Wikipedia

ResYwDhymmDybriChoklet

Joined 27 February 2009

My user name "Res yw dhymm dybri choklet" is Cornish for "I must eat chocolate".

I am a Cornish Language student and Cornish Language speaker, living at the Tamar-end of Cornwall where I was born.

My Archive page can be visited by clicking on the word Archive.


Kernewek - The Cornish Language

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According to a survey carried out in 2008 by the Cornish Language Partnership, there are now 2,000 fluent Cornish speakers and, according to a survey carried out in 2007 by Cornwall County Council, there are 15,000 (3% of the population) people who are able to speak Cornish to some degree. Most live in Cornwall and Devon but others live overseas, for example, in USA, Canada, Australia and London. In terms of percentage growth, the Cornish Language could be the fastest growing language in Europe.

When spoken, Cornish sounds a little bit Welsh and a little bit French. This is no coincidence because Cornish is closely related to Welsh and the Breton language whose pronunciation is influenced by French.

Here are some helpful phrases in Cornish.

Kernewek
(Cornish) 		Sowsnek
(English)
Dydh da! Hello!
Fatla genes? How are you?
Ple'ma an privedhyow? Where are the toilets?
My a yll dybri dew basti. I can eat two pasties.
Ple'ma an choklet? Where is the chocolate?
Yma hwans dhymm a joklet. I want chocolate.
Res yw dhymm dybri choklet. I must eat chocolate.
CHOKLET! LEMMYN! CHOCOLATE! NOW!
Ny vynnav kewsel namoy,
drefenn nag eus choklet. 		I will not speak anymore,
because there isn't any chocolate.

You may notice that the word for 'chocolate' is choklet but in one of the phrases it appears as joklet. Also, the word for 'pasty', which is pasti, appears as basti. This is a phenomenon known as an initial consonant mutation, which is common in Cornish as well as other Celtic languages. To learn more about mutations in the Cornish Language, visit my Cornish Mutations page or one of the other Wikipedia pages.


Middle Cornish & Early Modern Cornish

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There are two main dialects of the Cornish Language. They are Middle Cornish, so called because it was spoken in the Middle Ages, and Early Modern Cornish (more usually referred to as Modern or Late Cornish), which was spoken after about 1600. The Cornish Language largely died out about 200 years ago and was then spoken by few people until it was revived in the twentieth century. Some people used Middle Cornish as the basis of the revived language and others used Early Modern Cornish.

The Kingdom of Wessex expanded into the area around Bristol in the 6th Century, thus cutting the West of Britain off from the Westcountry peninsula. Some historians claim that Welsh became a separate language in the 8th Century while Cornish and Breton did not become two separate languages until the 12th Century. Between the 8th and 12th century the language is known as Kernewek-Vretonek in the Cornish Language and that literally translates to Cornish-Breton. There is some disagreement about the proper English name. The proper name is probably Southwestern Brythonic but some people suggest Old Devonian!

Not much is known about Early Mediaeval Cornish (Cornouoc perhaps?) but what is known seems to come from place-names, the Bodmin Manumissions, Vocabularium Cornicum and various land deeds. This is mostly all vocabulary with very little in the way of grammar and syntax. It was spoken at some time all over Cornwall and all the way to Exeter.

Cornish in Late Mediaeval times (Kernewek or Kernowek) has a great abundance of texts, especially religious ones until the closure of Glasney College in 1539 by Henry VIII. After that, there are much fewer texts to use as the basis of a revived language so the late mediaeval texts are ones that are usually used.

Early Modern Cornish (Kernuack) borrows many words from English and has a simpler grammar. As such, it is often considered a separate dialect. The biggest split in the Cornish-speaking community is spelling system but this does not always affect pronunciation and rarely the vocabulary, grammar and syntax. Cornish speakers often converse with other Cornish speakers and are completely unaware that they might be speaking to someone who uses an entirely different spelling system! Nevertheless, internet forums are filled with people challenging each other to a duel about issues such as whether to spell a word with a C or a K! It is all intended as good fun.

SWF (Standard Written Form) tries to bridge the gap between the spelling systems and is now the official spelling system. It is the system being used in approximately 50 primary schools to some extent.


Other Languages & Dialects

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Here is a list of a few of the other languages in existence that I am aware of and a short description of each one.

