Cornish language enjoys a renaissance

The ancient Cornish language has been declared dehwelans dhyworth an marow-back from the dead - amid a rise in popularity thanks to Covid-19 and a critically acclaimed psych-pop star.

- Josh Halliday

There has been a significant rise in the number of people learning Cornish since the pandemic lockdown forced classes online, according to the volunteer network An Rosweyth.

"We have people in America, Australia, Mexico, Spain, Turkey," said Emma Jenkin, its support officer, who added that her last online lesson had "a couple of people in Cornwall - but mostly people are dotted all over the place". There had been a "huge influx" of people wanting to learn Cornish during the pandemic.

Younger people are taking up lessons as a result of its recent revival in popular culture. The singer-songwriter Gwenno's second album, Le Kov, was written and performed entirely in Cornish, and its follow-up, Tresor, was nominated for the Mercury prize. The comedian Edward Rowe, better known as Kernow King, has also helped popularise the language.