Cornish is one language
but there are regional differences.
The language continued to be spoken in West Penwith long after it had been swamped by English in the more easterly parts of Cornwall. During that time it evolved. So now we can find Old Cornish (OC), Middle Cornish (MC) and Late Cornish (LC). OC is no longer in practical use. There were some pronunciation changes. Some of these are preserved in place names. Cotehele (OC) and Polly Joke (LC) are examples of two extremes, separated by about fifty miles and many centuries.
Don’t let people tell you that the later language became corrupted or wrong! It simple evolved. In some ways it became easier!
The verb “to be” is central to every language, and Cornish bos is no exception. Unlike English, it has two forms.
Here is an example of bos locative (some people call it the “long form”)
Look at the picture above.
Ma kei òbma. (LC) There is a dog here
Yma ki omma. (MC) There is a dog here
So what are the differences?
There is; Yma (MC) became Ma (LC)
dog; ki developed a diphthong and became kei.
here; omma developed pre-occlusion of the double mm to become bm in òbma (even later it became obba)
Another form of pre-occlusion developed from nn in words such as henna “that” to dn in hedna
Yma ki yn lowarth. There’s a dog in a garden.
Ma kei en lowarth. There’s a dog in a garden.
The preposition “in” went from yn to en (or in)
This illustrates another change in pronunciation that evolved from east to west. You will notice this y ~ e variation, with no change of meaning, in a lot of words.
In all forms of Cornish, prepositions need bos locative.
So do secondary verbs need bos locative.
In addition the secondary verbs, the actions, etc., when the subject is doing something, need a verbal particle. (These fell out of use in English, except in folk songs!)
The continuous particle, equivalent to adding – ing to an English verb is ow. Remember “ow the ...ing particle”.
Yma ki ow palas yn lowarth. There’s a dog digging in a garden. (MC)
Can also be read as: A dog is digging in a garden.
If it’s a specific dog you need a definite article; an
Yma an ki ow palas yn lowarth. The dog is digging in a garden. (MC)
Ma'n ki ow palas yn lowarth. The dog is digging in a garden. (LC - an is abbreviated after a vowel)
If it is a specific garden it needs a definite article too.
Yma an ki ow palas yn an lowarth. The dog is digging in the garden.
So, several things become more streamlined in Late Cornish.
Ma’n kei ow palas e’n lowarth. The dog is digging in the garden.
You will have noticed, I hope, that there is no indefinite article in MC or LC. It is implicit in the noun.
To be continued
