PRONUNCIATION - lovinglivingcornish

This guidance is based on Kernowek Standard (KS) spellings. It reflects a plausible reconstruction of Cornish as spoken at the beginning of the seventeenth century.

VOWELS

Including diphthongs

Provided meaning is not obscured, there is a considerable tendency to reduce pure vowel sounds in unstressed syllables to the vowel sound in THE when not rhymed with THEE, though i or u ‘colouring’ will persist. And stressed short e likewise reduces before retroflex r. When they are not stressed, ow and final u tend to lose the w sound.

This is a pure vowel. In a monosyllable it is the vowel sound in CAT but lengthened. But pronounce as for à in a monosyllable ending in two consonant letters if these are not dh, gh, sk, st or th. In a word of more than one syllable, pronounce as for à. Pronounce as for à in words of more than one syllable.

This is a pure vowel. It is the vowel sound in CAT.

This is a pure vowel. It is the vowel sound in CAT but lengthened. In monosyllables ending in l n single s or v, it is approximately the vowel sound in CORE with silent r - more precisely, the sound represented by the symbol [ɒ:] in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

This is a pure vowel. When it is stressed, pronounce as for ê. Otherwise as for è.

This is a pure vowel. When it is stressed, pronounce approximately as the vowel sound in CORE with silent r - more precisely, the sound represented by the symbol [ɒ:] in the International Phonetic Alphabet. When au is unstressed, pronounce approximately as for ò - more precisely, the sound represented by International Phonetic Alphabet [ɒ].

This is a diphthong. It is the vowel sound in COW.

This is a diphthong. It is the vowel sound in FLY.

This is a pure vowel. In a monosyllable it is approximately the vowel sound in THEY, but drawn out and lacking the final y-sound. More precisely, this is the sound represented by the symbol [e:] in the International Phonetic Alphabet. But pronounce as for è in a monosyllable ending in two consonant letters if these are not dh, gh, sk, st or th. Pronounce as for è in a word of more than one syllable.

This is a pure vowel. It is the vowel sound in PET.

This is a pure vowel. it is approximately the vowel sound in THEY, but drawn out and lacking the final y-sound. More precisely, this is the sound represented by the symbol [e:] in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

This is a pure vowel. Pronounce as for ê or î according to preference.

This is a pure vowel. When it is stressed, pronounce either as the vowel sound represented by the symbol [ø:] in the International Phonetic Alphabet or as for ê. When eu is unstressed, pronounce either as the vowel sound represented by the symbol [œ] in the International Phonetic Alphabet or as for è.

This is a diphthong. Pronounce either as the vowel sound in PET or as the vowel sound in KIT, in each case followed by a w-sound. But ew has the ‘yoo’ sound of USE in Ewny and in non Celtic loan-words.

êw

This is a diphthong. Pronounce as for ew or yw according to preference.

This is a diphthong. It is the vowel sound in FLY but pronounced further forward in the mouth. In unweyth ‘once’, dywweyth ‘twice’ etc it is often reduced to the vowel sound in PET or KIT.

This is a pure vowel. When it is stressed, pronounce as the vowel sound in ME. In unstressed syllables it is the vowel sound in KIT.

This is a pure vowel. It is the vowel sound in ME.

This is a pure vowel. In a monosyllable it is approximately the vowel sound in COY, but drawn out and lacking the final y-sound. More precisely, this is the sound represented by the symbol [o:] in the International Phonetic Alphabet. But pronounce as for ò in a monosyllable ending in two consonant letters if these are not dh, gh, sk, st or th. Pronounce as for ò in a word of more than one syllable.

This is a pure vowel. It is the vowel sound in COT.

This is a pure vowel. Some speakers pronounce it as for ô when it is stressed, otherwise as for ò. This is a more easterly pronunciation in historical terms. Some speakers pronounce it as for û when it is stressed, otherwise as for ù. In historical terms this is a more westerly pronunciation.

This is a pure vowel. When its is stressed, pronounce as for û. Otherwise as for ù.

This is a diphthong. Pronounce as the vowel sound in COT followed by a w-sound. Some pronounce as û when it is stressed before a vowel in the same utterance, and as ù when it is unstressed before such a vowel. The spelling of particle ow is a mere convention of writing: it is pronounced as ò. But possessive pronoun ow is pronounced exactly as spelled.

ôw

This is a diphthong. Pronounce as for ow or yw according to preference.

This is a diphthong. It is the vowel sound in COY. But many pronounce it further forward in the mouth.

This is a pure vowel. When it is stressed, pronounce as for î. An older pronunciation as in German grün ‘green’ is retained when u immediately precedes another vowel in the same word. And some apply this older sound to u more generally. When u is unstressed (and in auxiliary gwrug) it is the vowel sound in KIT; some pronounce as in German grün but shorter. Always pronounce as for yw word-finally (whether stressed or unstressed). In ugh and derivatives, u is the ‘yoo’ sound of USE.

This is a pure vowel. It is the vowel sound in COULD.

This is a pure vowel. It is the vowel sound in COO. But û in non-Celtic loan-words has the ‘yoo’ sound of USE wherever that is the sound in the corresponding English word.

