CARA KERNOWEK 2
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© 2024 Ian Jackson
Illustrations by Nigel J. Roberts
Revived Cornish on the principle of tota Cornicitas
Taking account of all the evidence for historical Cornish
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
Level A2 (Waystage, Pre-Intermediate)
RAGLAVAR
FOREWORD
Cara Kernowek Book Two is a straightforward grammar-based course designed for motivated adults learning revived traditional Cornish with a teacher or by self-study. At present only some teachers of Cornish have a formal teaching qualification, and many teachers of those moving on from initial classes may still be learners themselves at a higher level. The course is scaffolded to encourage teachers to be confident of the core material, passing that confidence on to the student, who can then become a confident teacher of further students, in a virtuous cycle.
Standard Cornish is the spelling system used throughout. The course is divided for convenience into lessons, but teachers should work through the material at a pace that matches the interest and aptitude of the class. Teachers will no doubt wish to provide much additional opportunity to develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills within the framework of each lesson.
Cara Kernowek Book One (Ian Jackson, lovinglivingcornish, September 2023) provides an introduction to Cornish for beginners. This coursebook assumes the student is already familiar with the material covered in Book One.
For the sake of clear exposition the Cornish presented in Cara Kernowek Book One is based on the literary language that had evolved to the end of the 16th century. Cornish as actually spoken was certainly rather different. Grammar and pronunciations truer to everyday speech were preserved in records of the 17th and 18th centuries, and from this evidence we can restore a conversational register for use alongside more formal prose styles. This Book Two gradually introduces truly colloquial alternatives so you can start to develop a lively idiom of your own.
Cara Kernowek departs from the typical coursebook convention which has characters using Cornish but not explicitly inhabiting a world where Cornish is a part of everyday life. The various dialogues in this book are set in a slightly modified universe where Cornish is already the language of home and work for a significant minority of people in Cornwall. Students can be encouraged to think wisely about the personal, social and political issues that naturally arise in this scenario.
I am ever grateful to Professor Nicholas Williams and Michael Everson for their advice and support; and I should like to thank my students who road-tested the book, especially Carmen Cernadas, Dominic Ó Ceallaigh, Kyle Odgers, Dilwyn Roberts, and Nigel J. Roberts.
Ian Jackson, MA (Cantab), MA (Oxon), QTS
lovinglivingcornish, January 2024
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CONTENS
CONTENTS
The Vocabulary at the end of this book consolidates all the Cornish words introduced in both Cara Kernowek Book One and Cara Kernowek Book Two
Here is a link to Book One in case you need to refer back to it for grammar or explanation
Return to Cara Kernowek Book One
Lesson 1
Containing Exercises 1 - 6
Saying ‘the same’; short form (copula) imperfect tense of bos; long form (local) imperfect tense of bos; colloquial Cornish; drilling; model answers
Lesson 2
Containing Exercises 7 - 10
Asking ‘what / which’; linking question phrase to verb; more about local present tense of bos in questions; negative particle in open questions; more about asking ‘where’; whither, hither, thither; pobel; personal forms of wàr; personal forms of dres; colloquial Cornish; model answers
Lesson 3
Containing Exercises 11 - 15
Future tense of bos; asking ‘when’; verbal adjectives; colloquial Cornish; model answers
Lesson 4
Containing Exercises 16 - 20
Asking ‘how’; proleptic infinitive; inflected comparative of adjectives; no Cornish equivalent of ‘the … one’; saying ‘than’; onen referring to feminine noun; saying ‘everyone’ and ‘every one’; colloquial Cornish; model answers
Lesson 5
Containing Exercises 21 - 25
Preterite tense after link particle a; continuous action / state marked by tense only in the past; comparative formed with moy; comparatives that buck the system; nouns as attributive adjectives; personal forms of in; personal forms of in dadn; colloquial Cornish; model answers
Lesson 6
Containing Exercises 26 - 28
Personal forms of heb; personal forms of ryb; preterite forms of dos and mos; preterite tense of bos; model answers
Lesson 7
Containing Exercises 29 - 33
More about imperatives; adar; affection; affection caused by ending ys; alternative ending yes instead of ys; restoring link particle a; colloquial Cornish; model answers
Lesson 8
Containing Exercises 34 - 36
More about honen; saying ‘on my own’ etc; prefix om; particle re; purpose after mos; ‘weekend’ phrases; more about affection; an vergh, an veyn; personal forms of der (dre); intensifiers; colloquial Cornish; model answers
Lesson 9
Containing Exercises 37 - 40
Indefinite pronouns; superlative of adjectives; saying ‘less’ and ‘least’; moy and le as adverbs; model answers
Lesson 10
Containing 41 - 45
‘Any’ in negative sentences; common quantifiers; ‘where’ and ‘when’ introducing an adjectival clause; model answers
Lesson 11
Containing Exercises 46 - 48
Adjectival phrases; more about adjectival clauses; re meaning ‘ones’; saying ‘other’; personal forms of preposition a; saying ‘yes please’ and ‘no thank you’; colloquial Cornish; model answers
Lesson 12
Containing Exercises 49 - 53
More about adjectival clauses; negative adjectival clauses; more words of quantity; saying ‘only’; model answers
Lesson 13
Containing Exercises 54 - 60
Compound prepositions; saying 'about'; prepositions with pronouns; mar meaning 'so'; personal forms of avell; result clause; talking about being ill; using lowr and similar words; saying 'too' in the sense 'too much'; which re is which; exclamatory particle assa; duals; model answers
Lesson 14
Containing Exercises 61 - 67
Indirect statement with fatell; indirect statement with dell; saying ‘almost’; more about prefix om; asking ‘how much’ and ‘how many’; indirect question; colloquial Cornish; model answers
Lesson 15
Containing Exercises 68 - 72
Indirect statement with infinitive construction; some other uses of the infinitive construction; ‘if’ construction with dos; talking about sand; model answers
Lesson 16
Containing Exercises 73 - 75
Indirect statement with bos clause; bos clause in other situations; indirect statement expressed with affirmative particle y; indirect statement with fronted subject; very limited interchangeability of short and long forms; le meaning ‘place’, conjunction pàn; model answers
Lesson 17
Containing Exercises 76 - 80
Negative indirect statement; saying ‘nor’; conjunction kyn; coordinating versus subordinating conjunctions; saying ‘before’ and ‘after’; model answers
Lesson 18
Containing Exercises 81 - 85
Asking ‘why’; saying ‘because’; conjunction abàn; colloquial Cornish; model answers
GERVA – VOCABULARY
All the Cornish words in Books One and Two
Find links to model answers for the exercises at the end of each Lesson
Click or tap here for the Pronunciation Guide
Click or tap here for the Consolidated Index to the first three Cara Kernowek coursebooks
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LESSON ONEN
LESSON ONE
Saying ‘the same’
The phrase an keth means ‘the same’. But it cannot be used without a following noun or pronoun. For example, ‘we did the same’ is rendered as ny a wrug an keth tra or ny a wrug an keth hedna. An emphatic alternative to an keth is an kethsam 'the very same'. There is generally no mutation after either of these phrases. But we do sometimes encounter Second State of gw and m after an keth.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words. Use the Vocabulary at the end of the book to check plural forms for nouns where these are available.
anwos m cold (illness; also chill), apposyans m examination, bloodh m year of age, clojy m hospital, dell yw ûsys as usual, dywyêthek bilingual, gasa v leave, i’n gwelha prës fortunately, in bàn up, kyns napell before long, mab m son, maner f manner, way, marow dead, myrgh f daughter, pedn m end (also head), prenassa v go shopping, sawya v recover (after illness), tevy v grow, ugh-clojiores f sister (senior nurse)
It will be worth simultaneously learning the opposite of i’n gwelha prës. That is i’n gwetha prës ‘unfortunately’.
Practys Onen – Exercise One
And here is a short introduction to the Tonkin family.
Yma whel Elen Tonkin in clojy. Ugh-clojiores yw hy. Êtek bloodh warn ugans yw hy. Trigys yma hy in Trûrû. Yma gour dhedhy hag udn vyrgh ha dew vab inwedh. Hanow an gour yw Powl. An vyrgh yw Demelsa ha’n dhew vab yw Mark ha Danyel. Yma Demelsa ow parusy dhe’n apposyansow TODN. Yma Mark i’n Seythves Bledhen i’n kethsam scol. Whath yma Danyel i’n Peswora Bledhen i’n scol elvednek. Yma Elen ow côwsel Kernowek orth hy myrgh ha worth hy mebyon pùb eur oll. I’n vaner-ma ymowns y ow tevy dywyêthek in bàn.
The abbreviation TODN stands for Testscrif Ollkemmyn Dyscans Nessa. That is, General Certificate of Education (GCSE).
Practys Dew – Exercise Two
Here is an everyday conversation between Jana Bligh and Elen Tonkin.
Jana:
Dëdh dâ dhis, Elen.
Elen:
Dëdh dâ, a Jana.
Jana:
Osta yagh?
Elen:
Heb bos marow na whath! Ha tejy?
Jana:
Gwell solabrës. Yth esof ow sawya wosa anwos.
Elen:
Pandra wrussys gwil dres pedn an seythen?
Jana:
Ogh, prenassa de Sadorn dell yw ûsys. Mabm ha Tas a wrug vysytya de Sul. Ny a wrug kerdhes wàr an âls ha gasa an ky dhe bonya der an treth.
Elen:
Drog yw an gewar i’n mis-ma.
Jana:
Wèl, crev o an gwyns de Sul, mès i’n gwelha prës nyns o an glaw pòr boos.
Elen:
Howlek vëdh kyns napell. Ow gaja dhe why!
Jana:
Re bo govenek!
Ow gaja dhe why literally means ‘My pledge to you’. This corresponds to the English expression ‘I’m willing to bet’ when making an assertion.
Short form (copula) imperfect tense of bos
The imperfect (also called the past continuous) tense of bos has copula and local forms, just like the present tense of bos. We have been using the copula imperfect form o for a long time. Here are all the short forms.
en vy I was
es jy you were
o ev he was, it was (masculine reference)
o hy she was, it was (feminine reference)
o was / were (with noun subject)
en ny we were
ewgh why you were (plural or stranger)
êns y they were
These forms are also used in closed questions (expecting the answer yes or no). They are preceded by negative particle nyns in negative statements. If we add interrogative particle a in front of particle nyns, we arrive at a negative question.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
cuv kind, mater m matter, muscok mad, skyla f reason, terrys broken
Practys Try – Exercise Three
Put these sentences into the imperfect tense. Check you know what each one means.
Nyns yw an bord bian. Brâs yw va. Osta sqwith? Nag ov. Yns y parys? Nyns yns y màn. Ty yw muscok. Nyns ov vy flogh! Pandr’yw an mater? Medhek yw hy. Pyw yw an dhescadoryon? Cuv owgh why. Lowen nyns on ny. Yw an dra terrys? Pëth yw an skyla rag hedna?
Practys Peswar – Exercise Four
How would you say the following in Cornish?
She was my teacher. The children were very happy. Were you tired after the lesson? Was I ready? No, I wasn’t ready at all.
Long form (local) imperfect tense of bos
Here are all the long forms of the imperfect tense of bos.
yth esen vy I was
yth eses jy you were
yth esa ev he was, it was (masculine reference)
yth esa hy she was, it was (feminine reference)
yth esa [there] was / were (with noun subject)
yth esen ny we were
yth esewgh why you were (plural or stranger)
yth esens y they were
The long form imperfect is simply the short form prefixed with an additional element es-. The spelling esa for expected eso is the outcome of regular sound change.
In closed questions (expecting the answer yes or no) particle yth is dropped. In negative statements particle yth is replaced with particle nyns. If we add interrogative particle a in front of particle nyns, we arrive at a negative question.
Long forms of both present tense and imperfect tense are generally not interchangeable with short forms. The long forms should be used in two specific situations: (1) when bos is found with a word or phrase indicating location and (2) when bos is coupled with particle ow (owth) and a verb-noun. In any other case the short forms must be employed.
So we say Tiak en vy ‘I was a farmer’ and Sqwith en vy ‘I was tired’, but Yth esen vy wàr an treth ‘I was on the beach’ and Yth esen vy ow qwary pel droos ‘I was playing football’.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
amanyn m butter, bolla m bowl, collel f knife, forgh f fork, holan m salt, kerhes v fetch, kyfeth m preserve (jam or marmalade), plât m plate, pot m pot, puber m pepper, shùgra m sugar
Practys Pymp – Exercise Five
Put these sentences into the imperfect tense. Check you know what each one means.
Yth eson ny ow parusy an hawnsel. Wàr an bord yma plâtys ha kellyl ha ferhy. Nyns eus hanavow. Mowns y i’n amary whath. Th’esof ow kerhes an holan ha’n puber, hag yma an kyfeth wàr an bord solabrës. Usy an amanyn i’n yêyner? Yma an leth ena kefrës. Ma an coffy i’n pot; ma’n shùgra i’n bolla. Why a yll esedha worteweth.
Practys Whe – Exercise Six
How would you say the following in Cornish?
I was talking to my friend. Our dogs were playing together in the garden. Were you waiting a long time? My grandmother wasn’t listening. They were avoiding the question.
Colloquial Cornish
The forms ma and mowns instead of yma and ymowns are colloquial.
Cornish, like every living language, has various ‘registers’ or styles for use in different contexts. We might employ a compressed register for poetry where much is said in a few words. For prose writing we will generally prefer registers that are suitable for a story, explanation, persuasion etc. For conversation we will typically opt for an informal register that is rich and versatile but also lively, carrying a strong personal stamp. Learners of a language should first concentrate on a single register until a degree of fluency has been achieved. In Book One a relatively formal prose register was taught: one that can serve as a starting point for conversation and for ordinary writing. But from now on you should always bear in mind that ‘Cornish for beginners’ is much less than the totality of Cornish.
We shall be mentioning from time to time some of the most important features of colloquial Cornish. Be prepared to encounter these variants, and gradually to start using them yourself. Here is one more for now. Colloquially mès turns into bùs or bès under the influence of English ‘but’.
Drilling
This word means exercises or training in a military context of course. But it is also used to refer to regular practising of forms and patterns in a language. It is particularly important to drill constantly when learning a Celtic tongue like Cornish, because the verbs are often phrases, not just individual words, and those phrases do not neatly correspond to the way that verbs are formed in English.
If you were learning the piano, you would certainly be required to practise every day or even several times a day. Now you are taking your Cornish to a higher level you should do the same, with verb patterns being your ‘scales and arpeggios’.
Here is a drill based on yth esof vy ow qwary ‘I am playing’ to show you how to go about it.
Present affirmative
yth esof vy ow qwary, yth esta ow qwary, yma ev ow qwary, yma hy ow qwary, yth eson ny ow qwary, yth esowgh why ow qwary, ymowns y ow qwary
Present interrogative
esof vy ow qwary? esta ow qwary? usy ev ow qwary? usy hy ow qwary? eson ny ow qwary? esowgh why ow qwary? usons y ow qwary?
Present negative
nyns esof vy ow qwary, nyns esta ow qwary, nyns usy ev ow qwary, nyns usy hy ow qwary, nyns eson ny ow qwary, nyns esowgh why ow qwary, nyns usons y ow qwary
For a simple variation, repeat the drill in a different order: say, present interrogative, present affirmative, present negative. Then you might try grouping the I-forms together, likewise we-forms, he-forms, etc. Then you might try omitting the reinforcing pronouns vy, ev, etc. (Remember that the element ta in esta cannot be dropped; but we can replace the whole of esta with esos.) Then you might try substituting colloquial th’esof, th’esta, ma, etc. Then you might repeat the whole thing based on yth esen vy ow qwary (imperfect tense). Eventually you will know the permutations well enough to shuffle them without a lot of conscious thinking.
All this requires time and patience but will be worth the investment. Ask any piano player about those scales.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson One
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LESSON DEW
LESSON TWO
Asking ‘what / which’
In English you can say ‘What language are you learning?’ or ‘Which language are you learning?’ Cornish pana or pan means ‘what’ and py means ‘which’. In practice the words are used more or less interchangeably. So you may say Pana davas esta ow tesky? or Pan tavas esta ow tesky? or Py tavas esta ow tesky? We apply Second State mutation after pana; there is no mutation after py; after pan there is usually no mutation, but we do find pan vaner ‘what kind of’ and in pan vaner ‘in what way’ as fixed expressions.
The vowel in py is short, and the word is always unstressed. In English we may place emphasis on the corresponding question word, saying for instance ‘I have to press one of these buttons. But which one?’ To achieve the same effect in Cornish we must employ a reinforcing adverb, saying for example Res yw dhybm gwasca onen a’n botodnow-ma. Saw py boton iredy? ‘I have to press one of these buttons. But which one?’ (literally, which one indeed?) We may place emphasis on pan and pana without restriction.
We must use pana, pan, py with a noun. If we wish, for instance, to select a number of cars, we will ask py kerry? ‘which ones?’ To select one car, we will generally ask py carr? But when there are only two possibilities we may alternatively use the pronoun pyneyl ‘which one (of two)’. So to choose between two cars we say py carr or just pyneyl.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
biologieth f biology, calcorieth f mathematics, colour m colours colour, enef f soul, Frynkek m French (language), fysyk f physics, gwelha best, kemyk f chemistry, lien f literature, longya v belong, sciens m science, Spaynek m Spanish (language)
Practys Seyth – Exercise Seven
Here are some more examples of pana, pan and py in conversation. Check you understand everything teenagers Wella Kent and Tamsyn Kneebone are saying.
Wella:
Pana davas esta ow tesky i’n scol?
Tamsyn:
Spaynek. Ha tejy?
Wella:
Frynkek. Saw me a vydn gasa hebma dhe godha.
Tamsyn:
Ha pan sciens esta ow tesky?
Wella:
Yth esof ow tesky oll an try: fysyk, kemyk ha biologieth.
Tamsyn:
Hèn yw ober poos! Py onen yw gwell dhys?
Wella:
Fysyk, heb dowt. Dâ yw genef oll an galcorieth i’n fysyk. Py sciens yw dâ genes sy?
Tamsyn:
Sciens dâ nyns eus màn! Lien Sowsnek hag istory yw an gwella taclow genef vy.
Wella:
Nâ nâ, hunrosow ha’n dedhyow coth yw hedna. Ma sciens ow longya dhe’n termyn usy ow tos. Dhe’n jëdh hedhyw kefrës.
Tamsyn:
Ogh Wella! Ty yw heb enef vëth!
Gasa dhe godha literally means ‘leave to fall’; this is a common way of expressing the sense ‘drop’. And an jëdh hedhyw is the Cornish way of saying ‘the present day’.
Linking question phrase to verb
Provided a question phrase made with pana / pan / py is either the subject or the direct object in the sentence, forms of the present and imperfect tenses of bos that we have learned follow the question phrase without any connecting particle. But we use link particle a (followed by Second State mutation) to connect a subject or direct object question phrase to the future tense of bos, and to all forms of mydnas, gwil, godhvos, gallos.
So for example pan sciens esta ow tesky? (present) becomes pan sciens a vynta (or wreta) desky? (future). Pana sciencys a yllysta desky i’n scol-ma? means ‘what sciences can you study in this school?‘ Py tavosow a wosta côwsel means ‘what languages can you speak?’
More about local present tense of bos in questions
We employ eus or usy as local forms of bos when pëth, pandr’, pyw or a question phrase made with pan / pana / py is the subject. We may use eus in every case (occasionally we find yma instead); usy is a justifiable alternative when we are seeking information about some person or thing of whom / which we already have some definite idea. When pëth, pandr’, pyw or a question phrase made with pan / pana / py is the direct object we use usy or usons as appropriate (not yma or ymowns).
Negative particle in open questions
To make a negative question with pan / pana / py or with pëth / pandra / pyw we employ particle ny (nyns), just as for closed questions. For example, Py gwlas ny wrug ev vysytya? ‘What country has he not visited?’
Practys Eth – Exercise Eight
How would you say the following in Cornish?
What museums will you be visiting? Which bus does she use to go to school? What sandwiches are there in the shop today? Which colour did you choose? Which pub is that?
More about asking ‘where’
We know we can use ple to ask ‘where’ someone or something is. This word is a contraction of py le (also pyle) ‘which place’. The uncontracted form is also found, especially in writing; in conversation it is principally used for asking a quick question on its own, without bothering with a full sentence. We must use the long forms of verb bos with ple and py le, because we are asking about a location. We must also learn that ple becomes pleth before a verb beginning with a vowel or h, and that both ple and py le cause Fifth State mutation of a consonant. For example, Pleth esta trigys? ‘Where do you live?’, literally meaning ‘Where are you dwelt?’. And Ple fynta mos? ‘Where will you go?’
Back in Book One Lesson Three we learned that yma is simplified to ma after ple. The same simplification occurs after py le. Likewise ymowns is always simplified to mowns after ple and py le. For example, Ple mowns y? ‘Where are they?’
Py is an alternative to ple. This is not py ‘which’ but a different py specifically meaning ‘where’. It is followed by Fifth State mutation just like ple. It becomes pyth before a vowel. Though it is largely confined to literary usage, py ma and py mowns occur conversationally alongside ple ma and ple mowns. Just as for py ‘which’, the vowel in py ‘where’ is short, and the word is always unstressed. If in English we would place emphasis on the question word, we must use ple to carry the emphatic tone or use py le (with extra stress on le).
Another way of asking ‘where’ is py tyller (literally, ‘which place’). Just put it in front of the full affirmative form of verb bos. Or use it on its own. For example, Py tyller yth eses jy trigys? ‘Where were you living?’ Py tyller yma an park kerry? ‘Where is the car park?’ If py tyller needs to be emphasized, we place extra stress on tyller, not on py (see above).
Whither, hither, thither
Nowadays these words are scarcely used. In contemporary English ‘where’, ‘here’, ‘there’ can refer to location (place at which) or destination (place to which). The same applies in Cornish for ‘where’ and ‘here’. So we can say, for example, pleth esta ow mos? ‘where are you going’ and Fatell wrusta dos obma? ‘how did you get here?’ But ena refers only to location. For destination there is a separate word dy (or dhy). So we say yma ev trigys ena ‘he lives there’ but yma ev ow mos dy ‘he is going there’.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
Breten Vian f Brittany, entrans m entrance, gorra v put (also ‘take’ to a place), wharvos v happen, take place
evreth means ‘disabled’ in the sense of having a disability. The adjective is also used as a plural noun evredhyon meaning ‘disabled people’.
Practys Naw – Exercise Nine
Here are some more examples of ‘where’ questions. Check you know what they all mean.
Ple ma an entrans rag evredhyon? Pleth eson ny ow mos? Py tyller yma an shùgra? Pleth esa hy trigys in Breten Vian? Py mowns y lebmyn? Pleth esens y de? Py tyller yth esa an class ow wharvos? Ple hallaf y gafos? Py whrug ev aga gorra?
Pobel
Pobel as a feminine singular noun means a specific people. It is also employed in the collective sense ‘people’ (= persons). When pobel is used in the collective sense, it still behaves grammatically as a feminine singular noun for the purpose of mutation after an ‘the’ (an bobel); but it behaves as if it were grammatically a collective noun for the purpose of pronoun reference: that is, we refer to pobel ‘people’ in the collective sense as y or anjy ‘they’.
Personal forms of wàr
Here are the personal forms of preposition wàr ‘on’ (also ‘on to’).
warnaf or wara vy ‘on me’
warnas or wara jy ‘on you’
warnodho ‘on him’ or ‘on it’ (masculine reference)
warnedhy ‘on her’ or ‘on it’ (feminine reference)
warnan or wara ny ‘on us’
warnowgh or wara why ‘on you’ (plural or stranger)
warnodhans or wàr anjy or warnedha (mostly confined to written Cornish) ‘on them’
Personal forms of dres
And here are the personal forms of preposition dres ‘over (across), also past’.
drestof or dresta vy ‘over me or past me’
drestos or dresta jy ‘over you or past you’
dresto or drest’ev ‘over him’ or ‘past him’; or over it or past it (masculine reference)
dresty or dresta hy ‘over her’ or ‘past her’ or ‘over it’ or ‘past it’ (feminine reference)
dreston or dresta ny ‘over us’ or ‘past us’
drestowgh or dresta why ‘over you’ or ‘past you’ (plural or stranger)
drestans or dresta (mostly confined to written Cornish) ‘over them’ or ‘past them’
Practys Deg – Exercise Ten
Look at the picture below. What can you talk about, using all you have learned so far? You can say what is not in the picture as well. Ask questions about it too.
Extra vocabulary: basnet m helmet, cauns m pavement, carven f van (also carriage of a train), dywros jyn f or jyn dywros m motorcycle, posa worth v lean against, sevel v stand still, stop (also stand up), treusva f crossing
Colloquial Cornish
Colloquially, link particle a connecting subject to verb is sometimes omitted. Be ready to encounter formal my a wra and my a vydn expressing future tense in their colloquial versions me ’ra and me ’vydn. Interrogative particle a may also be so lightly pronounced that it effectively disappears, especially before another a-sound. So you may meet ’Allaf vy …? instead of A allaf vy …? Another particle that may disappear in colloquial speech is ow, especially when its notional presence is audibly marked by Fourth State in the following verb-noun. So yth esof vy ow qwil hedna ‘I’m doing that’ might well be heard as th’eso’vy qwil hedna.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Two
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LESSON TRY
LESSON THREE
Future tense of bos
The verb bos ‘be’ has its own future tense; it is not formed with the help of mydnas or gwil. With this tense there are no ‘short’ and ‘long’ forms – the same form is used in every situation. We already know vëdh. Here is the future tense in full.
vedhaf vy or vedhama or vedham I will be
vedhys jy or vedhysta you will be
vëdh ev he will be, it will be (masculine reference)
vëdh hy she will be, it will be (feminine reference)
vëdh will be (with noun subject)
vedhyn ny we will be
vedhowgh why you will be (plural or stranger)
vedhons y they will be
If we put affirmative particle y before these forms the initial v becomes f. So y fedhaf vy, etc. With an indefinite subject y fëdh means ‘there will be’.
To make a closed question (expecting the answer yes or no) we put interrogative particle a in front of each of these forms. With an indefinite subject a vëdh? means ‘will there be?’
The underlying initial letter is b, and this surfaces in the forms we can use when saying yes to questions involving the future tense of bos. For example, A vedhys i’n kyffewy avorow? Eâ or Bedhaf. ‘Will you be at the party tomorrow? Yes.’ Compare the negative answer Nâ or Na vedhaf.
To make a negative statement we put particle ny in front of each of these forms. With an indefinite subject ny vëdh means ‘there will not be’. If we add interrogative particle a in front of particle ny, we arrive at a negative question.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
certan certain, dydro direct, floghcovia v babysit, haneth tonight, this evening, kelly v lose, miss, lesson tre m homework, radn f part, sodhva f office (place), wharvedhyans m event
Practys Udnek – Exercise Eleven
Here is a conversation over breakfast with lots of examples of the future tense of bos.
Elen:
Haneth y fëdh Demelsa ow kemeres radn in nosweyth ilow an scol.
Powl:
Py eur fëdh an wharvedhyans ow tallath?
Elen:
Hanter wosa seyth. A vedhys ena?
Powl:
Bedhaf. Bysy lowr vedhaf vy der an jëdh. Saw gas cavow dhe wandra. Me a vëdh ow trîvya dy in mes a’n sodhva yn tydro. Dhana ny wra vy kelly gweles hy ferformans wosa oll an ourys a bractys!
Elen:
Ow mabm a vëdh ow tos seyth eur rag floghcovia. Hy a wra gorra Mark ha Danyel dhe’n gwely mar ny vedhyn ny dewhelys na whath.
Powl:
Hag a vedhons y ow corfedna aga lessons tre?
Elen:
Certan yw hedna. Ow mabm a vëdh hardh ortans y!
Nosweyth ilow is literally ‘a music evening’. This is the usual way of referring to a concert taking place late in the day.
The meaning of dewhelys is ‘returned’ in the sense ‘[having come] back’. We shall be giving more explanation about verbal adjectives later in this Lesson.
The adjective hardh means ‘able and bold’ as a single notion. There is no one-word equivalent in English. Sometimes it corresponds to English ‘competent’, sometimes to ‘decisive’.
Practys Dêwdhek – Exercise Twelve
How would you say the following in Cornish? Use the future tense of bos in each.
She will be in her office tomorrow at ten o’clock. The stranger will be visiting the town’s library to research for his book. We shall be happy to meet the teacher. Where will the conference be happening? You won’t find any food there!
Asking ‘when’
To ask ‘when’ someone or something happened or will happen, Cornish says peur. This is a contraction of py eur that we have already learned in the sense ‘what time (o’clock)?’ We can also use py eur to ask ‘when’ without reference to clock time if the clock is not relevant in the context. But this is a somewhat literary usage. Since the contracted form is not used in questions about clock time, it is practical in conversation to reserve py eur for clock time, employing peur for other situations.
Both py eur and peur cause Fifth State mutation of a following consonant, just like py le and ple. For example, peur fynta prena carr nowyth? ‘when will you buy a new car?’
Another way of saying ‘when’ in a question is pana dermyn or pan termyn ‘what time’. These phrases are followed by Second State mutation, with optional linking particle a, so we could also say Pana dermyn [a] vëdh an prës ly? ‘When will lunch be?’ Pana dermyn is also commonly used for a quick question on its own, without bothering with a full sentence.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
dyweth m end, menestrouthy m orchestra, performya v perform, peswarden m quartet, powes m rest, pause, presentya v present, sôlô m (also adjective) solo, torr f belly, whyst interj hush
Practys Tredhek – Exercise Thirteen
Powl has just arrived at the school concert and found Elen already in her seat.
Powl:
Pana dermyn a vëdh Demelsa ow performya hy darn?
Elen:
Hy a vëdh ow presentya dywweyth. In peswarden ha sôlô.
Powl:
Wèl, peur fëdh hy kensa darn?
Elen:
Obma an dowlen. Knack kyns an powes y fëdh an peswarden. Ha’n darn sôlô a vëdh ogas dhe’n dyweth.
Powl:
Ha peur fëdh an powes? Ny wrug vy debry soper. Hanaf tê ha tesen ganso a vëdh pòr wolcùm.
Elen:
Py eur i’n jëdh nyns esta ow predery a’n dorr iredy?
Powl:
Whyst! An menestrouthy yw parys dhe dhallath.
Pedn and dyweth both correspond to English ‘end’, but they are not interchangeable. Pedn (which also means ‘head’) refers to the end of a physical object or to the end of a period of time. Dyweth refers to the cessation or completion of some action or event.
Powes is both a verb-noun and an ordinary noun. One of its uses as an ordinary noun is to refer to the ‘interval’ in a performance.
Negative particle ny (nyns) is another little word with a short vowel that cannot be stressed. So we use the same approach as for py when we wish to add emphasis.
Menestrouthy (literally ‘minstrelsy’) is the typical Cornish word for any group of musicians. Orkestra is generally reserved for large professional orchestras.
Practys Peswardhek – Exercise Fourteen
How would you say the following in Cornish?
When do the lessons start every morning? When will you finish the job? When did he go to bed? When does the café open? When can I leave?
