title = {Predicative possession in revived Cornish},
booktitle = {Possession in languages of Europe and north and central Asia},
author = {Arbes, Deborah},
editor = {Johanson, Lars and Mazzitelli, Lidia Federica and Nevskaya, Irina},
date = {2019},
pages = {27--84},
publisher = {John Benjamins},
location = {Amsterdam},
abstract = {This study introduces the possessive schemas of revived Cornish. By means of a survey and interviews with 25 fluent speakers and a corpus study I identified several possessive schemas being employed for different purposes due to semantic and structural reasons. Possession splits, which are also attested for the other Brythonic languages (Stolz et al. 2008), occur for the distinction of temporary possession and the possession of illnesses. Furthermore, the speakers may be developing a new form to express the possession of abstract nouns by employing the short form of bos `to be' and the preposition dhe `to'. For the development of this form the history of interrupted language transmission and the use of Cornish by New Speakers are relevant factors.},
title = {Cornish language revival: Attitudes, behaviour and the maintenance of an ethnic identity},
author = {Carkeek, Amina},
date = {2009},
institution = {University of East Anglia},
abstract = {The Cornish language is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Insular Celtic languages. It ceased to be spoken as a living community language in the 18th century. Since the early 20th century, a revival movement has been in existence. At the beginning of the 21st century, political and social momentum in support of the revival, are becoming evident. This research shows that there is a cross-generational appetite amongst non-activist residents within Cornwall for the language revival. Although support is voiced for proposed school curriculum inclusion and a distinct, albeit limited, future role for the language, enthusiasm is predominantly at the symbolic level. Outside a small number of language learners, there is little evidence of tangible engagement with language learning, or willingness to contribute financially, amongst adult respondents. The language is being adopted, symbolically, as a core value for a group that has experienced contemporary dislocation from its key identity markers. Furthermore, the linguistic marker of the Cornish accent of English also exhibits signs of dilution amongst those adolescents interviewed. A salient link between the Celtic Cornish language and ethnic identity, for the informants, has been discerned within this study. The younger age cohort responses, however, are suggestive of a shift in association towards a more inclusive, regional identity marker. Identity implications for language centred policies, notably language teaching within schools, are instructive. Whether the language, as an expression of ethnic and cultural distinctiveness within a political environment of state-centred identity politics, will thereby engender acute self-awareness of nationhood within the Cornish and ultimately trigger insipient demands for secession, is, as yet, unclear. The exploitation of the language, however, within any emergent nationalist discourse, is considered highly probable on the basis of the statistical results from the data analysis and the free comments of interviewees.},
title = {Studies in the consonantal system of Cornish},
author = {Chaudhri, Talat Z.},
date = {2007},
institution = {University of Wales, Aberystwyth},
abstract = {This thesis seeks to address a small number of highly significant, unresolved issues in the consonantal system of the Cornish language, providing an analysis of the relevant sound changes during the crucial formative periods of their development. These studies draw upon the extant records of Old, Middle and Late Cornish and employ the methods of comparative historical phonology to reconstruct the most likely sequence of sound changes based upon the variant orthography of the various documents and other remnants of the language. The comparative element of the work relies upon the reconstruction of the phonological system of the language with reference to the attested languages most closely related to it. In this study, this necessarily focuses most closely upon the other extant Brythonic languages (Welsh and Breton), with occasional reference to the Goidelic languages. This process also includes non-Celtic languages where relevant: notably Latin, English and French, from which a great number of words were borrowed into Cornish. Specifically, the thesis comprises the following principal areas of study: (1) pre-occlusion in Middle and Late Cornish, the phenomenon by which n, nn became dn and by which m, mm became bm in certain phonetic environments; (2) the confusion of initial b and m in certain words in Middle and Late Cornish; (3) rare confusions of s and th in medial and final positions, principally in late Middle Cornish; and (4) an analysis of the progression of sound changes by which Old Cornish d, t became represented as Middle Cornish s, g and other spellings.},
title = {The role of variants and side forms in the SWF},
author = {{Cornish Language Partnership}},
date = {2008},
keywords = {corn:orth3,cornish}
}
@report{CornishLanguagePartnership2013,
title = {A report on the attitude towards the Cornish language survey conducted by Cornwall Council in association with the Cornish Language Partnership},
title = {Accommodation and resistance in the implementation of a minority language: A survey of headteacher attitudes across primary schools in Cornwall},
author = {Croome, Sarah},
date = {2015},
journaltitle = {SOAS working papers in linguistics},
title = {Orthographies and ideologies in revived Cornish},
author = {Davies-Deacon, Merryn},
date = {2016},
institution = {University of York},
