Andrew Climo

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Andrew Climo (born 1961) is a Cornwall-based, Cornish author and community activist. He is chief executive and founder of Community Leaders CIC, [1] a community development agency, a Director of the Community Sector Coalition, [2] a network for community groups in the British Isles, and an activist for Cornish devolution and the Cornish language.

Contents

Early career

Climo graduated with a science degree in 1983, and initially became involved in cot death research at Bristol University as part of the support team performing data mining activities. He moved into electronic publishing as well as the use of SGML, working initially for the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux. [3]

In 1996 he led the development of the first Cornish language web site, called The Cornish Language Advisory Service on behalf of Agan Tavas, a Cornish language group. He subsequently went on to chair that organisation between 1997 and 2004, a period of upheaval for the Cornish Language.

Community development

In 2005 Climo became involved in community development, developing the Inter-Link quality model, [4] a system for developing community groups and providing a certification system for community development workers. This was supplemented by a Mental Health certification system in 2010.

During 2009 he co-authored The Partnership Toolkit for community groups with co-worker Tom Jane. [5]

Climo became a Director of Community Leaders CIC in 2009 and the Community Sector Coalition during 2011. He also contributed to the founding of the National Community Activist's Network during that year. [6]

Cornish devolution

Climo, a Cornish language speaker established the Cornish language journal An Gowsva, which he continued to edit until 2004. By 1996 the status of the language had become politically contentious: At that time the language was not recognised within the provisions of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, although Welsh and Scots Gaelic were.

By 1999 Climo was a member of the Working Group for a Cornish Assembly led by Andrew George MP. From 2002 onwards he joined Bert Biscoe and Dick Cole on the steering group of the newly created 'Convention for a Cornish Assembly'. Both he and co-worker David Fieldsend developed detailed proposals for a devolved Cornish Assembly within the structure of the United Kingdom. [7]

In 2000 he was appointed Head of Research for the Cornwall Constitutional Convention. He then edited Devolution for One and All (pub. 2000). Following John Prescott's (then Deputy Prime Minister) policy to create directly elected English regional assemblies, Climo went on to edit The Case for Cornwall, again published by the convention. [8]

From 2004 onwards, the campaign for a Cornish Development Agency became an increasingly important issue. This resulted in a further publication, Devolution for Prosperity, which set out the case for a strategic Development Agency for Cornwall along the lines of the Welsh Development Agency. The creation of a Development Agency for a devolved Cornwall is now mainstream policy and receives support from Cornish MPs. [9]

Cornish language

Climo chaired Agan Tavas (The Campaign for the Cornish Language) from 1998 to 2005: [10] a difficult time for the language, with three competing written forms being promoted by each of the three main language groups.

During this period Kernuak Es (Second Ed. Pub. Penzance 2004) a book for learners of the language was written by Climo. The orthography used is somewhere between Modern Cornish and Tudor Cornish orthographic forms. [11]

In 2003, and under pressure from a delegation by the Cornish Constitutional Convention, Nick Raynsford, the then Minister for Local Government reported that the government would include the Cornish language within the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

In 2004 a steering group was formed to develop a Strategy for the Cornish Language. This was unpopular with some, but a formal consultation of users and other interested parties in each of the six districts of Cornwall was finally held, culminating in the publication of a report for the Secretary of State for the Regions. [12]

During discussions within the Steering Group 2003 Climo and others proposed the idea of a Standard Written Form (SWF) as a means to unite the language movement. [13]

This proposal was eventually developed at two weekend-long sessions by an 'Ad Hoc Group', comprising representatives from the respective language groups, chaired by Trond Trusterud a language researcher, [14] and supported by considerable ex officio work by several linguists. [15]

The first revision of the SWF was agreed in 2008 and provides a platform for using Cornish for official purposes and in education.

Related Research Articles

Cornish is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. Along with Welsh and Breton, Cornish is descended from the Common Brittonic language spoken throughout much of Great Britain before the English language came to dominate. For centuries, until it was pushed westwards by English, it was the main language of Cornwall, maintaining close links with its sister language Breton, with which it was mutually intelligible, perhaps even as long as Cornish continued to be spoken as a vernacular. Cornish continued to function as a common community language in parts of Cornwall until the mid 18th century, and there is some evidence for traditional speakers of the language persisting into the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitutional status of Cornwall</span> Overview of the constitutional status of Cornwall within the United Kingdom

The constitutional status of Cornwall has been a matter of debate and dispute. Cornwall is an administrative county of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornish literature</span> Written works in the Cornish language

Cornish literature refers to written works in the Cornish language. The earliest surviving texts are in verse and date from the 14th century. There are virtually none from the 18th and 19th centuries but writing in revived forms of Cornish began in the early 20th century.

Agan Tavas is a society which exists to promote the Cornish language and is represented on Rosweyth. It was formed in 1987 to promote the use of Cornish as a spoken language in the Cornish revival. At that time only those observed to be using the language fluently could become members by invitation. In 1990 Agan Tavas was reformed by its members into an open society with the aim of ensuring continued support for the Unified form of revived Cornish first put forward in 1929 by Robert Morton Nance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornwall Council</span> Unitary authority for Cornwall, England

Cornwall Council, known between 1889 and 2009 as Cornwall County Council, is the local authority which governs the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in South West England. Since 2009 it has been a unitary authority, having taken over district-level functions when the county's districts were abolished. The non-metropolitan county of Cornwall is slightly smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the Isles of Scilly. The council has had a Conservative Party majority since the 2021 local elections. Its headquarters is Lys Kernow in Truro.

