Dialect

Dialect is a significant element of culture. All the more so in a land like Cornwall with a distinctive character and history of its own. But some still relegate dialect to the darker recesses of academia or folk-lore, although dialect contains not only evidence of old linguistic usages and structures but, in the case of Cornwall, a distinct vocabulary with traces of Kernewek, the historic language of the land, and West Saxon. Indeed the geography of dialect in Cornwall is complex and rich, with two main dialect areas and a third, transitional zone.

Study reveals that Cornish dialect not only has has a sound system far removed from Modern English and Cornish, but also has its own grammar. Flexible word order gives a range of meaning and subtleties that can be difficult to comprehend. Dialect eez sum maezd and sum maezd ee ez both translate as ‘he is very perplexed’ but the first emphasises the person while the latter emphasises his state. Both are good Dialect.

The Dialect Continuum

Dialect speakers can read standard English as well as being able to understand Dialect literature from the late 1800’s onwards. There is a continuum with standard English at one end, and pure Dialect at the other. The detail of this continuum has varied over the years, evolving over generations of Dialect poetry and literature. Inevitably songs are found throughout the continuum and this book reflects how they are now sung by the Dialect speakers of Cornwall.

Dialect Songs

The purpose of this book is to record and re-affirm Dialect in song in Cornwall in the early 21st century. The origins of the songs are various. Many come from the folk tradition, others are modern songs, often written in a folk genre. Many have Cornish origins, but some started well outside the Duchy. Some are from early 20th century documentary sources. Some came from music hall, which continued in Plymouth into the 1950s. Some were popularised as a result of the ‘folk revival’ through the singing of Brenda Wootton and others. The only criterion for inclusion is popular adoption into the public domain.

Inevitably some songs have been excluded. Be assured this implies no cultural judgement, but is a reflection of the limitations of time and space. Also the repertoire is not static, but changes as songs enter and leave popular favour.

Some of the songs are still in copyright in their original form. They are reproduced with the kind permission of the holders who, of course, retain the copyright. Acknowledgements are placed at the appropriate points in the text. However, most of the material is not in copyright. Should an omission have been made, we ask the indulgence of the holders, and will be pleased to make appropriate acknowledgements in future editions. Versions of some of the songs appear in the works listed in the bibliography, most of which are now sadly out of print. We commend these books to all interested in the collection, origins and evolution of folk song.

The Future

The greatest problem facing study of Cornish Dialect is its lack of status, and thus academic credibility. Lallands and Ulster Scots have been recognised as languages under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages, but Cornish Dialect has been classified as just a dialect of English. There has been little academic study and no standard orthography offered. It is not treated as a living tongue. Nonetheless, just as the Cornish language was revived a century ago, there is now the potential of a Dialect revival. Let us hope that this important element of Cornish culture will flourish. Sing the songs!

Pol Hodge and Mike O’Connor
Pronunciation and Spelling - Coozen an Spillen

Listen!

Some have an instant response to a dialect interpretation of a song: ‘It wasn’t written like that’, ‘It’s not spelt that way’, or ‘It’s been changed.‘ They’re right. Most writers write Standard English. So do collectors and publishers; there is usually no attempt to record what is actually said or sung. That a song exists in Dialect is a tribute to its popular appeal. Due to the craft of the songwriter or source-singer the song is good enough to have an existence of its own, something that is the life-blood of the ‘folk process’. Remember, this book says little about the original material - apart from its popularity - but says much about the way it is sung. Because we live in a literate rather than aural society we are not used to listening. Next time you attend a sing-song, try listening hard, especially to the vowels. You may be surprised. You may also find it interesting to compare this collection with the bibliography. This Song I’ll Sing to You has many folk songs popular in Cornwall and is a good starting point for such comparison.

Pronunciation

There are no long vowels in English (they are all short or dipthonized). However, Cornish Dialect has a vowel system similar to Old English and Cornish.

aa - this sound does not exist in English, as in Cornish tan ‘fire’,
e.g. Dialect baal ‘mine’ and aant ‘aunt’.
a - as in English pan, e.g. Dialect pezak ‘rotten’ and stank ‘stamp’.
ae - this sound does not exist in English, as in Cornish men ‘stone’,
e.g. Dialect aeven ‘throwing’ and maenolas ‘wooden box stove’.
e - as in English pen, e.g. Dialect fesh ‘fish’ and glaazen ‘staring’.
i - as in English pin, e.g. Dialect dipa ‘small pit’ and pindee ‘gone off’.
ee - as in English preen, e.g. Dialect morgee ‘dogfish’ and geek ‘a peek’.
oa - this sound does not exist in English, as in Cornish mos ‘to go’,
e.g. Dialect troaz ‘noise’ and noa ‘no’.
o - as in English upon, e.g. Dialect doreemows ‘dormouse’ and porvan ‘wick’.
u - as in English pun, e.g. Dialect durns ‘door frame’ and un ‘him, it’.
oo - as in English poo, e.g. Dialect gook ‘bonnet’ and fooch ‘a pretence’.

Diphthongs are much the same as English.

aw - as in English pawn, e.g. Dialect nawthen ‘nothing’ and craw ‘crow’.
ay - as in English pain, e.g. Dialect fay ‘faith’ and layster ‘iris flower’.
ew - as in English pew, e.g. Dialect lew ‘shelter’ and dewsnayl ‘slug’.
i-e,y - as in English pine, e.g. Dialect nyst ‘nearly, all but’ and py ‘adulterated tin’.
ow - this sound does not exist in English, as in Cornish tewynn ‘dune’,
e.g. Dialect towan ‘dune’ and crowst ‘luncheon’.
oy - as in English ploy, e.g. Dialect goyl ‘cuttle fish’ and goyn ‘going’.

Dialect has pre-occluded geminates that derive from both Cornish and Middle English.

dn - this sound does not exist in English, as in Late Cornish pedn ‘head’,
e.g. Dialect pednan ‘small piece of turf’ and wodn ‘would not’.
bm - this sound does not exist in English, as in Late Cornish cabm ‘head’,
e.g. Dialect scubma ‘splinters’ and obm ‘of it’

Consonants b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, qu, r, s, t, v, w, x and z are pronounced as in English.

Spelling

Spelling or, perhaps more correctly, transliteration of dialect has endless potential for debate. Application of modern phonetic convention to vernacular usage is subjective. However, for this book Jago's magnificent Glossary of the Cornish Dialect of 1882 has been agreed as the nominal standard and phonemic base for spelling.

 

[Text3:'Main body text']