ABSTRACT
The subject of this chapter is Traditional Cornish, which came into existence in about AD 600, as a direct development of the south-western dialect of Late British; it was spoken until about 1800, when it ceased to exist as a living community language. A residual knowledge of scraps of the language lasted throughout the nineteenth century (Lyon 2001). In the early twentieth century, Cornish was revived, and this form (Revived Cornish) is dealt with in chapter 16.