Verbal adjectives
In Book One we met four verbal adjectives: aswonys, devedhys, gorfednys, gyllys. So far in this Book we have learned two more: terrys and dewhelys. Almost every verb has an adjective associated with it, describing the ‘action’ of the verb as applied to something. Often the implication is that the action has been completed. For example, ‘written work’, ‘burnt cakes’. The verbal adjective is sometime called the past participle. But this name is best avoided because the sense is not always past.
In Cornish the verbal adjective is usually formed with the ending ys. Thus, ober scrifys ‘written work’ from scrifa ‘write’, tesednow leskys ‘burnt cakes’ from lesky ‘burn’. Note that e + ys becomes ës and i + ys becomes ies, so we form verbal adjectives degës ‘closed’ and aspies ‘seen’ from degea ‘close’ and aspia ‘catch sight of’. We express the ‘agent’ of a verbal adjective with the preposition gans. For example, lyver scrifys gans an Bardh Meur ‘a book written by the Grand Bard’.
Cornish also frequently uses the verbal adjective with verb bos ‘be’. Sometimes this corresponds to similar usage in English. For example, leskys yw an bara cras-ma ‘this toast is burnt’. But the Cornish expression is often equivalent to a different construction in modern English. For example, scrifys yw an lyver solabrës ‘the book has already been written’. In sentences of this kind, words like solabrës ‘already’ and lebmyn ‘now’ can be very important to clarify the time of the action. Distinguish debrys yw an tesednow solabrës ‘the cakes have [already] been eaten’ from debrys yw an tesednow lebmyn ‘the cakes are [now] being eaten’.
Devedhys and gyllys are verbal adjectives with an unexpected form. Here are a couple more: gwrës ‘made, done’, rës ‘given’. As we observed in Book One, gyllys yw ev is the usual way of saying ‘he has gone’; devedhys yw hy is the usual way of saying ‘she has come / arrived’.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
arnowyth modern, boneyl … bò ‘either … or’, classyk classic(al), dre vrâs on the whole, mostly, dyvers diverse, different, ervira v decide, freth eager, energetic, golsowyas m listener, mûsyk m music, pryntya v print, scolor m (school) pupil, tackya dêwla clap, applaud, tawesek silent
When used with the verbal adjective formed from a verb of action, gans means ‘by’ expressing the agent of that action.
Practys Pymthek – Exercise Fifteen
Replace the verb-nouns in square brackets with the corresponding verbal adjectives to complete the story. Make sure you understand the story before moving on.
[Dos] dhe’n nosweyth ilow yw Elen ha Powl. Ymowns y [esedha] in scol Demelsa, ow colsowes mûsyk an scoloryon. [Parusy] gans an flehes yw darnow dyvers. Yma pùb darn a vûsyk [scrifa] i’n dowlen. [Pryntya] ena yma hanow pùb flogh kefrës. Dre vrâs an mûsyk [performya] i’n nosweyth ilow yw darnow, boneyl classyk bò arnowyth, dôwysys gans an dhescadoryon. Saw Demelsa a wrug dôwys an mûsyk [presentya] gensy in hy sôlô crowd. [Ervira] yw hy dhe wil performans pòr dhâ. [Mos] tawesek yw an wolsowysy. Ha lebmyn an darn yw [gorfedna] hag yma an bobel ow tackya dêwla yn freth.
Colloquial Cornish
Unlike py, particles like ny (nyns), and the possessive pronouns ow, dha, y, hy and y, all of which may never carry a stress accent, the personal pronouns my (me), vy, etc may be spoken without stress or stressed for emphasis. When there is no emphasis, vy and jy (sy) after an inflected verb or preposition are frequently replaced by ma and ta respectively.
These replacements ma and ta likewise never carry a stress accent. So we spell them as part of the preceding word, and the result is often somewhat simplified. For examples, instead of yth esof vy ‘I am not’ we can say colloquially th’esoma. We have already learned many instances of ta: osta for os jy, esta for esos jy, vynta for vydnys jy, wreta for wreth jy, ylta (or yllysta) for yllyth jy, wosta for wodhes jy. The ta-forms were originally colloquial but have spread widely to all but deliberately formal language; and ma-forms are treated similarly by some speakers.
Alternatively, if you wish to put a lot of emphasis on vy or jy, you can combine them with ma / ta. For example, yth esoma vy ‘I am’ or yth esta jy ‘you are’. If we wish to say an emphatic ‘me’ or ‘you’ on its own, without a verb, in Cornish that is mavy and tejy, each stressed on the second syllable. We first met tejy right back at the very beginning of Book One.
Like ma and ta there is va (never stressed) which may be substituted colloquially for subject pronoun ev. Thus yma ev ‘he is’, for instance, can become yma va. But va is not employed as widely as ma and ta. With inflected verbs it is largely confined to forms of bos and gwil ending in a vowel; it is not used at all with inflected prepositions.
Unlike ma and ta we write va as a separate word except after eu. For yw va there is also a simplified one-word alternative ywa. And va cannot be combined with ev. Instead ev has a forcefully emphatic form of its own, eev (stressed on the second syllable), for use with or without a verb, but not found with inflected prepositions.
There are no alternatives for the personal pronouns hy, ny, why. Of the two words for ‘they’, anjy is colloquial in origin; so in very formal Cornish we should really only employ y.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Three
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LESSON PESWAR
LESSON FOUR
Asking ‘how’
Both fatell and fatla mean ‘how’. Both are followed by Second State mutation. We may stress fatell on either the first or second syllable; fatla is always stressed on its first syllable and abbreviates to fatl’ before vowels in forms of bos. So fatell wreta mos tre alebma? and fatla wreta mos tre alebma? both mean ‘how will you get home from here?’
For a quick question on its own, without bothering with a full sentence, we must use fatla. Likewise we only employ fatla in the fixed expression fatla genes? ‘how are you?
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
cosel quiet, peaceful, cùsk m sleep, down deep, dysqwedhes v show, êwnans m repair, govel f workshop, garage (for repairs), gwertha v sell, in mes phr out, pory v browse, spladna v shine, tôkyn m tôknys ticket, tremenyades f passenger (female), tremenyas m passenger
Practys Whêtek – Exercise Sixteen
Here is a short conversation demonstrating the two ways of saying ‘how’.
Lowda:
Fatell allaf vy mos dhe Penzans? Yma ow harr i’n wovel rag êwnans.
Clemens:
Te a yll kemeres kyttryn pò train.
Lowda:
Yma lies kyttryn, mès termyn hir yw an viaj, ha chaunjya in Trûrû. Fatl’yw euryow an train dhe gafos?
Clemens:
Checkya wàr lînen, heb mar.
Lowda:
Fatla?
Clemens:
Ogh, Lowda! Êsy yw. Gwra kerhes dha fon in mes. My a vydn dysqwedhes. Hag y hyllyn ny prena an tôkyn i’n kettermyn.
Proleptic infinitive
We first encountered dhe gafos ‘available’ in Book One, Lesson Seven. This grammatical construction (dhe + verb-noun) is called the ‘proleptic infinitive’ when it forms such an adjectival phrase. Other instances corresponding to English ‘available’ in specific contexts are dhe dhebry, dhe redya, dhe brena. Note how English reverses this last idea in the phrase ‘for sale’. Also common are dhe wetyas ‘expected’ and whel dhe wil ‘work (available or waiting to be done)’.
Heb + verb-noun makes a negative equivalent, always with the addition of a possessive pronoun (optional, and rare, for the proleptic infinitive itself). So, for example, heb y wetyas ‘unexpected’.
Practys Seytek – Exercise Seventeen
Here is an exercise to revise the formation of adverbs from adjectives. If in doubt, check back to Book One Lesson Twelve.
Replace the adjectives in square brackets with adverbs to complete the story. We shall learn more about Cornish word order in later lessons, but for now you can see that an adverb formed with yn is frequently found at the end of its sentence.
Clemens ha Lowda a wrug checkya euryow an train [êsy]. Yma an kyttrynyow ow mos inter Austol ha Penzans [menowgh] mès [lent]. Yma an trainow ow viajya [uskys]. Ytho Lowda a wrug dôwys an train. An tremenyas esedhys ryb Lowda o codhys dhe gùsk [down]. Yth esa an howl ow spladna wàr an pow [tobm] i’n jëdh-na. Yth esa buhas ha deves ow pory wàr an parcow [cosel]. Yth esa an dremenyades adâl Lowda ow pory wàr hy fon [bysy]. Gwas an train a wrug gwertha coffy dhe Lowda [cuv]. An train a wrug dos dhe Penzans [scon].
Inflected comparative of adjectives
If an adjective consists of just a single syllable, it can be given an inflected ‘comparative’ form by adding suffix -a. For example, cot ‘short’, cotta ‘shorter’; hir ‘long’, hirha ‘longer’; pell ‘far’, pelha ‘farther, further’; wheg ‘sweet’, whecka ‘sweeter’. You will see from these examples that forming comparative adjectives of this kind is not easy – a change of consonant before the suffix is often required. For the time being, it will be best to learn each comparative as you meet it. There are not so very many of them, and a pattern will gradually emerge.
Most ordinary (so called ‘positive’) adjectives are placed after their noun in Cornish. But comparative adjectives generally precede their noun, though they can be placed after the noun in certain circumstances, especially for emphasis. So, eglos vrâs ‘a big church’, brâssa eglos ‘a bigger church’, eglos vrâssa whath or vëth ‘an even bigger church’. Note how mutation does not apply to adjectives that precede their noun.
Saying ‘than’
The Cornish word for ‘than’ is ès. There is a longer version ages which may always be used instead, but it is less common. Ages has inflected forms, but these are rarely encountered outside of literature. If in doubt, use ès.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
contentya v satisfy, effethus effective, efficient, jyn m jynys engine (also machine), lewyas v steer, pil m battery, scav light (weight), torrva f breakdown, tredanek electric
Practys Êtek – Exercise Eighteen
Here is a conversation with lots of comparative adjectives in it. Note how in lively (and here somewhat adversarial) conversation the possessive pronouns will often be reinforced by adding the personal pronoun. For instance, dha garr ‘your car’, dha garr jy ‘your car’.
Bastyn:
Ow harr vy yw creffa ès dha garr jy.
Allan:
Fatell ylta bos sur a hedna?
Bastyn:
Y jyn ev yw brâssa.
Allan:
Yw, mès dha garr jy yw cotha ès ow harr vy. Nyns yw an jyn pòr effethus.
Bastyn:
Ow harr vy yw scaffa ès dha garr jy inwedh.
Allan:
Eâ. Rag dha garr jy yw cotha ès ow harr vy. Tredanek yw ow harr vy. An pil yw poos, ytho oll an carr yw possa.
Bastyn:
Wèl, ow harr vy yw gwell heb dowt. Whecka yw dh’y lewyas.
Allan:
Saw contentys ov vy kefrës. Yma torrva dhyso pùb mis!
Rag ‘for’ is used as a conjunction just like in English.
Lewyas means ‘steer’ in any context. When talking of a car it is also used as an alternative to drîvya meaning ‘drive’.
No Cornish equivalent of ‘the … one’
English can avoid using a noun with an adjective when the noun in question is already known. We can say ‘a red car’. But if we already know we are talking about cars, we may prefer to say simply ‘a red one’. Similarly, in Cornish we may say carr rudh or just onen rudh. English can use the same construction with the definite article. So we may say, ‘the red car’ or ‘the red one’. But Cornish cannot do this. With the definite article you must state the noun explicitly. So, an carr rudh is the only option in this case.
Onen referring to feminine noun
An adjective after onen behaves just as it does when used with the relevant noun. So carr bian, onen bian ‘a small car, a small one’ but dywros vian, onen vian ‘a small bike, a small one’. A comparative adjective is typically placed after onen, so tecka eglos, onen decka ‘a more beautiful church, a more beautiful one’.
Saying ‘everyone’ and ‘every one’
Pùbonen is usually written as one word when it means ‘everyone’ referring to people. In English we can use ‘every one’ (written as two words) referring to people or things. The corresponding usage in Cornish is kenyver onen, likewise referring to either people or things. An alternative to pùbonen is pùb huny. Pùb huny oll is more emphatic, like kettep pedn that we already know. We find the same huny in the phrase lies huny ‘many [people]’. Contrast lies pobel ‘many peoples’. In literature, but not in conversation, we may encounter pùb alone in the sense ‘everyone’; also peb and pob with the same meaning.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
colm codna m [neck]tie, dyllas m clothes, gans rach carefully, gwydnrudh pink, plos dirty, rolya v roll, trog dyllas m suitcase
Practys Nawnjek – Exercise Nineteen
Replace those nouns that you can with onen. And make any consequential changes. Be sure you understand the meaning of the passage.
Yma Powl ow trùssa dyllas rag viaj negys a beswar dëdh. Yma va ow tôwys colmow codna. Yma ev ow trùssa colm blou ha colm rudh. Colm melen inwedh. Mès an colm gwer yw tecka – yma Powl ow kemeres hedna kefrës. Soweth, an colm rudh yw plos. In y dyller yma Powl ow trùssa colm gwydnrudh. Pùb colm yw rolys gans rach ha gorrys i’n trog dyllas.
Practys Ugans – Exercise Twenty
Here is a short passage that uses present, past and future tenses. How might we put it into Cornish? Extra vocabulary is supplied immediately after the passage.
Tomorrow will be the tenth anniversary of my graduation. I studied engineering at the university in Bristol. Now I am a civil engineer specializing in transport infrastructure. Last Saturday I returned to Bristol for a dinner with the other engineering students of my year. We also celebrated in this way five years ago. Now our plan is to meet again after five more years. In my profession it is important to network well. So I shall stay in touch with former colleagues.
Extra vocabulary: pedn bloodh m anniversary (also birthday), gradhyans m graduation, injynorieth f engineering, ûnyversyta f university, Brystow Bristol, cyvyl adj civil, arbenygya v specialize (for ‘specializing’ you can use the verbal adjective), caryans m transport, is-starneth m infrastructure, dewheles v return, gôlya v celebrate, porpos m purpose, intention, plan, galwans m profession, formya v form, make, roosweyth m network, remainya v remain, stay, kestaf m contact
Cornish expresses ‘it is important to network well’ as ‘busy is making a good network’. For ‘former’ we employ adverb kyns ‘previously’ as an attributive adjective; in this usage it is always in First State.
Colloquial Cornish
In some words where an s-sound is derived from Old Cornish d, speakers with a colloquial West Cornwall pronunciation may use a j-sound instead; and this can also be written. For example, nyns and wosa are often pronounced nynj and woja (or oja) in West Cornwall. (Be careful: you may also hear osta pronounced as oja.) Sometimes Old Cornish d did not develop into an s-sound, but a j-alternative nonetheless emerged by analogy. For example, descajor alongside descador ‘teacher’. Analogy has also operated to produce a few j-alternatives where there never was an Old Cornish d at all. For example, ujy, ujons alongside usy, usons.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Four
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LESSON PYMP
LESSON FIVE
Preterite tense with link particle a
The preterite is the ‘simple past’ tense. It indicates that the ‘action’ of the verb is regarded as a past event rather than a process that stretched over past time. It corresponds to two tenses in English: ‘did’ and ‘had done’. The context usually tells you which is intended, but the latter sense can also be clarified with an adverb like solabrës ‘already’ or kyns ‘previously’.
For most verbs it is also possible to form an inflected past tense with the same meanings. But only what is technically the he/she/noun form connected to the subject by link particle a is common in colloquial registers.
There are two endings for this form of the verb.
Most verbs use exclusively as. For example, we can say ev a wrug ponya dhe’n scol or ev a bonyas dhe’n scol ‘He ran to school’.
A relatively small number of verbs use ys. Generally, if the verb-noun ends in el we employ ending ys; though an everyday alternative form in as is also used for a lot of these verbs. For example, my a wrug leverel or my a leverys or me a lavaras ‘I said’. We also find ys employed in some cases when the verb-noun ends in y; again an everyday form in as may exist in parallel. For example, my a wrug predery or my a brederys or me a brederas ‘I thought’.
Continuous action / state marked by tense only in the past
The ordinary present tense of a Cornish verb may or may not indicate continuous action. So yth esof vy ow tebry kig can mean ‘I am eating meat’ (continuous) or simply ‘I eat meat’ (a statement of what I do and always do). If the context is ambiguous, the first meaning can be clarified by adding, for example, i’n eur-ma ‘now’. And the second meaning can be made plain by adding, for instance, pùpprës ‘always’.
The ordinary future tense of a Cornish verb may or may not indicate continuous action. So me a vydn debry kig or me a wra debry kig or me a vëdh ow tebry kig can all mean ‘I will eat meat’ or, with specifically continuous sense, ‘I will be eating meat’. And it makes no difference if these three are reformulated with affirmative particle y. So we can also say y fydnaf vy debry kig or y whrav vy debry kig or y fedhaf vy ow tebry kig. These too may mean ‘I will eat meat’ or ‘I will be eating meat’, according to context.
When we talk about the past in Cornish, however, we do not rely solely on context or adverbs to distinguish between a continuous and a non-continuous sense. We use the imperfect tense when the sense is continuous and we wish to make that clear. So yth esen vy ow tebry kig means ‘I was eating meat’; whereas me a dhebras kig means simply ‘I ate meat’, as a statement about the past that does not specifically indicate any continuous action.
It should therefore come as no surprise that we rarely encounter the preterite tense of any verb that expresses a state rather than an action – because states by their very nature are usually continuous.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
areth f speech (also lecture), cana v sing, chyffar m (commercial) deal(ing), côta m coat, creslu m police, cris m shirt, blouse, dhe dybmyn to pieces, dyscowntya v discount, eskys f shoe, gohebyth m reporter, gwlanek m jumper, iselbris cheap, ker dear, expensive, lavrak m (pair of) trousers, lenwel v fill, losten f skirt, penvenyster m prime minister, prenas m purchase, pris m price (also prize), tobma v heat, warm up, trouvya discover, find, whilas v seek, look for
Practys Onen warn Ugans – Exercise Twenty One
Here are some sentences expressing continuous action in the past. Put them into the preterite tense to remove the specific sense of continuity. All of the verbs in this exercise make their preterite with ending as after link particle a connecting the subject to the verb. And the preterite ending replaces the final suffix of the verb-noun.
Example
Yth esa hy owth eva tê ‘She was drinking tea.’ This will become Hy a evas tê ‘She drank tea’.
Yth esa an gohebyth ow colsowes areth an penvenyster. Yth esa aga thas ow metya gansans i'n gorsaf. Yth esewgh why ow cortos i’n lost cabm. Yth esen ny ow studhya yn tywysyk. Yth esens y ow whilas bargen dâ. Yth esen vy ow kerdhes tre. Yth esa an creslu ow whythra an mater. Yth eses jy ow performya yn spladn i’n nosweyth ilow-na. Yth esa oll y dhylajow ow codha dhe dybmyn. Yth esen vy ow tôwys gans rach.
Practys Dew warn Ugans – Exercise Twenty Two
Here are some sentences with preterite verbs. Put them into the imperfect tense expressing continuous action in the past.
Example
Hy gour a dhescas Kernowek ‘Her husband learned Cornish’. This will become Yth esa hy gour ow tesky Kernowek ‘Her husband was learning Cornish’.
My a jeckyas ow rîvbost. An penvenyster a gowsas yn tâ. An havysy a lenwys an treth. An vowes a ganas yn teg. Anjy a whilas aga hothman heb y gafos. Ny a gomptyas an gwedrednow i’n amary brâs. Coweth ow ranjy a barusys an soper. Why a scrifas messach wheg. An bobel a grias in mes. Y vroder a neyjas i’n mor.
Practys Try warn Ugans – Exercise Twenty Three
Here is a summary of Elen Tonkin’s visit to the January sales one Saturday morning.
Dre vrâs yma Elen ow prena lies tra wàr lînen, mès hy a wrug vysytya an shoppys de, rag kemeres prow a’n chyffar dyscowntys. Hy a gerdhas wàr an strêtys prenassa in cres an dre, ow whilas dyllas a brisyow isel. I’n kensa shoppa hy a viras orth côta gwâv, mès nyns o va dyscowntys. Soweth, re ger. Ny wrug hy prena hedna. Saw in shoppa aral hy a drouvyas lavrak ha dew wlanek. In tressa shoppa hy a gafas eskyjyow – anjy o bargen pòr dhâ. Wosa prena an taclow-ma, Elen a wrug eva hanaf tê ha debry breghtan cras tobmys in coffyva vysy. Hy a vetyas ena gans hy hothman Joyas ha dysqwedhes oll hy frenasow dhedhy. Joyas a wrug prena dyllas inwedh – try cris iselbris, ha kerha losten kefrës.
Chyffar dyscowntys is a fixed phrase meaning ‘sale’ or ‘sales’ in the sense of a time of discounted offers.
Here the verb-noun dysqwedhes means ‘showed’. When there is no change of grammatical subject, we do not have to employ a second preterite verb after ha ‘and’ (though we can if we wish; it’s a matter of style).
Comparative formed with moy
When an adjective consists of more than one syllable, we usually form its comparative with moy ‘more’. Adjectives ending in a suffix such as ak or ek or us always make their comparative in this way. So, gwynsak, moy gwynsak ‘windy, windier’; howlek, moy howlek ‘sunny, sunnier’; troblus, moy troblus ‘troublesome, more troublesome’.
Comparatives made with moy follow their noun without any mutation For example, bledhen moy lowen ‘a happier year’. If we use particle yn to convert such a comparative adjective into an adverb, moy does not undergo Fifth State mutation. So we say yn moy lowen ‘more happily’.
Comparatives that buck the system
You will meet a few adjectives of more than one syllable that form a comparative as explained in Lesson Four. Try to learn them when they appear. Common ones are bian, byhadnha (also simplifed spelling byhadna) ‘small, smaller’, êsy, êsya ‘easy, easier’, hager, hackra ‘ugly, uglier’, isel, iselha ‘low, lower’, sempel, sempla ‘simple, simpler’, uhel, uhelha ‘high, higher’. Occasionally either method may be employed. For example, cales ‘hard’, moy cales or calassa ‘harder’; medhel ‘soft’, moy medhel or medalha ‘softer’; uskys ‘fast’, moy uskys or uskyssa ‘faster’.
A few comparatives are very irregular. Two of the most common are gwell ‘better’ and lacka ‘worse’. The form of these words cannot be predicted from the corresponding positive adjectives dâ ‘good’ and drog ‘bad, evil’.
If we wish to use gwell as an adverb, we say simply gwell ès ‘better than’, or we may use the adverbial phrase dhe well ‘better’. For example, yma Barbery ow cana yn tâ ‘Barbara sings well’ but yma Marget ow cana gwell ès Barbery ‘Margaret sings better than Barbara’ or yma Marget ow cana dhe well ‘Margaret sings better’.
The first of these constructions is also available for lacka; but not the second. So using the same example we may only say yma Marget ow cana lacka ès Barbery ‘Margaret sings worse than Barbara’.
The first construction is in fact very common with adjectives much more generally. Many have the ability to function adverbially with or without a preceding yn. For example, ev a wra spêdya [yn] sur ‘he’s bound to succeed’.
Vocabulary
Here are a few more new words.
amendya v put right, mend, bufê m buffet, carygel f trolley, eseth f seat
Practys Peswar warn Ugans – Exercise Twenty Four
Lowda and her friend Morwena live in St Austell. Morwena is listening to Lowda chat about her trip to Penzance the previous day.
Ow viaj dhe Penzans de o êsya ès dell wrug vy gwetyas. An train yw moy uskys ès an kyttryn. Kyttrynyow yw lenta ès an train pùpprës. Hag eseth i’n train a vëdh moy medhel i’wedh. Nyns ov vy sur mars yw an pris iselha, saw my a ylly eva hanaf a goffy dhywar an garygel bufê ha pòr wolcùm o hedna. Th’esa ow harr vy i’n wovel. Lebmyn yma’n carr ow mos dhe well. Amendys yw va yn tâ. Nebes gwell o an gewar, dell hevel, obma in Austol. An howl, th’esa ow spladna myttyn whath. Eâ, in gwir, yth esa ebron dhu ow tos scon dhyworth an west. Saw an gewar o hackra in Penzans solabrës, heb dowt. Gwyns ha glaw ena der oll an jëdh.
Note ès dell ‘than’ before a verb. We have already encountered dell meaning ‘as’ in the phrases dell hevel ‘as it seems’ (often equivalent to English ‘apparently’),and dell wosta ‘as you know’, dell yw ûsys 'as usual'. It is followed by Second State mutation.
Ha’n eseth … a vëdh moy medhel is not making a statement strictly about the future, but about something that both is and always will be the case. The future tense of bos sometimes carries this nuance. Lowda might have said yw moy medhel, but she has already used yw twice to say that the train is faster and buses are slower. She took a stylistic decision. She thereby avoided another repeition; and also achieved a triad of dh-sounds (assonance) while rhyming a vëdh with i’wedh. Such effects are typical of good fluent Cornish, even in conversation.
Nouns as attributive adjectives
In Book One Lesson Ten we noted that a noun specifying the material from which something is made is not usually put into Second State when it functions adjectivally after a feminine singular noun; so that pluven blobm ‘pencil’ (literally ‘lead pen’) must be considered an exception to the rule. In fact there is a general principle that any noun remains in First State when it acts as an attributive adjective; but exceptions occur in some specific noun + noun combinations, and these must be learned as they are encountered.
Carygel bufê ‘buffet trolley’ is true to the general principle. Carygel is feminine singular; bufê nonetheless remains in First State.
Personal forms of in
Here are the personal forms of preposition in.
inof ‘in me’
inos ‘in you’
ino or etto ‘in him’ or ‘in it’ (masculine reference)
inhy ‘in her’ or ‘in it’ (feminine reference)
inon or ina ny ‘in us’
inowgh or ina why ‘in you’ (plural or stranger)
inans or inhans or ina (mostly confined to written Cornish) ‘in them’
Personal forms of in dadn
And here are the personal forms of preposition in dadn.
in dadnof or i’dadn vy ‘under me’
in dadnos or i’dadn jy ‘under you’
in dadno or i’dadn ev ‘under him’ or ‘under it’ (masculine reference)
in dadny or i’dadn hy ‘under her’ or ‘under it’ (feminine reference)
in dadnon or i’dadn ny ‘under us’
in dadnowgh or i’dadn why ‘under you’ (plural or stranger)
in dadnans or in dadna (mostly confined to written Cornish) ‘under them’
The forms beginning i’ can drop this first syllable, so we also hear just dadn vy, dadn jy, etc.
Practys Pymp warn Ugans – Exercise Twenty Five
All the Tonkins are in the coffee shop today. Look at the picture below. What can you talk about, using all you have learned so far? You can say what is not in the picture as well. Ask questions about it too. Extra vocabulary is supplied.
Extra vocabulary: airêwnans m air conditioning, brow coffy m coffee grinder, comptyer m counter, fav coffy col coffee beans, gorher m cover, lid, lemyga v sip, lugarn m lamp, nen m ceiling, pîbel f pipe, rol prîsyow price list, sagh keyn m knapsack, scavel serth f bar stool, servyour m tray
Colloquial Cornish
We have seen how formal yth esof vy ‘I am’ can become th’esoma in more colloquial Cornish. There are speakers who change s to r in all the long forms of bos, so they say yth erof or yth erof vy when speaking formally and th’erof vy or th’eroma when speaking more colloquially.
It is also possible to clip the vowel from the end of -ma, in which case you will hear th’esom or th’erom.
In questions and negative sentences ny wrug vy often becomes ny wrugam or ny wrug avy. And in negative sentences particles ny and nyns (nynj) may be replaced with na and nag.
Try out these various options to see what suits you best.
There is a broad phenomenon of simplifying words in colloquial Cornish. We may drop final gh, final v. We may drop dh / th in the combinations rdh and rth; and w in the combination wr. Accordingly, flogh, fav, fordh, worth, wrug may be pronounced as flo, fa, for, wor, rug. The pronunciation rug may also occur instead of whrug. Apostrophes can be used to show what has been dropped but they can appear cumbersome and are not to everyone’s taste. Be prepared, then, to encounter rugam, therom, thesta etc.
You may also meet an vor, which is the way some write an fordh, to be clearer about how it is correctly pronounced.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Five
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LESSON WHE
LESSON SIX
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
arweth f signal, kenderow m male cousin, kenytherow f female cousin, Keresk Exeter, keur m choir, modryp f aunt, omdhon m behaviour (also verb ‘behave’), ôwnter m uncle, selwel v save, seny v sound, play (music etc), tros m noise, whybonel f flute
Practys Whe warn Ugans – Exercise Twenty Six
Here is an extract from Demelsa’s diary.
De Sul ny a wrug mos dhe Keresk, rag vysytya ow modryp Maryan ha’m ôwnter Jâgô, ha’m kenderow Jûlyan, ha’m kenytherow Vernôna. Powl o gàn lewyor dy. Ow mos dy hag ow tos arta i’n carr yth esen vy wàr an eseth dhelergh gans ow breder. Uthyk o omdhon Danyel der agan viaj dhe Keresk, Ha’n fordh yw hir – cans mildir! Soweth, scant nyns eus arweth dhâ in nebes radnow a’n fordh, ha my owth assaya ûsya an appyow i’m fon. In Keresk ny oll a dhebras kydnyow Sul, ha kerdhes in park poblek gans aga heun, try hy bian, dohajëdh. Ha me a wrug presentya ow darn crowd sôlô mes a’n nosweyth ilow. Yma Vernôna in menestrouthy hy scol, ow seny whybonel, hag yma hy ow cana i’n keur, mès ny yll hy gwil sôlô yn tâ. Mabm a wrug agan drîvya tre. I’n gwelha prës yth esa Danyel ow cùsca an fordh tre, ytho selwys en ny a’y dros!
Although scant is usually employed with a negative, the meaning is just ‘barely, hardly, scarcely’; there is no ‘not’ in the corresponding English sentence.
We often use mes [a] as a shorter alternative to in mes [a], especially when no actual motion is involved.
Personal forms of heb
Here are the personal forms of preposition heb 'without'.
hebof or hebam ‘without me’
hebos or heba jy ‘without you’
heptho or heb ev ‘without him’ or ‘without it’ (masculine reference)
hepthy or heb hy ‘without her’ or ‘without it’ (feminine reference)
hebon or heba ny ‘without us’
hebowgh or heba why ‘without you’ (plural or stranger)
hepthans or heptha (mostly confined to written Cornish) ‘without them’
Heb is a negative notion, and occasionally it corresponds to English ‘not’. For example, we say res yw dhis heb gwil hedna ‘you must not do that’, corresponding to affirmative res yw dhis gwil hedna ‘you must do that’. And compare heb y wetyas explained in Lesson Four.
