Revived Middle Cornish

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I, Qwynegold, am writing this article while self-studying Cornish online, as a way of sorting out what I have learned. Maybe others will have use of this as well? I'm expanding the article little by little as I progress in my study. I'm using the online course Kernewek Dre Lyther (KDL), so most references will be of that. There are also some references to the PDF An Outline of the Standard Written Form of Cornish.

This article is a work in progress.
The contents may be tentative, incomplete, inaccurate, in need of elaboration, subject to later revision, or just plain sketchy.

As a courtesy, if you are not the author of the article, please do not make edits to this article while this message is displayed.
Revived Middle Cornish
Kernewek
Spoken in: Cornwall, United Kingdom
World: Earth
Total speakers: 3,500 (all varieties of Cornish)[1]
Genealogical classification: Indo-European
Celtic
Insular Celtic
Brythonic
Cornish
Basic word order:
Morphological type:
Morphosyntactic alignment:


Phonology and Orthography

There are many different varieties of revived Cornish, and several different orthographies, most notably Unified Cornish (UC), Kernewek Kemmyn (KK) and Standard Written Form (SWF).[2] Kernewek Kemmyn and SWF are presented in the table below.
SWF has something called traditional graphs. For example /ks/ is normally written <KS> in SWF, but it can be substituted for the traditional graph <X>. SWF without traditional graphs has a more straightforward, one-to-one correspondence between letters and phonemes, while the traditional graphs emulate how Cornish was written during the middle ages. SWF also has something called variant graphs, letters and digraphs that vary depending on which variant of Cornish is being written.[3] Only the variant graphs that are relevant for Revived Middle Cornish are included in this table.

Kernewek Kemmyn and SWF
Kernewek Kemmyn A AW AY B CH D DH E EU EW EY F G GGH GH H HW I IW J K KK L LL M MM
SWF n/a KK/CK3
SWF with traditional graphs WH I/Y1 K/C2
Pronunciation /a/ /aʊ/ /aɪ/ /b/ /t͡ʃ/ /d/ /ð/ /ɛ/ /œ/ /ɛʊ/ /ɛɪ/ /f/ /ɡ/ /xː/ /x/ /h/ /ʍ/ /i/ /iʊ/ /d͡ʒ/ /k/ /kː/ /l/ /lː/ /m/ /mː/
Kernewek Kemmyn N NN O OE OU OW n/a P PP KW R RR S SH T TH TT TTH U n/a V W7 KS Y Y YW
SWF OO/O4 OU/OO5 OY n/a UW Z
SWF with traditional graphs QW S/C6 X
Pronunciation /n/ /nː/ /ɔ/ /o/ /u/ /ɔʊ/ /ɔɪ/ /p/ /pː/ /kw/ /r/ /rː/ /s/ /ʃ/ /t/ /θ/ /tː/ /θː/ /y/ /yʊ/ /v/ /w/ /ks/ /j/ /ɪ/ /ɪʊ/ /z/

1Final unstressed /i/ is spelled with <Y>, but /i/ in other contexts is spelled with <I>.[3]
2<C> is used before <A O U L R>, <K> is used in other contexts.[3]
3<CK> is used in loan words for marking that the previous vowel is short. This is used root-finally and therefore realized as [k]. But if <CK> becomes intervocalic due to a suffix being added, it becomes [kː].[3] See Allophony below.
4SWF spells both long /ɔ/ and /o/ ([ɔː] and [oː]) with <O> in some words, while short /ɔ/ and /o/ ([ɔ] and [ɤ]) are always spelled with <O>.[3]
5It is unclear when <OO> stands for /o/ and when it stands for /u/.[3]
6
7SWF has two examples of words where an intervocalic <W> is pronunced as [ʊ] as it forms a diphthong with the previous vowel.[4] But it does not specifically say that <W> cannot ever be [w] in intervocalic position. KDL does not mention anything about it either in its PDFs, and the audio files are inconsistent, pronuncing it [ʊ] in some words and [w] in others.

