Learn Late Cornish Bit by Bit 88 ( A Bit More About Gender)

A Bit More About Gender

There are many collective nouns, mainly for plants, vegetables, fruit and animals (mostly creepy-crawlies), which have a feminine singular, ending in –en, e.g.:

besow > besowen                          birch tree                   

caretys > caretysen                       carrot

crampoth > crampothen               pancake

ester > estren                                 oyster

greun > greunen                            grain, berry

gwedh > gwedhen                          tree

gwibes > gwibesen                         gnat

hern > hernen                                  pilchard, sardine

kelyon > kelyonen                          fly

kenes > kenesen                            spider

logos >logojen                                mouse

losow > losowen                             herb, plant

nedh > nedhen                                nit

per > peren                                       pear

ros > rosen                                       rose

sevy > sevien                                  strawberry

scaw > scawen                                elder tree

spern > spernen                             thorn bush

Some place names include one form or the other (if somewhat mangled), e.g.:

Tresco (Iniscaw 1540)                   elder trees island

Boscawen                                     elder tree dwelling

Enniscaven (Enyscawen 1472)    isolated area with an elder tree

Nanscawen                                   elder tree valley

Penscawn (Penscawen 1306)      hilltop with an elder tree

Sparnon Gate (Spernen 1327)     thorn tree

Trespearne (Trespernan c1200)  thorn tree farm

Tresean (Tresevion c1200)          strawberry farm

Engollan (Hengollen 1418)           old hazel tree

Fentongollan (Fentengollen 1201) hazel-tree spring

Killiganoon (Kellygnohan 1291)   nut grove

Bissoe (Besowe 1327)                  birch trees

Lambessow (Lanbedou 1308)      birch-trees enclosure

Though do note that not every noun ending in –en is feminine, e.g.

edhen (m)                                      bird

Learn Late Cornish Bit by Bit 87 (Giving Instructions)

A Bit About Giving Instructions

Most verbs have an imperative form but, at this stage, to save you learning each one individually, you can use the infinitive or verbal noun with the imperative of gül/gwil to do, to make e.g.: 

gwra[1]                                  do! (singular, familiar)

gwrewgh                               do! (plural, formal)

Gwra difüna!                         Wake up! Do wake up!

Gwrewgh doas chei!            Do come in! Come in!

When giving a negative instruction a soft mutation occurs after the negative particle. 

na wra, na wras                   do not! (singular familiar)

na wrewgh                           do not! (plural or formal)

Na wras hedna!                   Don’t do that!

Na wrewgh trobla agas honen.

                                             Don’t trouble yourselves.

Na wrewgh eva re.              Don’t drink too much.

Here are some more examples. You may use Gwra! or Gwrewgh! with an object. If you want an imperative for another verb, all you need to know is the basic form of that verb, and you use it with Gwra! or Gwrewgh!:

Gwra ’sedha dor!                Do sit down! Sit down!

Gwra sewya an carr na!     Do follow that car! Follow that car!

Gwra moas dhe chei an kiger ha perna kig on.

                                             Go to the butcher’s and buy some lamb.

Gwrewgh doas ajei![2]        Do come in! Come in!

Gwrewgh omjersya agas honen!

                                              Make yourself (yourselves) comfortable!

From Alys en Pow an Anethow: 

Gwra ponya tre heb let.        Run home without delay.

Gwra hastya lebmyn!           Hurry now! Make haste now.

Gwra dewheles!                    Return! Come back!

Gwra considdra, o melder…

                                               Do consider, my dear…

Gwra aga threylya e’mann!  Turn them over!

Gwrewgh y dhibedna!       Off with his head! Behead him.

Gwrewgh hy dibedna!       Off with her head! Behead her.

Gwrewgh aga dibedna!     Off with their heads! Behead them.

Gwrewgh notyans a hedna.

                                             Make a note of that.

Na wra o ania!                     Don’t annoy me!

Na wra renky!                      Don’t grunt! Don’t snore!

Na wra tontya!                     Don’t be impertinent!

The Bible and the Lord’s Prayer, of course, contains plenty of instructions (or requests), e.g.: 

 Gwra onora dha sira ha dha dhama …

                                             Honour thy father and thy mother …

Gwra cowsel orthyn …      Speak with us …

Gwra comondya dhe Aron …     

                                              Command Aaron …

Na wrewgh naneyl gül idol vedh ragowgh agas honen …

                                               Do not make either any idol at all for yourself

Na wras agan lewa en antel.

                                               Do not steer us into temptation.

 And we find plenty in Jowan Chei a Hor’, e.g.:

Gwras cona bar’ha nei.     Do have supper with us. Dine with us.

Grewgh moas chei.            Go indoors.

…grewgh terry an desen……

                                             break the cake... …cut the cake …

Na wras gara an vor’ coth rag an vor’ nowyth.

                                            Do not leave the old way for the new way.

Na rewgh moas hedhyw.  Don’t go today.

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[1] Gendall has gwrâz and na wrâz

[2] Middle Cornish a-ji

Learn Late Cornish Bit by Bit 86 (Work)

A Bit About Work

We have already met some aspects of work. Now we can add to them (but note that our modern concepts of work may be rather different from those of our forebears, so we may have to compromise in our choice of vocabulary), e.g.:

gonis                                                 to work, to till, to sow seed

obery                                                 to work, to operate, to fashion

lavürya[1]                                          to work, to toil, to labour, to “louster”

gwicor                                               dealer, monger

marchont                                          merchant, businessman

whel                                                   work, mine workings

shoppa[2]                                          workshop

chei an kiger[3]                                 the butcher’s (house)

Thero’vy o conis en lowarth[4].    I work (I’m working) in a garden.

Thero’vy o conis e’n lowar’.         I  work (I’m working)  in the garden.

Thero’vy o conis et o lowar’.        I work (I’m working) in my garden.

Thew o broder lowarther,             My brother is a gardener,

saw nag o’vy lowarthores dha.    but I’m not a good gardener.

Ma’n tiek o conis has et y wel.     The farmer is sowing seeds in his field.

Ma’n den owth obery jynn palas. The man operates a mechanical digger.

Ero’whei owth obery whath e’n briweythva?

                                                         Are you still working in the pottery?

Stenoryon a wrüg lavürya en balyow down ha dû.

                                                         Tinners worked in deep, dark mines.

Den heb skians a dal lavürya.      “They that can’t schemey must louster.”

Tüs whel a lavüryas war an for’.   Workmen laboured on the road.

Ma pronter hag ispak o conis en eglosyow.

                                                          A priest and a bishop work in churches.

Nag ero’vy o conis.                         I don’t work.

Omdednys o’vy.                             I am retired.

Nag eus whel dhebm.                    I’m out of work.

Tho’vy medhek.                              I am a doctor.

O’whei descador?                          Were you a teacher?

There are of course, plenty of place names indicating where work took place, sometimes incorporating a family name, a description or a location. e.g.:

Barkla Shop                                     workshop of the Barkla family

Ponsonjoppa (Pons an joppa)         bridge at the workshop

Wheal Vor                                         road mine

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[1] pronounced like [lav-irria]

[2] This is also the most authentic word to use for shop – originally making and selling were done in the same place. Softens to joppa.

[3] From when tradesmen lived over the shop. Some people use gwerthji for shop (sale house) but this is not found in any of the old texts. Similarly kigti is not attested for the butcher’s.

[4] silent <th>, can be replaced by apostrophe (and sometimes omitted)