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The use of the various forms of the verb will be found more fully explained in the chapter on the construction of sentences.
When the auxiliaries gwîl and gally are used to form a passive, it is sometimes the auxiliary that takes the passive form. Thus:
Mar ny wrer y wythe, if he be not guarded (Res. Dom., 341), mar keller y wythe, if he can be kept (Pass. Chr., 3058).
But in modern Cornish this would be more likely to be formed with a double auxiliary:
Mar ni wrello bos gwithes.
Mar callo bos gwithes.
$ 2. The Tenses Of The Inflected Verb.
The inflected verb is reducible to five tenses, with an imperative, two participles, and a verbal noun or infinitive. These are all formed on the root by the addition of terminations, and sometimes by a modification of the root vowel (indicated below by m).
The tenses and their terminations are:
I. Present or Future.
Singular. Plural.
1. av or am on [earlier men].
2. m eth or es. ough.
3. root alone. ons or ans.
II. Imperfect or Secondary Present.
Singular. Plural.
1. en. en.
2. es. eugh.
3. a. ens.
III. Preterite.
Singular. Plural.
1. mys. son [earliermsen].
2. mses. sough.
3. as. sons or sans.
Re prefixed to this tense turned it into a preterperfect in middle Cornish, but in the later form re is only used for the optative. {119}
IV. The Pluperfect or Secondary Perfect, largely used in late Cornish as a Conditional.
Singular. Plural.
1. sen (or jen). sen (or jen).
2. ses (or jes) seugh (or jeugh).
3. sa (or ja). sens (or jens).
V. The Subjunctive Present.
Singular. Plural.
1. mev. men.
2. my. meugh.
3. o. ens or ons.
Extra tense to some verbs: Second Future. Found in the early MSS. in the impersonal form as a simple future.
Singular. Plural.
1. fym, vym, vyv. fan, von.
2. fyth, vyth. fough, vough.
3. iv fyth, vyth, fyns, vyns, vons. vo.
The Imperative.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. en.
2. root alone. eugh.
3. ens or es. ens.
The Present Participle is formed by prefixing ow to the infinitive, the initial of which, if mutable in that manner, is changed to its fourth state. If a present participle governs a pronoun object, the latter in its possessive form immediately precedes (and governs as to initial) the infinitive, and is itself preceded by the preposition worth. In late Cornish ow was often written a or o.
Another participial form, common in Breton and occasionally found in Cornish, has been already mentioned in Chap. III. § 2. This is made by placing the preposition yn, en, in, and the indefinite article idn, un, before the infinitive or verbal noun. Its use is chiefly adverbial. Thus, in the Poem of the Passion we find, yn un scolchye, skulking; yn un garme, crying out; yn un fystyne, hurrying.
The Infinitive or Verbal Noun is formed by adding a, ya, y, as or es, al or el, to the root. In some verbs the root itself, without any addition, is the verbal noun.
The Past or Passive Participle is formed by adding es to the root, with or without modification of the root vowel.
The Passive termination is er for the present and es for the preterite, but in Modern Cornish the Passive is almost always formed after the English model by the auxiliary verb bos, to be, with the past participle.
The terminations ma and ta are often added to the first and second persons singular of various tenses in interrogative and subjunctive sentences, and in the case of the first person even in ordinary narration. Norris maintains that these are not forms of mî and tî, but only an a suffixed to the verb termination, which in the first person reverts to a primary m for v, and in the second person reassumes a dropped t. This theory is rather supported by our finding a occasionally added to the third persons of tenses of the verb to be, but va is also found. Whether this is the explanation or not, we find such forms as:
Pandra venta? what wilt thou?
A wresta? dost thou? Mar menta, if thou wilt.
Pandra wrama? what shall I do?
There are some few differences between the inflected verb of the earlier MSS. and that of modern Cornish, and among other changes the lighter termination en or yn of the first person plural, and ens or yns of the third person plural, in some cases had changed by Lhuyds time to on or an, and ons or ans, but probably really the vowel is obscure. There was also considerable uncertainty about the modification of the vowel. Even in the early MSS. the change of vowel is rather vague, but the general rule seems to have been that when the termination has a thin vowel (e, i, or y), a broad root vowel (a, o, u) is changed to a thin vowel, usually in late Cornish to e (cf. the Gaelic rule of leathan le leathan agus caol le caol, broad with broad and thin with thin). But this is by no means universal, and in some tenses, as in the imperfect and pluperfect, is not found at all.
There is some confusion in modern Cornish about the subjunctive or fifth tense. Norris considers that Lhuyds subjunctive is really, except for the third person singular, the imperfect or second tense of the older MSS. But it seems to be more like a form of the present indicative, except in the third person singular, which is the old subjunctive. Lhuyds change of the first person singular to am instead of av is not uncommon in certain verbs of late Cornish, when this tense is used in a subjunctive clause.
The inflected verb at the beginning of a sentence is often preceded in Middle Cornish by the verbal particle y (or before a vowel yth), which does not mean anything in particular. y causes the third state in verbs whose radical is p, c, t, and the fourth state in those whose radical is d, and changes gw to wh. In late Cornish it is rarely used except with the present of môs, to go, and (in its apocopated form th or as th) with the present and imperfect of bos, to be.
A reflexive verb may be formed from any transitive verb by prefixing m (older forms ym, as in Welsh, and em, as in Breton), changing the initial to the second state.
cregy, to hang; mgregy, to hang oneself.
brêsy, to judge; mvrêsy, to judge oneself.
disqwedhas, to show; mdhisqwedhas, to show oneself.
gweras, to help; mweras, to help oneself.
Sometimes the prefix gives a mutual rather than a reflexive sense.
msewa, to follow one another.
mladha, to fight, contend (cf. French se battre).
CHAPTER IXTHE AUXILIARY VERBS
§ 1. Bos, to be.
The verb to be in Cornish, as in other Aryan languages, is made up of more than one verb. In Cornish it may be divided in two parts. The first of these consists of two tenses, a present and an imperfect, the second of the usual five tenses, the imperative and the infinitive.
The first division, by means of reduplications and additions, takes a variety of forms in the early literature, and there is a considerable uncertainty about the exact force of these forms. Some of them evidently mean little more than elongations and contractions for the sake of metre. The second division is formed with greater regularity on a root b, changing under certain conditions to v (often written f) and p.
I. FIRST DIVISION. PRESENT TENSE, I am.
Sing. 1. ov (old form of), âthov, thov, oma, thoma, thoma.
2. os, thos, thos, osta, thosta, thosta.
3. yu, thyu, thyu, yua, thyua, thyua.
Plur. 1. on, thon, thon.
2. ough, though, though.
3. ens, thens, thens.
There is little or no difference of meaning in these forms. The lengthened form thov, or its apocopated thov, is generally found at the beginning of an assertion. Oma, osta, yua and their lengthened forms are used interrogatively or after certain conjunctions. In the early literature the lengthened forms were written ythof, assof, ossof, esof, and even, with double lengthening, ythesaf, ythesef, ythesof. The first vowel is probably the obscure vowel (as u in until), and the stress accent is on the syllable that follows the verbal prefix, so that even the consonant of the prefix is a little uncertain. Williams makes it dh, but th seems more probable. In late Cornish the vowel of the prefix was usually dropped. The personal pronouns are generally added after this tense, so that it practically becomes:
Thov vî, thos dî, yu ev (or ev yu), thon ny, though why, thens y (pronounced then).
Occasionally the impersonal form of this verb is used, mî yu, tî yu, ev yu, n yu, wh yu, yu. The negative is formed by adding nyns to the short form, nynsov or nynsoma, nynsos or nynsosta, nynsyu, etc. Similarly this tense may be compounded with mar, if, ken, though, may, that, into marsov, kensov, maythov. The s, which is sometimes altered to th, is probably the th of the verbal prefix.
There are two other forms of the third person present, ema (or ma), plural emons (or mons), and es (older us), or esy or ejy (older usy, ugy).
(a). ema, ma, emons, mons must, according to Lhuyd, always be used narratively, never negatively, interrogatively (except after ple, where), or with relatives. They must always precede their subject. Thus:
Ema n levar en ow ch, the book is in my house.
Ema levar en ow ch, there is a book in my house.
Nynsyw levar en ow ch, there is not a book in my house.
Ple yu n levar? / Ple ma n levar? } where is the book?
Yu n levar bma? is the book here?
(b). emons is only used when the pronoun they is the subject. When a noun is the subject, whether singular or plural, a singular verb is used.
Emons en ow ch, they are in my house.
Ema n levrow en ow ch, the books are in my house.
(c). es, esy, ejy, are chiefly used with relatives or interrogatively in the sense of is there, is there not.
An levar es en ow ch, the book which is in my house (in this case es=a es, which is).
Es levar en ow ch? Is there a book in my house?
Nag es levar en ow ch? Is there not a book in my house?
In the first of these two interrogations the interrogative particle a coalesces with es, in the second nag=ni ag, ag being the same interrogative particle, with a g added before a vowel.
The ordinary interrogative of this tense is merely the form oma, osta, yua, on n, ough wh, ens (pron. enj), which should be preceded by an apostrophe to show that the interrogative particle a is elided. The negative interrogative is the same preceded by nag.
The difference between the use of ema, yu, and es is not quite so distinct in Cornish as between the corresponding y mae, yw, and oes in Welsh, but if there is any difference in meaning between ema and yu, it is that ema has more often the sense of there is, it is, and yu more commonly that of is only; also yu can be used interrogatively and negatively, while ema, except after ple, where, should not be used interrogatively, and is never used negatively at all. Its negative and interrogative equivalent is es.
II. FIRST DIVISION. IMPERFECT TENSE, I was.
Old form.
Singular. Plural.
1. esen, ythesen, 1. esen, ythesen. en.
2. eses, ytheses, 2. eseugh, ytheseugh. es.
3. esa, ytheses. 3. esens, ythesens.
Late form.
Singular. Plural.
1. erav, eram, erama, therav, 1. eron, theron. theram.
2. eras, erasta, theras. 2. erough, therough.
3. era, thera. 3. erons, therons.
The change from s to r in this tense, and the assimilation of the inflections to the present, does not occur in the written language until the middle of the seventeenth century. The personal pronouns were always used with this tense in its late form, and the final consonants of the personal inflections generally coalesced with the pronouns, and so were omitted in writing, thus therav vî, theron n, therough wh, were written, though incorrectly, thera vî, thera n, thero wh.