Allophony

Different sources define the rules for vowel length differently. SWF has the following definitions: Unstressed vowels are short. In monosyllabic words stressed vowels are long when word-final, when followed by a single consonant other than /p/ or /t/, or when followed by one of the clusters /sp, st, sk/. Vowels in stressed monosyllabic words are short when followed by /p/ or /t/, a geminate consonant, or a cluster other than one of /sp, st, sk/. Stressed vowels in polysyllabic words are long in open syllables when followed by a single consonant or one of the clusters /sp, st, sk/. Stressed vowels in polysyllabic words are short before geminate consonants and clusters other than one of /sp, st, sk/. There are some words, most of which are loan words, in which the vowel length does not follow the normal rules.[3]
In this list consonant length has been marked as phonemic and vowel length as unphonemic, although it might be phonemic in some loan words. Consonants can only be long in stressed syllables according to SWF.[3] When stress moves away from a syllable with a geminate, as a suffix is added, this geminate therefore becomes short. SWF also says that word-final plosives cannot be long, but they may become long when they become intervocalic, or appear in V_j, due to a suffix being added. Whether these are then phonemic geminates realized as a short consonants or vice versa, or just alterations between a phonemic long consonants and phonemic short consonants, is a matter of interpretation.

  • /a/ has the allophone [ə] when unstressed, [a] when followed by a geminate, and [aː] when stressed according to KDL.[5] [6] According to SWF it is [a] when unstressed or in monosyllabic words in the following positions: _p, _t, _Cː, ˈ_CC !{_sp, _st, _sk}; and [aː] in monosyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_(C)# !{_p, _t}, ˈ_s{p, t, k}, as well as in polysyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_$C, ˈ_$s{p, t, k}.[3]
  • /aʊ/ has the allophone [aʊ].[5] [3]
  • /aɪ/ has the allophone [aɪ].[5] [3]
  • /b/ has the allophone [p] word-finally unless it is, without a pause, followed by a word beginning with a vowel. The allophone [b] appears in all other contexts. All this according to KDL.[5] SWF only recognizes the allophone [b].[3]
  • /t͡ʃ/ has the allophone [tʃ].[5]
  • /d/ has the allophone [d].[3] KDL does not mention anything about /d/, so it is unknown if it should follow the same unvoicing rule as the other voiced obstruents.
  • /ð/ has the allophone [θ] word-finally unless it is, without a pause, followed by a word beginning with a vowel. The allophone [ð] appears in all other contexts. All this according to KDL.[5] SWF only recognizes the allophone [ð].[3]
  • /ɛ/ has the allophone [ɛ] when unstressed or followed by a geminate, and [ɛː] when stressed or followed by a single consonant.[5] [7] SWF defines the allophone [ɛ] as appearing when unstressed or in monosyllabic words in the following positions: _p, _t, _Cː, ˈ_CC !{_sp, _st, _sk}; and the allophone [ɛː] in monosyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_(C)# !{_p, _t}, ˈ_s{p, t, k}, as well as in polysyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_$C, ˈ_$s{p, t, k}.[3]
  • /œ/ seems to only have the allophone [œː] according to KDL[5] and Wikipedia[7]. SWF defines the allophone [ɛ] as appearing when unstressed; [œ] seemingly in monosyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_p, ˈ_t, ˈ_Cː, ˈ_CC !{_sp, _st, _sk}, as well as in polysyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_Cː, ˈ_CC; and [œː] in monosyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_(C)# !{_p, _t}, ˈ_s{p, t, k}, as well as in polysyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_$C, ˈ_$s{p, t, k}.[3]
  • /ɛʊ/ has the allophone [ɛʊ].[5] [3]
  • /ɛɪ/ has the allophone [ɛɪ].[5] [3]
  • /f/ has the allophone [f].[3]
  • /ɡ/ has the allophone [k] word-finally unless it is, without a pause, followed by a word beginning with a vowel. The allophone [ɡ] appears in all other contexts. All this according to KDL.[5] SWF only recognizes the allophone [ɡ].[3]
  • /x/ has only the allophone [x] according to KDL.[5] According to SWF it is [h] intervocalically, and [x] elsewhere. It is in complimentary distribution with /h/ everywhere but word-initially or after a consonant.
  • /h/ has the allophone [h].
  • /ʍ/ has the allophone [ʍ].[3]
  • /i/ has the long allophone [iː], and the short allophone [i] according to SWF[3], while KDL[5] and Wikipedia[7] seem to suggest that it doesn't have a short counterpart.
  • /iʊ/ has the allophone [iʊ].[3] KDL seems to suggest that it is [iːʊ],[5] but that might stem from a confusion about the difference between length and tenseness,[8] as this is not supported by its sound files.[9]
