'Modernist', 'Modern Cornish' (GanS 7)

This apparently innoccuous word has a troubled past and a confusingly disinformative present. Here we shall merely attempt to sketch out the various meanings the term has had, and show the current state of unclarity that the Kemynistas have brought about.

§a Late Cornish:
It was, so we're told, first used by the aficionados of Late Cornish for themselves, presumably on the basis that their form of the language deserved it, as it was the most recent of the revived varieties of the language in use. Sounds fair, and simple enough, thus:

(1) Modern Cornish = Late Cornish.

§b Kernowek Kemyn:
Then the Kemyn® Putsch occurred around 1987, as described elsewhere in these pages, and things got a little more confused. The KK apparatchiks decided that they would like this term for their very own, so they simply declared (with typically unilateral autocracy) that henceforth the phrase belonged to them, and to them alone. The LC folks may not have been best pleased, but when faced with the force majeur sort of droit de seigneur kinda tactics used against them, their options were limited. So, once the arguing was over, it was still not too tricksy at that point:

(2) Modern Cornish = Kernowek Kemyn ≠ Late Cornish.

§c Saunders' Private Patois:
Now the plot begins to thicken: along comes 'Ryz-vyl' (real name: Tim Saunders) with a new meaning for this poor, overworked piece of vocab. Initially, old "vile Ryz" uses the term with meaning #(2) to denote Kemyn, but this soon begins to pall, and he changes the meaning to denote a Cornish-Kemyn-Breton pidgin of his own devising, a strange miscegenated idiolect that no-one else uses, and which is referred to by some of its detractors as 'Saun-dreck' (with a wholly intentional bilingual double meaning). So, at this point, while meaning #(2) is still in use by others, he adds yet another area of meaning and confusion, and things just ain't as simple as what they used to be:

(3) Modern Cornish = Saun-dreck ≠Kernowek Kemyn ≠ Late Cornish,

. . . while sometimes he seems to suggest that . . .

(2a) Modern Cornish = Kernowek Kemyn ≠ Saun-dreck ≠ Late Cornish.

And, at the same time of course, meanings (1) and (2) are still being used, just to add to the ambiguity!

Envoi:
One notes that certain concepts which carry derogatory overtones are apt to have frequent name changes over time, in an attempt to shake off their shame-filled past, and move into a squeaky-clean brave new future. Examples of this include the names for devotees of certain …ah… unconventional sexual practices, as well as members of social and racial groups who feel they're looked down upon by Them. Raises the question, just what these Kemynistas and Saun-dreckers might be ashamed of, doesn't it?

The 'SWF' revisited (GanS 7)

The level of deliberate obfuscation and disinformation connected with this phrase is even worse than with the 'Modern Cornish' one we considered elsewhere. Since we last looked at this acronym way back in GanS 2, a whole few weeks ago, things have changed somewhat rapidly. Gosh, who'd have thought that lexical change would be so fast in the mad-cap world of Cornish Orthography! (Any suggestions that An Dysledorer Geriattrys is living up to the nonce-spelling of his nom de plume will be sternly rebuffed!). As best as our remaining leetle grey cells can manage it, here's the current state of play (rest assured that, if it changes, we'll be back):

(1) The Single Written Form:
This is the original wording behind the 'SWF' acronym as coined, so we're told, for the present series of meetings with the Cornish Language Partnership, and other interested parties. It denotes a future, consensual form of the Cornish language which will be agreed upon after this period of discussion and negotiation. It may contain (or consist of) Kernowek Kemyn, or it may not. It may consist of a compromise blend of the other 3 forms of Cornish, or it may not. All is up for discussion, thus:

(1) SWF ('Single') = ±Kemyn ±UC ± UCR ± LC ± LCR ± … etc.

(2) The Standard Written Form:
Some supporters of KK are unsatisfied with the idea of democratic discussion of these issues, and have decided to return to disinformation to try and get what they want. They have deliberately conflated their own version of the SWF acronym (S = 'Standard) with the normal meaning of SWF (S = 'Single), and declared that Kemyn is the 'de facto Standard as it has over 90% of Cornish users'. Mind you, their figures are so dubious that they tend to be nearer to the 'damned lies' end of the spectrum than to the 'statistics' one! Thus, according to them, the 'SWF' (i.e. 'Standard' rather than 'Single' version') is Kemyn, and—as the 'SWF' ('Standard') already exists, there's no need for any of this discussion/negotiation/transparency/democracy nonsense, thus:

(2) SWF ('Standard') = Kemyn

(3) The Saunders Written Form:
Recently, one of the correspondents to the CornishOrthography group, who goes by the pseudonym of 'Ryzvel' (aka Tim Saunders, in real life) seems to have added yet another layer of meaning to this phrase. As mentioned above, he advocates a strange version of Cornish that goes even further than Kernowek Kemyn does in importing Breton loanwords, calques and other features. His private 'Cornish' pidgin also has some ill-adapted ideas from the Breton system of spelling. The result is, too most people's eyes, grotesque, obscurantist and irrelevant: most people abandon 'private' languages at adolescence!

In some of his recent posts to the group, it seems as if he is advocating that this idiolect (known to its detractors as 'Saundrek' or 'Saun-dreck') should be adopted as the SWF. One can only wonder at his folie de grandeur! As Charles de Gaulle—never known for his overwhelming self-effacement—might have put it, "Le Cornouaillais, c'est moi!" ('Cornish—it's me!')), In other words:

(3) SWF ('Saunders') = Saun-dreck.

Conclusion:
One notes the parallels in attitude from the Kemyn/Saunders camps towards both of the terms 'Modern Cornish' and the 'SWF'. There is evidence that this sort of behavious has manifested itself widely and consistently over the last 20 or so years (since KK first leapt to prominence) as a key part of its propaganda and disinformation tactics. Indeed, there are many tales of precisely this high-handed, self-serving, untruthful arrogance related by many followers of the other forms of the language (as well as by some users of KK itself). And there's not a few to be discerned within their own utterances, if you read closely what they've said.

We also note in passing the badmouthing that is currently being given by many of the Kemynistas on CornishOrthography to the Cornish Language Partnership, to the Commission, and to the current efforts to find a negotiated, compromise form of Cornish that most speakers can agree on as the best way forward for the Revival.

Significantly enough, it's only the Kemynous who are opposed to all of this, and some of their utterances show that they're seriously worried:

Without us, the Revival will die, it'll have its guts ripped out. We are the future—sans us - no future.

Kemyn = Cornish, so…

NO KEMYN = NO CORNISH,

NO KEMYNISTAS = NO KEMYN = NO CORNISH,

and If WE don't get our hands on all that lovely grant money, and all that lovely power …

… but that's a topic for the next issue of the Gerva!

And anything that worries them has, almost by definition, to be good news for the future of the Cornish Language Revival. The old saw has it that 'those who live by the sword shall die by the sword', but in this case it's a little different:

Those who live by the Big Lie shall die by the small Truths.

And small truths (with a satirical twist!) is just what we try to give you. I suspect that we can look forward to some deliciously public squirming and ever more frantic and extravagant Big Lies and Doom-laden Prognostications, over the next few months and through the first part of 2007, as the writing on the wall for them looms ever more closely over the horizon, while they row themselves up the faecal creek without a paddle, and get hoist up a gum-tree by their own petard to enjoy their just desserts [don'cha just love mixed metaphors!]