Simpsons rally to Cornish cause

Lisa Simpson will take the cause of Cornish independence to the small screens this Christmas.

11:30 06 July 2004

Lisa Simpson will take the cause of Cornish independence to the small screens this Christmas.

The spiky-haired daughter of the animated Simpsons family will be seen waving the black-and-white Cornish flag, and shouting freedom slogans in the native tongue of the south-west county.

Expected to air on Christmas Day and at the same time as the Queen's Speech, the episode will show Lisa as a political activist for the traditionally Celtic community.

She will shout "rydhsys rag Kernow lemmyn", or "Free Cornwall now", and "Kernow bys vykken" or "Cornwall forever".

Tim Long, executive producer of "The Simpsons", contacted the Cornish Language Fellowship to ensure Lisa pronounced her protests correctly.

In an email, he wrote: "In an upcoming episode, Lisa Simpson briefly takes up the cause of Cornish independence. Our hope is to have the Lisa character run around the house yelling, 'Free Cornwall now!' in Cornish."

"Could you please provide us with a translation of this phrase into Cornish? Ideally, I would hear you say the phrase over the phone, so that I could instruct our voice actress in the proper pronunciation."

The last solely Cornish speaker died in the 18th Century, but around 4,000 people in the fiercely independent area of England are still thought to have command of the language.