  • /d͡ʒ/ has the allophone [d͡ʒ]. KDL does not mention anything about /d͡ʒ/, so it is unknown if it should follow the same unvoicing rule as the other voiced obstruents.
  • /k/ has the allophone [k].[3] [10]
  • /kː/ has the allophone [kː] when stressed and [k] when unstressed.[3]
  • /l/ has the allophone [l].[3]
  • /lː/ has the allophone [lː] when stressed and [l] when unstressed.[3]
  • /m/ has the allophone [m].[3]
  • /mː/ has the allophone [mː] when stressed and [m] when unstressed.[3] According to KDL[5] [ᵇm] is an acceptable substitute for [mː], but SWF[3] says that it is only used in (Revived) Late Cornish.
  • /n/ has the allophone [n].[3] Neither KDL or SWF mentions anything about nasal assimilation, but that might not necessarily mean that it does not exist.
  • /nː/ has the allophone [nː] when stressed and [n] when unstressed.[3] According to KDL[5] [ᵈn] is an acceptable substitute for [nː], but SWF[3] says that it is only used in (Revived) Late Cornish.
  • /ɔ/ has the allophone [ɔ] when followed by a geminate or consonant cluster, and allophone [ɔː] elsewhere.[5] [7] SWF defines the allophone [ɔ] as appearing when unstressed or in monosyllabic words in the following positions: _p, _t, _Cː, ˈ_CC !{_sp, _st, _sk}; and the allophone [ɔː] in monosyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_(C)# !{_p, _t}, ˈ_s{p, t, k}, as well as in polysyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_$C, ˈ_$s{p, t, k}.[3]
  • /o/ has the short allophone [ɤ] and the long allophone [oː].[5] [7] SWF defines the allophone [ɤ] as appearing when unstressed or in monosyllabic words in the following positions: _p, _t, _Cː, ˈ_CC !{_sp, _st, _sk}; and the allophone [oː] in monosyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_(C)# !{_p, _t}, ˈ_s{p, t, k}, as well as in polysyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_$C, ˈ_$s{p, t, k}.[3]
  • /u/ seems to only have the allophone [uː] according to KDL[5] and Wikipedia[7]. SWF seems to define the allophone [u] as appearing when unstressed or in monosyllabic words in the following positions: _p, _t, _Cː, ˈ_CC !{_sp, _st, _sk}; and the allophone [uː] in monosyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_(C)# !{_p, _t}, ˈ_s{p, t, k}, as well as in polysyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_$C, ˈ_$s{p, t, k}.[3]
  • /ɔʊ/ has the allophone [ɔʊ].[5] [3]
  • /ɔɪ/ mostly the allophone [ɔɪ], but according to SWF it can be [ʊɪ] in a few open monosyllabic words.[3] KDL does not mention the existence of a phoneme /ɔɪ/, and <OY> seems to be pronunced as two vowels, /ɔ/ and /ɪ/, in hiatus.[11]
  • /p/ has the allophone [p].[3]
  • /pː/ has the allophone [pː] when stressed and [p] when unstressed.[3]
  • /r/ has the allophone [r] according to KDL[5] and SWF[3]. But according to Wikipedia it is [ɾ].[7]
  • /rː/ has the allophone [rː] when stressed and [r] when unstressed.[5] [3]
  • /s/ has the allophone [s] word-initially and before a voiceless plosive, [sː] when geminated, and [z] elsewhere.
  • /ʃ/ has the allophone [ʃ].
  • /t/ has the allophone [t].[3]
  • /tː/ has the allophone [tː] when stressed and [t] when unstressed.[3]
  • /θ/ has the allophone [θ].[3]
  • /y/ seems to only have the allophone [yː] according to KDL[5] and Wikipedia[7]. SWF defines the allophone [ɪ] as appearing when unstressed; [y] seemingly in monosyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_p, ˈ_t, ˈ_Cː, ˈ_CC !{_sp, _st, _sk}, as well as in polysyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_Cː, ˈ_CC; and [yː] in monosyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_(C)# !{_p, _t}, ˈ_s{p, t, k}, as well as in polysyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_$C, ˈ_$s{p, t, k}.[3]
  • /yʊ/ has the allophone [yʊ]. It is only found in three different roots.[3] KDL does not recognize this phoneme at all.
  • /v/ has the allophone [f] word-finally unless it is, without a pause, followed by a word beginning with a vowel. The allophone [v] appears in all other contexts. All this according to KDL.[5] SWF only recognizes the allophone [v].[3]
  • /w/ has the allophone [w].[5]
  • /j/ has the allophone [j].[5]
  • /ɪ/ has the short allophone [ɪ][5] and the long allophone /ɪː/.[7] SWF defines the allophone [ɪ] as appearing when unstressed or in monosyllabic words in the following positions: _p, _t, _Cː, ˈ_CC !{_sp, _st, _sk}; and the allophone [ɪː] in monosyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_#, ˈ_C !{_p, _t}, ˈ_s{p, t, k}, as well as in polysyllabic words in the following positions: ˈ_$C, ˈ_$s{p, t, k}.[3]
  • /ɪʊ/ has the allophone [ɪʊ].[5] [3]
  • /z/ has the allophone [z].

