2022 Day 64

2022 Dedh Trei Ügens ha Pajar

De Sadorn, pempes mis Meurth

Saturday, 5th March

Gool Peran lôwen dhe whei. Nei a dal bos lowen hedhyw. Possybyl ew dhe vetya warbarth gans agan cowetha rag golya agan sans tasek. Nei alja kerdhes ha debry hogednow! Ha ma beister nowydh en Kresen Kernow. Hag otta tabm aral nowydh a dhescans.

Happy St Piran's Day to you. We should be happy today. It's possible to meet together with our friends for celebrating our patron saint. We could walk and eat pasties. And there is a new window in Kresen Kernow (the Cornwall Centre). And here's another new bit of lesson.

Building up our Cornish language Part 10b

Cressya emann agan tavas Kernowek Radn 10b

But we might want to ask WHERE something is.

For that we use Pe le ma?

literally Which place there is? or Which place there are? 

This can be used with the definite article. 

Pe le ma an kei? Where is the dog? 

Shortening is allowed of pe + le to ple, and ma + an to ma'n,

so Ple ma'n kei? Where's the dog? 

Ma'n kei dadn vord. The dog is under a table. 

Ma va dadn an bord e'n gegin. He is under the table in the  kitchen. 

Ple ma'n gath? Where's the cat? 

Ma'n gath war vord. The cat is on a table. 

Ma hei war vord kegin. She is on a kitchen table. 

Often when we ask where something is, it is because we have lost  it!  

A simple way of showing ownership is to use the personal pronoun (or noun or name) after the object, e.g. 

Ple ma'n kei vy? Where is my dog? 

Ple ma'n lever chy? Where is your book? 

Ple ma'n pel ev? Where is his ball? 

Ple ma'n côta hei? Where is her coat? 

Ple ma'n alwhedhow nei? Where are our keys? 

Ple ma'n mòna whei? Where is your money? 

Ple ma'n taclow anjei? Where are their things? 

Ple ma'n daffar an flehes? Where's the children's stuff?

Ple ma'n beyk Jory? Where's George's bike? 

If we want to ask about a specific location we do not use "Pe le  ma?". So, we are going on to the use of "üjy?", e.g.  

Üjy an kei vy dadn an bord? Is my dog under the table?

Üjy va ena? Is he there?

2022 Day 63

2022 Dedh Trei Ügens ha Trei

De Gwener, pajwora mis Meurth

Friday, 4th March

Da ew gen an maw bian kerdhes warbarha gen y hendas, saw gwell ew dhodho gwary gen flehes erel. Ma odhom dhe flehes a flehes erel. An treth ew gwell avel an vorr dhodhans. Palas e'n tewednow ew an peth ew gwelha oll dhodhans. Forsakys ew bombadys, keth ew an awel whath yeyn. Howlsedhes ha res ew dhodhans gara an treth, saw morlenel ew. Pe le ma'n pons? Ma va dadn dhowr. Ma vorr aral, a-dreus dhe'n pons ma, hanter encledhys gen treth wòja an enawellow a-lergh. 

Hag ottòbma tabm moy a dhescans.

 

The little boy likes walking together with his great-grandfather, but he prefers playing with other children. Children need other children. They prefer the beach to the road. Digging in the dunes is their favourite. Wellies are abandoned, though the weather is still cold. Sunset and they must leave the beach, but the tide is in. Where is the bridge? It's under water. There is another way, across this bridge, half buried in beach after the recent storms.

And here's a bit more of a lesson.

Building up our Cornish language. Part 10a 

Cressya emann agan tavas Kernôwek. Radn 10a

We have started to have a look at statements using the impersonal  third person of bos locative. 
That's a long-winded way of saying that we've looked at "ma"! 

We can say simply "There is" and "There are", e.g.  
Ma kei brâs. There is a big dog. 
Ma cath vian. There is a little cat. 
Ma nebes edhyn. There are several birds. 

We can say where something or someone is located, e.g.
Ma kei e'n chei. There's a dog in the house. 
Ma den ena. There's a man there. 
Ma keus en copart. There is cheese in a cupboard.
Ma flehes war an treth. There are children on the beach. 

Notice that if we want to say "There is" or "There are" we do not use  the definite article or anything that is definite. 