abstract = {While orthography development involves detailed linguistic work, it is particularly subject to non-linguistic influences, including beliefs relating to group identity, as well as political context and the level of available state support. This thesis investigates the development of orthographies for Cornish, a minority language spoken in the UK. Cornish is a revived language: while it is now used by several hundred people, it underwent language death in the early modern era, with the result that no one orthography ever came to take precedence naturally. During the revival, a number of orthographies have been created, following different principles. This thesis begins by giving an account of the development of these different orthographies, focusing on the context in which this took place and how contextual factors affected their implementation and reception. Following this, the situation of Cornish is compared to that of Breton, its closest linguistic neighbour and a minority language which has experienced revitalisation, and the creation of multiple orthographies, over the same period. Factors affecting both languages are identified, reinforcing the importance of certain contextual influences. After this, materials related to both languages, including language policy, examinations, and learning resources, are investigated in order to determine the extent to which they acknowledge the multiplicity of orthographies in Cornish and Breton. The results of this investigation indicate that while a certain orthography appears to have been established as a standard in the case of Breton, this cannot be said for Cornish, despite significant amounts of language planning work in this domain in recent years. The final chapter summarises the findings of the thesis, considers possible future developments for the status of revived Cornish orthographies, and affirms the relevance of this case to language planning for minority languages in general, emphasising the need to be aware of the importance of ideological factors of the kind highlighted throughout the thesis.},
title = {Names, varieties and ideologies in revived Cornish},
author = {Davies-Deacon, Merryn},
date = {2017},
journaltitle = {Studia Celtica Posnaniensia},
volume = {2},
pages = {81--95},
abstract = {The attribution of names is a significant process that often highlights concerns over identity, ideology and ownership. Within the fields of minority languages and Celtic Studies, such concerns are especially pertinent given that the identities in question are frequently perceived as under threat from dominant cultures. The effect of concerns caused by this can be examined with reference to revived Cornish, which became divided into three major varieties in the later twentieth century; by examining the names of these varieties, we can draw conclusions about how they are perceived, or we are invited to perceive them. The motivations of those involved in the Cornish language revival are equally reflected in the names of the organisations and bodies they have formed, which equally contribute to the legitimation of revived Cornish. This paper examines both these categories of name, as well as the phenomenon of Kernowisation, a term coined by Harasta (2013) to refer to the adoption of Cornish personal names, and here extended to the use of Cornish names in otherwise English-language contexts. Examining the names that have been implemented during the Cornish language revival, and the ways in which they are used or indeed refused by those involved, gives us an insight into the various ideologies that steer the revival process. Within the context of the precarious nature of Cornish and Celtic identity, we can identify the concerns of those involved in the Cornish revival movement and highlight the role of naming as an activity of legitimation, showing how the diversity of names that occur reflects an equally diverse range of motivations and influences.},
title = {The orthography of revived Cornish as an attempt at pluricentricity},
author = {Davies-Deacon, Merryn},
date = {2020},
journaltitle = {Language Problems and Language Planning},
volume = {44},
number = {1},
pages = {66--86},
abstract = {After over twenty years of debate over Cornish orthographies, recognition by the UK government according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 2003 led to the creation of what was initially intended as a ``single written form'' for use in official contexts. However, the inevitable impossibility of finding a compromise that pleased opposing groups of speakers with differing ideologies meant that the eventual Standard Written Form (SWF) was pluricentric, comprising two ``main forms''. While these were initially stated to be of equal status, this has been hard to maintain since the SWF's implementation: with more speakers using Middle Cornish forms, the Late Cornish forms are less visible and commonly believed to be subsidiary. Drawing on such perceptions, along with learning materials and other resources, this paper examines the status of the SWF today and offers some reflections on this unsuccessful attempt at pluricentricity in a minoritised language.},
title = {Kernewek Kemmyn: Cornish for the twenty-first century},
author = {Dunbar, Pawl and George, Kenneth J.},
date = {1997},
publisher = {Cornish Language Board},
location = {Penzance},
keywords = {corn:orth2,cornish},
file = {C\:\\Users\\3055822\\OneDrive - Queen's University Belfast\\readings\\dunbar & george 1997 notes.rtfd\\Pasted Graphic.tiff;C\:\\Users\\3055822\\OneDrive - Queen's University Belfast\\readings\\dunbar & george 1997 notes.rtfd\\TXT.rtf}
title = {A Cornish revival? The nascent iconisation of a post-obsolescent language},
author = {Dunmore, Stuart},
date = {2020},
journaltitle = {Journal of Historical Sociolinguistics},
volume = {6},
number = {1},
doi = {10.1515/jhsl-2018-0001},
abstract = {This article considers the case of Cornish, a Celtic language that was in decline in the south-west of Great Britain from the early medieval era until the end of the eighteenth century, when its last recorded native speakers died out. At the point when a language under pressure eventually succumbs to forces of language shift, its role in representations of a distinct sociocultural identity might be expected to die with the medium itself. Yet a sense of cohesion at the group level has been observed to endure long after a shift to another language has occurred, with the obsolescent variety retaining a role in the maintenance of group boundaries. In situations of language shift, the meanings of such social constructions can change considerably, and the obsolescent variety may retain ideological associations with the group as an iconized symbol of identity. The analysis presented in this paper is based on an examination of the historical record as well as a synthesis of recent sociological research on Cornish. Attention will be drawn specifically to the manner in which the language has functioned as an icon of identity since the nadir of its decline as a spoken vernacular, through the `Cornish Revival' of the twentieth century to the present day.},
title = {Requirements for a single written form of Cornish},
