PRONUNCIATION - lovinglivingcornish

This guidance is based on Kernowek Standard (KS) spellings. It reflects a plausible reconstruction of Cornish as spoken carefully at the beginning of the seventeenth century.

The letter y

Y is the most versatile letter in the Kernowek Standard spelling system. It will be worth noting at the outset that it may represent either a pure vowel or the second part of a diphthong; or it may represent a glide (treated in this guidance as a consonant); or it may be just a conventional element for writing a consonantal digraph or trigraph.

17 October 2023

VOWELS

Including diphthongs

Provided meaning is not obscured, there is a considerable tendency to reduce pure vowel sounds in unstressed syllables to the vowel sound in THE when not rhymed with THEE, though i or u ‘colouring’ will persist. And stressed short e likewise reduces before retroflex r. Particle ow often drops the w sound (which may even have originated as a mere spelling convention); but possessive pronoun ow is always pronounced as spelled.

A pure vowel. In a monosyllable it is the vowel sound in CAT but lengthened. But pronounce as for à in a monosyllable ending in a single voiceless consonant sound unless this is gh or th, or ending in two consonant sounds unless these are sk or st. And pronounce as for à in a word of more than one syllable.

A pure vowel. It is the vowel sound in CAT.

A pure vowel. It is the vowel sound in CAT but lengthened. In monosyllables ending in l n single s or v, it is approximately the vowel sound in CORE with silent r - more precisely, the sound represented by the symbol [ɒ:] in the International Phonetic Alphabet. In words of more than one syllable that are derived from such monosyllables, pronounce approximately as for ò - more precisely, the sound represented by International Phonetic Alphabet [ɒ].

A digraph for a pure vowel. Pronounce as for ê.

A digraph for a pure vowel. When it is stressed, pronounce approximately as the vowel sound in CORE with silent r - more precisely, the sound represented by the symbol [ɒ:] in the International Phonetic Alphabet. When au is unstressed, pronounce approximately as for ò - more precisely, the sound represented by International Phonetic Alphabet [ɒ].

A diphthong. It is the vowel sound in COW.

A diphthong. It is the vowel sound in FLY.

A pure vowel. In a monosyllable it is approximately the vowel sound in THEY, but drawn out and lacking the final y-sound. More precisely, this is the sound represented by the symbol [e:] in the International Phonetic Alphabet. But pronounce as for è in a monosyllable ending in a single voiceless consonant sound unless this is gh or th, or ending in two consonant sounds unless these are sk or st. And pronounce as for è in a word of more than one syllable.

A pure vowel. It is the vowel sound in PET.

A pure vowel. It is approximately the vowel sound in THEY, but drawn out and lacking the final y-sound. More precisely, this is the sound represented by the symbol [e:] in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

A pure vowel. Pronounce as for ê or î according to preference.

eaw

A trigraph. Only found in a few non-Celtic loan-words. Pronounce as for aw or as if written yaw.

eou

A trigraph. Only found in a few non-Celtic loan-words. Pronounce as for ou or as if written you.

A digraph for a pure vowel. When it is stressed, pronounce either as the vowel sound represented by the symbol [ø:] in the International Phonetic Alphabet or as for ê. When eu is unstressed, pronounce either as the vowel sound represented by the symbol [œ] in the International Phonetic Alphabet or as for è.

A diphthong. Pronounce either as the vowel sound in PET or as the vowel sound in KIT, in each case followed by a w-sound. But ew has the ‘yoo’ sound of USE in Ewny and in non Celtic loan-words.

êw

A diphthong. Pronounce as for ew or yw according to preference.

A diphthong. It is the vowel sound in FLY but pronounced further forward in the mouth. In unweyth dywweyth etc it is often reduced to the vowel sound in PET or KIT.

A pure vowel. When it is stressed, pronounce as the vowel sound in ME. In unstressed syllables it is the vowel sound in KIT.

A pure vowel. It is the vowel sound in ME.

