According to my husband, who is a beginning learner of Cornish, it's pronounced more or less as written. The spelling given in his dictionary is "Squardya", which may be easier for you to get from your eye into your ear. (He says it's a verb meaning to tear or to break, in case that matters.)
cornish is a language that has fasinated me. I have no idea what i sounds like. I know what irish/scotts/max sounds like, and i know what welsh sounds like.
where could i find a book on basic cornish? or can someone on this site show me?
Cornish is very closely related to Welsh, so I'd guess it would sound a bit like Welsh with a Cornish accent. However, since the Cornish language died out before the advent of sound recording technology (in fact the exact date of its demise is disputed but, to my knowledge, no original native speaker was ever recorded), we can only speculate as to what it sounded like. I have read that certain Cornish expressions persisted in local speech well after the language ceased to be used as the medium of converation. But their pronunciation is likely to have mutated considerably under the influence of English - especially in a largely illiterate society, with out the written word for reference.
Actually, Spoon, linguists have had phonological methods of transcribing pronunciation since well before recording technology. And even recordings have their limits; it can be difficult to tell the difference between "proper" pronunciation and, say, a speaker's own idiosyncratic pronunciations. Or so says my-sister-the-linguist.
With non-Welsh speakers there is much English spoken which refers directly to the Welsh language in the way it is phrased and the accents. I would suggest a visit to Cornwall to wherever the last Cornish was spoken. (I know, I know, you only wanted to know how to pronounce one word not embark on a world tour!)
cornish band Skwardya
cornish band Skwardya
Does anyone know how to pronounce the name of the Cornish band "Skwardya"?
# Posted on October 11th 2006 by aoife
Re: cornish band Skwardya
According to my husband, who is a beginning learner of Cornish, it's pronounced more or less as written. The spelling given in his dictionary is "Squardya", which may be easier for you to get from your eye into your ear. (He says it's a verb meaning to tear or to break, in case that matters.)
# Posted on October 12th 2006 by sara g
Re: cornish band Skwardya
Article in today's Metro ( well in Sheffield anyway) about them singing Beatles' songs in Cornish
J
# Posted on October 12th 2006 by jfother
Re: cornish band Skwardya
cornish is a language that has fasinated me. I have no idea what i sounds like. I know what irish/scotts/max sounds like, and i know what welsh sounds like.
where could i find a book on basic cornish? or can someone on this site show me?
# Posted on October 12th 2006 by Scrappy the Godo
Re: cornish band Skwardya
Cornish is very closely related to Welsh, so I'd guess it would sound a bit like Welsh with a Cornish accent. However, since the Cornish language died out before the advent of sound recording technology (in fact the exact date of its demise is disputed but, to my knowledge, no original native speaker was ever recorded), we can only speculate as to what it sounded like. I have read that certain Cornish expressions persisted in local speech well after the language ceased to be used as the medium of converation. But their pronunciation is likely to have mutated considerably under the influence of English - especially in a largely illiterate society, with out the written word for reference.
# Posted on October 12th 2006 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: cornish band Skwardya
Here's a good starting point:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_language
# Posted on October 12th 2006 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: cornish band Skwardya
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/connected/stories/new_cornwall_language1.shtml
# Posted on October 12th 2006 by RichardB
Re: cornish band Skwardya
Doe the name mean "ripping",tearing" or "shredding"?
# Posted on October 12th 2006 by dafydd
Re: cornish band Skwardya
Actually, Spoon, linguists have had phonological methods of transcribing pronunciation since well before recording technology. And even recordings have their limits; it can be difficult to tell the difference between "proper" pronunciation and, say, a speaker's own idiosyncratic pronunciations. Or so says my-sister-the-linguist.
# Posted on October 13th 2006 by sara g
Re: cornish band Skwardya
Good points, Sara. So it's down to how well the revivalists understand phonetics and phonology. Or so says me-the-non-linguist.
# Posted on October 13th 2006 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: cornish band Skwardya
Thanks to everyone for your replies....! ~aoife
# Posted on October 13th 2006 by aoife
Re: cornish band Skwardya
With non-Welsh speakers there is much English spoken which refers directly to the Welsh language in the way it is phrased and the accents. I would suggest a visit to Cornwall to wherever the last Cornish was spoken. (I know, I know, you only wanted to know how to pronounce one word not embark on a world tour!)
# Posted on October 17th 2006 by Torgwen
Re: cornish band Skwardya
I meant non-Welsh speakers living in Wales with Welsh accents.
# Posted on October 17th 2006 by Torgwen