author = {Everson, Michael and Bennett, Frances and Chubb, Denise and Chubb, Ray and Climo, Andrew and Climo, Eddie and Climo, Laurie and Deacon, Bernard and Kennedy, Neil and Miller, Patricia and Prohaska, Dan and Weatherhill, Craig and Williams, David Gus and Williams, Nicholas},
date = {2007},
url = {http://kernowek.net/towards-swf.pdf},
urldate = {2016-01-26},
keywords = {corn:orth3,cornish}
}
@incollection{Everson2007c,
title = {Recent typography in Kernowek Kemyn},
booktitle = {Form and content in revived Cornish},
title = {A brief history of the Cornish language, its revival and its current status},
author = {Ferdinand, Siarl},
date = {2013},
journaltitle = {e-Keltoi: Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies},
volume = {2},
pages = {199--227},
abstract = {Despite being dormant during the nineteenth century, the Cornish language has been recently recognised by the British Government as a living regional language after a long period of revival. The first part of this paper discusses the history of traditional Cornish and the reasons for its decline and dismissal. The second part offers an overview of the revival movement since its beginnings in 1904 and analyses the current situation of the language in all possible domains.},
title = {The promotion of Cornish in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly: Attitudes towards the language and recommendations for policy},
author = {Ferdinand, Siarl},
date = {2019},
journaltitle = {Studia Celtica Fennica},
volume = {16},
pages = {107--130},
abstract = {The promotion of Cornish as a widely-spoken community language has become more evident, especially after the creation by Cornwall Council of the first language strategy in 2004 and the current strategy for the period 2015\textendash 2025. However, since Cornish speakers constitute not much more than 1\% of the total population, it is important to take into account not only their position but also the attitudes of non-Cornish speakers in order to achieve some success (Fishman 1991: 174). The literature about the use of Cornish and attitudes towards its promotion is very scarce. SGR\`UD Research provided some details about the use of Cornish amongst speakers in 2000, such as the approximate number of speakers, totalling about 300 individuals. PFA Research (2007) described general apathy and rather weak opposition to the promotion of Cornish while the Cornish Language Partnership (2013b) and Croome (2015) presented some positive data amongst employees of Cornwall Council and teachers. The present study, based on the answers of 367 individuals to a questionnaire, provides a more detailed and updated report concerning the views of the inhabitants of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. It describes a very different panorama from those outlined previously, with attitudes radically opposed between self-declared Cornish nationals and those not identifying with Cornish nationality. It is expected that the recommendations based on these results may help increase the possibilities of success of the Cornish Language Strategy 2015\textendash 2025 in a way that may benefit Cornish and attract people to the language without encouraging opposition from the rest of the population.},
title = {Le cornique : un cinqui\`eme dialecte du breton ?},
author = {George, Kenneth J.},
date = {1985},
journaltitle = {La Bretagne linguistique},
volume = {1},
pages = {117--124},
abstract = {In this paper, I want to explore the hypothesis that Cornish is so close to Breton that it can be considered its fifth dialect, phonologically speaking. Of course, historically, the opposite is true, if we accept the idea that Breton was brought by the Celts from south-west Britain. I don't want to go into the thorny question of the relationship between Gallic and Brittonic here. By the expression "the fifth dialect", I don't necessarily mean that there are only four dialects of Breton: I'm only speaking in conventional terms. The idea for this work came to me after completing a phonological history of Cornish, and I want to present the main results in a Breton context.},
keywords = {breton,corn:tradling,cornish},
file = {C:\Users\3055822\OneDrive - Queen's University Belfast\readings\george-1985.pdf}
title = {On simplifying the lexical tagging of Cornish texts},
booktitle = {Sixth annual conference of the North American Association for Celtic Language Teachers: The information age, Celtic languages and the new millennium},
author = {George, Kenneth J.},
editor = {Sutcliffe, Richard F. E. and \'O N\'eill, Gear\'oid},
date = {2000},
pages = {35--40},
publisher = {University of Limerick},
location = {Limerick},
abstract = {Work has begun on a new computer-aided analysis of the Cornish texts, using Kernewek Kemmyn as a standard comparison instead of Unified Cornish. Suffixed and mutated words need to be related to a head-word, but instead of tagging every such word, they are identified using the principles of relational data-bases; only homographs in the standard text need be tagged. Details of this labour-saving procedure are given.},
title = {The revived languages: Cornish and Manx},
booktitle = {The Celtic languages},
author = {George, Kenneth J. and Broderick, George},
editor = {Ball, Michael J. and M\"uller, N.},
date = {2010},
pages = {753--769},
publisher = {Routledge},
location = {London},
abstract = {Cornish is a remarkable language in that, after being moribund throughout the nineteenth century, it has been revived, and is now spoken by a growing band of enthusiasts. Many academic linguists have hitherto ignored Revived Cornish, because being in the business of comparative philology, they are interested only in the traditional language. Some (for example Wakelin 1975; Price 1984) have adopted an unnecessarily scornful attitude: a few, notably the late Professor L\'eon Fleuriot, have supported the language movement and actually tried to converse in Cornish. For the sociolinguists, however, Revived Cornish is of great interest (MacKinnon 2000; Wimmer 2006).},
title = {What happened to Primitive Cornish /ɪ/ when long in closed syllables?},
author = {George, Kenneth J.},
date = {2018},
journaltitle = {Studia Celtica Posnaniensia},
volume = {3},
pages = {5--31},