Personal forms of ryb
Here are the personal forms of preposition ryb ‘beside’.
rybof or rybam ‘beside me’
rybos or ryba jy ‘beside you’
ryptho or ryb ev ‘beside him’ or ‘beside it’ (masculine reference)
rypthy or ryb hy ‘beside her’ or ‘beside it’ (feminine reference)
rybon or ryba ny ‘beside us’
rybowgh or ryba why ‘beside you’ (plural or stranger)
rypthans or ryptha (mostly confined to written Cornish) ‘beside them’
Practys Seyth warn Ugans – Exercise Twenty Seven
Jana Bligh is one of Elen Tonkin’s cousins. Another is Peder Noon, who loves walking the Cornish coast. Look at the picture below. What can you talk about, using all you have learned so far? You can say what is not in the picture as well. Ask questions about it too.
Extra vocabulary: caregek rocky, gorwel m horizon, gùlan f gull, lavrak cot m (pair of) shorts, leder m slope (also bias), serth steep, trûlergh m path, yet m gate
Preterite forms of dos and mos
The preterite tenses of dos ‘come’ and mos ‘go’ are irregular. The he/she/noun forms are deuth and êth. Particle a is not used with êth. We say, for example, hy a dheuth ajy ‘she came in’ and a dheuth hy ajy? 'did she come in?', but hy êth dhe ves ‘she went away’ and êth hy dhe ves? 'did she go away?'
Preterite tense of bos
The verb bos also has a preterite tense. Whereas the imperfect tense of bos expresses ‘being’ in the past as an on-going state at that time, the preterite is used when the ‘being’ is considered as an historical event. Here are a few more examples. An ober a veu gorfednys “the work was finished (preterite: it got done)”. Contrast an ober o gorfednys ‘the work was finished (imperfect: in a finished state)”. Gyllys vowns y ‘they were off (preterite: there and then)’. But gyllys êns y ‘they had gone (imperfect: ‘sometime before)’.
Here are all the forms.
veuv vy or veuma I was
veus jy or veusta you were
veu ev or veuva he was or it was (masculine reference)
veu hy she was or it was (feminine reference)
veu was / were (with noun subject)
veun ny we were
vewgh why you were (plural or stranger)
vowns y they were
If we put affirmative particle y before these forms the initial v becomes f. So y feuv vy, etc. However, as with the preterites of other verbs, it is the he/she/noun form which is most common in affirmative statements for all persons. For example, ny a veu sqwith ‘we got tired’.
To make a closed question (expecting the answer yes or no) we put interrogative particle a in front of each of these forms.
The underlying initial letter is b, and this surfaces in the forms we can use when saying yes to questions involving the preterite tense of bos. For example, A veu hy marow in Kernow? Eâ or Beu. ‘Did she die in Cornwall? Yes.’ Compare the negative answer Nâ or Na veu.
To make a negative statement we put particle ny in front of each of these forms. With an indefinite subject ny vëdh means ‘there will not be’. If we add interrogative particle a in front of particle nyns, we arrive at a negative question.
The preterite of bos is used without a particle but with Second State mutation when a descriptive adjective (or noun) precedes it. This is same usage as for the future tense. So yêyn veu an gewar de ‘the weather got cold yesterday’. Compare yêyn vëdh an gewar avorow ‘the weather will be cold tomorrow’.
Wharvos ‘happen’ is a compound of bos. The spelling of preterite wharva for expected wharveu is the outcome of regular sound change. For example, pandra wharva? ‘what happened?’
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
acordyng dhe according to, arhadow m order(s), bedh m grave, tomb, bonkya v knock (single blow), codna m neck, cort f court, demedhyans m marriage, dhe’n dor down (literally ‘to the ground’), droglam m (unfortunate) accident, dydhemedhy v divorce, in rag forwards, kerensa f love, kert hir m lorry, margh horn m bike, mernans m death, posyjyon m depression, despair, rêwlys regular, soweny v prosper, succeed, spessly especially, teylu m family
Practys Eth warn Ugans – Exercise Twenty Eight
Here is some more information about the Tonkin family, using all the tenses of bos you have learned so far.
Elen Tonkin o demedhys unweyth kyns. Demelsa Pentreath yw hy flogh a’n demedhyans-na. Dydhemedhys veu Elen ha’y kensa gour wosa termyn cot. Nyns esa aga ferthynas ow soweny màn. Yma Demelsa ow qweles hy thas yn rêwlys whath, acordyng dhe arhadow an gort, hag anjy yw cothmans dâ lowr. Dre vrâs.
Dhe Demelsa yth esa try hanter-broder. Mès tra uthyk a wharva. An kensa broder, Ross Tonkin, a veu marow in droglam udn vledhen alebma. Ev o tredhek bloodh. Ev êth wàr y vargh horn, ha kert hir a wrug y vonkya dhe’n dor, ha terrys veu y godna. Pòr drist yw Elen ha Powl wosa mernans aga mab, ha trist yw an try flogh aral kefrës. Elen ha Demelsa spessly, ymowns y ow vysytya an bedh yn fenowgh. Saw ervirys yw an teylu dhe dhon aga bêwnans in rag heb codha dhe bosyjyon. Y fëdh Ross remembrys gans oll aga herensa pùpprës.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Six
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LESSON SEYTH
LESSON SEVEN
More about imperatives
We already know that a command can be formed with gwra or gwrewgh plus a verb-noun. For example, gwra fystena! ‘hurry!’ (addressing one person) or gwrewgh ow sewya! ‘follow me!” (addressing several people or one person with whom we are not on familiar terms). For negative commands we can use na wra, na wrewgh in the same way. For example, na wra dallath! ‘don’t start!’ and na wrewgh tava ‘don’t touch!’
This is the method generally used for commands. But bos ‘be’, dos ‘come’, mos ‘go’, ry ‘give’ and dry ‘bring’ form inflected imperatives that are in common use.
bëdh! bedhowgh! be!
na vëdh! na vedhowgh! don’t be!
deus! dewgh! come!
na dheus! na dhewgh! don’t come!
kê! kewgh (or ewgh)! go!
nag ê! go!
nag ewgh! don’t go!
ro (or roy)! rewgh! give!
na ro (na roy)! na rewgh! don’t give!
dro (or doroy)! drewgh! bring!
na dhro (na dhoroy)! na dhrewgh! don’t bring!
Gwra, gwrewgh are themselves inflected imperatives of gwil. They are regularly used without a verb-noun in more or less fixed phrases. For example, na wra mencyon a’n gwerryans! ‘don’t mention the war!’. But otherwise this usage is rather literary. So colloquially we are more likely to say gwra gwil dha lessons tre! ‘do your homework!’ than just gwra dha lessons tre!
Other fairly common inflected imperatives are clôw! clôwowgh! ‘listen!’ (literally ‘hear’), gorta! gortowgh! ‘wait!’, kebmer! kemerowgh! ‘take!’, mir! mirowgh! (or merowgh! – see later in this Lesson) ‘look!’, sav! (or sa’!), sevowgh! ‘stand! (also stop!)’.
We do not usually give commands to ourselves, but we often ‘exhort’ ourselves to do something. In poetical Cornish there are inflected forms for some exhortations, and at least one of these is also heard colloquially in the fixed phrase: deun alebma! ‘let’s go!’, literally ‘let’s come from here!’ But for everyday purposes we form exhortations with the inflected imperative of gasa ‘leave, let’. For example, gas vy dhe weles! ‘let me see!’ and gesowgh ny heb gwil hedna! ‘let’s not do that!’
After an inflected imperative we use vy for ‘me’, jy for ‘you’ (one person we know well), e (not ev) for ‘him’ or ‘it’ with masculine reference, and y (not anjy) for ‘them’. Hy, ny, why are used as expected.
We usually employ just the verb-noun after ha ‘and’ for the second limb of a double command. For example, deus ha gweles! ‘come and see!’. But occasionally we find two imperative forms instead (without ha) as in dewgh kemerowgh e! ‘come and get it!’
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
desempys immediately (also abruptly), pols m moment (very short duration, not point in time), savla m (bus) stop (also position), sehyk m sachet, skydnya v descend, alight (from vehicle), sows cogh m tomato ketchup, war wary, cautious
Practys Naw warn Ugans – Exercise Twenty Nine
What do these Cornish commands mean?
Gorta pols! Roy e dhybm desempys! Bedhowgh war! Na sevowgh in bàn! Gwrewgh skydnya dhe’n nessa savla! Na wra gorra’n dra dhe’n dor! Gas golok dhybm orto! Kê [in] rag! Dro daffar lybm ha lies sehyk a sows cogh! Deus ha dôwys onen!
Practys Deg warn Ugans – Exercise Thirty
How would you say the following in Cornish? Here are some more inflected imperatives you might use.
assay try! deber eat! gwel see! lavar say!
Go and see the doctor! Carry these bags to the car! Don’t be sad! Order a pizza for supper! Check your email frequently! Don’t eat that! Bring up the bodies! Wait five minutes, then try again! Please say kind things! Let the passengers get off first!
‘First’ as an adverb is usually kyns oll. But when making a priority list we may say either kyns oll or [yn] kensa, with the following items being [yn] nessa ‘second[ly]’, [yn] tressa ‘third[ly]’ etc.
Adar
Adar is a preposition meaning ‘apart from’. In this sense it is rare outside literature. But it is very common in all registers of Cornish to express the idea ‘not’ in a statement with the formula ‘A, not B’.
Here are a couple of examples.
Cara warbarth, adar gwerrya.
‘Make love, not war.’
Kebmer an belednyk rudh, adar an belednyk vlou.
‘Take the red pill, not the blue one.’
Adar is also used occasionally, by analogy, to express the idea ‘but’ when the formula is ‘not A but B’. For instance, ny wrug ev kemeres an belednyk vlou, adar an belednyk rudh ‘he took not the blue pill but the red one’. This could also be expressed as ny wrug ev kemeres an belednyk vlou, mès an belednyk rudh.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
arbednyk particular, special, canel f channel, fytty (very) suitable, kedrydn f row, (violent) quarrel, lyver termyn m magazine, rêsonus reasonable, sqwîthus tiresome, boring, tevysak grown up, adult, trehy v cut, whar civilized (also humane)
Practys Udnek warn Ugans – Exercise Thirty One
Here is the Tonkin family, back from Exeter, using lots of imperatives.
Mark:
Pandr’eus i’n bellwolok haneth? Gas ny dhe jeckya i’n lyver termyn.
Demelsa:
Deus! Roy e dhybm.
Mark:
Na wrav. My a vydn checkya, adar ty.
Demelsa:
Wèl, gwra checkya oll an canolyow. Sur ny vëdh tra vëth dh’agan les wàr an BBC.
Danyel:
Gwra whilas towlen fytty raga vy, heb bos sqwîthus tevysak.
Mark:
Ogh Danyel, bëdh rêsonus! De Sul gordhuwher nyns eus towlednow arbednyk rag flehes!
Elen:
(ow cria mes a’n rom kydnyow) Gwrewgh trehy gàs tros! Yth eson ow tebry obma yn whar. Na wrewgh kedrydn!
Elen’s response is expressed very idiomatically. Note how trehy alliterates with tros. Alliteration, like assonance, is a very important device in good Cornish. Elen’s choice of the words whar and kedrydn deliberately employs hyperbole to set up a strong contrast.
Affection
The pair gas, gesowgh illustrates a pervasive phenomenon in Cornish that linguists generally know as ‘umlaut’ but which is usually called ‘i-affection’ or just ‘affection’ in the specific context of Cornish. It has nothing to do with fondness for Cornish! As a technical term of Cornish grammar it means that a short a, and sometimes a short o, is changed to a short e (occasionally a short y) by the addition of a suffix or an ending.
Affection occurs in many situations. For learners it is generally best to keep an eye open for instances of the phenomenon, recognizing them as they occur, rather than attempting to learn them all before you have made more progress. Affection is a result of historical sound change and is not always predictable.
Affection caused by ending ys
The ending ys forming the verbal adjective (Lesson Three) usually causes affection of the preceding syllable. For example, dalethys ‘begun’ (verb-noun dallath), danvenys ‘sent’ (verb-noun danvon), gesys ‘left’ (verb-noun gasa), kerys ‘loved, beloved’ (verb-noun cara), kechys or kychys ‘caught’ (verb-noun cachya). Most of these changes are compulsory, a few are merely optional. You are permitted to say cachys if you prefer. You can say sqwardys or sqwerdys ‘torn’. In colloquial speech there is a tendency to prefer an unaffected form if it is available. And there are many verbs that have been borrowed into Cornish with a verb-noun ending ya that never apply affection. For instance, parkys (verb-noun parkya) – you cannot say perkys.
Alternative ending yes instead of ys
It is also possible to employ alternative ending yes to form a verbal adjective if the verb-noun ends in ya. This is a useful fall-back if you are in doubt, because yes never causes affection. So you can be confident that, for example, cachyes ‘caught’, sqwardyes ‘torn’, parkyes ‘parked’ must be correct.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
capten m captain, cast m trick, chalynjya v challenge, charj task, responsibility (also electric charge), cledh left (side), creft f craft, cresor m midfielder, dobyl double, dyhow right (side), egery v open, fardellyk m package, gol m goal (football etc), gwainya v win, gwarior m player (also actor), gwerthjy m store, retail outlet, keschaunjya v exchange, swap, menystra v administer, manage, opynyon m opinion, parra m team, peldrosyor m footballer, pôtya v kick, poyntyans m appointment, fixture, sevur stern, sley skilful
Practys Dêwdhek warn Ugans – Exercise Thirty Two
Replace each verb-noun in square brackets with the corresponding verbal adjective. Give all possible forms of the verbal adjective where applicable. Make sure you understand the meaning of each sentence.
Yw an gwerthjy [egery]? Nag yw, [degea] yw va. [Danvon] veu an fardellyk de Merth. [Gasa] wàr an bord yth esa an hanavow plos. Yw an nosweyth ilow [dallath] solabrës? [Cachya] osta! Y gris o uthyk [sqwardya]. [Mos] yw pùb huny dhe ves. Nyns yw an ober [gorfedna]. Yth esens y ow kerdhes gans aga hy [cara]. Yma an kert [parkya] wàr lînen velen dhobyl. [Dos] a vedhyn ny yn scon.
Restoring link particle a
Link particle a occurs notionally between a noun or an adjective immediately followed by a v-form of bos (accounting for the Second State mutation). The particle is rarely heard or written in this position, but occasionally it is restored as an aid to pronunciation or for stylistic purposes. So usual yêyn vëdh an gewar may also be expressed as yêyn a vëdh an gewar.
Practys Tredhek warn Ugans – Exercise Thirty Three
Yma Mark ow cara pel droos. I’n scol ev yw capten dhe’n Kensa XI i’n Seythves Bledhen. Cresor yw va. Crev yw y droos dyhow. Ha’y droos cledh kefrës. Yma an parra ow qwary pùb seythen orth an Nessa XI rag gwelhe aga hodnek. Y fëdh an dhew barra ow keschaunjya gwarioryon yn fenowgh. Menystra an Kensa XI ha’n Nessa XI yw charj Mêster Teague, onen a’n dhescadoryon a dhorydhieth. Den sevur yw ev, mès cuv, ha peldrosyor sley kefrës. Yma ev ow tesky castys a’n greft dhe’n vebyon yn tâ. Traweythyow yma parra Mark ow chalynjya scolyow erel. Dewetha seythen, in fyt pòr gales, Mark a bôtyas dew a’n gôlyow, ha’n parra a wrug gwainya, try gol orth onen. Yma Mêster Teague ow tôwys an warioryon dhe bùb poyntyans. Saw opynyon Mark a vëdh govydnys pùpprës.
Colloquial Cornish
There are a few verbs that have an inflected singular imperative containing vowel i. These may retain the i in forms of the verb that comprise more than one syllable. But more colloquially the i changes to e in all forms of the verb (including the verb-noun) that have more than one syllable. Here are four to learn.
gwith! gwithowgh! or gwethowgh! 'keep!' and verb-noun gwitha or gwetha
mir! mirowgh! or merowgh! 'look! and verb-noun miras or meras
scrif! scrifowgh or screfowgh! 'write!' and verb-noun scrifa or screfa
whila! whilowgh! or whelowgh! 'seek!' and verb-noun whilas or whelas
If you encounter the spelling whelas etc, be careful not to confuse this verb with the noun whel ‘work’.
Note also trigys or tregys ‘living’ (in a place), literally ‘dwelt’. The verbal adjective of triga (trega) ‘dwell, stay’ occurs much more frequently than other forms of this verb.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Seven
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LESSON ETH
LESSON EIGHT
More about honen
We may employ the possessive pronoun with honen to make a ‘reflexive’ pronoun that can be used as the object of a verb. For example, me a herdhyas ow honen rag ‘I pushed myself forward’. It can also be used to strengthen the personal form of a preposition, as in me a wrug miras orthyf ow honen i’n gweder ‘I looked at myself in the mirror’.
If ow honen etc is used with a preposition, strictly speaking it should be combined with the appropriate personal pronoun. So dh’y honen or ès y honen might be heard colloquially, but formal Cornish requires dhodho y honen and ès ev y honen.
Saying ‘on my own’ etc
If we add oll to honen, the result is a useful phrase that means ‘[all] on one’s own, alone’. For example, a wrusta mos dha honen oll? ‘did you go on your own?’
Prefix om
One of the senses of Cornish prefix om is the same as honen.
The prefix is added directly to the verb. It causes Second State mutation. For example, my a vydn gwysca ow honen or my a vydn omwysca ‘I shall get dressed’ (gwysca ‘put on’, but also ‘dress’). A few of these reflexive om-verbs are common: we have already met omdhon ‘behave’ and ‘behaviour’ (literally ‘carry oneself’) and omhowla ‘sunbathe’ (literally ‘sun oneself’). But many have a literary feel. Occasionally an om-verb and honen are found together. For instance, ev a wrug omladha y honen ‘he committed suicide’. Compare ladha ‘kill’.
Many ‘transitive’ verbs can also be used ‘intransitively’, and in these cases prefixing om to the verb is not strictly necessary. For example, parusy ‘get ready’ will usually be sufficient; ombarusy ‘prepare oneself’ is rather more formal in tone.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
atorny m solicitor, byldya v build, client m client, kescôwsel v have a conversation, kevres m & f series, omdhesky v teach oneself, omdhyscor m self-study learner, omfydhyans m confidence, talkya v talk
Codnek that we first learned as a noun ‘skill’ is also an adjective meaning ‘clever’.
Practys Peswardhek warn Ugans – Exercise Thirty Four
Powl Tonkin is a solicitor based in Truro. One of his clients is learning Cornish and is interested to hear how Powl came to speak the language.
Client:
Py class y whrussowgh why desky Kernowek ino?
Powl:
Ny wrug vy desky an tavas in class. Res yw dhybm gwil whel gordhuwher yn fenowgh. Ny yllyn vy mos dhe glass yn rêwlys. Me a wrug omdhesky, ha prevy i’m sodhva worth cowethysy, ha gans ow theylu pedn pùb seythen. Yma ow gwreg ha’m flehes ow côwsel Kernowek in mesk anjy aga honen, ytho golsowes yw mater êsy, ha traweythyow y hallaf vy ow honen kescôwsel Kernowek gans ow gwreg ha’m flehes warbarth.
Client:
Â, convedhys! Kernowek vëth nyns eus i’m teylu vy, ha ny woraf desky ow honen oll.
Powl:
A wrussowgh why assaya yn sad? Desky Kernowek gans Nicholas Williams yw lyver spladn rag omdhyscoryon. Pò why a yll ûsya an gevres Cara Kernowek wàr lînen.
Client:
Nâ nâ. Gwell yw genef gorra ow honen in class in dann dhescador connek. Yth esof owth ombarusy dhe wul apposyans.
Powl:
Wèl, dell hevel dhybm, dha Gernowek yw pòr dhâ solabrës.
Client:
In agan class yth eson ny ow talkya Kernowek der oll an lesson. Pùb torn. Yth yw maner effethus rag byldya omfydhyans.
Note how the client uses gul, the older form of gwil, and does not ‘pre-occlude’, so dadn becomes dann and codnek becomes connek. Pre-occlusion (bm, dn for mm, nn) is a feature associated with West Cornwall, and many Cornish speakers choose not to apply it.
Particle re
Cornish has a particle re that can be substituted for link particle a in front of the he/she/noun form of a preterite verb to give a greater sense that something has been completed. For example, hy a dheuth tre ‘she came back’, hy re dheuth tre ‘she has returned home’. Compare hy yw devedhys tre ‘she has come back (and is still here)’.
Particle re is followed by Second State mutation, except that it does not cause mutation of forms of bos. So, yth esen vy in Arwednak de ‘I was in Falmouth yesterday’ (establishing timeframe for some account of what I did there), my a veu in Arwednak de ‘I was in Falmouth yesterday’ (straightforward past event), my re beu in Arwednak lies gweyth ‘I was in Falmouth many times’ (been there, done that).
Particle re is not used in questions or in negative sentences or after a subordinating conjunction (except occasionally after dell). But it is possible to make an affirmative statement, then query it. For example, ev re beu in Porth Ia – yw gwir? ‘he’s already been to St Ives, I suppose?’ The answer is then simply yw ‘yes’ or nag yw ‘no’.
Particle re can also be substituted for affirmative particle y (yth) before a preterite verb. Re beu ‘there has / had been’ instead of y feu is not uncommon.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
asclas col chips, fries, borger m burger, cynema m cinema, gobonya v jog (also trot), gocky silly, stupid, kîlogram m kilo[gram], leth shakys m milkshake, pel roos f netball, sconya v refuse
Practys Pymthek warn Ugans – Exercise Thirty Five
Demelsa has been out with her friend Alys Howell for the evening.
Elen:
Otta sy! Ty re dheuth tre. Adermyn! Pòr dhâ. Py whrusta mos?
Demelsa:
Ny a veu i’n cynema.
Elen:
Ha fatl’o an fylm?
Demelsa:
Dâ lowr. Saw gwell veu an kensa i’n kevres. Ha’n dyweth o pòr wocky. Wosa hedna ny êth dhe dhebry borger.
Elen:
Ogh Demelsa! A nyns eses ow whilas kelly poos?
Demelsa:
Kelly dew gîlogram my re wrug iredy! Ny a radnas udn borger, agan dyw, heb asclas. Ha kemeres salad ganso. Leth shakys ny a sconyas.
Elen:
Te a yll gobonya kyns an Sul pàr hap. Yma Mark ow qwary pel droos pùb dëdh oll. Soweth, ny wreta moy sport, ty dha honen ...
Demelsa:
Pel roos dywweyth pùb seythen. Hag avorow me a vydn gwil hanter-our wàr an dhywros saya.
Purpose after mos
Purpose after mos ‘go’ may be expressed by rag and a verb-noun, but dhe is more common. Thus, ny êth dhe dhebry borger.
‘Weekend’ phrases
Note the fixed expressions kyns an Sul ‘before the weekend’, dres an Sul ‘over the weekend’, warlergh an Sul ‘after the weekend’. Cornish idiom still reflects the idea that Saturday is a working day.
More about affection
We saw in Lesson Seven that the ending ys forming the verbal adjective causes affection. Suffixes el and y forming verb-nouns do the same, so there is in fact an affected vowel in a few of the verb-nouns we have already learned. We also noted that ys is the usual ending of the he/she/noun form of the preterite for these verbs. For example, selwel ‘save’ is formed from salow ‘safe and sound’, and the preterite form is selwys. But there are a few verbs with affection in the verb-noun that employ the ending as, and in these cases we must reverse the affection, restoring the original vowel of the verb stem.
So lesky ‘burn’, but ny a loscas an predn wàr an tan ‘we burned the wood on the fire’. Likewise, kelly ‘miss’ (also lose), but ty a gollas an kyttryn ‘you’ve missed the bus’. This explains the vowels in parallel preterite forms like leverys, lavaras ‘said’ (verb-noun leverel) and lebmys, labmas ‘jumped’ (verb-noun lebmel).
An vergh, an veyn
While we are making notes of exceptional words, we can also learn two nouns that have plurals which regularly mutate after an ‘the’, even though they do not refer to people. They are margh ‘horse’, an vergh ‘the horses’; and men ‘stone’, an veyn ‘the stones’. But there is no reason to mutate attributive adjectives with these words, so we say an vergh bian ‘the small horses’, for instance, and an veyn coth ‘the old stones’.
Personal forms of der (dre)
Here are the personal forms of prepositions der (dre) ‘through’ (also ‘by means of’).
dredhof or dredha vy or dredham ‘through me’
dredhos or dredha jy ‘through you’
dredho or dredh’ev ‘through him’ or ‘through it’ (masculine reference)
dredhy or dredha hy ‘through her’ or ‘through it’ (feminine reference)
dredhon or dredha ny ‘through us’
dredhowgh or dredha why ‘through you’ (plural or stranger)
dredhans or dredha (mostly confined to written Cornish) ‘through them’
Intensifiers
We have learned pòr ‘very’, which causes Second State mutation. If you put emphasis on this word it may be pronounced and spelled pur, showing that the word literally means ‘pure’. Here are a few other words and phrases that can be used to strengthen what you are saying.
fest ‘very, really’. This can be placed before or after an adjective. When it precedes the adjective, it does not cause mutation. It may also be placed before an adverb formed with yn.
teg ‘very, really’. This word literally means ‘beautiful’. It is placed after an adjective. It is used to give an adjective a strongly positive ‘spin’, sometimes also with irony.
glân ‘very, completely’. This word literally means ‘clean’. It is placed after an adjective. In theory it gives a strongly positive spin but is equally common when the sentiment is more ambivalent. For example, sqwith glân oma ‘I’m exhausted’.
dres ehen ‘extremely’, dres kynda ‘extraordinarily’, yn tien ‘entirely, totally, completely’. These phrases are placed after an adjective. But the adjective is often fronted for emphasis. For example, hy o hager dres ehen or hager o hy dres ehen ‘she was extremely ugly’, and me yw acordys yn tien or acordys ov vy yn tien ‘I totally agree’.
marthys (literally, ‘amazing, wonderful’) and uthyk (literally, ‘dreadful, terrible’) are employed as intensifiers before an adjective. For example, marthys dâ and uthyk dâ, both meaning ‘excellent’. Just like English ‘terribly good’ the sense of the latter expression is rather counter-intuitive. It would be fair to say uthyk belongs to a lower register than marthys in this usage.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
arethor m speaker (someone who gives a talk or lecture), caderyor m chair[person], compressa v oppress, bully, cowethas f society, cowsor m speaker, dadhel f discussion, debate, dysqwedhyans m display, exhibition, frank free, frôsek fluent, lêdyor m leader, lewyth m governor (school), pendescadores f (female) head teacher, personek personal, plegya v please, scodhya v support, trevna v arrange
Plegya ‘bend’ and plegya ‘please’ are two verbs that sound and look the same. Some speakers prefer to distinguish the verb ‘please’ as plêkya (so that, for them, the phrase mar pleg ‘please’ becomes mar plêk). For most, the two verbs have become somewhat confused. For example, in the expression bos plegys dhe wil ‘be inclined to do’ it is not really clear whether we are dealing with the verbal adjective of ‘bend’ or the verbal adjective of ‘please’.
All agree that plegya (plêkya) ‘please’ cannot have a direct object. The person (or thing) that is pleased is indicated by dhe. For example, a wra hedna plegya dh’y vabm? ‘will that please his mother?’
Practys Whêtek warn Ugans – Exercise Thirty Six
Demelsa has an important conversation with her Head Teacher.
Pendescadores:
A Demelsa, dha gows Kernowek ew frôsek glân, a nynj ew?
Demelsa:
Yth eson ow talkya Kernowek chy pùb dëdh.
Pendescadores:
Hag i’n vledhen ujy ow tos, heb mar, te a vëdh i’n Wheffes Class.
Demelsa:
Rag studhya fysyk, kemyk ha calcorieth. Mar pëdh an TODN gwrës yn tâ lowr.
Pendescadores:
Ma omfydhyans dhèm a hedna. Mis Gwydngala me a vedn dallath cowethas Kernowek i’n scol. Gelwel arethoryon in Kernowek. Trevna dadhlow ha lies dysqwedhyans i’n tavas. Ny a ra dallath classys Kernowek in euryow an creftow frank i’wedh. Th’eroma covyn ort ow honen: ’ellysta jy bos caderyor an gowethas nowyth-ma?
Demelsa:
Nyns usy Kernowek ow plegya dhe bùbonen i’n scol ...
Pendescadores:
In gwir. Compressys ew cowsoryon a Gernowek traweythyow, a nynj en’jy? Gèn flehes. Gèn lies descador kefrës? ’Hellyn ny saya chaunjya hedna. An gowethas a vëdh i’m charj vy. Yn personek. Ha scodhyes gèn an Lewydhyon. Lebmyn ow whestyon dheso ew hebma: a venta bos hy lêdyor mesk an scoloryon?
Demelsa:
Hèn yw qwestyon brâs! Heb y wetyas yn tien. Drog genef, cales yw gortheby yn scon. Res yw dhybm predery warnodho.
Pendescadores:
Gra pedery, Demelsa. Pedery warnodho, martessen gèn Mabm ha Tas jy warbarth.
Euryow an creftow frank is ‘activity time’ at Demelsa’s school – timetabled, and offering a range of different creative activities supervised by teachers.
Colloquial Cornish
Demelsa’s Head Teacher speaks quite colloquially. She’s trying to put a student at ease. So working through the Head Teacher’s words carefully is another opportunity to see how colloquial Cornish can differ from formal registers.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Eight
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LESSON NAW
LESSON NINE
Indefinite pronouns
We have already met the pronouns that are derived from pùb ‘every’: pùbonen ‘everyone’, pùb huny ‘everyone’, pùptra ‘everything’. And we also know nebonen and neppëth. These belong to a whole family of indefinites built with neb. We occasionally find neppëth spelled nampëth reflecting colloquial pronunciation. Neb tra is an alternative. Since neb means equally ‘some’ and ‘any’, nebonen means ‘someone’ or ‘anyone‘. We can also use neb alone in this sense. And neppëth (nampëth) / neb tra mean ‘something’ or ‘anything’.
Practys Seytek warn Ugans – Exercise Thirty Seven
Answer these questions, using complete Cornish sentences. For example, Yma neppëth i’n cornet ('corner') cledh awartha – pëth yw? Trog dyllas yw hedna.
Yma neppëth in cres an pyctour awartha – pëth yw? Yma nebonen i’n cornet dyhow awartha – pyw yw? Yma neb tra i’n cornet cledh awoles – pandr’yw? Yma neppëth in cres an pyctour awoles – pëth yw? Yma nampëth i’n cornet dyhow awoles – pëth yw?
Superlative of adjectives
Comparative adjectives made with ending a have superlative force when they are used with an ‘the’. For example, hèn yw flour teg ‘that is a lovely flower’, hèn yw whath tecka flour (or hèn yw flour tecka vëth) ‘that is an even lovelier flower’, hèn yw an tecka flour i’n lowarth ‘that is the most beautiful flower in the garden’.
Comparatives made with moy change this to moyha ‘most’ for superlative use. For example, an flour moyha saworek i’n lowarth ‘the most fragrant flower in the garden’. Moyha, like moy, does not undergo Fifth State mutation after yn.