This is a pure vowel (save when pronounced as ey). At the beginning of a word or alone as a particle, it is the vowel sound in THE when not rhymed with THEE. Alone meaning ‘they’ or stressed at the end of a word, it is either the vowel sound in ME or pronounced as for ey. Unstressed at the end of a word of more than one syllable, it is the final vowel sound in TEDDY or BODY (slight variation as in English). In other cases pronounce as the vowel sound in KIT.

This is a pure vowel. Pronounce as for î or ê according to preference.

This is a diphthong. Pronounce as the vowel sound in KIT followed by a w-sound.

CONSONANTS

Geminates are pronounced as a single consonant. But note the quality of s is not always the same as ss.

Pronounce as in English. But as for p in heb, neb, pùb, ryb when next word begins with a voiceless consonant, l or n.

Pronounce approximately as for English, but the first element is very light (pre-occluded m).

Pronounce as in SAT before any e i or y. Otherwise as in CAT.

Pronounce as in CHAT.

Pronounce as for k.

Pronounce as in English.

Pronounce as in THAT. But it is often silent in the combination rdh when word-final and occasionally elsewhere.

Pronounce approximately as for English, but the first element is very light (pre-occluded n).

dnh

Pronounce as for dn, but with d tending to t, and nh realized as a voiceless n with slight aspiration.

Pronounce as in English. But as English V in fenester and fordh after any word triggering Second State - and some extend this practice to other instances of word-initial f. Word-finally it is pronounced only lightly and may even be silent. It may also be silent in flogh.

Pronounce as in English. But as for k in prag, rag (and finally in auxiliary gwrug) before a voiceless consonant, l or n.

Pronounce as in LOCH. But the sound is often reduced to h or may even be silent.

Pronounce as in English. But it is often reduced or may even be silent between vowels.

Pronounce as in English.

Pronounce as in English. But as for lh when immediately preceded by f in the same word.

This is a voiceless retroflex l with slight aspiration. But there is no friction, unlike Welsh.

Pronounce as in English.

This is a single sound ‘ng’ when word-final, but a double sound ‘ng-g’ in non-Celtic loan-words wherever that is the sound in the corresponding English word.

This is a voiceless n with slight aspiration.

Pronounce as in English.

This sound is trilled gently on the tip of the tongue; it should not be rolled. But it is a retroflex sound (no trill, and the tip of the tongue curled slightly back) when it is preceded by a vowel and followed by a consonant in the same word, or when it is word-final.

This is a voiceless retroflex l with slight aspiration.

Pronounce as in SAT. But as in IS (i.e. as if z) medially before a vowel, voiced consonant or glide in the same utterance, or when word-final in a stressed syllable. When word-final in an unstressed syllable the sound is often half way between s and z. Some speakers may pronounce it word-initially as z when it is immediately preceded by a vowel or n in the same utterance and immediately followed by a vowel.

[s]cy

Only found in non-Celtic loan-words. Pronounce as for ss followed by a y-glide. In non-Celtic loan-words it may alternatively be pronounced as for sh wherever that is the sound in the corresponding English word.

Only found in non-Celtic loan-words. Pronounce as in SHALL.

Pronounce as in KISS.

[s]sy

Only found in non-Celtic loan-words. Pronounce as for s followed by a y-glide. In non-Celtic loan-words it may alternatively be pronounced as for sh or as S in TREASURE wherever that is the sound in the corresponding English word.

Pronounce as in English.

Pronounce as in THIN. But final rth is sometimes pronounced as rh. And the spelling of particle owth is a mere convention of writing: it is pronounced oh - that is, like particle ow followed by an h-sound (which merges with any h at the beginning of the next word).

Pronounce as in English. Word-finally it is pronounced only lightly and may even be silent.

This is a ‘glide’ as in English. But it is only lightly pronounced in word-initial gwr, wr and qwr. It may even be silent after j.

This is the sound heard in WHEN if that word is pronounced precisely: a voiceless w-glide with slight aspiration.

Only found in non-Celtic loan-words. Pronounce as in TAX.

Before a vowel, y is a ‘glide’ with the same pronunciation as English consonantal y. Initial yê / yêw / yêy may optionally be pronounced as for e / ew / ey respectively.

This is a single sound: a voiceless y-glide with slight aspiration. It only occurs in one word: moyha.

This letter is used optionally instead of s word-initially in a few non-Celtic loan-words and sometimes to show a preference for a z-sound in a native word.

Stress accent

Cornish words generally have a relatively strong stress accent. Primary stress falls in most cases on the penultimate syllable of a word. Compound words are pronounced with a stress pattern that preserves the identity of the words in the compound. This does not usually apply when the first or second element is (or is treated as) a prefix or suffix, but there are a few exceptions (e.g. kevoos instead of kevos 'contemporary'). Monosyllabic prepositions and the definitie article are usually unstressed, but a'n is usually pronounced with the same vowel as if it were stressed, to distinguish it from the definite article alone. Particles are always unstressed. Stress is reduced on a few other monosyllabic words qualifying a noun or adjective: e.g. neb, pòr (contrast adjective pur), pùb (contrast pronoun pob).

This text: 30 October 2022