An Bibel Kernewek 2020 — Cornish (Kernewek) Complete Bible (United Kingdom)
Overview
An Bibel Kernewek 2020 ("The Cornish Bible 2020") is the complete Bible in the Cornish language of Cornwall, United Kingdom, published by Kesva an Taves Kernewek (the Cornish Language Board) and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 1079; abbreviation: ABK) and the British and Foreign Bible Society. The New Testament (An Testament Nowydh) was first published in 2004; the complete Bible was completed in 2020. Cornish (ISO 639-3: cor; autonym: Kernewek) is a Brythonic Celtic language — the closest Celtic language to Breton and Welsh — that became functionally extinct in the 18th century and has been revived through sustained community and scholarly effort since the 20th century. The Cornish Bible is the capstone of this revival, providing a full scriptural canon in the revived language.
Language and People
Cornish (ISO 639-3: cor; autonym: Kernewek) is an Indo-European language: Indo-European → Celtic → Insular Celtic → Brythonic branch. Cornish is most closely related to Breton (the Brythonic language of Brittany, France) and to Welsh — all three descend from the Common Brittonic spoken across post-Roman Britain. Cornish diverged from Welsh around 600 CE and was spoken in Cornwall until the late 18th century; Dolly Pentreath (died 1777) is traditionally cited as the last native speaker, though some Cornish speakers likely survived later.
The Cornish language community is:
- Cornwall, southwestern England, United Kingdom — historically the Cornish peninsula west of the Tamar River
- The revived Cornish-speaking community is dispersed across Cornwall and beyond; language learners number in the thousands
Estimated active speakers: approximately 3,000–5,000 speakers with varying proficiency (2021 UK Census: ~3,000 people reported speaking Cornish).
Cultural Context
The Cornish language revival began with the philological work of Henry Jenner (1904) and Mordon Nance, who developed Unified Cornish from medieval texts. Kesva an Taves Kernewek (the Cornish Language Board) was established in 1967 to standardize and promote the language. In 2002, Cornish was officially recognized as a Regional Minority Language of the United Kingdom under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The Cornish Bible Project (Projekt an Bibel Kernewek), initiated in 1997, aimed to translate the entire Bible from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek sources. The translation is written in Standard Written Form (SWF) / Kernewek Kemmyn orthography, the consensus spelling system for revived Cornish.
Publishing and Organizations
Published by Kesva an Taves Kernewek (Cornish Language Board, cornishlanguageboard.org.uk) with ecumenical support from the Bishop of Truro's Advisory Group for Cornish Language Services and Churches Together in Cornwall. Digital edition also available through the British and Foreign Bible Society (biblesociety.org.uk).