There are a few inflected adjective forms that have specifically superlative force. Paired with gwell ‘better’ we have learned gwelha ‘best’ already, and the common idiom i’n gwelha prës ‘fortunately’. We often find gwelha at the end of messages, in phrases like oll a’n gwelha ‘all the best’ and gans gormynadow a’n gwelha ‘best regards’ (literally ‘along with commandment of the best’). We have also encountered nessa ‘nearest, next’ and dewetha ‘latest, last’.
Inflected superlatives (like inflected comparative forms) usually precede their noun, but may also be found after it. And they may be used without an where the sense permits.
The comparative lacka ‘worse’ is often reinforced with oll when used with superlative force. So, lacka termyn ‘a worse time’, an lacka termyn oll ‘the worst time [of all]’.
Saying ‘less’ and ‘least’
The opposite of moy ‘more’ is le ‘less’. It too can be used to make comparatives. For example, le saworek ‘less fragrant’. But there are no inflected forms corresponding to gwell etc, so we say simply le dâ ‘less good’ as in English.
As a quantifier le means both ‘less’ and ‘fewer’. Compare similar use of ‘less’ in West Country English.
The opposite of moyha ‘most’ is lyha ‘least’. It is most commonly encountered in the phrase dhe’n lyha ‘at least’. But we may use lyha with an adjective.
Moy and le as adverbs
Moy and le can be used on their own with preposition ès (ages) ‘than’. When ‘than’ is not expressed we use the phrases dhe voy and dhe le. For example, Barbery a wrug cana rag an wolsowysy, saw cân Marget a blegyas dhe voy ‘Barbara sang for the audience, but Margaret’s song pleased (them) more’.
Dhe voy and dhe le may also be used like their exact English equivalents. For instance:
Dhe voy yth esof ow qweles polytygoryon a'n par-ma, dhe voy yth ov vy diegrys a’ga fowt onester, ha dhe le yth yns y dâ genef.
‘The more I see of these politicians, the more I’m shocked by their lack of decency, and the less I like them.’
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
Bròn Wenyly Brown Willy, bÿs m world, hâtya v hate, leurneth m area (measurement), meneth m mountain, poblans m population, ryver m river
Practys Êtek warn Ugans – Exercise Thirty Eight
What do these sentences mean?
Ot an cotta fordh dhy. Hèm yw an uskyssa train. Bròn Wenyly yw an uhelha tyller in Kernow. Ple ma an nessa attêsva? Ev yw an hackra a’n try henderow. Towlen moyha gocky o hodna. Ev yw an dyscor lyha lowen in hy class Kernowek. An gwlanek-ma yw le ker ès dell wrug vy gwetyas. Pùb seythen yma ev orth hy hara dhe voy. Pùb mis yma hy orth y hâtya dhe le.
Practys Nawnjek warn Ugans – Exercise Thirty Nine
How would you say the following in Cornish?
She’s the cleverest girl in the class. Allan had the heaviest car. That boy will be the strongest midfielder. The café in the museum sells the worst coffee of all. My grandmother was the oldest woman in her village.
Practys Dêwgans – Exercise Forty
A yllowgh why gwil gweres dhe Danyel Tonkin ow whythra y lesson tre in Dorydhieth?
Pëth yw an uhelha tyller in Kernow? Pëth yw an uhelha meneth in Pow an Sowson? Pëth yw an uhelha meneth i’n bÿs? Pëth yw an downha tyller in oll an morow? Pëth yw an hirha ryver in Kernow acordyng dhe Athelstan? Pëth yw an hirha ryver i’n bÿs? Pëth yw an dre moyha dhe’n west in Kernow? Pëth yw an byhadna gwlas i’n bÿs? Pëth yw an brâssa gwlas acordyng dhe leurneth? Pëth yw an brâssa gwlas acordyng dhe boblans?
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Nine
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LESSON DEG
LESSON TEN
‘Any’ in negative sentences
The indefinite pronouns that we learned in Lesson Nine are mostly found in statements and questions that do not contain a negative. One prominent exception is the phrase wàr neb cor ‘in any way, at all’ which is used to reinforce a negative. But more commonly in a negative statement or negative question ‘any’ is expressed by vëth. So in a negative sentence den vëth is ‘anyone’, and tra vëth is ‘anything’. For example, ny wrussyn ny bonkya den vëth ‘we didn’t hit anyone’, ny vydn ev debry tra vëth ‘he won’t eat anything’. Benyn vëth can optionally be used instead of den vëth if only women are involved.
If we wish to give a short negative answer to a question without employing a full sentence, we can still use vëth and rely on the context to supply the negative. For example:
Pyw a wrussowgh why bonkya? Den vëth.
‘Who did you hit? No one.’
Pandra vydn ev debry? Tra vëth.
‘What is he going to eat? Nothing.’
In the very common fixed phrases such as Cudyn vëth! and Problem vëth! ‘No problem!’ a negative is likewise implied.
Similarly, if na whath is used on its own outside a full sentence, the negative will be implied. For instance, A wrusta debry ly? Na whath. ‘Have you had lunch? Not yet.’ It is a common misconception that na in na whath is itself a negative. That is incorrect. In this phrase na is a reduced form of neb.
Practys Onen ha Dêwgans – Exercise Forty One
Mrs Pascoe and Mrs Treloar arrive very early for a meeting of the Women’s Institute at the Village Hall.
Mêstres Pascoe:
Eus nebonen i’n hel solabrës?
Mêstres Treloar:
Na whath. Obma nyns eus benyn vëth.
Mêstres Pascoe:
Eus vytel wàr an bordys? Ha dewosow?
Mêstres Treloar:
Nyns eus tra vëth dhe weles wàr vord vëth.
Mêstres Pascoe:
Wèl, devedhys pòr avarr on ny. Res yw dhyn gortos oll an bobel.
Mêstres Treloar:
Yma pùptra obma i’n gegyn. My a yll dallath parusy tê.
Mêstres Pascoe:
Tybyans dâ. Hag y hallaf vy dallath gorra oll an breghtanow ha tesednow in mes.
Practys Dew ha Dêwgans – Exercise Forty Two
What do these questions and brief answers mean?
Pyw a wodhya an gwir? Den vëth. Pëth a wrussons y gwil? Tra vëth. Pan colour yw dâ genowgh? Colour vëth. Pleth esta ow mos? Tyller vëth. Peur whra va dos? Eur vëth.
Common quantifiers
Meur as an adjective means ‘great’ and is rather formal. We have already encountered it in its much more common usage as a quantifier meaning ‘much’, For example, meur moy ‘much more’. Although we have learned that meur as quantifier with a noun is usually followed by preposition a, it may alternatively be followed directly by the noun, either in First or Second State. But Second State mutation is confined to relatively formal registers and to more or less fixed phrases. For example, meur a bobel ‘lots of people’, meur gerensa ‘much love’.
By far the most frequent instance of the latter construction is meur ras ‘thank you’, but no mutation is operating in this case. The old Celtic noun ras means favour; it ends in a voiced z-sound. It cannot be Second State of grâss ‘grace’ (also ‘thanks’) based on Latin gratia, because that ends in a voiceless s-sound.
Moy ‘more’ also functions as a quantifier. It is either put directly in front of a noun with no mutation or it is linked to the noun by preposition a. Thus, moy dowr ‘more water’, moy gwëdh ‘more trees’, moy a gerry ‘more cars’. Le ‘less’ works just the same.
We also know bohes, a quantifier meaning ‘little, not much’. It is put directly in front of a singular noun with no mutation. For example, bohes trobel ‘little trouble’. Contrast nebes trobel ‘a little trouble’. The commonest way of saying ‘few’ is to use lies in a sentence with a negative verb. We may also use the phrase bohes aga nùmber (‘little their number’). Again, contrast nebes meaning ‘a few’. And note the exceptional Second State mutation in fixed expression bohes venowgh ‘seldom, rarely’.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
argemydnans m advertising, publicity, awedhya v influence, camdyby v be mistaken, chauns m chance, opportunity, cowntnans m attitude, dre lycklod probably, dyharas v apologize, ger m word, negedhek negative, nyver m number, poblek public, profyans m offer, revrons m respect, stowt stubborn, unyêthek monoglot, whans m wish, desire
Practys Try ha Dêwgans – Exercise Forty Three
Demelsa is discussing the Head Teacher’s idea with her father, Perys Pentreath, who works with the Cornish language for Cornwall Council.
Demelsa:
Nyns eus lies flogh ow côwsel gàn tavas. Dhe nyver bian yma nebes geryow. Mès meur moy yw unyêthek Sowsnek yn stowt. Fatell yll cowethas Kernowek soweny in scol?
Perys:
Saw scodhyes yw hy gans an lewydhyon ha’n bendescadores, a nyns yw?
Demelsa:
Camdybys yns y dre lycklod.
Perys:
Te a dal bos le negedhek orth an bÿs, Demelsa. An gwir yma dhe’n lewydhyon. Res yw dhyn ûsya an tavas heb dyharas. Yn poblek, adar only chy. Chauns spladn yw hebma dhyso, rag gwainya revrons in mesk an scoloryon. I’n Wheffes Class spessly. Heb dowt y fedhys owth awedhya gà howntnans.
Demelsa:
Wèl, mars osta sur, me a vydn assaya. Yma dhe’n bendescadores whans a dhadhlow. A ylta gwil gweres dhybm ow cafos arethoryon?
Perys:
Certan y hallaf. A wrusta predery solabrës a worra nowodhow wàr wiasva an scol pò in mainys socyal? Yth esof vy ow qwil moy ha moy whel wàr argemydnans i’m soodh. A wrav vy cùssulya pàr hap?
Demelsa:
Hèn yw profyans cuv glân. Meur ras, a Das!
Where’ and ‘when’ introducing an adjectival clause
An adjectival (relative) clause is a part of the sentence, with its own verb, that describes the noun immediately preceding it.
If an adjectival clause is introduced by the notion ‘where’ or ‘when’, the clause will begin with may if it is affirmative, and with ma na if it is negative. The verb of the clause follows immediately after these words: in Fifth State in the case of may, in Second State in the case of ma na. If the verb is a form of bos beginning with a vowel, then may becomes mayth and ma na becomes ma nag. But mayth is not used before yma and ymowns; instead yma becomes ma and ymowns becomes mowns (without mutation). Note that we do not say mayth eus nor (save very exceptionally) mayth usy, mayth usons.
Here are some examples of sense ‘where’.
Yma ow hothman trigys whath i’n bendra may feuva genys.
‘My friend still lives in the village where he was born.’
Obma an gresen kemeneth mayth esa gàn class Kernowek ow metya de.
‘Here is the community centre where our Cornish class was meeting yesterday.’
Hag obma an tavern may ma dha dhew gothman owth eva pynta.
‘And here’s the pub where your two friends are having a pint.’
Hòm yw an ostel moyha cosel, ma na vydn pobel gôlya bys i’n maneuryow.
‘This is the quietest hotel, where people won’t be partying until the early hours.’
Gwrewgh cafos rom ma nag eus tros an gegyn in dadno.
‘Get a room that doesn’t have the noise of the kitchen underneath it.’
Here are some examples of sense ‘when’. Note how English very often suppresses the ‘when’ word. But in Cornish we cannot leave it out.
Esta ow perthy cov a’n prës-na mayth esen ny ow marhogeth wàr an treth?
‘Do you remember that time we were riding on the beach?’
Hèn o an jëdh may whrug ev govyn demedhyans orthyf.
‘That was the day he asked me to marry him.’
Th’esa hy ow remembra an termyn ma na wrug ev kemeres y vedhegneth.
‘She was remembering the time he didn’t take his medication.’
Practys Peswar ha Dêwgans – Exercise Forty Four
How would you say the following in Cornish?
The gym is the place where he’s happiest. But that’s not the house where we grew up. Come to Cornwall where the summer is always warm. Do you remember all the years we lived in Falmouth? Is that the week I’ll be in Exeter?
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
creftus artificial, cubmyas m permission, daffar m kit, equipment, drefen because of, entra v enter, gwary m game (also stage play), gwels col grass, gwethyas m keeper, peryllys dangerous, rowtor m manager (football), whêlva f laboratory
Practys Pymp ha Dêwgans – Exercise Forty Five
Mark has been asked to show a new Cornish speaking pupil round his school.
Mark:
Ot obma an hel sport, may ma’n Êthves Bledhen lebmyn, an mowysy, ow qwary pel roos.
Scolor nowyth:
Yw res dhe’n vebyon gwary pel roos kefrës?
Mark:
Nag yw màn! Ty a wra gwary pel droos. Osta peldrosyor dâ? Capten an Kensa XI ov vy.
Scolor nowyth:
Gwethyas gol ov vy, dell yw ûsys.
Mark:
Ria reva! Spladn yw hedna ren ow thas! Ny a vydn gwary de Merher, may fëdh Mêster Teague, gàn rowtor ny, ow prevy dha godnek. Yma ev ow tôwys an warioryon dhe’n fyttys moyha bysy.
Scolor nowyth:
A ny vëdh an dor nebes medhel i’n seythen-ma rag gwary vas?
Mark:
Problem vëth! Yma gwels creftus dhyn, AstroTùrf, may hyllyn ny gwil practys pùb kewar.
Scolor nowyth:
Sciens yw ow thesten moyha kerys. A wren ny gweles whêlva?
Mark:
Miras der an fenester, dhe’n lyha. Chy an lies whêlva yw tyller ma na yllyn ny entra heb cubmyas, drefen oll an daffar peryllys.
Ren ow thas (literally ‘by my father’) strengthens an assertion. Ren is unique to this expression, being a special form of preposition re ‘by’ (followed by Second State mutation) used in exclamations like re Jovyn ‘by Jove’ and re’m fay (also wàr ow fay) ‘upon my word’. Originally these had considerable force, but in modern Cornish they are relegated to situations when a speaker wishes to be polite or at least not to offend.
Adjective mas ‘good’ is archaic. It is mostly encountered nowadays as an invariable Second State form vas meaning ‘useful’. But dictionaries may still list it under mas. You can use invariable vas as either an attributive or a predicative adjective; but it is never fronted. And adverb yn fas means ‘properly’.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Ten
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LESSON UDNEK
LESSON ELEVEN
Adjectival phrases
An adjective adds information about a noun. But an adjective is a single word. We can fine-tune the information if we use an adjectival phrase.
English often employs compound adjectives like ‘red-faced’ or uses idiomatic expressions such as ‘hard up’. In Cornish the adjectival phrase serves the same purpose. The first element is typically an adjective or quantifier. The second element is a possessive pronoun plus a noun. Thus, we say in Cornish rudh y fâss ‘red-faced’ and bohes y vona ‘hard up’. Conventionally we cite these phrases with possessive pronoun y, but the pronoun will vary according to the actual context. So we would say den rudh y vlew ‘a red-haired man’ but benyn rudh hy blew ‘a red-haired woman’.
Brâs and meur are used interchangeably in many adjectival phrases. For example, brâs y hanow or meur y hanow ‘renowned, famous’. Brâs and meur (rather than leun) also correspond in adjectival phrases to English suffix -ful.
We can use the adjectival phrase with or without verb bos ‘be’. For example, ev a veu desempys pòr rudh y fâss ‘he suddenly got very red in the face’. Or i’n tavern me a dheuth warbydn den rudh y fâss ‘I bumped into a red-faced man in the pub’.
We never mutate the first word of an adjectival phrase. For example, an venyn teg hy fows ‘the woman in the beautiful dress’.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words. As always, plural forms can be found in the Vocabulary at the end of the book. But in an adjectival phrase a singular frequently does service for a plural.
bogh f cheek, boll see-through, creswas m policeman, fâss m face, gwe’us m lip, plat flat, scovarn f ear, tednva f tension, stress, toth m speed
Practys Whe ha Dêwgans – Exercise Forty Six
How would you say the following in Cornish? Use an adjectival phrase for each.
a long-legged man, a woman in a see-through blouse, a boy with big ears, a girl with pink cheeks, a flat-footed policeman, a thin-lipped face, a high-speed train, a multi-faceted problem, a hotel with cheap rooms, a stressful job
More about adjectival clauses
An adjectival clause is another way of providing additional information. In Lesson Ten we looked at adjectival (relative) clauses beginning with the notion ‘where’ or ‘when’. An adjectival clause can also begin with the notion ‘who’ or ‘which’. For example, in English, ‘the woman who taught me Cornish’ or ‘the book which we are using in class’. In Cornish this kind of clause begins with the relative pronoun a, which is in origin the same word as link particle a (and so, as usual, is always dropped before forms of bos beginning with a vowel). So these examples will become in Cornish an venyn a wrug desky Kernowek dhybm and an lyver eson ny owth ûsya i’n class. Note how in Cornish has no separate verb for ‘teach’ – we simply ‘learn something to someone’.
Link particle a is used, of course, to connect a subject to a main verb. This can result in potential ambiguity. For instance an vowes a wrug wherthyn usually means ‘the girl laughed’, but it might instead mean ‘the girl who laughed’. To make the latter meaning quite clear we add either neb or hag at the beginning of the adjectival clause: an vowes neb (hag) a wrug wherthyn can only mean ‘the girl who laughed’.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
antarlyk m pantomime, avauncya v advance, progress, cares f girlfriend, cudha v cover, hide, dyghtyor kebmyn m general manager, dyvlâm blameless, innocent, ges m joking, in gwrioneth really, actually, les’hanow m nickname, mery merry, mêster m master, boss, namoy any more (in a negative sentence), scryvynyades f (female) secretary, skeusen f photograph, styfa v squirt, tednvos m attraction
Compare budhek ‘victorious’ with Boudica, the name of the Brythonic chieftainess whose warriors sacked Roman London in 60 CE.
Practys Seyth ha Dêwgans – Exercise Forty Seven
Yma Coryn ow tysqwedhes dh’y gares Jacket skeusednow a wrug ev kemeres in kyffewy a’n gowethysy usy ow longya dh’y sodhva.
Jacket:
Ha pyw yw an den-ma, hir y fâss, bian y scovornow?
Coryn:
Ogh, a ny wosta? Hèn yw Mery Merrick – gàn acowntyas ny.
Jacket:
Mery?
Coryn:
Les’hanow hag eson ny ow ry dhodho. Ges yw. Y hanow gwir yw Merdhyn.
Jacket:
Ha’n vowes melen hy blew, meur hy thednvos? Marthys meur!
Coryn:
Budhek. Victoria Watson yw hy in gwrioneth, mès gwell yw hanow a Gernow gensy. Scryvynyades. Ha demedhys yn salow yw hy!
Jacket:
Dâ lowr. Ha pyw yw an den obma, gwydn y bedn – an fâss-na, neb a veu cudhys in dehen styfys?
Cpryn:
Eâ, wèl, ev yw agan mêster. An dyghtyor kebmyn. Adam Scrase. Ha my yw an maw usy ow styfa an dehen.
Jacket:
Scant nyns yw maner effethus rag avauncya i’n negys.
Coryn:
Sport dyvlâm! Heb namoy. Onen brav yw Adam. Ev a wor convedhes antarlyk garow.
Jacket:
Codnek, a Coryn, traweythyow nyns osta màn.
Antarlyk garow is ‘slapstick comedy’.
Re meaning ‘ones’
The plural equivalent of onen ‘one’ referring to a noun is re ‘ones’. Unlike onen, however, re may be used both without and with the definite article an. For example, re munys ‘tiny ones’, an re munys ‘the tiny ones’. When an re is the grammatical subject, it is used with a singular verb just like a plural noun.
‘These [ones]’ and ‘those [ones]’ are an re-ma and an re-na, corresponding to singular pronouns hebma / hobma and hedna / hodna.
Saying ‘other’
Cornish has two words for ‘other’. First, there is aral, plural erel. This is the only adjective that has a distinct plural form. So we say an venyn aral ‘the other woman’ but an benenes erel ‘the other women’ and pobel erel ‘other people’. We can use an aral as a pronoun meaning ‘the other one’. For ‘the other ones / the others’ we say an re erel.
As an adjective aral can be used with or without the definite article an. So we may say benyn aral ‘another woman’. Cornish has a second word for ‘other’ that can only be used indefinitely. This is ken, which precedes a noun. So ‘another woman’ can also be ken benyn.
For ‘another one’ we say ken onen. We can also use ken as an adverb meaning ‘otherwise’. We put ken after the key word in nebonen ken ‘someone else’, neppëth (or nampëth) ken ‘something else’. And there is also poken ‘or else’. But note pùbonen aral ‘everyone else’, pùptra aral ‘everything else’, neb tra aral ‘something else’.
Finally, there are the useful expressions wàr an eyl tu (or tenewen) ‘on the one hand’ and wàr an tu (or tenewen) aral ... on the other hand’.
Personal forms of preposition a
Here are the personal forms of a ‘from, of’.
ahanaf or ahana vy ‘from / of me’
ahanas or ahana jy ‘from / of you’
anodho ‘from / of him’ or ‘from / of it’ (masculine reference)
anedhy ‘from / of her’ or ‘from / of it’ (feminine reference)
ahanan or ahana ny ‘from / of us’
ahanowgh or ahana why ‘from / of you’ (plural or stranger)
anodhans or anedha (mostly confined to written Cornish) ‘from / of them’
Saying ‘yes please’ and ‘no thank you’
Cornish for ‘yes please’ is simply mar pleg. For ‘no thank you’ we say gromercy na vadna’. Note that gromercy usually comes first, and may even be used alone, with a shake of the head to make the meaning clear. Na vadnaf is an alternative form of na vydnaf that may be used generally if you prefer it.
Vocabulary
argya v argue (a case), caretys col carrots, cawlvlejen f cauliflower, delycyùs delicious, fresk fresh, frût m fruit, gwycor m trader, losow col vegetables, marhas f market, organek organic, panes col parsnips, qwalyta m quality, syght m syght, tùrnypen f swede (generally called ‘turnip’ in Cornwall)
Practys Eth ha Dêwgans – Exercise Forty Eight
Yma Mêstres Mundy ow prena losow ha frûtys i’n varhas.
Mêstres Mundy:
An avallow-ma, re anodhans yw bian, mès wheg yns y martesen?
Gwycor:
Avallow Cox yns y, wheg certan.
Mêstres Mundy:
Ha pan vaner yw an re erel – an re dres ena?
Gwycor:
Braeburn yns y. Le wheg. Mès brâssa, heb dowt.
Mêstres Mundy:
Mar pleg. Me a vydn kemeres hanter-dêwdhek a’n re yw brâssa.
Gwycor:
Eus whans dhywgh a neppëth ken?
Mêstres Mundy:
Cawlvlejen. Hodna yw pòr vian. An aral, rypthy, yw meur gwell hy syght.
Gwycor:
Ha nebes caretys organek pàr hap? Poken me a yll gwertha panes dhywgh, fest dâ gà whalyta. Pò neb tra aral?
Mêstres Mundy:
Yw an panes organek?
Gwycor:
Nyns yns y hedhyw. Losow organek yw gwell yn fenowgh. Ny allaf vy argya ken. Saw an re-ma yw fresk glân, delycyùs. Prevy udn pens?
Mêstres Mundy:
Dâ lowr. Udn pens a’n caretys organek, hag udn pens panes i’wedh.
Gwycor:
Ha tùrnypen dhedha martesen?
Mêstres Mundy:
Gromercy na vadna’.
Gwycor:
Ot obma gàs avallow ha’gas losow. Duw genowgh why, Mêstres.
Colloquial Cornish
Possessive pronouns can be omitted conversationally whenever there is a reinforcing personal pronoun. For example, Coryn in Exercise 47 could have said just acowntyas ny instead of gàn acowntyas ny. Sometimes the mutation caused by a possessive pronoun is retained when the possessive itself is dropped. For instance, hothman vy ‘my friend’. But the mutation may well be dropped too, in which case you will hear just cothman vy ‘my friend’.
Forms of the Cornish verb that are called ‘subjunctive’ are mostly beyond the scope of this coursebook. They will be introduced in Cara Kernowek Book Three. But it will be useful at this stage to learn re bo ‘may there be’, and the pair re’ fo and re’gas bo ‘may you have’ (corresponding respectively to te and why). These occur in a number of colloquial expressions. Re here is the completive particle we have already learned. But a subjunctive verb gives ‘optative’ force to the idea of completion, so that it becomes a wish. We already know re bo govenek ‘I hope so, let’s hope so, etc’.
For a birthday or anniversary you can say:
Re’ fo Pedn Bloodh lowen dhis!
For Christmas and New Year you’ll be saying to your friends:
Re’gas bo Nadelyk lowen ha Bledhen Nowyth dâ!
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Eleven
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LESSON DÊWDHEK
LESSON TWELVE
More about adjectival clauses
An adjectival (relative) clause is introduced by link particle a whenever the noun being described is the subject or the direct object of the clause. But the particle is dropped before a form of bos beginning with a vowel; we employ eus, usy, usons as appropriate, not yma, ymowns. So, for example, in an ky [neb / hag] a wrug brathy an den ‘the dog who bit the man’, an ky, the noun being described is the subject: it was the dog that did the biting. In an den [neb / hag] a wrug an ky brathy ‘the man who(m) the dog bit’, the noun being described is the direct object: it was the man was on the receiving end of the biting. The technical name for the noun being described (or any pronoun substituted for it) is the ‘antecedent’.
When the antecedent is the subject the relative pronoun a must be followed by the he/she/noun form of the verb. So an keun [neb / hag] a wrug brathy an den ‘the dogs who bit the man’ but an den [neb / hag] a wrussons y brathy ‘the man who(m) they bit’. This rule applies in main clauses too. You have known it for a long time. For instance, an flehes a vydn mos dhe’n scol ‘the children will go to school’.
In English a preposition may precede ‘who’ or ‘which’ at the beginning of an adjectival clause or may come at the very end of the clause. In such a clause in Cornish we use a personal form of the relevant preposition, selected to refer back to the antecedent, and typically placed at the end of the clause.
When a preposition is used in this way there is an option to introduce the clause with may (literally ‘where’). Fifth State mutation follows may in the usual way, mayth is employed before a vowel, yma and ymowns become ma and mowns (without mutation). The preposition may then be omitted in formal Cornish if the meaning is still clear without it.
Here are some examples.
an bobel dhydo a vydnowgh gwil gweres dhodhans or
an bobel dhydo may fydnowgh gwil gweres [dhodhans]
‘the homeless people who(m) you’re going to help’
an dhescadores eus dhybm an brâssa revrons anedhy or
an dhescadores may ma dhybm an brâssa revrons [anedhy]
‘the teacher for whom I have the greatest respect’ or
‘the teacher who(m) I have the greatest respect for’
an ky a wrug an den whilas scappya orto or
an ky may whrug an den whilas scappya [orto]
‘the dog from which the man tried to run away’ or
‘the dog which the man tried to run away from’
an savla esa pùbonen ow cortos ryptho or
an savla mayth esa pùbonen ow cortos [ryptho]
‘the bus stop at which everyone was waiting’ or
‘the bus stop which everyone was waiting at’
The last example brings us back to what we learned in Lesson Eleven. If we employ may and omit ryptho, the sense is effectively ‘the bus stop where everyone was waiting’.
We also use may when the adjectival clause is introduced in English by ‘whose’. So we say, for example:
Pyw yw an den may ma y garr parkys wàr an lînen velen dhobyl?
‘Who’s the guy whose car is parked on the double yellow line?’
Negative adjectival clauses
Negative adjectival clauses are introduced by na followed by Second State mutation or by nag before a form of bos beginning with a vowel. Otherwise the constructions are the same as for affirmative clauses. We may use ma na instead of simple na if we prefer, with the same consideration of then possibly omitting the preposition.
Here are some examples.
an ky na wrug brathy an den bythqweth kyns
'the dog that had never bitten the man before’
an dhescadores nag eus dhybm an lyha revrons anedhy or
an dhescadores ma nag eus dhybm an lyha revrons [anedhy]
‘the teacher for whom I had not the slightest respect or
‘the teacher who(m) I had not the slightest respect for’
an savla nag esa den vëth ow cortos ryptho or
an savla ma nag esa den vëth ow cortos [ryptho]
‘the bus stop at which no one was waiting’ or
‘the bus stop which no one was waiting at’
Practys Naw ha Dêwgans – Exercise Forty Nine
What do these sentences mean?
An maw a dhôwysas an gnofen toos o an brâssa wàr an plât. Yth yw an wlas may ma y gotha myrgh trigys etto. An den gocky-na a vonkyas solabrës an carr a wrug vy gwertha dhodho dewetha seythen. Wharvedhyans o va na wrussyn ny gweles kyns. Fâss yw hedna a’n problem na wrussons y miras orto gans rach. Ple ma oll an canys coref a wrussys prena raga ny? Fatell allaf vy derivas taclow ma nag esof ow perthy cov? Scant ny woram hanter a’n istory may hyllowgh redya anodho i’n lyver-na. Py ma’n daffar may fydn ev byldya an crow ganso? Peur hyllyn ny vysytya an dre may ma dha vab ow studhya i'n ûnyversyta?
Practys Deg ha Dêwgans – Exercise Fifty
How would you say the following in Cornish?
That’s the same road we’ll be using tomorrow to drive home. Did they really eat all the food you’d brought? When will they bring back everything they took? Are you going to keep these half dozen carrots that haven’t yet been cooked? The old people I often did the shopping for in the days before the internet are still living in that house over there.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
cresy v believe, Hellës Helston, now now (interjection), splat m plot of ground, whedhel m story
Practys Udnek ha Dêwgans – Exercise Fifty One
Yma Elen Tonkin ow tysqwedhes dhe Mark an strêt in Hellës mayth esa hy trigys kyns.
Elen:
Ot obma an chy mayth esen vy trigys ino. Flogh en vy i’n termyn-na.
Mark:
A yllyn ny mos ajy?
Elen:
Nâ. Yma pobel erel trigys ino i’n jëdh hedhyw, heb mar.
Mark:
Pò ajy dhe’n lowarth martesen?
Elen:
Na yllyn màn. Lowarth nebonen yw tyller na yll pùb huny mos dredho. Now, gwra miras dres ena. Hèn yw an splat mayth esen ny ow qwary pel droos warnodho.
Mark:
Pel droos? In gwir?
Elen:
Eâ! Mebyon ha myrhas warbarth. Ha dha das o onen a’n vebyon mayth esen vy ow qwary ganso. Dell wosta solabrës – whedhel coth yw.
Mark:
Wèl, nyns esen vy ow cresy bys i’n eur-ma. An splat-na yw fest bian! Meur brâssa yw an park mayth esof ow qwary gans ow hothmans vy.
Elen:
Byttele ny a wrug gwary lowen teg pùb eur oll. Ha th’yw an tyller may feuv vy metyes gans Powl an kensa tro.
Mark:
Pana dermyn a veu hedna?
Elen:
Deg bledhen warn ugans alebma!
More words of quantity
We know the quantifier lies ‘many’, always followed by a singular noun, or employed as a stand-alone word; and we also know the phrase lies huny ‘many [people]’. Another quantifier used only with a singular noun is lower ‘quite a few’. This cannot be used as a stand-alone word without a following noun; nor with huny; but we can say lower onen. For example, yma lies wàr an estyllen-ma ‘there are lots on this shelf’ or yma lower onen i’n amary-na ‘there are quite a few in that cupboard.’