Ainu - A language spoken on one of the northern islands of Japan. It uses the Katakana syllabary.
Breton - Spoken by 280,000 people in the Brittany peninsula. It is closely related to Welsh. People who can understand Cornish can read some Breton.
Bristolian - Famously, in this Westcountry English dialect they pronounce L at the end of words where it does not usually exist. Bristol, for example, used to be called Bristow.
Cantonese - Cantonese is the form of Chinese spoken in the area around Hong Kong. You will hear it in many martial arts films.
Catalan - It is spoken across eastern Iberia, the Balearic Islands and borders with the Occitan language in Roussillon. It is as easy to read as Spanish.
Chinese - More of a collection of languages or 'dialects'. Chinese refers mainly to the writing system where each letter represents a word or concept. That way, the spellings can be the same all over China even if the language is different.
Cockney Rhyming Slang - Cockney is the English dialect of East London. Famous comedian Ronnie Barker used clever Cockney Rhyming Slang and Double-Entendre in many of his characters.
Cornish - Kernow bys vykken! (Cornwall forever)
Cwmbraic - Didh da! (Hello)
Dutch - Very closely related to English. While some phrases sound incomprehensible to English ears, some phrases are nearly identical to English.
French - I consider this to be the second language of the Home Counties.
Galician - This is not a celtic language, nor is it spoken in the Basque country. It is closely related to Portuguese.
Irish Gaelic - Pronounced 'Gay'-lic. It is spoken across Ireland by about 30% in the Republic and about 10% in the North.
Japanese - Some of my favourite films are in Japanese. The words are easy to pick up.
Klingon - An invented language but more people have spoken to me in Klingon than Latin.
Manx - The language of the Isle of Man. It should not be confused with Manc which is the English dialect of Manchester.
Na'vi - The language spoken by the 'Blue Indians' in the film Avatar.
Occitan - Often known as Langue d'Oc. It is spoken all across southern France and into Italy.
Scots Gaelic - Pronounced 'Ga'-lic. It used to be considered a form of Irish and is similar to Irish.
Spanish - Such an up-to-date spelling system.
Thai - It is polytonal but distinctive from Chinese.
Welsh - Cymru am byth! (Wales forever)

There is (without doubt) room for everyone on this Earth.


Westminster Racism

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I do not know whether the UK government is racist or just racialist, but I was so shocked the first time that I received a form asking me for my race or ethnicity. It is true now that the UK government is asking small children about their race. This is not only in areas where BNP have local councillors but this question is being asked in every school in the UK.

Its purpose? Being born in Cornwall, I feel intimidated and sickened by racist questions. No doubt, people in the Asian community or people of African descent feel far more intimidated and that is evident. The result is that many black people lie and say that they are white.


Extremist Christians

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I abhor the prejudiced views of extremist christians and I believe that they should serve time in prison. Despite being a polytheist now, I used to strongly believe in God and have been to many Christian services in many different churches, chapels, conference centres, a town hall, an aircraft hanger and even a dilapidated shed on Bodmin Moor. I admit that most of these services were not bad. For example, the motto at Toronto Airport Christian fellowship was "To walk in God's love and to give it away..." How sweet!

Of the services that I attended, most were good, some were really prejudiced and others were plain weird. I will never forget one service in Devon (It was either in Exeter or in Okehampton). We were all told to stand up and swear an oath (in the name of Jesus) never to let gays into our houses. I was 19 at the time and could not understand how it fitted in with "Love your neighbour". I do not suppose that I even knew what a "gay" was.

Why do they talk about sex so much? Not just talking about gays, lesbians, 13-year-old prostitutes and rapists but, at that time, I had worked out that to be a 'man', you have to lose your virginity, but doing so would make you go to hell. Strange to have a religion that revolves not around a God but around genitals!

In summer 2009, I attended a local evangelical service in Launceston in Cornwall and was traumatised by their indecent views. Yet more sexual references. No wonder there are so many vicars, ministers, priests and pastors getting into trouble! They cannot think of anything else. No mention of gays this time but several Christians admitted to having trouble with the pastor. It is clear to me that he dislikes the Cornish and Scottish members of his congregation. Many end up being offended and leave.

People who go to evangelical services are often gullible and naive, especially if they are young. Therefore abuse against people often takes place and is obvious, if you know what to look for. Evangelicals who are led by feelings to tell them whether other people are evil or not can so easily be caught out. It is a biological impulse to mistrust people who are different. They can so easily train themselves not to target people who are more obviously different, like the African blacks. It is so much harder to train themselves not to be prejudiced against white people who are different from themselves. Besides, they do not need to because who would be trained to spot this discrimination?

As for my polytheism, I admit that it is as much inspired by Japanese animé as Cornish mythology. I now have a fresh start and am free from the clutches of christian extremists. I go to chapel (Methodist church) sometimes so technically I am probably a Christian. I believe in King Arthur as much as I believe in Jesus and Saint Piran (a Christian saint, by the way).


Act of Terrorism in Glastonbury

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In a recent act of extremism (or, at least, religious intolerance), vandals cut down the 'Holy Thorn Tree' of Glastonbury, reducing it to a stump. Traditionally, it is believed that the holy thorn tree grew from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea who many believe visited Glastonbury in the early first century AD. The tree is a popular icon among many moderate Christians and Neo-Pagans. Even the Vancouver Sun (a Canadian newspaper) has mentioned it.


