The Status of the Cornish Language in the years between the death of Dolly Pentreath in 1777 and Henry Jenner’s publication of A Handbook of the Cornish Language in 1904
Broadhurst, K
Date: 13 May 2024
Thesis or dissertation
Publisher
University of Exeter
Degree Title
PhD in Cornish Studies
Abstract
The intention of this thesis is to fill a lacuna in our knowledge and understanding of
the history of the Cornish language. It is widely believed that with the death in 1777 of
Dolly Pentreath the language became extinct and remained so until the beginning of
the language revival at the start of the twentieth century instigated ...
The intention of this thesis is to fill a lacuna in our knowledge and understanding of
the history of the Cornish language. It is widely believed that with the death in 1777 of
Dolly Pentreath the language became extinct and remained so until the beginning of
the language revival at the start of the twentieth century instigated by the publication
of Henry Jenner’s Handbook of the Cornish Language in 1904. This study considers
why Pentreath was seen as the last speaker of Cornish and examines evidence to
counter this. It also investigates why Jenner’s Handbook is used to date the beginning
of the revival when other works pre-date it and the wider significance this has on the
status of the language.
After a discussion of definitions of language status, reasons for language
decline and extinction, and frameworks for assessing the vitality of minority languages,
the thesis examines previous studies of the period before turning to a description of
the methodology used. This thesis revisited the research carried out on the Cornish
language during the nineteenth century by contemporary antiquarians including Dr
Fred W.P. Jago, the Reverend Lach-Szyrma, and Henry Jenner. It sought to explore
the areas of research they did not cover at the time, namely the use of Cornish by the
working classes. It examined contemporary and subsequent accounts of known
Cornish speakers during the nineteenth century and traces the information we have
about them, and their knowledge of Cornish. Finally, it applied Lee and Van Way’s
Language Endangerment Index to the status of Cornish at given points during the
period covered by the study to enable a more accurate definition. This thesis seeks to
apply these definitions and frameworks to archival evidence which has, itself, not been
considered in previous academic studies.
The evidence from the previously neglected sources consulted during the
research for this study offer the conclusion that Cornish was not extinct during this
period but should be re-classified as having been critically endangered.
Doctoral Theses
Doctoral College
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