We know the quantifier nebes meaning ‘a little’ when used with a singular noun and ‘a few’ when used with a plural or collective noun. For example, nebes bara ‘a little bread’, nebes breghtanow ‘a few sandwiches’, nebes asclas ‘a few chips’. Nebes may also be employed as a stand-alone word, in which case the sense will depend on the context. For instance, Eus own dhis? Nebes. ‘Are you scared? A little.’ Eus pastys whath? Nebes. ‘Are there any pasties left? A few.’
For small amounts a useful word is tabm ‘a bit’. This may be followed directly by a singular noun or we may use it with preposition a. For example, tabm vytel ‘a bit of grub, a snack’, tabm a gân ‘a snatch of song’. We may also employ tabm as a stand-alone word. For instance, A wodhes Kernowek? Tabm. ‘Do you speak Cornish? A bit.’
Spot a ‘a spot of’ is another common phrase, generally used for small amounts of liquids. For example, tê ha spot a leth ino ‘tea with a little milk in it’. Badna ‘a drop’ is another possibility for liquids. This word is followed directly by a noun. For instance, Moy coffy mes a’n pot? Eâ, badna coffy, mar pleg. ‘More coffee from the pot? Yes, a drop of coffee, please.’
Vocabulary
Here are a few more new words.
pysk m fish, tatty m potato, vytamyn m vitamin
Practys Dêwdhek ha Dêwgans – Exercise Fifty Two
Yma Elen ow qwil bargen gans Danyel rag prës soper.
Danyel:
Pandr’yw dhe dhebry haneth orth soper?
Elen:
Pysk, tettys ha losow gwer. Tabm bara ’manyn.
Danyel:
Ogh! A ny allaf vy debry fa’ pebys in le losow gwer?
Elen:
Yma lower vytamyn in losow gwer.
Danyel:
Hag in fa’ kefrës!
Elen:
Yma shùgra i’ga sows cogh y. Uthyk tra. Yth esta ow tebry fav pebys yn pòr fenowgh solabrës.
Danyel:
Saw fatla mar qwrav vy dôwys nebes fa’ hedhyw? Adar lies.
Elen:
Wèl, dâ lowr. Mar mynta debry dha losow gwer, te a yll kemeres nebes fav gansans.
Bara ’manyn is ‘bread and butter’.
We have encountered fav coffy ‘coffee beans’ already. Now we can add fav pebys ‘baked beans’. There is an alternative spelling fâ for clipped fa’.
uthyk tra is a fixed stand-alone phrase meaning ‘a lot’.
Fatla mar? means ‘what if?’. Compare English ‘how would it be if?’
Saying ‘only’
Cornish has several ways of expressing the idea ‘only’. The most common method is to use a negative statement with preposition marnas ‘except’, very frequently shortened to ma’s (spelled mès by some; compare mès ‘but’). For example, ny vedhaf vy owth eva coref ma’s (mès) dywweyth an seythen ‘I only drink beer twice a week’.
We may use preposition saw ‘save’ as an alternative to marnas. But the many ways saw can be employed in Cornish risk being a little confusing. As an adjective saw means ‘intact’, also ‘safe’. And it is very common as a conjunction meaning ‘but’. Saw as preposition is generally a weaker contrast than marnas. Conjunction mès ‘but’ is derived from marnas, so naturally saw as conjunction is likewise generally a weaker contrast than mès. To reduce the possibility for confusion, preposition saw ‘save’ is reinforced with yn unsel (itself meaning ‘only’, but not found in more general use). For example, ny wrug ev kemeres saw onen yn unsel ‘he only took one, that’s all’.
A further way of saying ‘only’ generally is yn udnyk. But this is quite a forceful expression: literally it means ‘uniquely’. For example, ev a wrug debry onen yn udnyk ‘he ate just one’. Another fairly strong way to express ‘only’ is heb namoy. The word only itself, borrowed directly from English, is less emphatic and especially useful in short phrases. For instance, nyns esa lies huny i’n kyttryn – nebes flehes only ‘There weren’t many on the bus – only a few kids.’ The first vowel in Cornish only is short.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
botel m & f bottle, codna bregh m wrist, cres medium (also ‘middle’ as adjective), ewon col foam, glebyor m moisturizer, golghva f bathroom, gwara m goods, merchandise, gwycores f (female) trader, Japanek Japanese, omwolhy v wash (oneself), owraval m orange, ros col roses, sampyl m sample, sawor m fragrance (also flavour), stalla m stall, yogùrt m yoghurt
Practys Tredhek ha Dêwgans – Exercise Fifty Three
Hedhyw i’n varhas yma Cattern Mundy ow whythra stalla an gwara omwolhy.
Gwycores:
Why a garsa perna nampëth dh’agas golghva martesen?
Mêstres Mundy:
Nyns esof vy obma saw rag miras yn unsel.
Gwycores:
Wolcùm. Gwrewgh meras. Termyn cot pò termyn hir.
Mêstres Mundy:
An barr seban saworek-ma. Plesont teg. Pandr’yw?
Gwycores:
Hèn yw owraval Japanek – satsuma. Hag ot obma ewon omwolhy ha’n keth sawor dhodho.
Mêstres Mundy:
Me a vydn kemeres an ewon. Udn votel only. Eus neppëth ha sawor flourys ros ganso?
Gwycores:
Gwara omwolhy? Nag eus. Agan seban yw sawor frûtys dyvers yn udnyk.
Mêstres Mundy:
Yma dhywgh an glebyor-ma. Yogùrt corf acordyng dhe’n tôkyn warnodho. A nyns eus neb tra marnas hebma?
Gwycores:
Oll agan dehen corf yw sawor flourys – lies flour. Eâ, hèm yw sawor ros, an gwir yma dhywgh. Ot obma sampyl. Gwrewgh assaya wàr godna bregh.
Mêstres Mundy:
Hmm, dâ lowr. Mar nyns eus tra vëth a sawor ros marnas an glebyor, gas vy dhe gemeres udn pot anodho, cres y vrâster. Ev yw gwell ages y hanow!
perna is a common alternative form of prena
We use ewon omwolhy for ‘bubble bath’, and jel cowas for ‘shower gel’. But these days they are fairly interchangeable. Lydn seban is ‘handwash’ (literally ‘soap liquid’), not to be confused with lydn golhy lestry ‘washing up liquid’.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Twelve
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LESSON TREDHEK
LESSON THIRTEEN
Compound prepositions
There are three kinds of compound preposition in Cornish, exemplified by dhyrag ‘in front of’, warlergh ‘after’, in le ‘instead of’.
The first kind of compound is a single word that cannot be split. If the second element has personal forms, then the compound will have corresponding forms. So we say dhyragof, dhyworthys, dhywarnodho, etc, exactly as for ragof, worthys, warnodho.
The second kind of compound is also employed as a single word, but it may not be followed by a personal pronoun. Instead, the preposition splits, and the second element is preceded by the corresponding possessive pronoun. For example, warlergh an nosweyth ilow ‘after the concert’ but wàr hy lergh ‘after it’. Warbydn ‘against’, that we have already learned in its unsplit form, is another common preposition of this second kind. Here are all its possible forms when it is split.
wàr ow fydn ‘against me’
wàr dha bydn ‘against you’
wàr y bydn ‘against him’ or ‘against it’ (masculine reference)
wàr hy fydn ‘against her’ or ‘against it’ (feminine reference)
wàr agan pydn ‘against us’
wàr agas pydn ‘against you’ (plural or stranger)
wàr aga fydn ‘against them’
There is a variant erbydn, with identical meaning, that works in the same way. It is nowadays mostly confined to the literary language. The element pydn in all these forms is in an old dative form (now defunct) of pedn ‘head’.
The third kind of compound preposition consists of a simple preposition plus a noun. If this kind of preposition is applied to an ordinary noun or indefinite pronoun, it forms the first half of a genitive construction. So when we say ewon omwolhy in le seban, the strict grammar is ‘bubble bath in the place of soap’, that is ‘bubble bath instead of soap’. But verb-nouns, demonstrative pronouns and personal pronouns may not appear as the second element of a genitive construction. In the first two of these cases we employ preposition a. For example, in le a wortos ‘instead of waiting’ and in le a hedna ‘instead of that’. As for personal pronouns, they may become possessive pronouns if the sense permits; or we employ preposition a.
Other compound prepositions of this kind are in cres ‘in the middle of’ and dre rêson ‘because of’. So we say in y le ‘instead of him’, in cres anodhans ‘in the middle of them’, dre rêson an glaw ‘because of the rain’, etc.
In kever ‘in respect of, in relation to’ is a compound preposition of the third kind that is exceptional because it can only be used with a possessive pronoun. For example, gesowgh ny dhe vôtya in y gever ‘let’s take a vote on it’.
In dadn ‘under’ is also exceptional, being treated as a simple preposition even though it appears to be a compound. Another preposition like that is in mesk ‘among’.
There are also a number of complex prepositions that are not compounds. These always end in a simple preposition, and their grammar is straightforward. So we have for instance in mes a ‘out of’, and we can say in mes a’n chy ‘out of the house’ or in mes anodho ‘out of it’. Similarly we have ajy dhe ‘inside’, avês dhe ‘outside’, adhelergh dhe ‘behind’ (an alternative to adrëv), in despît dhe (or in despît wàr) ‘in spite of’.
Ha (optionally hag before a vowel) is also a preposition, meaning ‘with’, which is the primary sense of the word, from which its meaning ‘and’ has been derived. It too forms complex prepositions, such as tro ha and wor’tu ha, which both mean ‘towards’.
Saying ‘about’
The literal equivalent in Cornish of ‘about’ is adro dhe, another comples preposition we have known for some time. But it should not be overused. For variety we may employ in kever, so long as we remember the limitation to possessive pronouns only. Simple preposition a will often be sufficient. Occasionally wàr may be suitable. For example, ny a wrug dadhel a’n dra-na ‘we discussed that’ or yma Perys ow qwil meur whel i’n eur-ma wàr argemydnans ‘Perys is now doing a lot of work on publicity’.
Practys Peswardhek ha Dêwgans – Exercise Fifty Four
How would you say the following in Cornish?
He ran ahead of (= in front of) me, and I followed behind (= after) him. Take it off the fire immediately! She always has an umbrella with her instead of putting on a raincoat. There’ll be lots of questions about this plan. Everyone is arguing against us.
Prepositions with pronouns
Only a relatively few Cornish prepositions may be used with a bare personal pronoun. A common one is ès ‘than’, so we may say ès my, ès ty, etc. Marnas and saw also accept a personal pronoun, hence marnas ev and saw hy ‘except [for] him’ and ‘save [for] her’, for instance. Adar too can be used with personal pronouns, as in yth yw my, adar ty ‘it’s me, not you’. Complex prepositions ending ha can be followed by a personal pronoun. For example, tro ha why ‘towards you’.
Where personal forms of the preposition exist, these must be used; though it is true that a few colloquial variants of personal forms do actually employ a bare personal pronoun. So we must say warnan or wara ny ‘on us’ but dhe ny ‘to us’ is acceptable.
There are a few one-word prepositions that may be used straightforwardly with a noun, but which must add dhe when used with a pronoun (with personal forms as appropriate). So for example we say adrëv an daras ‘behind the door’ but adrëv dhodho ‘behind it’. Other common instances of this usage are adâl ‘opposite’ and abarth ‘on behalf of, in favour of’.
The preposition bys in ‘up to’ is employed only with nouns. With pronouns it becomes bys dhe (with personal forms as appropriate), and this may not be used with nouns. So we say, for instance, mos bys i’n govep ‘go up to the monument’ but mos bys dhedhy ‘go up to it’. Bys ‘up to’ on its own is only used with numerals, and in fixed phrases like bys vycken ‘for ever’.
Practys Pymthek ha Dêwgans – Exercise Fifty Five
How would you say the following in Cornish?
Demelsa’s cousin Vernôna is younger than her. I argued in favour of the plan; you argued on its behalf too; but all the time he was arguing against the idea. At the Christmas pantomime everyone was shouting ‘Behind you!’ She walked up to him and struck him on the face. You have many problems – tell me a little about them.
Mar meaning ‘so’
Mar meaning ‘if’ is followed by Fourth State mutation of a consonant and becomes mars before a form of bos beginning with a vowel. There is another word mar which is followed by Second State mutation. This mar means ‘so’ and is used with adjectives. For example, mar vrâs ‘so big’, mar vian ‘so small’, mar lowen ‘so happy’.
Fairly colloquially, we may use mar ‘so’ to express a quality emphatically. For instance, Mar wheg yw an ôn bian-ma! ‘This little lamb is so sweet!’
In all registers of Cornish mar can be used to express a comparison of equality. For example:
An ôn o mar wydn avell an ergh.
‘The lamb was as white as snow.’
An ôn-ma, nyns yw mar wydn avell an ôn-na.
‘This lamb isn’t so (as) white as that one’.
Mar does not undergo Fifth State mutation after particle yn. But the combination rarely occurs.
A statement like nyns yw ev mar hir avell y vroder ‘Jowan is not as tall as his brother Jamys’ is generally understood to mean that John is less tall than James. Just as in English.
Personal forms of avell
Here are the personal forms of preposition avell ‘as (also ‘like’)’.
avellof or avell my as / like me
avellos or avell ty as / like you
avello or avell ev as / like him or as / like it (masculine reference)
avelly or avell hy as / like her or as / like it (feminine reference)
avellon or avell ny as / like us
avellowgh or avell why as / like you (plural or stranger)
avellans or avell anjy or avella (mostly confined to written Cornish) as / like them
In idiomatic Cornish you may also sometimes encounter avell meaning ‘than’.
Practys Whêtek ha Dêwgans – Exercise Fifty Six
What do these sentences mean?
Ow chy vy yw mar vrâs avell agas chy why. Nyns yw agan lowarth mar wer avell dha lowarth jy. Hy blew yw mar rudh avell caretys. Mar wocky osta! Mos wàr an train a vëdh mar uskys avell drîvya dy i’n carr. O an poll neyja i’gas ostel mar dhown avell an poll i’gan cresen sport? An attêsva boblek-na yw mar blos! Nyns yw ow than munys chy mar dobm avell an tan spladn usy i’n tavern. Yw an descador mar godnek avell an dhyscoryon? An practys-ma, nyns yw mar gales avell lies aral.
Practys Seytek ha Dêwgans – Exercise Fifty Seven
How would you say the following in Cornish?
His wife is not as dear to him as the other women in his life. I had less money than them perhaps, but I was always as happy as them. She’s not as stubborn as him. Alys plays netball as skilfully as Demelsa. You’re never as busy as me!
Result clause
We have so far looked at may as it is used in adjectival clauses. The basic ‘where’ sense of may also develops, via the notion ‘whereby’, into ‘[so] that’ expressing a consequence or result.
In writing we usually put a comma before may when it is used to mean ‘[so] that’ in this way.
As with other senses of this word, may is followed by Fifth State mutation, mayth is employed before a vowel, yma and ymowns become ma and mowns (without mutation). For example, an bows o mar hir, may whrug hy tava bys i’n leur ‘the dress was so long that it touched the floor’. When the result clause is negative we substitute ma na for may, with Second State mutation. For example, degës o an groglen, ma na yllyn vy miras in mes ‘the curtain was drawn, so that I could not look out’. We use ma nag before forms of bos beginning with a vowel. Y lavrak yw mar got, ma nag usy va ow cudha y ufernyow ‘his trousers are so short they don’t cover his ankles’.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
an Norvÿs m the Earth, budhy v drown, bÿs-efan worldwide, global, derevel v rise, dyrêwl out-of-control, dysert m desert, enys f enesow island, gass m gas, gwederjy m greenhouse, pedn êhel m pole (of planet), peryl m peril, danger, planet m planet, rew m ice, sewyans m consequence, result, specyfyk specific, tesyans m warming
Practys Êtek ha Dêwgans – Exercise Fifty Eight
Yma dhe Danyel Tonkin lesson tre in Dorydhieth unweyth arta. Yma va orth y jeckya gans Elen warbarth.
Elen:
Wèl, pëth a wrusta scrifa?
Danyel:
Yma oll an bobel wàr an planet ow qwil gass gwederjy mar dhyrêwl, mayth yw an Norvÿs gyllys tobma. Hag yma an tesyans bÿs-efan ow pêsya whath.
Elen:
Pòr dhâ. Ha pandr’yw oll an sewyans yn specyfyk?
Danyel:
An gewar yw gwylsa pùpprës. Yma an tyleryow dysert ow tevy, ma na yll tiogow soweny. Hag yma an rew wàr an pednow êhel ow tedha, may ma an mor ow terevel.
Elen:
Ha pëth yw an sewyans a vor uhelha?
Danyel:
Yma tir isel ryb an mor ow mos budhys, may fëdh darn a’n enesow in peryl brâs wosa nebes bledhydnyow.
Elen:
In gwir. Ha lower splat in Kernow kefrës.
Talking about being ill
If you are sick, you can say you have the relevant illness using the usual formula yma … dhybm. You can also use yma ... warnaf. For example, th’esa anwos warnaf ‘I had a cold’. Here are names for other common ailments.
cleves strewy m hayfever, covyd m covid, drog dens m toothache, drog pedn m headache, fakel briansen f sore throat, flû m flu, losk pengasen m heartburn, skit m diarrhoea, stoppyans m constipation, whej ha skit phr gastro-enteritis
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
benthygya v borrow, botas col boots, clâv sick, ill, durya v endure, gnas f character, lendya v lend, medhegva f infirmary (also GP’s surgery), possybylta m possibility, strethassay m lateral flow test
Practys Nawnjek ha Dêwgans – Exercise Fifty Nine
Yma Mark Tonkin owth ombarusy dhe wary pel droos. Saw nyns yw ev lowen.
Mêster Teague:
Pandr’yw an mater, Mark?
Mark:
Ny allaf vy gwary i’n fyt hedhyw pàr hap.
Mêster Teague:
A wrusta kelly radn a’gas daffar? Yma nebes taclow a yll bos lendys dhyso.
Mark:
Nâ, benthygya nyns eus otham, yma pùb daffar genef. Cris an kensa XI, lavrak ha lodrow. Botas vy kefrës.
Mêster Teague:
Nena ple ma’n problem?
Mark:
Warnaf yma anwos crev ha drog pedn uthyk i’wedh. Saw me a gemeras strethassay i’n vedhegva. Negedhek. Nyns yw covyd!
Mêster Teague:
Wèl, mos tre yn clâv yw possybylta. Poken dysqwedhes gnas an lêdyor ha durya in rag. Hedhyw yma fyt a bris dhyn. Ha ty yw capten an parra, Mark.
Mark:
Hèn yw gwir. Me a vydn gwary dhana. Gwainya ny a wra sur!
Using lowr and similar words
Lowr ‘enough’ is employed as an attributive adjective in a sentence like Eus charj lowr i’n pil? ‘Is there enough charge in the battery?’ It is used as a predicative adjective in a sentence like Yw hedna lowr rag agan viaj? ‘Is that enough for our journey?’ It is used as an adverb in sentences like A wrusta debry lowr? ‘Have you eaten enough?’ or Yw hedna brâs lowr? ‘Is that big enough?’ It may also mean ‘quite’ in a phrase like dâ lowr ‘quite good’ or ‘okay’.
Lower meaning ‘quite a few’ preceding a singular noun (Lesson Twelve) is in origin just a variant spelling of lowr. It was the revivalist R. Morton Nance who first differentiated the spelling systematically. It is convenient. But the preferred spelling of many Cornish speakers nowadays is lowr for every meaning, so be prepared to find that too.
Lowr is followed by preposition a as an idiomatic quantifier meaning ‘lots of’. For example, lowr a bobel ‘lots of people’. Cornish has several such expressions with similar meaning. We have met meur a ‘much, a lot of’ already; this belongs to a slightly higher register. Plenta ‘plenty (of)’ is followed directly by a noun. Tomals ‘ample amount’ is usually followed by preposition a. Then there are showr a and cals a, both meaning ‘loads of’; these belong to a slightly lower register. Preposition a is optional with cals. Sometimes cals is heard and written as calj. Choosing between showr and cals may be influenced to some extent by the original meaning of these words: showr ‘shower’, cals ‘[rubbish] heap’. But there’s no need to be very rigid about it.
Saying ‘too’ in the sense ‘too much’
Re means ‘too’ in front of adjectives. The adjective is put into Second State. For example, re vrâs ‘too big’, re dobm ‘too hot’. We can use yn to form a corresponding adverb in the usual way. For instance, hy a dhrîvyas yn re uskys ‘she drove too fast’, but yn is often omitted before re, so hy a dhrîvyas re uskys is equally possible.
If re ‘too’ is used on its own, without a following adjective, then the meaning is ‘too much’ or ‘too many’. For example, ty a dhebras re ‘you’ve eaten too much’ and ty a gomptyas re ‘you’ve counted too many’. Note also the phrase re nebes ‘too little’, where nebes takes the place of expected bohes. A similar replacement occurs in the phrase very nebes ‘very little’.
Which re is which
The completive particle re can never be confused, because it only appears immediately before an inflected verb where grammatically no other re can be placed.
If we encounter the phrase re anodho or re anedhy or a similar phrase with a singular noun, then we must be dealing with re ‘too much’ For example, re a dra dhâ ‘too much of a good thing’.
If we encounter a phrase like re anodhans or a similar phrase with a plural or collective noun, the meaning could be ‘some’ or ‘too many’. Which sense did Cattern Mundy intend with her re anodhans about the apples in Exercise 48? Or was she being a little tongue-in-cheek with the trader perhaps?
If Mrs Mundy had said radn anodhans ‘some (literally, part) of the apples’, we could not mistake her meaning. And an unambiguous way of saying ‘too many’ is the adjectival phrase re aga nùmber. For example, yma problemow re aga nùmber ‘there are too many problems’ and an problemow yw re aga nùmber ‘the problems are too many’.
First and Second State distinguish re munys ‘tiny ones’ from re vunys ‘too tiny’. In re uskys ‘fast ones’ and re uskys ‘too fast’ the Cornish words are identical, but the two phrases work differently in terms of the grammar of a whole sentence, so the intended meaning will usually be plain, provided the phrases are not used in isolation without any context.
Exclamatory particle assa
Assa is used to introduce a sentence of exclamation. It is followed immediately by the verb, with Second State mutation. Before a form of bos beginning with a vowel assa is clipped to ass. For example:
Assa vëdh rial!
‘That will be splendid!’
Ass osta fol!
‘What an idiot you are!’
Vocabulary
Here are a couple more new words.
porcyon m portion, yahus healthy (good for health)
Practys Try Ugans – Exercise Sixty
Tùbmas ha’y gothman Hecka re wrug prena pysk hag asclas ganso.
Hecka:
Yma calj asclas genef obma. Re gà nùmber. Eus whans dhis kemeres an re-ma dhyworta vy?
Tùbmas:
Wèl, eus! Meur ras. Scant ny vëdh asclas lowr dhybm in udn porcyon.
Hecka:
Re dew osta. Yahus nyns yw.
Tùbmas:
Ogh, ass esta ’predery re ’dro dhe’n yêhes!
Hecka:
Nyns esta jy ow predery lowr.
Tùbmas:
Avorow me a wra debry salad.
Hecka:
Mès an Avorow, ny vëdh devedhys nefra.
Duals
In Cornish nouns may be singular, plural or collective. It is also possible to combine the numeral dew / dyw with the singular of a noun to express the idea of ‘two together’. Sometimes this is straightforward word-building, as in dywros ‘bicycle’, making a new singular noun that then has its own plural dywrosow ‘bicycles’. But in the case of paired parts of the body the resulting combination is considered to be a ‘dual’ form of the noun, rather than an entirely new word.
In spoken Cornish the only very common dual is dêwla ‘(two) hands’, formed from leuv ‘hand’ (only in fixed phrases in speech, especially shakya leuv ‘shake hands’), and distinguished from dorn ‘hand (in action)’ and dornow ‘hands (in action)’. Dêwlin ‘(two) knees’ formed from glin ‘knee’ is relatively common.
Here are some duals from the literary language that are occasionally heard in speech: dewfrik ‘nose’ (formed from frig ‘nostril’), dewlagas formed from lagas ‘eye’, dywscoth formed from scoodh ‘shoulder’, dywvregh formed from bregh ‘arm’. But in conversational Cornish you are more likely to hear frigow, lagasow, scodhow, brehow.
You should not assume that all body pairings can be expressed as a dual in Cornish. For instance, troos f is ‘foot’, but for ‘feet’ we always use plural treys; there is no authentic dual form.
Because numeral dew / dyw itself is followed by Second State mutation, some apply Second State to a following adjective after any dual. But there is no historical ground for such an approach. A better way is to put attributive adjectives after duals into Second State only if they are formed from feminine nouns. So dewlagas should be followed by First State because lagas is masculine. But dêwla and dywvregh should be followed by Second State since leuv and bregh are feminine. Thus dewlagas blou ‘blue eyes’, dêwla dobm ‘warm hands’, dywvregh grev ‘strong arms’.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Thirteen
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LESSON PESWARDHEK
LESSON FOURTEEN
Indirect statement with fatell
Here is an example of reporting ‘direct speech’.
Hy a leverys, “Kernowek yw tavas bew.”
She said, “Cornish is a living language.”
'Indirect statement’ most typically occurs when we report what someone says (or thinks) without giving their words as an exact quotation. Cornish can construct an indirect statement in a variety of ways. Probably the easiest is to use fatell. For example:
Hy a leverys fatell o Kernowek tavas bew.
‘She said that (literally ‘how’) Cornish was a living language.’
Or more colloquially
Hy a lavaras tr’yw Kernowek tavas bew.
‘She said Cornish is a living language.’
There are several points to note.
First, fatell can be clipped to tell or colloquially it may become ter (abbreviated to tr’ before forms of bos beginning with a vowel) when it is used to mean ‘that’ introducing the indirect statement. Fatla, the alternative word for ‘how’, is not employed in this role. And whereas in English we may omit ‘that’ at the beginning of the indirect statement, fatell (tell, ter, tr’) is an essential introductory word; it cannot be dropped.
Secondly, if the verb of saying etc is in a past tense (imperfect or preterite) but the verb of the indirect statement is in the present tense, then we change the present tense in the indirect statement to past tense (imperfect or preterite as the sense requires). This is called the ‘rule of sequence of tenses’. It derives from the grammar of classical Latin. But we must acknowledge that it is frequently ignored these days in all but the most formal usage.
There is a third important feature of indirect statement. Pronouns often need to be changed. For example:
Hy a leverys, “Yth esof ow colhy ow blew.”
She said, “I’m washing my hair.”
Hy a leverys fatell esa hy ow colhy hy blew.
‘She said that she was washing her hair.’
Or more colloquially
Hy a lavaras tr’ujy hy colhy hy blew.
‘She said she’s washing her hair.’
After fatell, tell, tr’ we employ eus, usy, usons as appropriate, not yma, ymowns.
Vocabulary
Here are a few more new words.
Normandy Normandy, perfeth perfect, ranjy m flat, apartment, Sèn Malow Sant-Maloù (French, Saint-Malo)
Practys Onen ha Try Ugans – Exercise Sixty One
Yma Powl hag Elen ow tôwlel towl a’ga degolyow hâv.
Powl:
Hedhyw yth esen vy ow côwsel orth Jack i’n sodhva. Ev êth gans y deylu dhe Vreten Vian warleny. Ha Jack a lavaras fatell yw an pow perfeth rag degolyow hâv.
Elen:
Yth esof ow perthy cov a Sèn Malow, fatell yw an dre ha’y fosow coth fest teg.
Powl:
Jack a lavaras tr’esens y oll trigys dyw seythen in Sèn Malow, ha tell wrussons y vysytya lies tyller meur aga les in Breten Vian hag in Normandy inwedh.
Elen:
Me a vydn whythra nebes i’n gwias. Ranjiow hâv ha prîsyow.
Practys Dew ha Try Ugans – Exercise Sixty Two
How would you say the following in Cornish?
They report that the weather will be fine tomorrow. I decided just one is enough. We thought your performance was splendid. I’ll tell her that you’re ill. He argued the conference had been a great success.
Indirect statement with dell
Dell, meaning literally ‘as’, is another word that can be used to introduce an indirect statement. For example:
Hy a leverys dell o Kernowek tavas bew.
She said that Cornish was a living language.
In this usage dell may colloquially become der (abbreviated to dr’ before forms of bos beginning with a vowel). Sequence of tenses and changing pronouns as for fatell. There is a strong stylistic tendency to move the grammatical subject of what was said, if it is a noun, so that it stands in front of dell. Thus, hy a leverys Kernowek dell o tavas bew is better Cornish.
After dell, dr’ we employ eus, usy, usons as appropriate, not yma, ymowns.
Now try doing Exercise 62 again, but this time using dell and its variants instead of fatell and its variants.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
an pëth what (followed by adjectival clause), Bretonek m Breton (language), descryvyans m description, hevleny this year, person m person, plâss m place
Practys Try ha Try Ugans – Exercise Sixty Three
Yma Elen ow terivas an pëth a wrug hy cafos i’n gwias.
Elen:
Holergh on ny in gwir. Hevleny lies ranjy yw kemerys solabrës. Saw me a gafas hebma hag a wrug erhy dystowgh.
Powl:
Yma’n descryvyans a’n ranjy-ma ow tysqwedhes dell yw va brâs lowr dhe whe person.
Elen:
Ytho chambour dhe Demelsa hy honen oll.
Powl:
Ha tell eus vu wàr an mor. Ny vydnaf vy leverel an pris dell yw onen isel vëth, mès an plâss yw fytty heb dowt. Ober dâ, Elen.
Demelsa:
Mabm a leverys tell vëdh fytty i’wedh mar mydnaf vy desky nebes Bretonek lebmyn, dhyrag an degolyow. Fatla, ny wòn màn! Gans oll an TODN kefrës!
Powl:
Only nebes geryow, Demelsa! In Sèn Malow nyns yw Bretonek namoy côwsys gans lies huny. Soweth!
Saying ‘almost’
Cornish has several ways of saying ‘almost’. We can substitute particle namna for affirmative particle y. We employ Second State mutation after namna; and we use namnag before forms of bos beginning with a vowel. For example, namna wrug ev codha ‘he almost fell’ and namnag yw naw eur ‘it’s almost nine o’clock’. After namnag we employ eus, usy, usons as appropriate, not yma, ymowns.
Otherwise we can use the word ogasty ‘almost’. Ev a wrug codha ogasty ‘he almost fell’. The word is particularly useful as a short response. A wrusta codha? Ogasty! ‘Did you fall? Almost!’
With an adjective we can also just say ogas, meaning literally ‘near’. For instance, ogas gorfednys ‘almost finished’. Before a noun, a pronoun or a numeral we use ogas ha: for example, ogas ha mothow ‘almost a disaster’, ogas ha pùbonen ‘almost everyone’, ogas hag ugans ‘almost twenty’.
Vocabulary
Here are a few more new words.
cowl-dhyfygys exhausted, burnt out, perthyans m patience, truan poor (to be pitied)
Practys Peswar ha Try Ugans – Exercise Sixty Four
Demelsa re wrug seny hy crowd in menestrouthy cowethas drâma in Trûrû, ha gelwys veu Powl hag Elen dhe gyffewy wosa an performans.
