1. Name That Place!

2. Who here speaks Cornish every day?  Answer: all of us!  Liskeard! Penzance! Truro! Pendennis! Penryn! Tintagel!  Can you think of any other Cornish place names?  Even today the Cornish language is all around you!

3. A Brief History  Cornish is a Celtic language (like Welsh or Gaelic) that was spoken in Cornwall and Devon (up to Exeter).  Over time it was pushed further and further West.  By the early 1700s only people in the far West (e.g. Penzance) could speak it fluently – and most of those people spoke English too.  It died out but was revived in the early 1900s.

4. Documents  You’re going to use an old Cornish dictionary, an Ordnance Survey map and a new Cornish dictionary to look at Cornish place names.  William Borlase wrote his dictionary in the late 1700s and Oliver Padel wrote his about 200 years later, in 1988.  People often try to work out the meanings behind place names – this will be your task!

5. Task 1 : Document EN/2000  In the late 1700s William Borlase wrote a dictionary which included a list of Cornish place names.  In your groups, have a look at the extracts with your magnifying glasses.  How many names do you recognise?  How many meanings can you spot?

6. Task 2: Matching cards  Match the modern day spellings of the place names to Borlase’s.  Then match them both to Borlase’s definitions.  If you’re struggling with the meanings, Padel’s dictionary will help you.  BEWARE: the meanings in Padel and Borlase’s dictionaries differ so you can only use them as a guide.  Thinking point: Why might the meanings differ?

7. Answers = Portreath: the cove of the sandy beach = Penhale: Head of the River, or Moor = Penryn: Head or edge of the promontory = Pendennis: Head of the fortification

8. Answers = Polgooth: old pool /the goose pool =Liskeard: a court or town hall for trade =Penzance: Holy head = Marazion: the Jew’s market

9. Task 3: OS maps  Using your maps and Padel’s dictionary, complete the worksheets in front of you in your groups.  Did you spot any other Cornish names?  Did any parts of words keep cropping up?  E.g. ‘By Tre Pol and Pen shall ye know all Cornishmen!’

10. Conclusion  You can learn parts of a language through place names (e.g. Tre means homestead).  However, because place names often date before written records, people have differing opinions on what they mean.  Thinking Point: is it easier to find Cornish place names in the West or the East of the county? Why might this be?