SKEUL AN TAVAS
Supporting learners of the Cornish language
Speak Cornish Week
19-27 June 2021
New
Civil war - a national terror that is essentially familiar
Famous passage
ZOOM CLASSES FOR 2021/22
New Beginners class starts on 6 September, new Intermediate class starts on 7 September
Go to Events page of this website
GOLOWAN
Traditional Cornish verse spoken when lighting the Midsummer Bonfire (with pronunciation guide)
Go to the Miscellany page of this website
GERLYVER KESCOWS SECOND EDITION
Full text available on the Vocabulary page of this website
Now more easily searchable
DESKY KERNOWEK SUPPORT GROUP
Meets by Zoom, usually every fortnight
Currently focusing on sentence structure and pronunciation
New joiners welcome
BÊWNANS TAVAS Y GÔWSEL
Fluent conversation group
Meets fortnightly by Zoom
THE PRISONER OF ZENDA
Cornish translation being published in monthly instalments
September 2020 to July 2021 on website of Newlyn class
AMÊTHVA AN BESTAS (Animal Farm)
Cornish translation being published in instalments
on website of Newlyn class
The CORONAVIRUS GLOSSARY is regularly updated as the situation continues to evolve.
About Us
It is important to realize there are several other approaches to revived Cornish, drawing on the historical sources to strike different balances in matters of grammar and vocabulary. There are alternative spelling systems too, most publicly the Standard Written Form (SWF) favoured by Cornwall Council. Debating the merits of such differences is outside the scope of this site.
The weekly class using Skeul an Tavas in Newlyn (Lulyn) has its own website www.kernoweklulyn.com carrying further compatible material. There is also www.moderncornish.net, the website of Cussul an Tavas Kernowek who specialize in applying the later historical sources, and the associated blog Te ha Tesednow.
Are you a teacher or prospective teacher of the Skeul an Tavas course? We offer a full Scheme of Work, as well as classroom kit and logistical support. Don't hesitate to get in touch. And whether teacher or student, you can always contact us with questions about traditional Cornish grammar or vocabulary, or with queries about idiom or style.
We are not a commercial website. We are however eager to carry high-quality literature in Cornish, original or translated. We also welcome high-quality podcasts in Cornish. We accept advertising for publications in KS, and for events suitable for learners where Cornish is spoken. Click on Miscellany for our literary / audio and advertising policies.
Events
The Newlyn Class now meets every Monday at 19:30 by Zoom. You can get the joining details by contacting Ian Jackson iacobianus@googlemail.com. The course is Level 1 (CEFR A1), the coursebook is Skeul an Tavas, Standard Cornish edition.
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Bagas kestalkya rag pobel frôsek aga hows. Only dre alow. Nôten got rag gwitha cov a’n nessa metyans.
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Keskerdhes hag ûsya tavas Kernow in cres an pow. Gwrewgh omdava gans kyleodgers@hotmail.com.
Read MoreThe Newlyn Class now meets every Monday at 19:30 by Zoom. You can get the joining details by contacting Ian Jackson iacobianus@googlemail.com. The course is Level 1 (CEFR A1), the coursebook is Skeul an Tavas, Standard Cornish edition.
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On-line support group for those learning Cornish with the self-study book Desky Kernowek by Nicholas Williams. You can get the Zoom joining details by contacting Ian Jackson iacobianus@googlemail.com. The date is only provisional - it may be necessary to postpone because of Golowan celebrations.
Read MoreThe Newlyn Class now meets every Monday at 19:30 by Zoom. You can get the joining details by contacting Ian Jackson iacobianus@googlemail.com. The course is Level 1 (CEFR A1), the coursebook is Skeul an Tavas, Standard Cornish edition. This is the last lesson of the current academic year.
Read MoreA new Skeul an Tavas Beginners class will meet every Monday at 19:30 by Zoom, starting on 6 September 2021. You can get the joining details by contacting Ian Jackson iacobianus@googlemail.com. The course is Level 1 (CEFR A1), the coursebook is Skeul an Tavas, Standard Cornish edition.
Read MoreA new Skeul an Tavas Intermediate class will meet every Tuesday at 19:30 by Zoom, starting on 7 September 2021. You can get the joining details by contacting Ian Jackson iacobianus@googlemail.com. The course is Level 2 (CEFR A2), the coursebook is Skeul an Tavas 2 (soon to be published).
Read MoreAudio
Literature
LEARNING WITH LITERATURE / DESKY DRE LIEN
Reading well-written Cornish is one of the best ways to improve your own grasp of the language. You can read Cornish literature for free on this site. Choose an item marked ON-LINE HERE.