abstract = {Of the four unrounded front vowels in Primitive Cornish, /i/, /{$\varepsilon$}/ and /a/ remained stable when long in closed syllables, but /ɪ/ had a tendency to fall together with /{$\varepsilon$}/. Jackson (1953) and Williams (1995) dated this change to the twelfth century, but the present research indicates that in most words, the change took place substantially later. An analysis of spellings and of rhymes show that not all words changed at the same time. Most stressed monosyllables in historical /-ɪz/ were pronounced [-ɪ{$\Elzlmrk$}z] in Middle Cornish and [-{$\varepsilon\Elzlmrk$}z] in Late Cornish. Those with historical /-ɪ\dh/ and /-ɪ\texttheta/ were dimorphic in Middle Cornish (i.e. they were spelled with both {$<$}y\textasciitilde i{$>$} and {$<$}e{$>$}), showing the sound-change in progress during that time. The process of change from [ɪ{$\Elzlmrk$}] to [{$\varepsilon\Elzlmrk$}] was one of lexical diffusion. The implications for the revived language are briefly examined.},
file = {C:\Users\3055822\OneDrive - Queen's University Belfast\readings\grant 1998 notes.rtf}
}
@incollection{Hagmann2020a,
title = {Multiple authenticities of folk songs},
booktitle = {Critique of authenticity},
author = {Hagmann, Lea Salome and Andres Morrissey, Franz},
editor = {Claviez, Thomas and Imesch, Kornelia and Sweers, Britta},
date = {2020},
pages = {183--206},
publisher = {Vernon Press},
location = {Wilmington},
abstract = {Authenticity is a multi-layered and highly elusive concept, which seems to change its significance when it is applied to an object, a statement or a situation. In folk songs, the matter is further complicated by the fact that, on the one hand, they can be referred to as objects collected on paper or sound-recordings, i.e. as artefacts, while on the other hand, they also come to life the moment they are being sung, i.e. in performance. In this chapter we discuss folk songs both as artefacts and in performance and evaluate how the concept of `authenticity' changes according to these perspectives. We do so by introducing a concept of multiple authenticities, based on notions by Denis Dutton and Regina Bendix. In the second part, we demonstrate how these insights work in practice with a case study of a folk song complex called Where Are You Going To, Fair Maid? with Roud number1 298. We conclude that `authenticity' is a dialogic concept, which becomes `in-authentic,' as soon as its parameters become static.},
keywords = {corn:nonling,cornish},
file = {C:\Users\3055822\OneDrive - Queen's University Belfast\readings\hagmann-2020a.pdf}
title = {Rethinking Celtic Cornwall: An ethnographic approach},
booktitle = {Cornish Studies: Five},
author = {Hale, Amy},
editor = {Payton, Philip},
date = {1997},
pages = {85--99},
publisher = {University of Exeter Press},
location = {Exeter},
keywords = {corn:factrev,cornish}
}
@incollection{Hale1997b,
title = {Marjorie Filbee, {\emph{Celtic Cornwall}}, Constable and Company Ltd., 1996, 176 pp. ISBN 0 09 476 090, \textsterling 16.95},
booktitle = {Cornish Studies: Five},
author = {Hale, Amy},
editor = {Payton, Philip},
date = {1997},
pages = {188--190},
publisher = {University of Exeter Press},
location = {Exeter},
keywords = {corn:factrev,cornish}
}
@thesis{Hale1998,
type = {phdthesis},
title = {Gathering the fragments: Performing contemporary Celtic identities in Cornwall},
author = {Hale, Amy},
date = {1998},
institution = {University of California},
location = {Los Angeles},
abstract = {This dissertation compares two different groups in Comwal who are affiliated with a Celtic identity: ethnic Comish activists and those who are involved in Celtic spirituality. My primary objective in this dissertation is to understand how the idea of ``Celticity'' is informed and displayed by people in Cornwall in order for us to discern what it means for people in Cornwall to be Celtic at the end of the twentieth century. The first chapter examines the varying and contested usages of the term ``Celtic'' by academics through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and assesses the recent critical approaches to studying various historical constructions of the Celts. The second chapter is an historical survey of the main motifs and institutions of Celtic cultural activism in Cornwall. Chapter Three covers the wider reinterpretation and reinvention of Celtic idioms in the development of ``Celtic'' spirituality in Britain. The fourth chapter is an in-depth analysis of the Comish Gorseth, which is one of the primary institutions of the Comish Celtic revival. Chapter Five focuses specifically on the practices of Celtic spirituality in Cornwall with a particular emphasis on the communities that have formed around Tintagel in North Cornwall, and West Penwith in west Cornwall. I conclude that there are actually two groups in Cornwall who affiliate themselves with a Celtic identity. Sometimes the groups utilize similar expressions and motifs in constructing their Celtic identities, such as engaging in rituals near megalithic monuments and recreating images of Druids shaped by antiquarian portrayals of the Celts. In this dissertation I focus on the differences between insider and outsider constructions of Cornwall and how they have influenced contemporary Celtic identity formation. I also examine the various arguments over authenticity of practices between and within the two groups.},
title = {In search of a single voice: The politics of form, use and belief in the Kernewek language},
author = {Harasta, Jesse Owen},
date = {2013},
institution = {Syracuse University},
abstract = {This dissertation is based upon fieldwork performed between 2007 and 2011 in Cornwall, a region of Southwestern Britain notable for its ambiguous ethnic identity \textendash{} caught between England and the Celtic nations \textendash{} and its unique, revived Celtic language, Kernewek. During the course of the research, work focused upon the role of the language revival movement as a tool for ethnic identification: hardening boundaries, shoring up faltering communities and nationalist purification. However, the language movement is divided into three primary factions, which take differing approaches to the language, and to their corresponding language ideology based upon their relationship to Cornish identity. These relationships are based upon speakers' sense of ethnic self as formed through class, kinship, linguistic self-perception, religious and political affiliations and place of birth and childhood. However, since the 2006 recognition of the language by the British states, all of these debates have become intensified due to pressure to standardize. This study examines specific examples including: teaching materials and pedagogical approaches in the language, debates over the minutiae of spelling, aesthetic sensibilities, and practices of the naming and renaming of people and places.},
