Cornish language to get official recognition

Cornish is to be recognised as an official minority language for the first time, after a campaign lasting nearly 100 years.

Ministers recognised the Celtic language was in danger of extinction and have added it to the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages alongside others such as Welsh and Scottish Gaelic.

Nick Raynsford, the minister for Local Government and the Regions, said the decision was taken to "protect and promote" Cornish.

He said: "This is a positive step in acknowledging the symbolic importance the language has for Cornish identity and heritage."

The campaign to revive Cornish began in 1904 when Henry Jenner published his Handbook of the Cornish Language, which was the first reference book intended for everyday use rather than academic study.

Interest in the language has grown but, of the 500,000 people who live in Cornwall, only about 400 are thought to speak it fluently. About 5,000 know a few words.

Bernard Deacon, a lecturer at the Institute of Cornish Studies, welcomed the announcement. He said: "We are not going to be seeing Cornish made compulsory on the school curriculum but this is very important because it is symbolic."