Discrimination Against Christians

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I have been strongly aware, in the last year, of the discrimination against Christians. I am not talking about intolerance from the more extreme sort of christians, who do not like ordinary "traditionalist" Christians. The prejudiced people that I am actually talking about are groups based in London. The London media would have you believe that all that Christians ever care about is sexual-orientation. For example, the sexual orientation of Bishops or whether "gay people" get to stay in hotels. It is untrue. I cannot imagine that most Christians know what sex is!

It seems that there is a great wave of intolerance against Christians who do work for charity, especially those who work with children. It saddens me deeply that this hatred extends even as far as some famous people, like Jimmy Savile. The metropolitan police (London police force) are renowned for being a bunch of hypocrites. So, I would sooner put my faith in this Christian from West Riding than the agents of hate and intolerance.

In my experience, all those good Christian workers out there are trustworthy people and I cannot imagine any of them being "dodgy around kids". It is an absolute science fiction! It is my theory that Christians are only being blamed because people know that Christians do not fight back and it is my opinion that Christians ought to toughen up and fight back while they still have the chance.

Re bo bennath Duw gans Jimmy Savile.

May the blessing of God be with Jimmy Savile.


Yn Ow Hever - About Me

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I live at the Tamar-end of Cornwall where I have lived for my entire life. I am a Cornish language student and like to converse in the Cornish language whenever I can which is not often because there are very few Cornish speakers and also I am very lazy.

My favourite films are as follows

千と千尋の神隠し (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi), which is Spirited Away. I especially like Japanese animé. I watch them for the first time in English and then in Japanese from then on. I do the same for Chinese/Thai martial arts films.
Star Trek IV : The Voyage Home (the one with the whales).
The Pink Panther, Return of the Pink Panther, The Pink Panther Strikes Again and Revenge of the Pink Panther.

My favourite silent movie actor is Buster Keaton.

My favourite TV shows are mostly science fiction

Allo Allo. "Good moaning!"
The New Avengers (with Joanna Lumley as Purdey).
Doctor Who, especially the first four actors, although I like all the actors.
Red Dwarf. Not complete without Chris Barrie (Arnold Rimmer).
Star Trek shows, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise.

I think that science fiction works better as TV shows rather than as films.


My Contributions

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I have written four pages in the Cornish Language section:

Bristol
Dan Rogerson
Launceston Castle (Kastell Lannstefan)
Tavistock

I have also expanded one existing page:

Launceston (Lannstefan)

I am using the Kernewek Kemmyn orthography because I do not know how to use SWF. If you are a Cornish speaker then please feel free to inspect my pages and correct my multitude of mistakes or to expand the pages. I have particular difficulty with preterite and imperfect and ought to get round to correcting my mistakes.

I am impressed by all the good work that has gone into the Cornish Wikipedia and am amazed that the Cornish wiki parallel some official languages in terms of quality and number of pages.

Feel free to create new pages for the Cornish Wikipedia. Then you will be worshipped as a pioneer!

My own Cornish Mutations page that I created appears to be popular (getting one view every two days!)


Politics

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I support the following:

  • Autonomy (devolution) or secession (independence) for Cornwall within or outside the United Kingdom. At the very least, the recognition of the Cornish Nation. This includes the Isles of Scilly, of course.
  • The old parish of West Bridgerule to be recognised as a part of Cornwall. According to the old tradition, Cornwall extends to the east bank of the Tamar. West Bridgerule has been administered as a part of Devon since 1844.
  • The scrapping of plans to create constituencies that cross "county" borders.
  • Greater union and cooperation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. They are all Irish. Full political union is not possible at this time but must at the very least be an option for the long term future.
  • Scottish secession (independence). The Scottish parliament has failed to deliver a long awaited referendum.
  • Welsh secession (independence) or at the very least a proper Welsh parliament.
  • Autonomy (devolution) or secession (independence) for Brittany within or outside the Republic of France.
  • Reunification of Brittany with the Loire-Atlantique department which contains Naoned (Nantes), the ancient capital of Brittany.
  • Greater cooperation between the Celtic Nations but there might have to be two Celtic blocks for that. One for Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man and the other for Wales, Cornwall and Brittany.
  • Greater recognition of areas like Yorkshire and Sussex. Unfortunately, I do have never seen a list of non-Celtic places in the British Isles seeking greater recognition or devolution.
  • The British National Party to be banned from standing in elections and for its members and supporters to be supervised by the police during all elections in order to prevent threats and criminal damage.
  • For the word "extremist" to mean any extreme person, not just a Muslim one. I suspect this is where the British Government is at fault.
  • Wars to liberate the oppressed, not to liberate oil.
  • The banning of British media in Cornwall. If only!


Skoedhyans Rag Kataloni (Support For Catalonia)

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 Dono suport al chapter
Wikimedia CAT.
I vós? Si us plau, signeu en senyal de suport.
I support the Wikimedia CAT chapter.
Don't you? Please, give us your support.

--ResYwDhymmDybriChoklet (talk) 16:22, 7 May 2013 (UTC)

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