Four community projects in Cornwall have each been awarded £5,000 in funding to run a range of Cornish language activities over the next year.

These will be aimed at a range of people, from those who are just interested in having a go at speaking or hearing the language, through to fluent speakers. One of the key aims of the ten year Cornish Language Strategy is to increase the opportunities to use Cornish.

One of the groups awarded funding is Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek - the Cornish Language Fellowship – which will be running a programme of activities throughout the year with other language and community groups. In recent years, the number of Yeth an Werin (pub or cafe evenings where Cornish is spoken) has grown and this project will start to coordinate events, provide support to volunteers and make links with other groups in the community.

Lowender Peran, the annual music festival in Newquay, will be using its funding to work with choirs, community groups and schools who are interested in singing in Cornish. This will offer an easy way to try out the language and is less intimidating than going to a formal class.

Another recipient of funding, Looe Music Festival, will be working with choirs and schools in south-east Cornwall building up to an exciting mass participation event.

The fourth project to receive funding is Radyo an Gernewegva, an hour long weekly radio programme which is made entirely in Cornish. The Camborne-based social enterprise which make the programme will use the funding to develop the range of Cornish language programming they produce and develop multi-media resources for Cornish speakers.

Welcoming the funding Julian German, the council’s cabinet member for economy and culture, said: "All these projects aim to enable local groups in Cornwall meet the increasing interest in Cornish and contribute to the vitality and colour of Cornwall. With some schools starting to teach Cornish as well, this all reflects a growing confidence and pride in the future of the Cornish language.”