Initial Mutation

In Cornish, some words cause the initial consonant of the following word to change. This is called mutation. There are five different types of mutation in Cornish, called soft, breathed, hard, mixed and mixed after Th, referring to the sound changes involved. These are numbered 2-6, and are usually just referred to by their number.[12] For example dhe2 means that the word dhe causes soft mutation in the following word. (There are some words that cause mutation only to some types of words, such as an(2) which mutates feminine nouns. These words are marked with a number in paranthesis in this article.)
This table shows which sounds change into what in different mutation states. A dash means that the sound is elided. For example the word gramasek becomes ramasek in second state (soft) mutation. Also note that each of these phonemes do not change in every mutation state. (These are grayed out.)

Mutation Table
1
Unmutated		 2
Soft		 3
Breathed		 4
Hard		 5
Mixed		 6
Mixed after Th
B V B P F V
Ch J Ch Ch Ch Ch
D Dh D T T T
G+{a, e, i, y} - G K H H
G+{o, u, ro, ru} W G K Hw W
G+{l, r} - G K G G
Gw W Gw Kw Hw W
K G1 H2 K K K
M V M M F V
P B1 F P P P
T D1 Th T T T

1No change if the previous word ends with S or Th.
2No change if followed by L, N or R.

Morphology

Nouns

There are two genders in Cornish: Masculine and feminine.[5] The majority of all nouns are masculine.