An alternative third person singular is o. It is used with relatives as an equivalent of a o, who was, and with negatives as nynso=there was not. It is in fact the past equivalent of es, but it is often used in a simple assertion also. The simple interrogative is erama, was I? the negative interrogative is nag erama, was I not? and the simple negative nynseram, I was not.
SECOND DIVISION. INFINITIVE, bos, to be, older form, used chiefly when an extra syllable was required for a verse, bones.
I. FUTURE TENSE, I shall be.
Singular. Plural.
1. bedhav (older bydhaf). 1. bedhon.
2. bedheth (bydhith). 2. bedhough.
3. bedh (bydh). 3. bedhons (bedhens).
This tense is used more commonly in the impersonal form, mî a vedh, tî a vedh, etc. Another common future is mî a vedn bos, formed with menny, to will.
II. IMPERFECT OR SECONDARY PRESENT, I was being.
Singular. Plural.
1. bedhen, ben. 1. bedhen, ben.
2. bedhes, bes, 2. bedheugh, beugh. besta.
3. bedha, be, beva. 3. bedhens, bens.
This tense is used rather as a conditional, I should be, or a subjunctive after pan, when, mar, if, etc.
II. PRETERITE, I was, I have been.
Singular. Plural.
1. bêv (older buf, buef). 1. bên (older buen).
2. bês (older bus, bues) besta. 2. beugh.
3. bê (older bue). 3. bons.
This tense is more frequently used in the impersonal, mî a vê, tî a vê, etc.
IV. PLUPERFECT, I had been.
Singular. Plural.
1. bîen (older written 1. bîen (byen). byen).
2. bîes (byes). 2. bîeugh (byeugh).
3. bîa (bye). 3. bîens (byens).
Lhuyd gives a pluperfect beazen, beazes, etc. corresponding with the Welsh buaswn, but it does not appear to be used.
V. SUBJUNCTIVE, I may be.
Singular. Plural.
1. bev (older byf, 1. ben. beyf).
2. by. 2. beugh.
3. bo. 3. bons.
This and the second tense are not very clearly distinguished.
IMPERATIVE.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. 1. bedhon, let us be.
2. bedh, be thou. 2. bedhough, be ye.
3. bedhens (bedhes, boes, 3. bedhens, let them be. bes), let him be.
A common variant of the imperative is formed with the auxiliary gwîl, to do.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. 1. gwren ny bos.
2. gwra bos. 2. gwreugh bos.
3. gwrens e bos. 3. gwrens y bos.
§ 2. Gwîl (older guthil, gruthil, guil, gul), to do.
I. PRESENT OR FUTURE TENSE, I do, or I shall do.
(a). Inflected.
Singular. Plural.
1. gwrav, gwrama. 1. gwren, gwron.
2. gwreth, gwrês, 2. gwreugh, gwrough. gwresta.
3. gwra. 3. gwrons.
Gwrama, gwresta, in the second mutation wrama, wresta, are used in interrogative and negative sentences, and after mar, if, in the fourth mutation qwrama, qwresta. The older form of gwresta was gwreta. Occasionally in late Cornish a form of this present is found exactly like the imperfect of bos; therama, thera, etc. This is probably wrama, wra, with the verbal particle th (yth) prefixed. It occurs in cases where it cannot possibly be the imperfect of bos. Lhuyd (pp. 246, 253) was rather puzzled by it, but with his usual clearness of sight was able to find out the real facts.
(b). Impersonal.
Mî a wra, tî a wra, ev a wra, etc.
II. THE IMPERFECT TENSE, I was doing.
(a). Inflected.
Singular. Plural.
1. gwrellen, gwren. 1. gwrellen, gwren.
2. gwrelles, gwres. 2. gwrelleugh.
3. gwrella, gwre. 3. gwrellens.
(b). Impersonal.
Mî a wrella, tî a wrella, etc.
This tense is seldom used as an auxiliary, and is often confused with the subjunctive.
III. THE PERFECT TENSE, I did.
(a). Inflected.
Old form.
Singular. Plural.
1. gwrugaf, gwruge. 1. gwrussyn.
2. gwrussys. 2. gwrussough.
3. gwruk. 3. gwrussons.
Later form of old form.
Singular. Plural.
1. gwrîgaf, gwrîga. 1. gwressen, gwreithen.
2. gwresses. 2. gwressough, gwreithough.
3. gwrîg. 3. gwressons, gwreithons.
Modern form.
Singular. Plural.
1. gwrîgav vi. 1. gwrîgon ny.
2. gwrîs, gwrîsta, gwrîges 2. gwrîgough why. dî.
3. gwrîg, gwrîga, gwrês. 3. gwrîgans y.
The last form seems to have completely superseded the other in late Cornish. It seems to be formed by taking the irregular third person singular as a root, and forming the rest of the persons from it on the analogy of the present tense. Where it is foundand the first person occurs as early as Jordans Drama of The Creation (e.g. ny wrugaf, 1. 1662)it is generally written without the final consonants of the verb, which, as in the imperfect tense of the verb to be, seem to coalesce with the initials of the pronouns. One finds the forms rig a vee, rigga vee, rigon ny, rigo why, rig an jy, these being preceded by adverbs, conjunctions, etc., such as na, pan, etc., which put the initial in the second state, and the w being almost silent is omitted. The form wruge (wrîga), occurs in Origo Mundi, 2250, and Passio Christi, 930, for the first person singular, preceded by pan, when. The same word occurs for the third person in O. M. 423, and in the form wrega in Jordans Creation, 2216. This is wrîg with the added a (see p. 120). A form of the third person singular of this tense, ros (for wros, second state of gwros), may possibly be found in the Ordinalia and in St. Meriasek, in the expression, re Thu am ros, by God who made me. But it is more probably the preterite of ry, to give, as it occurs also in the phrase ren arluth dhen beys am ros, by the Lord who gave me to the world. Wraze (wrês, cf. Breton, greaz) occurs in Gen. iii. 7.
(b). Impersonal.
Mî a wrîg, tî a wrîg, etc.
IV. THE PLUPERFECT OR CONDITIONAL TENSE, I had or would have done.
(a). Inflected.
Singular. Plural.
1. gwressen (older form gwrussen). 1. gwressen.
2. gwresses. 2. gwresseugh.
3. gwressa. 3. gwressens.
(b). Impersonal.
Mî a wressa, tî a wressa, etc.
V. THE SUBJUNCTIVE, I may do.
(a). Inflected.
Singular. Plural.
1. gwrellev (older 1. gwrellon, gwrellen. gwryllyf).
2. gwrelly, gwrelles. 2. gwrellough, gwrelleugh.
3. gwrello, gwreffa. 3. gwrellens, gwrons.
There is rather a confusion of the subjunctive and imperfect, and the two are used rather indiscriminately. The third person plural, gwrons, is borrowed from the imperative.
(b). The Impersonal.
Mî a wrello, tî a wrello, etc.
Mî a wreffa, tî a wreffa, etc.
VI. THE IMPERATIVE.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. 1. gwren, let us do.
2. gwra, do thou. 2. gwreugh, do ye.
3. gwrens, let him do. 3. gwrens, gwrons, let them do.
INFINITIVE, gîl, gwîl, to do.
PRESENT OR ACTIVE PARTICIPLE, ow kîl, doing.
PAST OR PASSIVE PARTICIPLE, gwrês, done.
When this verb is used otherwise than as an auxiliary, the future is mî a vedn gwîl, I will do, etc. It means, as a principal verb, to do or to make, and tenses may be formed with its own tenses as auxiliaries to its infinitive. Thus:
Mî a wra gwîl, I do or I make.
Tî a wrîg gwîl, thou hast made.
Mar qwressa n den e wîl, if the man would make it.
§ 3. Gally, to be able.
I. PRESENT OR FUTURE, I can or I may.
(a). Inflected.
Singular. Plural.
1. gellam, gallam, 1. gellen. gellav.
2. gallos, gelleth. 2. gellough, gallough.
3. gel. 3. gellons.
(b). Impersonal.
Mî a el or mî el, etc.
II. PAST (mixed preterite and pluperfect), I could or I might.
(a). Inflected.
Singular. Plural.
1. galjen, gelles. 1. galjen, gelsen.
2. galjes. 2. galjeugh, gelseugh.
3. galja, gallas. 3. galjens, gellens.
(b). Impersonal. Mî alja, etc.
III. SUBJUNCTIVE, I may be able.
(a). Inflected.
Singular. Plural.
1. gellev, gallen. 1. gellen.
2. gelly. 2. gelleugh, gallough.
3. gallo, gelly. 3. gallons.
This verb is chiefly used (as has been said) as an auxiliary in the present and past tenses, in the sense of can, could, or may, might. In direct sentences the impersonal form is most usual, in negative, interrogative, and dependent sentences the inflected form in the second state of the initial, which is influenced by the particle a, generally, however, not expressed, or by na, not. When the inflected form has been used in the question, the inflected form is often used also, preceded by the personal pronoun, in affirmative answers. Thus:
Ellough why clappya Kernûak? Can you speak Cornish?
Mî ellam (not mî a el). I can.
Aljesta scrifa a Sowsnak? Couldst thou write English?
Mî aljen. I could.
Allosta môs dhôn ch? Canst thou go to the house?
Mî ellam. I can.
Na orama dr el an Kembrîan gwîl rag dhô witha ga thavas. {133} I know not what the Welsh may do to preserve their language. (Bosons Nebbaz Gerriau.)
Radn alja bos parres dhô lavarel. {133} Some might be prepared to say. (Bosons Nebbaz Gerriau).
Sometimes the verb gthvos, to know (for which see Chapter XI.), is used to express can, especially when mental capability is more or less intended. Mî ôr (or mî wôr) cowsa Sowsnak, I can speak English. Compare a similar use of savoir in French.
§ 4. Menny, to will, to wish.
I. PRESENT, I will.
(a). Inflected.
Singular. Plural.
1. mennav, mednav, 1. mennon, mednon. mednama.
2. menneth, medneth, 2. mennough, mednough. menta.
3. medn. 3. mennons, mednons.
(b). Impersonal.
Mî a vedn, tî a vedn, etc.
II. PAST, I would. This is really the pluperfect.
(a). Inflected.
Singular. Plural.
1. menjon, menjam (older 1. menjon (mensen). mensen).
2. menjes (menses). 2. menjough (menseugh).
