The Cornish language, which was branded as ‘Extinct’, has been reclassified as “critically endangered” by the United Nations group UNESCO. This change reflects the revitalization process that has taken place over the years to resurrect the language after it was believed to have died out as a first language in the year 1777.
Origin:
The Cornish language originated in the coastal county of Cornwall in England. The birth of the language can be traced back to the early inhabitants who were mainly speakers of the Celtic tongue known as Common Brittonic. This evolved into Southwestern Brittonic and finally into the Cornish language. Due to the strong Celtic roots, Cornwall is recognized as a Celtic nation, preserving its distinct cultural identity reflecting a Celtic past.
History:
On the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, a small village called Tintagel has been associated with one of the greatest historical periods of England. The Tintagel Castle located in the village is linked to the legends surrounding King Arthur, the legendary leader of Britain, and the Knights of the Round Table. Despite modern historians dismissing King Arthur as nothing but a fable, the existence of the castle in Cornwall has led the critics to argue for the existence of the greatest leader of Britain.
The Royal Connection:
Fast forward to the present day and Cornwall still has ties with the current Royal family. The title ‘Duke of Cornwall’ is given to the eldest son of the ruling British monarch. Prince Charles is the Duke of Cornwall, while his wife Camilla is the Duchess of Cornwall. The Duke of Cornwall has special rights and powers in Cornwall that are not available in other counties of England.
Significance:
As language is an essence of the culture and heritage of any population, the people of Cornwall associate the Cornish language as integral to their culture. This is underlined by the science around the fact that Cornish as a second language improves cognitive skills among children attending school. The bilingual ability exercises the mind and enables those practicing it to outperform those that know only one language.
In order to promote the Cornish language, most signboards have started to include Cornish translations in them. From road signs to company names and council offices, the Cornish language is present everywhere in Cornwall. From an economical point of view, a distinct culture from the rest of the country always attracts tourists. The unique culture and the Celtic roots of Cornwall combined with Cornish as a common tongue serves to increase the number of tourists visiting this ‘magical’ place.
Present Day Threats:
In the present, only language experts or veterans of Cornwall have fluency in Cornish. However, there are those who believe the language shouldn’t rest in the hearts of select members of society. Loveday Jenkin, Chair of the Cornish Language Society, remarked how reviving Cornish is beneficial for all of Cornwall and its inhabitants. Rather than offering it as an optional language solely for academic purposes, she believes the language should be out in the open for everyone to see and there should be opportunities available should people want to pursue the language even if only as a hobby.
Due to the lack of active speakers of the language, Cornish was labeled as extinct by UNESCO. However, due to recent revitalization efforts, the language has been brought back to life, albeit with less popularity than before. As of 2015, less than 5,000 people identify themselves as being able to speak Cornish with an estimated number of fluent speakers ranging from 300-400.
The survival of Cornish is dependent on popular support now more than ever. Under the EU, Cornish had protection as a minority language which ensured the government was responsible for safeguarding it. Given how the Government of UK has already pulled funding, combined with BREXIT (the exit of Britain from EU), it will only be harder to ensure the survival of the Cornish language.
Possible Solutions:
In order to reinstate the language to its previous popularity, Cornwall officials have requested Council employees to learn the Cornish language. Slowly but eventually the aim is to make Cornwall a bilingual county, with equal importance given to English and Cornish.
Language groups and rights activists are also rallying around the country to raise awareness of the Cornish language and the threat of extinction that it faces.
The Internet is a powerful tool in reaching a wider audience. Language learning applications offer Cornish as a language that can be learned online. This ensures the spread of the language in different parts of the world.
Let’s do our part to preserve Cornish.
Andrie Steliou
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