Cornish Language Weekend

And as a bonus — here’s an excellent video compilation of the weekend, made by Matthi Clarke from Radyo/Pellwolok An Gernewegva (scroll down a little for the video, or else it’s also available here on YouTube). Matthi and all the interviewees are Kernewegoryon freth (fluent Cornish speakers), so I must admit I can’t understand that much of what they’re saying, but the whole video gives you a good idea of how much fun we all had! :smiley:

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Just took another look at Matthi’s YouTube channel and realised there’s a video from the Pennseythen with English subtitles, which is a big help for those of us who are still learning! :wink: It’s all about the project “Dasserghi Kernewek” (Reviving Cornish), which aims to collect and study the writings of Henry Jenner, the pioneer of the language revival movement. Very interesting to watch and I thought others here might also enjoy it.

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Good find - thanks for sharing, Courtenay! :star2:

Thanks so much for updating the post two years running. It’s inspiring. I’m in LA, so I’m not within travel/budget distance but maybe sometime soon. We have loads of Cornish persons in California, but I havent unearthed any speakers yet. Still searching though.

And if I get a little more Kernewek under my belt, I might try to host a self-study at our local Celtic Arts Center and see who I can draw out. I just need a bit more skills.

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You’re welcome, Andalula! I guess I’m just hoping to spread the word a bit further and maybe inspire others to come along some day when they can.

Well, you never know… :smile: I’ve lived most of my life in Australia and I had no idea there were any Cornish speakers over there — but there are! :wink:

I’m just trying to think if there’s someone you could contact to find out if there are any known Cornish speakers in California. Here we are, after a quick Google search — do you know this organisation? http://www.califcornishcousins.org/

Or this one, for the whole of America: http://www.cousinjack.org/

It might be worth contacting either or both of those and asking if they have any info about Cornish language speakers or classes in your region. Of course if there aren’t any, you could be starting something new! :star2:

Oll an gwella (all the best)

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I never learnt Cornish but I know it’s a bit similar to Welsh. Is in Cornish “ll” to be said as in Welsh? Because I’ve read this but I’ve read it more like I would in Welsh.

Yes, it’s similar to Welsh (listening to Welsh as a Cornish speaker, one can pick out quite a few words), but Cornish doesn’t have the “ll” sound that Welsh has. “Oll” is just pronounced the way it looks, not with any lateral fricative (to use the technical term for blowing out over both sides of your tongue at once). :wink:

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Hi again. Im familliar with both orgs, and I have a single contact in both of them – mystery author, Jill Amadio – shameless plug to a Sister in Crime. According to her, no one actually speaks Kernewek at first glance, but she’s looking deeper. I told her about SSI and she was extrmemly excited to learn about it, about the format, and about how well I thought it worked.

I do have an ill formed plan to start a self-study gathering one day at our local Celtic Arts Center. But I think it would be better if I could lead by example and get a little better at speaking it first. I’ve been handling some serious life stuff but soon I need to form an action plan to level up.

Is there news from your neck of the woods as to whether the Language Council will get it’s funding back? I dont want to go down a political rabbit hole, but I saw some press in recent months about finding being granted, but talk of a strategic plan or budget amount seemed kind of etherial, in the national press anyway. Maybe insiders know more. Maybe they’ll fund an SSi Level II. Maybe I can level up by starting a kickstarter and contacting every California Celt in … California.

Does gwella in ‘an gwella’ sound simillar to ‘gwelles?’

OAG, right back at ya.

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Dydh da!

As I’m sure you know, Pennseythen Gernewek is online this year, as is so much else. It’s happening this weekend, Fri April 9th, 2021, etc.
I’ve signed up to the Grade One classes as I’ve been learning in an online evening class this year (in addition to SSiC of course).
I’m excited and nervous, but anticipating a lot of fun. :grin: Stay well oll.