A playlet for use with Skeul an Tavas Lesson 2
© 2019 Ray Chubb and Ian Jackson
2nd edition July 2020
TAMSYN
Dëdh dâ, Wella.
WELLA
Dùrda dhis, Tamsyn. Fatla genes?
TAMSYN
Dâ lowr ov vy, mès sqwith ov. Fatla genes tejy?
WELLA
Lowen ov vy. An gewer yw tobm hedhyw.
TAMSYN
Yw, mès avorow an gewer a vëdh glëb.
WELLA
Hedna a vëdh drog.
TAMSYN
Bëdh. Yw pel, an dra-na i’n fordh?
WELLA
Yw, pel vian yw.
TAMSYN
Duw genes, Wella.
WELLA
Duw genes, Tamsyn.
In all instances of verb + personal pronoun (as subject), you can leave out the personal pronoun if you like. The pronoun is frequetly omitted in literature. Dropping it is not so common in traditional Cornish conversation. Sometimes it is potentially ambiguous. But it is a useful trick to avoid repetition.
Footnote
This playlet first appeared on page 14 of the coursebook Skeul an Tavas © 2010 Ray Chubb. Wella and Tamsyn are ‘everyman’ names in Cornish, like John and Jane in English. Characters with these names also appear on pages 20, 37, 50. You will quickly see they cannot all be the same persons.