[lg policy] Re: Truro City Council adopt new Cornish language policy

[Dave Sayers]

Interesting stuff! I picked up on the first traces of this online civic debate 
towards the end of my 2012 article on the Cornish language revival (shameless plug 
alert: http://goo.gl/7WZGl). It'll be fascinating to see how this debate develops in 
future.

It's particularly interesting the way that the decline and disappearance of Cornish 
in late C18, followed by its manual reconstruction throughout C20, is not discussed. 
I certainly don't mean to strike a tone of conspiracy (after all, Cornish qualified 
for Charter protection fair and square, since the Charter doesn't technically specify 
whether a language must have been spoken continuously up until the present day), but 
still, that particular detail is notable for its absence -- in this and other media 
reports of Cornish.

Dave

--
Dr. Dave Sayers
Honorary Research Fellow, Arts & Humanities, Swansea University, UK
Visiting Lecturer (2013-14), Dept English, University of Turku, Finland
dave.sayers at cantab.net
http://swansea.academia.edu/DaveSayers


On 13/07/2013 19:00, lgpolicy-list-request at groups.sas.upenn.edu wrote:
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 09:29:14 -0400
> From: Harold Schiffman<hfsclpp at gmail.com>
> Subject: [lg policy] Truro City Council adopt new Cornish language
> 	policy
> To: lp<lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
> Message-ID:
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> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>   Truro City Council adopt new Cornish language policy
> [image: Trusted article source icon]
>   Thursday, July 11, 2013
>   <http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/people/West%20Briton/profile.html>
>
>
>
> <http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Truro-City-Council-adopt-new-Cornish-language/story-19506016-detail/story.html#>
>
> THE CORNISH language will appear on signs across Truro after a new policy
> was adopted by the city council.
>
> The Cornish language policy voted in at a Truro City Council meeting means
> it aims to include it and English on the signs of street names and public
> conveniences, such as toilets, whenever signage is replaced.
>
> Councillor Conan Jenkin who suggested the move, said: "I am delighted that
> the city council has agreed this policy and I hope other local councils and
> public institutions will be inspired to follow suit.
>
> "It is important that the rest of Cornwall knows that the Cornish language
> is valued and supported in Cornwall's capital. I look forward to seeing
> more bilingual signage across Cornwall and more pride in Cornwall's
> indigenous language."
>     [image: Main image for Lighthouse Electrical Bodmin]
> <http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/shopping/home-appliances/lighthouse-electrical-bodmin/business-18191813-detail/business.html>
>   Chest freezer £149 cash n carry
>
> Lighthouse Electrical
> Bodmin<http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/shopping/home-appliances/lighthouse-electrical-bodmin/business-18191813-detail/business.html>
> View details<http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Truro-City-Council-adopt-new-Cornish-language/story-19506016-detail/story.html#>
>
> Print voucher<http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/voucher-details.html?id=19516847>
>
>
>
>      The city will use the standard written form of the Cornish language as
> its preferred version, and has also agreed to help promote the language
> internationally to raise awareness. Reaction has been mixed, and on
> Facebook, Emily Dodge wrote: "Another waste of public money."
>
> Gary Scofied commented: "No, pointless. No one can read it, very few read
> or speak Cornish."
>
> But Stephen Richardson said: "The point is that this is a very cheap way to
> promote Cornish culture and tourism without any additional cost.
>
> "New signs would basically cost the same when they were ordered and I'm
> sure that no one is suggesting taking down every sign and replacing it."
>
> Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language protected by government legislation
> under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
>
> Read more:
> http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Truro-City-Council-adopt-new-Cornish-language/story-19506016-detail/story.html#ixzz2Yvq2Mffd
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