Kernewek
Cornish
Indo-European (Celtic, Brythonic)
Cornish (Kernewek) is a revived Brythonic Celtic language native to Cornwall in southwestern Britain, sister to Welsh and Breton. The original native-speaker tradition died out in the late 18th century with Dolly Pentreath of Mousehole (d. 1777), often cited as the last monoglot speaker, though traces lingered into the 19th century. Modern revived Cornish dates from Henry Jenner's 1904 Handbook of the Cornish Language, building on medieval mystery plays (Beunans Meriasek, Beunans Ke) and the Tregear homilies. Three competing orthographies (Unified, Kemmyn/Common, Modern/Standard Written Form) were unified by the SWF in 2008. ~600 fluent users today via the Cornish Language Partnership (Maga) and Mebyon Kernow movement; UK government recognition under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (2002) and full revived-language status from UNESCO in 2010.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Cornish
Water
dowr
/dɔuɾ/
Fire
tan
/tan/
Sun
howl
/haʊl/
Moon
loor
/loːɾ/
Mother
mamm
/mam/
Father
tas
/taːs/
Eat
dybri
/ˈdɨbɾi/
Drink
eva
/ˈɛva/
Love
kerensa
/kɛˈɾɛnsa/
Heart
kolon
/ˈkolon/
Tree
gwedhen
/ˈɡwɛðən/
House
chi
/tʃiː/
Dog
ki
/kiː/
Cat
kath
/kaːθ/
Hand
leuv
/lœv/
Eye
lagas
/ˈlaɡas/
Hello
dydh da
/dɪð daː/
Thank you
meur ras
/mœːɾ ɾaːs/
One
onen
/ˈɔnən/
Good
da
/daː/
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Celtic, Brythonic) languages
| Meaning | Cornish | Breton | Welsh | Swedish | Pukapukan | Wolof | Greek |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | dowr /dɔuɾ/ | dour /duːɾ/ | dŵr /duːr/ | vatten /vatːɛn/ | wai /wai/ | ndox /ndɔx/ | νερό /neˈɾo/ |
| Fire | tan /tan/ | tan /tɑ̃ːn/ | tân /tɑːn/ | eld /ɛld/ | yayi /ˈjaji/ | safara /safaɾa/ | φωτιά /foˈtʲa/ |
| Sun | howl /haʊl/ | heol /heːɔl/ | haul /haɨl/ | sol /suːl/ | la /la/ | jant /dʒant/ | ήλιος /ˈiʎos/ |
| Moon | loor /loːɾ/ | loar /lwaːɾ/ | lleuad /ɬɛɨ̯ad/ | måne /moːnɛ/ | malama /maˈlama/ | weer /wɛːɾ/ | φεγγάρι /feˈŋɡaɾi/ |
| Mother | mamm /mam/ | mamm /mɑ̃m/ | mam /mam/ | mamma /mamːa/ | mama /ˈmama/ | yaay /jaːj/ | μητέρα /miˈteɾa/ |
| Father | tas /taːs/ | tad /taːd/ | tad /tɑːd/ | pappa /papːa/ | matua /maˈtua/ | baay /baːj/ | πατέρας /paˈteɾas/ |
| Eat | dybri /ˈdɨbɾi/ | debriñ /debɾĩː/ | bwyta /bʊɨta/ | äta /ɛːta/ | kai /kai/ | lekk /lɛkː/ | τρώω /ˈtɾo.o/ |
| Drink | eva /ˈɛva/ | evañ /eːvɑ̃/ | yfed /əvɛd/ | dricka /drɪkːa/ | inu /ˈinu/ | naan /naːn/ | πίνω /ˈpino/ |
| Love | kerensa /kɛˈɾɛnsa/ | karantez /kaɾɑ̃ntes/ | cariad /karjad/ | kärlek /ɕæːɭɛk/ | aloha /aˈloha/ | mbëggeel /mbəɡːɛːl/ | αγάπη /aˈɣapi/ |
| Heart | kolon /ˈkolon/ | kalon /kalɔ̃n/ | calon /kalɔn/ | hjärta /ˈjæʈːa/ | loto /ˈloto/ | xol /xɔl/ | καρδιά /kaɾˈðʲa/ |
| Tree | gwedhen /ˈɡwɛðən/ | gwezenn /ˈɡweːzɛn/ | coeden /kɔɨdɛn/ | träd /trɛːd/ | lākau /laːˈkau/ | garab /ɡaɾab/ | δέντρο /ˈðendɾo/ |
| House | chi /tʃiː/ | ti /tiː/ | tŷ /tiː/ | hus /hʉːs/ | wale /ˈwale/ | kër /kəɾ/ | σπίτι /ˈspiti/ |
| Dog | ki /kiː/ | ki /kiː/ | ci /kiː/ | hund /hɵnd/ | kulī /kuˈliː/ | xaj /xaj/ | σκύλος /ˈskilos/ |
| Cat | kath /kaːθ/ | kazh /kaːs/ | cath /kɑːθ/ | katt /katː/ | pusi /ˈpusi/ | muus /muːs/ | γάτα /ˈɣata/ |
| Hand | leuv /lœv/ | dorn /dɔɾn/ | llaw /ɬaʊ/ | hand /hand/ | lima /ˈlima/ | loxo /lɔxɔ/ | χέρι /ˈçeɾi/ |
| Eye | lagas /ˈlaɡas/ | lagad /laɡat/ | llygad /ɬəɡad/ | öga /øːɡa/ | mata /ˈmata/ | bët /bət/ | μάτι /ˈmati/ |
| Hello | dydh da /dɪð daː/ | demat /deːmat/ | helô /hɛˈloː/ | hej /hɛj/ | kia orana /kia oˈɾana/ | na nga def /na ŋɡa dɛf/ | γεια σου /ˈʝa su/ |
| Thank you | meur ras /mœːɾ ɾaːs/ | trugarez /tɾyɡaɾes/ | diolch /diːɔlx/ | tack /takː/ | meitaki /meiˈtaki/ | jërëjëf /dʒəɾədʒəf/ | ευχαριστώ /efxaɾiˈsto/ |
| One | onen /ˈɔnən/ | unan /yːnɑ̃n/ | un /ɨːn/ | en /eːn/ | tayi /ˈtaji/ | benn /bɛnː/ | ένα /ˈena/ |
| Good | da /daː/ | mat /maːt/ | da /dɑː/ | bra /brɑː/ | lelei /leˈlei/ | baax /baːx/ | καλό /kaˈlo/ |
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