Shoppers in a Tesco supermarket in Cornwall were left perplexed after their everyday staples were signposted in Welsh rather than their native Cornish.
Customers looking for seafood were directed by bwyd môr in Welsh, rather than boos mor, and those seeking sweet potatoes followed signs labelled tatws melys, rather than aval dor melys.
Yet there is hope the linguistic error in the Helston branch will spearhead a rise in the presence of bilingual signs down the shopping aisles in Cornwall.
Councillor Loveday Jenkin welcomed the idea of Cornish-tongued signs in efforts to normalise Kernewek, the Cornish language, but noted they should be in ‘Cornish not Welsh’.
She said: ‘It’s really good to normalise the language around the place. I don’t believe Tesco produces bilingual Cornish signs yet.’
Despite Tesco’s verbal blunder, Ms Jenkin maintained Cornwall had a long history of using bilingual signage which was in most part well-received by residents.
Around 400 to 500 people are advanced speakers of Cornish, while between 2,500 and 5,000 people have some basic understanding of the language.
Shoppers in a Tesco supermarket in Cornwall were left perplexed after their everyday staples were signposted in Welsh rather than their native Cornish
There is hope the linguistic error in the Helston branch (pictured) will spearhead a rise in the presence of bilingual signs down the shopping aisles in Cornwall
The Mebyon Kernow councillor justified the error by a closeness in the two languages, she told the BBC: ‘Cornish speakers can understand some of the Welsh because some of the words are similar.’
A Tesco spokesperson apologised for the ‘mistake’ and assured the signs had been removed.
This comes as the Cornish language was further protected last month through the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
This move puts Kernewek in the same bracket of protection as all other Celtic languages recognised across the British Isles, including Welsh.
More than 100,000 people deemed their main national identity, ethnicity and main language as Cornish, according to the 2021 census.