Articles

There was a word unn that was sometimes used as an indefinite article in old Cornish texts, but Revived Cornish seldomly use any indefinite article.[12] There is a definite article, an(2). It is often conjoined with other words, e.g. y'n(2) (in the), ha'n(2) (and the).[13] This article causes second state mutation in a following singular feminine noun, and in the numerals dew2 and diw2.[14]

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Personal Pronouns
Singular Plural
1st person my
I		 ni
we
2nd person ty
you		 hwi
you
3rd person ev
he/it		 i
they
hi
she/it

These are subject pronouns used in nominative sentences (with the particles a2 and Re2).
Cornish has a T-V distinction, in that hwi can also be used as a polite form of address towards a single person. But this usage is becoming more and more uncommon in modern language.[15]

Prepositions

Just as the other Insular Celtic languages, Cornish too has inflected prepositions. In the case of Cornish, this is a fusion of a preposition and a pronoun. But one can consider it to be the case that the prepositions are inflected for person.[16]

Gans - With

Gans (with) is used as a comitative preposition (see Possession for examples).

Person Inflection of gans
Singular Plural
1st person genev
with me		 genen
with us
2nd person genes
with you		 genowgh
with you
3rd person ganso
with him/it		 gansa
with them
gensi
with her/it

Gans is inflected for person according to the above table.[15] So for example "I work with them" translates as My a ober gansa rather than *My a ober gans i. See also Possession. So an unfused personal pronoun never follows gans. The bare form gans is however used when it is followed by a noun.

Kinyow gans korev.
kinyow gans korev
dinner with beer
Dinner with beer.

Dhe2 - To; At

Dhe2 is pronunced [ðə][12], and has meanings similar to English "to" and "at".

Person inflection of dhe2
Singular Plural
1st person dhymm
to me		 dhyn
to us
2nd person dhis
to you		 dhywgh
to you
3rd person dhodho
to him/it		 dhedha
to them
dhedhi
to her/it

Dhe2 inflects for person according to the above table.[15] So for example "I sent a letter to you" translates as My a dhannvonas lyther dhis rather than *My a dhannvonas lyther dhe dy. See also Possession. So dhe2 is never followed by an unfused personal pronoun, instead, this form is used when it is followed by a noun.

Anjela eth dhe werthji.
Anjela eth dhe AGR\gwerthji
Anjela go.PST.3SG to AGR\shop
Anjela went to a store.

But the corresponding pronoun can actually be added after the inflected preposition for adding greater emphasis.[15]

Yma soedhva dhyn ni ynwedh!
yma soedhva dhyn ni ynwedh
be office at.1PL we also
We have an office too!

Adjectives

Adjectives follow the noun they modify. Adjectives following singular feminine nouns take mutation form 2.[17]

Verbs

Tense

Present tense is unmarked. Some verbs take the suffix -as, and some take -is, for forming the past tense. And some verbs are irregular.[18]

Verb Tenses
Type of Verb Present Tense Past Tense
-as Ty a2 dhannvon
You send		 Ty a2 dhannvonas
You sent
-is Ty a2 gews
You speak		 Ty a2 gewsis
You spoke
Irregular Ty a2 woer
You know		 Ty a2 wodhva
You knew

Aspect

For perfect aspect, see Re2 - Perfect Aspect Particle.

Verbal Nouns (Infinitives)

Infinitives, or verbal nouns or verb-nouns as they are usually called in Cornish grammar, are derived in a variety of ways from the verbs basic form.[18] See Verbal Nouns and Their Usage.

Copulas

Cornish has two copulas: One that tells who, what or how something is, and one that tells where something is. The former one is yw in the third person singular form.[17]

An vro yw Pow Frynk.
an AGR\bro yw Pow.Frynk
DEF AGR\country be.3SG France
The country is France.

A third person singular subject pronoun may be dropped when yw is used, in which case yw is placed after its complement.[17]

Ki yw.
ki yw
dog be.3SG
He/she/it is a dog.

Yma is the copula that tells where something is. Yma is usually placed at the beginning of the sentence.[19]

Yma Truru yn Kernow.
yma Truru yn Kernow
be Truro in Cornwall
Truro is in Cornwall.

No distinction is made between "is" and "there is" as in English.

Yma gwerthji y'n dre.
yma gwerthji y'n AGR\tre
be shop in.DEF AGR\town
There is a shop in the town.