A pure vowel. In a monosyllable it is approximately the vowel sound in COY, but drawn out and lacking the final y-sound. More precisely, this is the sound represented by the symbol [o:] in the International Phonetic Alphabet. But pronounce as for ò in a monosyllable ending in a single voiceless consonant sound unless this is gh or th, or ending in two consonant sounds unless these are sk or st. And pronounce as for ò in a word of more than one syllable.

A pure vowel. It is close to the vowel sound in COT, but shifted slightly towards the vowel sound in COULD.

A digraph for a pure vowel. Some speakers pronounce it as for ô when it is stressed, otherwise as for ò. This is a more easterly pronunciation in historical terms. Some speakers pronounce it as for û when it is stressed, otherwise as for ù. In historical terms this is a more westerly pronunciation.

A digraph for a pure vowel. When its is stressed, pronounce as for û. Otherwise as for ù.

A diphthong. Pronounce as ò + w. Some pronounce as û when it is stressed before a vowel in the same utterance, and as ù when it is unstressed before such a vowel.

ôw

A diphthong. Pronounce as for ow or yw according to preference.

A diphthong. It is the vowel sound in COY. But many pronounce it further forward in the mouth.

A pure vowel in most cases. In a monosyllable pronounce as for î; some retain an older pronunciation as in German grün. But pronounce as the vowel sound in KIT in a monosyllable ending in a single voiceless consonant sound and in a word of more than one syllable; some retain an older pronunciation as in German Tschüss, and this is still generally the pronunciation when u immediately precedes another vowel in the same word. In two situations, however, u is not a pure vowel. Always pronounce as for yw word-finally (whether stressed or unstressed). And in ugh and derivatives, u is the ‘hyoo’ sound of HUGE.

A pure vowel. It is the vowel sound in COULD.

A pure vowel. It is the vowel sound in COO. But û in a loan-word has the ‘yoo’ sound of USE if the word was borrowed from English and the English word has that sound.

A pure vowel (save when pronounced as ey). At the beginning of a word or alone as a particle, it is the vowel sound in THE when not rhymed with THEE. Alone meaning ‘they’ or stressed at the end of a word, it is either the vowel sound in ME or pronounced as for ey. Unstressed at the end of a word of more than one syllable, it is the final vowel sound in TEDDY or BODY (slight variation as in English). In other cases pronounce as the vowel sound in KIT.

A pure vowel. Pronounce as for î or ê according to preference.

A diphthong. Pronounce as the vowel sound in KIT followed by a w-sound.

CONSONANTS

Geminates are pronounced as a single consonant. But note that ss is a digraph, not a geminate. And when the subjunctive stem of a verb ends in ll or rr but its other stems end in a single l or r, the geminate may optionally be pronounced as for lh or rh respectively.

Cornish generally has a principle of 'regressive assimilation', and this will override equivalences of sound supplied in the advice given below. When a voiced consonant immediately follows a voiceless consonant in the same word, the voiceless consonant becomes voiced; and when a voiceless consonant immediately follows a voiced consonant in the same word, the voiced consonant becomes voiceless; except that l n r only devoice when the following voiceless consonant is a fricative (f gh h th); m never devoices; and for assimilation the glides w and y do not count as consonants at all. For assimilation purposes an unstressed preposition is treated as part of the following word.

Pronounce as in English. But word-finally there is a tendency for the sound to be pronounced as for p.

A digraph. Pronounce approximately as for English, but the first element is very light (pre-occluded m).

Pronounce as in SAT before any e i or y. Otherwise as in CAT.

A digraph. Pronounce as in CHAT.

A digraph. Pronounce as for k.

A digraph. Only found in non-Celtic loan-words. Pronounce as if ss + consonantal y, or as for sh if the word was borrowed from English and the English word has that sound.

Pronounce as in English.

A digraph. Pronounce as in THAT. But it is often silent in the combination rdh when word-final and occasionally elsewhere.

A digraph. Pronounce approximately as for English, but the first element is very light (pre-occluded n).

dnh

A trigraph. Pronounce as for dn, but with d tending to t, and nh realized as a voiceless n with slight aspiration.

