Cumbric Language - Equivalence With Old Welsh

Equivalence With Old Welsh

The linguistic term ‘Cumbric’ is defined according to geographical rather than linguistic criteria: that is, it refers to the variety of Brythonic spoken within a particular region of northern Britain and infers nothing about that variety except that it was geographically distinct from other varieties. This has led to a discussion about the nature of Cumbric and its relationship with other Brythonic languages, in particular with Old Welsh.

Linguists appear undecided as to whether Cumbric should be considered a separate language, or a dialect of Old Welsh. Koch calls it a ‘dialect’ but goes on to say that some of the place names in the Cumbric region “clearly reflect a developed medieval language, much like Welsh, Cornish or Breton”. Jackson also calls it a ‘dialect’ but points out that “to call it Pr W would be inaccurate”, so clearly views it as distinct in some meaningful respect.

It has been suggested that Cumbric was more closely aligned to Pictish than to Welsh, though there is considerable debate regarding the classification of that language. On the basis of place name evidence it has also been proposed that all three languages were very similar.

The whole question is made more complex because no principled distinction can be made in any case between languages and dialects.

Below, some of the proposed differences between Cumbric and Old Welsh are discussed.

Abbreviations:

• W Welsh
• C Cornish
• B Breton
• Brit. British