Irregular Verbs

Gul - To Do; To Make
To do; to make
Past tense Present tense
1st person Singular
Plural
2nd person Singular
Plural
3rd person Singular gwra
Plural
Infinitive gul
Mos - To Go
To go
Past tense Present tense
1st person Singular
Plural
2nd person Singular
Plural
3rd person Singular eth a
Plural
Infinitive mos

Mos (to go) has several suppletive forms as can be seen from the above table. Some forms of mos cause changes to certain particles preceding it:[14]

  • The positive polarity particle a2 is omitted before eth (go.PST.3SG) and a (go.PRS.3SG).
  • The negative polarity particle ny2 becomes nyns before a and eth.
  • The perfect particle re2 becomes res before eth.

Particles

A2 - Positive Polarity Item

The particle a2 is used before verbs in nominal sentences to mark for affirmative polarity.[17]

Hi a skrif dhe goweth.
hi a skrif dhe AGR\koweth
she PPI write to AGR\friend
She writes to a friend.

Ny2 - Negative Polarity Item

Ny2 is used for marking negative polarity. Sentences with ny2 are considered to be verbal and not nominal. Ny2 is only used with third person singular subjects.[13]

Ny gews ev Sowsnek.
ny AGR\kews ev Sowsnek
NPI AGR\speak he English
He doesn't speak English.

Usually the subject is placed after the verb. It can be placed before also, in which case the subject is strongly emphasized.[13]

My ny werth lyvrow.
my ny AGR\gwerth lyvrow
I NPI sell books
I don't sell books (but someone else might).

When a subject is emphasized like this, the past tense suffix of the verb agrees with the subject. (No agreement happens when the verb is positive, in present tense, or if the subject follows the verb.)[18]

Re2 - Perfect Aspect Particle

Re2 is used instead of a2 for forming the perfect aspect. It can be used with both present and past tense, but not with negative polarity. In negative verbs, simple and perfect are simply not distinguished.[18]

My re oberas yn soedhva.
my re ober-as yn soedhva
I PRF work-PST in office
I have worked in an office.

A(2) - Vocative Particle

A(2) is optionally used before names or titles when calling out to someone.[5][14] For example a letter may begin with A Yowann ker - Dear Yowann.[18] This particle causes soft mutation in adjectives and common nouns, but not in proper nouns.[14]

Conjunctions

The word corresponding to English "and" has two allomorphs: Ha and hag. Ha is used before words beginning with a consonant, and hag before words beginning with a vowel.[13] This word conjoins with certain other words.

And
Conjoined Morpheme Resulting Word
ha(g)
and
an(2)
the		 ha'n(2) [ˈhaːn]
and the[13]
y2
his		 ha'y2 [ˈhaːɪ]
and his[17]

Numerals

Numbers
Counting number Masculine attributive Feminine attributive
1 onan unn unn2
2 dew2 diw2
3 tri3 teyr3
4 peswar peder
5 pymp
6 hwegh
7 seyth
8 eth
9 naw
10 deg

When just counting, e.g. "one... two... three... four... five...", the numbers in the first column is used. Number one is special in that it has a specific form, onan, only used in this situation. Some numerals have different forms depending on if they are modifying a masculine or feminine noun. Two, three, and four have the allomorphs dew2, tri3, and peswar, respectively, when modifying a masculine noun, and diw2, teyr3, peder when modifying a feminine noun. Dew2 and diw2 cause second state mutation, and tri3 and teyr3 cause third state mutation on the following noun. Number one is called unn regardless of the noun's gender, but it causes second state mutation on feminine nouns, while masculine nouns are not affected. The rest of the numbers have only one form, and do not cause mutation. The modified noun stays in singular, even after numbers bigger than one.[14]

Yma diw wreg, dew vab, ha peder myrgh dhodho.
yma diw AGR\gwreg dew AGR\mab ha peder myrgh dhodho
be two.F AGR\wife two.M AGR\son and four.F daughter to.3SG.M
He has two wives, two sons, and four daughters.

