Pow Kernow
Land of Kernow

an Kernowek/Kernewek

Armorow gwidn war an talle deraage,
an taran golow a derez,
buz ma an deeze pub oll
aspeeas an teere.

Rag frag' eran a meeras raage mar greav
colonnow whangack rag an teere.
Nye Curnowean a oya,
thew pow Kernow.

Rowliez gen dorn uncooth

Rowliez gen dorn uncooth

Rowliez gen dorn uncooth

Rowliez gen dorn uncooth

Rowliez gen dorn uncooth

Rowliez gen dorn uncooth
an ooz ken tha thoaz an Sousen than pow.

Rowliez gen dorn uncooth
meele vlethan po mouy
en deweth ma gellez
pan eze kellez agon pow
esperans tha voaz frank
ha Brethonack arta.

Na predar na mouy, na mouy warnotha.
Keal tha thewhan rag termeniow gellez.
Kebmer gwedran ha lenaw hye lean
gen gweene rooz ha wheag, lowena tha thry.
Po downs gen an muzzi journa ha noze;
wharth gen cowetha en gwariow an luck.
Kene cusk, cusk heb hendredga veeth,
crewetha en crees en defra tha garenga.

Buz whathe an hendres han golan Gernooak
a dreeg etta ve hag a grei them en cosoleth.
Pandrella ve gweel rag an deethiow gwell na.
Me a vedn clappia an eyth a hendasow arta
ha gweetha an heynes Brethonack coath barha ve,
than whathe leaufe Kernow a veath clowez en beaz.

 Translation

A great nation we were once too
the age of the British in this fair land.
Bards would sing their old songs.
Kings, lords and their knights there were,
and Celtic warriors brave and strong
with leather coats and their sword or bow,
and pale breeches laced with black leather;
when a Briton could stand tall and strong
to speak his thoughts and his own desire
in a British tongue his own to speak
uttered in this land a thousand years before
and in the Celtic way ever heard in the land
'Friend, my equal and my own kin',
whether king, or merchant, fisherman or farmer,
no servant but everyone equal and free.
And remember the other side, a world so old:
the age of the ancient tombs and the Celtic dreams.
This other world which everyone knew very well:
not all with life was seen by the eye,
the age before the English came to the land.

Ruled by a foreign hand,
a thousand years or more,
finally has gone,
since our land is lost,
hope to be free
and British again.

Don't think any more, no more, on it.
Hide your sorrow for times gone by.
Take a glass and fill it full
with wine red and sweet, to bring you joy.
Or dance with the maidens day and night;
laugh with friends in games of chance;
or sleep, sleep without any dreams,
lying in peace in the arms of your love.

But still the dream and the Cornish heart
lives on in me and calls to me in quietness.
What can I do for those better days?
I will speak again the language of my ancestors,
and keep the old British tradition beside me:
then the voice of the Cornish will be heard still in the world.
Vocabulary

The order of the words in the vocabulary follows their occurrence in the story. The letter (f) signifies that the noun is feminine. All nouns without a letter are masculine. Remember that the first letters of words in Celtic languages mutate to other letters in various situations.

Cornish
English
Cornish
English
pobel (f)
people, nation
an ... ma
this, these
mear
great
pub oll
everyone
aweeth
too, also
oya
knew
nye
we
per tha
very well
ve
were
nag
not
ooz
age, time
bownas
life
Brettenow
Britons
gwellez
seen
en
in
lagaz
eye
teere
land
doaz
to come
teag
beautiful, fair
an Sousen
the English
ma
this
then
to the
prydythiow
poets, bards
rowliez
ruled
cana
to sing
dorn (f)
hand
(a)go
their
uncooth
foreign
canow
songs
mouy
more
coath
old
en deweth
at last, finally
maternow
kings
ma
there is/there are
arlithi
lords
gellez
gone
hago
and their
eze
there is/there are
marrogean
knights
kellez
lost
thera
there was/there were
(a)gon
our
brezelarion
warriors
esperans
hope
Keltack
Celtic
boaz
to be
broaz oberez
valiant
arta
again
ha
and
na
no
creav
strong
predeere
to think
gen
with
warnotha
on him, on it
cota
coat
kelaz
to hide
crohan (f)
leather
tha
your
cletha
sword
dewhan (f)
sorrow
po
or
rag
rag
gwarrack
bow
termeniow
times
lavrack
trousers
kemeras
to take
gwidn
white
gwedran (f)
(a) glass
palez
laced
lenoll
to fill
due
black
hye
she, it
pan
when
lean
full
alga
could
gweene
wine
Bretten
Briton
rooz
red
saval
to stand
wheag
sweet
ewhall
tall, high
lowena
joy
gwear
strong
dry
to bring
tha
to
downsya
to dance
lavaral
to say
muzzi
girls
e
his
journa
day
prederiow
thoughts
noze (f)
night
hay ... eve
and his
wherhin
to laugh
whange
desire
cowetha
friends
tavaz
language, tongue
gwariow
games
Brethonack
British
luck
chance
e honen
his own, himself
kene
otherwise
cowz
to speak
cuska
to sleep
clappiez
spoken
heb
without
pow
land
crewetha
to lie
ken
before
crees
peace
meele (f)
(a) thousand
defra
(two) arms
blethan (f)
year
carenga
love
mouy
more
whathe
still, yet
hag
and
hendres
dream
vorr
way
colan (f)
heart
stella
always, ever
Kernooak
Cornish
clowez
heard
treegas
to live (on), to continue
coweth
friend
etta ve
in me
a
my
creia
to call
cothman
comrade
them
to me
ma ... ve
my
cosoleth
quietness
goodg
blood
pandrella
pandra + ella
matern
king
pandra
what?
gwicor
merchant
ella
can
poscader
fisherman
ve
I
teeack
farmer
gweel
to do
dean wheal
servant
an ... na
that, those
veeth
no, none
me
I
buz
but
vedn
will
oll
all
clappia
to speak (fluently)
par
equal
eyth
language
frank
free
a hendasow
my ancestors
perthy ko
to remember
gweetha
to keep
tew
side
heynes
tradition
orol
other
barha ve
beside me
beaz
(a) world
than
then
mar
so
leaufe
voice
coath
old, ancient
Kernow (f)
Cornwall
crumbla (f)
(prehistoric) tomb
veath
will be
han
and the
clowez
heard
hendredga
 dreams
    

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The Cornish Language: an Kernowek or an Kernewek.

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