3. menja (mensa). 3. menjons (mensens).
(b). Impersonal.
Mî a venja, tî a venja, etc.
These are the only two tenses in common use as auxiliaries. Lhuyd gives another of mixed imperfect and preterite, mennen, mennyz, mennaz, mennen, menneh, mennenz.
CHAPTER XPARADIGM OF A REGULAR VERB
The following is a complete paradigm of a regular verb, showing the various forms. Most tenses have at least two forms, the simple verb, whether in the inflected or impersonal conjugation, and the compound, or verb with auxiliaries. In late Cornish the compound is by far the more usual in almost every tense. The general principal on which the different forms are used is:
Affirmative Sentences. Simple Impersonal or Auxiliary Impersonal, generally the latter.
Negative, Interrogative, or Dependent Sentences. Inflected Simple or Inflected Auxiliary, generally the latter, but the Simple Inflected is more common in these than the Simple Impersonal is in affirmative sentences.
ROOT. Car, love.
VERBAL NOUN OR INFINITIVE. Cara, the act of loving, to love.
PRESENT PARTICIPLE. Ow cara, loving.
Past or Passive Participle. Keres, loved.
I. PRESENT, originally used also as future.
(a). Inflected form.
Singular. Plural.
1. carav (vî), {135} I love. 1. caron (n), older keryn, we love.
2. keres, or kereth (dî), 2. carough (wh), you love. thou lovest.
3. _car_ (_ev_), he loves. 3. _carons_ (_), or _carans_, they love.
As this form, except occasionally in verse, is only used in negative, interrogative, or dependent sentences, the initial is generally changed to the second state by some preceding particle, such as a, ni, pan, etc.
(b). Impersonal form.
_Mî_, _tî_, _ev_, _n_, _wh_, _ (late form often _anj_ or _j_) _a gar_.
(c). Inflected Auxiliary.
Gwrav vî cara.
For the rest of the tense see the present of gwîl, to do.
(d). Impersonal Auxiliary.
_Mî_, _tî_, _ev_, _n_, _wh_, _ (or _anj_ or _j_) _a wra cara_.
The forms wrama, wresta are generally used for the inflected auxiliary first and second persons singular in interrogative and dependent sentences, a wrama cara, do I love? pan wresta cara, when thou dost love. The particle a of the impersonal form is not infrequently omitted, especially when the pronouns ending in vowels immediately precede it. {136}
I.A. THE CONTINUOUS OR HABITUAL PRESENT.
Thov vi ow cara, I am loving.
The rest as in the present tense of bos, to be, followed by the present participle. The negative form of this is:
Nynsoma or nynsov ow cara, etc.
I.B. THE PASSIVE PRESENT.
Dhov vî keres, I am loved.
The rest as the present of bos, followed by the past participle.
Or the older passive:
_Mî_, _tî_, _ev_, _n_, _wh_, _ (or _anj_ or _j_) _a gerer_.
Or the auxiliary form of the older passive:
Mî, tî, etc., a wrer cara.
In this case wrer is for gwrer, the passive of gwîl, to do.
II. THE IMPERFECT, used also more or less as a Subjunctive.
(a). Inflected form.
Singular. Plural.
1. caren, I was loving. 1. caren, we were loving.
2. cares, thou wert loving. 2. careugh, you were loving.
3. cara, he was loving. 3. carens, they were loving.
(b). Impersonal form.
Mî, tî, etc., a gara.
(c). Auxiliary form.
Therav vî ow cara.
The rest as the imperfect of bos, to be, with the present participle.
The negative form of this tense is either:
nî garen, etc., or
nynseram ow cara, etc.
The interrogative is either:
a garen? etc., or
erama, etc., ow cara?
III. THE PRETERITE OR PAST TENSE.
(a). Inflected.
Singular. Plural.
1. kers, I loved. 1. carson, or kersen, we loved.
2. kerses, thou lovedst. 2. carsough, you loved.
3. caras, he loved. 3. carsons, or carsans, they loved.
(b). Impersonal.
Mî, tî, etc., a garas.
(c). Inflected auxiliary.
Gwrîgav vî cara.
The rest as the past tense of gwîl, to do, followed by the infinitive.
(d). Impersonal auxiliary.
Mî, tî, etc., a wrîg cara.
Sometimes re is prefixed to this tense, as:
mî re garas, mî re wrîg cara.
This turns it into a preterperfect, I have loved, but in late Cornish there is usually no distinction between preterite and perfect, except that the latter is seldom expressed by anything except the auxiliary form, while either may be used for the former.
The passive of this tense is either:
mî, tî, etc., a gares, or
mî, tî, etc., a vê keres.
The latter is the more usual.
IV. THE PLUPERFECT, SECONDARY PERFECT, OR CONDITIONAL.
(a). Inflected.
Singular. Plural.
1. carsen, I had loved, or I 1. carsen, we had loved. would love.
2. carses, thou hadst loved. 2. carseugh, you had loved.
3. carsa, he had loved. 3. carsens, they had loved.
Pronounced and sometimes written carjen (or cargen with soft g in MSS.), etc.
(b). Impersonal.
Mî, tî, etc., a garsa.
(c). Inflected auxiliary.
Gwressen cara, etc., or menjam cara, etc.
The rest as the pluperfect of gwîl, or of menny, to will, with the infinitive.
(d). Impersonal auxiliary.
Mî, tî, etc., a wressa cara, or a venja cara.
The passive of this tense is formed by the pluperfect of bos, to be, followed by the past participle.
V. THE SUBJUNCTIVE.
(a). Inflected.
Singular. Plural.
1. kerev, or carev, I may 1. keren, or caren, we may love. love.
2. kery, or cary, thou 2. kereugh, or careugh, you may mayest love. love.
3. caro, he may love. 3. carens, or carons, they may love.
(b). Impersonal form.
Mî, tî, etc., a garo.
(c). Inflected auxiliary.
Gwrellev vî (or gwrellen) cara.
And the rest as the subjunctive or imperfect of gwîl with the infinitive.
(d). Impersonal auxiliary.
Mî, tî, etc., a wrello (or wreffa) cara.
The passive of this tense is formed by the present tense of gally, to be able, followed by the infinitive bos, to be, and the past participle of the main verb:
Mî, tî, etc., a el bos keres, I, thou, etc., may be loved.
This tense is not necessarily used after conjunctions which in other languages (Latin, for example) govern a subjunctive, but rather when uncertainty, expectation, or contingency is signified, in fact, when in English one would use may as an auxiliary. There is a good deal of confusion between this tense and the imperfect.
Re prefixed to the inflected or inflected auxiliary form of this tense makes it an optative:
Re wrellen cara, would that I might love, etc.
VI. THE FUTURE.
In older Cornish the present, whether in its inflected, impersonal, or auxiliary form, was commonly used to express a future, and sometimes the subjunctive was used as a future. Some verbs have an extra tense which is a specially inflected future, resembling one form of the Breton conditional, as follows:
Singular. Plural.
1. carvym, carvyv. 1. carvon.
2. carvyth. 2. carvough.
3. carvyth, carvo. 3. carvons.
This is more commonly found in the impersonal form, mî, tî, etc., a garvyth. It is formed, as may be clearly seen, by suffixing the future or subjunctive of bos, to be (perhaps in its sense of to have {140}), to the root of the verb. (Cf. the suffixing of the present of avoir to an infinitive to form a future in French, je parler-ai, and its unamalgamated prototype, the future form, resurgere habent, in the very low Latin of the antepenultimate verse of the Athanasian Creed.) But in late Cornish the regular future was formed by the auxiliary verb menny, to will:
Mednav vî cara, etc.
Mî, tî, etc., a vedn cara, etc.
The forms mednama, menta, usually in the second state of the initial, are used for interrogative and dependent sentences:
A vednama cara? shall I love?
Mar menta cara, if thou wilt love.
The negative is either nî vednav vî cara or mî ni vednav cara.
The latter form, with the v of the termination omitted as being nearly inaudible, is used in Carews phrase, meea navidua cowzasawzneck, I will speak no English, for mî na vednav cowsa Sowsnak.
The passive is formed by the present of menny, the infinitive of bos, and the past participle:
Mî, tî, etc., a vedn bos keres.
VII. THE IMPERATIVE.
(a). Inflected.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. 1. caren, let us love.
2. car, love thou. 2. careugh, love ye.
3. cares (or carens), let him 3. carens, let them love. love.
(b). The auxiliary.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. 1. gwren cara.
2. gwra cara. 2. gwreugh cara.
3. gwrens cara or gwrens e cara. 3. gwrens cara.
CHAPTER XITHE IRREGULAR VERBS
The irregular verbs are:
môs (earlier mones), to go.
dôs (earlier dones), to come.
dôn, to bear or carry.
dr, to bring.
r, to give.
gdhvos, to know.
Of these, môs and dôn are each made up of two different verbs. The irregularities of dôs, dr, and r are due to contractions, and those of gdhvas chiefly to its being compounded with bos, to be.
There are irregularities also in the auxiliary verbs gwîl, to do, and gally, to be able, but these have been already given in Chapter IX.
In earlier Cornish the inflected forms of the irregular verbs were freely used, but later these are comparatively rare, and the impersonal and auxiliary forms became so much commoner that the full inflected form can only be gathered from the early writings and from the rather imperfect paradigms given by Lhuyd.
It is not necessary to give anything more than the inflected verbs here, for the impersonal and auxiliary tenses can easily be worked out from these on the model of the regular verb. These are given without pronouns, though of course pronouns are used, as with other verbs.
In the latest Cornish the infinitives of môs, dôs, dr, r, were often used colloquially to express the imperative, without much discrimination between singular and plural. These verbs, especially môs and dôs, are generally found in late Cornish in the auxiliary form with gwîl and menny, but rarely in the simple inflected.
§ 1. Môs, to go.
I. PRESENT OR FUTURE.
Singular. Plural.
1. av or thov (older 1. en or then. af).
2. eth or theth. 2. eugh or theugh.
3. a or tha. 3. ans or thans.
II. IMPERFECT OR SECONDARY PRESENT.
Singular. Plural.
1. ellen. 1. ellen.
2. elles. 2. elleugh.
3. ella. 3. ellens.
III. PRETERITE.
Singular. Plural.
1. êthen. 1. êthen.
2. êthes. 2. êtheugh.
3. êth, ellas. 3. êthons.
