Bilingual post, English below/Post diwyethek, Sowsnek a-woles.
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Kernowek:
A-gynsow, my a welas na styr an ger Kernowek amser an keth avel yn Kembrek. Y'gan tavas, amser yw junyes gans p'eur a hwara verb yn gramasek, mes yn Kembrek, ev yw an ger rag termyn. Ytho, dell yw usys, my a vynnas mos a-ves dhe vys meur an kesrosweyth ha trovya moy a-dro dhe'n geryow ma.
Amser a dheu a-dhyworth an Proto-Keltek *amsterā a styr "termyn" po "pols". Alemma, pub yeth Geltek a gemer geryow:
Kernowek: Amser
Kembrek: Amser (termyn)
Betonek: Amzer (termyn)
Wordhenek: Aimsir (termyn, amser, kewer, ebron)
Godhalek Albanek: Aimsir (termyn, seson, kewer, ayredh)
Manawek: Emshir (kewer, termyn, amser)
Nyns yw saw yn Kernowek y kellas amser an styr a dermyn. Y hyllir desevos y styr ev kewer y'n yethow Godhalek awos an kowethasow gans an sesonow.
Dell, a ble teu'n termyn Kernowek ma? Wel, y hyllir heveli an ger, yn chonsus, gans an ger Almaynek Termin a styr apoyntyans. Ni a yll lever yn tiogel y teu'n dhew a-dhyworth an keth pennfenten, hemm yw an ger Latinek terminus gans an styr fin po amal. Martesen y hyllir gweles an fin avel termyn determynyes, mes ny styr hemm a res hy bos an bennfenten a dermyn.
Martesen y hyllyn dyski neppyth der ow mires orth an geryow keslinek y'n yethow Keltek erel:
Kembrek: terfyn (fin, finweth, diwedh)
Bretonek: termen (term, termyn kollenwel)
Wordhenek: teorainn (finweth), téarma (finweth termyn)
Godhalek Albanek: teòrr (finweth, mark)
Manawek: tearmey (finweth termyn)
Lemmyn, hemm yw didheurek. An Kebrek ha'n Godhalek Albanek re withas an styryow ollgemmynna a finweth po diwedh, rag ensampel: terfyn cyflymder - finweth tooth, po teòrr àirde - finweth ughelder. Byttegyns, an tri aral, Wordhenek, Manawek ha Bretonek a gows yn-kever finwethow termyn. Ytho, der ow kesunya'n re ma gans an Termin Almaynek, ni a yll gweles fatel yw an ger Kernowek termyn yn le amser.
An Kernowek fin a geslin gans an ger Kembrek ffin a styr amal. Byttegyns, nyns yw hemm an post rag kowsel yn-kever an amaldiryow, rag yma hwiogennow krimpyes yn trog ha teow dehen gwrys yn poghosek! 😛
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English/Sowsnek:
So, it occured to me recently that the word for time in Cornish is not the same as it is in Welsh. I Kernowek, we use termyn in Cymraeg amser. This, as with most words, lead me on a search to find out more about the roots of these two words.
Kernowegoryon will recognise amser as it is used to mean "a grammatical tense", for example, amser a dheu (future tense, lit. time that comes), amser dremenys (past tense, lit. deceased time).
Amser comes from the Proto-Celtic *amsterā meaning "time" or "moment". From here all of the celtic languages have taken words:
Cornish: Amser (tense)
Welsh: Amser (time)
Breton: Amzer (time)
Irish: Aimsir (time, period, tense, weather, sky)
Scottish-Gaelic: Aimsir (time, season, weather, climate)
Manx: Emshir (weather, time, tense)
So, only Cornish has lost the meaning of time. One can assume that the Goidelic languages have taken meaning of weather through associations with the seasons.
So, Kernowek, whats with this termyn thing? Well, the dictionary defines termyn as time or a period. We can compare this, randomly, with the German Termin meaning an appointment and can reasonably safely say that the two are decended from the same route, that being the Latin terminus as a boundry or limit. We can see a limit as being a set time perhaps, but this does not necessarily mean that this is the route of the Cornish word for time.
Perhaps we can learn something by turning back to our Celtic cousins and seeing which words cognate.
Welsh: terfyn (boundry, limit, end)
Breton: termen (term, deadline, limit)
Irish: teorainn (limit), téarma (time limit)
Scottish-Gaelic: teòrr (limit, mark)
Manx: tearmey (time limit)
Now, this is interesting. The Welsh and Scottish-Gaelic have kept the far more generic meanings of limit or end, for example terfyn cyflymder - speed limit, or teòrr àirde - height limit. However, the other three, Irish, Manx and Breton speak more of a set period of time or a time limit. So, these combined with the German Termin help explain how the Cornish got their termyn instead of amser.
The Kernowek for a limit is fin or finweth which cognates to the Welsh ffin meaning border. However, it is not the aim of this post to explore the borderlands, for there lie badly crimped pasties and poorly constructed cream teas! 😛
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