title = {``Because they are Cornish'': Four uses of a useless language},
author = {Harasta, sse},
date = {2017},
journaltitle = {Heritage Language Journal},
volume = {14},
number = {3},
pages = {248--263},
abstract = {Amongst the Cornish people\textemdash even many enthusiasts\textemdash there has been a long-standing belief that the Kernewek (Cornish) language is useless. Kernewek is a Celtic language spoken primarily by a small cadre of activists in the British region of Cornwall. This paper addresses the difficulties they face when the use of Kernewek in public is seen as legitimate only on the grounds of either economic measures or as static cultural heritage. Drawing upon a data set of almost 70 interviews, this article examines and compares the motivations of language students and one non-user, in the process challenging the notion of ``uselessness'' and instead focusing on the four ways that its users employ Kernewek in their everyday lives without necessarily utilizing it as a medium of communication. Instead, Kernewek is located within a larger project of social transformation, altering users, their families, the broader ethnic community or the global environment.},
title = {Utilisation of ethnolinguistic infusion in the construction of a trifurcated metalinguistic community: An example from the Kernewek (Cornish) language of Britain},
booktitle = {Metalinguistic comunities: Case studies of agency, ideology, and symbolic uses of language},
title = {A song for Cornwall (Kan Rag Kernow): a study of musicians and translators working on Cornish/Kernewek lyrics for international song festivals},
author = {Harasta, Jesse},
date = {2023},
journaltitle = {Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development},
doi = {10.1080/01434632.2022.2122478},
abstract = {practices of the translation of music lyrics for song competitions has created major shifts, including remarkable competitive successes. Proponents of the Kernewek (Cornish) Language have long used translated musical lyrics as a tool for language revival, especially in annual song competitions, like the Pan Celtic festival. Cornish musicians \textendash{} who, with few exceptions, cannot speak Kernewek \textendash{} work with volunteer translators to produce songs for competitions for audiences who also rarely speak Kernewek. This essay is built upon ethnographic fieldwork in Cornwall among language enthusiasts and musicians, as well as on recent interviews with musicians and translators who have competed in the Pan Celtic and similar festivals. It demonstrates a conscious use of language by non-fluent speakers to build identity and community among Cornish people and to promote the recognition of Cornwall's distinctiveness outside of the region. This builds upon previous work on metalinguistic community (Avineri and Harasta 2021) and ethnolinguistic infusion (Benor, Krasner, and Avni 2020), demonstrating the complex and important impact of state funding and coordination to increase the recognition and scope of use of the language.},
title = {Language, historical culture and the gentry of later Stuart Cornwall and south-west Wales},
author = {Harris, James},
date = {2022},
journaltitle = {Historical Research},
volume = {95},
pages = {348--369},
abstract = {This article considers how gentry antiquarian communities in later Stuart Cornwall and southwest Wales constructed distinctive local identities. It focuses on four case studies: William Scawen, the West Penwith coterie, Edward Lhuyd and the Teifi Valley group. These antiquaries conceived of the Cornish and the Welsh as `ancient Britons' and established them as historically and culturally distinct from the English, usually through reference to their indigenous languages. However, the reception of their work among wider landed society was shaped by the vitality of each respective language (with still-ubiquitous Welsh contrasting with near-extinct Cornish). By exploring the relationship between intellectual culture and identity formation, the article contributes to a broader understanding of the various and overlapping identities that permeated the British archipelago.},
keywords = {corn:decl,cornish,welsh},
file = {C:\Users\3055822\OneDrive - Queen's University Belfast\readings\harris-2022.pdf}
abstract = {Kernewek (Cornish) is a P-Celtic language in the same sub-group as Breton and Welsh. It is spoken in Cornwall where there are an estimated 3,500 semi-speakers but only around 400 completely fluent speakers. After flourishing in the middle ages it went into a quite sharp decline in the early modern period following a series of unsuccessful uprisings against the centralising English state under whose rule Cornwall had come under. During the 19th century Cornish appears to have fallen out of use as a spoken language by any community in Cornwall, and intergenerational transmission also appears to have broken down. However, this is counterbalanced by evidence of individual speakers such as John Davey of Zennor, who died in 1890. Earlier, scholars in the 17th and 18th century noticed the decline in usage and the language began to be studied and data collected. In the late 19th century and early 20th century the language was revived and by the 1950s some inter-generational transmission was re-introduced. Cornish received official recognition from the UK state in 2002 with inclusion onto the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages at the Part II level. In 2005 Cornish was given funds from the British government for further development to be matched with Objective 1 funding from Europe. It is hoped that steps will now be taken to put the language on a firm footing, to increase the number of speakers, to increase the rate of inter generational transmission, to create Cornish-medium education and to see its increased usage in all linguistic domains. This paper will examine the history of the language its relationship with the emerging English then British state, its decline and revival and the effect of legislation on its regeneration.},
title = {The hidden face of public language policy: A case study from the UK},
author = {Humphries, Emma and Ayres-Bennett, Wendy},
date = {2022},
journaltitle = {Current Issues in Language Planning},
doi = {10.1080/14664208.2022.2150497},