IV. PLUPERFECT OR CONDITIONAL (probable, but not found).
Singular. Plural.
1. elsen. 1. elsen.
2. elses. 2. elseugh.
3. elsa. 3. elsens.
V. SUBJUNCTIVE.
Singular. Plural.
1. ellev. 1. ellen.
2. elly. 2. elleugh.
3. ello. 3. ellons.
VI. IMPERATIVE.
Singular. Plural.
1. 1. en.
2. kê, kejy, kehejy. 2. eugh. {144}
3. ens. 3. ens.
INFINITIVE, môs.
PRESENT PARTICIPLE, ow môs.
PAST PARTICIPLE, gilles (supplied from gylly or gelly, to go).
In the impersonal form of the preterite, the verbal particle a often takes an s or j at the end of it, mî aj êth, I went, but generally in this form a is omitted, mî â, I go; mî eth, I went; mî ello, I may go, etc. In the Ordinalia and other Dramas the forms reseth and regeth (rejeth) are found for the perfect. This is the preterite êth with the particle re and s (j), for th, prefixed.
§ 2. Dôs (earlier devonos, donos, devos), to come.
I. PRESENT.
Singular. Plural.
1. dov (older duf). 1. down (duen, dun).
2. dêth (dueth). 2. dough, deugh.
3. dê (due). 3. dons, desons.
II. IMPERFECT.
Singular. Plural.
1. deffen. 1. deffen.
2. deffes. 2. deffeugh.
3. deffa. 3. deffens.
III. PRETERITE.
Singular. Plural.
1. dêtha, dêth (older 1. dêthon (duthon). duth, dueyth).
2. dêthes, dês (older 2. dêtheugh (dutheugh). duthys, dues).
3. dêth (older dueth, 3. dêthons, desons (duthens). duth).
IV. PLUPERFECT not found, except third person singular, dothye or dethye, and third pl. dothyans.
Singular. Plural.
1. dothyen, dethyen. 1. dothyen, dethyen.
2. dothyes, dethyes. 2. dothy eugh, dethyeugh.
3. dothya, dethya. 3. dothyens, dethyens.
V. SUBJUNCTIVE.
Singular. Plural.
1. deffev. 1. deffen.
2. deffy. 2. deffeugh.
3. deffo. 3. deffens.
IMPERATIVE.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. 1. dewn (dun, duen).
2. dês (dues, 2. deugh (dugh). dus).
3. dêns. 3. dêns.
INFINITIVE, dôs.
PARTICIPLES. PRESENT, ow tôs; PAST, devedhes.
I am come is devedhes ov.
The root vowels of this verb vary a good deal in the MSS. The ue is evidently a single syllable according to the rhythm, and so is the ye or ya.
§ 3. Dôn, to bear or carry (earlier also doen, doyn).
I. PRESENT.
Singular. Plural.
1. degav. 1. degon.
2. deges. 2. degough.
3. deg, dog. 3. degons.
II. IMPERFECT, not found.
III. PRETERITE.
Singular. Plural.
1. dîges (older duges). 1. dîgon.
2. dîges (duges). 2. dîgough.
3. dîg (dug, duk). 3. dîgons.
IV. PLUPERFECT, not found.
V. SUBJUNCTIVE.
Singular. Plural.
1. dogev. 1. dogen.
2. dogy. 2. dogeugh.
3. dogo, doga. 3. dogens.
IMPERATIVE.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. 1. dogen.
2. dog, doga. 2. degeugh.
3. degens. 3. degens.
INFINITIVE, dôn, doga, or degy.
PARTICIPLE. PRESENT, ow tôn or ow tegy; PAST, deges.
§ 4. R, to give.
I. PRESENT.
Singular. Plural.
1. rov. 1. ren.
2. reth. 2. reugh.
3. re. 3. rens.
II. IMPERFECT.
Singular. Plural.
1. ren. 1. ren.
2. res. 2. reugh.
3. re. 3. rens.
III. PRETERITE.
Singular. Plural.
1. rês. 1. resen.
2. resses. 2. rosough.
3. ros. 3. rosons.
IV. PLUPERFECT.
Singular. Plural.
1. rosen. 1. rosen.
2. roses. 2. roseugh.
3. rosa. 3. rosens.
V. SUBJUNCTIVE.
Singular. Plural.
1. rollen. 1. rollen.
2. rolly. 2. rolleugh.
3. rollo. 3. dollens, rollons.
IMPERATIVE.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. 1. ren.
2. ro. 2. reugh.
3. roy. 3. rens.
INFINITIVE, r.
PRESENT PARTICIPLE, ow r.
PAST PARTICIPLE, reys.
§ 5. Dry, to bring.
Except that the present is:
Singular. Plural.
1. dorov or drov. 1. doren or dren.
2. doreth or dreth. 2. dorough or dreugh.
3. dore or dre. 3. dorens or drens.
the second person singular of the imperative is doro or dro, and the preterite third person singular is dres or dros, this verb is r with a d prefixed. The present participle is ow tr.
§ 6. Gdhvos, or gdhvas, to know, compounded of godh or gdh=knowledge, and bos, to be.
I. PRESENT.
Singular. Plural.
1. gôn or goram. 1. gdhon.
2. gdhas. 2. gdhough.
3. gôr (second state wôr or ôr). 3. gdhons.
II. IMPERFECT, used also as Perfect.
Singular. Plural.
1. gdhen, gdhyen. 1. gdhen, gdhyen.
2. gdhes, gdhyes. 2. gdheugh, gdhyeugh.
3. gdha, gdhya. 3. gdhens, gdhyens.
III. PRETERITE. The second form, given by Lhuyd, is a rather improbable tense, and is not found elsewhere.
Singular. Plural.
1. gdhvên, gwedhun. 1. gdhvên, gwedhyn.
2. gdhvês, gwedhys. 2. gdhveugh, gwedheugh.
3. gdhvê, gwedhewys. 3. gdhvons, gwedhans, gweians.
IV. PLUPERFECT OR CONDITIONAL.
Singular. Plural.
1. gdhvîen. 1. gdhvîen.
2. gdhvîes. 2. gdhvîeugh.
3. gdhvîa. 3. gdhvîens.
V. SUBJUNCTIVE.
Singular. Plural.
1. gdhevav, gdhav. 1. gdhven.
2. gdhvy, gdhy. 2. gdhveugh.
3. gdhvo. 3. gdhvens or gdhans.
VI. FUTURE.
Singular. Plural.
1. gdhvedhav, gffedhav. 1. gdhvedhen, gffedhen.
2. gdhvedhes, gffedhes. 2. gdhvedheugh, goffedheugh.
3. gdhvedh, gffedh. 3. gdhvedhens, gffedhens.
VII. OPTATIVE.
Singular. Plural.
1. re wffen. 1. re wffen.
2. re wffas. 2. re wffeugh.
3. re wffa. 3. re wffens.
IMPERATIVE.
Singular. Plural.
1. wanting. 1. gdhvedhen.
2. gdhvedh. 2. gdhvedheugh.
3. gdhvedhens. 3. gdhvedhens.
INFINITIVE, gdhvos, gdhvas, gvos.
PRESENT PARTICIPLE, ow cdhvos.
PAST PARTICIPLE, gdhvedhes.
INFLECTED PASSIVE, gdher.
In the impersonal form and elsewhere, when this verb has its initial in the second state, w is substituted for g.
The Optative re wffen, etc. seems to be formed on the imperfect mixed up with the subjunctive.
CHAPTER XIIPREPOSITIONS, CONJUNCTIONS, ADVERBS
§ 1. Prepositions are of two kinds, simple and compound. Simple prepositions govern various states of the initial. Compound prepositions, when, as is generally the case, they are made up of a simple preposition and a noun, govern the first state, for the noun which follows is really in the appositional genitive. If a compound preposition govern a personal pronoun, the latter is often placed, in its possessive form, between the two component parts of the preposition, governing the initial of the noun-half of it. Sometimes, however, the second part of a compound preposition is a simple preposition, and in that case the government is that of the last preposition of the compound.
SIMPLE PREPOSITIONS.
a, of, from, governs second state.
avel, vel, like, as.
bis, up to, as far as (usque ad).
dadn or en dadn, under.
der, dre, by, through, governs second state.
dres, over, beyond, above.
dhô, to, governs second state.
en, edn, et, in. {149}
er, see war.
gan, gans, with, by.
heb, without, governs second state.
kens, before (of time).
lebmen, lemmen, except, but.
ja, wja, after (older form, wose).
rag, for, because of.
re, by (in swearing), governs second state.
reb, by, near, beside.
saw, save, except, but.
treba, tereba, until.
troha, towards.
tewa (tewaha, tyha, tîgh), towards.
war, on, upon (also er), governs second state.
worth, orth, at, to, against.
COMPOUND PREPOSITIONS.
adres, across, beyond.
adro dhô, drodho, about, concerning, govern second state.
abarth, abarh, beside, on the side of.
aberth, aberh, within, inside of.
adheller dhô, dheller dhô (originally a dhellergh), behind, governs second state.
a dhirag, dhirag, before, in the presence of.
adheworth, dheworth, dhrt, from.
aj, j, within (a+chy, house), generally followed by dhô, governing the second state.
a eugh, above, over.
a mes, a ves, mes, en mes, out of.
a mesk, mesk, en mesk, among.
a wos, because of, for the sake of.
entre, among.
erbidn or erbyn, warbidn, against.
herwedh, according to.
marnas, except, but.
rag carenja, for the sake of.
warlergh, after.
ogastî dhô, near to (ogastî ogas, near, tî=tew, side).
Of these abarth, a mesk or en mesk, erbidn, rag carenja, and warlergh, are separable when they govern pronouns. Thus:
a gan parth, beside us.
en agas mesk, among you.
er ow fyn, against me.
rag dha garenja, for thy sake.
war e lergh, after him.
§ 2. Conjunctions.
ha, and. Before a vowel, hag, except when followed by the article an, or by a pronoun beginning with a vowel, in which case the vowel of the second word is elided.
bes, mes, but.
saw, but, except.
ma, may, that, in order that.
dre, dro, that.
erna, until.
bis pan, until.
treba, tereba, until.
ken, though, although.
awos, although, notwithstanding.
pan, pa, pur, or pêr (=pa-êr) when, govern second state.
hedre, whilst.
spas, whilst.
perag, prag, fraga, why, wherefore.
po, or. popo=eitheror
mar, mara, a, if. govern fourth state.
marnas (marnaes), unless.
ponî, ponag, unless.
aban, since, because.
dreven, since, because.
rag, for.
rag own, lest, for fear.
vel, than.
ages, es, than.
na, nor.
maga, so, as much as.
