Shoppers in Cornwall could have been forgiven for feeling bemused after a supermarket put up bilingual signs – in Welsh.
A branch of Tesco in Helston – about 200 miles from south Wales by road – pointed shoppers towards pysgod, which is Welsh, not Cornish, for fish. It also labelled sweet potato as tatws melys – again Welsh instead of Cornish.
Cllr Loveday Jenkin, a leading member of the political party Mebyon Kernow, which campaigns for greater self-government for Cornwall, said she was pleased Tesco had put up bilingual signs.
“But would have been more exciting if they had been in Cornish rather than Welsh,” said Jenkin. She popped into the Tesco – her local – on Wednesday to thank customer services for the effort but request that the right Celtic language be used.
Loveday, a speaker of Kernewek (Cornish), said some words in her language were similar to Welsh. So, for example, fish is pysk in Cornish and sweet potato aval dor melys. “There are similarities. If you weren’t a Cornish speaker, you might get mixed up with Cornish and Welsh.”
She said she hoped the mistake would not put off Tesco. “Some other supermarkets and shops do have signs in Cornish. You see much more Cornish on road signs and on public buildings.”
The mistake comes at a pertinent time. In January, Kernewek was officially recognised under part III of the European charter for regional or minority languages, which gives it greater protection and status.
Cornwall council believes there are about 500 advanced Cornish speakers and 2,000 people with basic levels of the language. The Mercury prize-nominated Cornish/Welsh singer Gwenno Saunders recently told the Guardian that Cornish should be more widely taught to children in the county to protect the language and preserve its culture.
Perran Moon, the Labour MP for Camborne and Redruth, said the language’s new status was a boost for Cornwall. He said: “We are also pleased that retailers are starting to use bilingual signage, however, clearly this mistake serves to highlight the importance of access to the Cornish language for those who want to use it.”
Garry Tregidga, co-director of the University of Exeter’s Institute for Cornish Studies, said: “This is obviously embarrassing for Tesco but it is great if there was the intention to have signs in Cornish. I hope there will be replacement signs put up in the right language.
“What is also positive is that this mistake was spotted. This is a sign of the increasing number of people who are using and recognising Cornish. If anyone from Tesco needs assistance putting together the new signs there are plenty of people who would be glad to help.
“The [UK] government now recognises the Cornish language at the same level as that of Welsh and Gaelic, and this provides a real opportunity to bring together the cultural, economic and political dimensions of Cornish identity. It helps communities work towards a brighter future rather than allow us to remain an impoverished region on the edge of the UK.”
Welsh (Cymraeg) is much more widely spoken in Wales than Cornish is in Cornwall. The Welsh government aims to get 1 million people speaking the language by 2050.
Ffred Ffransis, a prominent Welsh language campaigner, backed attempts to promote the Cornish language. He said: “Here in Wales, the campaign is to persuade major companies like Tesco, who impact heavily on everyday life, not to confine their use of Welsh to a one-off production of major signage. All signs advertising day-to-day offers and customer notices should also be bilingual to show that Welsh is a working language.”
The Welsh signs have now been removed from Tesco in Helston. A Tesco spokesperson said: “We’re sorry for this mistake and have removed these signs.”
It is understood the signs will be reinstalled – in Cornish – as soon as possible.