abstract = {In which domains and for which language types does language legislation occur and how easy is it to identify it? The United Kingdom (UK) affords a good test bed to answer these questions since it is often considered to be lacking in strong public language policy due to, amongst other things, a lack of a coherent language policy across the UK and its devolved administrations and a perceived societal disinterest in languages. Through analysis of a corpus of primary and secondary legislation from the UK and its constituent jurisdictions that contain stipulations about language(s), this article shows that UK language legislation spans multiple domains, including public health and safety, law and crime, transport and the media. Whilst some of the legislation, such as the Welsh Language Acts, explicitly deals with language(s), the vast majority of the UK's legislation which contains provisions concerning language(s) is hidden in legislation which primarily concerns another domain. Although hidden, at times these language stipulations mark important landmarks in the status of languages. All this has consequences for the UK language policy landscape, potentially diminishing the perceived importance of languages in and to government and affecting policymakers' ability to collaborate across government in a coherent way.},
title = {Disneyfication of Cornwall: Developing a Poldark heritage complex},
author = {Kennedy, Neil and Kingcome, Nigel},
date = {1998},
journaltitle = {International Journal of Heritage Studies},
volume = {4},
number = {1},
pages = {45--59},
abstract = {Cornwall has undergone rapid change. Traumatic economic crises, from the 1860s to the present agony over South Crofty, the last Cornish mine, have challenged the industrial basis of identity, and over-fishing has seen the near disappearance of fishing communities. Mass tourism and commodified heritage dominate the scene, if not the economy, and thousands of new residents have been drawn there by this imagery. Cornwall and its people are imagined and represented in bewilderingly diverse ways, from within and without, by native commentators and participants, outside journalists and visitors, artists, writers, film-makers, holiday promoters and diverse others. Nineteenth-century narratives of industry, technical achievement and diaspora clash with romantic images of antiquity, Celtic myth and superstition, backwardness, rustication, changelessness and insularity. Images of golden beaches, semi-tropical gardens and picturesque fishing ports take precedence over those of industrial decline and economic despair.},
booktitle = {Sixth annual conference of the North American Association for Celtic Language Teachers: The information age, Celtic languages and the new millennium},
author = {Kennedy, Neil},
editor = {Sutcliffe, Richard F. E. and \'O N\'eill, Gear\'oid},
date = {2000},
pages = {63--69},
publisher = {University of Limerick},
location = {Limerick},
abstract = {The teaching of Cornish to adults is becoming more professional as student numbers grow, but much depends on amateur activity. This article warns against over-reliance on the established technical-rationality of language teaching and calls for imaginative responses which acknowledge tacit understanding, indeterminacy and the importance of professional artistry. It also calls for an appeal to the aesthetic qualities of Cornish, rather than a vain quest for functional motives or calls to nationalistic duty.},
publisher = {Centre de recherche bretonne et celtique},
location = {Brest},
keywords = {breton,corn:bret,cornish}
}
@thesis{Kennedy2013a,
type = {phdthesis},
title = {Employing Cornish cultures for community resilience},
author = {Kennedy, Neil},
date = {2013},
institution = {University of Exeter},
abstract = {Can cultural distinctiveness be used to strengthen community bonds, boost morale and equip and motivate people socially and economically? Using the witness of people in Cornwall and comparative experiences, this discussion combines a review of how cultures are commodified and portrayed with reflections on well-being and ``emotional prosperity''. Cornwall is a relatively poor European region with a cultural identity that inspires an established ethno-cultural movement and is the symbolic basis of community awareness and aspiration, as well as the subject of contested identities and representations. At the heart of this is an array of cultures that is identified as Cornish, including a distinct post-industrial inheritance, the Cornish Language and Celtic Revivalism. Cultural difference has long been a resource for cultural industries and tourism and discussion of using culture for regeneration has accordingly concentrated almost exclusively on these sectors but an emergent ``regional distinctiveness agenda'' is beginning to present Cornish cultures as an asset for use in branding and marketing other sectors. All of these uses ultimately involve commodification but culture potentially has a far wider role to play in fostering economic, social, cultural and environmental resilience. This research therefore uses multidisciplinary approaches to broaden the discussion to include culture's primary emotional and social uses. It explores the possibility that enhancing these uses could help to tackle economic and social disadvantage and to build more cohesive communities. The discussion centres on four linked themes: multiple forms of capital; discourse, narrative and myth; human need, emotion and well-being; representation and intervention. Cultural, social, symbolic and human capital are related to collective status and well-being through consideration of cultural practices, repertoires and knowledge. These are explored with discussion of accompanying representations and discourses and their social, emotional and economic implications so as to allow tentative suggestions for intervention in policy and representation. A key conclusion is that culture may be used proactively to increase ``emotional capital''.},
title = {Cornish at its millennium: An independent study of the language},
author = {MacKinnon, Kenneth},
date = {2000},
institution = {SGR\`UD Research},
location = {Dingwall},
keywords = {corn:pol,cornish},
file = {C\:\\Users\\3055822\\OneDrive - Queen's University Belfast\\readings\\mackinnon 2000 version 1.pdf;C\:\\Users\\3055822\\OneDrive - Queen's University Belfast\\readings\\mackinnon 2000 version 2.pdf}
title = {Computer-assisted lemmatisation of a Cornish text corpus for lexicographical purposes},
author = {Mills, Jon},
date = {2002},
institution = {University of Exeter},