§ 3. Adverbs.
Adverbs may be formed from adjectives by prefixing en, which generally changes the initial to the second state. Thus glan, pure, en lan, purely. There are some exceptions to this change, b and m sometimes change to f, not v, bras, great, en fras, greatly; mas, good, en fas, well; d sometimes changes to the fourth state, da, good, en ta, well; and t sometimes remains unchanged, tin, sharp, en tin, sharply. But we find also en dhiugel, certainly, from diugel, secure.
ADVERBS OF TIME.
en êrma, now (in this hour).
lemman, lebman, now.
en tor-ma, now (in this turn).
nam, nana, nanna, nans, now.
agensow, just now.
hedhew, to-day.
avorow, to-morrow.
trenzha, the day after to-morrow.
jedrevadedrejadedh trûja, the third day hence.
an journa-ma war seithan, this day week.
de, yesterday.
genzhete (kens de dedh), the day before yesterday.
ternos, the next day.
en kenzhoha / boregweth } in the morning.
dohajedh, in the afternoon.
gorthewer, in the evening.
zîlgweth, o Sundays.
fast, presently.
prest, scon / dewháns, eskes / defry, dhesempes } soon, quicky, immediately.
whath, still, yet.
kens, before (of time).
kensemman, ere now.
kensenna, ere that.
ja, wja, j henna, wja hedna, afterwards.
nenna, nana, en êrna, then.
j hemma, wja hebma, henceforth.
warlergh, afterwards.
esos, already.
avar, early.
dewedhes, late.
arta, again.
kettoth, kettoth ha, as soon as.
nevra, ever.
rag nevra, for ever.
benary, for ever.
biken, ever, bis viken, for ever.
besca, besqweth, ever.
benethy, dho venethy, for ever.
bepprês, always.
hedre, spas, whilst.
pols, a while.
ADVERBS OF PLACE.
ple, where (either interrogative or not).
a pele, a ble, whence (either interrogative or not).
bma, mma, here, hither.
enna, there.
lemma, lebma, here (in this place).
alemma, alebma, hence.
alenna, en mes alenna, thence.
aban, avan, up, above, on high.
aman, up, upwards.
awartha, above, over.
awollas, warwollas, below.
warban, on high, up above.
warnans, down below.
en hans, en nans, down.
lr, lr (luer), down.
aberth, aberh, within.
aj, j, within.
aves, ames, outside.
tre, at home.
adre, homewards.
ales, abroad (scattya ales, to scat abroad).
dhô ves, away.
kerh (formerly kerdh), away (môs kerh, to go away).
pel, far.
enogas, ogas, near, ogastî, near by.
a rag, in front.
en rag, forward.
dirag, forth, before (of place).
dheller (dellergh), behind.
war dheller, backwards.
adro, around.
adres, athwart.
a hes, along.
ADVERBS OF QUANTITY.
mêr, much.
îthek, hugely.
îthek tra, ever so much.
vîth mar, ever so.
nepeth, nebas, a little.
lour, lk lour, lk, enough.
re, too much.
kemmes, kebmes, as much.
vîth, at all.
hanter, half.
ADVERBS OF COMPARISON.
mar, so, as.
kymal / kyvel } asas (ky gwerdh velgwels, as green as grass).
del, as.
della, en della, en delna, so, in such manner.
cara, pocara, kepara, kepar del, like as, even as, likewise.
maga (governing fourth state), as: maga ta, as well, likewise.
keffres, kekeffres, likewise, also.
hagl, hagensl, also.
a wedh, enwedh, also.
gwell, better.
lakkah, worse.
moy, more.
leh, less.
kens vel, rather than.
MISCELLANEOUS ADVERBS
cowal, cowl, quite.
namna, almost.
ken, else.
martesan, perhaps.
betegens, nevertheless.
moghya, mostly.
ketel, ketella, so.
pr (governing second state), very.
brâs / fest } (placed after an adjective), very.
ogastî, nearly, almost.
warbarth, warbarh, together.
ni, nyns, nig, na, nag, not. {153}
hepmar, doubtless.
perag, prag, fraga, why.
patla, fatel, fatla, how.
pelta, much, pelta gwel, much better.
otta, welta, behold.
nahen, otherwise.
CHAPTER XIIISWEAR-WORDS AND EXPLETIVES
Cornish is a disappointing language in respect of swearwords, for it is by no means rich in those ornaments to conversation. Except for a few very distressing expressions, now better forgotten, which are put into the mouths of the evil characters in the Dramas, the swears are mostly quite harmless, and even pious. It is not at all difficult or morally dangerous to learn to swear in Cornish.
Surprise is generally expressed by Re Varîa! By Mary! By Our Lady! shortened at times to Arîa! and Rîa! This is used as an Englishman might say By Jove! or By George! or a Frenchman Dame!
If there is an element of annoyance mingled with the surprise, An Jowl! The Devil, may be mentioned with effect, perhaps by those to whom Re Varîa! savours too much of Popery; but Re Varîa! is in better taste. An Jowl may be used, as in English, after words signifying where, what, why, when, to strengthen a question.
An assertion is strengthened by the use of the name of a saint, preferably the patron of ones own parish (though any Cornishman may swear by St. Michael {154}), with or without the particle re, which puts the initial in the second state, prefixed. The title saint is usually omitted. Thus:
Re Yêst! By St. Just! Re Glom! By St. Columb! Re Îa! By St. Ia [Ives]. Re Vihal! or Mîhal! By St. Michael.
A little stronger, for those whose principles will allow them to mention it, is Ren Offeren! By the Mass! and some bold, bad persons have been known under great pressure to say Re Dhew! In the Dramas, Re thu am ros (Re Dhew am ros), By God who made me! (or who gave me) is a more elaborate form of this swear. One also finds Abarth Dew, On Gods part=In Gods name, and in the mouths of pagans, Abarth Malan (a Celtic goddess) and even Abarth Satnas.
Ill-temper is generally expressed by variations on mollath, pl. mollathow, curse. A moderate amount of anger may be indicated by Mollath! or Mollathow! alone, or Mollathow dheugh! Curses to you! or Mollath warnough! A curse upon you! A little more is expressed by specifying the number, generally large, of these curses, Mil mollath warnough! or even Cans mil mollath warnough!
Some, moved by very great indignation, have been known to say Mollath Dew warnas! Gods curse upon thee! and Carew in his Survey of Cornwall of 1602 gives a by no means nice phrase (which he spells all anyhow and translates wrong), Mollath Dew en dha las! The curse of God in thy belly! Another serio-comic but rather cryptic expletive, peculiar to Camborne, or at any rate to the Drama of St. Meriasek, is Mollath Dew en gegin! Gods curse in the kitchen! It does not seem to mean anything in particular, except perhaps that ones food may not agree with one, though it makes quite as much sense as the universal adjective of English swearing, and is a good deal less offensive. Venjens, a borrowed English word, may be substituted for Mollath. {156} One finds Mil venjens warnas! and even Venjens en dha las! But all these last expressions represent unusually violent states of mind, and cannot be recommended for general use; for if one were to use up such expletives as these on matters of little moment, there would be nothing left for state occasions.
The expressions Malbe, Malbew, Malbew dam, Malbe dam, found in The Creation and in St. Meriasek, are considered by Prof. Loth to be maledictions referring to the French expression Mal beau or Beau mal, a euphonism for epilepsy, so that Malbe dam has no connection with the similar sound of part of it in English, but only means Epilepsy to me!
The seventeenth and eighteenth century speakers of Cornish sometimes wished to express contempt or dislike by abusive terms. These often take the form of epithets added to the word pedn, head. Thus, Pedn brâs, literally great head, is equivalent to the impolite English fat-head; Pedn Jowl, devils head; Pedn mousak, stinking head; these three are given as common terms of abuse by Carew. When the late Mrs. Dolly Pentreath was at all put out, she is reported to have used the term Cronak an hagar deu (The ugly black toad), and there are several equally uncomplimentary epithets scattered up and down among the Dramas. But these words do not accord with the polite manners of those who belong to the most gentlemanlike race, except the Scottish Highlanders, in all Christendom, and those Cornishmen who require that their conversation should be a little more forcible than yea and nay (for which, by the way, there is no real Cornish) are recommended not to go beyond Re Varîa, Ren Offeren, and an invocation of St. Michael of the Mount, or of the patron saints of their own parishes. What would happen if one were to swear by the patron of some other parish does not appear, but probably, if a St. Ives man were to strengthen his assertion by an appeal to St. Meriasek of Camborne, instead of his own St. Ia, he might be suspected of a wilful economy of truth. The more forcible expressions may be left to the Anglo-Saxon, for Cornishmen and Celts generally, even of the lowest position, are not, and never have been, foul-mouthed.
The usual interjections, Oh! Ah! Alas! are borrowed from English. Woe! is expressed by Trew! Woe is me! is Govî! Woe to him! Goev! compounds of gew, woe, with pronouns.
Lo, Behold (the voila, voici of French) is expressed by otta (older forms awatta, awatte, wette, otte=perhaps a wel dî? dost thou see?). This combines with pronouns, e.g. ottavî, me voici, ottadî, ottavê or ottensa, ottany, ottawhy, ottanjy. These compounds are often followed by a participle, e.g. ottavî pares, behold me prepared. The distinction of voila and voici is expressed by ottama and ottana.
CHAPTER XIVTHE CONSTRUCTION OF SENTENCES, IDIOMS, ETC.
§ 1. In later Cornish there was a strong tendency to assimilate the order of words and the construction of sentences to those of English, but nevertheless certain idioms persisted throughout.
In English the normal order of words in a simple sentence is:
SubjectVerbComplement of Predicate (Object, etc.).
This order is used in Cornish also when the impersonal form of the main verb or of the auxiliary is used, and the object is not a personal pronoun. Thus:
Dew a gar an bês, God loveth the world.
Dew a wra cara an bês, God doth love the world.
One of these two forms is the most usual in a direct affirmative principal sentence when the object is not a pronoun.
If the object is a pronoun, the order is:
SubjectParticleObjectVerb.
Thus:
Dew ath gar, God loveth thee.
Or:
SubjectParticleAuxiliaryPronoun in the Possessive FormInfinitive of Main Verb.
