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THE
CLASSICAL JOURNAL:
FOR
MARCH AND JUNE, 1818.
VOL. XVII.
???
EPIG. INCERT.
London :
PRINTED BY A.J. VALPY,
TOOKE'S COURT, CHANCERY LANE;
SOLD BY
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN;. RIVINGTONS; SHERWOOD, HEELY AND
JONES; PATERNOSTER ROW; BLACK AND SON, YORK-STREET; PARKER, OXFORD; BARRETT,
CAMBRIDGE; MACKREDIE AND CO., EDINBURGH; CUMMING, DUBLIN; AND ALL OTHER
BOOKSELLERS.
—
1818.
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CONTENTS.
VINDiClAE ANTIQUAE. No. iv.. 330
Variae Lectiones ex MSto. Nii. 2. 32. Bibl. Publ. Cantab. 340
Miscellanea Classica. No. iv. 348
Stanleiii Notae quaedain in Callimachum No. II 361
Commentatio ad Inscriptionem Actiacam, aiictore J. F.
Boissonade 36 &
Observations on some Orations ascribed to Cicero, No. II. 394
Professor Diiport’s Greek Prayer Book..410
Lexicography. 411
Biblical Criticism. 413
Report from the Committee of the House of Commons on the Petition of Trustees
of the British Museum, relating to the Libraiy of the late Dr. C. Burney. 429
Letters on the Ancient British Language of Cornwall..437
Adversaria Literaria, No. XVII.. — FabularumUtilitas
— Invidi Supplicium — Aenigma — Danaë, ex Simonide — Schol. in Plut. Aristoph. v. 1.
emendatur — Remarks on a Passage in Stoboeus — Classical Criticism —
MS..Note-of Markland — Resemblance between Horace and Ferdusi. 453
Literaiy Intelligence. 458
Note to Corresnpndents. 464
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LETTER 1.
On the Ancient British Language, &c. 437
LETTERS ON THE ANCIENT BRITISH LANGUAGE OF CORNWALL. LETTER 1. HISTORICAL
INTRODUCTION.
You may recollect, that in the course of our correspondence, I formerly made
some allusion to that dialect of the British which, till a comparativply
recent period, was the vernacular idiom of Cornwall. You had the goodness to
express satisfaction with that part of my letter, and to suggest, that from
the opportunities which my present residence afforded, I might collect such
information as would enable me to prepare a paper on the subject, which, as
you then expressed it, would be new and interesting. Convinced of the
difficulty of the task, and of my own inability, I delayed for a time
complying with the flattering request. But at present I avail myself of a few
weeks of leisure to write to you on the Cornish dialect, while I trust that
you will be indulgent, even when some of my opinions may not appear to be
sufficiently established, or may be different from those which you may
entertain on some critical points. I shall, however, derive the more pleasure
from this pursuit, as,
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438 On the Ancient British
exclusive of a fondness for philology, I am persuaded that the theory and
investigation of languages is intimately connected with the religious and
political history of nations, through all the progressive stages in which men
arrive from the lowest barbarism to the most refined civilisation; or from
the fables of legends and romances to the calm and authenticated narratives
of the historian. It is the theory of language, which often thus confirms
their truth.
I am therefore so far from thinking that such studies are trifling and
uninteresting, that I am inclined to consider them as important in the
highest degree, as well to the profound and accurate scholar, as to the man
who, with inferior erudition, is possessed of a more captivating style and a
more brilliant fancy. A person who is either unacquainted with the memorials
of former ages, or who only views them with indifference, and at the most
with idle curiosity, is like a stranger who might enjoy the advantages of
foreign travel, and yet feels not any desire to examine the novel and various
scenes by which he is surrounded. Among those, however, who devote themselves
to literature, there are but few who endeavour to trace the rise, progress
and extinction of languages, the variety and intricacy of dialects, and how
words and expressions in their transition from one age and country to
another, may become so disguised, altered, and modified in their structure
and appearance, that it is scarcely possible to recognise them under their
actual concealment. Hence antiquarian research is generally limited to the investigation
of the usages of distant periods, and to ascertain the object and original
utility of ruinous edifices, which still seem to attest in their decay the
proud extravagance of their former possessors, and the instability of human
ambition. Such a study is also more amusing than that of the history of any
language; for while we survey a mouldering castle, or handle the rusty armour
of our ancestors, we forget the uninviting nature of our subject, we
contemplate as it were a renewal of their departed greatness, and are alive
to all their feelings of martial glory. But the study of language is of a
more sober and philosophical cast; and while it borrows no external
embellishments, it patiently proceeds through all the ramifications of
etymology, till it establishes some most important point, either in tracing
or negativing the connexion that
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Language of Cornwall 439
may have formerly existed between different countries. Such researches are
not only uncommon in ordinary cases, but they become still more so, when the
subject is one like the Cornish tongue, about which so little is known, and
which has seldom, if over, excited any interest.
For these reasons I shall have need for much of your indulgence in the
following letters. The written remains of Cornish are few and scattered; and,
as far as I know, even these have not been elucidated with the attention they
deserve. It seems also to be silently consigned to oblivion by the learned,
and even in the districts where it was last spoken, there is little or no
information to be obtained. The very few, however, who have written on the
Cornish, as I shall endeavour to show hereafter, have done it in an
unsatisfactory manner. In such a want of materials, therefore, there must
necessarily be much room for conjecture, which, when successful, may deserve
encouragement; and when it fails, may still have a right not to be treated
with severity of censure.
It is unnecessary to enter into a long history of the Cornish tongue, as that
may easily be learned from Dr. Borlase, or any of the other historians of
that county. With respect to the period of its extinction, I must indeed
differ from some of them, and of this I shall take notice in the proper
place. The Cornish is a dialect of the Celtic, or the ancient language.of
Gaul and Britain. Before the Roman invasion of the latter, it was spoken in
its greatest purity; but from that period it seems gradually to have admitted
a great number of foreign words and idioms. During the revolutions which
succeeded the destruction of the Roman power, the British dialects became
still more corrupted. In the central and more fruitful parts of the island,
the Saxon, the parent of our modem English, prevailed; and the Celtic was
driven to Wales, to Ireland, to Scotland, to Cornwall, and to Britany. The
population of Britain was then scanty, and divided into petty communities.
Hence, like all barbarous nations, who have much unappropriated land, and but
few motives to attach them to their soil, the Britons retired in a mass
before their Saxon invaders, and sought the most distant and inaccessible
parts of the country. Many of them must have perished by the sword, and a few
might have continued among the
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440 On the Ancient British
conquerors, who were settled in the most desirable districts; hence there
would scarcely remain any vestige of the former inhabitants. This exactly
happened to the Saxons; and as to the Britons, diminished as they were in
numbers and resources, the places to which they retired would be fully
adequate to supply their wants. It is therefore unnecessary to suppose any
particular cruelty, or a general extermination by the Saxons, to have
produced these effects. It is always better to have first recourse to
ordinary causes; and here the common desolations of war were sufficient for
the result. The present gradual disappearance of the aboriginal Americans
before the European colonists is a striking parallel of my conjecture.
When afterwards, in consequence of those calamitous times, the several
British tribes had been separated from each other, in the extreme and
remotest parts of their islands, all communication by land and sea between
them became difficult: a voyage from the coast of Scotland to Britany must
have been even more tedious and formidable than one would now be from the
same to the West Indies. The natural consequence of this insulation of
the different British tribes was also a progressive change in the respective
dialects: local and political secession will always produce the same effect;
and though it is but a few years since the establishment of the independence
of the United States, yet they have already adopted many particular and local
terms, which are not used in this country. The Greek dialects and the
Scottish of Burns are in reality but so many incipient languages. Spanish and
Portuguese, however, afford the fullest illustration of my remark. When the
Moors conquered the Peninsula in the beginning of the eighth century, it had
but one language, which probably continued the same, with some Moorish
corruptions, till the foundation of the Portuguese monarchy, by Count Henry,
in 1112. Here political separation was immediately productive of a revolution
in speech. Provincialisms at first exist; and national pride, wishing to be
as independent in tongue as in dominion, polishes them, increases the native
idioms, borrows from others; and if a few good writers are produced, they
form a standard, and a new language is imperceptibly created.
From this period of Saxon ascendancy, the Cornish may therefore be said to
have existed as a language of itself; and according
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441 Language of Cornwall
to this theory, the Gaelic, the
Irish, the Welsh, and the Armorican, are of the same date. And happy had it
been for the Britons of those disastrous times, if the dismemberment of their
country had not been attended with more lamentable consequences! Of the
languages which thus arose, I am induced, on many accounts, to believe that
the Welsh is the purest, or approaches nearest to ancient Celtic; and also
that the Cornish is the most tinctured with foreign idioms. Wales was an
extensive and nearly inaccessible principality; its coasts had little to
allure the intercourse of the foreign merchant, and a succession of bards and
other writers, together with the service of the church performed in its
national tongue, without interruption, have stamped a durability upon it,
which cannot be claimed for any of the other British dialects. None of these
causes operated in favor of the Cornish. Its tin early attracted the
Phoenicians and the Greeks to its shores; and there is also conclusive
evidence, that the mines were worked by the Romans for some centuries. When
Galgacus tells his soldiers, in Tacitus’s Life of Agricola, that if they were
conquered, the Romans would compel them to labor in the mines, it was
probably with reference to those Cornish mines which were then in their
possession. Cornwall has also produced few or no bards to record the
achievements of its ancient heroes; and though its saints have been numerous,
it is to tradition, and not to any legends in Cornish, that we are to apply
for any account of their holy lives and conversation. It does not appear that
the Scriptures were ever translated in it, and it had ceased to be used in
the churches long before its extinction. All this sufficiently accounts for
the fluctuation and corruption of the Cornish beyond any of its sister
dialects; and that, while some of these latter are still spoken, and even
florish, the former is unequivocally dead.
Such then appears to have been
the origin of Cornish as a distinct language; and in the next place, it may
not be difficult to assign the period when it was spoken in its greatest
purity. History and tradition mention Tintagel Castle, in Cornwall as the
birth-place of Arthur; and at the distance of a few miles, a called Slaughter
Bridge is still shown as where he leceived his mortal wound. Though much may
be exaggeraed, yet it is impossible
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442 On the Ancient British
that the whole of the history of that hero should be false. I would therefore
conjecture, that the age of Arthur was the most florishing era of the Cornish
tongue. I say conjecture, since the oldest MS. remaining in it, is of the
eleventh century, when, through the lapse of ages, and the political
revolutions which had subsequently happened, it must have already much
degenerated from that which was spoken during the chivalrous reign of Arthur.
On a reference to the history, the divisions of territory, and the
encroachments of the Saxons in those times, I am inclined to think that
Cornish, since it became a separate language, was never spoken to the eastward
of the river Exe. The conquest of Cornwall by Athelstan, in the tenth
century, forms a remarkable epoch in its history. That prince, having overrun
the two western counties, terminated his campaigns by a successful expedition
to the Scilly Islands. It is to his arrangements that we owe the modern
boundary of Cornwall, as he is said to have confined the Britons to the west
of the river Tamar. It is remarkable, that few or no Cornish proper names are
to be found on the eastern side of that river; which leads to the inference,
that Athelstan adopted something like the cruel modern system of drivings (1)
1/ The driving of the inhabitants, as happened during the recent invasion of
Portugal by Massens, and the expedition of Napoleon to Moscow.
with respect to the old inhabitants, who, that they might leave the country
open for Saxon colonies, were thus forced to retire into Cornwall, and thence
partly to emigrate. If it had not been so, why should not the hills and
valleys of Devon have retained their ancient names, as well as those of
Cornwall, since the substitution of the English language in this latter
county has indeed retained nothing of its former dialect, but those very
proper names.
The Cornish language does not seem to have materially suffered from the
Norman conquest; the leading feature of which was rather to effect a change
of proprietors, than to introduce any foreign colonies. On the contrary, the
commerce and Customs of a few Norman adventurers would soon assimilate to
those of the country where they had been transplanted.
The Cornish people, however, being thus politically united to the English,
then language must have now gradually declined.
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Language of Cornwall. 443
The gentry would, from interest and loyalty, become Anglicised as much as lay
in their power; and the language of the country being thus confined to the
common people, would not only be uncultivated, but proportionally degenerate.
This is the certain forerunner of the extinction of any language: thus it was
when the seat of empire was removed to Constantinople, till Latin became that
barbarous mass of sounds fiom which the modem languages have emerged; and
thus at this moment English is insensibly gaining ground on Welch. In some
parts of Monmouthshire, where it was spoken within the memory of man, it is
no longer understood. It is so in Cornwall: — nothing remains in those
counties but the proper names; and in some parts of the principality, it is
thought a part of gentility in many families not to allow children to learn
the vernacular tongue.
These causes combined to confine the Cornish within narrower limits, and to
corrupt it more and more in every succeeding generation. Hence it is not
surprising, that under disadvantages like these, it should have produced no
writers of any note. The oldest Ms. in it is a Vocabulary of the eleventh
century, which was discovered in the Cottonian library; and as it could not
have yet been materially corrupted, it may be esteemed as the most valuable
remaining. The next in point of Antiquity is supposed, from internal
evidence, to belong to the fifteenth century: it is in verse, and contains
some Ordinals, or rude sacred plays.
It is probable, that from this time till the Reformation it gradually
declined, when it received a shock from which its extinction became
inevitable. Instead of acquiring a translation of the Scriptures, like the
Welch, the Cornish churches were ordered to use the English bible and
liturgy. Whatever might have been its injustice or inhumanity towards the
existing generation, there can be no doubt that this order was effectual
towards the extension of English, and that it was politic towards the union
and consolidation of the empire. Subsequent to this period, we have another
Ms. of an Interlude on the Creation of the World and the Deluge, by William
Jordan, of Helsron, in 1611. This is the recent Cornish book that I know
extant.
The rapid declension of Cornish begins from about the middle of the sixteenth
century. If the following fact can be relied upon,
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444 On the Ancient British
it is obvious that it had been till then the established vehicle of
communication. Dr. Moreman, then vicar of Menhiniot, near Liskeard, taught
the inhabitants of his parish the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten
Commandments, in English; and he lived about the latter end of the reign of
Henry VIII. If therefore this vicar was obliged to teach in English such
common things to his parishioners, Cornish must have prevailed among them at
that time. And as the English language in its progress travelled from east to
west, it could not have then penetrated far, as Menheniot is in the eastern
division of the county, But in the sixty years since that time till William
Jordan, the declension must have been rapid indeed. His Ms. caunot be
considered as classical, when we advert to the growing ascendancy of the
English language, (1)
1/ Carew, who published his
Survey of Cornwall in 1602, from the inaccuracy of several of his
derivations, seems to have known but little of the language. The following
passage is characteristic of its declension. “The principal love and
knowledge of this language liveth in Dr. Kenuall, the civilian, and with him
lyeth buried; for the English speech doth still encroach upon it, and hath
driven the same into the uttermost skirts of the shire. Most of the
inhabitants can speak no word of Cornish; but few are ignorant of the
English; and yet some so affect their own, as to a stranger they will not
speak it: for if meeting them by chance, you inquire the way or any such
matter, your answer shall be, ‘Meea na vidua couza sauznek’' – “I can speak
no Saxonage.” Survey of Cornwall p. 66.
and that the speaking of Cornish
was confined to the lower orders, if he wrote it as it was then spoken, it
must be very corrupt; or if he did not, he must have hud recourse to the more
correct, but then extinct, diction of former ages. I am led to this inference
by the assertion of Mr. Carew, who published his Survey of Cornwall in 1602, and
by Norden’s History in 1610, both previous to the composition of Jordan’s
Ordinal, who concurred in representing the Cornish as then confined to the
western hundreds, and in danger of being soon utterly,abandoned. Even these
writers were not well acquainted with that language, if we may form an
opinion from some incorrect derivations.
From this time, the history of the Cornish is that of its final extinction.
Dr. Borlase has, however, preserved a few facts relative to it — such as that
in 1640, Mr. William Jackman, the
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Language of Cornwall. 445
chaplain of Pendennis Castle, administered the sacrament in Cornish in the
neighbouring parish of Pheoch, because the old people were not sufficiently
acquainted with English. When Mr. Kay visited Cornwall in 1662, he found but
one person who could write in it; and that, as few of the children could
speak Cornish, it would soon be lost. (1)
1/ According to his Itineraries,
which have been published by Mr. Scott, F.A.G„ “Mr. Dicken Gwyn was
considered as the only person who could then write in the Cornish language;
and who lived in one of the most western parishes, called St. Just, where there
were few but what could speak English, while none of the children could speak
Cornish; so that the language would soon be lost.” Ray’s Itinerary, p. 8
A little later, however, a
Cornish sermon was preached, in 1678, by a Mr. Robinson, at Landewednach, near
the Lizard. In 1700 it was still spoken by the fishermen and tinners of Paul
and St. Just. The last authentic account we have of the living Cornish is in
letter of the 10th of March, 1701, from Mr. Lhwyd, who compiled a Cornish
Grammar, (2)
2/ Archaeologia Brit. p. 225, — —
The Preface, p. 222, seems intended for Cornish
to his friend Mr. Tonkin, in
which he says, that it was then retained in only live or six villages near
the Land’s End. Mr. Lhwyd’s authority as an archaeologian stands so high that
it cannot be controverted; but though an impure Cornish might still have been
spoken for some few years longer, his visit in Cornwall may be reckoned as
the period of the extinction of that language. The claims of the noted Dolly
Pentreath, and the other scattered notices about it, appear to be so very
equivocal, as to require a separate examination.
It is evident from this hasty historical sketch, that the Cornish is very
ancient, and that it loses itself in the barbarous ages which precreded the
era of chivalry and romance. Several of the proper names convey to us a
memorial of the Druid superstition, and are probably much older than the
birth of Christ. Hence, when we contemplate some of the wild and romantic
scenery of Cornwall, the mind is filled with awe in reflecting that some
thousand years ago it made the same impression on our less favored ancestors,
and that, notwithstanding various revolutions, religious as well as
Eu.
VOL. XVII. Cl. Jl. No. XXXIV.
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446 On the Ancient British
political, the names, which they then gave it as expressive of their
feelings, have remained as immutable as the base of those cliffs, which seem
to have been providentially placed as a barrier against the fury of the
Atlantic.
This rapid sketch must be considered as introductory to my following letters,
in which I shall discuss some peculiarities of the Cornish idiom, and of its
affinities, immediate as well as remote, with other languages. You will
excuse the above historical details, as several parts of my subsequent theory
are founded upon them, and without such an explanation would not have been
easily understood. I hope, also, that it will have taken something from the
dryness inseparable from philological topics.
D.
LETTER II.
Phenician, Welsh, Armoric.
A sailor from Mount’s Bay, in
1746, by Captain, afterwards Admiral, Barrington; and another, a smuggler
from Mouse-hole, who was met by Dr. Pryce in 1790, and who had conversed with
the Bas Bretons, at Morlaix, in 1730. — Hitchin's Hist. of Corn., Vol. I. pp.
225 and 230.
We have met with emigrant naval officers from Britany, who perfectly
understood almost all the Welsh words. The difference consisted m the
inflections. Ed.
The languages, which are considered as more immediately connected with the
Cornish, are the Welsh and Armoric, or Bas Breton. It is not however my
intention to enter here fully into the mutual affinities of the three, or to
explain what are the various peculiarities of terms, grammar, or idiom, which
have stamped on each its essential differences. Little is known about the
Armoric in this country, though it is commonly said, that the Welsh and the
Bas Bretons can converse together. There are some instances of the kind
mentioned in the histories of Cornwall; but as they rest on the testimony of
illiterate persons, (1)
1/
there remains much doubt upon my mind.
Contrary to this, Mr. Scawen has told us in Borlase, (Nat. Histor, p. 313.)
that “the radicals are so much
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Language of Cornwall. 447
alike in all, that they are known and admitted by the inhabitants of either
country; but their grammar has so varied, that they cannot converse:” and I
am inclined to believe him, from the Armoric specimens that I have seen. It
is nevertheless easy to reconcile these contradictions, though he says they
cannot which merely implies, that the languages are different, but by no means
that the natives of both countries might not understand each other; which
indeed generally happens, when the languages are radically the same, as when
a Spaniard is not at a loss to know the meaning of an Italian.
If I am not mistaken, some part of the Church service (1)
1/ Sermons are probably still
preached in Bas-Breton; but in a Roman Catholic country they are not integral
parts of the service. Ed.
is performed formed in Armoric,
(at least it was so before the Revolution,) which obliged the priests to be
conversant in it, as well as in French. I must however candidly own, that I
am ignorant whether there are any literary remains in that dialect, or on
what subjects. Yet I should suppose, that, like the Cornish, it has never
been much cultivated, and that it is not more copious, but is meiely limited
to express the wants of a rude agiicultural people.
Hence among these dialects, the Welsh undoubtedly claims the pre-eminence. It
is spoken over a larger extent of countiy, and having been adopted for the
language of poetry, and consecrated to the service of religion, in a
translation of the Scriptuies, it has survived to this day. The fragments of
Welsh poetry still remind the patriotic inhabitants of the glories of heroes
born in better years, and of that minstrelsy which has so often excited
posterity to emulate the achievements of departed valor; but in Cornwall, no
such causes have operated to keep the language alive. This latter country
lost its independence early, the fame of its warriors was either forgotten,
or else no hards arose to sing of them, except in other tongues; and that the
want of a native literature accelerated its extinction.
The Cornish is described by Mr. Scawen, a high authority on this question, as
“elegant and manly, pure, short, and expressive.’*
I also readily agree with him, that it is not so guttural as the Welsh, or
rather, that it is very little, if all, guttural; and that
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448 On the Ancient British
notwithstanding our defective pronunciation it is far from being
inharmonious. But I must disagree with his assertion, that “it is a tongue,
as used in Cornwall, most like the Phenician.” (1)
1/ Borlase’s Nat. History of
Cornwall, p. 314.
This seems to rest on no better
grounds, than that Cornwall was anciently visited by Phenician traders to
purchase tin; but it is not credible that so limited an intercourse would
have had such a decided influence on the vernacular tongue. If this were to
be proved, it should be done by a collation of the two languages, and by
producing a number of radical words, common to both; but till this is the
case, it is but fair to refuse assent to a merely speculattive and improbable
theory.
Mr. Polwhele, in his History of Cornwall, speaks of the “great affinity of
the Welsh with the Phenician.”
(2)
2/ Polwhele's History of
Cornwall, Vol. III, p. 26.
He produces two quotations, which
apparently establish this; but as he owns that they are copied from one of
the Bath Guides, you will allow, that I ought to have a more unexceptionable
authority, before I can give it my assent.
But to whatever cause this comparative softness of the Cornish may be
attributed, it certainly appears more pleasing than the Welsh, as far as
sounds are concerned. This will be evident on the slightest glance at the
structure of the words in both; and even now the pronunciation of the proper
names in Cornwall becomes familiar by practice, and is much less offensive to
the ear than many of English derivation.