abstract = {This project sets out to discover and develop techniques for the lemmatisation of a historical corpus of the Cornish language in order that a lemmatised dictionary macrostructure can be generated from the corpus. The system should be capable of uniquely identifying every lexical item that is attested in the corpus. A survey of published and unpublished Cornish dictionaries, glossaries and lexicographical notes was carried out. A corpus was compiled incorporating specially prepared new critical editions. An investigation into the history of Cornish lemmatisation was undertaken. A systemic description of Cornish inflection was written. Three methods of corpus lemmatisation were trialed. Findings were as follows. Lexicographical history shapes current Cornish lexicographical practice. Lexicon based tokenisation has advantages over character based tokenisation. System networks provide the means to generate base forms from attested word types. Grammatical difference is the most reliable way of disambiguating homographs. A lemma that contains three fields, the canonical form, the part-of-speech and a semantic field label, provides of a unique code for every lexeme attested in the corpus. Programs which involve human interaction during the lemmatisation process allow bootstrapping of the lemmatisation database. Computerised morphological processing may be used at least to partially create the lemmatisation database. Disambiguation of at least some of the most common homographs may be automated by the use of computer programs.},
title = {When was Cornish last spoken traditionally?},
author = {Nance, Robert Morton},
date = {1973},
journaltitle = {Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall},
volume = {7},
pages = {76--82},
keywords = {corn:unsorted,cornish}
}
@article{Nance1979,
title = {Notes on the {\emph{Beunans Meriasek}} MS},
author = {Nance, Robert Morton},
date = {1979},
journaltitle = {Old Cornwall},
volume = {9},
pages = {34--36},
keywords = {corn:unsorted,cornish}
}
@thesis{Neale2018,
type = {phdthesis},
title = {Cornish carols: Heritage in California and South Australia},
author = {Neale, Elizabeth K.},
date = {2018},
institution = {Cardiff University},
location = {Cardiff},
abstract = {This thesis examines Christmas carols as heritage in the Cornish diaspora. Emerging from the same carolling tradition in Cornwall, labour migration during the 19 th century resulted in the transfer and development of this musical practice in two key diasporic locations; namely, Grass Valley, California, and the Copper Triangle, in South Australia. Interest in the local performance of the repertoire is growing at a grass roots level in Cornwall, and the carols continue to be seen as part of Cornish (and other) heritage in these overseas communities. However, no academic study has yet attempted to trace or compare the diverging developments of the musical form, or the practices and cultural narratives associated with and emerging from its performance in these locations. I draw on heritage theory and ethnomusicological methodologies in order to provide a nuanced account of these diasporic Cornish carolling traditions, arguing that they offer a compelling case study of how heritage operates as a process that engenders cultural meanings and significances that shift in orientation and emphasis. The thesis comprises of three sections. The first examines the musical materials of Cornish carols, discussing the selection and development of repertoires particular to each location. The second explores the emergence of particular cultural narratives around the carols and their performers, as the traditions developed new performance practices, contexts and cultural significances. The final section explores contemporary perspectives of the carols as local and other heritages in their present day contexts of revival and re-enactment. Combining archival and ethnographic research, this thesis shows that the differing trajectories of the carol traditions in each location are ideal loci within which to examine how notions of heritage may emerge, shift, and develop over time within a musical context.},
publisher = {European Language Resources Association},
location = {Luxembourg},
abstract = {Cornish and Welsh are closely related Celtic languages and this paper provides a brief description of a recent project to publish an online bilingual English/Cornish dictionary, the Gerlyver Kernewek, based on similar work previously undertaken for Welsh. Both languages are endangered, Cornish critically so, but both can benefit from the use of language technology. Welsh has previous experience of using language technologies for language revitalization, and this is now being used to help the Cornish language create new tools and resources, including lexicographical ones, helping a dispersed team of language specialists and editors, many of them in a voluntary capacity, to work collaboratively online. Details are given of the Maes T dictionary writing and publication platform, originally developed for Welsh, and of some of the adaptations that had to be made to accommodate the specific needs of Cornish, including their use of Middle and Late varieties due to its development as a revived language.},
title = {Henry Jenner and the Celtic revival in Cornwall},
author = {Rayne, Samantha},
date = {2012},
institution = {University of Exeter},
abstract = {This thesis seeks to explore the influence of Henry Jenner as one of the most prominent figures of the Celtic Revival in Cornwall and in the wider Celtic community. To contextualise this, it will examine the image of the Celts as a people in the first half of the twentieth century and the assertion of Celtic identity in that period through the Celtic Revival. The opening chapter examines the concepts of nations and nationalism, particularly Celtic nationalism. The second chapter focuses on the Victorian era as a motivating force for Henry Jenner and others to `write back' against a long and insidious discourse of discrimination. Chapter Three goes on to look at how the political situation in both Britain and Ireland came to influence the nature of Celtic identity assertion and also the extent to which Jenner's own political views impacted on the nature of Cornwall's Celtic Revival. In Chapter Four the impact of tourism on Cornwall, and on Cornish identity, is examined, particularly how the image of Cornwall as a Celtic nation created by Jenner and others was embraced and manipulated by that industry. Chapter Five looks at the consequences of image manipulation on tourist- dependent regions. The final chapter concentrates more specifically on the work of Jenner and the Old Cornwall Societies, and the thesis concludes by appraising the influence of the ideas and beliefs of Henry Jenner on our contemporary vision of Cornwall. It focuses particularly on how the predominance of memory created a haunted identity which was embraced by the burgeoning tourist industry and examines how this identity has subsequently impacted on the economic well-being of the region. But it also concludes that Jenner's legacy endures in so many of the positive images of, and statements about, Cornwall today.},