Powl:
Namnag yw hanter-nos! Peur hyllyn ny dybarth worteweth?
Elen:
Perthyans, Powl. Sqwith on ny agan dew. Ple ma Demelsa?
Powl:
Dres ena. Ow tôwlel hy honen ogasty wàr an maw re sêmly-na.
Elen:
Hmm, prës yw dybarth in gwir. Demelsa, os ogas parys dhe’n fordh?
Demelsa:
Eâ sur! Desempys iredy. Gas vy dhe gemeres ow crowd.
Powl:
Mar pleg. Ogas ha dêwdhek eur solabrës. Ha’n Dama Wydn ow floghcovia lies our.
Elen:
Res yw bos avorow i’n scol dhe jy, Demelsa. Ha dhybmo bos i’n clojy avarr.
Demelsa:
Da weles, Jonathan. Y yw spênys oll, ow Mabm ha Tas truan. Ma otham gà gorra dhe’n gwely.
Spênys oll means ‘exhausted’.
More about prefix om
In Lesson Eight we saw how prefix om is one way of expressing a reflexive verb where the sense is ‘oneself’. The prefix is also used to form a reciprocal verb where the sense is ‘each other’. So we can say, for example, anjy a vydn omvetya ‘they are going to meet up’.
Frequently, however, we express a reciprocal with the phrase an eyl y gela. For example, ymowns y ow scodhya an eyl y gela pùb termyn ‘they always support one another’. The formula an eyl y gela is invariable, but it can be split by a preposition. For example, ny a wrug metya an eyl gans y gela lies bledhen alebma ‘we met each other many years ago’.
We may optionally substitute hy ben for y gela if the reference is exclusively feminine. It is possible to say either an cathas a aspias an eyl y gela i’n strêt or an cathas a aspias an eyl hy ben i’n strêt ‘the cats saw each other in the street’. But if ‘the dog and the cat fought each other in the street’, then we can only say an ky ha’n gath a wrug omlath an eyl gans y gela i’n strêt.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
felshyp m friendship, omdava v contact (one another), scodhya v support
Omsensy means ‘feel, consider’ (of emotions or mind). It is derived from the basic verb sensy meaning ‘hold’.
Practys Pymp ha Try Ugans – Exercise Sixty Five
Yma Demelsa ha’y hothman Alys ow scodhya an eyl hy ben. Lower dëdh yma Mark ha Danyel ow qwary trainow munys an eyl gans y gela. Mès pòr gales yw dhe Demelsa ha’y breder cafos taclow dhe les kebmyn. Traweythyow, ytho, nyns usons y owth acordya an eyl orth y gela yn tâ. Yma Demelsa hag Alys owth omvetya pùb dëdh ogasty. Yn fenowgh ymowns y owth omdava dre vainys socyal inwedh. Yma Demelsa owth omsensy hy felshyp gans Alys dell yw tra a bris brâs.
Trainow munys means ‘model railway(s)’.
Asking ‘how much’ and ‘how many’
To ask ‘how much’ we can use pygebmys or py seul as in pygebmys mona eus genes? or py seul mona eus genes? ‘how much money have you got [on you]?’
When used with a plural noun pygebmys and py seul mean ‘how many’, as in pygebmys / py seul chairys eus i’n rom? ‘how many chairs are there in the room?’ But pan[a] lies or py lies, followed by a singular noun, is more common than pygebmys (py seul) in this sense. Pygebmys (py seul) is however always used with a collective noun.
We connect the pygebmys (py seul) or pan[a] / py lies phrase to the verb with link particle a followed by Second State mutation if it is the subject or object of the verb, and with affirmative particle y followed by Fifth State mutation in other cases. Particle a is omitted before forms of bos beginning with a vowel. Affirmative particle y becomes yth before a vowel. For example, pygebmys caretys a vynta kemeres? ‘how many carrots would you like?’ and py lies our y fëdh res dhyn gortos? ‘how many hours will we have to wait?’ However, in colloquial Cornish the link particle a is frequently substituted for affirmative particle y after a question word or phrase, and the particle then disappears as usual before vowels in bos). This practice is especially common when the question is made with pan or pana. So we may also say pan lies our a vëdh res dhyn gortos?
We can use pygebmys? on its own for a quick question ‘how much?’ without a full sentence But ‘how much?’ when enquiring about the price of something is pana bris? For ‘how many?’ without a full sentence we always say py seul?
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
bardh m bard, bern m concern, dasvêwor m revivalist, fur wise, sensible, gwythresek active, Kembrek m Welsh (language), kesobery v co-operate, present present, profya v offer
Practys Whe ha Try Ugans – Exercise Sixty Six
Pygebmys a wodhowgh adro dhe’n Kernowek ha’y istory? Fatl’yw an perthynas inter Kernowek, Bretonek ha Kembrek? Pana lies bledhen alebma y feu scrifys an cotha textow Kernowek usy genen whath? Fatell eson ny owth ûsya oll an textow rag dasvêwa tavas fytty dhe’n dedhyow hedhyw? Fatla wrug an kensa dasvêworyon kesobery an eyl gans y gela? Pëth usy an bobel wythresek ow qwil i’n present termyn? Fatl’yw gàs opynyon a’ga spêda?
A wodhowgh why gortheby dhe bùb qwestyon? Pòr dhâ. Saw gwrewgh remembra: an bardh Caradar a leverys yn fur dell yw cows Kernowek moy y vern ages cows adro dhe’n Kernowek. Gwrewgh assaya! Pan lies gorthyp a yllowgh why profya in Kernowek?
Indirect question
An indirect question adjusts the pronoun and the tense just as occurs for an indirect statement. For example:
Me a wovydnas orty, “Esta ow colhy dha vlew.”
I asked her, “Are you washing your hair.”
Me a wovydnas orty mars esa hy ow colhy hy blew.
I asked her if she was washing her hair.
Just as for indirect statement, the tense of the indirect question is often left unadjusted these days in less formal usage. Mar (mars) corresponds exactly to English ‘if’ beginning a closed indirect queston.
Practys Seyth ha Try Ugans – Exercise Sixty Seven
How would you say the following in Cornish?
We asked them if they had enough money to buy all the pizzas. I enquired if she still had a cold. They’ll ask how much is a second class ticket from Truro to London. If you’re asking who cares, the answer is ‘No one’. Shall I ask him when and where he found it?
Colloquial Cornish
Prepositions are typically unstressed, and they are sometimes spelled to reflect weakened pronunciation. So instead of gans, orth, dhyworth you may encounter gèn, ort, dhort. Refer back to Exercise 36. The preposition in can appear as en or et. And inter may appear as tredh.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Fourteen
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LESSON PYMTHEK
LESSON FIFTEEN
Indirect statement with infinitive construction
Another common way of expressing indirect statement is to use a clause employing the so called ‘infinite’ or ‘infinitive’ construction. This comprises noun / pronoun + dhe + verb-noun. For example:
Hy a leverys Kernowek dhe vos tavas bew.
Literally, ‘She said Cornish to be a living language.’
We change pronouns as for fatell and dell.
Hy a leverys, “Yth esof ow colhy ow blew.”
She said, “I'm washing my hair.“
Hy a leverys hy dhe wolhy hy blew.
Literally, ‘She said she to wash her hair.’ or
Hy a leverys hy dhe vos ow colhy hy blew.
Literally, ‘She said she to be washing her hair.’
With this construction there is no need to worry about choosing a tense for the indirect statement. On the other hand, it may be more difficult to understand what time is intended. We must rely on the context to make that clear.
Thus, Hy a leverys Kernowek dhe vos tavas bew could mean any of:
‘She said that Cornish had been a living language.’ or
‘She said that Cornish was a living language.’ if we opt not to adjust the tense
(Her actual words: “Cornish was a living language.”)
or
‘She said that Cornish was a living language.’ or
‘She said that Cornish is a living language.’ if we opt not to adjust the tense
(Her actual words: “Cornish is a living language.”)
or
‘She said that Cornish would be a living language.’ or
‘She said that Cornish will be a living language.’ if we opt not to adjust the tense
(Her actual words: “Cornish will be a living language.”)
As you can see, modern English is not wholly without ambiguity. But the degree of ambiguity is much greater in Cornish when we employ the infinitive construction.
If you are worried about the temporal ambiguity when using this construction, you can add a clarifying adverb or adverbial phrase. In the case of the example you could say Hy a leverys Kernowek dhe vos tavas bew i’n jëdh hedhyw. But the original spoken words were, you recall, simply Kernowek yw tavas bew. It may be dangerous to embroider them – here the added phrase perhaps makes the statement more limited or more emphatic than the speaker may have intended.
Practys Eth ha Try Ugans – Exercise Sixty Eight
How would you say the following in Cornish? Provide three sentences for each: using fatell and related words, employing dell and related words, and using the infinitive construction.
I said it was the silliest idea I had heard in many years. He reports that everyone has the equipment they need. It is amazing that she walks three miles to lectures every morning. Did your father say he agreed? Mark felt, after a dreadful first half, that his favourite team had already lost the match.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
alwheth m key, carten f card, coronal m colonel, grassa v (dhe nebonen) thank (someone), gwary bord m board game, kedhow m mustard, keslowena f congratulations, lovan f rope, mùrder m murder, Pywdô Cluedo®, stevel f room, tyby v think (an idea)
Practys Naw ha Try Ugans – Exercise Sixty Nine
Danyel re drouvyas an gwary bord Pywdô.
Danyel:
Mabm! Fest lowen oma. Mark ha Demelsa, anjy a gollas. Aga dew! Ha my a wrug gwainya!
Elen:
Fatla wrusta hedna, Danyel?
Danyel:
Kyns oll, me a wrug tyby Mêstresyk Redrudh dhe wil an mùrder i’n hel dauncya gans an lovan. Hèn o cabm yn tien.
Elen:
Ha pandra wrusta tyby nessa?
Danyel:
Coronal Kedhow dhe wil an mùrder i’n gegyn gans an alwheth know.
Elen:
O hedna gwir?
Danyel:
Nag o, soweth. Ena me a jaunjyas only an stevel. Me a leverys an mùrder dhe vos gwrës i’n rom studhya. Ha gans Mark nyns esa carten vëth. Na gèn Demelsa. Na genef vy naneyl. Ytho hèn o gwir glân – ha my a wrug gwainya!
Elen:
Keslowena! Now remember grassa dhe Demelsa ha Mark a dhesky an gwary dhyso.
Alwheth know means ‘spanner’.
Remember is the inflected imperative (addressing one person) of remembra.
Some other uses of the infinitive construction
The infinitive construction is also employed in certain other situations.
It may be used with govenek ‘hope’. For example, yma govenek dhedhy ev dhe bassya y apposyans ‘She hopes he’ll pass his exam’.
It can be employed with otham ‘need’. For instance, ma otham dhèm why dhe waya gàs carr ‘I need you to move your car’.
We may use the infinitive construction with whans ‘wish’. For example, yma whans dhedha ty dhe dhos dhe’n kyffewy ‘they want you to come to the party’.
The infinitive construction is also employed with res ‘necessity’ when making an assertive inference. For instance, res yw why dhe gôwsel Kernowek in Yêth an Weryn ‘you must have been speaking Cornish at Yeth an Werin’. Contrast res yw dhywgh côwsel Kernowek in Yêth an Weryn ‘you must speak Cornish at Yeth an Werin’, expressing obligation. And remember that res requires the short forms of verb bos.
Vocabulary
Here are a few more new words.
arayans m layout (also arrangement), cortes polite, grassyans m gratitude
Practys Deg ha Try Ugans – Exercise Seventy
Otta Danyel ha’y rassyans ev.
Danyel:
Gromercy, Demelsa, te dhe wary Pywdô genama.
Demelsa:
Res yw Mabm dhe erhy hebma dhis. Wèl, cortes teg osta, ytho my a vëdh cortes inwedh. Bÿth na lavar a’n dra, Danyel! Pywdô yw gwary a’n cotha in gwir, mès y brevy unweyth arta a veu showr a wherthyn.
Danyel:
Mark, gromercy ty kefrës dhe wary genam.
Mark:
Dâ lowr, Danyel. Ow thro vy lebmyn. Yma otham dhybm ty dhe dhos ha gorfedna genef arayans nowyth dhe’n trainow munys.
Bÿth na lavar a’n dra means ‘Don’t mention it’, politely acknowledging someone’s thanks.
’If’ construction with dos
Mar ‘if’ is often combined with inflected forms of verb dos, and these are followed by ha + verb-noun. For example:
mar teuv vy (or teuma) ha redya 'if I read' )literally, ‘if I come and read’)
mar têta ha redya 'if you read'
mar teuva ha redya 'if he reads'
mar teu hy ha redya 'if she reads'
mar teun ny ha redya 'if we read'
mar tewgh why ha redya 'if you read' (plural or stranger)
mar towns y ha redya 'if they read'
So we could say, for instance, mar teuv vy ha redya an lyver-ma, me a yll desky moy Kernowek ‘if I read this book I can learn more Cornish’.
We use either particle ny (more common) or particle na to make a negative ‘if’ clause. As usual, these become respectively nyns and nag before forms of bos beginning with a vowel. So we might say, for example:
Mar ny (or na) dheta ha checkya an wiasva, ny wodhes py fordhow yw degës. ‘If you don’t check the website, you won’t know which roads are closed.’
As always, we generally substitute hag for ha in front of a vowel. For instance, why a vëdh attês mar tewgh hag esedha obma ‘you’ll be comfortable if you sit here’.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
aysel m vinegar, larj generous, olew m olive oil, plegadow m wish, inclination, sêsnans m dressing (for salad)
Practys Udnek ha Try Ugans – Exercise Seventy One
Tùbmas ha Hecka êth dhe dhebry salad.
Tùbmas:
(dhe was an boosty) Yma whans dhybm erhy an salad.
Hecka:
Ha dhybmo kefrës.
Tùbmas:
(dhe Hecka) Ha mar teuma hag erhy borger gans an salad, le gwag vedhaf vy dohajëdh pàr hap.
Hecka:
Ogh, Tùbmas!
Tùbmas:
(dhe’n gwas) Mara teuv vy ha govyn borger, a vëdh keus warnodho?
Gwas:
Mars owgh plegys, syra. Ha mar tewgh hag erhy an borger, why a yll kemeres asclas ganso inwedh.
Hecka:
Tùbmas, nâ! Asclas ny a dhebras de.
Tùbmas:
Dâ lowr. Asclejen vëth, mès borger ha keus wàr ev. Ha’n salad, mar pleg.
Gwas:
Ha pan vaner sêsnans wàr agas salad?
Hecka:
Olew hag aysel a vëdh dâ.
Tùbmas:
Maras yw res debry salad, tabm whecka tra yw flegadow vy. Me a vydn kemeres porcyon larj a sêsnans mil enys.
Mara is an alternative form of mar ‘if’ and maras is an alternative form of mars.
Talking about sand
The ordinary word for ‘sand’ when it is on the seashore is treth. The tendency to interpret treth as ‘beach’ is understandable, but treth can in fact be any sandy place that is like the seashore: a sand pit in a children’s play area, for instance. And not every beach will be treth – if the beach is shingle, that will just be bùly bian (‘pebbles’) ryb an mor. Other Cornish words may correspond to English ‘sand’. A sand dune is towan. Sand as a material, or occurring naturally inland, is tewas. Note that treth has a colloquial alternative dreth.
Practys Dêwdhek ha Try Ugans – Exercise Seventy Two
It’s a warm weekend and the Tonkins are relaxing on a Cornish beach. Look at the picture below. What can you talk about, using all you have learned so far? You can say what is not in the picture as well. Ask questions about it too.
Extra vocabulary: bùcket m bucket, castel m castle, gwedrow howl pl sunglasses, hot m hat, towal m towel
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Fifteen
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LESSON WHÊTEK
LESSON SIXTEEN
Indirect statement with bos clause
To express an indirect statement when the tense of the actual words is present we may substitute a ‘bos clause’ for an infinitive construction. For example:
Hy a leverys bos Kernowek tavas bew.
‘She said that Cornish was a living language.’
Here bos Kernowek is akin to a genitive construction. Literally, the meaning is ‘She said Cornish’s being a living language.’
The form of a bos clause resolves the ambiguity inherent in the infinitive construction, because its use as an indirect statement signals the actual words must have been “Kernowek yw tavas bew.”
Usually in Cornish, as we have learned, possessive pronouns are employed with a verb-noun to indicate a direct object. But in the case of a bos clause, exceptionally, the possessive pronoun will refer to the grammatical subject. For instance:
Hy a leverys y vos tavas bew.
‘She said that it (Cornish) was a living language.’
(Literally, ‘She said its being a living language.’)
For greater clarity we often prefer to use special personal forms of verb-noun bos instead.
So
Hy a leverys dha vos ow côwsel Kernowek yn tâ.
may also be expressed as
Hy a leverys y bosta ow côwsel Kernowek yn tâ.
‘She said that you speak Cornish well.’
Here are all the personal forms of verb-noun bos. The initial y in these forms is a merely a ‘dummy’ that causes no mutation. It is not the affirmative particle y that is regularly followed by Fifth State mutation.
y bosaf vy or y bosama 'that I am / was'
y bosta 'that you are / were'
y bos ev 'that he is / was' or 'that it is / was' (masculine reference)
y bos hy 'that she is / was' or 'that it is / was' (feminine reference)
y boson ny 'that we are / were'
y bosowgh why 'that you are / were' (plural or stranger)
y bosans y 'that they are / were'
So putting all this together:
Hy a leverys, “Th’eroma colhy ow blew.”
becomes
Hy a leverys hy bos ow colhy hy blew.
or
Hy a leverys y bos hy ow colhy hy blew.
Bos clause in other situations
A bos clause may replace an infinitive construction in any situation where the reference is present as opposed to future or past. So we might for instance say either res yw ty dhe vos muscok or res yw dha vos muscok ‘you must be mad’. Contrast the examples with govenek, otham, whans and res in Lesson Fifteen, where in each case the reference was either future or past, so a bos clause would not be a possible alternative.
Indirect statement expressed with affirmative particle y
Whenever the actual words begin with affirmative particle y (yth), we are permitted to retain them as an indirect statement, adjusting the pronoun and optionally adjusting the tense as usual. So a further possibility will be Hy a leverys yth esa (or yma) hy ow colhy hy blew.
Indirect statement with fronted subject
There is another way of tackling indirect statement when its subject is positioned before the verb (connected by link particle a) and the actual words are future or preterite (or employ any inflected tense of the principal verb). If the actual words are for instance “Me a vydn (or wra) golhy ow blew” or “Me a wrug golhy ow blew” or “Me a wolhas ow blew”, then we can simply retain these words as an indirect statement (adjusting the pronoun), saying Hy a leverys hy a vydn (or wra) golhy hy blew or Hy a leverys hy a wrug golhy hy blew or Hy a leverys hy a wolhas hy blew as appropriate.
This way of forming an indirect statement is shunned by many speakers of Cornish today, perhaps because it is too reminiscent of English grammar. Certainly it will be poor style to express every relevant indirect statement in this manner, to the exclusion of other possibilities. But there can be no harm in using the method judiciously.
Very limited interchangeability of short and long forms
If the predicate is an adjective, yma and ymowns may be substituted for usual yw / yns. Imperfect esa / esens may not be substituted for o / êns. But we do sometimes encounter o / êns where esa / esens would more strictly be required.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
dystrôwy v destroy, genesyk native, kepar dell2 just as / like, porth m harbour (also cove), prowt proud, settya v set
Practys Tredhek ha Try Ugans – Exercise Seventy Three
An teylu Tonkin yw devedhys in Sèn Malow.
Danyel:
A allaf vy mos ow honen oll dhe’n dre in mes?
Mark:
Na yllyth. Kepar dell in Trûrû, res yw dhe jy mos gèn Mabm pò Tas pò Demelsa pùpprës. Naneyl ny allama vy mos ow honen oll, saw in cres an dre yn unsel.
Danyel:
Pandr’yw dhe weles obma?
Mark:
Wèl, an mor, ha’n porth. Ha cals istory. Fosow settys adro dhe’n dre goth. Ny a yll kerdhes warnodhans. Yma an dre teg – mars yw dâ genes tyleryow a’n par-na. Tas a lavaras tell yw Sèn Malow udn dre a veu dystrôwys in Secùnd Gwerryans an Bÿs. Ha leverel y bosans y prowt a’y byldya arta dres lies bledhen.
Danyel:
A yllyn ny côwsel Sowsnek orth an bobel?
Mark:
Ymowns y oll ow côwsel Frynkek. Me a wor nebes geryow deskys i’n scol. Yma darn a’n dus ow côwsel Bretonek kefrës, saw ma meur moy Bretonek i’n pow dhe’n west. Demelsa a dhescas tabm Bretonek. An kensa chaptra a’y lyver hy! Ma hy ow leverel bos res dysqwedhes revrons dhe bobel ha’ga thavas genesyk mars eson ny ow qwetyas revrons dhe’n Kernowek. A wosta? Bretonek ha Kernowek yw kenderow an eyl dh’y gela.
Danyel:
Now kenderow yw dhe wil revrons dhodho. Mabm a leverys hedna lower mis alebma, i’n carr, ow mos dhe vysytya Jûlyan in Keresk. Orth pobel obma i’n dre dhana – my a vydn côwsel Kernowek.
Le meaning ‘place’
Le ‘less’ should not be confused with le ‘place’. The usual words for ‘place’ are tyller and plâss, but the old word le ‘place’ is still employed in certain fixed expressions. We have already met py le ‘where’ and in le ‘instead of’. To these we can add in neb le ‘somewhere, anywhere’ and in pùb le ‘everywhere’. And may ‘where’ is regularly strengthened to le may whenever it has no specific antecedent. For example:
Ev êth le may hylly ev cafos dewas.
‘He went where he could get a drink.’
Likewise, we employ le na if the ‘where’ clause is negative. For example:
Ev êth le na wodhyn ny y gafos.
‘He went where we could not find him.’
We sometimes find le may / le na used when may alone, or ma na in a negative context, would be enough. In these cases, a comma is appropriate in writing.
Ev êth dhe’n tavern, le may hylly ev cafos dewas.
‘He went to the pub, where he could get a drink.’
Ev êth dhe Loundres, le na yllyn ny y gafos.
‘He went to London, where we could not find him.’
Colloquially le may can become le’ma, lebma or leba.
Conjunction pàn
We cannot use may to mean ‘when’ or ma na ‘when not’ if there is no specific antecedent. Instead we employ the conjunction pàn. This is followed by Second State mutation. The negative equivalent is pàn na, followed by Second State, or pàn nag before forms of bos beginning with a vowel. For example:
Pàn wrussyn ny vysytya Trûrû, pòr dhâ veu an beneglos genen.
‘When we visited Truro, we really liked the cathedral.’
Me a gemeras marth pàn na wrug ev dos adermyn.
‘I was astonished when he did not arrive on time.’
Occasionally pàn / pàn na is used even though may / ma na would also be possible. For example, we might say either of the following:
An kydnyaf yw an sêson may ma an del ow codha dhywar an gwëdh.
An kydnyaf yw an sêson pàn usy an del ow codha dhywar an gwëdh.
‘Autumn is the season when the leaves drop from the trees.’
When the action or state of the verb is continuous, pàn is equivalent both to ‘when’ and also to English ‘while’. For example, ny a wrug gweles lies gùlan pàn esen ny ow kerdhes wàr an âls ‘we saw many gulls when (while) we were walking on the cliff’.
For now, you should employ pàn with past tenses only. You will need a little more grammar to handle pàn correctly in other situations. That will come in Book Three. And you must be careful not to confuse pàn ‘when’ (short vowel) with pan ‘what’ (longer vowel).
Colloquially pàn is often heard as pà, and it can be so written. Note also the irregular particle that may be inserted in idiomatic phrases like pàn th’esa dyweth an vledhen ‘at the end of the year’.
Practys Peswardhek ha Try Ugans – Exercise Seventy Four
How would you say the following in Cornish?
When there was a lot of snow last winter, we couldn’t drive on these roads at all. I met your friend Alys while I was visiting Truro. That must be the time I had flu. Once they had finished their supper they sat and watched a film. I was shocked when they told me what they had done.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
Eglos Melan Mullion, Kembra Wales, peneglos f cathedral, sans holy, semlant m appearance
Practys Pymthek ha Try Ugans – Exercise Seventy Five
Yma an teylu Tonkin ow vysytya an Beneglos in Sèn Malow.
Demelsa:
Kerys dhybm yw an beneglos-ma. Hy yw meur cotha ès an beneglos in Trûrû.
Powl:
Nebes radnow inhy a veu byldys i’n dêwdhegves cansbledhen. Byldyes o an beneglos in Trûrû i’n nawnjegves. Onen a’n nowetha peneglosyow in Breten Veur yw hodna.
Mark:
A wrug Malow, an den sans, byldya an eglos-ma pà veuva devedhys in mes a Gembra?
Powl:
Hèn o pell kyns, i’n wheffes cansbledhen.
Danyel:
Ha pàn nag o va devedhys dhe’n Vreten Vian na whath, yth esa ev trigys in Eglos Melan in Kernow.
Elen:
Hèn yw whedhel coth, Danyel, adar an gwir.
Powl:
Gesowgh ny dhe gerdhes le may hyllyn ny miras wàr an Fenester Rosen.
Demelsa:
Arnowyth yw, mès pòr deg hy semlant.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Sixteen
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LESSON SEYTEK
LESSON SEVENTEEN
Negative indirect statement
A negative indirect statement is always introduced by na (occasionally dell na with transposed noun subject – see Lesson Fourteen). We apply Second State mutation after na and dell na. Before a vowel in forms of bos we use nag (dell nag). For example:
Hy a leverys, “Nyns yw Kernowek tavas bew.”
Hy a leverys nag o Kernowek tavas bew.
or occasionally
Hy a leverys Kernowek dell nag o tavas bew.
Sequence of tenses and changing of pronoun as for fatell and dell.
Hy a leverys, “Nyns esof ow colhy ow blew.”
Hy a leverys nag esa hy ow colhy hy blew.
‘She said that she was not washing her hair.’
or more colloquially
Hy a leverys nag usy hy ow colhy hy blew.
‘She said she isn’t washing her hair.’
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
arvor m coast, fram m frame, Gwengamp Gwengamp (French, Guingamp), Lanuon Lannuon (French, Lannion), qwartron m part of town (also direction), Sèn Briek Sant-Brieg (French, Saint-Brieuc)
Saying 'nor'
Na means ‘nor’. It combines with possessive pronouns just like ha ‘and’. It likewise becomes nag – optionally but very frequently – when the next word begins with a vowel.
Practys Whêtek ha Try Ugans – Exercise Seventy Six
Udn jëdh a howl tobm, an teylu Tonkin êth i’n carr tro ha’n west. Anjy a erviras nag esa whans brâs dhedhans sevel in Sèn Briek pò Gwengamp. Y a wrug pêsya bys in Lanuon. An lies chy fram predn in qwartron coth an dre-na o pòr sêmly dh’aga syght; dell o kefrës an eglos wàr an vre awartha. Acordys veu Elen ha Demelsa nag o Sèn Malow hanter mar dhynyak. Wosa prës ly an pymp a lewyas dhe’n arvor in rag. Ena yth esa Elen ha Demelsa owth omhowla gà honen yn lowen, ha Danyel a dhalathas byldya castel treth. Mark a leverys na vydn maw fur gwil an eyl tra na’y gela, hag yth esa ev ow qwary gwyls lowr gans y das i’n mor.
Chy fram means ‘timber frame house’.
Conjunction kyn(th)
To say ‘though’ or ‘although’ introducing what is called a ‘concessive clause’ we use kyn. This is followed by Fifth State mutation. But before a verb beginning with a vowel or h the form is kynth. For example:
Kyn whrug ev ûsya mappa, ev êth bytegyns wàr stray.
‘Although he used a map, he still got lost.’
Kynth esen ny ow coslowes gans rach, ny wrussyn ny clôwes tra vëth.
‘Though we were listening carefully, we didn’t hear anything.’
After kynth we employ eus, usy, usons as appropriate. We do not say kyn yma or kyn ymowns.
We use kyn na if the concessive clause is negative. This is followed by Second State mutation. Before a form of bos beginning with a vowel kyn nag takes its place. For instance:
Kyn na allama bos i’n class an dhyw seythen usy ow tos, me a wra studhya an lessons chy.
‘Although I can’t attend class the next couple of weeks, I’ll study the lessons at home.’
Kyn nag eus lies ehen coref i’n tavern-ma, an re usy obma yw fest dâ.
‘Though there aren’t many beers in this pub, the ones they have are very good.’
Practys Seytek ha Try Ugans – Exercise Seventy Seven
How would you say the following in Cornish?
Although he is older than me, I’m wiser than he will ever be. Though there are plenty of buses, she chose to walk home, all the way from the city centre. There are only three toppings on this pizza though I certainly ordered four. We’re convinced they’re under a lot of stress although no one knows the reason. Though I studied three years at university, finding work is very hard.
Coordinating versus subordinating conjunctions
So far we have learned eight coordinating conjunctions: ha ‘and’, pò (bò) ‘or’, poken ‘or else’, na ‘nor’, saw ‘but’, mès ‘but’, rag ‘for’, ytho ‘[and] so’. And by now we have also learned quite a number of subordinating conjunctions: mar ‘if’ and its negatives mar ny and (less often) mar na; dell (der, dr’) ‘as, also that’; fatell (tell, ter, tr’) ‘that’; na (occasionally dell na) ‘that … not’; may ‘so that’ and its negative ma na ‘so that … not’; pàn ‘when’ and its negative pàn na ‘when … not’; kyn ‘although’ and its negative kyn na ‘although … not’.
There is an essential difference between these two different types of conjunction. After a coordinating conjunction any kind of word may appear, depending entirely on the sense of what we wish to say. But a Cornish subordinating conjunction is always followed immediately by a verb, subject to just one exception that we shall learn in Cara Kernowek Book Three. If you ever find yourself saying or writing a noun, a pronoun, an adjective, an adverb or a preposition immediately after a subordinating conjunction, you can be sure straightaway that you are not employing Cornish grammar correctly.
Vocabulary
Here are a couple more new words.
cresosek mediaeval, derivadow information (told or available for telling)
Practys Êtek ha Try Ugans – Exercise Seventy Eight
Kynth esa an howl ow spladna in Lanuon i’n jëdh kyns, an nessa myttyn o leun a law. An teylu Tonkin a wrug vysytya an hendrajy in castel cresosek Sèn Malow. Istory an dre yw hir. Yma lowr a dherivadow anodho i’n hendrajy, kyn nag yw va brâs y les dhe flehes martesen. Danyel a leverys y vos sqwith glân. Ogh soweth!
Saying ‘before’ and ‘after’
In English ‘before’ and ‘after’ may be used either as prepositions or as conjunctions. But Cornish kyns [ès] ‘before’ (occasionally dhyrag ‘ahead of’), wosa ‘after’, warlergh ‘after’ are only employed as prepositions. They may be used with a verb-noun when there is no change of subject. Otherwise they may be followed by an infinitive construction, and in this usage they are equivalent to the corresponding English conjunctions.