The forms in the counting number/masculine attributive column are the default forms, i.e. when not used in either of the ways described above.

Ev re niveras dhe dri!
ev re nivera-s dhe AGR\tri
he PRF count-PST to AGR\three
He has counted to three!

Dew2 and diw2 take second state mutation when preceded by an(2).[14]

Yma an dhew byskador dhe'n mor.
yma an AGR\dew AGR\pyskador dhe'n mor
be DEF AGR\two.M AGR\fisherman at.DEF sea
The two fishermen are at the sea.

Syntax

Word Order

In some constructions in Cornish, a word may be moved to the beginning of the sentence to give it more emphasis.[13] Ev yw ki and ki yw ev both mean "it is a dog", but the latter sentence adds more emphasis to the word dog - "it is a dog and not some other animal". See also Ny2 - Negative Polarity Item and Can and Cannot.

Possession

There is no genitive morpheme in Cornish. Instead possession is shown by simply placing the possessor after the possessee.[19]

Kok an pyskador.
kok an pyskador
fishing.boat DEF fisherman
The fisherman's fishing boat.

Have-constructions, e.g. "X has Y", are construed as yma Y dhe2 X.[19]

Yma kok dhe byskador.
yma kok dhe AGR\pyskador
be fishing.boat to AGR\fisherman
A fisherman has a fishing boat.

This literally translates as "there is a fishing boat to a fisherman". Dhe2 combines with personal pronouns however.

Yma chi dhodho.
yma chi dhodho
be house to.3SG.M
He has a house.

There is another construction very similar to yma Y dhe2 X, but with gans (with) instead of dhe2. It describes a looser association than actual ownership.[13]

Yma myrgh gans benyn.
yma myrgh gans benyn
be daughter with woman
There is a woman with a daughter.

Gans also combines with pronouns.

Yma myrgh gensi.
yma myrgh gensi
be daughter with.3SG.F
She is with a daughter.

Verbal Nouns and Their Usage

Can and Cannot

"I can" translates as y5 hallav, and "I can't" as ny2 allav. Both call for a verbal noun.[18]

Ny allav triga omma.
ny.AGR\gallav trig-a omma
I.cannot live-INF here
I can't live here.
Y hallav skrifa dhis yn skon.
y.AGR\gallav skrif-a dhis yn.skon
I.can write-INF to.2SG soon
I can write to you soon.

Y5 hallav implies that one can do something because of physical ability, or because one is allowed to. If one can do something because one has learned to do it, usually y5 hwonn or my a2 woer is used instead. My a2 woer makes a nominal sentence, and emphasizes the subject, while y5 hwonn is more neutral.[18]

Y hwonn kewsel Kernewek.
y.hwonn kews-el Kernewek
I.know speak-INF Cornish
I can speak Cornish.
My a woer kewsel Kernewek.
my a woer kews-el Kernewek
I PPI know speak-INF Cornish
I can speak Cornish.

Verbal Nouns with Adjectives

A sentence of the form "I am happy/sad to VERB", for example "I am happy to learn Cornish", makes use of the following construction: Lowen/trist ov vy dhe2 VERB-INF.[18]

​ Lowen ov vy dhe dhyski Kernewek.
lowen ov.vy dhe AGR\dysk-i Kernewek
happy I.am to AGR\learn-INF Cornish
I am happy to learn Cornish.
Trist ov vy dhe wertha ow hi.
trist ov.vy dhe AGR\gwertha ow AGR\ki
sad I.am to AGR\sell.INF my AGR\dog
I am sad to sell my dog.

Gul - To Do/Make

The verb gul means to do, or to make, and is used as an auxiliary. It is used for making alternative forms of verbs, by placing it in front of a verbal noun.[14]

​ Hi a wra godhvos.
hi a AGR\gwra godhvos
she PPI AGR\do.PRS.3SG know.INF
She knows/She do know.

