Tabm a Gernow 59 (the Man Engine)

Jorna tòbm o de. Me eth dhe’n dre. Rag fra wrüga vy moas? Drefen boas an Jynn Den ena. Thera rûth veur, bush broas a düs, en Truru; pemdhek mil, car dre hevel. E veu calish dhe weles an skerrimouj cowrek wor’ talleth. Oll an düs a veu herdhys warbarth. Den, ûhel  y lev, a wrüg laul adro dhe Gernow ha agan Stat Ertach an Norves.  Nessa, me a welas môg ha me a glowas càna. 

An “Den” a savas e’mann, deg meter y ûhelder, gen gweres dhort an bobel o cana ha garma. 

HAKA BALWEYTH

(Cornish Mining Chant)

Cober! Arhans! Sten! Sten! Sten!
En pub carrek? En pub men!
Cober! Arhans! Sten! Sten! Sten!
An gwella sten? En Kernow!

War an diwedh an düs eth ker. Gwag o an plas ha possybyl o dhe weles an skerrimouj cowrek der vaner da.

   

More Bits of Late Cornish 26 (giving directions 3)

Giving Directions 3

We have seen that we cannot give directions without using prepositions. So here is a list of useful ones, some that you have had before and some new (plus some related adverbs). Where the preposition contains <dhe> (to) you can usually make the related adverb by removing <dhe>:

adhelergh[1] dhe or adrev dhe	behind, at the back of
a dall dhe	opposite
a dreus dhe	across
a ûgh[2] dhe	above, over
a ves dhe	outside
a wartha[3] dhe or awarra dhe	on top of
a woles dhe	below, beneath
abarth awoles (adverb)	down below
abarth[4] dyhow dhe	on the right side of
en ’bar dyhow (adverb)	on the right
abarth cledh dhe	on the left side of
en ’bar cledh (adverb)	on the left
adherag or derag	in front of, before
adreus dhe	across
ajei dhe	inside, within
dadn or en dadn	under
dhe	to
dhe dhorn (adverb)	close at hand, nearby
dhyworth or dhort	away from
dres	beyond, over
hont dhe[5]	just past, just after (more than)
ogas dhe	near to, close to
en ogas (adverb)	nearby
ort	at
po nebes[6]	almost, nearly, just before
reb	by, beside, next to
en hons compes (adverb)	straight on
war	on
war nans (adverb)	downhill
wor tû ha(g)	towards
war vena (adverb)	uphill
warlergh[7]	after, behind

                                     

          Here are some examples:

Gwrewgh kemeres an vorr wor tû ha’n eglos teg.	Take the road towards the cathedral.
Ma’n sodhva bost adrev/adheler  dhe’n leverva.	The post office is behind the library.
Kewgh dhe’n tokynva ajei dhe’n chei gwary.	Go to the ticket office inside the theatre.
Gwrewgh treylya adall dhe’n bank.	Turn opposite the bank.
Gwrewgh moas adreus dhe’n pons coth.	Go across the old bridge.

                            

                  

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[1]  The <gh> is silent, so may be written <adheler >.

[2]  The <g> is silent.

[3]  In Late Cornish the <th> is silent.

[4]  Silent <th>.

[5]  Can be used for time as well as place

[6]  Placed after the noun – can also be used for time

[7]  Silent <gh>. Also splits when used with a pronoun, so <war y lergh> after it

Tabm a Gernow 58 (old nest)

Ottoma neyth edhen bian. Nag eus odhom dhe'n edhyn a neythow lebmyn. An edhnigow bian a wrüg moas mes mes an oyow,  cawas plev ha denithy. An neyth ma a wrüg cotha dhort bagas camellia. Pehen ew an edhen? Na ora vy. Edhen bian heb dout. Martesen pednpaly (bluetit), tynk (finch) po golvan sparrow) ew. Re vian ew an neyth rag mola dhû (blackird).

An edhen a wrüg gwia an neyth gen gwelsednow ha delkyow sehys, gen reun margh dû ha gwydn, gen kewny glas, plev gwydn ha gwloan llama melen.

