Ken George

In traditional Cornish, the phonemes /ð/ and /θ/ were usually both spelled <th>, following Englis... more In traditional Cornish, the phonemes /ð/ and /θ/ were usually both spelled <th>, following English practice. They are distinguished only in Lhuyd’s writings. One can work out which etymological phoneme <th> represents by examining cognate words in Welsh, where /ð/ and /θ/ are spelled <dd> and <th> respectively. This does not prove that the actual realizations corresponded to those in Welsh. In particular, Nicholas Williams maintains that unstressed final /ð/ and /θ/ were both realized as [θ]. Data from rhymes and evidence from the re-written part of Bewnans Meryasek suggest rather that historical /ð/ and /θ/ were pronounced [ð] and [θ] respectively in all phonetic environments.

Download

THE CURIOUS USE OF THE DIGRAPH <oy> IN THE MIDDLE CORNISH TEXT BEWNANS MERYASEK

Unlike the other Middle Cornish texts, Bewnans Meryasek makes extensive use of the digraph <oy> t... more

Download

What Happened to Primitive Cornish /I/ When Long in Closed Syllables?

Studia Celtica Posnaniensia, 2018

Of the four unrounded front vowels in Primitive Cornish, /i/, /ɛ/ and /a/ remained stable when lo... more Of the four unrounded front vowels in Primitive Cornish, /i/, /ɛ/ and /a/ remained stable when long in closed syllables, but /ɪ/ had a tendency to fall together with /ɛ/. Jackson (1953) and Williams (1995) dated this change to the twelfth century, but the present research indicates that in most words, the change took place substantially later. An analysis of spellings and of rhymes show that not all words changed at the same time. Most stressed monosyllables in historical /-ɪz/ were pronounced [-ɪːz] in Middle Cornish and [-ɛːz] in Late Cornish. Those with historical /-ɪð/ and /-ɪθ/ were dimorphic in Middle Cornish (i.e. they were spelled with both <y~i> and <e>), showing the sound-change in progress during that time. The process of change from [ɪː] to [ɛː] was one of lexical diffusion. The implications for the revived language are briefly examined.

Download

THE TWO MIDDLE CORNISH WORDS FOR 'GRACE': GRAS AND RAS

Download

Notes on word order in Beunans Meriasek

The noun suffixes -ter/-der, -(y)ans and -neth in Cornish

Études Celtiques, 1992

Whereas the abstract noun suffix -ter/-der is very common in all three Brittonic languages, the u... more

Cornish and Esperanto : similar enterprises?

A comparison of word-order in middle Breton and middle Cornish

John Benjamins Publishing Company eBooks, 1990

Tidal Modulation of Incident Wave Heights: Fact or Fiction?

Journal of Coastal Research, 2008

This contribution investigates the hypothesis that incident wave power is modulated by the tide. ... more This contribution investigates the hypothesis that incident wave power is modulated by the tide. Eulerian measurements of wave height recorded by three wave buoys in intermediate water depths (8-45 m A.C.D.), over a seven year period were analysed in a search for evidence of this semi-diurnal variability in incident wave heights. The study site (Perranporth, UK) was a highly macrotidal environment with a maximum spring tidal range of approximately 7.5 m. Autospectra of wave height time-series displayed a significant peak at semi-diurnal frequencies that was coherently coupled to the tidal displacement. At this site maximum wave power was seen to occur on the rising tide, on average 1 hour 6 minutes before high water. The observed semi-diurnal variability in wave height increases in magnitude towards the shoreline. This contribution presents field evidence for tidal modulation of incident wave power by the tide and suggests a possible explanation for the observations in terms of an analytical model for attenuation of wave power by contra tidal flows.

Download

Improving the simulation of drying and wetting in a two-dimensional tidal numerical model

Applied Mathematical Modelling, 1995

Relatively coarse-mesh tidal numerical models of shelf seas may include ceils that dry out comple... more Relatively coarse-mesh tidal numerical models of shelf seas may include ceils that dry out completely at low tide. In such models, spurious shocks often occur when these cells become wet or dry. It is shown here that it is possible to eliminate these shocks by representing the local bathymetry in each cell by a sloping facet rather than by af7at bed, and thereby make the drying-and-wetting algorithm more eficient.