Dr. Pryce, M.D. of Redruth, in Comwall, published an Essay on the Cornish
language about 25 years ago It is not my intention to enter largely into the
merits of his work, though I cannot pass unnoticed a passage of his preface.
“The Chaldean, Syriac, Egyptian, Arabic, Phenecian, Celtic, Gaulish, Welh,
and Cornish languages, are all derived from the Hebrew tongue; and in their
descent one from the other, in travelling from the east to the west, they
have branched themselves into so many dialects, from one and the same root.”
It is indeed evident, that some of the above are derived from each other; but
it is a stretch of inge-
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Language of Cornwall. 449
nuity to assert that the Cornish is mediately descended from the Hebrew; for,
as I will show hereafter, the roots common to both are too few in number to
lead to any such conclusion. It is possible that Hebrew was the primitive
language of mankind, though I must own that I have my doubts whether it had
any existence before the Israelites grew into a separate people. Chaldee is
so much like it, that it seems to be no more than a dialect of the same
tongue, and this with Phenician and Coptic; were probably more ancient. This
does not necessarily mean any more than that the language was I hanged,
though many of the ancient roots might have still remained common to them
all. As believers in the Mosaic account, we may admit that those languages
may be traced to the general confusion at Babel; and thus have a satisfactory
reason why a few Hebrew words may still retain the same meanings in the
Celtic and its dialects. Without this, I do not apprehend it to be possible
to reconcile the striking similarities which often occur in the languages of
nations, who have either never had any intercourse with each other, or, if
they have, it has been in ages too remote either for history or tradition.
This is not, however, applicable to those languages, which are indebted for
their origin to natural causes, such as the lapse of time, the national
taste, political changes, and the progress of foreign commerce; so that the
systematic disguise of words, and the deviations of grammar, may be traced in
almost every page, as between the Hebrew and Syriac; the Greek and the
Romaic; the Latin and the Italian. These latter are now spoken, yet they may
hereafter vanish from the living catalogue, and make room for descendants,
which are not yet in existence.
Much has been written about the trade of the Phenicians in Britain: I am
willing to believe, that those mercantile adventurers resorted to our shores;
but so few monuments of them remain, that it is not likely that they ever
formed there any considerable establishment, or carried on more than a
desultory trade in tin. Even the cessation of that trade must have happened
early, and cannot be of a later era than the fall of Carthage. It is
therefore not probable that such transient visitors should have any
impression on the language of the natives, when scarcely a vestige can be
discovered to prove that they had my settlement in the country. The barrow,
the deserted entrenchment, and the ruined
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(delwedd F6622) (tudalen 450)
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450 On the Ancient British
castle, generally survive, when the language of their founders has, like
them, ceased to exist. Hence it is as preposterous for Mr. Scawen to
attribute the comparative softness of the Cornish to a Phenician intercourse,
as it would be for a modern traveller to imagine that the English factory had
operated a certain revolution in the Chinese language at Canton.
Like all other foreigners who visit any country, the Phenicians may have left
some traces of their language in Cornwall; and perhaps even more than is to
be found in the Cornish that was spoken at a more recent period. But I must
own my scepticism, when I read, that there was a Phenician Colony at Hartland
point, on the British Channel, a most inconvenient station for those early
navigators; or that the Start is still a memorial of their goddess Astarte.
The same may be said of the Phenician etymology of Hamoaze, and a few others.
Pen means an eminence in Cornish, (1)
1/ In Welsh it is head.
and is usually applied in proper names to that part of the hill, which is
near the brow of its declivity. I think that this is very likely to be
derived from the Phenician pinnah, which signifies the same. To this
authority of Mr. Polwhele in his Historical Views of Devon, (p. 172.) it may
be added that it comes from the Hebrew ?? he saw, and that the same idea of a
hill is preserved in the classical ?? and specula; and in some measure also
in the modern, visat, vue, view. If any remains of the Phenician are to be
found in any part of Europe, it is in the Spanish Peninsula; and accordingly
peña and peñedo in Spanish, and penha and penedo in Portuguese, mean a rock
or rocky hill. ]t is a negative proof of this derivation, that the word is
not used in Greek, Latin, (2)
2/ May not the Apennines have the
same origin? Ed.
Italian, or French; but Venedh, a
mountain, occurs in Borlase's Vocabulary.
The well-known word tre, a house or village, is also siad to be originally
Phenician from tira, a castle. This is probably the same as the Hebrew ?? a
rock, and is also the name of Tyre, and well agrees with the locality of its
rocky situation. How far this may be the origin of the Cornish tre, I know
not, though I confess that it is not improbably Phenician. If that people
ever had any
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Language of Cornwall. 451
factories in Britain, the name of tira, might have been very properly given
to places suited for habitation and defence; an idea which is now applied to
a fort in the interior of America. The natives might probably imitate the
Phenician buildings, and give them the same name, which in process of time
would lose its first meaning of a castle, when applied to the residence of a
peaceful husbandman. This is conjecture; for it is better in etymological
difficulties to acknowledge them, than to risk any of those fanciful
suppositions, which only expose their author to ridicule. It is therefore
with this reserve, that adopt the derivation of tre from tira. If it is
correct, the word must have been singularly corrupted from its primary
signification; as at present, though Tregony is an exception to this, it
denotes single houses in the country, and sometimes villages; but in all
cases it is without any reference to their local situation.
It is not only true, that the Phenician remains in Cornish are few, but they
become still fewer by the imperfect acquaintance we have with the former, and
by the scanty fragments which have been handed down to us of the latter. It
is, therefore, possible that there may be many Phenician derivatives, now so
disguised in their meanings and orthography, as to be no longer discoverable.
In such a scarcity of materials, it is better to close this examination of
the two languages; though some more fortunate scholar may hereafter be
possessed of such superior documents, as may enable him to prosecute the
analogy with success.
Mr. Scawen's opinion, that the comparative sweetness of Cornish above that of
the other Celtic dialects is owing to its Phenician mixture, is very
doubtful. It would be far more rational to account for it the supposition,
that languages in the progress of this derivation from the same source,
assume, from natural though perhaps unknown causes, their peculiar
characteristics of smoothness or roughness, poverty or copiousness. Thus,
cultivation has rendered the German more copious, and less disagreeable. The
Syriac, Arabic, and Persian, though related to the Hebrew, have in the course
of ages acquired very different degrees of smoothness. The provincialisms of
the Latin, exclusive of any external cause, have thus grown and been modified
into the peculiarities of the modern languages, it is to this alone that we
are
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452 On the Ancient British
Language,
indebted for the volubility of the French, the feminine softness of the
Italian, the austere gravity of the Spanish, and the nasal sound which
continually distinguishes the Portuguese.
The Punic was a dialect of the Phenician, and some remains of it may possibly
be concealed in the Cornish. There is part of a scene in it in the Poenulus
of Plautus, (act v. scene 1.) which has often unsuccessfully employed the
ingenuity of critics. I have no doubt that it is very corrupt, as might be
expected, after having passed for more than 2000 years through the hands of
editors who knew nothing of Punic. It is remarkable that several Latin words
are scattered in it, and that in the middle, the following come together:
Misti Atticum esse,
Coucubitiim a bello cutim beant.
I think that all these were originally Punic words, which, from their
resemblance to Latinity, were thus ridiculously metamorphosed, as we shall
hereafter see in the Anglicised names of Camel, Lizard, and Port Isaac. I
find in it the Cornish words cuth, old, and ten, a man; and chym lack is
exactly like the idiomatic Hebrew phrase ?? Arise, go, the classical ??, ??,
and Vade, age: but I know not that the Punic has the Hebraic meaning. Might
not, however, these resemblances be accidental, and the whole be a mere
gibberish of Punic and Latin, thrown together by Plautus in one of his
sportive moments? But this is conjecture; I confess myself unable to
understand that fragment; and if it is ever understood, it must be by a
patient collation of it, with the modern languages of the coast of Barbary,
and with the vulgar Arabic, which is still spoken at Malta; nor would I have
even mentioned it, were it not to observe, how little affinity I could
discover on comparing it with the Cornish Vocabulary. D.
P. S. In my next letters, I shall consider the subject as connected with the
Hebrew, Greek, Latin, English, French, and other languages, with Orthography,
the Digamma, compound words; then proceed to other historical and
philological particulars on the Cornish Dialect.
1 Sam. IX. S. Jonah, I. 2; and passim. Hom. II. 8.; and Virg. Lo.. IV. 223.
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(delwedd F6625) (tudalen 000a)
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THE CLASSICAL JOURNAL:
FOR
SEPTEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1818.
VOL. XVIII.
???
EPIG. INCERT.
London :
PRINTED BY A.J. VALPY,
TOOKE'S COURT, CHANCERY LANE;
SOLD BY
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN;. F.C. AND J. RIVINGTONS; SHERWOOD AND
CO., PATERNOSTER ROW; BLACK AND SON, YORK-STREET; PARKER, OXFORD; BARRETT,
CAMBRIDGE; MACKREDIE AND CO., EDINBURGH; CUMMING, DUBLIN; AND ALL OTHER
BOOKSELLERS.
—
1818.
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(delwedd F6626) (tudalen 000b)
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CONTENTS OF NO. XXXV.
Letters on the Ancient British Language of Cornwall.
No II. 103
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(delwedd F6627) (tudalen 103)
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103 LETTERS ON THE ANCIENT
BRITISH LANGUAGE OF CORNWALL.
No. II. — [Continued from No. XXXIV. p. 452.]
LETTER III.
HEBREW.
The difficulty of comparison decreases, as we ascend from the Phenician to an
investigation of the Hebrew, as far as it appears connected with the Cornish.
The result, however, is not favorable for those who are fond of derivations,
and would wish to prove a connexion between the two nations at some remote
period. The dispersion of mankind so altered languages, that all our present
discoveries can amount to no more than a few fragments of words and
expressions, which may indeed afford us a strong internal evidence of a
common origin, but which at the same time disclaim the possibility of much
former intercourse. Among nearly 7,000 words, of which Dr. Borlase's
Vocabulary is composed, I have not been able to recognise more than about 20
Hebrew roots, though I have examined it carefully; and of these I am aware
that several are of a disputable nature. It is possible that some future
inquirer may be more fortunate, and that some words may have escaped me.
Still I may be confident that these cannot be numerous. It is remarkable,
that though so many of the Hebrew tenses and nouns begin with the servile
letters in p and n, that I have found no words under those very letters in
Cornish. I am willing to grant the fullest allowances for the disguise and
corruption of words; but this is so important a circumstance, that I must
pronounce the two languages to be unconnected and radically different.
It may, however, be asked, by what means even these few Hebrew words were
originally incorporated with the Cornish? They must be either some of those
few primitives which escaped from the general confusion at Babel; or else
they were introduced among the Cornish during the progress of commercial
intercourse. It may perhaps have been owing to each of these causes; some of
the appellatives are expressive of objects for which even the rudest
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104 On the Ancient British
people must necessarily have names; others may have been acquired by
commerce, especially of objects unknown to the natives at the period of the
general dispersion. History does not leave us room to suppose, that the
Israelites ever traded to Britain; but from their vicinity and alliances with
the Phenicians, the Hebrew words which have been introduced in the Cornish,
must have been derived through the medium of the latter, who undoubtedly
traded long in Cornwall, but the extent of whose commerce seems to have been
exaggerated by the antiquarian, and to have been implicitly re-echoed by the
unlearned, because it flattered their national prejudices.
It is singular, that the Hebrew for tin is neither of Phenician, Greek, nor
Cornish derivation, but a primitive, ?? (1),
1/ From ??, he separated
which was probably applied to the substance, from an allusion to the manner
of procuring that metal. It is well known that the ancient workings for tin
were stream works, in which, as at this day, the metallic particles were
separated from the gravel, and collected by washing. Is it then fanciful to
suppose, that the Hebrews would prefer to give it a name from this
circumstance, rather than a foreign appellation of difficult pronunciation?
They had already done so with respect to silver and lead, ?? (2)
2/ Thus we have ?? from ??, white. Ezekiel mentions all the metals, gold
excepted, chap. xxii. 20.
from ??; he desired, and ?? from ?? dust. ?? brass, most probably took its
name from ??, a serpent, the color and brightness of whose scales it
resembled. This appears a strong confirmation that ?? in the third of
Genesis, can mean nothing else than a serpent; nor is there any other animal
that could have given its name so properly to brass, or brass to it. Mr. Weld
mentions, in his Travels, that there is a copper snake in the United States.
We have also a parallel instance of a modern commodity, which has lost its
real name for one more appropriate to its nature, like the above ?? for tin.
Anil is an Arabic word for indigo, and is still retained by its more ancient
cultivators the Spanish and Portuguese; while
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Language of Cornwall 105
in the other parts of Europe, the original word has been either unknown, or
forgotten, and a more easy appellation substituted, merely expressive of the
country where it is produced.
Dr. Borlase informs us, (1)
1/ Natural History of Cornwall, p. 314,
that it is one of “the most material singularities of this tongue, that the
substantive is placed generally before the adjective.” This is also the case
in Hebrew; for a few Biblical exceptions cannot affect a general rule. Thus
?? A wise son maketh a glad father. Prov. xv.
?? The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh
knowledge. Prov. xv. 14. The principle is even carried so far, that when the
adjective precedes, the auxiliary ??, he was, is understood, and to be
construed after the noun. Thus, ??, The word of the Lord is right. Psalm
xxiii. 4. In the Cornish the pronouns are incorporated with the verb. They
are also suffixed to Hebrew verbs, as in ??, he blessed him, from ??; ??, he
placed him, from ??; and ??, he covered them, from ??
If these coincidences were supported by many other affinities, they would add
to the argument for some ancient Hebrew connexion; but insulated as they are,
I apprehend that they are purely accidental.
We must not confound chronology because the Jews enjoyed for a long time the
farm of the tin mines. Their affairs were the most prosperous in Cornwall,
from the reign of King John, till their expulsion by Edward I.; and the ruins
of their establishments are still known by the names of Jews’ houses. This
was at a period, when that unhappy people could not have any influence on the
language of the country. I am not acquainted with any historical record, that
fixes the era of their first settlement in Cornwall; but it must have been
long subsequent to the loss of their national tongue; and it may be
conjectured, that it might have been soon after the destruction of Jerusalem
by Titus; or it might have been as late as the earlier Plantagenets. The
presumption
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(delwedd F6630) (tudalen 106)
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106 On the Ancient British
for the former period, is derived from the well-known cruel treatment which
they experienced from the Romans, who then worked the tin mines and by whom
such a labor was considered as one of the severest punishments that could be
inflicted on criminals and worthless slaves. The town of Marazion, (or as it
is literally rendered; Market Jew,) would seem to prove that the settlement
of that people was of long continuance. The argument for the latter
supposition is drawn from the absence of historical documents respecting the
Jews, in Cornwall, till the reign of John. If, therefore, we refer their
arrival to either era, it will be evident, that the Jews could have had no
influence on the Cornish, as the Hebrew itself had ceased to be a living
tongue many centuries before, and soon after their return from Babylon.
I shall conclude these remarks with a list of the few Hebrew and Cornish
words which appear to me to have any resemblance.
Amenen, Butter, from ?? Butter.
Aniak, Weak, ?? He groaned.
Bealtine, (1) Fires lighted to Belus, ?? Bahal, (a lord.)
1/ Baul tinney is in Celtic, the place of fire. Ed.
Belee, A priest, The same.
Benk, An ox, ?? An ox.
Bod, A dwelling, ?? A house.
Bor, borri, Fatness, ?? Fat.
Caer, A city, ?? A city.
Cob, To break, ?? He broke.
Cor, Ale, ?? Strong drink.
Corn, A horn, ?? A horn.
Den, Men, ?? (Chaldee) that man.
Erw, A field, ?? The earth.
Ffrwyth, Fruit, ?? He was fruitful.
Gawr, Strong, ?? Strong.
Glaouen, A coal, ?? A coal.
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Language of Cornwall. 107
Gwyr, A man, from ?? A man.
Habadin, Slavery, ?? He served.
Hal, uhal, A hill, ?? He ascended.
Ithick, Cruel, ?? Perverse.
Kriha, To call, ?? He called.
Scoth, A shoulder, ?? A shoulden
Zeah, Dry, ?? Dry.
Zeth, (1) An arrow, ?? An arrow.
1/ This is probably a corruption of Sagitta. Archery does not appear to be a
Celtic art. If we trace all the Celtic names of these implements, we shall
find them Roman. Ed.
The above list, imperfect as it is, is the best that I have been able to
collect from my Cornish documents. D.
LETTER IV
Greek.
As we leave the Oriental languages, and approach the classical era, the
examination of Cornish with Greek offers itself as less complicated and
uncertain. Cornish, as might be expected, contains more Greek than Hebrew
words, and on carefully looking over the Vocabulary, I have discovered an
insignificant number indeed, when taken from such a collection, and which
could never have had any direct influence upon that tongue.
The European languages have so many affinities, had the similarity of their
phraseology is so frequent, that they seem to have had but one common origin;
and thus confirm the Mosaic account, concerning the posterity of Japheth,
that “by these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every
one after his tongue, after their families in their nations;" (Gen. x.
5.) or (as it is generally understood), the several divisions of Europe. All
these retain more or less of Hebrew and Greek; and that too in words and
expressions interwoven in the speech of the vulgar, and which appear to have
been coeval with the respective languages; for I do not include any of those
terms of art, which have been intro-
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(delwedd F6632) (tudalen 108)
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108 On the Ancient British
duced at subsequent periods, to designate more accurately the technical forms
of art, religion, or science. But because the Cornish contains a little
Greek, in common with the other European languages, it is neither reasonable nor
philological, to suppose that it is particularly allied to it, or that it
shares in its elegance and copiousness. Even modern English, perhaps,
contains a larger number of Greek words than the Cornish; it possesses much
of a Grecian cast, and that too in words, which, it is evident, were never
introduced for scientific purposes. The affinity of English to Latin is
considerable, as might be anticipated. It is well known, how much Greek there
is in the latter, however it may be altered and disguised in form and
meaning. But Latin is derived from the Celtic, and is an intermediate link
which unites it and its derivative idioms to the Greek language. I cannot
account for so many Greek words in our English, on any other ground, than
that of this common origin; (1) and it is rather to this, than to the Grecian
trade from Marseilles, that I attribute the Greek, which is intermixed in the
Cornish vocabularies. It cannot be denied, that during the long intercourse
of the Greeks with the coasts of Cornwall, the natives might have be-
1/ The following words, allowing for their disguises, corruptions, and end
ings, come from the Greek:
am, ??
as, ??.
better, ??
blow, blast, ??
blunt, ??
boy, ??.
call, ??.
creep, ??.
door, ??.
double, ??
each, ??
earth, ??
eat, ??
eye, ??
fail, fall, ??
faith, ??
father, ??
fire, ??.
first, ??.
foot, ??.
ford, ??
full, ??
gather, ??
great, ??
hole, ??
hope, ??
kind, ??
knee, ??
know, ??
leave, ??
like, ??
loose, ??
lose, ??
most, ??.
mother, ??
new, ??
now, ??
one, ??
other, ??
over, ??
pause, ??
rain, ??
rock, rag, crag, ??
roof, ??
safe, ??
say, ??
salt, ??
scratch, ??
send, ??
sickle, ??
skiff, ??
spread, ??
strong, ??
sword, ??
tame, ??
tear, ??
think, ??
tongue, ??
tooth, ??
tree, ??
view, ??
wet, water, winter, wash, ?? and ??
whole, ??
wind, ??
work, ??
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Language of Cornwall. 109
come acquainted with their language, and adopted terms from it, either for
objects to which they had already given names, or for such as had hitherto
been unknown, and were then introduced for the first time. As their voyages
were subsequent to those of the Phenicians, it naturally follows that more of
those Greek words should have been retained in use, or rather, that the
comparative recency of that period has been the means that fewer have been
forgotten, or become obsolete. I will even allow it to be probable, that a
great deal of Greek, which might have once been incorporated with the
Cornish, has in the lapse of ages unavoidably been lost; but I can go no
farther, unless I wished to imitate that ingenuity, which establishes a Greek
town of Heraclea on Hartland Point, and would make that headland to be the
pillars which terminated the discoveries of the Phocaean navigators.
The following passage, from Dr. Pryce, deserves some animadversion:
“As from the Hebrews to the Phenicians, so from the Phenicians to the Greeks,
came letters and arts. And accordingly from the Phenician character, the
Greeks appear to have composed their letters, and the Latins progressively
from the Greeks. So likewise our ancient and true Cornish appears to be
mostly derived from the Greek and old Latin tongues, as it partakes much of
their cadence and softness, with less of the guttural harshness peculiar to
the Hebrew and Chaldee. This is the more easily accounted for, as the
Phenicians about the time of the Trojan war, first discovered the Scilly
Islands and the western shores of Cornwall; with the natives of which they
traded for tin, and sold it to the Greeks.” (1)
1/ Preface p. 1.
Nothing
is so calculated to mislead, as the bold assertions of an able man, which are
therefore implicitly believed, and his errors continually repeated. As to his
first position, we have already examined how little there is of a Phenician
or Hebrew mixture in the Cornish. Those languages, however, are not so
generally understood in a Cornishman, to be jealous of the honors of his
county, and to have a disposition to believe the exaggerated
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111
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112 On the Ancient British
Language, &c.
Guis, A sow, ??
Guon, I know, ??
Gwy, wy, Water, ??
Haleia, Salt, ??
Henath, Generation, ??
Heanek, Ease, ??
Houl, Sul, The sun, ??
Huigeren, A father-in-law ??
Hylwys, To cry out ??
Hyrch, To command, ??
Kenkraz, Crabs, ??
Kentrow, Nails, ??
Krèn, A fountain, ??
Kûr, A coast, ??
Ky, A dog, ??
Laul, To speak. ??
La, The vulgar. ??
Meroin, A girl, ??
Nef, Heaven, ??
Nyddhu, To spin, ??
Oin, A lamb. ??
Oye, An egg. ??
Pemp, Five, ??
Perna, To buy, ??
Porthwyn, A ferryman ??
Resas, To flow, ??
Reuki, To snore, ??
Riou, Cold, ??
Ryn, A promontory, ??
Sau, Safe, ??
Skez, A shadow, ??
Yan, A yoke, ??
The following are also derived from the Greek, but it is evident from their
meanings, that they are not of a very ancient date, and that they were
naturalised subsequent to the conversion of the Britons to Christianity.
Abestely, Apostles, ??
Ancar, A hermit, ??
Badeen, To baptise, ??
Brefusy, Prophets,
??
Cloireg, A
clergyman, ??
Diagon, A
deacon, ??
Ebscob, A
bishop, ??
Eglos, A church, ??
Erhmit, A
hermit, ??
Grest, Christ, ??
Jedhewon, Jews, ??
Krestudnian, Christians, ??
Manach, A monk, ??
Mihâl, Michael, ??
Pasch, The Passover, ??
Penhast, Whitsuntide, ??
Satnas. Satan, ??
Senedh, A synod, ??
Scol, A school, ??
The signification of all the words of this latter list determines their age
at once.
D.
