 |
 |
CORNISH / WELSH / BRETON I think that these languages were similar, & that people would have had a grasp of the gist of the conversation. Bob Orchard. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alasdair Neill" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 11:11 PM Subject: Snowdon Copper Mines > The last edition of Below! (Shropshire Caving & Mining Club) contains an > article (anonymous) statin "When a new mine manager was wanted at any of > the mines on Snowdon, it was a prerequisite that applicants spoke English > and French, because so many of the miners were Breton. 'Llyn Llydaw@ > means 'Lake Brittany' in Welsh". > > Does anyone have any proof of this? I understand that the name Llydaw, > although translating as Breton (I am no Welsh speaker) is thought to be > more likely to be a personal name, & anyway is recorded much earlier than > the date the Snowdon copper mine was discovered (c mid 18th Century). In > the 1850's there were proposals to bring in Cornish miners, & most names of > workings in the area are either Welsh or Cornish. It would surely have > been much more likely that managers were Welsh speakers (although I don't > suppose there were many Welsh speakers amongst the Cornish). > > Alasdair Neill. > >