Download

Hydrographic Data Bases for Tidal Numerical Models

International Hydrographic Review, 2015

Bathymetric data for tidal numerical models may be organised either as a list of soundings locate... more Bathymetric data for tidal numerical models may be organised either as a list of soundings located in space, or as a table of average depths in rectangular areas which correspond to the cells used in the model. The techniques of averaging used in the second method are described, and its accuracy is examined. Details are given of its operation in the case of the author's tidal numerical models.

Download

Notes on word order in Beunans Meriasek

Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 1991

The revived languages – Cornish and Manx

Routledge, Sep 10, 2009

The noun suffixes -ter/-der, -(y)ans and -neth in Cornish

Etudes Celtiques, 1992

Suffixes nominaux -ter/-der, -(y)ans et -neth en Cornique. Alors que le suffixe de nom abstrait -... more Suffixes nominaux -ter/-der, -(y)ans et -neth en Cornique. Alors que le suffixe de nom abstrait -ter/-der est tres frequent dans les trois langues brittoniques, l’emploi des suffixes de noms abstraits -(y)ans et -neth a ete davantage developpe en cornique qu’en breton et en gallois. Le rendement des trois suffixes corniques est examine.

WHAT HAPPENED TO PRIMITIVE CORNISH /I/ WHEN LONG IN CLOSED SYLLABLES

Studia Celtica Posnaniensia, 2018

Of the four unrounded front vowels in Primitive Cornish, /i/, /ɛ/ and /a/ remained stable when lo... more Of the four unrounded front vowels in Primitive Cornish, /i/, /ɛ/ and /a/ remained stable when long in closed syllables, but /ɪ/ had a tendency to fall together with /ɛ/. Jackson (1953) and Williams (1995) dated this change to the twelfth century, but the present research indicates that in most words, the change took place substantially later. An analysis of spellings and of rhymes show that not all words changed at the same time. Most stressed monosyllables in historical /-ɪz/ were pronounced [-ɪːz] in Middle Cornish and [-ɛːz] in Late Cornish. Those with historical /-ɪð/ and /-ɪθ/ were dimorphic in Middle Cornish (i.e. they were spelled with both <y~i> and <e>), showing the sound-change in progress during that time. The process of change from [ɪː] to [ɛː] was one of lexical diffusion. The implications for the revived language are briefly examined.

Download

What Happened to Primitive Cornish /I/ When Long in Closed Syllables?

Studia Celtica Posnaniensia

Of the four unrounded front vowels in Primitive Cornish, /i/, /ɛ/ and /a/ remained stable when lo... more Of the four unrounded front vowels in Primitive Cornish, /i/, /ɛ/ and /a/ remained stable when long in closed syllables, but /ɪ/ had a tendency to fall together with /ɛ/. Jackson (1953) and Williams (1995) dated this change to the twelfth century, but the present research indicates that in most words, the change took place substantially later. An analysis of spellings and of rhymes show that not all words changed at the same time. Most stressed monosyllables in historical /-ɪz/ were pronounced [-ɪːz] in Middle Cornish and [-ɛːz] in Late Cornish. Those with historical /-ɪð/ and /-ɪθ/ were dimorphic in Middle Cornish (i.e. they were spelled with both <y~i> and <e>), showing the sound-change in progress during that time. The process of change from [ɪː] to [ɛː] was one of lexical diffusion. The implications for the revived language are briefly examined.

Download

L'analyse harmonique de la concentration de sédiment en suspension dans les modèles unidimensionnels

IVèmes Journées, Dinard, 1996

Le transport du sédiment suspendu dans les estuaires de grand marnage est étudié à l'aide de deux... more Le transport du sédiment suspendu dans les estuaires de grand marnage est étudié à l'aide de deux modèles unidimensionnels schématiques: L'analyse harmonique montre que la variation semi-mensuelle domine les fluctuations de concentration, et que les variations quart-diurnes sont plus importantes pour la concentration que pour la hauteur de marée. Toutefois, ces modèles semblent impropres à représenter fidèlement le transport de sédiment dans un estuaire réel, et il est nécessaire de mener une étude semblable avec des modèles non-integrés latéralement.