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(delwedd F6637) (tudalen 000a)
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THE CLASSICAL JOURNAL:
FOR
SEPTEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1818.
VOL. XVIII.
???
EPIG. INCERT.
London :
PRINTED BY A.J. VALPY,
TOOKE'S COURT, CHANCERY LANE;
SOLD BY
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN;. F.C. AND J. RIVINGTONS; SHERWOOD AND
CO., PATERNOSTER ROW; BLACK AND SON, YORK-STREET; PARKER, OXFORD; BARRETT,
CAMBRIDGE; MACKREDIE AND CO., EDINBURGH; CUMMING, DUBLIN; AND ALL OTHER
BOOKSELLERS.
—
1818.
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(delwedd F6638) (tudalen 000b)
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CONTENTS OF NO. XLI.
Letters on the Ancient British Language of Cornwall.
No III. 355
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355
LETTERS ON THE ANCIENT BRITISH LANGUAGE OF CORNWALL.
No. 111. — [Continued from No. XXXV. p. 112.]
LETTER V.
LATIN.
After having examined several languages, whose connexion with the Cornish is
less evident, it is pleasing to meet with on to which it is intimately
allied. Its affinity to the Latin is particularly striking; as far, at least,
as respects words and derivations. Many of these are much disguised; and,
perhaps, in a philological question like this, it is better that they should
be so, as it leaves a presumption that they are either of very ancient
adoption in Cornish, or rather, that as well as the Latin, it took them from
some common source, and afterwards appropriated and modified them according
to the national inflection and pronunciation. I have already expressed myself
in favor of the Celtic origin of Latin; though, from a number of concurrent
causes, it has retained less of it than the British dialects. Exclusive of the
argument to be derived from the primeval language of the descendants of
Japheth having been but one, the early history of Italy furnishes us with
abundant matter for speculation. The country north of the Po was conquered
and peopled by Celtic colonies and Rome itself was often a sufferer from the
irruptions of the Gauls. Is it then astonishing, that when the several
nations in Italy were afterwards coalesced under the name of Romans, the
Celtic, the Aeolian Greek, and the Etruscan, should have constituted prominent
features in the new language? It was impossible that it should happen
otherwise; and I may add that this very philological peculiarity affords us
on of the best indirect confirmations of the truth of the early history of
Italy.
It is, however, necessary to use some discrimination in examining the Latin,
which is intermixed with the ancient language of Cornwall. As there are the
strongest grounds to suppose that the Cornish did not exist in a separate
state from the other British dialects, till after the Roman evacuation of the
island, it must
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(delwedd F6640) (tudalen 356)
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356 On the Ancient British
necessarily contain some of the Latinity of very different periods
Provincialisms might have existed in Cornwall from the remotest ages; but it
was only after they had much increased, that they could become entitled to
form a distinct language. It is, therefore, in the distinction of those
different periods of Latinity, that the difficulty principally consists.
When a language is allied to any foreign one, it is in consequence of either
a common origin, of commerce, of colonisation, of intermarriages, of
conquest, or of religion. All these causes at different times, have had a
decided influence on the structure of the Cornish dialect. It affords,
however, something like a chronological scale, by which the era of the
introduction of any particular Latin appellatives may be ascertained.
The most numerous class of Latin words in Cornish, are those which I shall
take to be derived from one common origin. The criteria I employ to
distinguish them are, that they are much disguised, and are expressive of
objects found in even the rudest states of society, and which must
necessarily have had names long before the Roman invasion of Britain. Thus we
have, Brawd, pater; Choar, soror; (Italian, suora) De, dies; Ffau, fovea;
Guest, vestis; Gwer, viridis; Kaff, cavus; Maur, major; Porth, portus; and
Traeth, tractus. These words are of the same origin as their Latin synonyms,
and yet they designate objects so simple, that they must have been so called
long before the natives either experienced the advantages of Roman commerce,
or were annexed as a province to their empire. They are also so much
disguised, and are so destitute of any thing like a classical modification,
that it cannot be for a moment supposed that these terms were adopted from
the conquerors, and that those which were previously in use, were suffered to
become obsolete. These are, therefore, the principal reasons that make me refer
so many apparent Latin words in the Cornish vocabularies to a Celtic origin.
The second class is that of expressions, on which there is something like
internal evidence that they were introduced in this British dialect during
the Roman intercourse. Exclusive of any reference to the trade which was
carried on with the Romans from the coast of Cornwall, long before their
conquest of Britain, their sovereignty lasted for several centuries, during
which they
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Language of Cornwall. 357
worked the Cornish mines; and even now, several places in Cornwall, with the
epithet of Ruan, still offer some faint attestation of the presence of that
people. It is therefore not surprising, that in those circumstances the
language of the Cornish should have borrowed more largely from it than that
of the Welsh whose country, of difficult access, and of agricultural and
mineral poverty, discouraged the invaders from attempting any permanent
settlement. But it was not so with Comwall, whose valuable tin stimulated the
avarice of the Roman adventurer, and became the reward of victory.
The Roman jurisprudence, one of whose severest animadversions was to punish
some criminals by making them labor in the mines (damnari ad metalla), had
also a tendency to diffuse the Latin language. Many of the unhappy beings
thus doomed to perpetual exile were probably from the continental provinces
of the empire, and knew no other language than Latin. Individuals thus
situated, and hopeless of ever being restored to their country, would
assimilate themselves to the natives, to whom they would in return impart
something of foreign speech and customs. It is rather to this operation of
the Roman law, than to any other cause, that I attribute the first connexion
of the Jews with the tin mines of Cornwall.
The ancient working of mines must have been different from that in present
use, or the labor required from the miners must have been excessive, as
otherwise the punishment of laboring there could not have been so dreadful,
or reserved as the requital of the most atrocious crimes. It is well known to
us in Cornwall, that the miners of the present day, though their stated labor
may be severe, have much leisure to tempt them to irregular habits and that
many of them prefer this kind of life to the more constant employ in
husbandry. (1)
1/ Does not this preference arise
from higher wages? Besides, they are not in a state of slavery, and forbidden
superas evadere ad auras, like the Roman criminals. — Ed.
But it is the mind which is
punished, when the law visits the crimes of any individual, and by depriving
him of his liberty, consigns him to any particular spot
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358 On the Ancient British
or employment. When this last is honorable, or at least not disgraceful, it
is sought after, as is the case with those who voluntarly settle in distant
colonies; when, to have been sent thither by the course of law would have
been thought an intolerable evil, though the labor of the exile might be but
slight, and the prospect of retrieving his character and circumstances be
considerable. If, then, our modern system of transportation is thus terrible,
it must have probably been from the same principle, that a condemnation to
labor in the Roman mines was productive of so large a portion of misery.
But to return from this short digression. — The words which I apprehend to
have been immediately derived from the Latin by Roman commerce and conquest,
are such as the following: Achesa, accuso; Bresych, brassica; Cusyll,
consilium; Dampnys, damno; Fryns, princeps; Kebister, capistrum; Oberur,
operarius; Padelh, patella; and Thistrewy, destruo.
The third and last description of Latin words in the Cornish, are those which
have been introduced into it by the Christian religion, and a few others on
different subjects, which are not to be found in any of the classical authors
but are the produce of a later and barbarous age. The greater part of those
religious terms are Greek. The very subject to which these terma refer,
evidently ascertains that they could not have been found in any of the
British dialects till a comparatively recent period. The Britons having no
terms of their own expressive of the mysteries of a religion, which was first
preached among them by foreign missionaries, naturally adopted, with some
corruptions, the very words by which they were designated in the language of
those instructors; and indeed even our modem English abounds in French and
other foreign expressions, which have been retained as the appellatives of
objects, which were unknown among us till their introduction from other
countries. As this subject leads to very important inferences, I will resume
it in another place.
At present it will be sufficient to give you lists of the principal Cornish
words under each of the three classes; for I have purposely passed over many,
and the disguise of more has concealed them from my researches. Some are so
disguised that I could not discover them till after a second or third
examination of the voca-
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Language of Cornwall. 359
bulary. You will be particularly struck that the first class is by far the
most numerous, which consists wholly of Celtic Latin words, and which I
think, from internal evidence, were known long before the arrival of the
Romans. Thie second class, which was evidently derived from the Latin, is
comparatively small; and the third class, from its own nature, contains but
few words.
From all these circumstances, I am inclined to believe, that Cornish has a
closer affinity to Latin than to any other foreign language; but it is
unnecessary to multiply proofs, when annexed lists of each class
are considered.
FIRST CLASS
Arghans, Silver, Argentum.
Bach, A stick, Baculum,
Baiou, Kisses, Basia,
Bara, Bread, Far.
Barf, A beard, Barba.
Breh, An arm, Brachium.
Byr, Short, Brevis.
Binh, An ox, Bos.
Cablas, To quarrel, Cavillare.
Cal, Cunning, Callidus.
Callys, Hard, Callosus.
Cane, To sing, Cano.
Caniad, A ballad, Cantus.
Cans, A hundred, Cantum.
Car, A friend. Carus.
Car . A chariot, Currus.
Caron, A deer, Cervus.
Cath, A cat, Catus.
Cans, Cheese, Caseus.
Chelioc, A cock, Gallus.
Clenniow, A hip. Clunis.
Clor Neatness, Clarus.
Coar, Wax, Cera.
Corf, A body, Corpus.
Corn, A horn, Cornu.
Criedry, To believe, Credo.
Croum, Crooked, Curvus.
Cuen, A wedge, Cuneus.
De, (1) A day, Dies..
1/ The Cornish days of the week
have the same names and tutelary deities a[s] the Roman: as, De Zil, Sunday;
De Lin, Monday; De Mer, Tuesday; De Merhar, Wednesday;
De Jeu, Thursday; De Guerna, Friday; De Sadarn, Saturday.
Diberh, Divided, Divisus.
Douthete, Twelve, Duodecim.
Dregas, To tarry. Traho.
Du, God, Deus.
Dues, A goddess. Dea.
Dug, A general. Dux.
Dyshas, A guide. Disco.
Ethen. A bird. Avis.
Elan, An elm. Ulmus.
Eru, A field. Arvum.
Estren, An oyster, Ostreum.
Falladon, Fraud, Fallo.
Fest, Quickly, Festino.
Foen, Hay, Foenum.
Frot, A narrow sea. Fretum.
Fulen, A spark of fire, Fuligo.
Fyn, An end, Finis.
Fyth, Faith, Fides.
Gavar, A goat. Caper.
Gluan, Wool, Lana.
Glihi, ice, Giacies.
Glud, Glew, Gluten.
Golom, A pigeon. Columba,
Gron, Gravel, Glarea.
Grys, To believe. Credo.
.
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(delwedd F6644) (tudalen 360)
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360 On the Ancient British
Guein, A sheath, Vagina.
Guenar, Love, Venus.
Guennyn, Poison, Venenum.
Gueny, Wind, Ventus.
Guest, A garment, Vestis.
Guest, A garment, VettiM.
Gugl, A vell, Velum.
Guiden, A tree, Vitis.
Guigan, A bladder, Vesica.
Guik, A village, Vicus.
Guil, A sail, Velum.
Guillua, A watch, Vigilia.
Guledh, A feast, Gula.
Gumpas, A plain, Campus.
Guyr, Truth & a man, Verus et Vir.
Gwerches, A virgin, Virge.
Helah, A willow, Salix.
Henn, or Sean, Old, Senex.
Henvill, Watchful, Vigil.
Hoarn, Iron, Ferrum.
Hor, A ram, Aries.
Jevam, A young man, Juvenis.
Juin, A nail, Unguis.
Kaik, Lime, Calx.
Kan, White, Canus.
Kay, Cause, Causa.
Kil, A neck, Collum.
Kivel, A horse, Caballus.
Kressia, To increase, Cresco.
Lader, A robber, Latro.
Laferrya, To work, Laboro.
Lagam, A lake, Lacus.
Laith, Milk, Lac.
Latha, To kill, Lethum.
Ledior. A reader. Lector.
Levar, The bark, Liber.
Leven, Smooth, Laevis.
Llydan, Of the shore, Littoralis.
Lor, The moon, Luna.
Lyv, A deluge, Luo.
Meddon, A meadow, Meto.
Medi, To mow, Meto.
Mel, Honey, Mel.
Meneth, A mountain, Mons.
Minnis, Little, Minimus.
Monal, A handful, Manipulus.
Mor, The sea, Mare.
Morus, To die, Morier.
Neith, A nest, Nidus.
Niull, A cloud, Nebula.
Nos, Night, Nox.
Notye, To note, Notare.
Nouydh, New, Novus.
Nyethy, Nuts, Nuces.
Ober, Work, Opera.
Ordnys, Ordained, Ordinatus.
Peg, Pitch, Piw.
Per, A pear, Pyrum.
Pesk, Fish, Piscís.
Peyny, To punisb, Puni.
Plegvys, To please, Placeo.
Plegya, To fold, Plice.
Porth, A port, Portus.
Praed, A prey, Praeda.
Pregeth, A prayer, Prex.
Ruid, A net, Rete.
Savarn, A savour, Sapor.
Seithyn, A week, Septem.
Setheh, To sit, Sedeo.
Seyeh, Dry, Siccus.
Splan, Clear, Splendidus.
Spoum, Scum, Spuma.
Stagen, A standing pool, Stagnum.
Steren, A star, Stella.
Tarv, A bull, Taurus.
Tor, A tower, Turris.
Trekh, A trunk, Truncus.
Trist, Sad, Tristis.
Tyr, The land, Terra.
Ver, An hour, Hora.
SECOND CLASS.
Bouin, Beef, Bovinus.
Cantuil, A candle, Candela.
Carchar, A prison. Carcer.
Ceany, To sup, Coeno.
Chaden, A chain, Catena.
Coltel, A penknife, Cultellum.
Cur’ A cure, Cura.
Cusyll, Advice, Consilium.
Defendis , To forbid, Defendo.
Dignahas , To deny. Denego.
Diriair, Money, Denarius.
Favan, A bean. Faba.
Ferclen, Dainties, Ferculum.
Figbren, A fig-tree, Ficus.
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Language of Cornwall. 361
Formys, Formed, Formo.
Forn, An oven, Furnus.
Fos, A wall, Fossa.
Fruyn, A bridle, Fraenum.
Genvar, January, Januarius.
Gras, Thanks, Gratiae.
Gueden, A widow, Vidua.
Gwal, A, wall, Vallum.
Gwyne, Wine, Vinum.
Gyryn, A crown, Corona.
Kegay, Hemlock, Cicuta.
Kelegel, A cup, Calix.
Kemyskys, Mixed, Mixtus.
Kog, A cook, Coguus.
Kynin, A rabbit, Cuniculus.
Laha, A law, Lex.
Legast, A lobster, Locusta.
Lew, A lion, Leo.
Litheren, Letters, Literae.
Lugarn, A lamp, Lucerna.
Lywar, Liqnor, Liquor.
Manag, A glove. Manica.
Medhec, A physician, Medicus.
Meliax, To grind. Molere,
Mins, A table, Mensa.
Mis, A month. Mensis.
Nedhez, Twisted, Netum.
Patal, A pan. Patella.
Pergrin, A stranger, Peregrinus.
Plobm, Lead, Plumbum.
Pons, A bridge, Pons.
Prev, To prove. Probo.
Remenat, Remnant, Remaneo.
Roz, A wheel. Rota.
Sekerden, Security, Securitas.
Sicer, Vetches, Cicer.
Sim, An ape, Simia.
Skientoc, Wise, Scientia.
Spax, A gelding, Spado.
Stol, A loose garment, Stola.
Streil, A flesh brush. Strigil.
Tavarga, A tavern, Taberna.
Tist, A witness, Testis.
THIRD CLASS:
Abat, An abbot, Abbas.
Beghas, Sin, Peccatum.
Benegyt, Blessed, Benedico.
Commaer, A gossip. Commater.
Creader, The Creator, Creator.
Cred, The Creed, Credo.
Crosadur, Creatores, Creatura.
Crois, Across, Crux.
Cugol, A hood, Cuculbus.
Desgibl, A disciple, Discipulus.
Drindaz, The trinity, Trinitus.
Ernskemmunys Excommunicated, Excommunicatus.
Ifarn, Hell, Infernum.
Ledior. A reader. Lector.
Nadelih, Christmas, Natalis.
Ordnys, Ordained, Ordinaitus.
Padar, The Lord's prayer, Pater.
Pechadyr, A sinner, Peccator.
Pranuter, A priest. Praedicator.
Speris, A spirit, Spiritus.
Synt, A saint, Sanctus.
Tasergys, Resurrection, Resurgo.
Temptys, Tempted, Tento.
THE FOLLOWING BELONG TO A BARBAROUS LATINITY.
Breson, A prison, Prisona.
Charrus, A plow, Charrua.
Clymmiar, A pigeon-house, Columbare.
Comfortye, To comfort. Comforto.
Gannel, A channel, Canalis.
Penakyl, A pinnacle, Pinnaculum.
Scrivit, Writings, Scribe.
Tahattal, Cattle, Catallum.
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(delwedd F6647) (tudalen 000a)
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THE CLASSICAL JOURNAL:
FOR
MARCH AND JUNE, 1819.
VOL. XIX.
???
EPIG. INCERT.
London :
PRINTED BY A.J. VALPY,
TOOKE'S COURT, CHANCERY LANE;
SOLD BY
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN; F.C. AND J. RIVINGTONS; SHERWOOD AND
CO., PATERNOSTER
ROW; PARKER, OXFORD; BARRETT, CAMBRIDGE; MACKREDIE AND CO., EDINBURGH;
CUMMING, DUBLIN; AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS.
—
1819.
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Cynnwys / Contingut / Contents /
Dalgh
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(delwedd F6649) (tudalen 221)
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On the Ancient Language of
Cornwall. 221
LETTERS ON THE ANCIENT LANGUAGE OF CORNWALL.
No. III . — [Continued from No. XXXVII. p. 1 12.]
LETTER VI
English, French, &c.
I closed my last letter with a
long list of Cornish words, and endeavoured to prove that that language is,
in great part, sprung from the same origin as the Latin; and I was the more
convinced of it, because the terms which designate common and simple objects,
for which the natives must have had names long before the arrival of the Romans,
are the most disguised, and that too with such a rude and unclassical
corruption, that they leave no doubt of their Celtic antiquity. I have also
shown that the second class of words is the next in point of number,
consisting of terms which were probably introduced by the Romans; but which,
from their pure Latinity, cannot be ascribed to a later period; while very
few indeed seem to belong to those ages, when that language had been
materially corrupted. From all these circumstances, it follows again, that
all the elements of the Cornish must have already existed, when the Romans
evacuated Britain, and that the epoch, when Arthur is said to have florished,
may be regarded as that in which the Cornish tongue had acquired its highest
degree of purity.
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(delwedd F6650) (tudalen 222)
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222 On the Ancient British
The Cornish differs from the languages of mere Roman descent, so that it
cannot be supposed that the Latin, with which it abounds, was acquired from
the conquerors of Britain. It is too rude and too anomalous in its disguises
to admit of such a supposition; while on the contrary it retains deeply
imprinted the marks of its Celtic origin, which the Latin has lost during its
progiess towards improvement. How different is the Latin found m Cornish,
from what it is in Italian and Spanish! These latter tongues are in fact
nothing but the Latin which was spoken in those countries, which, after
having been corrupted, has since been smoothed into a grammatical form. If
the Cornish was a Latin descendant, why should it not also have preserved
something of a classical appearance, like the other modern languages? but
since it has not, and yet so many of its primitives have the same meaning as
the like in Latin, it is obvious, that it is not derived from it; but from
some origin, which has been common to both, — and this is the Celtic.
As to the Saxou, French, and
words of other languages, which occasionally occur m it, many of them were
not borrowed till many centuries after, and seern to have increased as the
purity of the Cornish tongue decayed; though m some cases it is doubtful,
whether those nations did not rather take them from a Celtic dialect, than
the latter from them.
It is also possible that some of
the Cornish words found in the modem languages, were originally Celtic, and
continued in use, notwithstanding the ascendancy of Latin on the Continent;
but were never naturalised in that language. The continental provinces necessarily
retained something of the tongue of their ancestors, which was nearly allied
to, if not the same as, that of Britain. This is therefore another reason,
why so many French and English words seem to be related to the Cornish. To
begin with Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. It cannot be imagined that much
connexion has ever existed between the Cornish dialect and the languages now
spoken in those countries. I have however discovered a few words, which may
be referred to each, though I confess that the resemblance may in some cases
have been entirely accidental. Some of these also are originally Latin, and
have no other claim to our attention, than that, disguised as they now are,
they bear a nearer resemblance to words in those three languages, than they
do to their common original. They are the following:
Cornish. Italian.
Cabydul. A chapter. Capitolo. A
chapter.
Dyrog. Before. Ditto. Straitly.
Foge. A blowing house tor melting
tin. Foga. Violence.
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(delwedd F6651) (tudalen 223)
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Language of Cornwall . 223,
Cornish. Italian.
Guaya. To move. Viaggiare. To
travel.
Guilter. A mastiff. Veltro. A
greyhound.
Korolli. To dance. Carola. A
dance.
Magon. A house. Magione. A house.
Miraz. To look. Mirar. To look.
Prest. Soon, quickly. Presto.
Soon, quickly.
Buttein. A lewd woman. Puttana. A
lewd woman.
Scarz. Short. Scurso. Scarce.
Cornish. Spanish.
Bras. Cruel.
Bravo. Savage.
Cama. A
surplice. Cama, camisa. A
bed, a shirt.
Guidh. A vein.
Veta. A metallic vein.
Len, full. Lleno. Full.
Muy. More. Muy. Much.
Cornish. Portuguese.
Bar. A top. Bar. A Bar, or sand
bank.
Cadair. A chair. Cadeira. A
chair.
Maur. Great. Mor. Greater.
Moz. A maid. Moça. A maid.
It is singular that some Cornish
words take a as a prefix, as in agris, I believe; agowsys, I say; asgarn , a
bone, &c. and that the same thing should also be observable in
Portuguese. Thus it is in afear, to make ugly; afontarse, to dare; afugentar,
to put to flight; almosoda, a cushion; alambre , amber, &c. It is the
Arabic article al, which has not only been retained before the derivatives
from that language, but also prefixed to words, which have been adopted from
the Latin. When we consider the long duration of the sway of the Saxons and
the Normans in Britain, it is natural to inquire, whether any traces of their
speech can be discovered in the aboriginal language. On examining the Cornish
vocabulary, it is evident that it contains several French and English words;
I understand by this, such terms as are now common to them and the Cornish, I
will not inquire how many of these may be of a Saxon, Teutonic, or Latin
origin, as it is more than probably, that they have been borrowed from these,
and not from the Cornish; which, since the formation of the languages of its
powerful neighbours, adopted from them several terms for which it had no
names. All such words therefore became a constituent part of the Cornish,
though of a foreign origin, and were gradually introduced into it in the
course of ages, and subsequently to the Saxon and Norman conquests.