Thus:
Dew a wra dha gara, God doth love thee.
If the auxiliary verb is bos, to be, it often happens that the inflected form of it is used in an affirmative sentence when the tense is the continuous present or imperfect. In these cases the order is:
Auxiliary VerbSubjectParticiple of Main VerbComplement.
Thus:
Thov vî ow môs dhô Loundres, I am going to London.
Therough why ow tôs adre, you were coming home.
But with the preterite tense the simple impersonal form is more usual. Thus:
Mî a vê gennes en Kernow, I was born in Cornwall.
The same applies to the present and imperfect of bos when it is not an auxiliary. Thus:
Thov vî lowen dhô gas gwelas, I am glad to see you.
The inflected form of the verb is rare in simple direct affirmative sentences, except when it is used as a Celtic substitute for yes. It may be used in verse, but it is rather affected in prose. In negative, interrogative, and dependent sentences it is the only form to use, but even then it is the inflected auxiliaries, parts of gwîl, to do, menny, to will, gally, to be able, etc., with the infinitive of the main verb that are more commonly used, rather than the inflected form of the main verb itself. In the third person singular it is of course only distinguishable from the impersonal form by the position of the subject, which in the inflected form would follow the verb. The inflectional form of the third person plural is only used when the pronoun they is the subject. When the subject is a plural noun the verb is always in the singular. The inflected form, either of the auxiliary gwîl with the infinitive of the main verb, or of the main verb itself, is always used for the imperative. In late Cornish, except in the case of answers for yes and no, and of the peculiar forms of the first, second, and third persons singular in ma, ta, and va, the subject personal pronoun is almost always expressed, except, of course, when the subject is a noun.
§ 2. Negative and Interrogative Sentences.
For a negative sentence it is never correct to use the impersonal, but always the inflected form of the verb or of the auxiliary, preceded by the negative particle ni (older, ny) or nyns. The order is:
1. Negative ParticleVerbSubjectComplement of Predicate.
Or:
2. Negative ParticleAuxiliary (inflected)SubjectInfinitive of Main VerbComplement.
If the object is a pronoun, in the first case it follows the negative particle in its third form, in the second case it precedes the infinitive in the possessive form. Thus:
1. Ni welav vî an dên, I do not see the man.
Ni wôr dên vîth an êr, no man knoweth the hour.
2. Ni wrígav vî gwelas an dên, I did not see the man.
1. Nith welav vî, I do not see thee.
2. Ni wrigav vî dha welas, I did not see thee.
In the case of the present and imperfect of bos, to be, the particle nyns is often used, and it is sometimes found with other words beginning with vowels, but its use is rare in late Cornish, and ni, or less correctly na (or nag before a vowel) is more usual.
It is allowable to use the inflected form with the subject-pronoun preceding the negative particle, but it should only be used for emphasis on the subject, and is better avoided.
Interrogative sentences are formed with the interrogative particle a, or by the use of some interrogative pronoun or adverb. In all cases the inflected form of the main verb or auxiliary (usually the latter) follows the particle, pronoun, or adverb, and usually with its initial in the second state. Thus:
A wrîgough why besca gwelas? Did you ever see?
A wreugh why agan gwelas? Do you see us?
Fatla wreugh why cra hedna? How do you call that?
Fraga wreugh why gwîl hebma? Why do you do this?
A vednough why môs genev vî? Will you go with me?
The particle a is often omitted colloquially, but its effect is perceptible in the change of the initial of the verb. If the verb begins with a vowel, a is always omitted.
With interrogative sentences should come the answers to them. It must be understood that by nature no Celt can ever say a plain yes or no. There are dictionary words for yes and no in Welsh and Cornish, and they are used a very little in translations from other languages; but they do not belong to be used in speaking or writing Welsh or Cornish. In Gaelic there are not even dictionary words for them. In Breton ia and nan are used freely for yes and no, as in French, but that is probably quite modern French influence. The Celtic practice is to repeat the inflected verb of the question, affirmatively or negatively, in the necessary person. Thus:
Ellough why cowsa Kernûak? Can you speak Cornish?
Gellam or mî ellam. I can (yes). Ni ellam, or (less correctly) nag ellam, I cannot (no).
A vednough why dôs genev vî? Will you come with me?
Mednav. I will (yes). Ni vednav. I will not (no).
A wrîg ev môs dhô Benzans? Did he go to Penzance?
Gwrîg. He did. Ni wrîg. He did not.
Esta aj? Art thou at home?
Thoma. I am. Nynsov, or nynsoma, or (less correctly), nag ov. I am not.
In the case of a negative interrogative sentence the verb is immediately preceded by na=nî + a, whether it begins the sentence or is itself preceded by an interrogative conjunction. Thus:
Na wrîsta gwelas? Didst thou not see?
Fraga na wrîsta crejy? Why didst thou not believe?
§ 3. Dependent Sentences or Subordinate Clauses.
These are of three kinds:
1. Those introduced by conjunctions, such as if, that, as, etc., or by a relative pronoun.
2. Those analogous to the accusative with the infinitive of Latin.
3. The absolute clause.
1. The ordinary dependent clause introduced by a conjunction has its verb in the indicative, unless the so-called subjunctive is required to express uncertainty or contingency, without reference to any preceding conjunction. The verb is always in the simple inflected or inflected auxiliary form. The verb which follows the conjunction mar or mara, if, has its initial in the fourth state, and tre, tro, or dro, that, governs the second state.
A dependent sentence may sometimes precede its principal sentence, as in English. A very good instance of two sorts of dependent clauses may be seen in the following sentence from Bosons Nebbaz Gerriau. The English is:
If that learned wise man [John Keigwin] should see this [i.e. this essay], he would find reason to correct it in orthography, etc.
Bosons Cornish, the spelling and division of words assimilated to that of the present grammar, is:
Mar qwressa an dên deskes fîr-na gwelas hemma, If should [do] that man learned wise see this, ev a venja cavos fraga e ewna en scrîfa-composter. he would find why it to amend in writing-correctness.
In this sentence qwressa is for gwressa (third person singular of the conditional or pluperfect of the auxiliary gwîl, to do), with the initial in its fourth state after mar. Boson writes it markressa, all in one word. Fraga e ewna is an example of a variant of the second form of dependent sentence. The principal verb ev a venja cavos is in the impersonal auxiliary form, and of the two dependent clause verbs, one, qwressa an dên deskes fîr-na gwelas, is in the inflected auxiliary form, and the other, ewna, is infinitive.
In a relative sentence, if the relative pronoun is the subject, the verb appears to be in the impersonal form. That is to say, it is always in the form of the third person singular, and does not show any agreement with its antecedent, whatever person or number that may be in. The other peculiarities of relative sentences are given in Chapter VII. §4.
2. Instead of using the conjunction that with another verb in the indicative mood, as in most European languages, it is usual to put the second verb in the infinitive preceded by the personal pronoun, as is common in Latin. Thus says Norris, speaking in a manner perhaps rather less clear than usual, of an idiom found in the Dramas. This idiom, analogous to the accusative with the infinitive of Latin, is found down to the latest period of Cornish literature, though not to the complete exclusion of a finite clause beginning with that. The instances given by Norris are:
Ha cous ef dhe dhasserhy, and say that he is risen.
Marth am bues ty dhe leverel folneth, I have wonder that thou shouldst speak folly.
Nyns a ym colon why dhe gewsel, it goes not into my heart (i.e. I do not believe) that you have spoken.
Del won dhe bos, as I know thee to be.
Here are some later instances:
Ny a wel an tîs younk dho e clappya leh ha leh, {164} we see that the young people speak it less and less (Nebbaz Gerriau).
Dre wrama crejy hedna dho bos gwîr yu serîfes enna, {164} that I do believe that that is true that is written therein (Nebbaz Gerriau).
Nevertheless, one finds in the same piece:
Ev a lavarras drova gever l, {164} he said that it was Goats All.
Bes mî a or hemma, dhort e hoer an Kernuak, drova talves bes nebbas, {164} but I know this, by her sister the Cornish, that it is worth but little.
And in Keigwins translation of Genesis i.:
Ha Dew a wellas trova da, {164} and God saw that it was good.
A somewhat similar construction is sometimes used after dreven, because, and treba, until:
Dreven tî dhô wîl hemma, {164} because thou hast done this (Kerews Genesis, iii. 14).
Dreven tî dhô wolsowas dhô dalla dha wrêg, {165} because thou didst listen to the voice of thy wife (Gen. iii. 17).
Treba tî dhô draylya dhôn nôr, {165} until thou turn again to the earth (Gen. iii. 19).
Yet even there one finds
Dreven o hy dama a l bewa, {165} because she was the mother of all living (Gen. iii. 20).
Lhuyd mentions a similar construction after rag own, for fear, lest:
Rag own wh dho gôdha po an rew dho derry ha wh dho vos bidhes, {165} lest you fall or the ice break and you be drowned (literally, for fear you to fall or the ice to break and you to be drowned).
With fraga, why, one finds a similar form:
Ev a venja cavos fraga e ewna, he would find why to amend it.
But when fraga introduces an interrogative sentence, an ordinary finite verb is used:
Fraga (or rag fraga, for why,) na grejeth dhô m lavarow? Why dost thou not believe my words?
When that signifies in order that, the ordinary finite verb is used after it.
There is a peculiar construction, found chiefly in Jordans Creation, but also in the Ordinalia (e.g. Pass. Chr. 1120), for expressing that I am. It consists of the infinitive bos, to be, preceded by a possessive pronoun and followed by a pronominal suffix:
Me a vyn mav fo gwellys ow bosaf Dew heb parow, I will that it may be seen, that I am God without equals.
And a still more confused one of the second person with the verbal particle y before bos, the pronominal suffix ta and the pronoun ge=dî:
Me ny allaf convethas, y bosta ge ow hendas, I cannot understand that thou art my ancestor.
The first is analogous to the Welsh infinitive construction, as Rowland calls it, e.g. gwyr fy mod i yn dyfod, he knows that I am coming (lit. he knows my being in coming), only the Cornish form uses the pronominal suffix instead of the redundant personal pronoun.
