Category: Welsh (Cymraeg)

Język polski w Anglii i Walii (Polish language in England and Wales)

By Simon

The 2011 UK census found that Polish is the third most-spoken language in England and and Wales, after English and Welsh, and the second most-spoken language in England after English. According to a report in The Guardian, there are 546,000 speakers Polish in England and Wales, which is compared with the 562,000 people who report that they speak Welsh in Wales.

Statisticians who analysed data from the census found that in response to the question “what is your main language?” 104 different languages were listed, and 49 of them have 15,000 or more speakers. In England and Wales 8% of the population, or 4.2 million people, speak a language other than English as the main language. The most spoken languages after English, Welsh and Polish are Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali and Gujarati. There are also significant numbers of Arabic, French, Chinese and Portuguese speakers. Of the Chinese speakers, most list Hakka, Hunanese or other Sinitic languages as their main language, and fewer list Mandarin or Cantonese. There were found to be particularly concentrations of Gujarati speakers in Leicester, Cantonese and Mandarin speakers in Manchester, Lithuanian speakers in Boston in Lincolnshire, Punjabi speakers in Slough, and Somali speakers in Brent in northwest London.

So if you’re in the UK and considering learning a foreign language, Polish might be a good choice, or maybe another language that is widely spoken in the area where you live. In London you have a choice of over 100 languages in most boroughs.

Another article I found in The Guardian today talks about a primary school in Peterborough where 20 different languages are spoken among the pupils, but none of them speaks English as a mother tongue. The headmistress, who has worked in Pakistan and speaks Urdu, doesn’t see this as a problem but rather celebrates the diversity of the school and does everything possible to ensure that children do well. Many of the teaching assistants in the school are bilingual; new pupils are paired with older pupils who speak their language in a buddy system, and there are arrangements with other local schools where the pupils can learn alongside others who speak English as a native language.

Les mot de la semaine

By Simon

– un compte courant = current account = cyfrif cyfredol = kont-red
– un compte d’épargne / de dépôt = savings account = cyfrif cynilion = kont-espern
– l’épargne, l’économie = savings = cynilion = arboell
– économiser = to save (money) = cynilo; arbed = armerzhañ
– l’intérêt (m) = interest = llog = laz
– le taux d’intérêt = interest rate = cyfradd llog = feur kampi
– l’assurance-vie (f) = life insurance = yswiriant bywyd = asurañs war ar vuhez
– les nouveaux visages (m); de nouvelles têtes (f) = new faces = gwynebau newydd = pennoù nevez
– retenir son souffle = to hold one’s breath (lit/fig) = dal dy wynt
– concorder = to fit (facts) = cytuno (efo ffeithiau)
– poseur (de tapis) = (carpet) fitter; poseur = fittiwr (carpedi)
– le pépin = glitch, snag, hitch; pip; umbrella = rhwystr; dincodyn; ymbarél = skoilh; disglavier
– greffer = to graft = impio = imboudañ

Slugs and snails and owls

By Simon

Here some of the words that came up this week at the polyglot conversation group, along with a few related words and expressions.

Kernewek
bulhorn = snail
gluthvelhwenn; melhwenn = slug
kowann; oula = owl
mordardha = to surf
modardh = surf

Cymraeg
malwoden; malwen (malwod, pl) = snail
gwlithen; malwen ddu = slug
tylluan; gwdihŵ = owl
brigdonni; brigo tonnau; reidio tonnau; syrffio = to surf
pori = to surf (the web)
brigdonnwr; brigwr tonnau; syrffiwr = surfer
ewyn môr; brig y don; ewyn y don = surf
talp = nugget, chunk, lump, byte
cnepyn = nugget, nodule, lump, pommel
gwrthrychedd; gwrthrycholdeb = objectivity

Brezhoneg
melc’houed; melc’hwed; mailgorn; melc’houedenn-grogennek = snail
melc’houed; melc’hwedenn; likoch = slug
penn-kazh; toud; korverig = owl