It is well known that none of the
ancient conquerors of Britain adopted any of its languages, which they were
accustomed to consider as dissonant, unpolished and barbarous. The conquered
nation must be possessed of an interesting, if not superior literature, as
the Greeks were, before it can attract the conquerors to its
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(delwedd F6652) (tudalen 224)
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224 On the Ancient British
study. On the contrary, it was
the policy of the Romans to diffuse civilisation and their literature, to the
disuse of the languages, customs and prejudices of the natives. And they
succeeded in it so completely, that though their empire has been extinguished
nearly fourteen centuries in the West, yet their laws still govern, and
corruptions of Latin still form the basis of several of the modern languages
of the Continent. During the Roman sovereignty, the British tongues became
confined within more narrow limits; and it was during that period, that those
Latin words were incorporated with the Cornish, and which l have given in my
second list. It was thus that the Roman power had a tendency to corrupt the
aboriginal speech of the conquered countries.
The Saxons also had as little
inclination to cultivate the native dialects, as the Romans. A mutual
animosity long subsisted between them and the Britons; and when afterwards
the former had yielded to civilisation, and the mild genius of Christianity,
and the horrors of war had ceased, they had already a language of their own;
or else their learned men preferred to cultivate theology in Latin, to the
investigation of the dialect and the fables of a rude and illiterate people.
It was thus that little or no Cornish was borrowed by the Saxons.
The same cause also operated with
the Normans. They endeavoured to effect a total subversion of all English
establishments: having seized on the government, and usurped a great part of
the property of the kingdom, they introduced their own institutions, and by
the encouragement given to the French language, it seemed as if they wished
to forbid the vanquished to think and express in the words of their ancestors,
that though they were then subjugated, yet that like them they had once been
free. In such conquerors as these, it was not to be expected that the extent
of the Cornish should be increased.
But the Cornish people, insulated
on a narrow peninsula, were necessarily obliged to mix with their conquerors;
and as it is not to be supposed that they would feel any particular anxiety
for the preservation of their language, they adopted from convenience and
choice, some of those words, which I have selected from the vocabulary.
Some of the following are Saxon
derivatives, as Angus, anguish; Grontys, a grant; Gurch , a wreck; and yet, a
gate; others are remotely Latin, but too much disguised to be admitted as
immediate derivatives, such as, Chastys, to chastize; Falsney , falsehood;
Spong, a spunge; Tshappal, a chapel; Tshofar, a chafing-dish, &c. A few
real Cornish words have also become English, as Aval, an apple; Aban, above;
and Lode, a metallic vein. On the other hand some seem to have been very
lately adopted from
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(delwedd F6653) (tudalen 225)
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225 Language of Cornwall.
the English, and when the Cornish
tongue was already verging to its extinction. Such are the terms Pokkys miniz
, the small-pox; and Tybacco, tobacco.
There are much fewer French than
English words in Cornish; a striking circumstance, as it confirms what
historians have recorded concerning the failure of the Normans in
substituting their language for that of Britain. These may also be divided
into classes, like those which are of English derivation. Thus we have first,
Dawns, une danse; Clof, clopiner; Parleth , un parloir; and secondly, Dilvar,
deliver; Feur, une foire; Fya, fair: Jugye , juger; Parhemmin , parchemin;
and lastly we have, Gravior , un graveur; and Panez , un panais.
For the sake of perspicuity, I
add lists of most of the English and French words which have occurred to me
in Cornish; observing, however, that in my examination of the latter with so many
languages, many primitives through their disguise may have escaped me, whilst
I have purposely omitted a few, whose derivation appeared doubtful, or too
remote to establish any thing like a common origin.
P.S. The following words, which
are now used in the English language, are also found in Cornish.
Angus. Anguish.
Aval. An apple. (1)
1/ The p and v are convertible,
as hyper, super, over, and in Italian sovra and sopra. [ Aval is also German.
Ed.]
Banniel. A banner.
Bargidnya. To bargain.
Barliz. Barley.
Befer. A beaver.
Benans. Penance.
Benk A bench.
Brauan. Brawn.
Broche. A buckle.
Byddin. A band.
Chasty. To chastise.
Chein. The chine.
Dispresyas. To dispraise.
Distryppas. To strip.
Dzerken. A jerkin.
Emmet. An emmet.
Emperur. An emperor.
Falsney. Falsehood.
Faut. A fault.
Gene. A chin.
Ghambla. To climb.
Glane. Clean.
Goaz. A goose.
Govaytis. Covetousness.
Grontye. To grant.
Guayn. Gain.
Gurek. A wreck.
Hali. Holy.
Hueg. Sweet.
Hull. An owl.
Kandarn. A caldron.
Karatsh. A cabbage.
Kerdy. Cords.
Klut. a A clout .
Kober. Copper.
Kopher. A coffer.
Kuillan. A quill.
Launter. A lantern.
Mowys. Mouths.
Parc. A field.
Pea. To pay.
Planhan. A plank.
Plymon. A plum.
Pokkys miniz. The smallpox.
Pour. Power.
Pyteth. Pity.
Rakkan. A rake.
Redic. A radish.
Redyn. To read.
Rostia. To roast.
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(delwedd F6654) (tudalen 226)
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226 A Letter on
Rud. Red.
Scorgyas. To scourge.
Sira. A sire.
Skarkeas. A shark.
Skent. Scanty.
Skenys. Sinews.
Sleppia. To slip.
Sparria. To spare.
Specyal. Special.
Speitia. To spite.
Spekhiar. To speckle.
Spendys. To spend.
Spong. A spunge.
Spykes. Spikes (nails)
Stoc. The stock of a tree.
Strevy . To strive.
Tach. A tack (a nail).
Teed. A tide.
Throppys. Dropped.
Tretury. Treurhery.
Trud. A trout.
Tshappal. A chapel.
Tshimbla. A chimney.
Tshofar. A chafing-dish.
Turnupan. A turnip.
Tybacco. Tobacco.
Wan. Wan ( weak).
Yet. A gate.
The following are the French words which are also found in Cornish.
Berges. Un bourgeois. A citizen.
Cowz. Causer. To speak.
Cloch. Une cloche. A bell.
Dawns. Une danse. A dance.
Denater Dénature. Unnatural.
Dreyson. Trahison . Treason.
Encois. Encens. Incense.
Feur. Une foire. A fan.
Flair. Flairer. To smell.
Fol. Fol. Foolish (mad).
Fyas. Fuir. To fly.
Gajah. Un gazon . A da??y (turf).
Gangye.
Changer. To change.
Gannel. Un canal. A channel.
Gheon. Un géant. A giant.
Gravior. Un graveur. An engraver.
Gueret. Un guéret. A furrow.
Juntis. Les jointes. The joints.
Jugye. Juger. To judge.
Kloppeck Clopiner. To halt.
Panez. Un panais. A parsnip.
Parheminin. Du parchemin. Parchment.
Paun. Un paon. A peacock.
Pouis. Un poids. A weight.
Sols. Un sol. A penny
Sowmens. Du saumons. Salmons.
Stanc. Un étang . A pool.
Suif. Du suif. Tallow.
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(delwedd F6655) (tudalen 000a)
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THE CLASSICAL JOURNAL:
FOR
SEPTEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1819.
VOL. XX.
???
EPIG. INCERT.
London :
PRINTED BY A.J. VALPY,
TOOKE'S COURT, CHANCERY LANE;
SOLD BY
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN; F.C. AND J. RIVINGTONS; SHERWOOD AND
CO., PATERNOSTER
ROW; PARKER, OXFORD; BARRETT, CAMBRIDGE; MACKREDIE AND CO., EDINBURGH;
CUMMING, DUBLIN; AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS.
—
1819.
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(delwedd F6656) (tudalen 000b)
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Cynnwys / Contingut / Contents /
Dalgh
Letters on the Ancient British
language of Cornwall. No. IV, [sic; = LETTER VII]…..169
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(delwedd F6657) (tudalen 169)
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169
LETTERS ON THE ANCIENT BRITISH LANGUAGE OF CORNWALL. No. iY, [Continued from
No. XXXVIII. p. 226.]
LETTER VII.
ORTHOGRAPHY, &c.
The uncertain orthography of the Cornish may be esteemed as one of its
principal defects. This is, however, a consequence of the circumstances in
which it existed, as the uncultivated language of a small and imperfectly
civilised people, it is well known how difficult it has proved to establish a
canon of orthography in the several modern languages. The spelling of
Petrarch and Boccace, though they are still the standards of Tuscan elegance
and purity, is different from that of the modern Italians. In fact, a
language may be highly refined, and yet have no settled orthography; this can
only become fixed through the medium of learned societies, as of the
Academies Della Crusca, and those of Paris and Madrid; or as with us, when a
great number of eminent authors preponderate by their example, and firmly
establish their practice. But those languages, which have had neither of
these advantages, must be uncertain in their orthography. Of this a
remarkable instance occurs, among the moderns, in the Portuguese, which has
fixed its canon neither by means of any learned body, nor by the uniform
practice of a sufficient number of celebrated writers. Vieyra’s Dictionary is
full of references to words, which are differently written. If this is then
the case in a living, polished, and even classical tongue, what a confusion
may we not expect in the extinct, unwiritten, or rarely written, and almost
unknown dialect of Cornwall? Instead of the authority of great authors, or
even of printed books, there remain in it only a few manuscripts, which were
composed at distant periods, in which the words were wiitten according to the
discretion of each of the authors; a few other trifling fragments, taken from
the oral conversation of the common people, were afterwards committed to
writing, according to their different pronunciation, or as the sounds might
have been caught by different hearers. This diversity of spelling the Cornish
was therefore unavoidable; and a material, if not the principal inconvenience
arising from it, is that it adds to the disguise and corruption of the foreign
words, so that some of them can no longer be recognised. In
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(delwedd F6658) (tudalen 170)
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170 On the Ancient British
such a perplexity, it must have been difficult to be accurate in a
Vocabulary, though, with a few blemishes, such a point might have been
attainable by a reference to the synonyms. But I am sorry to say, that when
Dr. Borlase began to treat about the language of his ancestors, his former
diligence seems to have forsaken him, and that he was then merely
endeavouring to finish his book as quickly as possible. As an antiquarian and
a naturalist, he was undoubtedly possessed of great acquirements; hut he
appears to have been no linguist, in the sense that the word would be now
understood. Some of his words have the usual reference to their synonyms,
which are differently spelt; but in general they are unnoticed; of others he
only gives particular cases and tenses, and without pointing out the root, as
in Bym, I have been; Cardonion, friends; and Cuthens, covered. On the whole,
it is evident, that the Vocabulary was made in haste, and with very little
attention either to the selection or the arrangement of the materials. I am
even inclined to suppose that the compiler was not aware of the identity of
many words, which appear to be merely inflections of the same word. However,
as an inquiry into facts, and not censure, is the object of these remarks, I
will proceed to give a few instances of those words which are variously
written.
Agrys. Cresy. Criedzy. Grys. To believe.
Ameneu. Emenin. Butter.
Annerh. Onowr. Honour.
Beghas. Fehas. Peghas. Sin.
Beyn. Peynys. Peyny. Poan. Poenis. To punish.
Brawd. Breur. A brother.
Car. Carer. Keer. Ker. Kerd. A friend.
Carou. Karo. Karu. A deer.
Caus. Kez. Kezu. Cheese.
Cheliock. Colyek. Kelioc. Kulliag. A cock.
Churisigen. Guzigan. A bladder.
Clehe. Glihi. Kllihi. Ice.
Coed. Coit. Cos. Cuit. Kois. Knit. Kuz. A wood.
Coth. Coz. Goath. Goth. Koth. Old,
Cuuz. Gouz. Kouz. To speak.
Cugol. Kiigol. A monk's cowl.
Dan. Deins. Dyns. A tooth.
Dayer. Dir. Dor. Doar. Doer. Oar. Ter. Tir. Tyr. The earth.
De. Dyth. A day.
Den. Deeti. Dien. Dyn. Teen. A man.
Dus. Duz. Tez. Tiez. Tiz. Tuz. A man.
Edhen. Ethen. Ezen. Idhen. Ithyn. A bird.
Edzhewon. Eshowon. Jedhewon. Jews.
Ehual. Euhal. Hecuhal. Heual. Uchal. Ughel. Uhal. High.
Euin. Juin. Winaz. Nails.
Gil. Guil. Gul. Gyl. To make.
Gual. Gwal. A wall.
Gweder. Gwydr. Glass.
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(delwedd F6659) (tudalen 171)
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Language of Cornwall. 171
Gueden. Guiden. Uedhn. A widow.
Guer. Guirdh. Gwer. Green.
Gueth. Kueth. Clothing.
Gurah. Gruah. An old woman.
Gydhaz. Jugye. Yuggye. To judge.
Halein. Haloin. Halen. Heln. Holan. Holoine. Telliz. Zal. Salt.
Helwys. Hoalen. Hylwvys. Whole. Wole. To weep.
Heuul. Houl. Sul. The sun.
Jevam. Yonk. A young man.
Ladh. Latha. To kill.
Lait. Lath. Leath. Milk.
Leven. Leuan. Lovan. Lowene. Pleasant.
Maen. Mean. Men. Mein. Vean. A stone.
Maruo. Merwy. To die.
Neith. Nied. A nest.
Noaz. Noydh. Naked.
Pechadyr. Pehadyr. A sinner.
Pendzhivic. Penzivik. A gentleman.
Pesk. Pisc. Pysga. Pysgaz. Pyzgh. Pusgar. Fish.
Pouis. Poes. Pois. Poiys. A burden.
Res. Ros. Rosh. A valley.
Scasys, Seha. Seygh. Zeuh. Zeh. Zeth. Dry.
Seera. Sira. A father.
Seitham. Seithyn. Zeithan. A week.
Seth. Zeth. An arrove.
Seubellen. Senbilen. Ysenbell. A broom.
Ti. Tshei. A house, &c.
I am far from having selected in
this list all the Cornish words which are differently spelt. — They are
however sufficient to leave no doubt concerning the great discrepancy which
exists in the orthography, though it must still be owned, that a few, though
derived from the same source, seem to have always been distinct words : as
Brawd, Breur, from frater; and Churisigen, and Gurigan, from vesica.
Thus far I have examined the
Cornish Vocabulary, and compared it with the above languages, though with
what success, it is not for me to determine. — Let it be however remembered,
that to compare and to trace words under the several disguises in which they
may present themselves, is at best tedious to the reader, but how much more
so must it be to the patience of one who undertakes to write on such a
subject! lt is, however, better to proceed thus, than to hazard assertions,
which cannot be proved, or to labor at the establishment of any particular
theory, which does not rest upon a solid basis. I have therefore adhered to
no particular opinions of any former authors, but endeavoured to ascertain
facts by a careful collation of the scanty remnants of the Cornish Dialect.
Hence my conclusions are at variance with tliose of some former writers, who
have but too often re-echoed the sentiments of each other." In the first
place, l have found, (or, to be more
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(delwedd F6660) (tudalen 172)
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172 On the Ancient British
Language of CornwalL
guarded,) I have made it probable, that no ancient Phenician intercourse
could have ever been so considerable, as to have had a decided influence on
the language of Cornwall; and that the Hebrew which it contains, is too
little to be worth mentioning. I have also shown that Dr. Pryce is unfounded
in his opinion, that it is mostly derived from the Greek. I suspect that most
of those who argue for its connexion with the above languages, are not aware,
that much of this is the offspring of national vanity, and of the pleasure of
being able to write on topics, which are little understood. On the contrary,
I conclude that its basis is to be found in the Celtic, combined with a large
mixture of classical, though disguised Latin. To complete the whole, it is
also alloyed in some measure with English and French, and a very few terms
from other modern languages.
It results moreover from this examination, that this western tongue is so far
from being a primitive, that it is a compound of many, and therefore cannot
be very ancient. I would assign the eleventh century, the age of the Cotton
manuscript, as that when all its component parts had been amalgamated, and it
existed in its greatest purity, as distinct from the other British Dialects.
As these have undoubtedly admitted in themselves less of a foreign cast, they
are purer, and more ancient. The Cornish may be considered as the youngest
sister: having borrowed so much from foreign countries, its sounds are not
inharmonious, and it is certainly free from the gutturalisms of the Welsh.
The Cornish holds the same place among the Dialects of Britain, that the
English does among the languages of modern Europe. Both are alike compounded
of many others, and therefore have been brought the latest to perfection; and
both possess peculiar advantages of their own, which are in a great measure
derived from their formation from such a heterogeneous mass.
The disguise of words, to which I have so frequently alluded, is intimately
connected with the discrepancies of orthography, and is the part of our
subject which naturally follows next. This shall therefore form the subject
of my next letter, as it will make many of my subsequent remarks more
intelligible. The causes of this disguise are various, as they are owing to
the addition, the change, the suppression, or the transposition of letters.
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(delwedd F6661) (tudalen 000a)
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THE CLASSICAL JOURNAL:
FOR
SEPTEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1819.
VOL. XX.
???
EPIG. INCERT.
London :
PRINTED BY A.J. VALPY,
TOOKE'S COURT, CHANCERY LANE;
SOLD BY
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN; F.C. AND J. RIVINGTONS; SHERWOOD AND
CO., PATERNOSTER
ROW; PARKER, OXFORD; BARRETT, CAMBRIDGE; MACKREDIE AND CO., EDINBURGH;
CUMMING, DUBLIN; AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS.
—
1819.
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(delwedd F6662) (tudalen 000b)
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CONTENTS OF NO. XL.
Letters on the Ancient British Language of Cornwall.
No V…..260
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(delwedd F6663) (tudalen 260)
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260 On the Ancient British
LETTERS ON THE ANCIENT BRITISH LANGUAGE OF CORNWALL.
LETTER VIII . — [Continued from No. XXXIX. p. 172.]
LETTER VIII.
DISGUISE OF WORDS - DIGAMMA.
The disguise of words, to which I have often had occasion to allude, is a
matter of the highest importance in the theory and the structure of language.
It is also an object of difficulty, as in their transition from foreign languages
the original primitives can be scarcely recognised. It is, however, a long
and intricate subject, and which would require to be discussed in a separate
treatise, and with the greatest accuracy. It would be thus that many
philological affinities, might
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(delwedd F6664) (tudalen 261)
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261 Language of Cornwall.
be discovered, which are not even supposed to exist. The following
observations are rather made with a view to vindicate myself than otherwise,
as many of my derivations,would perhaps appear fanciful without such an
explanation.
1. The disguise of some words consists a great deal more in the spelling than
in the pronunciation; and thus an Englishman, when he meets with foreign
words, will naturally articulate ttie letters according to his own language,
and destroy whatever similarity might have still remained. What can be more
different than journal and day, young and juvemis? and yet there can be no
doubt of their common origin. This becomes much more probable, when we
recollect, that the Roman j and v were
pronounced like our English y and w.
The Italians have retained the sound of y to their j, in Jaspide, Jasper,
tempj, times; while, the Spaniards have nearly digammated it into an
aspirate, as in Boda'os; Junta, a
Junta. The variations of Young are Giovane, It,; Joven, Sp.; Jeune, French;
and Jevam, Coruish, all of which have the same origin as Juvenis; and though
they are totally different, when pronounced in English according to their
orthography, yet they evidently retain a certain resemblance as they are
pronounced by those different nations.
2. Foreigners will not express the same words alike in writing; but will
modify them in some measure according to the sounds, to which they liave been
accustomed. This accounts for the extraordinary discrepancies of navigators,
when they give us the same appellations derived from barbarous and unwritten
languages. This is remarkably striking in the imitation of the sounds of animals,
and indeed in none more than in the discrepant similarity in the name of the
cuckoo; (1)
1/ The Hebrew word for a cuckoo is ??, which,
is thus rendered in our trauslation; but it may also mean a sea-mew, which I
should prefer, as the word ?? bears no analogy whatever to the note of the
ibrd contrary to what is the case in so many other languages, (Lev. xi. 16.).
??; cuculus; cuculo and cucì,
It.; Coucou, Fr.; Cuclillo, Sp.; Cucò, Port.; Gôg, Corn. Is it then
wonderful, when there is such a variety in expressing a sound, which is
annually repeated in the ears of millions, that travellers should disagree in
reporting words, which they may have never heard pronounced but once?
3. Foreign words have often in themselves something, which cannot be pronounced
in the language of the countries where they become naturalised. Having never
been accustomed to corresponding sounds, the South-Sea Islanders could
imitate no nearer the names of Cook and an axe, than tootee and opyss; thus
contrary to all the usual substitutions of letters turning the c into a t,
and the x into yss; and yet however
strange this perversion, and distant the resemblance, there can be no doubt
of the derivation. We may also suppose that our navigators, on the other
hand, did not corrupt their words less. Even nearer home to us, the French
turn the th into d and t and the
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(delwedd F6665) (tudalen 262)
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262 On the Ancient British
w into v; or like the Greeks in ?? and ?? into ou and b, as in ??, ??,
&c.
4. Another cause of the disguise of foreign words, is when there exists a
natural impediment to the pronunciation of the people, I meani when they are
called on to imitate sounds which are unknown to their language. An immediate
corruption follows; the nearest sounds can only be had recourse to, and the
words become totally different from their original, though the constant
regularity of their deviation indicates the particular letters which could
not he pronounced.. Thus some modem nations, unable to articulate the Roman
p, have adopted other letters, as for pluere and plangere, we have piovere,
and piangere, It.; llover and llorar, Sp.; and chover and chorar, Port. These
nations, therefore, having this difficulty in the pl, expressed it in the
best way they could, - and employed those letters, which seemed to their ear
to approximate most to the original sound. But nothing can be more dissimilar
to the eye, or as read by an Englishman; and I confess, that unless I had
paid attention to the subject, I could not have guessed that these letters
were substituted for each other.The Greeks and Romans could express the s
followed by a consonant, as in ??, spondeo, and in this they are followed by
the English, Italians, and Cornish in spunge, spongia spong; spirit, spirito,
speris; star, stella, steren; which in French; Spanish, and Portuguese, make
éponge, esponja; esprit, espiritu, espirito, étoile, estrella.
3. Words are not only disguised when they lose or alter some of their
letters; but this likewise happens, when the original pronunciation remains
the same throughout several languages. Differeut nations employ different
symbols to represent similar sounds. It is thus that what is in fact similar
in sound and signification, loses every trace of its former appearance, so
that it cannot even be suspected, what it originally was, except by those who
have studied the subject. Even many who understand the languages, and are
acquainted with the synonyms and their meanings, have no idea that, when they
are analysed, they spring from one common origin. It only happens, however,
when the languages have corresponding sounds; for if they have not, the words
either change their letters as cilium; It. ciglio; or else they retain their
form, without any attempt to designate the pronunciation, as in the Italian,
certo and cima, which are in French certain and cime. Of different but
similarly pronounced symbols, we have major; It. maggiore; gudizio, jugement,
judgment. The correspondents of gn in It. compagno, are in the Hebrew ??, he
upheld; Sp. compañero. Port. companheiro, and the English companion. Again,
Vemiglio, It.; bermello, Sp.; vermelho, Port.; and vermillion, French and
English, are all nearly symbols of the same sounds. It is therefore plain,
without an unnecessary multiplication of examples, that this disguise of the
letters is not less common, or less intricate to be discovered, than that of
the others, which depend on a combined alteration of the letters and the pronunciation.
