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Name That Place!

Name That Place!. 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!. A Brief History.

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Name That Place!

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  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?

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