Pronounce as in English. But as for v in fenester fenten fordh fos after any word triggering Second State - and some extend this practice to other instances of word-initial f. Word-finally it is pronounced only lightly and may even be silent.

Pronounce as in GET, never as in GEM. But word-finally there is a tendency for the sound to be pronounced as for k.

A digraph. Pronounce as in LOCH. But the sound is often reduced to h or may even be silent.

Pronounce as in English. But it is often reduced or may even be silent between vowels.

Pronounce as in English.

Pronounce as in English. But as for lh when immediately preceded by dh f th or v in the same word.

A digraph. This is a voiceless retroflex l with slight aspiration. But there is no friction, unlike Welsh.

Pronounce as in English.

A digraph. This is always a single sound ‘ng’ when word-final. But in a loan-word it is a double sound ‘ng-g’ if the word was borrowed from English and the English word has that sound.

A digraph. This is a voiceless n with slight aspiration.

Pronounce as in English.

Generally this is a retroflex sound like the r in West Country English. No tap or trill; the tip of the tongue curled slightly back. But pronounce as for rh when immediately preceded by dh f th or v in the same word. Some also pronounce as for rh in rag.

A digraph. This is a voiceless retroflex r with slight aspiration.

Pronounce as in SAT. But as in IS (i.e. as if z) medially before a vowel, voiced consonant or glide in the same utterance, or when word-final in a stressed syllable. When word-final after a wholly reduced pure vowel the sound is often half way between s and z. Some speakers may pronounce it word-initially as z when it is immediately preceded by a vowel or n in the same utterance and immediately followed by a vowel; or in other cases too.

A digraph. Only found in non-Celtic loan-words. Pronounce as for ss.

scy

A trigraph. Only found in non-Celtic loan-word conscyans. Pronounce as for sh.

A digraph. Only found in non-Celtic loan-words. Pronounce as in SHALL.

A digraph. Pronounce as in KISS.

ssy

A trigraph. Only found in non-Celtic loan-words. Pronounce as for sh.

A digraph. Only found in non-Celtic loan-words. It may be pronounced as for sh, or as S in TREASURE if the word was borrowed from English and the English word has that sound. Not to be confused with straightforward juncture of s and y where each letter has its own sound.

Pronounce as in English.

A digraph. Pronounce as in THIN. But final rth is sometimes pronounced as rh. And the spelling of particle owth is really just a convention of writing: it may be pronounced as it is spelled, but it can also be pronounced as for particle ow followed by an h-sound (which merges with any h at the beginning of the next word).

Pronounce as in English. But as for f when it immediately follows dh l n r or th in the same word. Word-finally it is pronounced only lightly and may even be silent.

This is a ‘glide’ as in English. But it is only lightly pronounced in word-initial gwr, wr and qwr. It may be silent after j.

A digraph. This is the sound heard in WHEN if that word is pronounced precisely: a voiceless w-glide with slight aspiration.

Only found in non-Celtic loan-words. Pronounce as in TAX.

Before a vowel, y is a ‘glide’ with the same pronunciation as English consonantal y. It may be silent after ch or j. Initial yê / yêw / yêy may optionally be pronounced as for e / ew / ey respectively.

This letter is used optionally instead of s word-initially in a few non-Celtic loan-words and sometimes to show a preference for a z-sound in a native word.

Stress accent

Cornish words generally have a relatively strong stress accent. Primary stress falls in most cases on the penultimate syllable of a word. Compound words are pronounced with a stress pattern that preserves the identity of the words in the compound. This does not usually apply when the first or second element is (or is treated as) a prefix or suffix, but there are a few exceptions (e.g. kevoos instead of kevos 'contemporary'). Monosyllabic prepositions and the definite article are usually unstressed, but a'n is generally pronounced with the same vowel as if it were stressed, to distinguish it from the definite article alone. Particles are always unstressed. Stress is reduced on a few other monosyllabic words qualifying a noun or adjective: e.g. neb, pòr (contrast adjective pur), pùb (contrast pronoun peb/pob, though pronoun pùb also occurs).