in order to use it.

What will my child learn?
Vocabulary Builder covers some basic words and phrases. These have been chosen to be fun as well as useful. There are around 100 words in the program - just enough to get your child started without overloading them. The topics include colors, numbers, actions, professions and simple sentences with some prepositions.

How does it work?

There are three different sections:

Learn what the words mean with pictures accompanied by the spoken word.
Three exciting memory games that get progressively harder. It's this section where they really learn to recognise and remember words.
Record your own story. Browse through the pictures and record the words you want to appear. You can compare your recording with a native speaker if you want. You can also string your story together with any words you want to put in, then watch your story played back on cinema screen followed by a big round of applause. This really gets them talking in a foreign language and you'll be amazed how quickly they pick up the accent.
Notes for parents:

Biologically, the earlier a child is exposed to a second language the better - studies have proven that a young mind is more receptive than an older one. Learning Cornish will also improve your child's ability in other languages.

System Requirements

Windows 2000 or later
Mac OS X 10.2 or above
CD ROM Drive (+ computer microphone)

If you looking for an inexpensive ($29.99) and yet effective starter course, then the Vocabulary Builder Cornish Software is the way to go!

Talk Now Cornish

IF you're new to Cornish, there are some basics you will have to learn, whether you're eight years old or 80, on business abroad or a tourist on holiday. Talk Now! Cornish offers a simple-to-use method for you to start learning the language, whoever you are.

Will it work for me?

Lots of people have difficulty learning languages. Why? Most have been put off at school, don't have time to learn, or think they are too lazy to do it.

Talk Now! Cornish answers these problems:

It lifts the language off the page. There are no dull exercises; just encouraging games that award you points for progress.

It fits easily into short ten-minute sessions. But if you want to push yourself you can learn the basics in a weekend.

if you think you're lazy, think again! You'll be amazed how motivated you can be when you enjoy the experience of learning!

What will I learn?

To speak and understand enough to "get by".

You're just starting, so we won't drop you in at the deep end. There are some things you'll want to say in any language: you'll want to say 'hello', order a drink, ask for directions and so on.

This beginners program gets straight to the point. It covers food, colors, shopping, parts of the body, numbers, telling the time, countries, greetings and essential phrases.

How does it work?

Talk Now! Cornish gives you easy-to-achieve goals. Learning a new language is far too big a task to tackle all at once, so we have broken it down into a series of rewarding challenges.

Play interactive language games. Talk Now! feeds you new words, along with pictures to reinforce your memory. It then tests your knowledge with fun quizzes. As soon as you start playing you start learning.

Earn points for every game you play. High scorers can go on to win bronze, silver and gold awards, which you can print out as a record of achievement.

You will hear Cornish all of the time and, using the recording games, you can start speaking straight away, then compare your voice to a native speaker.

You can learn on the move. Carry on learning in the airport lounge or the ferry without a computer. Just print out the phrasebook sheets included in the program and take them with you, or upload the program's sound files onto an iPod.

If you looking for an inexpensive ($29.99) and yet effective starter course, then the Talk Now Cornish Beginner Software is the way to go!

The first modern attempt to revive Cornish is attributed to the work of Henry Jenner and Robert Morton Nance in the early part of the twentieth century. Their attempt at creating an intelligible system to transmit Cornish was called Unified Cornish and was based primarily on Middle Cornish which stemmed from fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. They provided a standardized spelling and an extended vocabulary derived from Breton and Welsh.

This modern Cornish language is still use it today but in very low numbers. The release of Cornish learning software. in the 1990s has also contributed to the resources available for those interested in contributing the continuation and survival of the Cornish language.

Cornish Never Died

By Ron Tichenor

The subject of dead languages has come up a lot for me lately. In a recent conversation, I mentioned my desire to learn Cornish, a Celtic language closely related to Welsh, and the response I got was "Oh, yeah, that's a dead language, right?" I quickly came to the defense of Cornish, a language alive and well by my standards, but what began was a lively debate on what exactly constituted a dead language and whether or not Cornish fit the suit (yes, that was a Johnny Bravo reference).

I won't get into all of that particular debate now (articles on that subject are fast on the heels of this one) but I'd like to explain my take on Cornish, why it never died and why it is alive and well when there are, at best, a few thousand people who understand it, and a few hundred who are actually fluent.

By most accounts, the last native monoglot speaker of Cornish was Dolly Pentreath, who died in 1777. So, if we assume that the death of the last native monoglot speaker is a reasonable requirement for a language to be considered dead, then that's it. Cornish is a dead language, right? Not so fast.

First of all, by some accounts, Dolly Pentreath wasn't a monoglot speaker of Cornish. She could speak English but simply refused to do it, or so legend would have it. Cheers to Dolly. Secondly, there is plenty of evidence that there were other polyglot (bi-lingual with English) speakers of Cornish at the time, and of living use of the language between 1777 and the present. It's possible the people of Cornwall never completely let it go.

There are accounts of Cornish fisherman counting in Cornish right up until the 20th century. I doubt the fishermen of Dollys time stopped counting when Dolly died and neither did they start counting in Cornish later in her honor. They had been using it all along. Sure, it's not fluency but bear with me on this.

There was also a 'revival' of Cornish that began almost as soon as Dolly died. A small community of non-native Cornish enthusiasts (many of whom may have learned from native speakers) maintained the language until more popular revival movements took over. Kept alive by enthusiasts, it seems that Cornish never actually died.

Although there isn't a need to establish a direct 'lineage' from the native speakers of pre-1777 to modern times, I think it helps to provide a real connection between the speakers of Cornish then and today. A small cadre of non-native speaking enthusiasts have kept the language 'in trust' until a larger community of native speakers were prepared to take it up again, as it appears they are now doing.

There are official government-recognized bodies with tax-dollar budgets, local church services and road signs in Cornish. There are festivals, public gatherings and competitions to promote the language. There is a recent and official recognition as a European language. The people of Cornwall are acting as if Cornish is not a dead language nor a dying language, but a living and growing one.

It is exactly this attitude which makes Cornish a living language, now that the larger community has taken it up again. There are thousands of languages worldwide that are dying and will truly be dead because the indifferent communities around them don't care, and the people who speak them can't see the cultural treasure which they possess. The people of Cornwall are realizing what they have, and if Cornish is a living language to them, it will be a living 'native' language to their children.

Ron is a long-time language enthusiast, exploring Spanish, French, Swedish, Cornish, Esperanto and others. Learn more about studying a language on your own at Language Learning Advisor This guide for self-study language learners has reviews and recommendations of language learning methods and products, links to online learning resources, learning tips to maximize your study time and effectiveness and articles on language learning.

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