Executive summary

• The Cornish language revival has failed to produce a sizeable core of fluent speakers. • Attempts to create a standard based on medieval Cornish have not succeeded. • There have been two dominant and overlapping approaches to medieval Cornish spelling – historicist and rationalist. The first claims authenticity to lie in closeness to the historical texts and the second seeks authenticity in the relationship between pronunciation and spelling. • The medievalist project has proved to be flawed. Its underlying ideology is over-romanticised and unable to strike a chord with the contemporary Cornish population. • The work of Edward Lhuyd and the writings of the later Cornish speakers provide a much more logical and accurate base for the pronunciation of Cornish and bring it closer to contemporary Cornwall