Dydh da ha KYGK (CLCS) a'gas dynnergh! Welcome to the Cornish Language & Culture Society (CLCS) at Tremough!
CLCS is a society with a diverse range of interests centring around the great COUNTRY of Cornwall, whith our activities including cultural and historical walks, folktale telling, beginner's language lessons and speaking practice sessions, amongst many other exciting things!
This wonderful Celtic language – Kernewek - is undergoing a successful revival in Cornwall and further afield. Cornwall Council has an official Cornish language office and undergraduates are a key source of speakers who can take this momentum forward. Tremough is potentially an ideal environment for Cornish language use amid a landscape filled with Cornish place names. However, until now, there was no group supporting Cornish language speakers at any level, nor any society helping to provide broader appreciation of, and involvement in, its culture. Enter CLCS! Further context to this society is provided by a vibrant Cornish language postgraduate scene, regular visiting scholars and the Language and Society Unit (Institute of Cornish Studies). This group will provide advice, resources and encouragement for those learning Cornish and will contribute to the linguistic culture of Cornwall, past, present and future.
The Cornish Language and Culture Society exists to help students learn, practice and use Cornish language, at and around Tremough. Everyone at every level of language proficiency will be able to use and improve their Cornish language in a supportive setting. The medieval plays, written in Cornish and forming the foundation of the Cornish language we use today, were likely to have been composed at Glasney College in Penryn, very near Tremough. Members can become better acquainted with these texts and their importance through recitations, enactments and close reading of excerpts. Of course, we’ll also be talking about the exciting, creative and practical ways in which Cornish language is used now!
As well as this, our society also seeks to celebrate everything Cornish. From music to plays to the beautiful countryside and beaches, the Cornish Language and Culture Society is perfect for anyone who loves Cornwall as much as we do!
If you want to learn Cornish off-campus, please consider these options:
... and many others, as you can see from Go Cornish's page for finding classes. Other possibilities include Esther Johns' beginners' class held Mondays in-person at Helston - 15km from Penryn (estherjcroft@aol.com); Deborah Pollard's class on Tuesday evenings in-person at Redruth - 10 km from Penryn (info@learncornishdreckly.org.uk); Janice Lobb's online course via Cussul an Tavas concentrating on later historical forms of Cornish (janicelobb@gmail.com); and the online Kernowek Standard classes of Ian Jackson and Viv Taksis (https://www.skeulantavas.com/events).
CLCS members on campus will also be glad to help.
Whether you are learning and using Cornish via an external class, or through no class, or through the erstwhile PLC1130/2230 module, CLCS is here to help you learn and use the language on campus. We hope to arrange meetings at convenient times, to help students ensure that their learning 'sticks', through making use of the language.
For more Cornish-themed events off campus, see: https://kalenderkernewek.weebly.com/