3. The Absolute Clause. This construction, which answers more or less to the ablative absolute of Latin, and the genitive absolute of Greek, is common to all the Celtic languages. It is translated into English by a sentence introduced by when, while, whilst, or though, with a verb generally in the continuous form of the present or past tense, or by a participle. In the Celtic languages the absolute clause has two forms.
a. The affirmative, generally consisting of the conjunction and, a subject, noun or pronoun, and generally a participle. Rowland calls the conjunction, a, ac, of the Welsh form the absolute particle, and Professor Anwyl identifies it with a, ag, with, in an archaic form. But in Cornish ha or hag is used, and in Gaelic agus, and, in exactly the same way. The following are examples in Cornish, Welsh, and Gaelic:
Cornish. An jy a ve gwarnes gan Dew, ha n jy ow cusca, {166} they were warned by God, and they sleeping, or, while they slept (Kerews translation of St. Matth. ii. 12, Gwav. MS.).
El an leverys dethy haneth, ha hy yn gwely pur thyfun, an angel said it to her this night, and she in her bed quite awake (Pass. Chr. 2202-4).
Welsh. Pa ham, a mi yn disgwyl iddi dwyn grawn-win, y dug hi rawn gwylltlon? Wherefore, and I looking to it to bring forth grapes [Auth. Vers., when I looked that it should bring forth grapes], brought it forth wild grapes? (Isaiah v. 4).
Gaelic. Do chonnaic Seaghán an duine, agus é ag teacht a-bhaile, John saw the man, and he coming home, i.e. when he was coming home.
b. The negative, in which not is expressed in Welsh and Cornish by heb, and in Gaelic by gan, both meaning without, followed by an infinitive:
An delna ema stel ow tegy warnodha, heb wara dhodha teller vîth, {167} so it is still closing in upon it without leaving it any place (Bosons Nebbaz Gerriau).
In many such cases this negative clause can be translated literally into English, and it is the usual form of negation with an infinitive or present participle.
A somewhat similar absolute clause of a descriptive character occurs occasionally:
An golom, glas hy lagas, yn mes gura hy delyfre, the dove, blue her eyes, do set her free (Origo Mundi, 1105-6).
Un flogh yonk, gwyn y dhyllas, a young child, white his raiment (Passion, 254, 3).
In a similar construction in Welsh the adjective here agrees with the first noun, and the translation would be rather The dove blue [as to] her eyes, but in Cornish this is not so, for in this sentence golom (second state of colom) is feminine, so that the adjective would be las, not glas, if it agreed with it.
§ 4. The Infinitive or Verbal Noun.
The infinitive of a verb is treated almost exactly like a noun. If its object is a pronoun, this precedes the infinitive in the possessive form and governs its initial as it would that of a noun. If the object is not a pronoun, it follows the infinitive without change of initial, after the manner of an appositional genitive.
Very often the infinitive is governed by dhô, to, as in English, and under much the same circumstances, except that it is not so governed when it comes as the subject of another verb, and of course dhô is not used after auxiliary verbs. It is especially used after verbs implying motion.
Mî a vedn môs dhô gas gwelas, I will go to see you.
Mî eth dhô vetya an trên, I went to meet the train.
Lowen on ny dhô gas gwelas why, we are glad to see you.
When the sense of to is in order to, or the preceding verb implies an intention, the infinitive is generally preceded by rag or rag dhô, for to, or by a dhô, of to.
§ 5. Some Idioms and Expressions.
1. To have is expressed in three ways.
a. By the verb bos, to be, with the thing possessed as subject and the possessor in the dative form, i.e. preceded by dhô, to; cf. est mihi in Latin.
Affirmative. Ema levar dhem, there is a book to me.
Negative. Nynsyu levar dhem, there is not a book to me.
Interrog. Es levar dhem? Is there a book to me?
This is the common form in late Cornish.
b. By the verb cafos or cavos, to find, to obtain, used as an ordinary transitive verb with the possessor as subject and the thing possessed as object. This is not used for the present tense. Lhuyd gives a past tense, mî a gavaz or mî rig gavaz, I had, and a future, mî ven gavaz, I will have, but he, Norris, and Williams are all inclined to confuse this with the third form.
c. By a peculiar idiom compounded of a form of the verb bos, to be, and the third form of the personal (or else the possessive) pronouns. The explanation, as far as it goes, of this verb is to be found in Breton. Even there it has been confused a good deal, though its use is plain enough. Legonidec calls it le verbe kaout [=Cornish cavos], avoir, which he distinguishes from kavout or kaout, trouver; Maunoir, whose Breton, according to a picture in Quimper Cathedral, was received miraculously from an angel, wisely does not commit himself, but calls the verb, Latin fashion, after the first person singular of the present. Prof. Loth rightly speaks of it as le verbe dit avoir, and M. Ernault calls it Verbe beza [to be] au sens de avoir, and he explains it to be the verb to be, combined with the pronoms régimes, which is just what it is. In Breton it is not only used as the ordinary verb to have=to possess, but also as an auxiliary verb in the same manner as avoir, have, haben, are used in French, English, and German. This verb came to be used in Breton with or without the nominative pronoun being expressed. In Cornish the expressed nominative pronoun is less usual, except in the second person singular, where it is the rule. That it should be used at all in either language is a sign that in practice the original formation of the verb has been forgotten. Occasionally in Cornish this oblivion has resulted even in the application of pronominal inflections to the verb.
This form is found frequently in the Ordinalia and in the Poem of the Passion; it is fairly common in the Life of St. Meriasek, it is rarer in the Creation, and is not found at all in Cornish of the latest period (except in a doubtful and muddled form in Keigwins version of the Commandments), though Lhuyd gives a fragment of it in his Grammar, evidently taken from the earlier Dramas and not from oral tradition, for he takes the g of geffi and gefyth to be a hard g, whereas it is plainly a soft g for a d, as the analogy of tevyth, and of the Breton deveuz, devez, etc., shows. Moreover, it is sometimes written ieves, which is intended to represent jeves.
It will be well, by way of making this form clearer, to give not only the Cornish but also the corresponding Breton.
The tenses that are found are as follows:
I. THE PRESENT.
Singular.
CORNISH. BRETON.
1. [mî] am bes [bus, bues, [me] em euz. bues].
2. [tî] ath s (thues). [te] ech euz.
3. m. [ev] an jeves (for [hen] en deuz or deveuz. deves).
3. f. [hy] as teves. [he] e deuz.
Plural.
1. [ny] an bes. [nî] hon euz.
2. [why] as bes. [choui] hoch euz.
3. [y] as teves. [hî] ho deuz or deveuz.
This tense is formed on us, eus, es (Breton euz), one of the forms of the third person singular of the verb substantive. To this is prefixed the verbal particle a, with the letter which is the third form of the personal pronoun, m, th, n, s, n, s, s, with the peculiar addition of jev and tev to the third persons and b to the others. The th of the second person singular is found written in this but not always in the other tenses, for it was probably often silent before f by a sort of assimilation. Its effect is observable in the initial mutation. Of this tense the first, second, and third persons singular and the second person plural are found. But for the existence of the form as bes [bues] for the last, one might suppose, with Williams, that the b of am bes was only the addition of a cognate letter to the m. But cf. the addition of b to oa and oe of the same verb in Breton.
II. THE FUTURE.
Singular.
CORNISH. BRETON.
1. [mî] am bedh (byth, beth). [me] em (or am) bez.
2. tî a [th] fedh (fyth). [te] ez (or az) pez.
3. m. [ev] an jevedh (for [hen] en devez. devedh).
3. f. [hy] as tevedh. [he] e devez.
Plural.
1. [ny] an (or agan) [ni] hor bez. bedh.
2. [why] as (or agas) [choui] ho pez. bedh.
3. [y] as tevedh. [hî] o devez.
It will be seen here and in the other tenses that the pronouns in Breton do not produce exactly the same mutations as in Cornish. The dh of Cornish is always written z in Breton, though that is pronounced dh in some dialects. The whole of this tense is found in the MSS.
III. THE PRETERITE.
Singular.
CORNISH. BRETON.
1. [mî] am bê [me] em (or am) boe. [bue].
2. tî ath fê. [te] ez (or az) poe.
3. m. [ev] an jeve. [hen] en devoe.
3. f. [hy] as teve. [he] e devoe.
Plural.
1. [ny] an (or agan) [ni] hor boe. bê.
2. [why] as (or agas) [choui] ho poe. bê.
3. [y] as teve. [hî] o aevoe.
Only part of this tense is found in the MSS., but the rest is easily formed by analogy.
IV. THE SUBJUNCTIVE (OR OPTATIVE).
Singular.
CORNISH. BRETON.
1. [mî] am bo. r am bezo, bo.
2. tî ath fo, fetho. r az pezo, po.
3. m. [ev] an jevo (for devo, r en devezo, devo. written gefo or geffo).
3. f. [hy] as tevo. r e devezo, devo.
Plural.
1. [ny] an (or agan) bo. r hor bezo, bo.
2. [why] as (or agas) bo. r ho pezo, po.
3. [y] as tevo (written teffo, r o devezo, devo. tefo).
In this tense the Breton does not use the nominative personal pronoun, except when it is a form of the future, but prefixes r (ra). In Cornish re is used to make the optative and perfect, and in this case the th of the second person singular is not omitted, for re th fo and re th fê are the forms found.
A rather doubtful second tense (secondary present or imperfect), equivalent to the Breton am boa, may be conjectured in am beua (St. Mer. 47, 1686), am bethe may be the equivalent of the Breton imperfect subjunctive, am bize, bije, befe, and the third person singular of this may be the an geffa of St. Mer. 20, 159. Dr. Whitley Stokes gives both these forms as secondary presents. There is also a possible pluperfect te ny vea, and nyn gyfye, found in the second and third persons singular.
One finds such forms as am buef, as bethough, may stefons, etc., as instances of pronominal inflections added to this verb, showing how completely its derivation was forgotten, and it is further confused by being perhaps mixed up with the verb pewa (Welsh piau, Breton piaoua), to possess, a verb which in all three languages requires rather more disentangling than it has as yet received.
There are very full examples of this verb in Zeusss Grammatica Celtica (ed. 1871, p. 565).
2. Besides to have, certain other verbs are expressed with bos and the preposition dhô. Thus:
Ma cov dhem [pron. ma códhem], I remember, lit. there is remembrance to me.
Ma whans dhem, I want, lit. there is want to me.
Ma whêr dhem, I am sorry, lit. there is grief to me.
Ma own dhem, I fear, lit. there is fear to me.
Ma dout dhem, I doubt, lit. there is doubt to me.
Ma reys dhem, or reys yw dhem, I must, lit. there is need to me.
