News & Analysis

New project to breathe life into Cornish language

20th January 2025
Sheryl Miles
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A seven-nation initiative has been launched to preserve and celebrate the Cornish language and Cornwall’s cultural heritage. Named REVIVE, the £2.5 million project is led by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and combines immersive technologies with participatory storytelling to promote endangered European languages.

REVIVE focuses on Cornish, or Kernewek, as well as Griko, a language spoken in parts of southern Italy. The project incorporates extended reality (XR) technologies to create interactive experiences that encourage engagement with these languages. Griko is considered one of Europe’s most at-risk languages, while Cornish, once extinct, is now classified as endangered by UNESCO.

Globally, linguistic diversity is under threat, with at least 50% of languages predicted to disappear by the end of the century. The United Nations reports that a language vanishes every two weeks. Cornish saw its decline by the late 18th century but experienced a significant revival in the 20th century. Today, it is estimated that approximately 500 people are fluent in Cornish, with thousands more speaking it at a basic level. Publications, music, films, and bilingual street signs in Cornwall are evidence of its growing presence.

REVIVE will engage Cornish speakers and members of ARU’s StoryLab research institute to develop digital content and immersive stories. Temporary exhibitions showcasing this work will be held in community spaces across Cornwall. Advanced tools such as 3D XR technologies, data visualisation, and archival research will help younger generations connect with the language and its heritage.

To ensure lasting impact, the project will create a digital repository to house collected and newly created material. This will include local testimonies, photographs, film, audio recordings, and new XR-based narratives, accessible to a global audience.

The project, backed by €3 million in EU funding through the Horizon Europe programme, involves collaboration between academic and industry partners from seven countries: the UK, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, and Estonia. Work is set to begin in March.

Dr Fabrizio Galeazzi, Associate Professor in Heritage and Creative Technologies at ARU, highlighted the importance of public involvement: “Languages are part of our shared heritage and identity, and the loss of languages, which is happening at an alarming rate worldwide, is leading to cultural homogenisation.

“The REVIVE project involves partners from right across Europe but we have chosen to focus only on Cornish and Griko, which are both endangered but are faring very differently. While Griko is a severely endangered language and is considered one of the most at risk in Europe, Cornish is what we call an ‘awakening language’ and is enjoying a resurgence after becoming officially extinct.

“Public engagement is key to the survival of minority languages. By involving local communities in the creation of digital content and stories, and then sharing these as widely as possible – both online and through in-person experiences and exhibitions – we aim to make sure every young person in Cornwall is aware of their county’s incredible linguistic heritage.”

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