A Cornish Assembly is a proposed devolved law-making assembly for Cornwall along the lines of the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South West Regional Assembly</span>

The South West Regional Assembly (SWRA) was the regional chamber for South West England, established in 1999. It was wound up in December 2008. Its functions were taken on by the Strategic Leaders' Board, the executive arm of the newly established South West Councils.

Cussül an Tavas Kernôwek is an association founded in 1987 to teach, research and further the Cornish language in Cornwall, UK. Since the adoption of a Standard Written Form of Cornish (SWF) in 2008, it has worked closely with other bodies to achieve these aims. The Cussül encourages research into the Cornish of all periods but has a particular interest in developments after c.1600 and accordingly recommends a standard pronunciation based on c. 1600 to 1700. The Cussül largely draws its inspiration from those who attempted to save the language in the 18th century.

Unified Cornish (UC) is a variety of the Cornish language of the Cornish revival. Developed gradually by Robert Morton Nance during and before the 1930s, it derived its name from its standardisation of the variant spellings of traditional Cornish manuscripts. Nance's recommended spelling and grammar, based on Middle Cornish, soon supplanted Henry Jenner's system, which had been based largely on Late Cornish. Most of the older generation of Cornish users alive today would have started under this system. It was also the form originally used by Gorsedh Kernow, although they now use the new Standard Written Form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornish nationalism</span> Nationalist movement in the United Kingdom

Cornish nationalism is a cultural, political and social movement that seeks the recognition of Cornwall – the south-westernmost part of the island of Great Britain – as a nation distinct from England. It is usually based on three general arguments:

Kernowek Standard, its initial version spelt Kernowak Standard, is a variety of the spelling of revived Cornish. It has two specifications, the first of which was published as a draft proposal in March 2007, and the second of which was published as a practical orthography in May 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornish devolution</span> Political movement in Cornwall, England

Cornish devolution is the movement to increase the governing powers of the County of Cornwall.

The Standard Written Form or SWF of the Cornish language is an orthography standard that is designed to "provide public bodies and the educational system with a universally acceptable, inclusive, and neutral orthography". It was the outcome of a process initiated by the creation of the public body Cornish Language Partnership, which identified a need to agree on a single standard orthography in order to end previous orthographical disagreements, secure government funding, and increase the use of Cornish in Cornwall.

The Cornish Constitutional Convention was formed in November 2000 with the objective of establishing a devolved Cornish Assembly. The convention is a cross-party, cross-sector association with support both in Cornwall and elsewhere. It is not campaigning for any form of separatism or independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornish Language Partnership</span> Language organisation

The Cornish Language Partnership was a representative body that was set up in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, in 2005 to promote and develop the use of the Cornish language. and was dissolved in 2015. It was a public and voluntary sector partnership and consisted of representatives from various Cornish language societies, Cornish cultural and economic organisations and local government in Cornwall. The organisation was part-funded by the European Union's Objective One programme, the United Kingdom government's Department for Communities and Local Government and Cornwall Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devolution in the United Kingdom</span> Granting governmental powers to parts of the UK

In the United Kingdom, devolution is the Parliament of the United Kingdom's statutory granting of a greater level of self-government to the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the London Assembly and to their associated executive bodies: the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and in England, the Greater London Authority and combined authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bible translations into Cornish</span>

Translations of parts of the Bible into Cornish have existed since the 17th century. The early works involved the translation of individual passages, chapters or books of the Bible. The first full translation of the Bible into the Cornish language was published in 2011. The New Testament and Psalms in another translation went online in 2014.

The Cornish language revival is an ongoing process to revive the use of the Cornish language of Cornwall, England. The Cornish language's disappearance began to hasten during the 13th century, but its decline began with the spread of Old English in the 5th and 6th centuries. The last reported person to have full knowledge of a traditional form of Cornish, John Davey, died in 1891. The revival movement started in the late 19th century as a result of antiquarian and academic interest in the language, which was already extinct, and also as a result of the Celtic revival movement. In 2009, UNESCO changed its classification of Cornish from "extinct" to "critically endangered", seen as a milestone for the revival of the language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Cornwall</span> Overview of and topical guide to Cornwall

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cornwall: Cornwall – ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall is also a royal duchy of the United Kingdom. It has an estimated population of half a million and it has its own distinctive history and culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Weatherhill</span> Cornish writer and historian (died 2020)

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References

  1. ↑ http://www.communityleaders.org.uk/%5B%5D
  2. ↑ http://www.communitysectorcoalition.org.uk/ . Retrieved 2011-06-16.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ "CABI.org". CABI.org. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "ILCM for Thriving Communities". Archived from the original on 8 April 2010. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
  5. ↑ "The Partnership Toolkit" (PDF). ILCM Community Interest Company. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2012.
  6. ↑ "NatCAN - National Community Activists Network". Nationalcan.ning.com. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "Cornish Constitutional Convention Web Site". Cornish Constitutional Convention. December 2008.
  8. ↑ "A Cornish Assembly". Cornish Constitutional Convention. December 2008.
  9. ↑ "Cornish Development Agency". BBC News. December 2008.
  10. ↑ Agan Tavas
  11. ↑ "Kernuak Es: A Beginners Course in Everyday Cornish". Kernuak Es. February 2002.
  12. ↑ "Strategy for the Cornish Language". Cornwall County Council. September 2004. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
  13. ↑ "Petition for the Creation of a Standard Written Form". Cornwall24. April 2005. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  14. ↑ "Trond Trosterud". Archived from the original on 9 July 2011.
  15. ↑ "Standard Written Form". Cornish Language Partnership. June 2008. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
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