Place- and language-name musings

[smmg]

I like that the word for the Cornish language in Breton is essentially "Big Cornish" (Kerneveureg) because "Cornish" (Kerneveg) on its own would mean the dialect of Breton.

Kerneveureg: Kernev is cognate with the Cornish "Kernow", Welsh "Cernyw", and English "Cornwall", but it's Breton for the Cornouaille region in Brittany. And Kernev-Veur is used to mean Cornwall, and means "Big Cornwall" essentially.

Kerneveg is a dialect of Breton, and the word is cognate with the Cornish "Kernewek", Welsh "Cernyweg", and English "Cornish".

Interesting also how Wales in Irish is "An Bhreatain Bheag", i.e. "The Small Britain". Which is also essentially what the word Brittany means in English. Brittany is also called "Small Britain" in Scottish Gaelic - "A' Bhreatann Bheag".

And the Irish "An Bhreatain Mhór" is "The Big Britain", which is again what it's basically called in English too - Great Britain.

Also very interesting how the Irish for Irish (Gaeilge) and "Gael" appear to have been loaned from the Welsh "Gwyddeleg" and "Gwyddel" originally, and it's interesting that these names of a non-Irish origin were adopted as terms of identity, rather than using a word of native origin.