6. When the disguise is constant, there is no difficulty in restoring
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(delwedd F6666) (tudalen 263)
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Language of Cornwall. 263
words to their original state, plorare and pluere, from llorar and llover; or
stagnum and spica, from estanque and espiga. This is one of the most easy,
and yet most important points to acquire in the study of languages, as after
having detected the several disguises, the affinity of the different
phraseology becomes such, that the memory is materially assisted, and that
some appear to be but dialects of each other; as is observable in the Hebrew,
the Chaldee, and the Syriac: the Latin and its cognale tongues; the English
and the Saxon.
7. Some languages have the peculiarity of shortening their derivatives. Thus
the French and Portuguese say seul, so, (1)
1/ this, together with the diphthong ou, and the soft c with a cedilla, seem
to prove an affinity between the French and the Portuguese, which must be as
ancient as Count Henry, a Burgundian prince, who with a body of military
adventurers, founded the latter monarchy about the end of the eleventh
century.
alone; voir, ver, to see; lire, ler, to read; mal, ma, bad; nu, nu, naked. It
is also a peculiarity of this latter language, that it strikes off, or
digammates consouants the middle of words, as in coroa, a crown; cea, a
supper; fea, foul; nao, a ship; voar, to fly, and bateis, boats.
The Portuguese also, in subservience to the genius of their language, turn
the l into r, as in crovo, a nail; pranto, (planctus,) weeping, and praya, a
coast. The Cornish, unable to express the initial v, compensated it by gu, as
in guer, true; guennyn, poison, and guest, a garment; or they articulated the
English ch by Tsh, as in Tsjappañ. a chapel; or the v again by th as in
seithyn, a week, and ethen, a bird, from septem and avis. They also assume
the aspirate for the loss of the Latin s in Helik, a willow, and Huigeren, a
father-in-law, from salix and ékhurós, thus returning to the Greek
undigammated words in ?? and ??. The s, the English y, (2)
2/ thus vulgarly yate for gate.
and the aspirate are nearly allied, and it is but according to the nature of
the sound, that they should be oflen corrupted and substituted for each
other. The Cornish seem also sometimes to pronounce the w like the Welsh, as
in lew, a lion, and tarw, a bull. It is, in shape as in sound, nothing but
the Greek u. The substitutions of the several other letters in Cornish are
almost endless, and will be better understood from the extracts I have
already given from the vocabulary, than from any more detailed account in
this place.
8. There are sometimes sounds which, in the course of permutation into their
own language foreigners cannot pronounce; and which instead of corrupting,
they entirely omit. Thus the Italian c and the English ch have no
correspondent in French, when we say cerass, cherry, cerise; nor have the
Italians a sound like ch in charbon. The English combines the three sounds of
c in chess, card, and censor.
9. The disguise of words is almost infinite, and cannot be reduced to any
general rule. Some words are disguised to an extent, that could not have even
been conjectured. Many of these instances, however, can admit of no doubt,
and I think that many of those who use
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(delwedd F6667) (tudalen 264)
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264 On the Ancient British
either sherry or jalap do not know that they are indebted for both to the
districts of Xeres and Xalapa. The mistake arises from the Spanish x, which
is a guttural, and pronounced something like our sh; and we have expressed
that x by a similarly sounding symbol in our language. It is impossible that
the disguise of words should be anywhere more striking than in religious
appellatives. Thus from ?? we have in English Jew; Juif, French; Giudeo, It.,
and Cornish Jedhewon. It would be tedious to follow the same, if not greater,
variations, in the words ??., ??, ??, &c. (1)
1/ By a most strange perversion we have bottega from ??, which the Italians
borrowed from the Greeks; called also by the French boutique; and as men m
similar circumstances have recourse to the same means, the Americans call a
shop, a store; and the Spaniards give the name of lavaderos to the places,
where the gold dust is collected, like the Cornish miners, who call the
corresponding places for tin, stream works.
10. The disguise of words is not confined to their spelling, but also extends
to their meaning, though this latter is much less subject to variation than
mere sounds. Most words impart their ordinal signification to their
derivatives; but still the exceptions are numerous, and therefore one cannot
be too cautious in the interpretation of one language by another. Thus copy,
evidence, reject, repair, and supply, convey very different ideas in English
from what they do in Italian. Some of the German Biblical commentators have
fallen into this mistake, when they met with difficult words, or with such as
occur but once in the sacred text, and had recourse to the synonyms in
Arabic, and advanced interpretations from it, which are at variance with the
most valuable translations.
11. Though it is one of the essential properties of languages, that their
pronunciation should be different, yet sometimes they have features of
resemblance in that respect, and where it might have been the least expected.
Particular sounds in one language thus become common to another, as has been
already observed in the Italian c and the English ch, and it is not
improbable, that the r so frequent in Portuguese, is the Hebrew ?? derived to
it from the Moors. The most striking feature of the kind, however, is the
aversion of the Spanish language from the letter f, a circumstance well known
to every scholar, as being common to the Greek in the disappearance of its
digamma. Possibly the Spaniards experience the same difficulty in pronouncing
that letter, which the Greeks did; and if so, it must have been from their
long familiarity to the same sounds, and incapability of uttering any other.
Be it as it may, the coincidence is most complete. Thus we have hacer, to do;
higo, a fig; hoja, a leaf; honda, a sling; horca, a fork; hosco, dark; huir,
to fly; humo, smoke; hierro, iron, and several others which are derived from
the Latin f. Those words which begin with two consonants retain the f; as
flagrar, to sparkle; frangir, to break; and this is also observable in the
Greek as in ??, to tremble, and ??, to be wise. From
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Language of Cornwall. 265
filum we have hilo and filo; and vios, after having been disfigured in filius
and all its derivatives, is at length found again in Spanish in almost its
primitive form in hijo.
12 . Words are still more highly disfigured, when adopted in the dialects of
a barbarous age. Under some of the foregoing heads, I have considered words
as reported by voyagers, who accommdated them as much as they tould to sounds
in their own language. Little dependence can be placed on their accuracy. But
how much more inaccurate must be the derivatives, which are found in the
modern languages! The influx of rude and barbarous nations into the Roman
empire corrupted the Latin; or, to speak more accurately, it began to be
pronouuced according to the particular accent of the invaders. This change of
pronunciation necessarily created a disguise which from its combination with
continual solecisms produced a new dialect. This new production for a long
time was despised, and being neither committed to writing, nor having any
other fixed standard, became subject to still greater vicissitudes. Words,
which were at first but slightly altered, at length became so disguised, as
to lose every type of their original resemblance. While they borrowed from
foreign languages, the vulgar did it in the most ignorant way, so as to be
even ridiculous, as in the Spaniards mistaking the Arabic article for a part
of the word itself, in nearly all they took from the Moors, as in algodon,
cotton; alcalde a magistrate; alchymia, alchymy, &c. Thus they wrote a
solecism and a disguise in the very same word. After these alterations of the
common people, another important change still remained, when the language
began to be cultivated. With a view to be polished, and reduced to a
grammatical system, the words still underwent a much greater aberration from
their roots. All these processes are so many different steps, which account
for a more considerable corruption than when words are reported according to
the ear of a traveller, or when common use transplants them from a living
tongue, retaining the orthography, if not the pronunciation. The modern
languages, French and Italian, were in their infancy much less disguised in
their Latin derivatives, than they are at present. Petrarch spelled much
nearer Latin than the modern Italians; and the French have since dropped many
unpronounced letters, though some are still retained in the plural of their
verbs. The pronunciation may also be. supposed to have participated in the
deterioration of orthography; and what was still articulated with a Roman
accent in the fifth century, gradually .departed from it, so as to leave us
uo doubt, that the former is not less corrupted than the latter.
13. The reverse of the above is true with respect to words, which are but of
late introduction into modern languages. They are indeed the words which are
the least disguised, as they labor under the disadvantage neither of having
descended to us through, distant ages, nor of having been imported from
unwritten dialects by the deceitful ear of travellers. Of this number may be
reckoned the Greek names, which have been adopted by the moderns to designate
particular arts and sciences. Thus polity, philosophy, physic, &c. have
been altered
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On the Ancient British 266
in nothing but the termination; and the same rule also holds good with
respect to the Latin words which have been lately naturalised among us, and
which eminent authors have recommended for the sake of elegance and energy,
as in to concede, to interpolate and to lubricate; and in conciliation,
detrusion, obliquity, and recrimination. From this we may infer that it is by
foreign conquests, and in barbarous ages, that languages become corrupted;
and that on the other hand, whatever learned or mixed languages borrow from
each other, is but comparatively little altered in the transition.
14. Languages either add or take away letters from words for the sake of
sotening the pronunciation, or to be adapted to the national idiom. The
theory of the Greek digamma, about which so much has been written, and which,
it must be allowed, was a fortunate discovery, amounts to no more than this
definition, it is in fact not peculiar to the Greek; but traces of it may be
discovered in all languages; and though it may chiefly affect the f and v,
yet it is also sometimes applied to other letters. I take the digamma to be
nothing more than a suppressed consonant, whatever it may be. A very short
discussion will render this evident. Thc Greek,. like other smooth languages,
dropped harsh or sibilant letters, for the sake of a concourse of vowels, as in
?? and ??, while the Latin retained the primitive forms in ovum and sol. The
Greek words, as they now are, have been, if the expression can be allowed,
truncated and smoothed down. The reason is plainly this, that finding it
difficult and unmusical to articulate particular letters, the Greeks either
removed them, or sometimes compensated them by an aspirate, as in ??, and ??,
Hesper and Vesper. Even the k may be a substitute of the Diganinia, as the
Hebrew ??, Greek, ??; Latin, cornu; English, horn. From the Hebrew ??, the
Greeks have digammated their ??, and the English their whole; and from ??, it
is thus that we have each. The Cornish also has brodal (1)
1/ Thus the Hebrew ?? is
expressed in Roman characters by h and ch, as ?? in the Septuagint ’??, and
in our English translation, Ahab.
and brochal, a sleeve; and carhar
and carchar, a prison. Next the f and v, the s seems to have been oftenest
struck out by the Greeks, as in ??, sum, I am; ?? socer; ??, serpo; ??, sal;
??, six; heptà (2),
2/ Umbra resumes its digamma in
the Spanish sombra. The following word has taken at different times the three
cognate digammatic letters, f, s, and h, ??, ficus, and higo. Andalusia has
lost the digamma from Vandalusia. The Indus it now the Sinde.
seven, &c. Again, ?? takes
the v in the Latin video, and the s, as in the English, to see; or as ??, to
end. The Greeks do not always reject the ??, since they have retained it in
??, and not in ??. The t and the d are also signs of the digamma, since the Hebrews
say ??, the Greeks ??, and the English, earth; instead of what the Latin and
its cognates have expressed by terra, and the Cornish by dôr and tyr. The
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Language of Cornwall. 267
Hebrew ?? in ??, the grave, disappears in its English derivate hell. The
Romans unable to pronounce the harsh and guttural ?? in ??, he made,
approximated to it in facio, which from the genius of the Spanish language, is
restored to something like its original form in hacer. I have already
observed that viós returns at length to hij'o; but in Latin the digamma is
expressed in that.very word by f and l. The Italians and the Portuguese, in
imitation of the Greeks, have dropped the l for the sake of a more pleasing
concourse of vowels, as the poetic plurals of the former have augeil, birds;
caval, horses; strai, arrows; for augelli, cavalli, and strali; while the
latter have in the plural, baris, barrels; and bateis, boats, instead of
bariles, bateles. Naus after having retained its digamma in Latin, resumes
its Grecian softness in the Spanish nao; and I apprehend also that ?? is a
digammated form of the Hebrew ??, blood.
I have just observed that the y is sometimes the letter restored in Greek for
the digamma, as in ??; and the parallel also holds out throngh the modern
languages, as ?? gives us in Cornish henath; August in French is Août (1)
1/ Voltaire retains the Latin
form, and writes it Auguste.
Germanus makes in Spanish
hermano, and in Portuguese irman, a brother. The transitions of ?? are
remarkable; in Latin eo, in Italian, pres. vo, 3d of the perfect poetic, gio,
inf. gire and ire in English go; in Spanish ir, and in Portuguese hir; all of
which, varied as they are, leave no room to doubt of their common origin. The
Greeks generally omitted the ??, for which they had no equivalent, as in ??,
and ??; except in a few proper names, in which they expressed it by ??, as in
??, ??; but it is not so commonly known, that they had before employed the c
for the same purpose, as from ?? (2)
2/ It has frequently been
observed that stammerers find a particular difficulty in pronouncing the s
and k. Such persons therefore are exactly in the situation of the Greeks and
Hebrews, who digammated words beginning with those letters owing to an
imperfect pronunciation. The c in the French recif, is lost in our English
reef.
they made ??, from which have
sprung the several derivatives of corvus, corvo, corbeau, and crow. Some
Portuguese words want the n to be restored to their digammated form, as in
pessoa, a person; some the d, as nua and crua; some the final vowel, as
acçens and varoens, heroes; and some even substitute nothing for a vowel, but
an aspirate, as foIho, a leaf, and molher, a woman; or after losing a
syllable and its consonant they contract it into a circumflex monosyllable,
as iôr, a color, dôr, grief, and môr, greater. I should therefore be induced
to conclude from these observations, that the digamma is nothing more than a
particular disguise of words, and that there is perhaps no language from
which instances of it might not be selected. It is also evident that the
modern languages have had largely recourse to expedient of truncating, or
digammating their words like the Greeks, and that in that
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(delwedd F6671) (tudalen 268)
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268 On the Ancient British
respect, they have a nearer affinity to Greek than this last has to the
Latin.
Besides some of the more common changes of letters, the Cornish, in common
with the above-mentioned languages, is materially affected by the digamma. It
is thus that we find bara, bread, from far; haloin, from ??, salt; houl, from
??, the sun; and huigeren, a father-in-law, from ?? It is, however, in
compound words that it is most conspicuous, as fymara, my head, where m is
substituted for b, to suit the euphony of the. Cornish; or where the I
vanishes in composition, as in Boscawenun, Bocawen downs; Lan-y-ún, the
church on, the downs; or where the b and g disappear |n certain words, as in
Goonhilly, the colt’s downs; and in streil, (1)
1/ The digamma of ego is
remarkable throughout the modern languages; Ia, It.; yo, Sp.; ew, Port.; je,
French; ich, German; and I, Eng.
strigil, a flesh brush. The f and
c are also removed in hoarn, iron; halan, the calends; and horf, from corpus.
The l is sometimes prefixed for euphony, as lavalu, instead of avalu, an
apple-tree. The h, f, m and p, are changed into v in composition, and thus
hara, bread; fos, a ditch; mean, a stone; and penedh a hill, become vara,
vos, vean, and venedh. The s after having been removed is compensated by an
aspirate, as in henn, senex; foch, sus; and huih sex.
15. The digamma is found in the middle of words, or as I mean by the term, when
any letter is suppressed. This happens to several Greek words, which in Latin
assume the v, as ??, boves; ??, laeris; and ??, ovis. This also applies to
other letters, and it is on this principle that I take the Portuguese, Lisboa
and coroa, to be digammated; and as when the Attics drop the s in ??, ??. The
l disappears in Portuguese as in coor, door, which have been since
circumflexed in côr and dôr; so does the g, as in ler, and the d, as in erer;
or the b in Cornish, as in Gooneilly, (2)
2/ Originally Goonebilly, from
goon, a downs, and ebol, a colt. It is a down of some miles in extent, not
far trom the Lizard, and formerly celebrated for its small and hardy horses,
the breed of which waus destroyed by some regulations of Henry VIII. The down
took its name from the horses, and has since been made into an awkward
English compound, Goon-hilly.
which is now contracted and
Anglicised into Goon-hilly, It is therefore obvious that the digamma is
expressed by different letters in the middle, as well as in the beginning of
words; so that those scholars are by no means to be depended on who
invariably reduce words to their primitive form by adding to them and or a V,
which, on the contrary, often prevents them from airiving at the true
derivation.
16. The application of the digamma to Homer was a lucky thought, and the
metre itself is the best guide where it ought to be inserted. This brings it
to a degree of certainty which could not have been attained if the Iliad had
been in prose. I am of ojiinion that the poet wrote th words complete, but
that they have been since modified and altered by the same genius, which has
made horf of corpus, hermano of germanus, and voar of volare. The consonants
having since
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(delwedd F6672) (tudalen 269)
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Language of Cornwall. 269
been left out in pronunciation, Homer began to be written as he is now. The
consequence of this would be, and it so happened, that the metre should
become defective, so that it could be restored only by reverting to the old
orthography and pronunciation. The application of the digamma has afforded a
most ingenious approximation to this point. (1)
1/ It would appear from the
following passage, that the digamma or truncating of words was already
beginning to be introduced in the age of Homer.
??
?? 531.
17. It may be remarked, that this discrepancy in the Greek pronunciation
affords an additional argument for the antiquity of Homer. In the time of
Herodotus, Greek was written as at present; revolutions in language require
ages to be effected, and therefore since the digamma had so early disappeared
from pronunciation and writing, it is a very natural conjecture that a long
period must have already elapsed between Homer and Herodotus. It is thus that
philology supports chronology, from which we learn that the former lived 900
years before Christ, and more than before the latter. The digamma also affords
an indirect proof that the poems of Homer could not have been the work of
some more recent writer, as it is not likely that any literary impostor could
have made so many deviations from the common prosody. Though apparently
irregularities, these, when examined by means of the digammatic principle,
appear to be free from every anomaly.
18. The Homeric digamma differs from that in the modern languages, because it
was inserted at an ancient, and afterwards omitted at a more recent, period;
while in these it is very recent, and only of the same age with their
formation from barbarous dialects. The digamma was lost in Greek after that
language had attained its highest purity; but the Spanish one has not only
been adopted in that country, but it still continues in use. Where nothing
has been lost, no deficiency can be felt, and therefore no inquiry is made.
It is the truncated state of Homer’s verses, which led the critic to this
discovery; but in the modern languages, where the digammated letters were
lost at their first formation, that has not been perceived, the disguise has
been uninvestigated, and therefore it has not been established that the
present modern digamma, which, by vanishing, has disfigured so many Latin and
other foreign words, has acted on the same principle as that which has
disappeared from the orthography of Homer.
19. The following remarkable passage occurs in the preface to Lhuyd's Cornish
Grammar, and which is the more vakie for an illustration, as he cannot be
supposed to have been making in it the most distant allusion to our
digammatic theory. “When you see that we turn the English words, to laugh, to
play, to whistle, bitter, six, sister, in the language of Guench, xuerthin,
xuare, xuibany, xueru, xuex, xuaer; and in the Armoric, xoasin, xoari,
xuibanat, xerro,
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(delwedd F6673) (tudalen 270)
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270 On the Ancient British
Language, &c.
xeux, xoar; but in the Cornish,
kuerthin, guare, huibanat, huero, hui, hor; we know then very easily that the
Cornish is changed. For the like passages are never thus turned by the people
of the Welsh Guenez; and the people of Lezou have learned to turn from
them." It seems, then, that the Welsh and Armoric x has ben in Cornish
changed into h; but x in some languages is either turned into s, or
pronounced as such, as in Sersie, Alessandro, Xabon, Xeringa, instead of
Xerxes, Alexander, sapo, syrina. By applying this rule to the Webh, its x
will then be to be only considered as a ditferently shaped s, the hissing
sound of which was afterwards changed for a cognate aspirate in Cornish. Next
to the f and v, there is not a letter that more often supplies the place of
the digaiiima in Greek than s, thus, ??, sal; ??, socer; ??, serpo; ??,
sylva; ??, sus, &c. It is rightly observed in Valpy’s Greek Grammar, p.
193, “The aspirate is generally expressed in Latin by s,” or, in other words,
that the aspirate becomes s, and that at a further remove it may be written,
if not prouounced, x. It is therefore a striking affinity that Cornish and
common Greek should have removed the s to compensate it by an aspirate.
But there is still another point of view. The Cornish bears nearly the same
relation to Welsh, or its derivate, which the common tongue of Greece does to
the diction of Homer. The old Greeks and the language of Guench wrote their
words complete, which in cognate dialects, and at more recent periods, were
truncated of their digammas. The Cornish and the common Greek are therefore nothing
but modernised forms of the two more ancient languages. There are no
languages that have not some sounds which are common and the same in each,
and therefore since the disappearance of the digammatic s is so evident in
Cornish, the parallel in Greek must have happened from the same cause, a
difficulty of pronouncing the s; so that this structure of Cornish words, as
remarked by Mr. Llnyd, niaterially confirms the conjectures of former critics
coucerning the Homeric digamma.
These are a few of the numerous
aspects under which words appear to have been corrupted in different
languages. I have treated the subject only cursorily, and no farther than my
present object required, that I might vindicate myself from the imputation of
having been perhaps whimsical in some of my derivations. It is, however, of
that importance in philological point of view, and is calculated to throw so
much light on the origin, the pursuits, and the history of nations, that it
would deserve to be discussed in a separate essay, and by a more learned,
acute, and able pen than mine. It is, however, with reluctance that I close
my observations on this part of the subject. D.
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THE CLASSICAL JOURNAL:
FOR
MARCH AND JUNE, 1820.
VOL. XXI.
???
EPIG. INCERT.
London :
PRINTED BY A.J. VALPY,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET;
SOLD BY
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN; F.C. AND J. RIVINGTONS; SHERWOOD AND
CO., PATERNOSTER
ROW; PARKER, OXFORD; BARRETT, CAMBRIDGE; MACKREDIE AND CO., EDINBURGH;
CUMMING, DUBLIN; AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS.
—
1820.
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(delwedd F6676) (tudalen 000b)
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CONTENTS OF NO. XLI.
Letters on the Ancient British Language of Cornwall.
No VI. 62 [sic; = LETTER IX]
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I.ETTERS ON THE ANCIENT BRITISH
LANGUAGE OF CORNWALL.
No VI. — [Continued from No. XL. p. 270.]
LETTER IX
COMPOUND WORDS, &c.
After having examined, in my last letter, the different ways, in which words
are disguised, I may be permitted in this to proceed with some remarks more
immediately connected with the Cornish dialect. The first suggestion however
that occurs, is how far researches into a subject of the kind may be attended
with some utility. (1)
1/ Dr. Borlase thus expresses
himself in the Preface to his Cornish Vocabulary: "In the present
language of my countrymen, there are many words, which are neither English,
nor derived from the learned languages, and therefore thought improprieties
by strangers, and ridiculed as if they had no meaning; but they are indeed
the remnants of their ancient language, esteemed equal in purity and age to
any language in Europe.
“The technical names belonging to the arts of mining, husbandry, fishing and
building, are all in Cornish, and much oftener used, than the English terms
for the same things. The names of houses and manors, promontories, lakes,
rivers, mountains, towns and castles in Cornwall, especially in the Western
parts, are all in the ancient Cornish. Many families retain still their
Cornish names. To those, therefore, that are earnest to know the meaning of
what they hear and see every day, I cannot but think that the present Vocabulary,
imperfect as it is,(and as all Vocabularies; perhaps are at first,) will be
of some satisfaction.”
