History of Cornish
Ystory a'n Kernuak

The Cornish are descended from the ancient Celts who inhabited what is now known as Cornwall, Devon and Somerset.  In ancient times this area was known as kingdom of the Dumnonii.  

Before the Romans came in 43 AD, Ancient British (Brythonic), a Celtic tongue, was the common language of Britain.  Ancient British is the common ancestor of the Welsh, Cornish, and Breton languages.  In England itself the Teutonic language of the Angles and Saxons replaced the old language, except in the west.  There, by the tenth century, it divided into Welsh and Cornish.

From 600 AD to around 1300, the form of Cornish that was spoken by the common people was Old Cornish.  The last Cornish king was killed in 936.  Cornwall became an earldom of Wessex under the King Athelstan.  Except for the Vocabularium Cornicum, a short lexicon of Cornish words with Latin translations, there is very little material in Old Cornish.  By 1362, the English language had become predominant for matters of state.

The period of Middle Cornish lasted from about 1300 to about 1620.  In 1337, Cornwall became a Duchy under Edward III.  From that time, the eldest son of the British Sovereign is born Duke of Cornwall.

In the fifteenth century miracle plays were produced to teach the people about the church.
The Cornish Ordinalia, a trilogy of miracle plays is among the most important medieval works from the British Isles.

By the end of sixteenth century, the use of the Cornish language was in decline and the Reformation and the introduction of the English Prayer Book was a serious blow.  In 1534, Henry VIII broke away from Rome and began the start of a systematic effort to eradicate the Cornish Language in order to enforce Anglican Liturgy as the norm in the battle against Catholicism.  The Annexation of Wales Bill was passed in parliament in 1536.  The purpose of this bill was to eradicate the customs of Wales that were not in conformity with those of England.  This was essentially a systematic effort by the state to eliminate the Welsh language.  Documents from 1538 and 1540 show that the same policy was also applied in Cornwall.

The Act of Uniformity, which decreed that only English was to be used in all church services including those in Cornwall and Wales was passed in 1549.  This instigated the Cornish rebellion which took place a few weeks later.

Between 1555 and 1558, there was a brief Catholic Restoration under Mary Tudor.  During this time, John Tregear translates Bishop Edmund Bonner's Homilies into Cornish.  This translation, at 130 pages, is the longest piece of historical Cornish prose.  By 1602, however, the systematic efforts of the state were successful in driving the Cornish language into the western extremities of Cornwall. 

The Late Cornish period began in about 1620 and lasted to about 1800.  In 1660 a short story Jowan Chy An Horth (John House of the Ram) by Nicholas Boson was published.  In 1707, Edward Lhuyd published his Archaeologia Britannica which describes aspects of the language such as grammar; but the language was dying.  Between 1730 and about 1750 Cornish continued to be used only in small isolated communities in the extreme west of Cornwall.  Cornish speakers became increasingly rare.  Dolly Pentreath who died in 1777 was supposed to have been the last Cornish speaker.  William Bodinar who died in 1789 also appeared to have spoken Cornish, however.  William Pryce publishes his Archaeologia Cornu-Britannica in 1790.  This work contained examples of Cornish poetry and prose.

During the next hundred years Cornish had all but died out.  A few individuals may have known a few words from the language, but such individuals were rare. 

In 1904, the publication of Henry Jenner's A Handbook for the Cornish formed the basis of the Language Revival Movement.  The movement to revive Cornish continues to this day and is the subject of considerable academic debate among linguists specializing in Cornish.  The debate centers on the proper spelling and pronunciation of the Cornish (Kernuak or Kernowuack) language.

A Few Cornish Phrases

Durdatha why or Durdatha whye = Good day to you
  
Deth da or Deeth daa = Good day

Mytten da or Metten daa = Good Morning

Ha sos or Ha soce  = Hi there
  
Dursona or Darzona = God bless you.
  
Gorthewer da or Gothewhar daa = Good evening

Lowena dheugh why or Lowena tha whye = Happiness to you

Bedheugh why lowenak or Betho whye lowenack = Happiness to you

Dew genough or Dew boz geno = God be with you.
.
Bennatew genough or Benatugana = God bless.
.
Tereba nessa or Bys nessa = Until next time.
  
Kemer weyth or Comero weeth = Take care
 
Ternestadha or Ternestatha = Goodnight to you

Nos da dheugh why or Noze daa tha whye = Goodnight to you.
.
Fatla genough why? or Fatla gena whye? = How are you?

Fatel erough why cul? or Fatel era whye keele? = How are you doing?

Ma yehes genam or Ma genam a ehaz. = I am well
.
Claf oma (or Claf of vy) or Clave o ve = I'm ill.

Mar pleg or Mor pleag = Please

Murrasta why or Merastawhye (or Durdalada whye) = Thank you 

Gromercy or Gra'massy = Thank you.

Mottoes and Sayings 
Lavarow Kernuak or Lavarow Kernuack

Onen hag Oll = One and All (Cornwall's motto),

Kernow bys vyken or Kernow rag nevra (or Kernow bys vickan) = Cornwall for ever.

Pysk, Cober ha Sten or Pesk, Kober ha Stean = Fish, Copper and Tin (a traditional toast)
 
Me na vyn cows Sawsnak or Me na vadna cowz a Sowznack = I will not speak English

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