Here are a couple of examples with a verb-noun.
Me a wrug alwhedha an daras kyns [ès] mos dhe’n gwely.
‘I locked the door before going to bed.’
Wosa vysytya lies gwiasva ev o moy ancombrys vëth.
‘After visiting a lot of websites he was even more confused.’
Here are a couple of examples with an infinitive construction.
Yth esen vy solabrës ow wherthyn kyns ès ev dhe worfedna an ges.
‘I was already laughing before he had finished the joke.’
Warlergh my dhe bassya an apposyans oll an teylu a wrug gôlya gans kyffewy.
‘After I passed the exam the whole family celebrated with a party.’
Here are a couple of examples with a bos clause.
Wosa bos y das marow ev a werthas an chy.
‘After his father died he sold the house.’
Hy a dheuth ajy kyns y vos parys.
‘She came in before he was ready.’
Though we can employ either kyns or kyns ès with a noun (including a verb-noun) and a bos clause, we may only use kyns ès with a pronoun or an infinitive construction. Kyns ages occurs rarely instead of kyns ès.
Kyns has an alternative clipped form kyn that is optionally used in the compound preposition kyn[s] pedn ‘by the end of, within (a period of time)’. Be careful not to confuse kyn[s] ‘before’ with kyn (kynth) ‘although’.
Kyns is a busy word. We have also encountered it when it is used as an adverb meaning ‘previously’; and in the phrase kyns oll ‘first [of all]’ (also ‘most importantly, above all’); and adjectivally to mean ‘former’ (always in First State).
Practys Nawnjek ha Try Ugans – Exercise Seventy Nine
How would you say the following in Cornish?
Didn’t you check the price before hurrying to order all that kit on-line? Will your brother be showing her the photos before she departs. I’ll do it before the end of the month. The police investigated the matter carefully after receiving your letter. We can get supper ready after this programme has finished.
Vocabulary
Here are a couple more new words.
a verr spÿs soon, tour m tower
Scon (also yn scon) and a verr spÿs both mean ‘soon’. Scon carries the idea of something happening quickly; a verr spÿs highlights the brevity of the intervening time. Spÿs has a parallel form speyss that some prefer.
Practys Peswar Ugans – Exercise Eighty
Kyns ès an teylu dhe dhybarth orth an hendrajy, y êth wàr an tour awartha rag aspia an vu. Yth esa an glaw ow codha whath yn fen. Glëb êns y dredhans a verr spÿs, wosa anjy dhe gerdhes dhe’n treth bian in dadn fosow an dre. Scant nyns eus den vëth dhe weles, drefen an gewar uthyk. Ervirys veu Elen bos otham mos muscok yn tien. In hy sagh yth esa oll an dyllas neyja. Ytho y a wrug lebmel, aga fymp, i’n todnow. Warlergh gwary ena yn whyls, nyns o Danyel sqwith màn namoy.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Seventeen
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LESSON ÊTEK
LESSON EIGHTEEN
Asking ‘why’
Cornish says prag to ask ‘why’. In Book One we encountered it as a quick question on its own. It can also be built into a full sentence, in which case it must be followed by affirmative particle y (yth) in formal Cornish (for which link particle a may be substituted in more colloquial registers – it will then drop out before forms of bos beginning with a vowel). Remember that y causes Fifth State mutation; a causes Second State mutation. For example:
Prag y whrug ev mos dhe Bosvena?
or more colloquially
Prag a wrug ev mos dhe Bosvena?
‘Why did he go to Bodmin?’
But prag is always followed by yma and ymowns (which have affirmative particle y embedded in them), never by eus, usy or usons. For example, prag yma kebmys pobel obma? why are there so many people here?
When prag is used on its own, or comes at the end of a sentence, an extended form praga can optionally be used instead. For example:
Hy a wrug govyn praga.
‘She asked why.’
In Book One we encountered prag na ‘why not’ used as a question on its own. When this forms part of a sentence na is followed, as usual, by Second State mutation and nag is substituted for na before forms of bos beginning with a vowel. For example:
Prag na vydnowgh why côwsel Kernowek?
‘Why won’t you speak Cornish?’
Prag nag usons y i’n rom desky?
‘Why aren’t they in the classroom?’
Finally, we should note colloquial variants [rag] fraga and [rag] fra for both prag a and praga; colloquial variants [rag] fraga na and [rag] fra na for prag na.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
astel ober m strike (industrial dispute), pobas v bake, sens a ges m sense of humour, slynk slippery (also masculine noun ‘slide’), trebuchya v stumble, tu m side, tùlla disappoint (also cheat, deceive), yar f hen, chicken
Practys Onen ha Peswar Ugans – Exercise Eighty One
Danyel:
Prag y whrug an yar mos dres an fordh?
Cothman scol:
Na woram. Fraga rug hy nena mos dres an vor?
Danyel:
Rag dos bys i’n tu aral.
Cothman scol:
Dha sens a ges yw a’n lacka oll, a wosta?
Saying ‘because’
To give a reason we employ drefen, dre rêson, rag and awos. While any of these prepositions can mean ‘because of’, each one has its own peculiarities that must be observed.
Drefen is used with nouns (including verb-nouns), nominal clauses (that is, infinitive constructions and bos clauses), and na (nag) clauses. It may also be used like rag as a coordinating conjunction meaning ‘for’.
Dre rêson is used with ordinary nouns (not verb-nouns), nominal clauses, and na (nag) clauses. Dre rêson a is used with pronouns.
Preposition rag in the sense ‘because of’ is employed with infinitive constructions and with na (nag) clauses. And in the phrase rag hedna ‘therefore’. Otherwise it usually means ‘for’ (benefit or purpose). With a verb-noun its meaning is nearly always purpose – as in Danyel’s chicken joke (Exercise 81); but very occasionally we may encounter rag + verb-noun with some other meaning.
Awos is used in the sense ‘because of’ with nominal clauses, but not with na (nag) clauses, nor is it found before verb-nouns other than bos. With ordinary nouns and pronouns awos means ‘concerning’, ‘because of’, ‘in spite of’ according to context.
Practys Dew ha Peswar Ugans – Exercise Eighty Two
What do these sentences mean?
Ny a vydn kemeres kyttryn dre rêson an trainow dhe vos in astel ober. Contentys on ny dre rêson nag usy an kyttrynyow in astel ober. Hy a godhas awos bos an leder pòr serth. Why a vëdh saw teg drefen nag yw an stappys serth. Anjy a dheuth ha vysytya awos my dhe bobas tesen. Y coodh dhedhy mos dhe’n clojy drefen hy bos pòr glâv. Tùllys êns y dre rêson na wrug vy pobas tesen. An maw a drebuchyas rag yth esa rew slynk wàr an cauns. Me a wor bos an rew slynk, rag an maw a drebuchyas warnodho. An golsowysy a vëdh sqwith glân, drefen nyns eus tra vëth nowyth i’n performans-ma.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
Carrek Loos i’n Coos St Michael’s Mount, el m angel, Dowr Tamar the River Tamar, empîr m empire, Frank m Frenchman, Meneth Myhâl Mont Saint-Michel, mytern m king, Roman Roman
Practys Try ha Peswar Ugans – Exercise Eighty Three
Wosa dëdh a law uthyk, an howl re dheuth ha spladna arta. An teylu Tonkin yw gyllys tro ha’n ÿst, dhe vysytya Mont Saint-Michel.
Mark:
Meneth Myhâl, prag yma ev in Normandy, adar Breten Vian?
Demelsa:
Drefen an tyller dhe vos kemerys gans an Francas Coth orth dyweth an Empîr Roman.
Danyel:
Ha prag yth yw Meneth Myhâl y hanow?
Elen:
Dre rêson an el Myhâl a wrug dysqwedhes y honen lies cansbledhen alebma hag erhy byldya eglos warnodho.
Danyel:
In gwrioneth?
Elen:
Wèl, martesen. Yth esa an bobel ow cresy indelma.
Demelsa:
Ha Carrek Loos i’n Coos a veu rës dhe eglos Meneth Myhâl gans an mytern a’n tu aral dhe Dowr Tamar. Hèn yw skyla hy hanow Sowsnek. Saw an meneth-ma yw meur brâssa, heb dowt.
Francas Coth: Demelsa is referring here to the Franks, a Germanic tribe that founded Neustria, one of the forerunners of modern France.
Conjunction abàn
To say ‘since’ with a clause we use abàn. Mutation and negative as for pàn (Lesson Sixteen). In English we can use ‘since’ to speak about time or to give a reason, and Cornish abàn can be used in both these ways too.
English can also employs ‘as’ to give a reason, but Cornish does not use dell in this sense. You should either use abàn or one of the ‘because’ words that were explained earlier in this Lesson.
Vocabulary
Here are some more new words.
cler clear, desîr m desire, kentrevak m neighbour, tregas m stay (in a place)
Kerdhes in mes gans means ‘see, date, go out with’ in the romantic sense.
Lawl is a conversational form of leverel ‘say’.
Practys Peswar ha Peswar Ugans – Exercise Eighty Four
What do the these sentences mean?
Meur moy lowen yw ow hentrevogyon abàn wrussons y dallath desky Kernowek. Convedhes ny wòn prag esta whath ow kerdhes in mes gèn an maw, abàn yw cler lowr y vos wor’ dha dùlla jy. Abàn na wra glaw ma’s yn scav, pàr hap y hyllyn ny ponya dy pòr uskys. Abàn esta ‘covyn, me ’ra leverel dhys. Wèl, dhe lawl an gwir, ha te ow covyn …
Practys Pymp ha Peswar Ugans – Exercise Eighty Five
Ogas yw dyweth degolyow an teylu in Breten Vian. Abàn veu gà thregas i’n pow pòr blesont, yma desîr dhodhans vysytya a verr spÿs arta, ha whythra moy a’n tyleryow yw mar byctùresk. Demelsa yw ervirys dhe dhesky Bretonek yn sad rag an nessa tro. An apposyansow TODN, scant ny wrug hy predery anodhans abàn yw hy devedhys i’n wlas-ma leun a daclow dhe les. Saw remembrys yns y lebmyn! A wrug hy gà fassya? Ha’ga fassya yn tâ? Warlergh nebes dedhyow hy a wra worteweth y wodhvos ...
Dhe les (literally, ‘to [one’s] interest’) is broader than English ‘interesting’. Depending on the context it may mean ‘useful’ or ‘valuable’. Frequently the sense embraces all these ideas.
Colloquial Cornish
Do not be shy to elide weak vowels. The a in an ‘the’ is weakest of all because it is purely a spelling convention: it is hyper-correct to pronounce it a and, if you do, you will create confusion with a’n ‘of the’. Though we may write yma an, for example, we nearly always say yma’n.
Likewise the vowel of dhe is often too weak to be heard in rapid speech. So although we might write dhe ev, we will generally say dh’ev.
Formal written Cornish marks only a few specific elisions. The reality of easy-flowing conversation is rather different. As well as words being run together, some words and phrases that begin with an unstressed vowel are often clipped, so that you may hear ’vell for avell, ’vorow for avorow, ’saya for assaya, ’dro-ma for an dro-ma ‘this time’, and so on.
Model answers for the exercises in this Lesson Eighteen
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GERVA
VOCABULARY
The listing is comprehensive for what has been covered specifically in Books One and Two. If you wish to go further at this stage, there is always Gerlyver Kescows – a Cornish dictionary for conversation.
Click or tap here for the dictionary
Abbreviations: adj adjective, adv adverb, col collective noun, conj conjunction, f feminine noun, interj interjection, m masculine noun, part particle, phr phrase, pl plural noun, prep preposition, pron pronoun, quant quantifier, v verb-noun.
Superscript numerals indicate required mutation of following word: 2 Second State, etc. (2) means that Second State mutation depends on the overall grammar.
In entries for ordinary nouns, the plural form is also given; except that for collective nouns it is the singulative that is often added. All singulative nouns in -en are feminine with a plural in -ednow.
Names of cities, towns and villages can be treated as feminine because cyta or tre or pendra can be understood. Most can equally be regarded as genderless (but Loundres is always feminine). A few transparent names may be treated as masculine or feminine according to their composition – Penzans can thus be considered masculine because pedn is masculine or feminine because it is a tre.
Cardinal and ordinal numerals are listed up to twenty, together with the cardinals for fifty, a hundred and a thousand.
A name of letter A
a2 part interrogative particle used to mark closed question
a2 part link particle used to connect preceding subject or direct object to verb
a2 part vocative particle, optional when addressing someone
a2 prep from; of
a2 pron who / which (introducing adjectival clause)
â interj ah
a’n par-ma phr such, like this
a’n par-na phr such, like that
a ble phr where from
a verr speyss See a verr spÿs
a verr spÿs phr soon
a’y vodh phr willingly, gladly
abàn2 conj since
abarth prep on behalf of, in favour of (with nouns)
abarth dhe2 prep on behalf of, in favour of (with pronouns)
abecedary m alphabet
abrës adv early
acordya v agree
acordyng dhe2 prep according to
acowntyades f acowntyadesow female accountant
acowntyas m acowntysy accountant
adâl prep opposite (with nouns)
adâl dhe2 prep opposite (with pronouns)
adar prep apart from
addys adj additional, extra
adermyn adv on time
adhelergh dhe2 prep behind
adhevîs adv first class
adhewedhes adv late
adrëv prep behind (with nouns)
adrëv dhe2 prep behind (with pronouns)
adro dhe2 prep around; about
aga3 possessive pron their; them (direct object of verb-noun)
agan possessive pron our; us (direct object of verb-noun)
agas possessive pron your (plural or stranger); you (plural or stranger, direct object of verb-noun)
ages See ès
airêwnans m air conditioning
ajy adv in(side)
ajy dhe2 prep inside
aken dhewboynt f akednow dewboynt diaeresis
aken dhieskynus f akednow dieskynus grave accent
aken grobm f akednow crobm circumflex accent
alebma adv from here; ago
âls f âlsyow cliff
Alter Non Altarnun
alwhedha v lock
alwheth m alwhedhow key
alwheth know m alwhedhow spanner
amanyn m butter
amary m amarys cupboard
amendya v put right, mend
amêthyans m agriculture
amowntyor dêwlin m amowntyoryon laptop (computer)
amowntyor legh m amowntyoryon tablet (computer)
an(2) definite article the
an Bardh Meur m the Grand Bard
an eyl hy ben phr one another, each other (feminine reference)
an eyl y gela phr one another, each other
an jëdh See dëdh
an jëdh hedhyw phr the present day
an keth adj the same
an keth hedna phr the same [one / thing]
an kethsam adj the very same
an Norvÿs m the Earth
an pëth pron what (followed by adjectival clause)
an ragwel wàr an awel phr the weather forecast
an Tir Uhel North Cornwall
ancombra v embarrass; confuse
ancombrus adj embarrassing; confusing
anjy personal pron they, them
anken m adversity, stress
antarlyk m antarlyckys pantomime
anwos m chill; cold (illness)
ap m appyow app
apposyans m apposyansow examination
aral adj (pl erel) other
arayans m arayansow arrangement; layout
arbednyk adj particular, special
arbenygya v specialize
areth f arethyow speech; lecture
arethor m arethoryon speaker (someone who gives a talk or lecture)
argemydnans m advertising, publicity
argya v argue (a case)
arhadow m order(s)
arhanty m arhantiow bank (financial)
arnowyth adj modern
arta adv [back] again
arvor m coast
Arwednak Falmouth
arweth f arwedhyow signal
asclas col asclejen chips, fries
ascorn m eskern bone
asen m & f asenas ass, donkey
askel f eskelly wing aspia v catch sight of
ass See assa2
assa2 part exclamatory particle
assaya v try (exercise, effort)
assayva f assayvaow gym
astel ober m strike (industrial dispute)
astell f estyll board
astell wydn f estyll gwydn whiteboard
aswon v know, recognize
atorny m atornys solicitor
attês adj comfortable
attêsva f attêsvaow toilet
a-ugh prep above
Austol St Austell
aval m avallow apple
aval kerensa m avallow tomato
avarr adv early
avauncya v advance, progress
avell prep as, like; than
avês dhe2 prep outside
avorow adv tomorrow
awartha adv at the top
awedhya v influence
awel f awellow breeze; weather See also an ragwel wàr an awel
Awhêr vëth! phr Don’t worry!
awoles adv at the bottom
awos prep because of; in spite of
aysel m vinegar
badna m banahow drop
bàn See in bàn
bara m bread
bara cogh m brown bread
bara nowyth m fresh bread
bardh m berdh bard See also an Bardh Meur
bargen m bargenys bargain
bargen tir m bargenys farm
barr m barrys bar
basnet m basnettys helmet
Be name of letter B
bedh m bedhow grave, tomb
ben See an eyl hy ben
Benatuw! interj Goodbye!
benthygya v borrow
benyn f benenes woman
bern m concern
berr See a verr spÿs
bès See mès
bew adj living
bêwnans m life
bian adj small, little
biologieth f biology
bledhen f bledhydnyow year
blòg m bloggys blog
bloodh m year of age
blou adj blue
bò See pò
bodh See a'y vodh
bogh f bohow cheek
bohes quant little, not much
bohes venowgh phr seldom, rarely
boll adj see-through
bolla m bollys bowl
boneyl … bò conj either … or
bonkya v knock (single blow)
boosty m boostiow restaurant, café
bord m bordys table
borger m borgers burger
Bosvena Bodmin
botas col botasen boots
botel m & f botellow bottle
boton m botodnow button
box m boxys box
brâs adj big, large See also dre vrâs
brâs y hanow phr famous, renowned
brathy v bite (wound)
brav adj fine
bre f breow hill
bregh f brehow arm
breghtan m breghtanow sandwich
Breten Vian f Brittany
Bretonek m Breton (language)
bro f broyow area, district
broder m breder brother
Bròn Wenyly Brown Willy
brow coffy m browyow coffee grinder
bryntyn adj noble
Brystow Bristol
bùcket m bùckettys bucket
budhek adj victorious
budhy v drown
bufê m bufês buffet
bùly bian col bùlien vian pebbles
bùs See mès
buwgh f buhas cow
bycken See bys vycken
bykîny m bykînys bikini
byldya v build
bys prep up to
bÿs m world
bÿs-efan adj worldwide, global
bys dhe2 prep + pron up to, all the way to
bys in prep + noun up to, all the way to
bys vycken phr for ever
bysy adj busy
bytegyns adv however
Bÿth na lavar a’n dra phr Don’t mention it
bythqweth adv ever past reference
byttele adv nonetheless
cabm adj crooked; wrong
cachya v catch
caderyor m caderyoryon chair[person]
cafos v find; get
Cala’ Mê m May Day
calcorieth f mathematics
cales adj hard; difficult
caletter m caleterow difficulty
cals a2 quant loads of
Cambron Camborne
camdyby v be mistaken
cân f canow song
cana m canys can (of)
cana v sing
canel f canolyow channel
cans m/num a/one hundred
cansbledhen f cansbledhednow century (100 years)
canstel f canstellow basket
cappa m cappys cap; topping
capten m captenow captain
cara v love; conditional tense used to mean 'would like to'
cara warbarth phr make love
caradow adj likeable, friendly
caregek adj rocky
cares f caresow girlfriend
caretys col caretysen carrots
cargor m cargoryon charger
carnak adj rocky
carr m kerry car
carrek f carygy rock
Carrek Loos i’n Coos St Michael’s Mount
carten f cartednow card
carven f carvenow van; carriage (train)
caryans m transport
carygel f carygellow trolley
cast m castys trick
castel m castylly castle
cath f cathas cat
cauns m pavement
cawlvlejen f cawlvlejednow cauliflower
Ce name of letter C
cent m centys cent
certan adj certain
chair m chairys chair
chalynjya v challenge
chambour m chambours bedroom
charj m task, responsibility; electric charge
chaunjya v change
chauns m chauncys chance, opportunity
checkya v check
chocklet m chocklettys chocolate
chy adv at home
chy m treven house
chy bian m toilet, loo (room)
chy fram m treven timber frame house
chyffar m (commercial) deal(ing)
chyffar dyscowntys m (discount) sale(s)
class m classys class
classyk adj classic(al)
clâv adj sick, ill
cledh adj left (side)
cler adj clear
cleves clun m sciatica
cleves strewy m hayfever
client m cliens client
clojior m clojioryon nurse
clojiores f clojiores nurse
clojy m clojiow hospital
clôwes v hear
clùb m clùbbys club
codha v fall; see Book One Lesson 14 for ‘should’ / ‘ought to’
codna m conaow neck
codna bregh m conaow wrist
codnek adj clever
codnek m skill
coffy m coffee
coffyva f coffyvaow café
cogh adj scarlet
côla m cola
collel f kellyl knife
collverk m colverkys apostrophe
colm codna m colmow [neck]tie
comolek adj cloudy
composa v straighten
compressa v oppress, bully
comptya v count
comptyer m comptyers counter
comyck m comycks comic
content m contens content
contentya v satisfy
convedhes v perceive, understand
copy m copiow copy
coref m beer
corf m corfow body
corn m kern horn
cornet m cornettow corner
coronal m coronals colonel
cors m corsow course
cort f cortys court
cortes adj polite
cosel adj quiet, peaceful
cot adj short
côta m côtys coat
coth adj old
cothman m cothmans friend
covyd m covid
cowas f cowosow shower
coweth m cowetha companion
cowethas f cowethasow society
cowethyades f cowethyadesow female colleague
cowethyas m cowethysy colleague
cowl m soup
cowl-dhyfygys adj exhausted, burnt out
cowntnans m attitude
cows m talk[ing]
côwsel v speak
cowsor m cowsoryon speaker
crambla v climb
cras adj parched; toasted
creft f craft
creftus adj artificial
cres adj middle, medium See also in cres
cresen f cresednow centre (for some activity)
creslu m police
cresor m cresoryon midfielder
cresosek adj mediaeval
creswas m creswesyon policeman
cresy v believe
crev adj strong
cria v call; shout
cria in mes phr shout out; exclaim
cris m crisyow shirt, blouse
croglen f croglednow curtain
crow m crowyow shed
crowd m crowdys violin
cubmyas m cumyasow permission
cudha v cover, hide
cudyn m cudydnow difficulty, problem
cùsca v sleep
cùsk m sleep
cùssulya v advise
cuv adj kind
cynema m cynemas cinema
cyta f cytas city
cyvyl adj civil
dâ adj good
dâ lowr phr good / well enough, okay
da weles phr be seeing you
dadhel f dadhlow discussion, debate
dadn See in dadn
daffar m kit, equipment
daffar lybm m cutlery
dainty adj delicate
dallath v begin
dama wydn f damyow gwydn grandmother
danvon v send
dar interj damn (but very mild)
daras m darasow door
darn m darnow piece
dasvêwa v revive
dasvêwor m dasvêworyon revivalist
dauncya v dance
davas f deves sheep
De name of letter D
de adv yesterday
de Gwener adv/m [on] Friday
de Lun adv/m [on] Monday
de Merher adv/m [on] Wednesday
de Merth adv/m [on] Tuesday
de Sadorn adv/m [on] Saturday
de Sul adv/m [on] Sunday
de Yow adv/m [on] Thursday
debry v eat
dëdh m dedhyow day
deg num ten
degea v close
degolyow pl holiday, vacation
degrê m degrês degree (temperature)
degves num tenth
dehen m cream
dehen rew m ice cream
del col dêlen leaves
dell2 conj as; that
dell hevel phr apparently
dell wosta phr as you know
dell yw ûsys phr as usual
delycyùs adj delicious
demedhy v marry
demedhyans m marriage
den m tus man
den vëth pron anyone; no one (when negative implied)
der2 See dell2
der2 prep through
derevel v rise
derivadow m information (told or available for telling)
derivas v report, tell
descador m descadoryon teacher
descadores f descadoresow female teacher
descryvyans m description
desempys adv abruptly; immediately
desînor m desînoryon designer
desîr m desire
desky v learn; teach (to someone)
despît See in despît dhe2 / wàr2
devedhys See dos
dew2 num two
dew cans num two hundred
dewas m dewosow drink
dêwdhegves num twelfth
dêwdhek num twelve
dewetha adj latest, last
dewfrik du nose
dewheles v return
dêwla du (pair of) hands
dewlagas du (pair of) eyes
dêwlin du (pair of) knees
dha2 possessive pron your singular; you singular (direct object of verb-noun)
dhana adv then
dhe2 prep to
dhe’n dor phr down
dhe’n lyha phr at least
dhe dybmyn phr to pieces
dhe le phr less; the less
dhe ves phr off, away (motion)
dhe voy phr more; the more
dhe well phr better
dhia2 prep from (place or point in time)
dhort See dhyworth
dhy See dy
dhyrag prep in front of
dhywar2 prep off
dhyworth prep from (person or place)
dianowy v yawn
diegrys adj shocked
dien adj entire See also yn tien
dobyl adj double
dohajëdh adv/m [in the] afternoon
dollar m dollars dollar
don v carry
dor m ground See also dhe’n dor
dorn m dornow hand (in action)
dorydhieth f geography
dos v come
dôtys wàr2 phr mad (passionate) about
down adj deep
dowr m dowrow water
Dowr Tamar the River Tamar
dowt m dowtys doubt See also heb dowt
dôwys v choose
dr’ See dell2
drâma m drama, stage play
dre2 See der2 prep
dre lycklod phr probably
dre rêson prep because of
dre rêson a2 prep because of (with pronouns)
dre vrâs phr on the whole, mostly
drefen conj for
drefen prep because of
dres prep across; past
dres ehen phr extremely
dres ena phr over there
dres kynda phr extraordinarily
dreth See treth
drîvya v drive
drog adj bad, evil (not used attributively)
drog dens m toothache
drog pedn m headache
droglam m droglabmow (unfortunate) accident
dry v bring
du adj black
Dùrda dhe why! phr Good day!
Dùrdala dhe why! phr Thank you!
durya v endure
Duw genes / genowgh! phr Goodbye!
dy adv (to) there
dybarth v separate; depart
dydhemedhy v divorce
dydo adj homeless
dydro adj direct
dyghtyor kebmyn m dyghtyoryon gebmyn general manager
dyharas v apologize
dyhow adj right (side)
dyllas m dylajow clothes
dynar m denerow penny
dynyak adj attractive, tempting
dyrêwl adj out-of-control
dyscans elvednek m primary education
dyscans nessa m secondary education
dyscans tressa m tertiary education
dyscor m dyscoryon learner
dyscores f dyscoresow female learner
dyscowntya v discount
dysert m desert
dysqwedhes v show
dysqwedhyans m dysqwedhyansow display, exhibition
dystowgh adv immediately
dystrôwy v destroy
dyvers adj diverse, different
dyvlâm adj blameless, innocent
dyw2 num two (with feminine noun)
dyweth m end
dywros f dywrosow bicycle
dywros jyn f dywrosow motorcycle
dywros saya f dywrosow exercise bike
dywscoth du (pair of) shoulders
dywvregh du (pair of) arms
dywweyth adv twice
dywyêthek adj bilingual
dywysyk adj eager
E name of letter E
e See ev
eâ interj yes
edhen m ÿdhyn bird
edrek m regret
Ef name of letter F
effethus adj effective, efficient
egery v open
eglos f eglosyow church
Eglos Melan Mullion
ehen f ehenow kind See also dres ehen
El name of letter L
el m eleth angel
Em name of letter M
empîr m empire
En name of letter N
en See in
ena adv there; then See also dres ena
enef f enevow soul
entra v enter
entrans m entransow entrance
enys f enesow island
Er name of letter R
erbydn See warbydn
erel See aral
ergh m snow
erhy v order; book
ervira v decide
Es name of letter S
ès prep than
ès dell2 conj than
esedha v sit (down)
esedhva f esedhvaow sitting-room, lounge
eseth f esedhow seat
eskys f eskyjyow shoe
estyll col estyllen shelves
êsy adj easy
et See in
êtegves num eighteenth
êtek num eighteen
eth num eight
êthves num eighth
eur f euryow time (specific) See also i’n eur-ma, i’n eur-na
ev pron he, him, it (masculine)
eva v drink
evredhyon pl disabled people
evreth adj disabled
êwnans m êwnansow repair
Ewny Redrudh Redruth
ewon col foam
ewon omwolhy col bubble bath
ewrô m ewrôs euro
Ex name of letter X
eyl See an eyl hy ben, an eyl y gela
fakel briansen f sore throat
fardellyk m fardelygow package
fâss m fâssow face
fast adj firm
fatell adv/conj how; that
fatla adv how
Fatla genes / genowgh? phr How are you?
fav coffy col faven coffee beans
fav pebys col baked beans
fay m faith
felshyp m friendship
fenester f fenestry window
fest adv very, really
Fethys glân ov vy! phr I give up!
flapjack m flapjacks flapjack
flogh m flehes child
floghcovia v babysit
flour m flourys flower
flû m flu
fol m felyon fool
folen f folednow page, sheet
fon m fônow phone
fordh f fordhow way; road
forgh f fergh (also ferhy) fork
formya v form, make
fos f fosow wall
fowt m lack
fra See prag and praga
fra na2 See prag na2
fraga See prag and praga
fraga na2 See prag na2
fram m frame
frank adj free
Frank m Francas Frenchman
fresk adj fresh
freth adj eager, energetic
frig m frigow nostril
frôsek adj fluent
frût m frûtys fruit
Frynkek m French (language)
fùgen Dhanek f fùgednow Danek Danish pastry
fur adj wise, sensible
fylm m fylmys film
fystena v hurry
fysyk f physics
fyt m fyttys match (sport)
fytty adj (very) suitable
gà3 See aga3
gaja m gajys pledge See also Ow gaja dhe why
gallos v be able to
galwans m galwansow profession
gàn See agan
gans prep along with; by
gans rach phr carefully
garow adj rough
garr f garrow leg
gàs See agas
Gas cavow dhe wandra! phr Stop worrying!