Download

Correcting co-tidal charts produced by numerical models

Tellus A, 1994

Much of the tedious task of tuning a 2-dimensional tidal numerical model has been avoided by intr... more Much of the tedious task of tuning a 2-dimensional tidal numerical model has been avoided by introducing a corrective procedure. The model is run in a time-stepping mode until a steady state is achieved, and harmonic constants determined; these are then corrected by reference to the measured values at representative ports. The technique has been successfully applied to a fine-mesh model of the English Channel. When it is extended to adjust the tidal streams, the technique fails because of the sensitivity of the computed streams to the spatial gradient of the vertical tide (especially its clockwise component). It would be better to replace the geometricallybased corrective technique by a least-squares fit to the measured data, applied to a non-timestepping model.

Download

A depth-averaged tidal numerical model using non-orthogonal curvilinear co-ordinates

Ocean Dynamics, 2007

Towards medium-term (order of months) morphodynamic modelling of the Teign estuary, UK

Ocean Dynamics, 2006

The main objective of this paper is to address the principal mechanisms involved in the medium-te... more The main objective of this paper is to address the principal mechanisms involved in the medium-term (order of months to years) morphodynamic evolution of estuaries through the application of a process-based numerical modelling. The Teign estuary (Teignmouth, UK) is the selected site. The system is forced by the macrotidal semi-diurnal tide in the English Channel and is perturbed to a minor extent by high river discharge events (freshets). Although waves have a definite influence on the adjacent coastal area, Wells (Teignmouth Quay Development Environmental Statement: Changes to Physical Processes. Report R.984c:140. ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd., Southampton, 2002b) suggested that swell waves do not enter the estuary. Hence, wave effects are neglected in this study, as only tides and the river discharge are taken into account. The sediment grain size is highly variable, but mainly sandy. Within the frame of the COAST3D project (http://www.hrwallingford.co.uk/projects/COAST3D), four bathymetric surveys of the adjacent coastal area were carried out at a nearly weekly intervals. The outer estuary and the adjacent coastal area were also surveyed every 6 months as part of the COASTVIEW project (http://thecoastviewproject.org). Based on these data and on continuously measured parameters, such as water level, waves, wind and river discharge, numerical modelling of the morphodynamic processes can be tested. To replicate the morphological changes in the medium-term within a feasible simulation time, forcing conditions are reduced through the use of an input reduction method (called ensemble technique). In this study, simulations are based on the coupling between Telemac-2D and its non-cohesive sediment transport module, Sisyphe (version 5.3 for both modules). Three different sediment transport formulae were tested: (1) Engelund and Hansen (A monograph on sediment transport in alluvial streams, 3rd edn. Technological University of Denmark, Copenhagen, 1967) including the modifications proposed by Chollet and Cunge (J Hydraul Eng 17(1):1–13, 1979); (2) Bijker (Mechanics of sediment transport by the combination of waves and current. In: Design and reliability of coastal structures. 23rd international conference on Coastal Engineering, pp 147–173, 1968) and (3) Soulsby (Dynamics of Marine Sands. A manual for practical applications. HR Wallingford, Wallingford, p 142, 1997) modified version of van Rijn [J Hydraul Eng 110(10):1431–1456, 1984a, J Hydraul Eng 110(11):1613–1641, 1984b] formulation. Both a qualitative (i.e. visual comparison) and a quantitative tool [Brier Skill Score (BSS); described in Sutherland et al. in Coast Eng 51:917–939, 2004b] are applied to assess the similarity of simulations when compared to model predictions and observations. Tests confirmed the reliability and time efficiency of the ensemble technique, since it reproduced very well the results of a reference run, a computation based on the observed boundary conditions. For the spring-neap cycle modelled, the BSS was of 0.91 (a perfect modelling would have a BSS of 1), with a reduction in the simulation time on the order of 80%. For the 6-month-period simulation, results were also excellent: BSS=0.92 and a computer time reduction of 85%. In principle, this method has the advantage of being applied to any process-based numerical model.

Uploads

Papers by Ken George

Log In