Cumbric was the Brythonic Celtic language centred in Cumbria, and spoken from southern Lowland Scotland south as far as Greater Manchester, i.e. the area anciently referred to as the Hen Ogledd. Cumbric was once referred to as North Welsh and Cornish as South, or West, Welsh.

The distinction of the Old Brittonic dialects into separate languages begins in about the 5th century, and Cumbric was most likely dead by the 11th century (though extinction dates as late as the 13th century have been suggested). However, in this time, it is possible that it was moving further away from Welsh grammatically, and developing as a distinct, non-mutually intelligible tongue. It is possible that at its height, Cumbric was spoken by around 30,000 people.

The biggest problems with modern-day knowledge of the language lies with the fact that Cumbric may have been a dialect of Welsh, and not distinct at all. The old northern British kingdoms of Rheged, Strathclyde, Elmet and Gododdin spoke Old Welsh, but given time, many linguists consider that this tongue was distinguishable from Old Welsh at the time of its demise.

Linguistic evidence

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Although the language is long extinct it appears that traces of its vocabulary persisted into the modern era. In the 19th and 20th centuries sheep counts and children's counting rhymes which are possibly derived from Cumbric were collected throughout northern England and southern Scotland: eg Yan, Tan, Tethera, Methera, Pimp compared to Old Welsh "Un, Dou, Tri, Petwar, Pimp". Often these numerals were extremely bastardised.

More concrete evidence of Cumbric exists in the place-names of the extreme northwest of England and the South of Scotland, the personal names of Strathclyde Britons in Scottish, Irish and Anglo-Saxon sources, and a few Cumbric words surviving into the High Middle Ages in South West Scotland as legal terms.

Much of the origin and character of the Cumbric language remain a mystery. Apart from several insignificant Latin observational texts and place names, the language is today undocumented. What is known is that the language was Brythonic Insular Celtic, most likely descended from Old North Welsh, related to the presumed Brythonic Pictish language, and progressively more distantly, to Cornish. Due to its location, words of Goidelic and Scandinavian origin may have enriched the language.

Numbers

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*	Keswick	Westmorland	Eskdale	Millom	High Furness	Wasdale	Teesdale	Swaledale	Wensleydale	Ayrshire
1	yan	yan	yaena	aina	yan	yan	yan	yahn	yan	yinty
2	tyan	tyan	taena	peina	taen	taen	tean	tayhn	tean	tinty
3	tethera	tetherie	teddera	para	tedderte	tudder	tetherma	tether	tither	tetheri
4	methera	peddera	meddera	pedera	medderte	anudder	metherma	mether	mither	metheri
5	pimp	gip	pimp	pimp	pimp	nimph	pip	mimp(h)	pip	bamf
6	sethera	teezie	hofa	ithy	haata	-	lezar	hith-her	teaser	leetera
7	lethera	mithy	lofa	mithy	slaata	-	azar	lith-her	leaser	seetera
8	hovera	katra	seckera	owera	lowera	-	catrah	anver	catra	over
9	dovera	hornie	leckera	lowera	dowa	-	horna	danver	horna	dover
10	dick	dick	dec	dig	dick	-	dick	dic	dick	dik
15	bumfit	bumfit	bumfit	bumfit	mimph	-	bumfit	mimphit	bumper	-
20	giggot	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

The numbers show some similarity to one another, and commonly go into folk etymology, e.g. bumper or into rhyming patterns, e.g. yan, tan or leetera, seetera. In some cases, there is also some shift, e.g. in Ayrshire, "seetera" means seven, but in Keswick, "sethera" is six.

The Cumbric number system gave rise to the shepherd jargon of Yan Tan Tethera, used to count sheep.

Scottish words of possible Cumbric origin

It is not always easy to distinguish possible Pictish loanwords from those of Cumbric. They have been borrowed into both Lowland Scots and Scottish Gaelic, but because Gaelic is also a Celtic language, it would have shared much vocabulary with Cumbric anyway.

• Bach - Cowpat, Welsh bawch, Gaelic buadhar
• Baivenjar - Mean fellow, Welsh bawyn
• Brat - an apron in Welsh, and the same in Gaelic. Found in Yorkshire
• Brogat - A type of mead Welsh bragod (also found in Chaucer)
• Coble - Small flat bottomed boat (also North East England), akin to Welsh ceubal and Latin caupulus
• Crag - Rocks, either from Brythonic craig or Goidelic creag
• Croude (Gaelic: Cruit Welsh: Crwth) - type of small harp, as opposed to clarsach
• Croot - a small boy, Welsh crwt
• Galnes - weregeld, or fine for homicide Welsh galanas
• Linn - Pool in river; waterfall either from Brythonic llyn or Goidelic linne
• Lum - Well known Scottish word for chimney, ?Welsh llumon
• Peat - Probably from Brythonic for "piece" (Welsh peth "thing" vs. Gaelic cuid "part")
• Pen - pointed conical hill, cf "Ben" (Gaelic: beinn probably of Pictish origin)
• Poll - A pool either from Brythonic pwll or Goidelic poll
• Vendace - Fish of Lochmaben, probably cognate with Gwyniad

Reconstructions

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Reconstructed cognates in the language only number around 50, and the Celtic Culture of Northwest England has long since been forgotten. Despite this, several forms of "Revived" Cumbric are in their infancies. One is noted to be very similar to Old Welsh, while the other re-creates a hypothetical, distinct language representing what the language may have been like today had it never died out.

The following are a list of words that have continued in story and slang by some in rural Cumbria until the 21st century.

Cumbric	English	Welsh
Avan	River	Afon
Carou	Beer	Cwrw
Cath	Cat	Cath
Clyn	Lake	Llyn
Devyd	Sheep	Dafad
Dor	Water	Dwr
Eclus	Church	Eglwys
Flod	Flower	Blodyn
Hetty	Today	Heddiw
Kestel	Castle	Castell
Key	Dog	Ci
Pasc	Fish	Pysgod
Pen	Head	Pen
Sesou	English people	Sais
Tey	House	Ty
Velyn	Mill	Melin

See also

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Cumbrian dialect

References

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Brythonic languages | Medieval languages | History of England | History of Scotland | Extinct Celtic languages | Cumbria

Kumbrisch | Cumbrés | Cambrien (langue celtique) | Cumbrico | Cumbrisch | Kumbrisk språk | Język kumbryjski | 坎伯蘭語