Dydh da, readers!
If you understood that as ‘hello’, you’re among a growing group of people who are bringing Cornish back into style. If you didn’t understand it but thought it was Welsh, your ignorance is forgiven as they do come from the same Celtic language family. If you didn’t recognise it at all, you might soon.
Cornish is a mostly dead language which was spoken widely across Cornwall until the early nineteenth century, when it faded out of use in favour of English. Since then, it has mostly been forgotten by everyone but a dedicated few. Those few, however, are multiplying.
According to Speak Cornish speaking to the BBC, there has been ‘a significant rise in the number of [Cornish] learners, not only across the UK, but internationally too’. The organisation says that the language is having a renaissance right now, and is putting on a series of events to celebrate.
Primarily Speak Cornish is hosting a series of meet-ups where members of communities across the county come together and learn the language. They welcome learners of all abilities, so whether you’re fluent or are yet to utter a word of Cornish there’s space for you. You can find out where your nearest event is here.
The group have also put together a list of quick Cornish phrases which anyone can learn, including the hello, which is dydh da, please, which is mar pleg, and penn-bloodh lowen, which means happy birthday. You can find the whole list of phrases here.
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