A2 wra is its third singular present positive form. If the subject is third singular, the sentence can be negated by using ny2 wra instead. Ny2 wra can be placed either before or after the subject, but putting it before the subject is more common.[14]

​ Ny wra Peder oberi yn koffiji. = Peder ny wra oberi yn koffiji.
ny AGR\gwra Peder ober-i yn koffiji = Peder ny AGR\gwra ober-i yn koffiji
NPI AGR\do.PRS.3SG Peder work-INF in café = Peder NPI AGR\do.PRS.3SG work-INF in café
Peder does not work at a café.

Going Somewhere to Do Something

These kinds of constructions are made with mos followed by dhe2 and a verbal noun.[14]

​ Jyll eth dhe an dre dhe gavoes nebes lyvrow.
Jyll eth dhe an AGR\tre dhe AGR\kavoes nebes lyvrow
Jyll go.PST.3SG to DEF AGR\town to AGR\get few books
Jyll went to town to get a few books.

References

  1. ↑ Cornish language at Wikipedia.
  2. ↑ Cornish revival at Wikipedia.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 3.31 3.32 3.33 3.34 3.35 3.36 3.37 3.38 3.39 3.40 3.41 3.42 3.43 3.44 3.45 3.46 3.47 3.48 3.49 Standard Written Form.
  4. ↑ "klewes [ˈklɛʊɛs]" and "lowen [ˈlɔʊɛn]", both on page 12 in Standard Written Form.
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 5.24 5.25 5.26 5.27 5.28 5.29 Kernewek Dre Lyther, Reference Section.
  6. ↑ Wikipedia agrees with the difference that the vowel is also short when followed by two different consonants. It also says "some vowels have a tendency to be reduced to schwas [ə] in unstressed syllables". Kernewek Kemmyn at Wikipedia.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 Kernewek Kemmyn at Wikipedia.
  8. ↑ See the paragraph about YW in Kernewek Dre Lyther, Reference Section.
  9. ↑ Listen for example to "Piw yw y gesskrifer?" at the very end of Kernewek Dre Lyther, Lesson 2, audio file.
  10. ↑ Kernewek Dre Lyther, Reference Section (page 2) says this about /k/: "Normally as in English but as C at end of word if followed by a vowel". It does not say what this "C" is. The entry for the letter C only reads this: "Only used followed by H. K is used for the normal ‘hard C’ sound", i.e. <C> is not used in Kernewek Kemmyn except for in the digraph <CH> /t͡ʃ/.
  11. ↑ Listen for example to "Skrif dhymm arta mar pleg, ow leverel dhymm neppyth a’th ober ha neppyth moy a’th teylu" at Kernewek Dre Lyther, Lesson 7, audio file.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Kernewek Dre Lyther, Lesson 1.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Kernewek Dre Lyther, Lesson 4.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 Kernewek Dre Lyther, Lesson 8.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Kernewek Dre Lyther, Lesson 7.
  16. ↑ Inflected preposition at Wikipedia.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Kernewek Dre Lyther, Lesson 2.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 18.7 Kernewek Dre Lyther, Lesson 6.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Kernewek Dre Lyther, Lesson 3.


This article is one of quite a few pages about Natlangs.

Indo-european natlangs:

Balto-Slavic Natlangs: Czech * Russian
Celtic Natlangs: Revived Middle Cornish * Pictish
Germanic Natlangs:
North Germanic Natlangs: Norwegian
West Germanic Natlangs: Anglo-Saxon * Dutch * English (Old English * Middle English * Modern English * Scots) * German (High German * Low German)
Indo-Iranian Natlangs: Pahlavi
Italic Natlangs: French * Italian * Latin * Spanish
Debated: Cimmerian

Uralic Natlangs: Finnish * Khanty * Mansi * Mordvinic * Proto-Uralic
Altaic (controversial): Japanese
Sino-Tibetan Natlangs:
Uto-Aztecan Natlangs: Nahuatl

-

Isolate Natlangs: Basque * *
Hypothetical/debated Natlangs and Natlang families: Danubian * Europic (obsolete)

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