Revived Middle Cornish

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.

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

*sigh*

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.[2] For example dhe² means that the word dhe causes soft mutation in the following word. This table shows which sounds change into what in different mutation states. An empty cell means that no change happens, and a dash means that the sound is elided. For example the word gramasek becomes ramasek in second state (soft) mutation.

Mutation Table

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

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.[3] 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.[4] There is a definite article, an. It is often conjoined with other words, e.g. y'n (in the), ha'n (and the). This article causes second state mutation in a following singular feminine noun.

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 become more and more uncommon in modern language.[5]

Personal Pronouns Combined with 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 (with) combines with the personal pronouns.[6] So for example "I work with them" translates as My a ober gansa rather than *My a ober gans i. See also Possession.

Personal Pronouns Combined with dhe²

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

Dhe² (to; at) also combines with the personal pronouns.[7] So for example "I sent a letter to you" translates as My a dhannvonas lyther dhis rather than *My a dhannvonas lyther dhe ty. See also Possession.

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

The pronoun can be repeated in its uncombined form to add greater emphasis.[8]

Adjectives

Adjectives follow the noun they modify. Adjectives following singular feminine nouns take mutation form 2.[9]

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.[10]

Verb Tenses

Type of Verb	Present Tense	Past Tense
-as	Ty a dhannvon You send	Ty a dhannvonas You sent
-is	Ty a gews You speak	Ty a gewsis You spoke
Irregular	Ty a woer You know	Ty a 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.[11]

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.[12]

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.[13]

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.[14]

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.

Particles

A² - Positive Polarity Item

The particle a² is used before verbs in nominal sentences to mark for affirmative polarity.[15]

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. [16]

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.[17]

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.[19]

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

A - Vocative Particle

A is optionally used before names when calling out to someone.[20] For example a letter may begin with A Yowann ker - Dear Yowann.[21]

Syntax

Word Order

In some constructions in Cornish, a word may be moved to the beginning of the sentence to give it more emphasis.[22] 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.[23]

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.[24]

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	he.LAT
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.[25]

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.her
She is with a daughter.

Can and Cannot

"I can" translates as y⁵ hallav, and "I can't" as ny² allav. Both call for a verbal noun.[26]

Ny allav triga omma.
ny.allav	trig-a	omma
I.cannot	live-INF	here
I can't live here.

Y hallav skrifa dhis yn skon.
y.hallav	skrif-a	dhis	yn.skon
I.can	write-INF	2SG.LAT	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.[27]

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.[28]

​ 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.

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)