Welsh (Cymraeg)

Welsh is a Celtic language spoken in Wales (Cymru) by about 659,000 people, and in the Welsh colony (yr Wladfa) in Patagonia, Argentina (yr Ariannin) by several hundred people. There are also Welsh speakers in England (Lloegr), Scotland (yr Alban), Canada, the USA (yr Unol Daleithiau), Australia (Awstralia) and New Zealand (Seland Newydd).

Number of speakers (Nifer o siaradwyr)

At the beginning of the 20th century about half of the population of Wales spoke Welsh as an everyday language. Towards the end of the century, the proportion of Welsh speakers had fallen to about 20%. According to the 2001 census 582,368 people can speak Welsh, 659,301 people can either speak, read or write Welsh, and 797,717 people, 28% of the population, claimed to have some knowledge of the language.

According to a survey carried out by S4C, the Welsh language TV channel, the number of Welsh speakers in Wales is around 750,000, and about 1.5 million people can 'understand' Welsh. In addition there are an estimated 133,000 Welsh-speakers living in England, about 50,000 of them in the Greater London area.

History (Hanes)

The earliest known examples of Welsh literature are the poems of Taliesin, which feature Urien of Rheged, a 6th century king in what is now southern Scotland, and Aneirin's Y Gododdin, a description of a battle between Celts and Northumbrians which occurred in about 600 AD. Nobody knows for sure when these works were composed or when they were first written down. Before then, whenever then was, all writing in Wales was in Latin.

Current status (Statws cyfoes)

Today there are radio stations and a TV channel, that broadcast entirely or mainly in Welsh. There are also weekly and monthly newspapers and magazines. About 500 books in Welsh are published annually, and there is a thriving Welsh language music scene. There are a number of Welsh language theatre groups, and regular eisteddfodau or cultural festivals are held throughout Wales.

All school pupils in Wales study Welsh as a first or second language for 12 years, from the age of 5 to 16. The first school to use Welsh as the medium of instruction was set up in Aberystwyth in 1939. There are currently over 440 primary schools and over 50 secondary schools in Wales that teach entirely or mainly throught the medium of Welsh. There is also a Welsh-medium school in London. Some courses at Welsh universities and colleges are taught through Welsh, and there are numerous Welsh courses for adults throughout Wales.

Relationship to other languages (Perthynas i ieithoedd eraill)

Welsh is fairly closely related to Cornish and Breton, and more distantly related to Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic.

Here is an illustration of some of the differences and similarities between the Celtic languages using the phrase 'I live in Wales':

Welsh - Dw i'n byw yng Nghymru
Cornish - Trigys ov yn Kembra
Breton - E Kembre emaon o chom
Irish - Tá mé i mo chónaí sa Bhreatain Bheag
Scottish Gaelic - Tha mi a' fuireach anns a' Chuimrigh
Manx - Ta mee cummal 'sy Vretyn

Celtic connections - words that are similar in the Celtic languages

The Welsh alphabet (*Yr Wyddor Gymraeg*)
A a	B b	C c	Ch ch	D d	Dd dd	E e	F f	Ff ff	G g
a	bi	ec	èch	di	èdd	e	èf	èff	èg
Ng ng	H h	I i	L l	Ll ll	M m	N n	O o	P p
èng	aets	i	èl	èll	em	èn	o	pi
Ph ph	R r	Rh rh	S s	T t	Th th	U u	W w	Y y
ffi/yff	èr	rhi	ès	ti	èth	u	w	y

Pronunciation (Ynganiad)

Welsh pronunciation

Notes (Nodiadau)

Where letters have two pronunciations, the first is used in North Wales and the second in South Wales
Long vowels are usually marked with a circumflex accent (to bach) though some are not.
Short vowels are sometimes marked with a grave accent in places where they would normally be long.
y = [ə] in non-final syllables and particles, such as y, yn, yr, etc, elsewhere y = [ɨ/̬ɪ], e.g. ynys ['ənɨ̬s / 'ənɪs]
au = [a] or [e] when used as a plural ending, e.g. treigladau [trəi'glada / trəi'glade]
si = [ʃ] when followed by a vowel, e.g. siarad ['ʃarad]
j [ʤ] is sometimes used in words borrowed from English, such as garej and jeli

Mutations (Treigladau)

Welsh has a system of mutations which affects the initial letters of words. This feature is common to all Celtic languages and can make it difficult to find words in dictionaries. The nasal mutation (treiglad trwynol) and aspirate mutation (treiglad llaes) present few difficulties, but there are over 20 different occasions when soft mutation (treiglad meddal) occurs.
Welsh mutations

Examples of mutations (Enghreifftiau o dreigladau)

Cymru = Wales
Dw i'n dod o Gymru = I come from Wales (soft mutation)
Dw i'n byw yng Nghymru = I live in Wales (nasal mutation)
Lloegr a Chymru = England and Wales (aspirate mutation)

Sample text in Welsh (Testun enghraifft yn y Gymraeg)

Genir pawb yn rhydd ac yn gydradd â'i gilydd mewn urddas a hawliau. Fe'u cynysgaeddir â rheswm a chydwybod, a dylai pawb ymddwyn y naill at y llall mewn ysbryd cymodlon.

Hear a recording of this text by Simon Ager

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)