Learn Late Cornish Bit by Bit 48 (Taking Bits off Words)

Taking Bits off Words

For some things the plural (or general noun or adjective) is shorter than the singular, and is produced by removing the final syllable. The words seem to mostly concern plants and the plurals are described as “collective”. As far as pronunciation is concerned, the stress may shift from one vowel to another, or vowel length changes. In words with more than one syllable, stress the penultimate syllable, e.g

[caretESen] but [carETys]

[gwETHen] but [gwEETH ]

gwedhen                                           a tree

gwydh                                               trees

gwenenen                                         a bee

gwenen                                             bees

helygen                                             a willow

helyk                                                 willow(s)

caretysen                                         a carrot

caretys                                             carrot(s)

kelynen                                             a holly tree

kelyn                                                 holly

crampothen                                     a pancake

crampoth                                         pancake(s)

turnypen                                           a turnip (white)[1]

turnyp                                               turnip(s)

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[1] the yellow turnip or swede was a later introduction into Cornwall