About Cornish

Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language historically spoken in Cornwall, in the southwestern tip of England. The language declined over centuries and its last known native speaker, Dolly Pentreath, is traditionally said to have died in 1777, though some speakers likely persisted somewhat longer. Cornish is written using the Latin alphabet in several competing orthographic systems.

A remarkable revival movement beginning in the early 20th century, led by Henry Jenner and later scholars, has brought Cornish back from extinction. Today approximately 1,000 people speak the language with varying degrees of fluency, and it was officially recognized by the UK government under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 2002. Cornish is closely related to Welsh and Breton, and its revival is considered one of the most successful language reclamation efforts in Europe.