2022 Day 43

2022 Dedh Dogens ha Trei

De Sadorn, dewdhegves mis Whevrel

Saturday, 12th February

My a dhallathas scrifa descansow nowydh. My a vedn gorra radn anodhans war ow blogg pub dedh. Ma caletter whath gans ow jynn amontya!

I started to write new lessons. I will put part of them on my blog every day. I still have a problem with my computer!

Building up our Cornish language. Part 1a 

Cressya emann agan tavas Kernôwek. Radn 1a 

To make ourselves understood, we need to speak in sentences.

To  build a sentence we need a subject and a verb.  

The verb may describe a state of being or a location or action.

The  most used and useful verb is bos to be, being,  

which has two forms - 

A the descriptive and  

B the locative. 

A) bos descriptive 

The subject of bos descriptive may be pronoun(s), noun(s),  name(s), singular or plural, and it has to be accompanied by some  form of description (descriptor). 

Here are some examples using subject pronouns. 

Notice that there are two ways of saying the same thing.

Tho vy benyn. I am a woman. Benyn o vy. 

(verb-subject-description) (description-verb-subject) 

Thos ta den. You (familiar) are a man. Den os ta. 

(verb-subject-description) (description-verb-subject) 

Thew ev kei. He/it is a dog. Kei ew ev. 

(verb-subject-description) (description-verb-subject) 

Thew hei cath. She/it is a cat. Cath ew hei. 

(verb-subject-description) (description-verb-subject) 

Tho nei descoryon. We are learners. Descoryon o nei.

(verb-subject-description) (description-verb-subject)

Thow whei codnyk. You (polite/plural) are clever. Codnyk ow whei.

(verb-subject-description) (description-verb-subject)

Then jei (Thens) coth. They are old. Coth en jei (ens).

(verb-subject-description) (description-verb-subject)

In a dictionary or grammar book you will find a verb paradigm, which  gives all the available options. 

Present Descriptive  

1 sg om, oma, o vy  

2 sg os, os ta, o chy, os ta chy  

3 sg ew [ɛʊ], ewa, (m) ew ev, ev e, ewava, (f) ew hei  

I pl on, o nei,  

2 pl owgh, ow whei  

3pl ens, en je 

This is the form you use if the verb comes second. 

If you start your sentence with this form, it becomes a question.

O vy benyn? Am I a woman? 

Os ta den? Are you a man? 

Ew ev kei? Is he/it a dog? 

Ew hei cath? Is she/it a cat? 

O nei descoryon? Are we learners?  

Ow whei codnyk? Are you clever? 

En jei (Ens) coth? Are they old? 

So, the particle <th> at the beginning of the sentence enables you to  put the verb first, without asking a question. It has no meaning on its  own.  

It may sometimes be written <eth> (SWFM yth).