Another expression for to remember is perthy cov, to bear memory. The imperative was sometimes written perco in one word. Perthy is used similarly with other nouns: na berth medh, be not ashamed, na berth own, be not afraid, na berth whêr, be not sorry, an vuscogyon orto a borthas avy, the fools hated him (Passion, 26, 3), na berth dout, do not doubt. The literal meaning is to bear shame, fear, sorrow, envy, doubt, etc.
Similarly nouns and adjectives are used with gan, with, as in Welsh, to represent states of mind. Thus:
Da yu genev, I like, lit. it is good with me.
Drôg yu genev, I am sorry, lit. it is bad with me.
Gwell yu genev, I prefer, lit. it is better with me.
Marth yu genev, I am astonished, lit. wonder is with me.
Cas yu genev, I hate, lit. hate is with me.
The verbs dal and goth, signifying ought, it behoves, are used either impersonally or, though this is a late corruption, as ordinary verbs.
Ni dal dhen ny / Ni goth dhen ny } we ought not.
Or:
Mî a dal / Mî a goth } I ought.
3. Gwyn an bês. This poetical expression is common to Cornish, Welsh, and Breton. It signifies, fair the world, i.e. happy, and is used with possessive pronouns and appositional genitives.
Gwyn ow bês, fair my world, happy I.
Gwyn dha vês, happy thou.
Gwyn e vês, happy he.
Gwyn bês an den na wrîg cerdhes en csl an gamhin-segyon, blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly.
In Welsh, when the possessor of this fair world is expressed by a noun, there is a redundant possessive pronoun before byd (bês). Thus Psalm i. begins Gwyn ei fyd y gwr, fair his world of the man. But this is not the Cornish form, which uses the simple appositional genitive in such cases. There is a contrary expression, drôg pês, found in the Ordinalia (Passio Christi, 3089), drok pys of, unhappy am I. In this case drôg seems to put the initial of bês in its fourth state.
4. The following phrases are in common use, and are generally run into one or two words in pronunciation.
Mêr ras dhô Dhew (pron. merásthadew). Great thanks be to God.
Mêr ras dheugh why (pron. merásdhawhy). Great thanks to you.
Dew re dala dheugh why (pron. Durdladhawhy). God repay to you.
Dew re sona dheugh why (pron. Dursónadhawhy). God sain you.
Bennath Dew genough why (pron. Bénatew génawhy). The blessing of God be with you.
Dew genough why (pron. Dew génawhy). God be with you.
Pandráma (i.e. pan dra wrama). What shall I do?
Pandréllen (i.e. pan dra wrellen). What should I do?
Pándres (i.e. pan dra es). What is there?
Pandryu (i.e. pan dra yu). What is?
Pandresses (i.e. pan dra wresses). What shouldst thou do?
Fatla genough why (pron. fatla génawhy). How are you?
Trova (i.e. tre o-va), that he was.
§ 6. Rules for Initial Mutations.
1. The Second State.
a. A feminine singular or masculine plural noun (or adjective used as a noun) preceded by the definite article an, the, or the numeral idn, one, has its initial in the second state.
b. An adjective which follows and qualifies a feminine singular noun, has its initial in the second state.
c. A noun preceded by an adjective qualifying it, of whatever gender or number, has its initial in the second state.
d. If the adjective preceding and qualifying a feminine singular noun follows the article an, the, the initial of the adjective is also in the second state.
e. A noun in the vocative preceded by the particle a, O (expressed or omitted for the sake of verse), has its initial in the second state.
f. The possessive pronouns dha, thy, and e, his, are followed by words, whether nouns, adjectives, or verbal nouns (infinitives) in the second state. The form th, thee or thy, generally puts the word which follows in the second state, but sometimes in the fourth, or changes b to f, not v.
_g_. The verbal prefix _ (older _y_, _yth_), is generally followed by a verb in the second state.
h. The verbal particles a and re and the interrogative particle a are followed by a verb in the second state.
i. The prepositions a, der or dre, dhô, heb, re, and war, and compound prepositions ending in any of them, are followed by words in the second state.
k. The conjunctions tre, tro, that, pan, when, erna, until, hedre, whilst, are followed by the second state.
l. The adverbial particle en is followed generally by an adjective in the second state.
m. The adverbs pr, very, ni, na, not, fraga, why, fatla, how, are followed by initials in the second state.
2. The Third State.
a. The possessive pronouns ow, my, î, her, and aga, their, are followed by words in the third state.
b. Ma, may, that, are sometimes followed by verbs in the third state, and sometimes by a variant, g becoming h, and gw becoming wh.
3. The Fourth State.
a. The particle ow, which forms the present participle, is followed by a verbal noun (or infinitive) in the fourth state.
b. The conjunctions a, mar, mara, if, are followed by verbs in the fourth state.
c. The adverb maga, as (in as well, etc.) is followed by an adjective in the fourth state.
d. Sometimes an adjective beginning with d, when preceded by the adverbial particle en, has its initial in the fourth state, and rarely a noun beginning with d, when it follows in the appositional genitive a word ending in th.
_e_. The verbal prefix _ (_y_), when followed by verbs whose radical initial is _d_, often changes that initial to the fourth state, and in the case of those beginning with _gw_ to _wh_. The conjunction _ken_, though, does the same.
f. The third form of the second personal pronoun singular th not infrequently changes the initial of a verb beginning with d to the fourth state, and that of one beginning with g or gw to wh. It also sometimes changes b to f.
The exact usage of the mutations is not very clear, for even the older writers used them rather wildly, but the above rules are the general principles of them. There are valuable notes on their phonetic principles in Dr. Whitley Stokess notes to St. Meriasek, and in a paper of additional notes which he published later. In the latest Cornish there was a tendency to use the second state after nearly anything, especially prepositions, except the few words which govern the other two mutations.
CHAPTER XVPROSODY
The prosody of the Celtic languages is often very elaborate, but the more modern tendency has generally been in the direction of assimilating it to the prosody of English, or, in the case of Breton, to that of French. In Welsh two systems exist at the present day, and the rules of them are known respectively as y Rheolau Caethion and y Rheolau Rhyddion, the bond or strict rules and the free rules. The former are founded on elaborate rules of Cynghanedd or consonance, which term includes alliteration and rhyme, and every imaginable correspondence of consonant and vowel sounds, reduced to a system which Welsh-speaking Welshmen profess to be able to appreciate, and no doubt really can, though it is not easily understood by the rest of the world. The rules of Cynghanedd are applied in various ways to the four-and-twenty metres of the Venedotian (Gwynedd or North Wales) school, and to the metres of the Dimetian (Dyfed or South-West Wales) and the Glamorgan schools. Modern Welsh bards, however, though they often use the strict rules as tours-de-force for Eisteddfod purposes, as often compose poetry according to the free rules, which are mostly the ordinary go-as-you-please metres of the Saxon. The Bretons follow the ordinary French rules as to the strict number of syllables, the cæsura, and the rhyming, taking very little account of the stress accent either of words or sentences.
The prosody of the older Cornish literature has little in common with the strict system of Welsh. Though one does find alliterations and internal rhyming and correspondence of consonants, they do not seem to be at all systematic, but are only either introduced as casual ornaments or purely accidentally. The rules of the older Cornish prosody have more in common with those of Breton, except that, but for one case in the Dramas of a five-syllabled couplet, and the rather irregular Add. Charter fragment in the British Museum, there are only two lengths of lines, seven or four syllables, and the cæsura is not very definite.
The seven-syllabled lines are the more common. The whole of the Poem of the Passion is in stanzas of eight seven-syllabled lines, rhyming alternately, but written as fourteen-syllabled lines; and the greater part of the Dramas is in lines of the same length, though with varying arrangements of rhymes. Sometimes whole passages of four-syllabled lines occur, and frequently four-syllabled lines occur in the same stanza with those of seven syllables. The rhythmic accent seems to be trochaic, and the heptasyllabic line to consist of three trochees and a long syllable, but as the stress accent of words is absolutely disregarded, and the strong beats of the rhythm sometimes fall on monosyllables which out of poetry would probably be enclitic or proclitic, or at any rate very slightly accented, one can only be sure of the fact that the poet of the Ordinalia was careful to count his syllables exactly, and to make the last syllable of every line rhyme with the last syllable of some other line. The author of the Poem of the Passion was not quite so careful, and Jordan was still less so. Diphthongs, as in Breton, are occasionally counted as two syllables, a y followed by another vowel is sometimes a vowel and sometimes a consonant, and there are occasional elisions and perhaps contractions, understood but not expressed, {180a} but with these few exceptions the number of syllables to a line is strictly accurate, and in the Ordinalia is never varied by the unaccented and uncounted syllables that often occur in English verse. The rhymes are quite strict to the eye, but that is no doubt because in the days when one could spell as one pleased, the writer might arrange his spelling to suit, but there appear to be cases where the dh and th, both written th, as final consonants are made to rhyme together, and the three sounds of u (oo and the French u and eu) are sometimes confused. Though the rhymes are always masculine (i.e. of one syllable), there are occasionally cases where, unless one counts the rhymes as feminine (i.e. of two syllables), they would not be rhymes at all, and yet feminine rhymes would throw out the rhythm. {180b}
The metres of late Cornish were usually rather more assimilated to English, but apparently some memory of Celtic prosody lingered on. Lhuyd quotes a proverb, of which he gives two versions, in the old three-lined metre known in Welsh as the Triban Milwr, or Warriors Triplets, which is found as early as Llywarch Hens Laments for Geraint ap Erbyn and for the Death of Cynddylan, in the sixth century. Lhuyd himself wrote a Cornish Lament for William of Orange in what he claimed as the same metre, a singularly inappropriate subject for the language of a nation of loyal Jacobites, as the Cornish certainly were as late as 1715. Boson (Gwavas MS., f. 7) wrote a short elegy on James Jenkins of Alverton, also in rhyming triplets. The curious little song, which is all that remains of Jenkinss poetry, seems to show indications of a feeling for internal rhymes and something like a rudimentary Cynghanedd, but there is not enough of it to reduce to any definite rules. Even in Bosons verses and in those of Gwavas and Tonkin of St. Just (not the historian), in the Gwavas MS., the old system of counting syllables and taking very little account of the stress accents of words, is occasionally found, but generally in the later verse the extra unaccented syllables freely introduced show that a sense of accent and beats of rhythm had come in. |
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