(Antiquities of Cornwall; p. 375.)
It is indeed true, that Cornish
is not of that importance which attaches to the ancient and modern tongues, that
may be called classical. I understand by the term those whose standard has
been fixed, and have now become valuable by the productions of eminent
writers. As these characteristics certainly do not be-
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Language of Cornwall. 63
long to the Cornish, it can be interesting only as an object of antiquarian
and etymological research. These are, however, points of the highest
consequence to the philosophical inquirer into the origin, and the history of
nations, and sometimes they are the only confirmation that we can obtain of
our conjectures respecting the state of former days. For instance the
etymology of the Cornish, as having been derived from several foreign
tongues, remarkably confirms the truth of history concerning the several
nations who have at any time either traded or settled in the west. The marks
which they have left on the language attest the truth of history. It is owing
to this mixture of foreign idioms, that the Cornish have so much less of an
original cast, than the other British dialects. An acquaintance with Cornish
remains, may also be singularly useful in the study of antiquities,
especially of such as are connected with the ancient Britons. It must,
however, be acknowledged, that a great part of the interest it excites, is of
a local nature; but I apprehend that this objection also applies to every
other tongue, that has never enjoyed any extensive circulation. It cannot
fail to be important, as connected with general literature, to add to its
accumulated stores, by preventing any particular dialect from sinking into
oblivion, and to exhibit its excellencies and defects. If attempts to
preserve the aboriginal languages of America and the Southern Islands, are
commendable, how much more so must be the endeavour to form an acquaintance
with the scattered fragments of the speech of their ancestors!
The most striking utility of Cornish to general readers, is the helps which
it affords in explaining the local names of men and things. There is no part
of the worid where the proper names are so entirely original as in Cornwall;
and there is in them an extraordinary variety, which is occasioned by the
particularly diversified scenery of the county. As to English local names in
Cornwall, they are but few, and even those are evidently of modern date. To a
stranger travelling there, and indeed to almost all the natives, those
Cornish words are as entirely destitute of meaning, as if they were Sanscrit.
It is not perhaps generally proper to learn the language of any country,
merely for the sake of understanding the nomenclature of its topography; but
to natives and residents, an acquaintance with it to a certain degree, is
desirable. It enables one at once to guess at the locality of any place, and
on looking over a map, to detennine the face of the country from the names;
and even where the inferior objects of buildings, woods, mines, and
enclosures have vanished, we are enabled to assign them their former
positions, without the assistance of history, or even of tradition. A
Cornishman unacquainted with these several terms, is in fact to be compared
to one, who is a stranger in the land of his ancestors; and while he mentions
any particular spots,
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64 On the Ancient British
it must continually appear to him as if he had succeeded to an unknown race
of men, and was expressing the sounds of a dead and barbarous tongue.
I have had occasion to mention in several of my former letters that the
Cornish is not guttural, and that it is much more harmonious than any of the
other British dialects. It is indeed so far from being disagreeable, that if
it had been cultivated by a polished people, it would have been particularly
smooth and elegant. It has none of that frequent concourse of consonants,
which so much disfigures some of the modern languages; and I have no doubt
that a foreigner would find it much easier to articulate any given number of
Cornish than English words.
The Cornish derives a particular advantage from the expressiveness of its
proper names; as indeed it is singular that there are few or no places in
Cornwall, whose names are not connected with some local circumstance. And yet
could this have been the nomenclature of a barbarous people? Their accuracy
in this respect forms a striking contrast with the fanciful, unmeaning, and
sometimes ridiculous appellatives of modern discoveries. The Cornish ought to
be a pattern to our modern navigators. Valvenna. the old moor; Hendra, (1)
1/ There are exceptions when the
substantive is not placed before the Adjective, as in this Hendra, from Henn,
old, and Tre, a town, or rather village; or in Camelford, from Cam, crooked,
Hel, a river, and Ford, a passage. ,
the old town; Handue, God’s
enclosure, or the church-yard; Meantol, the holed stone; Portreath, the sandy
cove; Tregoose, the wood farm; Trenance, the village in the valley; these are
a few from some hundred proper names, and which are all equally expressive.
After so many revolutions, religious as well as political, it is really
surprising that those names have not only been retained, but that they have
been so little altered. Conquerors and new settlers, and even the descendants
of the natives, in general either adopt new, or so corrupt the old names,
that they can be no longer recognised. This happened in the nomenclature of
Europe after the subversion of the Roman Empire, as the like has more recently
taken place ih the European colonies in the two hemispheres, in the almost
unaccountable omission or perversion of native names. But the Cornish
appellations of the hills and vallies still remain to attest the abode of
former generations, and by these faint but lasting memorials, they remind
their posterity, that the country is still the same, and that they inhabit
the very spots, which were the scenes of the residence and of the pursuits of
their forefathers.
A few Cornish names, however, seem to have given way to modem ones,
especially in those of parishes, as in St. Ives,
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Language of Cornwall. 65
St. Mawes, and St. Just; but even these are very ancient, as they must be
referred to that remote period, when Christianity was first introduced, and
the Cornish, from religious veneration, gave the names of their Saints to the
new division into parishes. The words have also been very differently
pronounced at different periods, and this has occasioned some of that
diversity in the orthography which I have already noticed; and there is also
a disposition to Anglicise Cornish names, whenever they bear any resemblance
to English ones, (1)
1/ I recollect being once called
up very early, by a new servant, a native of Plymouth, as Tom Genys wanted
me; but on coming down, I was surprised to find, that I had been sent for to
the village ot Tremagenna.
as in Port Isaah, The Lizard,
Pendennis, and Brown Willy, instead of Porth-iz-ick, The vilage of corn
creek; Lanherd, The projecting land; Pen-dinas, The hill of fortification;
and Brae-an-wellon, The hill of high crags.
The Cornish abounds in compound
words, as may be seen in the different names of places. They are generally
formed of two words, and, oceasionally, of three; but they consist of only
from two to four syllables. Thus we have Chyprase, the house in the meadow;
Clowance, the valley of echoes; Tre-mabe, the boys' village; Killi-grew, the
eagles' grove; Lan-hadron, the thieves’ valley; Resugga, the moist valley;
Killi-gorrick, the grove on the water-side; Pen-callinick, the hill of the
holly trees; and Menadowa, the rocky place by the water. Some are contracted
into a monosyllable, as Choone for Chy'-un, digammated from Chy-goon, the
house on the common; and some of three syllables are made into two, as
Kill-ock, from Killy-oke, the oak grove. Few languages could express so much
within so small a compass, or with so much smoothness. Among the compounds of
three words are the following: Cois-pen-bayle, the wood at the river’s head;
Hel-men-tor, a rocky hill on the moor; Pen-hal-veor, the head of the great
moor; Tre-gust-ick, the wooded house by the brook; Tre-men-hir, the long
stone village; Tin- tag-el, the good fortification on the moor.
I observed in my last letter, how
very often Cornish words are digammated. This was done chiefly to avoid any
collision or harshness of sounds, and for that reason consonants were
removed, and the vowels coalesced, as we have just seen in Choone, from
Chy-'un and Chy-gûn; and again, Ar-allas, upon the cliff, and Ar-owan, on the
rivulet, are put instead of War-allas and War-owan; while Bus-var-gus, the
house on the top of the wood, and Clow’ance, are put instead of Bus-war-gus,
and Clow-nance. In short, it seems to have been the genius of the language to
soften all asperities, and at the same time to retain its manly character by
not admitting an unnecessary concourse of vowels. By not removing the
superfluous consonants, how very disagreeable would be
VOL, XXL Cl. Jl. NO. XLI
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(delwedd F6681) (tudalen 066)
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66 On the Ancient British
the corresponding English compounds, Meadhouse, Thieves’ Vale, Woodfarm,
Wood-top moor, Moorstone hill, &c. This harshness is owing to our
retaining all the consonants in our composition, and which makes it almost
impossible to compound words in many cases, especially when they are
monosyllables.
The Greeks, like the Cornish, softened their compounds by dropping certain
letters, as in ??, ??, ??, and ?? 'I'he disadvantage of Greek compounds,
however, is, that the words become of an immoderate length, and occupy nearly
as much room as if they had been expressed in a separate form.
The Cornish is free from this defect, as the greater part of its compounds
are only of two, and a few are at the most of three syllables. It is thus
that it combines the advantages of the Greek and the English compoumls,
without incurring the length of the former, or the harshness of the latter.
Contrary to the Greeks, whose compounds consist of only two words, the
Cornish have sometimes three, and yet they neither lengthen the word too
much; nor render it disagreeable, as in Bud-och-vean, the little oak haven;
Tre-van-nance, the village in the great valley, &c.
The Cornish compounds are mostly formed of two monosyllables, which are
occasionally softened, as has been said before, by the removal of the
redundant letters, as in Clowance, &c., while others again are connected
by the particles a, an, u, and y, or by ar, bar, gan, vor, or war. (1)
1/ To these may be added, ga,
gor, bartha, and wartha, as in Tregaminion, the house of stones; Tregorricb,
the house by the brook; Trebartha and Trewartha, the upper house.
All these occur in, Meuadowa, the
rocky place by the water; Chy-an-dour, the house on the water side; Chy’n-
hale, the house in the moor; Lan-y-un, the church on the downs; Ar-allas,
upon the cliff; Chi-bar-bes, the house on the high green; Chi-vor-lo, the
house by the great pool; Tre-gan-hom, the iron house; and Ty-war-'n-haile,
the house on the moor. Sometimes also letters are added for euphony, as
Guste-vor, for Gus-vor, a large wood; and Lant-eglos, for Lan-eglos, the
inclosed church. This use of the t to harmonize sounds is the same as in the
French y a-t-il? (2)
2/ Is not the original
termination of the verb in this instance retained rather than a letter
arbitrarily inserted for Euphony? Ed.
Greek proper names are often nothing more than possessives, as in ??, ??, ??,
the synonyms to which are rendered in Cornish by two words, as Mor-va, a
place by the sea; Tremelzy, the honey farm; and Ellen-glaze, green elms. The
Cornish compounds sometimes consist of a substantive and an adjective; but
more commonly of two substantives, with or without a connecting particle.
This is owing to the paucity of Cornish adjectives, as Nan-killy, Carn-glaz,
Pen-trivel, and Tre-vor-der; all of which, if in Latin, would be thus
expressed, Vallis nemorosa,
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(delwedd F6682) (tudalen 067)
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Language of Cornwall. 67
Rapes viridis, Caput equinum, and Domus palustris. This is the same idiom as
that which so frequently occurs in Hebrew, and from the same cause, and which
Grammarians call the regimen as ?? a delightsome land, (Mal. iii, 12.) ??,
lying, (Prov. xiii, 5.) good blessing, (Prov. xxiv, 25.)
Several lists have been made of the Cornish proper names, some of which have
received different meanings; but this is not surprising, when we reflect,
that when the translator has been at a loss, he may have conjectured at a
meaning from actual localities; and on the other hand, it is well known how
difficult it is to trace a multiplicity of proper names, in a language of which
only a few scattered fragments remain, and which is now totally extinct. Many
of those appellatives also can undoubtedly hear different significations, yet
with all these disadvantages, I apprehend that it would be less arduous to
interpret any given Cornish nomenclature, than that of the Greek places in
the second Book of the Iliad.
Such then seem to have been some of the excellencies by which the Cornish
language was distinguished, even in the rude and imperfect state of the
people by whom it was spoken. It is then evident that it would have been
susceptible of a high degree of cultivation, and might possibly have even
surpassed many of those tongues, which, at different periods, have been the
vehicles of useful science and elegant literature, and afforded the means of
communication between numerous assemblages of men. But it is with languages,
as it is with individuals; it is not always those who originally had the best
pretensions, who are advanced to eminence and fame. The language of a large
and powerful population becomes an object of attention, and in the course of
ages it is progressively improved, till it receives the highest degree of
perfection, which, in its nature, it can admit. But the dialect of a small
and insulated race, is deprived of those external supports; ami whatever may
be its original merits, it is left to itself, till it decays unknown and
unregretted, and is finally merged and lost in its more powerful neighbours.
The Cornish was the least unmixed of the British dialects; but it was at the
same time the most harmonious and the most improveahle. It is indeed to be
lamented, that after so many ages, and the convulsions of so many political
storms, none of these dialects should have become the tongue of some great
European nation. I cannot also but express my regret that the one which I
have now been endeavouring to elucidate in these letters, should have been
that which has been the first extinct, which has been the least cultivated,
which has been spoken by the smallest tribe, which the fewest attempts have
been made to preserve, and which, but for a few philological antquarians
would have entirely sunk into oblivion. D.
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(delwedd F6683) (tudalen 000a)
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THE CLASSICAL JOURNAL:
FOR
MARCH AND JUNE, 1820.
VOL. XXI.
???
EPIG. INCERT.
London :
PRINTED BY A.J. VALPY,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET;
SOLD BY
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN; F.C. AND J. RIVINGTONS; SHERWOOD AND
CO., PATERNOSTER
ROW; PARKER, OXFORD; BARRETT, CAMBRIDGE; MACKREDIE AND CO., EDINBURGH;
CUMMING, DUBLIN; AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS.
—
1820.
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(delwedd F6684) (tudalen 000b)
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CONTENTS OF NO. XLII.
Letters on the Ancient British Language of Cornwall.
Lett. X. 238
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(delwedd F6685) (tudalen 238)
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238 On the Ancient British
LETTER X.
Cornish Extracts.
HAVING in my former letters compared the Cornish with those languages, to
which it bears the greatest affinity, and endeavoured to trace its phraseology
under its several disguises, you will now expect that I should give you some
account of the writings that are still extant in it. Unfortunately, its
remains are few, scattered, and difficult to be procured; and, as
compositions, possessed of little literary merit. The Cornish manuscripts are
characterised as the works of men, who wrote to please a rude and illiterate
people. What remains is mostly in verse, and is an inferior kind of sacred
poetry. But it is foreign to our subject to enter into any examination of the
sentiments, or to reprobate the absurdities which occur in those writers. Let
us consider them merely as the vehicles in which the language is now
preserved; and because they were composed while it was yet in common use, we
may very properly suppose that they are pure, or in other words, that they
represent it as it was then spoken. It is therefore in this point of view
that those manuscripts are valuable. It is indeed on the examination and
study of these, that the only possibility of examining the Cornish language
depends.
I wish it had been so far in my power to inspect those venerable relics so as
to have given you such an account as would be mutually satisfactory. As it
is, I can offer you but few original remarks,
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(delwedd F6686) (tudalen 239)
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Language of Cornwall, 239
and must, in a great measure, give you the substance of what has been said by
others.
The most ancient Cornish manuscript is the Cottonian. It is supposed to be of
the eleventh century. It is a vocabulary, which was mistaken at first for
Welsh; but when examined by Mr. Lhuyd, the archaeologian, he pronounced it to
be Cornish. He thus speaks of it in a letter to his friend Mr. Tonkin. “I know
not whether I mentioned that I had sent Mr. Moor a copy of an old Cornish
glossary in the Cotton library. It is a valuable curiosity; being probably
seven or eight hundred years old. If you cannot procure it, you shall have a
copy of mine: alphabetically, or in the order of the Cotton MS. which is in
continued lines, but with some regard to natural order.” (Polwhele’s Hist, of
Corn. vol. iii. p. 32.) Dr. Borlase has incorporated it in the vocabulary at
the end of his Antiquities of Cornwall.
There are two manuscript poems in Cornish, which have been preserved in the
Bodleian library. (1)
1/ Bib. Bodl. b. xl. Art. given by James Button,. Esq., of Worcestershire.
An. 1615.
They were dramatic, and are such as might have been expected to be produced
about the fifteenth century, among a people little acquainted with
literature. The mysteries of religion were the subject of the modern drama in
its infancy, perhaps borrowed by the Cornish from their continental
neighbors. It was not their original invention, as the silence of those who
have written on the subject would lead us to infer. The second of these
manuscripts is of the beginning of the seventeenth century, and is said to
have been expressly composed for the purpose of being represented in an
ancient British amphitheatre at St. Just, near Penzance. The language was
then declining, and the poet must have written rather as it formerly was,
than as it was then actually spoken. I cannot do better than give you Dr.
Borlase’s account of those compositions in his own words.
“Another general custom was the play or interlude in the Cornish tongue. Of
these plays the subjects were taken from Scripture, and the design suitably
good, even that of instructing the common people in the meaning and
excellence of the Holy Scriptures; although the design, it must be owned, is
executed in a coarse and rude manner.
“There are two manuscripts in the Bodleian library, which contain some
interludes, or, as the author calls them, Ordinalia: the first, in parchment,
written in the fifteenth century, exhibits three Ordinalia; the first treats
of the creation of the world, the second of the passion of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the third of the resurrection. The other manuscript is on paper
written by William Jordan, An. 1611. This has only one Ordinale, of
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(delwedd F6687) (tudalen 240)
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240 On the Ancient British
the creation of the world and the deluge. There is a third book written in
Cornish on vellum, which Mr. Ed. Lhuyd, late keeper of the Museum at Oxford,
received from John Anstis, Esq., Garter King at Arms. It treats of the
passion in metre, but not in dramatic dialogue, intitled Mount Calvary.
The first Ordinale of the creation begins thus (God the Father speaking):
Cornish.
“Eu Tas a Nef yur Gylmyr,
Formyer pub tra a vydh gwrys,
O nan, ha tryon, yn gwyr,
Eu Tas, han Mab, han Spyrys;
Ha hethyn me a thesyr,
Dre ou grath dalleth au Bys.
Y lovaraf, Nef, ha Tyr
Formyys orthe ou brys.”
Englished.
“The Father of Heaven I the maker,
Former of every thing that shall be made,
One, and Three, truly,
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit;
Yes — this day it is my will
Of my especial favor to begin the world.
I have said it — Heaven and Earth,
Be ye formed by my counsel.
“This metre is not ill chosen or unmusical.
“The scanning to be performed in the following manner:
“Eu Ta-sa Nef-yur Gyl-wyr,
Forrny-er
pub-tra vyth-gwrys, &c.
“It is the Trochaic Heptasyllable, otherwise called the Trochaic Dimeter
Catalectic. It consists of three trochees and a semiped. Aristophanes was
very fond of it at times.
“In Latin, Horace adopts it.
“Non ebur nenque aureum.
“In
English, Shakspeare frequently uses it; and Dryden for his tenderest numbers:
“Softly sweet in Lydian measure,
Soon he sooth’d his soul to pleasure.
“The language suits the metre; as the subject is sublime, the composition is
not unsuitable, as may be seen by the above and following stanza:
Yn peswere gwreys perfyth
Then bys ol golowys glan,
Hoga hynwyn y a vyth
An Houl, an Lor, h’ an Sieryan.
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(delwedd F6688) (tudalen 241)
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Language of Cornwall. 24l
Me a set a Nugh an gueyth
Yn creys an Ebron avan,
An Lor yn nos, Houl yn geyth
May rollons y golow Splan.
“In the fourth (day) I shall make perfect
For the world all the resplendent lights.
And I will that they be called
The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.
Then will I place them on high
In the midst of the firmament above,
That the Moon by night, the Sun by day,
May yield their glowing splendor.
The stanza consists of eight verses with alternate rhymes; sometimes this is
changed for a stanza of six, of which the first and second are of one rhyme,
the fourth and fifth of another, and the third and sixth line of a third
rhyme; but the heptasyllable metre continues throughout, with few deviations,
in this piece and all the others.
"The poetry is the least exceptionable part of these interludes: a
person called the Ordinary was the chief manager; every thing was done as he
prescribed, and spoken as he prompted. The persons in the drama are numerous:
in this no less than fifty-six in number; in the second, sixty-two; in the
third, sixty; princes, patriarchs, saints, angels (good and bad), and even
the persons of the ever-blessed Trinity are introduced. Unity of time,
action, and place, is not at all attended to; this first-mentioned play runs
through a space of time from the creation to king Solomon's building the
temple, and incongruously ordaining a bishop to keep it. It takes in also the
fabulous legend of the martyrdom of Maximilla; in which part the actors are a
bishop, a crosier-bearer, a messenger, four tormentors, the martyr, Gebal and
Amalek. The bishop gives to the tormentors, for putting the martyr to death,
Behethlan, Besaneth, and all Chenary. King Solomon speaks the epilogue; the
audience, with a strict charge to appear early on the morrow in order to see
the Passion acted, is dismissed in these words:
Cornish
“Abarth an Tas,
Menstroles a’ ras,
Pebourgh whare,
Hag ens pub dre.
Englished.
“In the name of the Father,
Ye minstrels holy,
Tune your pipes.
Aud let every one go to his home.
“This may serve to give a general notion of these interludes, which were all
translated into English by the late Mr. John Keigwyn of Mousehole, at the
desire of the late Right Reverend Sir J Jonathan Trelawney, baronet, bishop
of Winchester, in a
VOL. XXI. Cl. Jl. NO. XLII.
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(delwedd F6689) (tudalen 242)
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242 On the Ancient British
literal manner, for the better
understanding the language, though to the disadvantage of the poet, and his
language too. The best composition now extant in the Cornish tongue, is that
called Mount Calvary, which is not dramatic, but narrative, and more solemn;
the incidents (with few exceptions) are all taken from the gospel history of
the Passion, and the circumstances of distress and suffering very affecting.
It was first turned into metre, as I imagine, by the before-mentioned Mr.
Keigwyn, at the instance of Mr. Scawen of Molineh above-mentioned; but Mr.
Scawen, disliking that translation, has placed a literal one in the Lyttelton
copy. But to return to the interludes: “The places where they were acted were
the Rounds, a kind of amphitheatre, with benches either of stone or
turf.”(Natural History of Cornwall, p. 95)
Thus far concerning the Interludes; but in another place Mr. Borlase also
tells us: “There are also several proverbs still remaining in the ancient
Cornish, all savoring of truth, some of pointed wit, some of deep wisdom.
“Neb na gare y gwayn, coll restoua.
“He that heeds not gain, must expect loss.
“Neb na gare y gy, an gwra deveeder. “He that regards not his dog, will make
him a choak sheep.
“Guel yn guetha vel goofen.
“It is better to keep than to beg.
“Gura da, rag ta honan te yn gwra.
“Do good, for thyself thou dost it.
Many proverbs relate to caution in speaking, as Tau Tavas, Be silent, tongue.
“Cows nebas, caws da, ha da veth cowsas arta,
“Speak little, speak well, and well will be spoken again.
“Of talking of stale affairs, there are some remarkable cautions.
“Cows nebas, cows da, nebas an yevern yw an gwella.
“Speak little, speak well, little of public matters is best.
“The danger of talking against the government is excellently represented in
the following proverb.
“Nyn (1) ges gun heb lagas, no kei heb scovern.
“There is no down without eye, nor hedge without ears.” (Nat. Hist. of
Cornwall, p. 319.)