If we use the definite article an with ma the English translation is  slightly different. 
Shortening is allowed of ma + an to ma'n, e.g. 
Ma'n kei e'n chei. The dog is in the house. 
Ma'n den ena. The man is there. 
Ma'n keus en copart. The cheese is in a cupboard.
Ma'n flehes en scol. The children are at school. 

We can make a negative statement or ask if something is available,
(but remember that eus and nag eus are not used with the definite  article, or with any definite person or thing), e.g. 
Nag eus cath òbma. There is no cat here. 

Eus kei e'n chei? Is there a dog in the house? 

Nag eus nagonan e'n lowarth. There is nobody in the garden.
Eus nebonan ena? Is there anyone there? 
Nag eus bara veth. There is absolutely no bread. 
Eus keus? Is there any cheese?

2022 Day 62

2022 Dedh Trei Ügens ha Dew

De Yow, tryja mis Meurth

Thursday, 3rd March

My a gemeras nebes fotos da, saw lebmyn na ellama trouvya ow hamera. Theram owth omrei! Rag fra tho vy mar pedn-scav? Bettegens, my a drouvyas an nessa tabm descans!

I took some good photos, but now I can't find my camera. I give up! Why am I so absent minded? However, I found the next bit of lesson!

Building up our Cornish language Part 9c

Cressya emann agan tavas Kernowek Radn 9c

The verb "to have" is little used in the later language.

Instead, we us  combinations of ma with gen or dhe (or occasionally war) 

Using the paradigm of gen/gans with/by, e.g.  

Ma genam avalow rüdh. I have red apples (with me.) 

i.e. implying that I have them on my person, etc. 

Eus genes mòna luck? Do you have enough cash on you?

Nag eus ganjo nowodhow da. He does not have good news. 

Using the paradigm of dhe to, e.g.  

Ma dhodho carr nowydh. He has a new car. 

i.e. implying possession 

Eus chei brâs dhewgh? Do you have a big house? 

Nag eus dhedhy lies lever. She doesn't have many books. 

This is where you can try out some more of your noun and adjective  combinations! 

As well as being used for things, these constructions are often used  (randomly?) to describe a person's health, e.g. 

Ma genam an fydn. I've got rheumatism. 

Ma drog mor dhebm. I feel seasick. 

Ma an flou warnam. I have influenza. 

Ma pâs genam. I've got a cough. 

Ma annes warnam. I've got a cold. 

Ma ascòrn trogh genam. I have a broken bone. 

Ma drog pedn genam. I have a headache. 

Using "drog" to mean "pain", this can be extended
to any part of the body  where you might have a pain: 

Ma drog x genam. I have a x ache. 

Take care not to say Ma pedn drog dhebm. 

That means I am mad, I am wicked (I have an evil head, etc.)

2022 Day 61

2022 Dedh Trei Ügens ha Wonan

De Merher, nessa mis Meurth

Wednesday, 2nd March

Na wrewgh mos en kyttrin gen meppik, trei bloodh coth, heb kemeres crib! Na wrewgh mos dhe'n morreb heb checkya an mortîd! Na wrewgh nevra crejy towl an gewer! Gwrewgh redya an nessa descans.

Don't go on a bus with a little boy, three years of age, without taking a snack! Don't go to the seaside without checking the tide! Never believe the weather forecast!

Do read the next lesson.

Building up our Cornish language Part 9b
Cressya emann agan tavas Kernowek Radn 9b

Apart from a few location indicators, such as obma here and ena there,

when we are talking about locations/positions, to use with bos locative, we need prepositions. 

Here are a few examples. (We will look at them in more detail later.)

dadn ~ en-dadn (SWFM yn dann) under

dhe to

en (SWFM yn) in

gen with

reb beside, by

tredh between

war on

We have already seen a number of passive constructions with bos descriptive,

using the paradigm of gen/gans with/by, e.g.

Da ew genam avalow rüdh. I like red apples.

Thew da genen owravalow. We like oranges.

Ew da genes avalow? Do you like apples?

Nag ew da ganjo avalow glas. He doesn't like green apples.

or using the paradigm of dhe to, e.g.

Res ew dhedhy dos tre. She must come home.

Now we have a number of passive constructions with bos locative. These save using the personal forms of several verbs.

As an alternative to saying 

Drog ew genam for I am sorry,

you can use:

Edrek ma genam. I am sorry. I apologise. or

Ma edrek dhebm. I am sorry. I regret.