title = {Language death and revival: Cornish as a minority language in UK},
author = {Renk\'o-Michels\'en, Zsuzsanna},
date = {2013},
journaltitle = {Journal of Estonian and Finno-Ugric Linguistics},
volume = {4},
number = {2},
pages = {179--197},
abstract = {The paper introduces the worldwide phenomenon of language death, and briefly elaborates on the arguments for saving endangered languages. The main focus of the paper is revived Cornish. Cornish is a Celtic language that was spoken in Cornwall, UK between the 7th and 16th century. Due to Anglicisation, it became gradually endangered and finally died out as a community language during the 18th century. The revival of Cornish started with the publication of Henry Jenner's Handbook of the Cornish Language in 1904. Today Cornish is recognised by UNESCO as a ``critically endangered'' language. The paper presents an analysis of revived Cornish along Fishman's Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS).},
title = {Standardising Cornish: The politics of a new minority language},
author = {Sayers, Dave},
date = {2012},
journaltitle = {Language Problems and Language Planning},
volume = {36},
number = {2},
pages = {99--119},
abstract = {The last recorded native speaker of the Cornish language died in 1777. Since the nineteenth century, amateur scholars have made separate attempts to reconstruct its written remains, each creating a different orthography. Later, following recognition under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 2002, Cornish gained new status. However, with government support came the governmental framework of ``New Public Management'', which emphasises quantifiable outcomes to measure performance. This built implicit pressure towards finding a single standard orthography, for greatest efficiency. There followed a six-year debate among supporters of the different orthographies, usually quite heated, about which should prevail. This debate exemplified the importance of standardisation for minority languages, but its ultimate conclusion saw all sides giving way, and expediency, not ideology, prevailing. It also showed that standardisation was not imposed explicitly within language policy, but emerged during the language planning process.},
title = {Language authenticity and language ownership in the case of Cornish},
author = {Szczepankiewicz, Piotr},
date = {2016},
institution = {Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu},
abstract = {The M.A. dissertation ``Language authenticity and language ownership in the case of Cornish'' aims to analyse the perceived sense of language authenticity and language ownership in three main varieties of Revived Cornish: Kernewek Kemmyn, Kernowek Standard and the Standard Written Form and determine the degree to which these concepts are similar or dissimilar among the proponents of the given Cornish language varieties. Compatibility or lack of it might inform the potential spelling debate in the future of the Cornish language movement and, perhaps, contribute to making it a more calmed and level-headed phenomenon. The dissertation is divided into three chapters: Background Information, Methodology and the analytical Discourses of Authenticity and Ownership. Background information provides information on the history of the Cornish language. Chapter 1 discusses the external history of Cornwall and its people as well as the corpus of traditional Cornish. The dissertation describes the decline of the language following English economic domination as well as military conflicts such as the An Gof rebellion or the Prayer Book Rebellion which took a heavy toll on the numbers of Cornish-speaking populace. With the demographic, economic and symbolic decline of Cornish, it entered the phase of language death. A brief discussion of the last speakers of Cornish is followed by an account of the language's revitalization attempts starting in 1904. The development of the movement is accounted for with names, dates and titles of important works enumerated. Finally, the period of the Cornish Spelling Wars is discussed as well as the reconciliatory Standard Written Form process which was only possible thanks to the ratification of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages. Chapter 2 explains and elaborates on the methodology of the analysis. Terms such as neo-speaker, authenticity and language ownership are discussed and a framework is provided for the analysis of message board posts from the cornwall24.co.uk forum written between 2005 and 2015. Neo-speakers exist in the context of minority language revitalization and revival, in which adults decide to learn a given language by means of attending classes, immersion courses or self-teaching via educational materials. This is exactly the situation in which an overwhelming majority of Cornish users find themselves it. Language authenticity and ownership are concepts originated in the romantic notions of one state = one nation = one language and are connected to the idea of a native speaker. Given the death of the Cornish languages, there no longer exists a model to which new generations of neo-speakers could aspire to and, hence, authenticity is given to reconstructed language varieties. Their authenticity can be examined through analysing five qualities: ontology, historicity, systemic coherence, consensus and value which is connected to the notion of language ownership. Further on, in Chapter 3, the author discusses the data collected on the message board, the rationale for the choice of this kind of medium as well as its shortcomings. An example detailed analysis of two forum posts is provided and, then, a general analysis of each variety's authenticity is given. In the end, conclusions are drawn on the current state of the Cornish language and the possible outcomes of the present political climate in the United Kingdom. Recommendations for further research are also given.},
title = {``I am answerable for the Cornish'': The genesis of the Revd Robert Williams's {\emph{Lexicon Cornu-Britannicum}} and the significance of the Peniarth Library's Hengwrt Manuscripts in his later research},
