[Spellyans] long and short forms of bos

[nicholas williams]

The standard Nancean doctrine has always been that long forms of bos are
used locatively and with the verbal noun as a participle, but that short
forms are used with adjectives.
This means in revived Cornish one says:

yth esof omma 'I am here'
yth esof ow tos 'I am come'
but yth ov vy pell dhyworth ow sergh 'I am far from my love.'

I am not sure that these rules can really be justified.

In the first place tregys the adjective 'dwelling, resident' is often  
used with the long forms of bos:

the wofyn prak yv genes punscie y tus mar calas vs trygys agy the'th  
wlas OM 1481-83
omma yth ese tregys avel hermyt in guelfos BM 1963-64
En Termen ez passiez thera Trigaz en St. Levan Dean ha Bennen en  
Tellar creiez chei an Horr JCH

Moreover esa is used with other adjectives, particularly when the  
adjective has spatial sense:

Pylat eth yn mes ay hell yn vn lowarth an gevo ogas o nyng esa pell  
hag a worras crist ganso PA 140ab.

Eus/usy is very common also with verbal adjectives:

rak kvthe myns vs formyys OM 22
kekemys vs ynne gvreys OM 54
lemyn dar nep marthegyon vs wharfethys RD 1259-60
Pyv an jovle us warfethys BM 775
pyv us oma devethys BM 4039
kynfo an pith vs requyris the worthen vith mar calis TH 28.

Nicholas



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