Français
doué(e); de talent = talented
avoir du talent = to be talented
un musicien de talent = a talented musician
aux talents multiples = multi-talented
avoir plusieurs cordes à son arc = to have many tricks up one’s sleeve (be multi-talented)
elle est extrêmement douée = she is extremely talented
l’escargot (f) = snail
la limace = slug
le hibou; la chouettte = owl

Deutsch
die Streichholzschachtel = matchbox
der Streichholzschächtelchen = little matchbox
die Schnecke = snail
das Schneckengehäuse = snail shell
die Nacktschnecke = slug (“naked snail”)
die Eule = owl

Bulhorn

By Simon

The subject of snails came up this week at the polyglot conversation group and I discovered that the Cornish word for snail is bulhorn /ˈbʊl.hɔɾn/ (pl. bulhornes), which I particularly like, and which conjures up images of bullhorn (megaphone) wielding snails.

We were also talking about slugs and didn’t know the Cornish or Welsh words for them. I suggested malwoden heb dŷ (“a snail without a house”) or malwoden digatref (“a homeless snail”) in Welsh, and bulhorn heb chy (“snail without a house”) was suggested for the Cornish version. I now know that a Welsh slug is a gwlithen or a malwen ddu (“black snail”) and that a Cornish slug is a gluthvelhwenn or a melhwenn. The gwlith and gluth in these words, which mean dew.

I later discovered that the German word for snail is Schnecke – isn’t that a great sound? Definitely a cellar door word for me. A German slug is a Nacktschnecke or “naked snail”.

Torch carrying

By Simon

The expression to carry a torch for someone came up when I was putting together this week’s mots de la semaine for the French Conversation Group. We talked about my experiences in Shetland, where lots of people were carrying flaming torches, and this got me wondering why you might say that you’re carry a torch for someone.

According to Wiktionary it might date back the the Greek and Roman wedding torch tradition, which involved the bride lighting a torch from her hearth on her wedding night, and taking it to her new home to light the hearth. The torch was associated with Hymen (Ὑμήν) or Hymenaios, the Greek god of wedding ceremonies.

So if you’re carry a torch for someone it means that you’re in love with them or romantically infatuated with them, but your feelings might not be reciprocated.

The French equivalent is en pincer pour qn, and in Welsh it’s caru rhywun (o bell) yn ofer, llosgu dy gariad at rhywun yn fud, or cadwai fflam dy serch at rhywun ynghyn. What about in other languages?

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon

– une torche flambeau = flaming torch = ffagl = torch flamboz
– une lampe de poche = (pocket) torch = tortsh = kreuzeul
– en pincer pour qn = to carry a torch for sb = caru rhywun (o bell) yn ofer
– au point = in focus = mewn ffocws, yn eglur = en e reizh
– pas au point = out of focus = aneglur, allan ohoni
– mettre au point = to focus = canoli, ffocysu = fokusañ
– agité(e) = rough (sea) = garw, stormus, tymhestlog, tonnog = rust
– négociant, marchand = merchant = masnachwr = marc’hadour
– la télécommande = remote control = teclyn pell-reolaeth = pellurzhier
– le cireur de chaussures = shoeshiner = glanhäwr esgidiau
– mendiant = beggar = cardotyn, cardotwr = klasker
– s’entendre avec qn = to get on with sb = cyd-dynnu’n dda gyda rhywun = en em glevet
– le respect de soi, l’amour-propre (m) = self-esteem = hunan-barch, hunan-dyb = karantez an-unan

Bangor Polyglots

By Simon

Last night the Bangor Polyglot conversation group met for the first time. I’ve been wanting to set up a group like this for a while as a way to practice my languages and to meet other polyglots. Last month it finally started to come together: first I found a suitable place and time for it to take place – I chose the Ship Launch Inn near Bangor pier because it’s quiet on a Monday night, the only night I have free at the moment. Then I posted about the group on the Bangor couchsurfing group, and set up a Facebook group.

I wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested or would turn up, but was reassured when a number of people have joined the Facebook group and/or have expressed an interest on the Couchsurfing group. In the end two others came last night – a Welsh lass who speaks Welsh and is learning Cornish; and a Cornish lad who speaks German, and is learning Cornish, Welsh, Dutch and Finnish. They are both interested in language and languages in general, and in conlangs, and are frequent visitors to Omniglot – surprisingly, even though over 50,000 people a day visit Omniglot, I rarely meet people who know the site well. We talked mainly in English and Welsh, with a bits of German, Dutch, Breton, French, Irish, Finnish, Japanese in the mix.

Have you taken part in any similar groups?

Breton

By Simon

This week I reached the half-way point in my Breton Assimil course (lesson 50) and have entered the ‘active phase’. So for every new lesson I also go back to an earlier lessons and translate the French versions of the dialogues and exercises into Breton. I also translate them into Welsh, just for fun. So far I’m finding the translations easy, but have to check some of the spellings.

My impression of the Assimil course so far is that it is a good way to learn a new language. Each lesson provides some new words and grammar, but doesn’t overwhelm you with new stuff. In Colloquial Breton the lessons cover far more material, which can be a bit intimidating at first. For example, when a new verb is introduced in Colloquial Breton all forms for a particular tense are given, while in the Assimil course the different forms are usually introduced over several lessons. I think I prefer the gentle, gradual approach of Assimil, but will go back to the Colloquial course once I’ve finished the Assimil one. If I need to know all the different forms of a verb or other conjugated word, I can look in the grammar section at the back of Assimil, or in my Breton grammar book,

As well as studying a bit every day, I listen to Breton radio regularly, and am beginning to get the gist of some of the things I hear, or at least can recognise some of the words. I haven’t heard any Breton songs that I really want to learn yet, but I hope there’ll be a few. I have also bought a Breton version of the first Harry Potter book and plan to read it soon, perhaps in parallel with the Welsh and/or English versions.

Have you used Assimil courses to learn any languages? What are you impressions of them?

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon

– la caisse (enregistreuse), le tiroir caisse = till / cash register = cofrestr arian = kefierez
– la caisse automatique = self-service till / self checkout = cofrestr arian awtomatig = kefierez emgefre
– casissier = checkout assistant = gweithiwr cofrestr arian
– vendeur (-euse) = shop assistant = gweithiwr siop = gwerzher
– l’hydromel (m) = mead = medd = chouchenn, dour-mel
– affolé = panic-stricken = llawn braw, rhuslyd, gwyllt
– affolant = disturbing = cynhyrfus, annifyr, cythryblus = da bennfollañ, braouac’hus
– affoler = to terrify = dychryn, brawychu, arswydo
– s’affoler = to (get into a) panic = cynhurfu, rhusio, dychryn = pennfollañ
– ne t’affole pas! = don’t panic = paid â chynhyrfu!

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon

– apprenti(e) = apprentice = prentis = deskard
– apprentissage = apprenticeship = prentisiaeth = deskardelezh
– le porte-clefs/porte-clés = key ring / chain / fob = torch allwedd = doug alc’hwezoù
– l’anneaux porte-clefs = key ring = torch allwedd = (?)
– une clé/clef de rechange / une autre (clef) = spare key = allwedd sbâr = alc’hwez da drok (?)
– un roue de rechange/de secours = spare wheel = olwyn sbâr = rod-eskemm
– l’ouïe (f) = hearing = clyw = kleved / klev
– être dur(e) d’oreille = to be hard of hearing = bod yn drwm dy glyw = bezañ fall e gleved, bezañ teñvalglev
– la brasserie = brewery = bracty, bragdy = bierezh, breserezh
– (nez) camus = pug nose = trwyn smwt = fri-togn