More Bits of Late Cornish 22 (Males & females 2)

Males and Females 2

We have looked at males and females of animals, so here are some humans. Notice the frequent <-es> feminine word ending.  Let’s have a look at people who live, work or play in some of our places. Do not worry about variations in spelling, not all of which are given here.  (They are related to variations in pronunciation at different times and in different regions of the county.[1]):

prins or pednsevik	prince (or noble)
prynses or pednseviges	princess
metêrn	king
metêrnes	queen
tiek	farmer
tioges	farmer (f), farmer’s wife
presner/prisner pl. prisnoryon	prisoner
presnores	prisoner (f)
meliner or beledner	miller
melinores	miller (f), miller’s wife
letherwas	postman
lethervos	postwoman
gwaryer	player or actor
gwariores	actress
gwaryer peldros pl. gwaryoryon peldroos	footballer
ôst a’n chei	landlord, publican
ôstes a’n chei	landlady

 We can put them together with some of our places:

An pednsevik; pe le ma va o triga?	The prince (or noble): where does he live?
Ma va o triga en palys.	He lives in a palace.
Pe le ma metêrn o triga?	Where does a king live?
Ma va o triga en castel.	He lives in a castle.
Piw üjy o triga en bargen tir po deijy (godref)?	Who lives in a farm or smallholding?
Ma tiek o triga en bargen tir, en chei tiek.	A farmer lives in a farm, in a farmhouse.
Eus nebonan o triga en prison?	Does anyone live in a prison?
En tei! Ma prisnoryon o triga en prison.	Certainly! Prisoners live in a prison.
Pe le ma soudoryon o triga?	Where do soldiers live?
Terweythyow mons en ker ha terweythyow en tyldow.	Sometimes they are in a fort and sometimes in tents.
Pe le ma meliner o conis?	Where does a miller work?
Ma va o conis en belin (or melin) ha ma va o triga en melinjy.	He works in a mill and he lives in a millhouse.
Pe le ma letherwas o conis?	Where does a postman work?
Piw üjy o conis en sodhva greslû?	Who works in a police station?
Ma gwithijy cres (creswesyon) ha gwithyadesow cres o conis en sodhva greslû.	Policemen and police women work in a police station.
Pe le ma gwariores o conis?	Where does an actress work?
Ma hei o conis en gwariva po stüdhla.	She works in a theatre or studio.
Üjy gwaryoryon peldroos o qwary en gwariva (gwarijy/chei gwary)?	Do footballers play in a theatre?
Nan tei! Mons o qwary en sportva.	Certainly not! They play in a stadium (sports venue).
Piw üjy o conis en tavern?	Who works in an inn (pub)?
Ma ôst po ôstes a’n chei o conis en tavern.	A landlord or landlady work in an inn.
Üjy letherwas ha lethervos o conis e’n sodhva greslû?	Do a postman and postwoman work in the police station?
Nag üjens. Mons o conis e’n sodhva bost.	No. No they work in the post office.

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[1] In the later language, the letter <j> sometimes replaces the letter <s>. (Perhaps they were both pronounced like soft French <j>). In the earlier language the letter <y> was sometimes written instead of the letter <e> and <nn> instead of <dn>. And <y> and <i> may be interchangeable.