Emmet (Cornish)
Encyclopedia
Emmet is a pejorative nickname
that some Cornish people
use to refer to the many tourists who visit Cornwall
.
word for ant
, being an analogy to the way in which both tourists and ants are often red in colour and appear to mill around. However the use of 'emmet' to mean ants is actually from the Cornish dialect of English
and is derived from the Old English word æmete from which the modern English
word ant
, is also derived (compare Modern German Ameise [ant]). The Cornish word for ant is actually muryon (muryonen (p) )
Emmet is also sometimes used to refer to non-Cornish people who have moved to Cornwall. Many Cornish people consider Cornwall to be separate from England and so many of these 'emmets' are English who have relocated. This has led to some Cornish residents who consider themselves to be Cornish to display "non-emmet" car stickers.
born Jonty Haywood
created a hoax
about a fictional place in North
Cornwall
, Porthemmet Beach (Port of Emmet), involving fake road signs and a hoax website to confuse tourists and amuse locals. In July 2008 Haywood placed a further set of signs.
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
that some Cornish people
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
use to refer to the many tourists who visit Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is 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 has a population of , and covers an area of...
.
Etymology
It is commonly thought to be derived from the Cornish-languageCornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
word for ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
, being an analogy to the way in which both tourists and ants are often red in colour and appear to mill around. However the use of 'emmet' to mean ants is actually from the Cornish dialect of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and is derived from the Old English word æmete from which the modern English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
, is also derived (compare Modern German Ameise [ant]). The Cornish word for ant is actually muryon (muryonen (p) )
Emmet is also sometimes used to refer to non-Cornish people who have moved to Cornwall. Many Cornish people consider Cornwall to be separate from England and so many of these 'emmets' are English who have relocated. This has led to some Cornish residents who consider themselves to be Cornish to display "non-emmet" car stickers.
Porthemmet Beach hoax
In August 2007, TruroTruro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
born Jonty Haywood
Jonty Haywood
The Porthemmet Beach hoax occurred in late August 2007, when Jonty Haywood, from Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom, invented a fictional place in Cornwall called Porthemmet Beach, the "best beach in Cornwall", to confuse tourists and amuse locals...
created a hoax
about a fictional place in North
North Cornwall
North Cornwall was the largest of the six local government districts of Cornwall, United Kingdom. Its council was based in Wadebridge . Other towns in the district included Bude, Bodmin, Launceston, Padstow, and Camelford....
Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is 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 has a population of , and covers an area of...
, Porthemmet Beach (Port of Emmet), involving fake road signs and a hoax website to confuse tourists and amuse locals. In July 2008 Haywood placed a further set of signs.
See also
- Grockle is a similar West Country dialectWest Country dialectsThe West Country dialects and West Country accents are generic terms applied to any of several English dialects and accents used by much of the indigenous population of South West England, the area popularly known as the West Country....
word used in DevonDevonDevon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
but emmet is distinctly Cornish. - Cornish self-government movementCornish self-government movementCornish nationalism is an umbrella term that refers to a cultural, political and social movement based in Cornwall, the most southwestern part of the island of Great Britain, which has for centuries been administered as part of England, within the United Kingdom...
- Constitutional status of CornwallConstitutional status of CornwallCornwall is currently administered as a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England.However, a number of organisations and individuals question the constitutional basis for the administration of Cornwall as part of England, arguing that the Duchy Charters of 1337 place the governance of...
- Politics of CornwallPolitics of CornwallCornwall is currently administered as a county of South West England whose politics are influenced by a number of issues that make it distinct from the general political scene in the wider UK, and the political trends of neighbouring counties...
- Mebyon KernowMebyon KernowMebyon Kernow is a left-of-centre political party in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It primarily campaigns for devolution to Cornwall in the form of a Cornish Assembly, as well as social democracy and environmental protection.MK was formed as a pressure group in 1951, and contained as members activists...