1/ This is another instance of the digamma ges for ez, est, e, is, &c.
Thus again, Dro kez; po negaz uez dro peth ez. Bring cheese; if there is not
cheese, bring what there is. Negez for nebez, and ues for kes, occur in the
same line.
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(delwedd F6690) (tudalen 243)
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Language
of Cornwall. 243
I add the following rhymes, which are selected from some that Mr. Tonkin, a
Cornishman and antiquarian, procured from Mr. Lhuyd. (1)
1/ The following extract from the Preface to his Cornish Grammar and
Vocabulary, gives an account of the Cotton Manuscript. Mr. Lhuyd's
observations are interesting, as they throw much light on the substitution of
letters, or, as I have before expressed it by a general, though perhaps
improper name, the Digamma.
"Mr.
Anstis found a British Vocabulary, hand-written many ages since, in the
Cotton Library in London, and, as he did always, so according to his
good-will on the like occasion before and after, he wrote to me about it.
When I had looked over the book, I perceived very well that it was not a
Welsh Vocabulary, according to the Latin name (written at the latter end)
Vocabularium Wallicum; but a Cornish vocabulary, as the thing (according to
my thought) must appear to every British reader, that shall consider the
translations of these Latin words, viz. Angelus, Ail;
Stella, Steren;
Membrum, Ezel;
Supercilium, Abranz;
Collum, Conna;
Palatum, Stefenii;
Mentum, Elget;
Tibia, Elesker;
Vitricus, Altro;
Regina, Ruisanes;
Vulgus, Pobel biogo;
Puer, Floh;
Senex, Coth;
Mercator, Guicour;
Prora, Flurrog;
Umbra, scod;
Milvus, Scoul;
Bufo, Croinoc;
Rana, Guilschin;
Passer, Golvan;
Pullus, Ydhnunc;
Scomber, Brethyl;
Lucius, Denshoe dour
Vulpes, Louvern;
Ursus, Ors;
Scrofa, Guis;
Echinus, Sorb;
and many other words,
which are not known among us Welshmen. I know full well that I could produce
one, and that with more true likeness, than can the small vocabulary of the
British Armoric, or British of the country of Lezou in France, although they
are not used now in the county of Cornwall. But this wrong thinking is put
away, without much trouble, when we discover that the author of this vocabulary,
when he was in want of British words, did write down old English words for
the same, by giving them sometimes a Cornish termination; and did not bring
any of the words from the French, as he would without doubt, if he had been
an Armoric Briton. Now these, and the like, are the words thereof, taken out
of the old,
English:
Comes, Yurl;
Lector, Redior;
Hamus, Hye;
Fiald, Harfel;
Saltator, Lappier;
Sartor, Senyod;
Contentious, Strivor;
Spinther, Brooch;
Fibula, Streing;
Raptor, Robbior;
Noctua, Hule;
Halec, Herring;
Prahun, Bidin;
Lagena, Kanna;
Truta, Trud.
Now as it could not be any Armoric Briton that wrote this vocabulary, so
neither could it be written, by any Welshman. For had he been a Welshman, he
would without further consideration have written,
Darlkennodh,
Breyr,
Hor,
Telyn (or Kuth),
Neidiur,
Guniadydh,
Kynhennys,
Guaeg,
Arnestr,
Yspeiliur,
Pylhyan,
Pennog,
Guerlodh,
Ysten, (or Kynnog Piser, or Kostrelh)
and Brethylh. In like manner, if it had been done by an Armoric Briton, he would
never have named the things called in Latin
Querens,
Rhamnus,
Melis,
Lepus,
Hoedus;
Glastanen,
Eithinen,
Broz,
Sconarnog,
Min; but instead thereof,
Guazen daro, Lan, Lus, Gat, and Gavar bian.
Doctor Davies (according to my thought) has named this Cornish Vocabulary in
the Cotton Library, Liber Landavensis; for there are many words in this Welsh
Vocabulary, marked Lib. Land., which I never saw in any other book. But yet
as he had seen the book, which is now in the Cotton Library, I wonder that he
would not draw all the words from that to his own book. Nevertheless the
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(delwedd F6691) (tudalen 244)
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244 On the Ancient British
“Hye oare gwile dad gen tye glan;
Ha et eye ollaz, hye dalveath gowas tane.
truth is, I know very well, that the words therein marked Lib. Land, are not
written in the book called Liber Landavensis; for I have looked over that
before written book, in the library of that most learned and most knowing
gentleman the Lord of Lanner, in the country of Guenez, i.e. North Wales, and
likewise a fair transcript in the library of Jesus College, in Oxford. There
is some hope in me, that the reader will forgive me, that I do not always
write after the language of our time, nor yet keep to the writing retained in
this Cornish Vocahulary. By perusing the aforesaid written books, I have
discovered, that there have happened four noted changes or variations, and
remember very much, in the Cornish tongue, within this age, or these last
hundred years: and the same being before very little printed in the Latin and
Celtic Vocabulary, I was very desirous to give them in the Cornish English
Vocabulary by hand here to you.
The first change is, to put the letter b before the letter M, and to speak
and write Tybm, Tabm, Kabm, Gybman, Krobman, and Kylobman, &c., in the
place of Tym, Tam, Kam, Gymman, and Kylomman.
The second is to put the letter d before the letter n; and to speak thus, in
the place of Pen, Pan, Pren, Guyn, Guan, Bron, Brynan; Pedn, Padn, Predn,
Guydn, Guadn, Brodn, Bydnan. Neither did I see fit to give a place to these
changes in this vocabulary; for neither will they hereafter retain these
changes; and likewise their language is thence more hard and rugged than it
was before; and for that many times you must turn the m and n to b and d by
saying tubbi, obba, hodda, hedda, where you said before tubmi, obma, hodna
and hedna. And this second novelty hath cast off these words so far from the
former words, tummi, omma, henna and hanna that not any can at all, neither
Armoric Briton, nor yet Welshmen, find out their foundation, by seeing from
what place they are come.
The third change is, to put the letter d before s, (the which s is almost
always pronounced as z; and to speak the s as sh, for I have found out in one
of the aforesaid written books, which is a book setting forth miracles out of
the Holy Scripture, written, more or less, one hundred and fifty years since,
where are these words, just as now you speak them, Kridzhi, Piszhi,
Bohodzoch, Pedshar, Bledshar, Lagadzho, &c. instead of these, Cresy,
Pesy, Behosoc, Peswar, Lagaz. I know very well that you do not write these
words as I write them with dzh, but only with the single g, or with an i consonant;
but this falls in with the manner of the English writing: and since the
speaking is from thence, the writing must be put and likewise changed from z
(or s), as was the s before, from d to t.
The fourth change is turned very much like the third : and that is, to put sh
after t, or (according to the Armoric writing) of late the letter t for ch;
and so to change the words Ty (or Tey) to Tshey; Ti to Thi (or Chee),
Pysgetta to Pysgetsha, and more the like. From whence the other speakings,in
which you go off very far from us Welshmen, viz. in speaking, a for e; e for
o and y; i for e; o for u; and v consonant for f; and likewise h for z; th, s
or h for t, is easy enough; and in part for that few of them are so old, (if
any of them are very old,) as our language, and the language of the people of
Lezou. And another is, in naming of lata the letter t for s; which is not so
hugely old, yet may be old enough for the good taking, and keeping it
hereafter. But now the reader will ask
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(delwedd F6692) (tudalen 245)
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Language of Cornwall. 245
Na dalle deez perna kinnis war an sawe;
Na moaz moaz mutle an drize dro dan keaw;
Rag hedda vedn boz cowzes dro dan pow:
Gwell eye veyha perna nebas glow;
He hedna vedn gus tubm a sheller e a rag.
Ha why el evah cor gwella, mor seez de brage.
Na dale
dien gwile treven war an treath;
Buz, mor mennow direvall war bidn an pow yeine,
Why dal veya gowas an brossa mine.
Ha ryney vedn dirra bidn mor, ha gwenz,
Na gez drog vyth grez, lebben, na kenz.”
Thus in
English.
“She knows to make cloth good with her wool;
And she must hearth it, she ought to have fire.
Nor ought men to buy fuel by the seame,
Nor go to gather brambles about the hedges;
For that will be spoken about the country;
Better she had bought some coal;
And that will warm you behind and before.
And you may drink best beer, if you have malt.
Nor ought men to make houses on the sand;
But, if you will build up against the country cold.
You must have the biggest stones,
me, without doubt, why I have in
this writing preserved the aforesaid alterations myself, since I knew the
deficiencies myself: my answer is, that it was my very great desire, that
they might be taken aright; and that every one might know to speak Cornish
(or understand further) according to this letter. But my hope is, that you
will not in such a manner suffer any other defects in your future Cornish
printings, as you have hitherto done in the fore-written alterations. Neither
can any one make many novelties in any tongue soever at one time. It is an
early work, and therefore too short a licence to take any one thing, before
that it be born and bred in the country, to offer it. When any one is willing
to know the more late Cornish alterations, that he may the better find them
out, let him compare the Cornish words with the like Welsh words of the
country of Gunek (or, which is much nearer,) and the Armoric words; and when
you see the agreement and concord about the consonant letters of these two
tongues, then you may see whether the Cornish hath kept to these consonants,
or not; if not, you may, without any doubt, know that the Cornish words are
changed. For example; when you see that we turn the English words, to laugh,
to play, to whistle, bitter, six, sister, in the language of Guenck,
xuerthin, xuare, xuibany, xueru, xuex, xuaer; and in the Armoric, xoasin,
xoari, xuibanat, xerro, xeux, xoar; but in the Cornish, kuerthin, guare,
huibanat, huero, hui, hor; we know then very easily that the Cornish is
changed. For the like passages are never thus turned by the people of the
Welsh Guenez; and the people of Lezou have learned to turn from them."
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246 On the Ancient British
And they will last against sea, and wind.
There is no hurt at all done, now nor before."
Quoted by Polwhele, Vol. iii. p. 31.
There is a quaintness in the three following lines:
An lavar
koth yn lavar gwir,
Na boz nevra doz vaz an tavaz se hir;
Bez den heb davaz o gollaz i dir."
The same,
p. 32.
In English.
"The old saying is a true saying,
A tongue too long never did good:
But he that had no tongue, lost his land."
I transcribe the two first stanzas of a Cornish Idyll, with a poetical
translation by Mr. Polwhele. I dare not quote more on account of its'
licentiousness; if there should be any one whose curiosity would lead him to
read the whole, he may find it at full length in his History of Cornwall,
Vol. iii. p. 32.
“Pelea era why moaz moz, fettow, teag,
Gen agaz bedgeth gwin, ha agas blew mellyn?
Mi a moaz tha 'n venton, sarra wheag.
Rag delkiow sevi gwra muzi teag.
“Pea ve moaz gen a why, moz, fettow, teag,
Gen agaz bedgeth gwin, ha agaz blew mellyn?
Greuh mena why, sarra wheag,
Rag delkiow sevi gwra muzi teag."
In English.
“Pray whither so trippingly,
pretty fair maid,
With your face rosy white, and your soft yellow hair?
Sweet Sir, to the well in the summer-wood shade.
For strawberry-leaves make the young maiden fair.
“Shall I go with you, pretty fair maid, to the wood,
With your face rosy white, and your soft yellow hair?
Sweet Sir, if you please; — it will do my heart good; — .
For strawberry-leaves make the young maiden fair.”
Sermons were preached in Cornish till 1678 by a Mr. Robinson at Landewidnek,
near the Lizard; and it is therefore surprising that we have not in it any
compositions in prose. This is to be lamented; for though the writings of
such men as Robinson and Jackman, who was Cromwell's chaplain at Pendennis,
might have little intrinsic merit, yet they would now throw much light on the
nature of this departed language. None of these have been printed, because
they had nothng in the matter to recommend them, and because they were in a
despised and unintelligible dialect. But it is not impossible that some of
these might be still
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Language of Cornwall. 247
extant in manuscript; and if hereafter, on further research, only a few could
be recovered, it would be a material acquisition in a philological point of
view.
If the Cornish ever had its
bards, like the other British tongues, their lays have been lost, and their
names are unknown. I do not however suppose that there were ever many bards
in Cornwall; because from its situation and its mines, it acquired so much of
the Roman customs, and was so much earlier subjected by the other invaders of
Britain. As the language was itself looked upon as rude and barbarous, not
only bards, but scarcely any writers, would choose to make it the vehicle of
their compósitions.
The Lord's prayer in Welsh,
Cornish, and Armoric, is as follows:
Welsh. — Ein Tad yr hwn wyt yn y
nefoedd; Sancteiddier dy enw, Deved dy deyrnas; Byd dy ewyllys ar yddaiar
megis y mae yn y nefoedd: Dyn i ni heddyw ein bara bennyddiol; A madden i ni
ein dyledion, fel y maddewn ni i'n'dyledwyr; Ac nar arwain my brose digaeth;
eithr gwared in rhag drwg. Amen.
Cornish. — An Taz ny es yn nef;
Bethens thy hannow ughelles; Gwrenz doz thy gulasher; Bethens thy voth gwreiz
in oar, kepare hag yn nef; Ro thyn ny hithov agan peb dyth bara; Gava thyn ny
agan cam, kepare ha gava ny neb es cam ma erbyn ny; Nyn hombreh ny en antel,
mes gw gwryth ny the worth drok. Amen.
Armoric.—Hon Tat, petung so-en
eoun; Or 'h hano sanctifiet; De vet de omp Roanteles; Ha volonte bezet gret
voar an douar euel en eoun; Roil dezomp hinov hor bara bemdesier; Ha
perdonnit dezomp hon offancon evelma pardon nomp d' ae re odens hon offancel;
Ha n' hon digacit quel e' tentation, hoguen hon delivril a drone. Amen.
Camden very gravely tells us in
his Remains, (p. 30.) “That the Armorican Britons, marrying strange women in
Armorica, did cut out their tongues, lest their children should corrupt the
language with their mothers' tongues." This is at once improbable and
ludicrous; but here the Gallic corruptions in the Armorican Lord's Prayer at
once disprove such a monstrous story. This is another of those instances,
where philology comes in to the assistance of history. The fact seems to be,
that the Britons married Armorican vomen, and that, as might have been
expected, their language lost something of its purity by this connexion.
The Scriptures are not extant in
Cornish; if they had, there can be no doubt that the language would have been
preserved. But such was their dislike or their indifference, that the better
sort of the Cornish petitioned at the Reformation, that the Scriptures might
not be enforced upon them in their mother tongue. A requést, which so
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248 Translation and Obss.
well agreed with the political views of government for the union and
consolidation of empire, was readliy granted.
Mr. Scawen, Mr. Keigwyn, and Mr. Tonkin, were Cornish gentlemen, and friends
of Mr. Lhuyd, the celebrated archaeologian, and who either had Cornish
manuscripts, or wrote in illustration of it. Dr. Pryce, of Redruth, published
in 1790 his Cornu-British Antiquities, or an Essay to preserve the Cornish
language. These are the Cornish authorities to which I have had occasion to
refer; but some of them have brought so little general literature into the
discussion, that where I have not had to notice their inaccuracies, I have
yet received little assistance from their labors. Mr. Whitaker, the historian
of Manchester, and rector of Ruan Lanyhorne, in Cornwall, is well known.
From the above summary view, you may judge of the poverty of Cornish
compositions; but you may perceive also, that what has been advanced by most
writers on it, that it is a pleasant and harmonious lanuage, is not destitute
of foundation; and that it was circumstances, which doomed it to decline, and
be extinguished; and not because it was unworthy or unsusceptible of
cultivation.
From the above summary view, you may judge of the poverty of Cornish
compositions; but you may perceive also, that what has been advanced by most
writers on it, that it is a pleasant and harmonious lanuage, is not destitute
of foundation; and that it was circumstances, which doomed it to decline, and
be extinguished; and not because it was unworthy or unsusceptible of
cultivation.
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(delwedd F6696) (tudalen 000a)
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THE CLASSICAL JOURNAL:
FOR
SEPTEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1820.
VOL. XXII.
???
EPIG. INCERT.
London :
PRINTED BY A.J. VALPY,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET;
;
SOLD BY
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN; F.C. AND J. RIVINGTONS; SHERWOOD AND
CO., PATERNOSTER
ROW; PARKER, OXFORD; BARRETT, CAMBRIDGE; MACKREDIE AND CO., EDINBURGH;
CUMMING, DUBLIN; AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS.
—
1820.
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(delwedd F6697) (tudalen 000b)
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CONTENTS OF NO. XLIII.
Letters on the Ancient British Language of Cornwall.
No XI. 26
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26 LETTERS ON THE ANCIENT BRITISH
LANGUAGE OF CORNWALL
LETTER XI.
Dolly Pentreath, &c.
In my last letter I gave you some extracts from a language, which no longer
exists but in a few sscattered and unconnected documents. It has ceased to be
a living tongue; but though it is acknowledged that it is now no where
spoken, it seems to be a matter of doubt with some, whether it is not yet
retained by some particular individuals. I consider it, however, to be as
much dead as the Hebrew, and that it has never been in common use, since Mr.
Lhuyd's visit into Cornwall, about the beginning of the eighteenth century.
It may perhaps have survived a little longer, in the person of the famed
Dolly Pentreath, and her companions, if indeed the corrupt and degenerate
jargon of an expiring tongue can be called by that name. But as the claims of
this good woman have been so confidently asserted, and were connected with
the credulity of a celebrated man of the last age, they deserve to have a
separate examination.
I have often experienced some astonishment that the present Cornish gentlemen
know so little about the language of their ancestors, and that it scarcely
ever excites their curiosity. It is in vain to seek information on this point
in Cornwall, among polite and general scholars. They have paid no attention
to the subject, and if pressed for an opinion, it is, that very little is
known about it, but that it is supposed to have been a barbarous dialect
resembling the Welsh. It has also become fashonable to repeat the inquiries
of the Hon. D. Barrington, and how Cornish has expired with Dolly Pentreath.
It is with reluctance that I mention these particulars, as they imply
something like a charge of ignorance. I do it rather, to extenuate any
failure on my part, by reminding the reader not only of the scarcity of
materials, but of the impossibility of receiving any assistance from literary
friends. I must, therefore, claim some indulgence for any mistakes in my
observations on a nomenclature, which is now almost as little understood in
Corn-
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Language of Cornwall. 27
wall, as if it were derived from the Arabic. And if it had not been for the
exertions and writings of Lhuyd, Scawen, Borlase, and Pryce, every memorial
of Cornish would have perished, and every future investigation on the subject
would have been imperfect and unsatisfactory.
Mr. Lhuyd, an excellent Welsh scholar and antiquarian observed, that, in
March, 1701, “the Cornish language was only retained in five or six villages
towards the Land's End.” From this period, when it was confined within such
narrow limits, and mostly restricted to tinners, market-women, and fishermen,
it may be supposed not only to have rapidly declined, but not to have lived
many years longer. This appears to be the the sense of Dr. Borlase's remark:
“that this language is now altogether ceased so as not to be spoken any where
in conversation." (Nat. Hist. p. 316.) It is unfair to charge him with
inattention for asserting this, because one individual, Dolly Pentreath,
could still speak it in 1758, when he published his Natural History. The
Doctor must have known, that, out of a population of some hundreds, in those
villages, to whom Cornish was still vernacular in 1701, a few individuals
would, according to the course of nature, be still remaining after the lapse
of half a century. After the language had ceased to be commonly used, he very
naturally considered it as extinct; and as for any particular exceptions that
might still remain, they would be considered to belong rather to a dead, than
to a living tongue. I own that, for this reason, I would have expressed
myself as the Doctor did, even if I had known of Dolly, and given her credit
for understanding as much Cornish as her admirers have supposed. He was
therefore very far from deserving the sarcasms of Mr. Barringtoni and Mr.
Whitaker, who says, “At that very time, (1758), as Mr. Barrington has
observed, to the disgrace of his attention, an old woman was living within
four miles of him, and talking the language fluently.” (1)
1/ Dolly Pentreath spoke in an
angry tone for two or three minutes and in a language, which sounded very
like Welsh. — I asked her companions, whether she had not been abusing me; to
which they answered, 'Very heartily; and because I had supposed she could not
speak Cornish.’” (Hon. D. Barrington's Letter to J. Lloyd, Esq., 1773.) Why
then ask her companions what she had said, if he had not been ignorant of
Cornish, or had had any better criterion than that it sounded like Welsh? The
fact seems to be, that any artful old woman could have palmed off any
gibberish on such a good-natured traveller.
Since these two gentlemen have
thought proper to distort the obvious meaning of words, that they might
attack them, it is barely sufficient to observe, that the former, by his own
avowal, knew nothing of the matter, (2)
2/ Whitaker's Supplement to
Polwhele's History, p. 41.
and that the latter was at all
times an unduly severe and arrogant writer.
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28 On the Ancient Brkisk
Dolly Pentraeth, the Cornish Sibyl, was a fish-woman, a native of Mousehole,
a village near Penzance, and about three miles from Castle Horneck, the
family seat of the Borlases; so that if she had been possessed of any
extraordinary acquirements, they could not have escaped the knowledge of the
Doctor. This humble personage spent a very long life in her homely
occupation, and died in 1788 at the age of 102. At the beginning of the last
century, the historian informs us, in the parishes of Paul and St Just, “the
fishermen and market-women in the former, and the tinners in the latter,
conversed one with the other, for the most part in Cornish.” Truth is always
consistent, and the Doctor and the good woman incidentally agree, as the
former says, that Cornish was still spoken in Paul parish fifty years before,
(1758), when Dolly was already in her twenty-third year; while the latter herself
told Mr. Barrington, that she could not talk a word of English before she was
past twenty years of age. The Doctor again tells us, that the language which
was generally spoken in those parishes, in 1708, had altogether creased
during the next fifty years, specifying, however, no particular year for its
extraction; for that would have been impossible. But in 1768, Dolly most
positively assured Mr. Barrington, that there was then no other person who
knew any thing of it, or at least who could converse in it. This is a plain
coincidence of truth, which cannot be invalidated.
I readily allow the claims of Dolly to some jargon that was not English; but
with her habits and situation in life, it is ridiculous to suppose, that she
could have been the depository of the true Cornish. This may have been
another reason why Borlase might have declined to mention what still remained
of the language in his day. Among such low people as Dolly, an expiring
language could not fail to have been miserably corrupted, even if it was not
entirely unintelligible. It is surprising that a sensible man, like Daines
Barringlon, would condescend to apply in so objectionable a quarter, and that
too at an inn-keeper's recommendation; for it would not be more ludicrous to
seek for specimens of ancient Greek among the poor fishermen of the
Archipelago. Mr. Harrington went out on a summer excursion to the Land's End,
in 1768, and it was then that he met with this modem Sibyl of Cornwall. It
would be foreign to my purpose to quote here his letter to his friend Mr.
Lloyd, F. A. S., which is certainly very amusing. I am willing to grant that
it is indubitable, that she spoke a strange language, and it is natural to
suppose that she did it in the most fluent, if not most accurate manner possible,
that she might please a respectable stranger, and be the better rewarded.