A list of books and other literature currently available
Read MoreANIMAL FARM: Go to Amêthva an Bestas below (items are in alphabetical order)
Read MoreHENRY VI, PART 3 (extract): Go to An Wheffes Harry, Tressa Radn below (items are in alphabetical order)
Read MoreJules Verne's Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (Around the World in Eighty Days), abridged for young readers
Read MoreON-LINE: George Orwell's Animal Farm, with Cornish-English glossary (instalments from January 2021)
Read MoreThe Holy Bible (Old Testament, New Testament)
Read MoreON-LINE HERE: Hans Christian Andersen's Prinsessen paa Ærten (The Princess and the Pea), with Cornish-English glossary
Read MoreON-LINE HERE: Rudyard Kipling's The Crab that Played with the Sea (a 'Just So' story), with Cornish-English glossary
Read MoreON-LINE HERE: Hans Christian Andersen's Fyrtøjet (The Tinderbox), with Cornish-English glossary
Read MoreCourses
Newlyn Class on-line: worksheets of previous lessons for reference
Read MoreComprehensive self-study course and Support Group materials
Read MoreOn-line course in revived Cornish based on later historical sources
Read MoreON-LINE HERE: Free taster course, spelled in Kernowek Standard, with parallel version spelled in the Standard Written Form
Read MoreSkeul an Tavas Book 1 Breakthrough CEFR A1
Read MoreLearning Breton?
The new Breton translation of The Hobbit makes an excellent reader for use with a suitable grammar and dictionary and with the Cornish or English edition beside you as a 'crib'. Go to Literature and click on An Hobys.
Publication postponed to Summer 2021 while classes are not meeting because of Covid-19
Read MoreDrills
Playlets
ALL ON-LINE HERE
For students of Skeul an Tavas Books 1 & 2
NEW / NOWYTH
Click on Gwylcoos an lies sodhva
Playlet for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 1
Read MorePlaylet for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 2
Read MorePlaylet for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 4
Read MorePlaylet for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 5
Read MorePlaylet for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 7
Read MorePlaylet for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 8
Read MorePuzzles
Simple vocabulary crossword for Skeul an Tavas Part 1 (Lessons 1-6)
Read MoreDon't go to the key until you've attempted the crossword
Read MoreSimple vocabulary crossword for Skeul an Tavas Part 1 (Lessons 1-6)
Read MoreDon't go to the key until you've attempted the crossword
Read MoreSimple vocabulary crossword for Skeul an Tavas Part 1 (Lessons 1-6)
Read MoreDon't go to the key until you've attempted the crossword
Read MoreSimple vocabulary crossword for Skeul an Tavas Part 2 (Lessons 1-12)
Read MoreDon't go to the key until you've attempted the crossword
Read MoreSimple vocabulary crossword for Skeul an Tavas Part 2 (Lessons 1-12)
Read MoreDon't go to the key until you've attempted the crossword
Read MoreStories
ALL ON-LINE HERE
For students of Skeul an Tavas Books 1 & 2
Story for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 5
Read MoreStory for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 7
Read MoreStory for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 15
Read MoreStory for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 18
Read MoreWorksheets
ALL ON-LINE HERE
For students of Skeul an Tavas Books 1 & 2
Weekly lesson sheets to accompany on-line meetings of the Newlyn class
Read MoreWorksheet 2 for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 2
Read MoreWorksheet 3 for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 3
Read MoreWorksheet 4 for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 5
Read MoreWorksheet 5 for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 5
Read MoreWorksheet 7 for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 8
Read MoreWorksheet 8 for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 9
Read MoreVocabulary
ON-LINE HERE: Full text, completely revised from first edition, 5000 words and phrases for conversation + grammar words + 'outbursts' + place-names, easily browsed, easily searched
Read MoreREGULARLY UPDATED / NOWEDHYS YN RÊWLYS
For the Coronavirus Glossary, click on Gerva an Cùrunvîrùs
Go to Gerlyver Kescows 2nd Edition. If not there, you can ask. Go to Contact Us.
Read MoreCraig Weatherhill's carefully researched handbook
Read MoreON-LINE HERE: Short phrases worth learning for fluent everyday conversation
Read MoreON-LINE HERE: Origin of each Cornish name
Read MoreON-LINE HERE: KS spellings for all the words in this popular picture book (Standard Written Form spellings too)
Read MoreON-LINE HERE: Minimum working vocabulary for those wishing to learn just a little Cornish, or a first step for those aspiring to greater things
Read MoreDictionary specially designed for students of revived traditional Cornish
Read MoreON-LINE HERE: Full text (on-line version)
Read MoreGrammar
Academic
A critical edition with translation by Graham Thomas and Nicholas Williams (2007)
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Philip Payton's revised and updated history of Cornwall (2017)
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A new edition of Henry Jenner's original monograph from 1904, underpinning all subsequent work to revive the Cornish language (2010)
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ON-LINE HERE: Paper by Rod Lyon (2007)
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Two important historical texts, re-edited and translated, together with bilingual review (2020)
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Overview of historical Cornish, and of the early years of revived Cornish, by P. Berresford Ellis (1974)
Read MoreExams
Miscellany
Please read before sending us any communication.
Read MorePlease read before submitting to us any literary work or audio item.
Read MorePlease read before submitting any advertisement to us.
Read MoreA short English-language grammar of Breton
Read MoreObservations on contemporary revived Cornish by former Grand Bard Rod Lyon
Read MoreON-LINE HERE: Diagram showing how Cornish is descended from the ancestor language, Proto-Indo European, spoken in Eastern Europe 5000 years ago
Read MoreThe ground-breaking examination of revived Cornish, first written by Nicholas Williams in 1995 (3rd edition 2006), leading eventually to Kernowek Standard (KS)
Read MoreContact us
- Wadham's Cottage, North Side, Steeple Aston, Bicester, England OX25 4SE
- Click on Miscellany for our 'Contact Us' policy.