Tabm a Gernow 57 (Newquay jellyfish)

Nanjew nebes seythen thera morvil broas war (on) an treth en Tywarnheyl. En seythen ma thera bestas behatna dres gans an gwens ha'n todnow dhe'n tre'vor. An mor tid a wrüg moas mes ha gara an bestas war y lergh. Morgowles ens. Na ell anjei neyja, nag üjens bes moas gen an dowr. Otta üdn vorgowlesen loor en Tewyn Plüstry. Thera rûth veur war an treth segh (en pelder) saw nag era lies person e'n dowr gans an morgowles. Nag ens drog saw war (cautious) ew an düs.

Ma morgowl o cressya en üskis e'n mor dres awel hedh. Ma lies mil, martesen lies milvil en mor en hav. Thens boos meurgerys morgrobanes. Martesen nei a wra gweles üdn morgrobam o neyja e'n mor e'wedh en termyn a dheu.

More Bits of Late Cornish 25 (place names 8)

Place Names 8

Here are some more of Cornwall’s highs and lows:

Bodmin Moor (Goen Bren C12)	hill downs
Brownqueen (Brangwoyn C14)	downland hill
Chybucca (Goenbuck 1714)	buck’s downs
Condolden Beacon (Gondolvaen 1298)	hole stone downs
Goenrounsan	ass’s downs
Goon Gumpas	level downs
Goonbell	far downs
Goonhavern (Goenhavar 1290)	downs of summer fallow
Goonhilly Downs[1] (Goenhely 1300)	hunting downs
Goonhingey (Goynhensy 1342)	downs with an old/ruined house
Gooninis (Goenenys 1404)	isolated downs
Goonlaze nr St Agnes (Goonlas ca1720)	green downs
Goonown (Gooneowne 1612)	? downs of fear
Goonreeve (Gonruth 1613)	red downs
Goonvean	little downs
Goonvrea	hill downs
Hallew	marshes
Illogan (Egloshallow 1700)	marshes church
Penhallow nr Perranzabuloe	end/top of marshes
Pontshallow	marshes bridge
Kenegie (Kenegy 1259)	reed-beds
Kenneggy	reed-beds
Pennytinney (Penventenyou 1349)	spring-heads
Penventinue (Penfentenyou 1284)	spring-heads
Venton Ariance	silver well
Ventongimps (Fentongempes 1296)	spring in a level place
Penventon nr Carn Brea	spring-head
Polventon (Penfenten 1435)	spring-head

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[1]  This is yet another example of the modern English bit of the name simply repeating what the Cornish says. In other place names the English has replaced the Cornish component.

Tabm a Gernow 56 (Thunder Moon in Capricorn)

Ma loor leun haneth. "Loor taran" henwys ew hei e'n mis ma. Loor taran e'n arwòdh an Zodiak an Gaver.

More Bits of Late Cornish 24 (landscape features 7)

Landscape Features 7

We have noted some man-made parts of the landscape. Now let’s have a look at what is growing wild. Some of the trees and bushes that grow in Cornish hedges, particularly elder and thorn, feature very frequently in place names (some of the plurals used are collective nouns and the spelling used is “traditional”):

gwernen (f) coll. gwern	alder
annon (f) pl. annenwidh	ash
besowen (f) coll. besow	birch
derowen pl. derow	oak[1]
elowen (f) coll. elow	elm
ewinen (f) coll. ewin	yew
eyrinen (f) coll. eyrin	sloe
eythinen (f) coll. eythin	furze, gorse
fawen (f) coll. faw	beech
gwinwelen (f) coll. gwinwel	maple
idhyowen (f) coll. idhyow	ivy
kelydnen (f) coll. kelyn	holly (traditional Cornish Christmas tree!)
collen (f) coll. coll	hazel
lelygen (f) coll. helyk	willow
pinen (f) coll. pin	pine
saben (f) coll. sab	fir, any conifer
scawen (f) coll. scaw	elder
spernen dhû coll. spern dû	blackthorn, sloe tree
spernen wydn (f) coll. spern gwydn	hawthorn

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[1]  Gendall gives dar