There was, therefore, no reason for some of Mr. Barrington's friends to be
incredulous that she still continued the use of her vernacular tongue; though
it is probable that at that period she only spoke Cornish occasionally. It is
a pity that he did not observe whether her
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Language of Cornwall. 29
English had a foreign accent, which would have been an indirect confirmation
of her story, that she knew no other language than Cornish till she was past
twenty. (1)
1/ She does indeed talk Cornish
as readily as others do English, being bred up from a child to know no other language;
nor could she (if we may believe her) talk a word of English before she was
past twenty years of age; as, her father being a fisherman, she was sent with
fish to Penzance at twelve years old, and sold them in the Cornish language,
which the inhabitants in general, even the gentry, did then well understand.”
See the above quoted Letter of Mr. Barrington.
Her two female companions, who
were only ten or twelve years younger, and consequently children in 1708,
could not speak Cornish readily, but understood it, which is another
coincidence that Borlase is correct in the assertion, that its common use had
ceased soon after that period; for young persons who disuse their vernacular
language early, often lose the recollection of it entirely. From all these
circumstances, therefore, and considering the great age which this good woman
attained, I am inclined to believe, that she was the last person to whom
Cornish was vernacular, and that at her death it has ceased in the strictest
sense of the word to be a living tongue.
It is thus that Mr. Barrington has raised this poor woman to literary
distinction, and very unexpectedly rendered her name conspicuous among her
countrymen. But to be serious, there never was a greater perversion of
antiquarian research and philological assiduity, than that of Mr. Barrington
and Dr. Pryce. It was already in their time perfectly preposterous in them to
seek for oral information from native speakers. The latter, when off his
guard, confesses the absurdity and the unprofitableness of such a proceeding.
“As for the vulgar Cornish now spoken,'' says he, in his Preface, “it is so
confined to the extremest corner of the country; and those ancient persons
who still pretend to jabber it are even there so few; the speech itself is so
corrupted; and the people too for the most part so illiterate; that I cannot
but wonder at my patience, and assume some merit to myself for my singular
industry, in collecting the words which I have accumulated from oral
intelligence; especially as hardly any of the persons whom I have consulted
could give a tolerable account of the ortliography, much less of the
etymology or derivation of those words which they use,” &c.
Even the ashes of Dolly Pentreath have not been left unhonored. A Mr. Tomson,
of Truro, and by profession an engineer, wrote her epitaph, which, as it is a
curiosity, I will insert here in the original Cornish, with an English
translation. There is nothing remarkable in the sense, though it reflects
much credit on the writer of it
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30 On the Ancient British
his profiency in Cornish, and the accuracy with which he has expressed
himself.
Coth Doll Pentreath cans ha dean,
Marow, ha Icledyz ed Paul plea. —
Na ed an Egloz, gan pobel bras,
Bes ed Egloz-hay coth Dolly es.
Old Doll
Pentreath, one hundred (aged) and two,
Deceased, and buried in Paul
parish; —
Not in the church, with great
people.
But in the church-yard old Dolly
is.
1 look on Mr. Tomson to have been an ingenioas man, wbo having a taste for
such studies, had mad« himself master of the best remaining pieces in
Cornish. This is certainly a far more rational account, than to imagine with
some, that he was a rarely gifted individual, in whom the Cornish language
had survived after the death of the humble inhabitant of Mousehole. Mr.
Tomson might even have been able to converse in it; but there would have been
nothing extraordinary in it, as thousands can speak Latin and other
languages, which they have acquired only from books. As to the epitaph, I do
not entirely rest on conjecture; for all the words in it, with the exception
of one only, are to be found in Borlase’s Vocabulary. Hay (1)
1/ Lan is the true Cornish word
for it, and means either an inclosure or a church. Thus ?? is either a place
consecrated to religious purposes or merely a farm, (some inclosed portion of
land)
?? TEMENOS TAMON ??,
??. D., Z. 194.
is a well known Saxon word, which
signifies an inlosure and has long been incorporated with the Cornish.
The other claimants to Cornish speaking were William Bodener, aged 65, a
fisherman of Mousehole, a Cornish letter from whom Mr. Barrington presented
to the Society of Antiquaries on the 3d of July, 1776. In 1777 the same
gentleman again informed the Society that he had discovered another
individual, one John Nancarrow, aged 45, of Marazion, who could speak the
Cornish language. Dr. Pryce also, about 1790, conversed with a very old man
al Mousehole, who could talk Cornish, and it is not improbable that it was
the same William Bodener. I am, however, still of opinion, that the language
was already extinct, though, after such respectable testimonies, it is
impossible to deny that these individuals still understood the ancient
language of the country. As to their skill in it, it might have been acquired
from some of their friends, among whom it had been vernacular, and who still
survived after they were themselves grown to manhood, as from 1730 to 1750.
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Language of Cornwall. 31
These were the faint glimmerings that still hovered round, after the light
itself had departed for ever. It is even possible that there may be still
individuals who can speak and write Cornish; nor would it be at all difficult
to acquire both to a certain degree; but it is a mere deception to imagine
that this can now be accomplished through any other channel than that of
grammatic instruction.
I have often had occasion in the course of these letters, to mention the Rev.
Dr. Borlase. He lived about the middle of the last century, and was a native
and resident in Cornwall, as well as a writer of considerable merit. His
Natural History and Antiquities of Cornwall are elaborate and valuable
performances. It is remarkable, that all the recent writers on those topics
have largely borrowed from him, not even excepting those who have availed
themselves of every opportunity to load him with censure. It is, however,
with his Cornish Vocabulary, which concludes his Antiquities, that I am at
present concerned. His chief merit consists of having collected materials,
and indicated the sources where all the probable remains might be recovered.
Thus far in his praise; and it is painful to pass censure, however it may be
deserved. I have already expressed an opinion about him, as that he was not
sufficiently a linguist or a grammarian to investigate such a perplexed and
expiring dialect. Hence it is seldom that his Vocabulary refers to foreign
languages; and I really believe that the disguise of the greater number of
words escaped him. This ignorance, however, is of material advantage to my
derivations, as he cannot be accused of having changed the orthography, or
otherwise modified them to suit the purposes of any particular theory. His
negligence, however, is still more remarkable than his inability. Wearied
with a long work, and incited by the prospect of bringing it to a conclusion,
he seems to have drawn up his Vocabulary in haste, and without any regard to
selection and arrangement. It is also likely that, having no taste for
philological studies, he thought but lightly of them, and merely added the
Vocabulary as a matter of form. He apologises, indeed, for not giving a more
complete Vocabulary; but it is with authors, as with great men, who, find it
easier to apologise for declining any particular task, than to execute what
would require the united efforts of patience and industry.
In the present scarcity of materials, the Vocabulary is still, however, a
valuable performance; and Borlase is rather to be blamed, not for what he has
done, but for not having done more when he had it in his power. He might,
from his situation, have made a complete collection of Cornish words and
idioms; and he might also have preserved for his countrymen many manuscripts,
probably no longer in exiatence. He mentions, in the preface to his
Vocabulary, several manuscripts and other helps in Cornish which had been
communicated to him; and it is to be lamented
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32 Notice of Lavington's
that he did not look into such a mass of matter more accurately, and that he
did not select more from it for publication. The offer of his own collection
to any one who would undertake to restore the Cornish language, is but a poor
evasion. What has become of the several pieces he mentioned? I know not —
some may have perished, and some might still be recovered; but the press
alone can preserve such documents from the danger of destruction.
It argues, also, how very little trouble the Doctor took, by his not going to
Mousehole, whicn is only four miles from his own residence, to ascertain and
report what might still remain there of a language which, by his own account,
was commonly spoken in that village fifty years before. Had he done this, he
would not have been stigmatised with inattention, as he was afterwards on the
accidental discovery of Dolly Pentreath by Mr. Barrington.
Having so often referred to Mr. Lhuyd, I may be allowed to say a few words
concerning him. He was a learned and ingenious gentleman, eminently skilled
in all the British dialects. He was Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford.
In 1701 he visited Cornwall for the avowed purpose of investigating, and
preserving as much as possible of the expiring language. He was kindly
received by the literary gentlemen of the county. He afterwards published a
Cornish Grammar and Vocabulary in 1707, and died in 1709. It was the first
thing ever published in that language, which, it may be truly said, had it
not been for his journey into Cornwall, and the collections he made there,
would have totally perished. Borlase, and all the other Cornish historians,
speak, as well they might, with enthusiasm of that very meritorious
individual.
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(delwedd F6705) (tudalen 000a)
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THE CLASSICAL JOURNAL:
FOR
SEPTEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1820.
VOL. XXII.
???
EPIG. INCERT.
London :
PRINTED BY A.J. VALPY,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET;
SOLD BY
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN; F.C. AND J. RIVINGTONS; SHERWOOD AND
CO., PATERNOSTER
ROW; PARKER, OXFORD; BARRETT, CAMBRIDGE; MACKREDIE AND CO., EDINBURGH;
CUMMING, DUBLIN; AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS.
—
1820.
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(delwedd F6706) (tudalen 000b)
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Xxx
IV CONTENTS.
PAGE.
In Herodotum Emendationes. G.B. 373
Thucydides Emendatus. G. B. 376
Letters on the Ancient British Language of Cornwall.
[Concluded.] 387
De Patavinitate Liviana 385
Amoenitates Philosophicae No. i. Containing Observations on, and Corrections
of, Passages in Hermes, Hermias, Jamblichus, and Proclus. By E. H. Barker 387
Notice of Mr. Elmsley's Ed. of the Medes of Euripides. No.iii. ' 402
Remarks on a Passage in Dr. Vincent's 'Periplus of the Erythrean Sea.' By J.
G. Jackson 429
An Account of the Libraries at Leiden, Hanover, Cassel, Gotha, Weimar, Jena,
Erlangen, Leipzig, and Dresden 430
On the Arabic Inscription,
discovered in the Pyriamid of Cephreues, by Mr. Belzoni, and the Translation
of the same, by Professor Lee 448
On the state of Religion and Philosophy among certain Writers of Antiquity,
and the reasons of their silence respecting the Christian Religion 452
Adversaria Literaria, No. xxvi. — Rhopalic Verses - Echoici Versus — Versus
Reciproci, J.C. Scaliger — Ad. Julium III. Pont. Max. — Ad Carolum V. Caes. —
Ad Ferdinandum Romanorum Reg. — Acrostichis — Epitaphium. Heimci. VII. Reg.
Angl. — Epitaphium Henrici III. Gall. Reg. Eipitaphium Borbonii — ?? and
Ululatus — Quantity of AIIIA – H. Stephien's reading of two passages, in
Euripides — Notulae MS. in Hor. Serm. et Ep. 465
Literary Intelligence 472
Notes to Correspondeuts 484
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(delwedd F6707) (tudalen 377)
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377 ANCIENT BRITISH LANGUAGE OF
CORNWALL.
LETTER XII
Preservation of the Cornish Dialect.
In my last letter, I endeavoured to prove that Cornish is now entirely
extinct; and therefore the next question that occurs, is, how far it may be
possible to preserve it as a dead language. We have already seen that it is
of sufficient importance to require such an attention; and it is with some
pleasure that I have to remark, that such an object, though attended with
some difficulties, is not impracticable. If this should ever be accomplished,
Cornish scholars might still exist hereafter, and many doubtful matters, in
antiquities and philology, might be thus ascertained. A dead language can
only be preserved by its written memorials, and unfortunately these are very
scanty in Cornish.
We know for certain of no manuscripts, except a few of sacred poetry, which
have been deposited in the Bodleian library. Fragments only, and imperfect Vocabularies,
have been published from time to time. The plan for preserving those
manuscripts is obvious, and is no other than what was done with respect to
the classics at the revival of let-
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(delwedd F6708) (tudalen 378)
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378 On the Ancient British
ters, — to print whatever could be found in the language; so that by
multiplying copies, they might not only escape the danger of destruction, but
have the advantage of being more generally criticised and corrected. I would
therefore propose, that those manuscripts should be printed, with literal
English translations; that Lhuyd's Grammar should be republished; and that
from these sources something like a Cornish Dictionary should be compiled. It
in also possible, that on further research, some other manuscripts might
still be discovered. If this expedient could be adopted, the language might
be preserved beyond the chance of common contingencies. Without something of
the kind, it may be considered as lost for ever.
This plan, however, simple as it is, is yet, I fear, not very likely to be
carried into execution. We live in an age of general taste for literature —
for novels, newspapers, and pamphlets. A learned, tedious, and troublesome
undertaking, dry and uninteresting to general readers; would not, probably,
meet with much encouragement. Such an attempt for the preservation of Cornish
learning could only be successful under the decided patronage of the Cornish
gentlemen. On the other hand, the person, who undertook the task, ought to be
possessed of much leisure, and have some acquaintance with the Cornish, in
addition to the necessity of being a learned, industrious, and accurate
general scholar. The difficulty also, of collecting and compiling scattered
documents, would be still increased by the time and trouble of transcribing,
or at least collating the Bodleian manuscripts, for the press.
But even if any individual should surmount all these obstacles, he might
still experience the mortifying conviction that he had labored in vain. The
expense of printing a work like this, of heavy sale, and on a learned
subject, would be what in common prudence he would not venture to risk. It
could only be done by subscription, in procuring which he might be
unsuccessful. A person may very properly devote his leisure, even without any
expectation of recompence, to the promotion of any literary undertaking; but
it is unreasonable to imagine, that he ought to suffer himself to be injured
in a pecuniary point of view. If he should obtain a subscription, he merely
indemnifies himself from loss, and nothing more. At the same time, it is made
very intelligible to him, that those who subscribe, do it, as they suppose,
to oblige him; and that those who de-
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(delwedd F6709) (tudalen 379)
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Language of Cornwall. 379
cline to support him do so, because they do not feel interested in his
subject. It is indeed true, that subscriptions are sometimes no more than a
handsome way of raising money on some mean publication, to relieve the wants
of some distressed author; but when the object is to bring out some
respectable work, which otherwise could not be published, I conceive that it
is the public who receive the favor, and not the scholar, who merely secures
himself from loss, at the same time that he gratuitously bestows his labor
and his time. To decline supporting any literary undertaking, on the ground
of not being conversant in it, is a good argument for economy, but no
farther; as the most unlearned patrons of any book must be conscious, that
their countenance is the means of multiplying copies, which in all likelihood
will fall into the hands of those to whom they may be useful; at the same
time that they are meritoriously employed in the encouragement of literature.
(1)
1/ I was lately much amused with
an Isola's Tasso, published at Cambridge, in 1780, which had belonged to the
late Dr. John Hey, formerly Norrisian Professor of Divinity in that
University. Probably he knew nothing of Italian, and it was to oblige Isola,
and to assist him in multiplying copies of a valuable foreign classic, that
he subscribed. It was the whimsicality of two memorandums on one of the blank
leaves, which struck me and which sufficiently explain his motive for
supporting the Italian editor. The former of these was, that he had first
opened the book in 1810, cut the leaves in 1811, and looked into it in 1819;
so that there is a strong presumption, that after all the Doctor never read
that divine poem.
These are a few of the most
obvious means by which the Cornish tongue might be perpetuated.
Another question arising from the extinction of this language, is, the
natural curiosity of any stranger, to know what is that which is now spoken
in Cornwall. It might indeed be expected, that it was some corruption of
itself, as the Romaic is of the Greek, the Italian of the Latin, and the
English of the Saxon; in which it might be discovered that the present idiom
was still grounded on the basis of some former tongue. This is, however, so
far from being the case, that the language is as much English as in any other
county; that very few Cornish terms remain, except in the mines and
fisheries; and that the great mass of the population hardly know that this
last was ever spoken.
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(delwedd F6710) (tudalen 380)
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380 On the Ancient British
Though little attended to this is a most remarkable moral phenomenon that a
language should, if the term be allowed, have been driven from its own proper
sphere, and another artificially introduced in its place. This has happened
in Cornwall; the inhabitants have gradually learned the language of their
neighbours — their own has ceased to be understood; for by being continually
pressed within more narrow limits, it was at length confined to a few small
fishing villages, till in the end it expired, at the death of one poor and
solitary individual. Many generations must have passed away before this could
be effected, and the progress must have been very gradual. The first step
towards the extinction of Cornish, was when young persons began to learn
English for convenience. This latter would soon become common in the same
village, and both would be spoken indifferently. A succeeding generation
finding that English was the language of the Church, and that all business,
at home and at a distance, was transacted in it, would naturally feel a
distaste for Cornish; and therefore by using the former mostly in their
families, the children would, from this disuse, be ignorant of the tongue of
their ancestors, and know no other than that which their parents had lately
adopted. In riper years they would be entirely English, and their posterity
would continue to be such. These, I apprehend, were the slow and progressive
steps which have effected this great philological alteration. These causes,
however, could not operate in a large and independent country, which would
create and establish a language of its own, before that of its neighbours
could be substituted to any extent. It is therefore an indirect consequence
of the contracted limits of the Cornish people, and of their political
incorporation with neighbours, whose manners, language, and customs, they
thought it both convenient and fashionable to imitate. The same cause is now
operating in Wales. — Passing through Radnorshire some years ago, I was
surprised that the inhabitants were entirely ignorant of Welsh; and I was afterwards
told in Monmouthshire, that in some parts of that county, where it had been
spoken within the memory of man, it was no longer used. Among other
contrivances to advance English, it is common in schools and families not to
allow children to learn or speak Welsh, as being vulgar; and in many of the
churches, the service is alternately performed in the two languages. This
result is also accelerated, when the language is such as the
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(delwedd F6711) (tudalen 381)
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Language of Cornwall. 381
Welsh, which the natives do not think it worth while to retain. But the
contrary to this has happened in the Norman Isles, where, although they have
followed all the vicissitudes of the fortunes of this country, since William
the Conqueror, the language is still as much French, except in a few words
expressing articles exclusively of English manufacture or fashions, as at the
first period of their incorporation. The reason of this is obvious, — that as
French is a polite, useful, and general language, the natives have thought it
of too much importance, as well as convenience, to be laid aside, however
they may be attached to English habits, and cultivate English literature and
pursuits.
It may not be improper to remark here, what kind of English is now spoken in
Cornwall. — It is highly tinctured with provincialisms, and sometimes it
retains a few Cornish words. The Cornish people have acquired English as
foreigners, and the persons who spoke it first must necessarily have
incorporated with it much of their native accent. This would naturally be
transmitted to their children, with whom a vicious pronunciation would thus
become habitual. This appears to be the origin of the provincial English of
that county, and why the lower sort of people speak it now with so large an
alloy of what may be supposed to be the ancient Cornish pronunciation. If
this view of the matter is correct, it will follow, that the tones and
provincialisms of Cornwall are of a different cast from those of any other
part of England. How far the latter part of this observation is correct, must
be decided by facts. It is, however, generally admitted that the lower
Cornish speak English very ill. It has been sometimes with considerable
difficulty that I have been able to understand the country people, though I
had often conversed with them before. I have also remarked, that I thought I
could distinguish in them something like a foreign accent, at least something
that was unlike English sounds. I hint this with some hesitation, as when a
person has embraced any theory, he may be so little on his guard, as to avail
himself of the slightest arguments in confirmation. But even now, in the more
remote parishes, where Cornish may be supposed to have been the longest
retained, the worst English is spoken. In the neighbourhood of the Land's
End, the inhabitants have an unpleasant way of lengthening out their words
into a drawl, as if they sung them; which is contrary to the quick and contracting
tone of the English idiom, and in
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(delwedd F6712) (tudalen 382)
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382 On the Ancient
all probability has been borrowed from the ancient vernacular tongue.
D.
LETTER XIII.
Christian Evidence. — Conclusion.
I MIGHT have closed our correspondence with my last letter, as I had then
offered you all my observations on the Cornish tongue, and on the kind of
English by which it has been replaced. I shall therefore be obliged to
confine myself to a few incidental remarks in this letter; the first of which
that occurs, is that the modern are the lineal descendants of the ancient
Cornish. This is a fact so different from what has generally happened in
other countries, where there has been a radical substitution of language,
that it requires some explanation. The present state of Cornwall of itself
affords internal evidence, that its inhabitants are not to any extent a mixed
people, or any other than the posterity of the ancient natives. The
nomenclature of the country alone is a sufficient confirmation of this
opinion. The names of places, almost universally, and those of a great number
of families, owe their derivation to the Cornish language. This would not be
the case, if the former race had been either exterminated or expelled.
Conquerors in many instances change the names of countries and places; the
Romans did it, the Goths and Vandals did it, and the Europeans have carried
the practice into all their modem discoveries, where, at the most, only a few
disfigured aboriginal appellatives have remained. As to families, the
conquerors also retain their own names, and indeed every thing else, which
can remind them of the people, and of the particular blood from which they
spring. But nothing of the kind has ever happened in Cornwall; every thing
around us is strictly Cornish, and the vernacular idiom of the natives is the
only thing which in the lapse of ages has perished. In short, they appear to
have continued as a people of nearly unmixed descent, since the evacuation of
Britain by the Romans in the fifth Century.
Having thus examined the Cornish Dialect through all the ramifications which
I had intended, I might have con-
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(delwedd F6713) (tudalen 383)
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383 Language of Cornwall.
cluded here, were it not from a wish to make a few cursory remarks on a
subject connected with the Christian religion. It is pleasing when one can
add but even a few scattered rays to the bright effulgence which illumines
the evidences of its truth. I have already given a list of those Cornish
terms which designate religious objects. If that religion was propagated in
Cornwall during the first centuries, we might expect to find some traces of
it in the language, and accordingly those terms are generally foreign, and
nearly all from the Greek — as Alestely, Bodeya, Diagon, Ebscob, Eglos, etc.
As all these are foreign terms, it is obvious that they must have been
imported from some other country; that is, from Greece; and this gives us an
additional confirmation, that the Gospel was first preached in Greek to the
Gentiles, as we are indeed informed by history both sacred and profane.
The words, moreover, are so much disguised, that that circumstance confirms
us in the truth of the accounts which have come down to us, that so many ages
have now elapsed since the conversion of the Britons. If Christianity were of
a later date in Cornwall, those terms would have remained something nearer to
the original Greek. Nor can it be more ancient, as the words themselves are
either unknown to the classics, or were employed by them in a different
sense.
Cornish did not begin to exist as a separate language till after the Romans
had evacuated Britain; the age of saints and legends soon followed; and the
above terms having thus become Cornish, show that they belong to the
religious activity of that period. Christianity, therefore, cannot be
ascribed to a later, nor to a much more distant date; but its language, thus
altered and fitted to the Cornish idiom, directs us to the precise point,
when such excellent and undaunted men as St. Petroc, St. Just, and St.
Kevern, came from a foreign land to gather a plentiful spiritual harvest on
the shores of Cornwall. These were the pious and venerable personages, who,
however their histories may have been darkened by fable and superstition,
there can be no doubt, exposed themselves among a barbarous race; and with a
perseverance, which even under the greatest difficulties must command
success, they instructed them in the arts of civilized life, and how to value
the spiritual blessings of faith in Christ. Such appears to have been the
character of those men, who thus intrepidly
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