We also have

Ma esperans dhebm. I am hopeful. I hope

Ma govenek dhebm. I am hopeful. I hope

Ma hireth dhebm godhvos. I'm longing to know.

Several constructions translate simply as

There is ... of/for ...

(a meaning of causes soft mutation/lenition)

e.g.

Ma othom a ... There is a need of ...

boos food

Ma othom a voos. There is a need of food. Food is needed.

Ma fowt a ... There is a lack of ... 

mòna money, cash

Ma fowt a vòna. There is a lack of money. Money is lacking.

Ma whans a ... There is a desire for ..., There is a want of ...

Ma whans a frankedh There is a desire for liberty.

You can add the personal element by using the paradigm of dhe, e.g.

Ma othom dhebm a dermyn môy. I need more time. (< termyn)

Ma fowt dhodho a dowl. He lacks a plan. (<towl)

Ma whans dhewgh a berna re. You want to buy too much. (< perna)

And any of these sentences could be turned into the negative, e.g.

Nag eus fowt a vòna. There's no lack of money.

Nag eus othom dhebm a dermyn môy. 

I don't need more time.

You can make a question by starting with eus, e.g.

Eus othom dhis a weres? Do you need any help? (gweres)

2022 Day 60

 2022 Dedh Trei Ügens

De Meurth, kensa mis Meurth
Tuesday, 1st March

Na veu hedhyw jorna esy ha'n awel a veu hager. Ew hebma an kensa dedh gwenton? Na vedh bes teyr seythen terebo keheja dedh ha nos. 

Degol Davydh lôwen! Gormenadow dh'agan cowetha en Kembra. 

Otta tabm descans nowydh.

Today was not an easy day and the weather was horrible. Is this the first spring day? It will only be three weeks to the Equinox. 

Happy St David's Day! Greetings to our friends in Wales.

Here's a bit of a new lesson.

Building up our Cornish language. Part 9a

Cressya emann agan tavas Kernôwek. Radn 9a

We have had a good look at bos descriptive.

Now it is time to have a look at bos locative.

Here is the full paradigm of the present tense of bos locative.

(It is more complicated than bos descriptive):

1 sg: erom, eroma, era vy (SWFM esov vy)

2 sg: es ta, era chy (SWFM esos ta)

3 sg: ema, ma, (SWFM yma)

         eus [eːz]

    m (e)ma ev, (e)ma va, (SWFM yma ev)

         üjy ev, üjy va (SWFM usi ev)

      f (e)ma hei, (SWFM yma hi)

         üjy hei (SWFM usi hi)

1 pl: eron, era nei (SWFM eson ni)

2 pl: erowgh, erow, ero whei (SWFM esowgh hwi)

3 pl: emons, mons, ma anjei, (SWFM ymons i)

        üjons, üjon jei (SWFM usons i)

It looks daunting at first but we can ease our way into it with a little word

ma or ema (SWFM yma). This is the third person.

On its own, ma means there is or there are (in a locative context).

We can use this with any of our previous combinations of nouns and adjectives, e.g.

Ma cath wydn òbma. There is a white cat here.

Ma kei dû ena. There is a black dog there.

Ma avalow glas e'n wedhen. There are green apples in the tree.

The question form to this impersonal part of the verb is eus, e.g.

Eus best ena? Is there an animal there?

Pandr'eus òbma? What is there here?

Eus medhek e'n chei? Is there a doctor in the house?

Eus is never used with the definite article.

(If you want to ask about THE doctor, you must use üjy.

Üjy an medhek òbma whath? Is the doctor here yet?)

The negative form to this impersonal part of the verb 

is nag eus, e.g.

Nag eus best veth. There isn't any animal at all.

A well-known rhyme begins

"Eus keus? Eus po nag eus?"

Is there any cheese? Is there or isn't there?

We can build up a sentence.

Notice soft mutation of an adjective after a feminine noun.

Notice soft mutation of a feminine noun after the definite article.

Ma aval.  

Ma aval glas. There is a green apple.

Ma aval glas en gwedhen. There is a green apple in a tree.

Ma aval glas en gwedhen las. There is a green apple in a green tree.

Ma prev bian e'n aval glas e'n wedhen las. There is a little worm in the green apple in the green tree.