Cornish is one of several Celtic languages spoken in the UK. It is unlike all other Celtic languages, however, in that it is a sort of Lazarus language. It was once pronounced dead and yet is now back, even if very modestly. Thus, it is fair to say that to speak of Cornish is to speak a tale of two languages: traditional Cornish and reconstructed Cornish.
Traditional Cornish arose in the South West tip of Great Britain. It was
historically spoken in Cornwall, but as Ellis points out “Cornwall was the first Celtic country to be conquered and annexed by England and, therefore, the Cornish
became the first Celtic people to ‘lose’ their language” (1974, 1).
Cornwall came under Saxon rule around 900, which made the language of the Saxons the language of the ruling classes and Cornish the language of the masses (George 2009, 489). During the following centuries, Cornwall would undergo many of the same Anglicanization processes that were seen in Wales (Dunbar 2003b, 9).
Cornish began its westward retreat around 1300 (George 2009, 490). Even so, the language’s heyday was roughly from 1300 to 1500 (ibid.). It is estimated the language had 30,000 - 40,000 speakers during this period (ibid., 492). After 1500, however, the language began to decline also in the West of Cornwall, in great part due to the
2 All data obtained from the 2011 Census refers to the population aged three and over.
Reformation (ibid., 491). One of the effects of the Reformation was that it severed the links with Brittany, where Breton, a language similar to Cornish, was spoken
(Dunbar 2003b, 9). By 1650 some people began to realize that Cornish was doomed and attempted to collect as many samples of the language as they could (in the form of poems, songs, letters, etc.) (George 2009, 491). By the late 1600s it was increasingly unusual to find monolingual speakers of Cornish (Ellis 1974, 80). It is commonly reported that the last recorded native speaker of Cornish died in 1777 (Sayers 2012, 99), even though the last person to have traditional knowledge of Cornish likely died around 1890 (Dunbar 2003b, 9). Whatever the case may be, by 1800, Cornish had
“ceased to exist as a living community language” (George 2009, 488), and by the end of the 19th century it was extinct (Sayers 2012, 99). Except, as we know, that was not the end of the story.
Cornish was reconstructed in the early 20th century (George 2009:488). During the first sixty years of the reconstructed Cornish, the language existed mostly in written form (George & Broderick 2009, 753). It became more of a spoken language starting in the 1970s, where infrastructure and advancements in communication technologies allowed for individuals who wished to speak the language to meet with each other (ibid., 755). Visits to Wales also inspired some people to believe in the possibility of living out their lives in Cornish (ibid.). This reconstructed Cornish has
“attracted enthusiasts, in small privately run evening classes and correspondence courses” (Sayers 2012, 101). On this point, Dunbar indicates that the movement to revive Cornish has never been a mass movement, and at its core it has probably never exceeded 100 people (2003b, 9).
Not surprisingly, then, Cornish is the least privileged of the UK’s
autochthonous languages, both in terms of speakers and state support (ibid.). While the language has merited Part II protection under the ECHR, matters that deal with implementation of the ECHR have been left to the local government council (Sayers 2012, 109-110). Cornwall Council has neither the power nor the resources to promote the language the way Welsh is promoted in Wales. Much of the work to promote Cornish is done by the Cornish Language Partnership. This Partnership, led by Cornwall Council, has been charged with implementing a Cornish Language
Development Strategy (Cornish Language Partnership 2013a). As part of this strategy, the Partnership “has offered a translation service which has assisted organisations and events throughout Cornwall to engage with Cornish” (United Kingdom 2009, 53).
The Cornish Language Development Strategy is modest if compared with
developments in nearby Wales. This should not be a surprise, given that few people actually speak Cornish. According to the 2011 Census, English is very secure as the main language of Cornwall, with 98% of the population aged 16 and over indicating they use English as their main language at home (Cornwall Council 2013, 63). In 2007, it was estimated that there were about 300 people with knowledge of the language and about 100 fluent speakers (Sayers 2012, 101). However, in the 2011 Census, 600 people in England and Wales reported Cornish as their main language (Office for National Statistics 2013a, 7). Five hundred of those people live in Cornwall (ibid.).
This is about 0.01% of Cornwall’s population. Despite having a low number of speakers, Cornish is considered to be important as a symbol of Cornish identity (Sayers 2012, 102).
Sidebar 1. Bringing Cornish back. Traditional Cornish came into existence around 600 AD and disappeared by 1800 (George 2009, 488). Its life cycle can be divided into Primitive Cornish (600-800), Old Cornish (800-1200), Middle Cornish (1200-1575), and Late Cornish (157-1800) (George 2009, 488).
Modern Cornish is the result of extensive reconstruction, a process much more extensive than revival (Sayers 2012, 100). The process is at times dated to have begun in 1904 with Henry Jenner’s publication of Handbook of the Cornish Language (George & Broderick 2009, 753). The reconstructed language was based, originally at least, mostly on Middle Cornish (George and Broderick 2009, 754). Because the record of traditional Cornish is incomplete, gaps had to be filled. These were filled in by analogizing from within Cornish but also from Breton and Welsh, and even from Middle English (ibid.). This type of work was championed by individuals and societies that formed around the language (ibid., 754).
But it was not always harmonious. Practical and ideological disagreements about what shape the movement should take riveted it (Dunbar 2003b, 10). Indeed, different groups arose, and their relationship at times became less than cooperative (Sayers 2012, 104). This is reflected, for example, in
3 The publication cited here gives the 98% figure as applying to “people aged 16 and over.” More detailed information is further provided by the Office for National Statistics which indicates that 98,4% of “usual residents aged 3 and over” report English as their main language (2013b).
the creation of the five competing orthographies for Cornish (ibid., 100). The clash eventually came to an end when a Standard Written Form was adopted via vote and after much work and negotiation on 19 May 2008 (ibid., 113). Besides filling in the gaps and standardizing the orthography, efforts are made to teach the language. However, Cornish is not taught in public schools in Cornwall, so people who wish to learn the language generally do it in evening classes or independently (George &
Broderick 2009, 759). Translation of literature into Cornish is also a part of the effort to strengthen the language (ibid., 758). Titles that have been translated include Alice in Wonderland, Around the World in Eighty Days, The Little Prince, and Treasure Island (Cornish Language Partnership 2013b). Religious titles, such as the full New Testament, have also been translated (Cornwall County Council 2004, 6).