Cornish Language – and Cornish Dialect! So… they’re different??

What You'll Learn:

• The sounds of Cornish through a carefully-selected set of recordings
• The sounds of Cornu-English through a carefully-selected set of recordings
• A friendly, welcoming workshop to discuss your reactions to hearing these two linguistic forms, and any thoughts or questions you may now have.
• The workshop is designed to be open to discussions of Cornish identity in relation to the two forms.

Course Features:

• Free exploratory session with course leader prior to the course
• Short, guided, self-paced, flexible learning experience - online or in person in Lostwithiel, Cornwall
• Live, participatory workshop session on a set date, online or in-person for small group discussion of the language-based topics
• Designed to enable people with no prior knowledge of either the Cornish language or Cornish dialect to participate.
• Welcoming atmosphere.
• Start online, in your own time. Enjoy working through the short videos and recordings of the sounds of the two different language forms. ExperIence them, consider your own reactions and responses to the two language forms.
• As you experience the two language systems and see what is Kernowek and what is Cornu-English, you may like to note and reflect on any reactions you have to these.
• What do they bring up for you, and is there anything of this that you may like to share in the small workshop?
• Join a small live online workshop. Come together with other learners for a relaxed session where you can chat about what you’ve discovered, share how you experienced both Cornish language and Cornish dialect, explore any responses you may have had in respect of how you see your own Cornish identity, ask any questions and share any local words that are known to you.

Why Take This Course:

This is a very exciting time for Cornish culture. At the heart of this are the language forms that we, as Cornish people, use to express our identity. We have our language, Kernowek, and our dialect, Cornu-English. Each of these language forms has its own history – and its own place in our history. They make up part of the tapestry of Cornish identity.

Join me to explore this fascinating topic, and learn how to recognise ‘language’ and ‘dialect’ – and how they are linked and interwoven.

This short course is designed to allow you to hear and experience these two unique language forms, and to give you a workshop space for you to share and explore your own responses to them. Members of the Cornish National Minority are invited to book a place on this friendly course run by a local Cornishwoman. You will be invited to share your own responses, if any, to each of these two language forms and think about what significance they may have for you.

Wherever you are in the world, this course is designed for you as a Cornish person. Join us too if you are interested in Cornwall, sociolinguistics, the Celtic languages, issues of language and identity, Lesser Used Languages of Europe – or endangered languages of the world.

Bring your curiosity, your selves and a few hours of your time, and I will bring my 25 years of experience, as a Cornish woman, in running this small language school for Cornwall, my academic background, my professional skills, and my love of my Cornish homeland.

I hope you will enjoy the learning experience!