On Sunday 14 October a packed lecture hall listened to a report from the members of the Commission appointed last year by the Cornish Language Partnership to look into the choice of a single written form of the language for education and public life. The Commission, which brought together eminent specialists in language planning and linguistics, had spent a considerable time reading and considering background material and submissions sent in by Cornish speakers. In presenting their recommendation the Commission stressed the opportunities which present themselves to Cornish today and the importance of the decision for the future of the language. They also paid tribute to: “….the specialists and grass-roots devotees, thanks to whose love and study of the Cornish language you are well-equipped today to take the language forward…” Looking at the various possibilities, the Commission came to the conclusion that: “In our opinion, a consensus stands out as a better alternative than choosing any of the four existing orthographies” During the past year there has been more than one proposal for consensus and the Commission went on to outline in more detail where they thought the basis of consensus lay and how the work might be completed. There was a positive response to their report from the audience which then went on to discuss the proposals in more detail. The Cornish Language Partnership will be meeting next week to consider the recommendation formally and in the interim Cornish speakers will have time to reflect and comment to their representatives on what they have heard. Speaking after the conference, one of the Commission members, Dr Trond Trosterud, commented: “Compared to other minority languages, Cornish has a community of users that is not only dedicated but has a high level of knowledge and insight in to the language, which is a sound resource on which to build the future” Partnership Chairman Eric Brooke thanked the Commission for their work. “We are very grateful to the members of the Commission for the worldwide expertise they have brought to bear to help us resolve this issue. Agreement on this is important in moving Cornish forward and allowing us to grasp the opportunities to develop use of the language further”
The full text of the Commission report is available online at www.magakernow.org.uk or from the Cornish Language Office at cornishlanguage@cornwall.gov.uk
Tel: (+00 44) 01872 323497
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cornish language
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