Cornish in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Speakers

557

Type

Information available

1. Basics

Names

Cornish in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Size

557

Cornwall is located on the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. This name comes from this description, meaning 'Peninsula Celts'. Cornwall is one of six Celtic nations in Europe, alongside Brittany, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales. The landscape of Cornwall has a rich history and culture, with strong links to the Cornish language, Kernewek.

Kernewek is a Brythonic language, alongside Breton and Welsh, together they form a branch of the Celtic Indo-European language family. Cornwall's links to Kernewek are particularly noticeable in its place names, many of which still preserve these roots. On 5 November 2002, the UK Government officially recognised the Cornish language as falling under Part II of Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. 

2. Status

Status

  • Official country wide language
  • Official regional language
  • Official minority language
  • Recognised community language
  • Unrecognised community language
National language
No
Indigenous language
Yes

3. State

Documentation: materials

Written

Digital
Yes

divider

Documentation: descriptions

Standardization

Graphisation & script encoding

Images
Image
Road sign in both English and Cornish
Image
Police Station Sign in both English and Cornish

4. Users

Geographical distribution

  • Users live and dominate in all regions of the country
  • Users live in one [state/...] of the country
  • Users live in a cross-border region [state/...] of the country
  • Users live in separated [states/...] of the country
  • Users live dispersed across one [state/...] of the country
  • Users live scattered all over the country

Settlements

  • Rural
  • Urban

Size / Number of users

Number of users

557
Source
2011 UK Census
Year
2011

Users within total population

0.00097
Less than 1% use the language

PROPORTION

Actual percentage
0
Source
2011 UK Census
Year
2011

Language competence

5. Use

Completion