235
edits
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Cornwall]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] Languages | [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Cornwall]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] Languages | ||
[[Image:Cornwall sign.jpg|thumb|250px | [[Image:Cornwall sign.jpg|thumb|250px]] The main language of Cornwall is English, however the traditional language of Cornish (''Kerneweg'') is much older. | ||
The Cornish language is one of the Brythonic Celtic languages and is closely related to Welsh and Breton. Cornish shares roughly 80% of its basic vocabulary with Breton, and 75% with Welsh. The language continued to function as a community language in parts of Cornwall until the late 18th century, and there has been a revival of the language since Henry Jenner's "''Handbook of the Cornish Language''" was published in 1904. | The Cornish language is one of the Brythonic Celtic languages and is closely related to Welsh and Breton. Cornish shares roughly 80% of its basic vocabulary with Breton, and 75% with Welsh. The language continued to function as a community language in parts of Cornwall until the late 18th century, and there has been a revival of the language since Henry Jenner's "''Handbook of the Cornish Language''" was published in 1904. | ||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
In 2002 Cornish was officially recognised as a minority language and in 2005 it received limited Government funding. A Standard Written Form was agreed in 2008 replacing the Unified Cornish, Unified Cornish Revised, Common Cornish and Modern Cornish variations. <br> | In 2002 Cornish was officially recognised as a minority language and in 2005 it received limited Government funding. A Standard Written Form was agreed in 2008 replacing the Unified Cornish, Unified Cornish Revised, Common Cornish and Modern Cornish variations. <br> | ||
<br> | ==Cornish surnames== | ||
<blockquote>"By Tre, Pol and Pen shall ye know all Cornishmen". <br> -Traditional Cornish saying</blockquote> | |||
Unlike other Celtic peoples, such as the Irish and Welsh, most Cornish surnames are derived from place names. In Cornwall, these include "Tre-" (meaning town or farmstead), "Pol-" (a pool) and "Pen-" (head, or headland). Examples<br> | Unlike other Celtic peoples, such as the Irish and Welsh, most Cornish surnames are derived from place names. In Cornwall, these include "Tre-" (meaning town or farmstead), "Pol-" (a pool) and "Pen-" (head, or headland). Examples<br> | ||
<br> | <br> | ||
Tre-<br> | Tre-<br> | ||
| Line 50: | Line 49: | ||
* Penrose - London born Charles W. Penrose, who was of Cornish descent was in the Quorum of the Twelve of the COJCOLDS<br> | * Penrose - London born Charles W. Penrose, who was of Cornish descent was in the Quorum of the Twelve of the COJCOLDS<br> | ||
* Pentreath - Dolly Pentreath was one of the last speakers of traditional Cornish.<br> | * Pentreath - Dolly Pentreath was one of the last speakers of traditional Cornish.<br> | ||
However these are not the only Cornish language prefixes often found in surnames. Others include Ros- (moor), Lan- (clearing or church), Car-/Ker- (fort), and Nan-/Nans-/Nance (a valley). | |||
===Other Cornish language surnames=== | |||
Trade names - | |||
* Angove (Cornish - An Gof - the Smith), Gough or Gove | |||
* Helyer (helghyer "hunter") | |||
* Marrak (marghek, "knight, horseman") | |||
Personal attributes - | |||
* Gwyn (fair haired. Also a Welsh surname) | |||
* Teague (also of a separate Irish origin) | |||
[[Category:Cornwall|Languages]] | [[Category:Cornwall|Languages]] | ||