gasa v leave, let
gasa dhe godha phr drop
gass m gas
Ge name of letter G
gela See an eyl y gela
gelwel v call; invite
gèn See gans
genesyk adj native
genys adj born
ger m geryow word
gerva f gervaow vocabulary
ges m joking
glân adj clean
glân adv very, completely
glas adj See Book One Lesson 1
glaw m rain
glëb adj wet
glebyor m moisturizer
glin m glinyow knee
gnas f character
gobonya v trot; jog
gocky adj silly, stupid
godhvos v know (facts); know how to
gohebyth m gohebydhyon reporter
goheles v shun, avoid
gol m gôlyow goal (football etc)
goles m golesow bottom, base
golf m golf
golghva f golghvaow bathroom
golhy v wash
golok f look; scene
Golowan m Midsummer
golsowes v listen [to]
golsowyas m golsowysy listener
gôlya v celebrate
gonysegeth f culture
goodh f godhow goose
gool m golyow festival
gordhuwher adv/m [in the] evening
gorfedna v finish
gorher m gorheryow cover, lid
gormynadow m commandment
gorra v put; take (to a place)
gorsaf m gorsavow station
gortheby v answer
gortos v wait (for)
gorwel m horizon
gour m gwer husband
govel f govelyow workshop, garage (for repairs)
govyn m enquiry; request
govyn v ask, enquire, request
gradhyans m graduation
grâss m grassow grace; thanks
grassa dhe2 phr thank
grassyans m gratitude
greun olew col greunen olives
gromercy interj thank you
gul See gwil
gùlan f gùlanas gull
gwag adj empty; blank; hungry
gwainya v win
gwandra v wander
gwara m goods, merchandise
gwarior m gwarioryon player; actor
gwary m game; stage play
gwary v play
gwary bord m gwariow board game
gwas m gwesyon assistant; waiter
gwasca v press
gwâv m gwavow winter
gwaya v move
gwaynten m spring (season)
gweder m glass; mirror
gwederjy m gwederjiow greenhouse
gwëdh col gwedhen trees
gwedren f gwedrednow glass, tumbler
gwedrow howl pl sunglasses
gwelen f gwelyny stick
gweles v see
gwelha adj best
gwelhe v improve
gwell adj better See also dhe well
gwels col grass
gwely m gweliow bed
Gwengamp Gwengamp (French, Guingamp)
gwer adj green
gweres m help
gwerrya v make war
gwerryans m gwerryansow war
gwertha v sell
gwerthjy m gwerthjiow store, retail outlet
gweryn f folk
gwetha See gwitha
gwethyas m gwethysy keeper
gwetyas v expect
gwe’us f gwessyow lip
gwias m web; internet
gwiasva f gwiasvaow website
gwil v make; do; auxiliary forming future and preterite tenses
gwil ergh phr snow verb
gwil glaw phr rain verb
gwil gweres dhe2 phr help verb
gwil keser phr hail verb
gwil mencyon a2 phr mention verb
gwir adj true
gwir m truth See also in gwir
gwitha v keep
gwlanek m gwlanegyon jumper
gwlas f gwlasow country (political)
gwreg f gwrageth wife
gwrës See gwil
gwrioneth See in gwrioneth
gwycor m gwycoryon trader
gwycores f gwycoresow female trader
gwydhyô m gwydhyôs video
gwydn adj white
gwydnrudh adj pink
gwyls adj wild
gwyns m gwynsow wind
gwynsak adj windy
gwysca v put on (clothing); dress
gwythresek adj active
gyllys See mos
Ha name of letter H
ha conj/prep and; with
hag See ha
hager adj ugly (not used attributively)
hàm m ham
hanaf m hanavow cup
haneth adv tonight, this evening
hanow m henwyn name
hanter m hanterow half
hanter-broder m hanter-breder half-brother
hanter-cans m/num fifty
hanter-dëdh m midday
hanter-nos f midnight
hardh adj ‘able and bold’, competent, decisive
hast m haste
hâtya v hate
hâv m havow summer
havysy pl summer tourists
hawnsel m breakfast
hay interj hey
heb prep without
heb dowt phr without doubt, of course
heb mar phr certainly, of course
heb namoy phr only
hebma pron this [one] (masculine)
hedhyw adv today
hedna pron that [one] (masculine)
hel m & f helow hall
Hellës Helston
hèm See hebma
hèn See hedna
hendrajy m hendrajiow museum
hevleny adv this year
hir adj long; tall (of people)
hobma this [one] (feminine)
hodna that [one] (feminine)
holan m salt
holergh adj late
holyor m holyoryon follower
hòm See hobma
hòn See hodna
honen m self
hot m hottys hat
howl m sun, sunshine
howlek adj sunny
hudhyk adj merry
hunros m hunrosow dream
hùrâ interj hurray
hy personal pron she, it (feminine)
hy3 possessive pron her; her, it (feminine) (direct object of verb-noun) I name of letter I
in prep in; into
i’n eur-ma phr now
i’n eur-na phr then
i’n gwelha prës phr fortunately
i’n gwetha prës phr unfortunately
i’n kettermyn phr at the same time
in bàn phr up
in cres prep in the middle of
in dadn2 prep under
in dadn gel phr secretly
in despît dhe2 prep in spite of
in despît wàr2 See in despît dhe2
in gwir phr indeed
in gwrioneth phr really, actually
in kever prep in respect of, in relation to
in le prep instead of
in le a2 prep + verb-noun, demonstrative pronoun instead of
in mes phr out
in mes a2 prep out of
in mesk prep among
in neb le phr somewhere
in pan vaner phr in what way
in pùb le phr everywhere
in rag phr forwards
indelma adv like this
injynor m injynoryon engineer
injynores f injynoresow female engineer
injynorieth f engineering
inter prep between
intra See inter
inwedh adv also
iredy adv indeed
is- prefix sub-
iscarg m iscargow download
isel adj low
iselbris adj cheap
is-starneth m infrastructure
istory m history
Italek m Italian (language)
Italy Italy
Italyan adj/m Italyans Italian
Japanek adj Japanese
Je name of letter J
jel m gel
jel cowas m shower gel
Jovyn Jove
jorna m jornys day
joy m joy
jùnya v join
jy pron you singular (subject or with inflected preposition)
jyn m jynys engine; machine
jyn dywros See dywros jyn
Ke name of letter K
kebmyn adj common
kedhow m mustard
kedrydn f row, (violent) quarrel
kefrës adv too (also)
kegyn f kegynow kitchen
kel See in dadn gel
kelly v lose; miss
Kembra Wales
Kembrek m Welsh (language)
kemeneth f kemenethow community
kemeres v take
kemeres marth phr be astonished
kempen adj tidy
kemyk f chemistry
ken adj other
ken adv otherwise
kenderow m kenderewy male cousin
kensa num first
kensêwha m a.m.
kentrevak m kentrevogyon neighbour
kenytherow f kenytherewy female cousin
kenyver onen pron every one
kepar dell2 conj just as / like
ker adj dear, expensive
kerdhes v walk
kerdhes in mes gans phr see, date, go out with
kerdhfôn m kerdhfônow mobile phone
kerens pl close relatives, parents
kerensa f love
Keresk Exeter
kerhes v fetch
Kernow m Kernowyon Cornishman
Kernow f Cornwall
Kernowegor m Kernowegoryon Cornish speaker
Kernowek m Cornish (language)
Kernowes f Kernowesow Cornishwoman
kert hir m kertys lorry
keschaunjya v exchange, swap
kescows m conversation
kescôwsel v have a conversation
kescùssulyans m conference
keser col keseren hail
keslowena f congratulations
kesobery v co-operate
kestaf m kestavow contact
keth adj See an keth
keth m kethyon slave
kethsam See an kethsam
kettep pedn phr everyone
kettermyn See i’n kettermyn
keur m keuryow choir
keus m cheese
keus lefans m toadstools
kevarwedhor m kevarwedhoryon director
kever See in kever
kevren f kevrenyon link
kevres m & f kevresow series
kewar f weather
keyn m keynow back
kig m meat
kig yar m chicken (meat)
Kilgoodh Ust Cape Cornwall
kîlogram m kîlogramow kilo[gram]
kîlomêter m kîlomêtrow kilometre
knack adv right, just
knack obma phr right here
know col knofen nuts
ky m keun dog
kydnyaf m autumn
kydnyow m kynyewyow dinner
kyfeth m preserve (jam or marmalade)
kyffewy col party
kyn conj though, although
kyn See kyns [ès]
kyn na2 conj though / although … not
kyn nag See kyn na2
kyn pedn prep by the end of, within (a period of time)
kynda See dres kynda
kyns adv previously; former (adjectivally)
kyns ages See kyns ès
kyns [ès] prep before
kyns napell phr before long
kyns oll phr first [of all]; most importantly, above all
kyns pedn See kyn pedn
kynth See kyn conj
kyttryn m kyttrynyow bus
lacka adj worse
lagas m lagasow eye
laghyades f laghyadesow female lawyer
laghyas m lahysy lawyer
Lanuon Lannuon (French, Lannion)
Lanust St Just
Lanwedhenek Padstow
larj adj generous
lavrak m lavregow (pair of) trousers
lavrak cot m lavregow (pair of) shorts
lawl See leverel
le m leow place See also in le, in le a2, in neb le, in pùb le
le quant less; fewer See also dhe le
le’ma5 See may5
le may5 See may5
leba5 See may5
lebma5 See may5
lebmel v jump
lebmyn adv now
leder f ledrow slope; bias
lêdyor m lêdyoryon leader
lemyga v sip
lendya v lend
lent adj slow
lenwel v fill
lergh See warlergh
les m interest
les’hanow m les’henwyn nickname
lesky v burn
lesson m lessons lesson
lesson tre m lessons homework
lestry pl dishes
leth m milk
leth shakys m milkshake
leun adj full
leur m leuryow floor
leurneth m area (measurement)
leuv f hand
lev m levow voice
level m levelyow level
leverel v say
lewyas v steer; drive
lewyor m lewyoryon driver
lewyores f lewyoresow female driver
lewyth m lewydhyon governor (school)
lien f literature
lies quant many
lies gweyth phr many times
lies huny phr many people
lies torn phr often
lînen f lînednow line
loder m lodrow stocking
longya v belong
losk pengasen m heartburn
losow col losowen vegetables
lost m lostow tail; queue
losten f lostednow skirt
Loundres f London
lovan f lovonow rope
lowarth m lowarthow garden
lowen adj happy
Lowena dhis / dhywgh! phr Hello! Hi!
lower quant quite a few
lowr adv enough; quite
lowr a2 quant lots of
lows adj loose; relaxed
lugarn m lugern lamp
lus col lusen bilberries, blueberries
lus rudh col lusen cranberries
ly f lîvyow lunch
lycklod See dre lycklod
lydn m liquid
lydn golhy lestry m washing up liquid
lyftya v lift
lyha adv least See also dhe’n lyha
lyther m lytherow letter
lyver m lyfryow book
lyver termyn m lyfryow magazine
lyverva f lyvervaow library
’m See ow3
-ma part this (with definite article)
mab m mebyon son
mabm f mabmow mother
mainys socyal pl social media
ma na2 conj where not; when not; so that not
ma nag See ma na2
màn adv at all (with negative)
màn num zero
maner f manerow manner, way See also in pan vaner
manerow pl manners, habits
maneuryow pl small hours
mappa m mappys map
mar2 adv so, as
mar4 conj if See also heb mar
mar mydnowgh phr if you like
mar mynta phr if you like
mar pleg phr please
mar plêk See mar pleg
mara4 See mar4
maras See mar4
margh m mergh horse
margh horn m mergh bike
marhas f marhajow market
marhogeth v ride
marnas prep except [for]
marow adj dead
mars See mar4
martesen adv maybe, perhaps
marthys adj amazing, wonderful
ma’s See marnas
mas See vas, yn fas
mater m maters matter
mavy personal pron me (emphatic)
maw m mebyon boy, lad
may5 conj where; when; so that
mayth See may5
me personal pron I
me a’th pës phr please
medheges f medhegesow female doctor (medical)
medhegneth m medication
medhegva f medhegvaow infirmary; GP’s surgery
medhek m medhygyon doctor (medical)
medhel adj soft
melen adj yellow
mellya v interfere
men adj vigorous
men m meyn stone
mencyon See gwil mencyon a2
menestrouthy m (small) orchestra, band
meneth m menydhyow mountain
Meneth Myhâl Mont Saint-Michel
menowgh adj frequent
menystra v administer, manage
meras See miras
mernans m death
mery adj merry
mes See in mes
mès conj but
mès prep See marnas
mes See dhe ves, in mes, in mes a2
mes a2 See in mes a2
mesk See in mesk
messach m messajys message
mêster m mêstrysy master, boss
Mêster title Mr
Mêstres title Mrs, Ms, Ma’m
Mêstresyk title Miss
metya v meet
meur adj great
meur adv much, a lot
meur [a]2 quant much, a lot of
mil2 f/num a/one thousand
mildir f mildiryow mile
miras v look
mis m mîsyow month
mis Du adv/m [in] November
mis Ebrel adv/m [in] April
mis Efen adv/m [in] June
mis Est adv/m [in] August
mis Genver adv/m [in] January
mis Gorefen adv/m [in] July
mis Gortheren adv/m [in] July
mis Gwydngala adv/m [in] September
mis Hedra adv/m [in] October
mis Kevardhu adv/m [in] December
mis Mê adv/m [in] May
mis Merth adv/m [in] March
mis Metheven adv/m [in] June
mis Whevrel adv/m [in] February
modryp f modrebeth aunt
mona m money
mor m morow sea
mordardhya v surf
mos v go
mos wàr stray phr get lost
mothow pl disaster
mowes f mowesow girl
moy quant more See also dhe voy
moyha adv most
moyha kerys phr favourite
munys adj tiny
mùrder m murder
muscok adj mad
mûsyk m music
my See me
mydnas v wish to (only in fixed phrases); auxiliary forming future tenses
mynysen f mynysow minute
myrgh f myrhas daughter
mytern m myterneth king
myttyn adv/m [in the] morning
na conj nor
na2 conj that … not
na2 part expresses certain negatives
na2 pron who / which … not (introducing adjectival clause)
nâ interj no
-na part that (with definite article)
na ... na conj neither ... nor
na dâ na drog phr so-so
na hen adv otherwise (in negative sentence)
na whath phr yet (in negative sentence)
Nadelyk m Christmas
nag See na and na2
namna2 part almost
namnag See namna2
namoy adv any more (in negative sentence) See also heb namoy
nampëth See neppëth
naneyl adv either (in a negative sentence)
naw num nine
nawnjegves num nineteenth
nawnjek num nineteen
nawves num ninth
neb adj some, any
neb pron someone, anyone
neb tra pron something, anything
nebes quant a little; a few
nebonen pron someone, anyone
nefra adv ever present / future reference
negedhek adj negative
negys m negycyow business
nen m nenow ceiling
nena See i’n eur-na
neppëth pron something, anything
nepprës adv sometime
nessa adj nearest; next; second (in a series)
new f newyow sink
neyja v swim; fly
neyth m neythow nest
Nor’vy See godhvos
Normandy Normandy
Norvÿs See an Norvÿs
nos f nosow night
nos dâ phr good night
nos jùnya m nosow hyphen
nosweyth ilow f (evening) concert
now interj now
nowodhow pl news
nowyth adj new
nùmber m nùmbers number
ny2 part expresses negative statements
ny personal pron we, us
nyns See ny2
nyver m nyverow number
O name of letter O
ober m oberow task, job
obma adv here
ogas adj/adv near; almost
ogas dhe2 prep near to
ogas ha prep almost (with nouns, pronouns and numerals)
ogas hag See ogas ha
ogasty adv almost
ogh interj oh (emotion)
olew m olive oil
oll adj all
ombarusy v prepare oneself
omdava v contact (one another)
omdhesky v teach oneself
omdhon m behaviour
omdhon v behave
omdhyscor m omdhyscoryon self-study learner
omfydhyans m confidence
omhowla v sunbathe
omladha v kill oneself
omlath v fight (one another)
omsensy v feel (emotionally, mentally)
omvetya v meet up
omwolhy v wash (oneself)
omwysca v get dressed
ôn m ên lamb
onen num/pron one
onester m decency
only adv only
onyon col onyonen onion(s)
optycyan m optycyans optician
opynyon m opynyons opinion
organek adj organic
orkestra m orkestras (large) orchestra
ort See orth
orth prep up against
ostel f ostelyow hotel
ot See otta
ot obma phr here is / are (pointing)
otham m othobmow need
otta interj there is, there are (pointing)
our m ourys hour
ow3 possessive pron my; me (direct object of verb-noun)
ow4 part employed with verb-noun
Ow gaja dhe why phr I’m willing to bet
ôwnter m ôwntras uncle
owraval m owravallow orange
owth See ow4
pà2 See pàn2
packet m packettys packet
pad m paddys pad
padel f padellow pan
pain m painys pain
pal f palyow spade
pan adj what
pàn2 conj when
pan lies quant how many
pan termyn [a]2 adv when
pan vaner adj what kind of See also in pan vaner
pana2 adj what
pana dermyn [a]2 phr when
pana lies quant how many
pandra2 pron what
panes col panen parsnip
paper m paperyow paper
par See a’n par-ma and a’n par-na
pàr hap phr perhaps
park m parcow enclosed field
park poblek m parcow park
parkya v park
parra m parrys team
parusy v prepare; cook
parys adj ready
passya v pass
pasty m pastys pasty
Pe name of letter P
peb See pùb pron
pebor m peboryon baker
peder num four (with feminine noun)
pedn m pednow head; end
pedn bloodh m anniversary; birthday
pedn êhel m pednow pole (of planet)
pel f pelyow ball
pel droos f football
pel gowel f basketball
pel neyjys f volleyball
pel roos f netball
peldrosyor m peldrosyoryon footballer
pelednyk f pelenygow pill
pell adj far
pellwolok f television
pendescadores f pendescadoresow female head teacher
pendom adj extreme (in attitude)
pendra f pendrevow village
peneglos f peneglosyow cathedral
pens m pensow pound
penvenyster m penvenysters prime minister
Penzans Penzance
perfeth adj perfect
performans m performansow performance
performya v perform
perna See prena
person m persons person
personek adj personal
perthy cov phr remember
perthyans m patience
perthynas m perthynasow relationship
peryl m perylyow peril, danger
peryllys adj dangerous
peswar num four
peswarden m quartet
peswardhegves num fourteenth
peswardhek num fourteen
peswora num fourth
pêsya v continue
pëth pron what See also an pëth
peur5 adv when
pîbel f pîbellow pipe
pil m pîlyow battery
pînaval m pînavallow pineapple
planet m planettys planet
plâss m plâcyow place
plastyk m plastic
plat adj flat
plât m plâtyow plate
ple5 adv where
plegadow m wish, inclination
plegya v bend
plegya v please
plêkya See plegya ‘please’
plenta quant plenty (of)
plesont adj pleasant
pleth See ple5
plobm m lead (metal)
plos adj dirty
pluv col pluven feathers
pluvak f pluvogow cushion
pluven f pluvednow pen
pluven blobm f pluvednow plobm pencil
Plymoth Plymouth
pò conj or
pob See pùb pron
pobas v bake
pobel f people
poblans m population
poblek adj public
podcast m podcastys podcast
poken conj or else
poll neyja m pollow swimming pool
pols m moment (very short duration, not point in time)
polyshya v polish
polytygor m polytygoryon politician
pons m ponsow bridge
ponya v run
poos adj heavy
poos m posow weight
popty m poptiow bakery
pòr2 adv very
porcyon m porcyons portion
porhel m porhelly pig
porpos m purpose, intention, plan
porth m porthow harbour; cove
Porth Ia St Ives
Porth Towan Porthtowan
Por’treth Portreath
pory v browse
posa worth phr lean against
possybylta m possybyltas possibility
posyjyon m depression, despair
pot m pottow pot
pôtya v kick
pow m powyow country
Pow Densher Devon
Pow Rësohen Oxfordshire
powes m rest, pause
powes v rest
pows f powsyow dress, frock
poynt m poyntys point
poyntyans m poyntyansow appointment, fixture
practys m practycyow practice; exercise
prag adv why
praga See prag
prag na2 phr why not, why ... not
predery v think
predn m wood
prena v buy
prenas m prenasow purchase
prenassa v go shopping
prës m prejyow time See also i’n gwelha prës, i’n gwetha prës
prës ly See ly
present adj present
presentya v present
presentyans m presentation
prevy v try (test)
pris m prîsyow prize; price
problem m problemow problem
profya v offer
profyans m profyansow offer
prow m advantage
prowt adj proud
pryntya v print
pryntyor m pryntyoryon printer
pùb adj every
pùb pron everyone
pùb eur oll phr always
pùb huny pron everyone
pùb termyn phr always
puber m pepper
pùbonen pron everyone
pùpprës adv always
pùptra pron everything
pur adj pure
pur2 adv very (emphatic)
py adj which, what
py5 adv where
py eur5 adv what time, when
py hanow phr who (asking someone’s name)
py le5 adv where
py lies quant how many
py seul quant how much; how many
py tyller adv where
pyctour m pyctours picture
pyctùresk adj picturesque
pydn See warbydn
pygebmys quant how much; how many
pyle See py le
pymp num five
pympes num fifth
pymthegves num fifteenth
pymthek num fifteen
pyneyl pron which one (of two)
pynta m pyntys pint (of)
pysk m pùscas fish
pyth adv where
pytsa m pytsas pizza
pyw pron who
Pywdô Cluedo®
qwalyta m quality
qwartron m qwartronys direction; part of town
qwestyon m qwestyons question
qweth f qwethow piece of fabric, garment
Qwo name of letter Q
qwylkyn m qwylkydnow frog
radn f radnow part
radna v divide; share
rag conj for
rag prep for; in order to; because of
rag See in rag
rag fra See prag and praga
rag fra na2 See prag na2
rag fraga See prag and praga
rag fraga na2 See prag na2
rag hedna phr therefore, that’s why
raglavar m raglavarow foreword
ragwel See an ragwel wàr an awel
ranjy m ranjiow flat, apartment
ras m rasow favour
re adv too; too much, too many
re pron ones
re2 part completive particle used with preterite tense
re2 prep by (in exclamations)
re bo govenek phr I hope so, let’s hope so
re nebes phr too little
Redrudh See Ewny Redrudh
redya v read
remainya v remain, stay
remembra v remember
ren See re2 prep
res m necessity
rës See ry
Rësohen Oxford
rêson See dre rêson, dre rêson a2
rêsonus adj reasonable
restryn m restrydnow file
revrons m respect
rew m ice
rêwlys adj regular
Ria reva! interj Gosh! Wow!
rial adj royal
rîvbost m email
rol f rolyow roll; list
rol prîsyow f rolyow price list
rolya v roll
rom m rômys room
rom desky m rômys classroom
rom kydnyow m rômys dining-room
rom studhya m rômys study
Roman adj Roman
roosweyth m roosweythow network
ros col rosen roses
rowtor m rowtors manager (football)
rudh adj red
ry v give
ryb prep beside
ryver m ryvers river
sad adj serious
sagh m seghyer bag
sagh keyn m seghyer knapsack
salad m saladys salad
salow adj safe and sound
sampyl m samplys sample
sans adj holy
sant melys m sandys dessert
sarf f syrf snake
savla m savleow position; (bus) stop
saw conj but
saw prep save [for]
sawor m saworyow fragrance; flavour
saworek adj fragrant
sawya v recover (after illness)
scant adv barely, hardly, scarcely
scappya v get away, escape
scav adj light (weight)
scavel [cronak] f scavellow mushroom
scavel serth f scavellow bar stool
sciens m sciencys science
scodhya v support
scol f scolyow school
scol elvednek f scolyow primary school
scolor m scoloryon (school) pupil
scon adv soon See also yn scon
sconya v refuse
scoodh f scodhow shoulder
scot m bill
scovarn f scovornow ear
screfa See scrifa
scrifa v write
scryvynyades f scryvynyadesow female secretary
secùnd num second
sëgh adj dry
sehes m thirst
sehyk m sehygow sachet
selsyk col selsygen sausage(s)
selwel v save
semlant m appearance
sêmly adj handsome, pretty
sempel adj simple
Sèn Briek Saint-Brieg (French, Saint-Brieuc)
Sèn Malow Sant-Maloù (French, Saint-Malo)
sens a ges m sense of humour
sensy v hold
seny v sound, play (music etc)
serth adj steep
servyour m servyours tray
sêsnans m dressing (for salad)
settya v set
sevel v stand up; stand still, stop
sevur adj severe
sewt stanch m wetsuit
sewya v follow
sewyans m sewyansow consequence, result
seytegves num seventeenth
seytek num seventeen
seyth num seven
seythen f seythednow week
seythves num seventh
shakya v shake
shoppa m shoppys shop
showr a2 quant loads of
shùgra m sugar
skeusen f skeusednow photograph
skit m diarrhoea
skydnya v descend, alight (from vehicle)
skyjyow sport pl trainers
skyla f reason
sley adj skilful
slynk adj slippery
slynk m slide
sodhva f sodhvaow office (place)
solabrës adv already
solas m solace; entertainment
sôlô adj/m sôlôs solo
son m sonow charm
soper m supper
soweny v prosper, succeed
soweth interj oh dear
sows cogh m tomato ketchup
Sowsnek m English (language)
Spaynek m Spanish (language)
specyfyk adj specific
spêda f success
spêna v spend
spessly adv especially
speyss See a verr spÿs
splat m splattys plot of ground
spladn adj splendid
spladna v shine
sport m sportys sport
spot a2 phr a spot of
spÿs See a verr spÿs
sqwardya v tear
sqwith adj tired
sqwîthus adj tiresome, boring
staga v attach
stalla m stallys stall
stap m stappys step
stât m stâtys state
stevel f stevelyow room
stoppyans m constipation
stowt adj stubborn
stranjer m stranjers stranger
strêt m strêtys street
strêt arâg m fore / high street
strethassay m strethassayes lateral flow test
studhya v study
studhyans m study, studies
studhyor m studhyoryon student
styfa v squirt
sùgan m juice
sur adj sure
surhe v ensure; insure
sy See jy
syger adj idle
syght m sight
syra m sir
tabm m tybmyn bit See also dhe dybmyn
tackya dêwla phr clap, applaud
taclow pl things
talkya v talk
tan m tanow fire
tanow adj thin
tas m tasow father
tatty m tettys potato
tava v touch
tavas m tavosow tongue; language
tavern m tavernyow pub
tawesek adj silent
Te name of letter T
te personal pron you
tê m tea
tecter m beauty
tedha v melt
tednva f tension, stress
tednvos m attraction
teg adj beautiful, pretty
teg adv very, really
tejy personal pron you (emphatic)
tell2 conj that
ter2 See tell2
tergweyth adv three times
termyn m termynyow time
terrys adj broken
tesen f tesednow cake
testen f testednow subject, topic
tesyans m warming
tevy v grow
tevysak adj/m tevysogyon grown up, adult
tew adj thick; fat
tewas col sand (as material)
Tewyn Plustry Newqua
text m textow text (all senses)
teylu m teyluyow family
teyr3 num three (with feminine noun)
th’ See yth
tiak m tiogow farmer
tioges f tiogesow female farmer
tir m land See also an Tir Uhel
tîtel m tîtlys title
to bian See aken grobm
tobm adj warm, hot
tobma v heat, warm up
todn f todnow wave
TODN abbr GCSE
tôkyn m tôknys ticket
tomals quant ample amount
toos m dough
top m topyow top
torr f torrow belly
torrva f breakdown
toth m speed
tour m tourow tower
towal m towellow towel
towan m tewednow sand dune
tôwlel v throw
tôwlel towl phr make a plan
towlen f towlednow plan; program(me)
tr’ See tell2
tra neuter thing, stuff
tra vëth pron anything; nothing (when negative implied)
train m trainow train
trainow munys pl model railway(s)
traweythyow adv sometimes, occasionally
tre adj home
tre adv home; back
tre f trevow town
trebuchya v stumble
tredanek adj electric
tredh See inter
tredhegves num thirteenth
tredhek num thirteen
trega See triga
tregas m stay (in a place)
tregys See trigys
trehy v cut
tremenyades f tremenyadesow female passenger
tremenyas m tremenysy passenger
tremil num three thousand
tressa num third
treth m trethow sand; (sandy) beach
Treth Fystral Fistral Beach
treusva f treusvaow crossing
triga v dwell, stay
trigva f trigvaow address
trigys adj resident (in a place)
trist adj sad
tro f troyow turn; time (occasion)
tro ha prep towards
tro hag See tro ha
trobel m trouble
troblus adj troublesome
trog dyllas m trogow suitcase
trog tedna m trogow drawer
troos f treys foot
tros m noise
trouvya v discover, find
truan adj poor (to be pitied)
trûlergh m trûlerhow path
Trûrû Truro
trùssa v pack
try3 num three
tryhans num three hundred
tu m tuyow side
tùchyng prep about, concerning
tùlla v cheat, deceive; disappoint
tùrnypen f tùrnypednow swede
ty See te
tyby v think (an idea)
tybyans m idea
tyller m tyleryow place
tyller vëth adv anywhere (in negative sentence); nowhere (when negative implied)
tyly v pay; see Book One Lesson 14 for ‘should’ / ‘ought to’
Û name of letter U
udn(2) num one (with noun)
udn jëdh See dëdh
udnek num eleven
udnyk See yn udnyk
ufern m ufernyow ankle
ugans num twenty
ugansves num twentieth
ugh-clojiores f ugh-clojioresow sister (senior nurse)
uhel adj high See also an Tir Uhel
unegves num eleventh
unsel See yn unsel
unweyth adv once
unweyth arta phr [once] again
unyêthek adj monoglot
ûnyversyta f ûnyversytas university
uskys adj quick
ûsya v use
uthyk adj dreadful, terrible
uthyk tra phr a lot
vas adj useful
Ve name of letter V
very nebes phr very little
vëth attributive adj/adv any (in negative sentence); no (when negative implied); even (after comparative)
viaj m viajys journey, trip
viajya v travel
vlòg m vloggys video blog (‘vlog’)
vôtya v vote
vu m vuys view
vysytya v visit
vytamyn m vytamynow vitamin
vytel col food
‘w3 See ow3
war adj wary, cautious
wàr2 prep on; on to
wàr an eyl tenewen phr on the one hand
wàr an eyl tu phr on the one hand
wàr an tenewen aral phr on the other hand
wàr an tu aral phr on the other hand
wàr neb cor phr in any way, at all (with negative)
warbarth adv together
warbydn prep against
warlergh prep after
We name of letter W
wèl interj well
west adj/m west
whans m whansow wish, desire
whar adj humane; civilized
wharvedhyans m wharvedhyansow event
wharvos v happen, take place
whath adv still; even (before comparative)
whe num six
whedhel m whedhlow story
wheffes num sixth
wheg adj sweet
whegh See whe
whej ha skit phr gastro-enteritis
whel m whelyow work
whelas See whilas
whêlva f laboratory
wherthyn v laugh
whêtegves num sixteenth
whêtek num sixteen
whilas v seek, look for
why personal pron you (plural or stranger)
whybonel f whybonellow flute
whyst interj hush
whythra v explore, research, investigate
whythror m whythroryon explorer, researcher
wolcùm adj welcome
worteweth adv at last
worth See orth
wor’tu ha prep towards
wor’tu hag See wor’tu ha
wosa prep after
y5 part affirmative statement particle
y personal pron they
y2 possessive pron his, its (masculine); him, it (masculine) (direct object of verb-noun)
‘y2 See y2
‘y3 See hy2
yagh adj well (referring to health)
yahus adj healthy (good for health)
yar f yer hen, chicken
Ye name of letter Y
yêhes m health
yet m yettys gate
yêth f yêthow language
yêyn adj cool, cold
yêyner m yêyneryow refrigerator
yn5 part forming adverb from adjective
yn fas adv properly
yn scon adv soon
yn tien adv entirely, totally, completely
yn udnyk adv uniquely; only
yn unsel adv only (reinforcing saw)
yogùrt m yoghurt
ÿs wheg col ÿsen sweetcorn
ÿst adj/m east
yth See y5
ytho adv [and] so, therefore
Zed name of letter Z