#kernowek

[can-asta]

[her-butchship-holly]

something that really gets on my nerves is that most of the ao3 tags for minority languages are filled with fics not in those languages. I don’t care as much if it’s like Old English or Sumerian or Latin (even though, really, dead languages should still be respected) but for languages like (for example) Kernowek, Anishinaabemowin, Brezhoneg, Cymraeg, Asturianu, Euskara… all of which nearly became extinct because of linguistic imperialism by English or Parisian French or Castilian, it pisses me off that 80-100% (in the case of Kernowek) of the fics are English. Which the authors tagged those languages for… a laugh, I guess? I doubt most of them are genuine errors because a) how would you not catch that and b) they’re mostly slop written by, I have to assume, children. For example:

This shit is making me hate kids so much it’s curing my pregnancy kink

do I even have to comment on this

Centuries of Bretons died to keep their language and culture free from French, just so this kid could steal their face and tag his work “jiggle my balls”

These “fanfictions” are merely, as far as I can tell, copy-pasted articles about the WHO. Possibly conspiracy-based but I didn’t actually read them closely.

Are we for real

The only two fics in my beautiful Kernowek (…Poor Parnell! My dead king!). Neither in the language.

So as you can see this is all horrible slop and, I think, should be stopped. Obviously I will always love ao3 for being a semi-anarchistic archive but I think in cases of blatantly obvious linguistic mistagging it doesn’t hurt anyone to just slide the fic into the right language.

Also, obviously, if you’re considering doing this… don’t… I think most people on tumblr are mature enough to not need this advice but if you are a child who thinks it’s funny to tag your ‘fic’ in some wacky language; it isn’t. Languages are not toys. You should treat the language with just as much respect as you do the people who speak it.

[gaeilgeblr]

Bestys yn Kernewek “Beasties in Cornish”

[celticstudies]

it is sort of fascinating (and extremely frustrating) to me how some people just can't seem to conceive of cornish people just like existing??? multiple times i've had someone go "oh you're learning cornish? wow that's niche, how on earth did you ever learn that cornish existed in the first place?" like my father is literally from cornwall, there was never a single moment when i learned that cornish existed because it has always had a presence in my life (even though no one in my family is fluent). it's like just a normal thing to me and plenty of other people, and not a strange, niche, "exotic" thing. idk.

[lexifranca]

the evil experience of learning a seldom spoken language where there isn't much media in it

"watch TV shows in your language!" There are none

"listen to podcasts in your language!" I have unfortunate news

"listen to native speakers!" there's like ten and they live on another continent

I think that one of the most key parts of revitalizing or just keeping a language alive is being able to actually live in it - I could be the most fluent speaker of Cornish in the world but it wouldn't do much if i couldn't listen to music, or watch films, or read literature in Cornish, and partake in things that are made by other Cornish speakers. Engaging in the media is part of what allows you to live your life in a language.

[sinbad-goodwin]

PLE MA'N GERNEWEGORYON A DUMBLR?

PLE'TH OWGH WHY??

KOWS ORTHIV!

PLÎS.

MY A'TH PYS.

GWELHE OW GRAMMAR.

DUW A WOR, RES YW DHYMM!

[deadlydelicious]

the refugees from episode 1 are from Kernow?!

....fucking really

The Witcher continues to be the top offender in appropriating celtic languages I see. bad enough they kept pinching and butchering welsh, but now they're just going to nick the name of an entire celtic nation

[junijenn]

Illustration based on 'Madgy Figgy, the Wrecker', a kernewek folktale