Category: Welsh (Cymraeg)

My language studies

By Simon

I’ve decided to try a slightly different approach to my language studies. Up till now I’ve been listening to Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh language radio for several hours each almost every day. In the evenings I read novels in either Welsh or Irish, and also learn a bit more Czech. I’ve also been learning songs in the Celtic languages, particularly Irish.

This week I’ll be concentrating on one language for two days at a time. So today and tomorrow I’m focusing on Welsh – listening to Radio Cymru during the day and going through a lesson in Cadw Sŵn in the evening. On Wednesday and Thursday I’ll be listening to Radió na Gaeltachta during the day and studying from Turas Teanga or another of my Irish courses in the evening. Then on Friday and Saturday I’ll listen to Radio nan Gaidhael and study from one of my Scottish Gaelic courses in the evening.

I’ll continue to study some Czech every day, to read Irish, Welsh and maybe even Scottish Gaelic novels, and to learn songs. By the way, can any of you recommend any good novels in Celtic languages, or in French, German, Spanish or Chinese?

Welsh, Irish and Scottish Gaelic are the languages I most want to become fluent in at the moment. My other languages are less of a prioity, though I do get to practise Mandarin, Japanese and Spanish quite often on Skype and MSN.

Websites that speak

By Simon

The Welsh Language Board / Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg recently added a text-to-speech facility to their website which reads out the text in either Welsh or English. They are using a system called ReadSpeaker, which can make your website talk in various languages, including Japanese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English (US and UK), French, German, Dutch, Italian, Finnish, Spanish, Portuguese and Welsh. The ReadSpeaker website itself has been translated into quite a few languages and has the text-to-speech facility for most of them.

Text-to-speech technology for English and other major European languages, and for a few Asian ones, has been around for years and works quite well. However I think Welsh version is quite new and could do with more work to improve the voice quality and intonation.

Here is an example of it reading the following text:

Iaith Geltaidd yw’r Gymraeg, sy’n perthyn yn agos at y Gernyweg a’r Llydaweg. Mae’r Gymraeg sy’n cael ei siarad heddiw yn ddatblygiad uniongyrchol i iaith y chweched ganrif.

Ychydig iawn o enghreifftiau ysgrifenedig o Gymraeg Cynnar sy’n bodoli heddiw, gyda’r cynharaf yn dyddio o ganol y nawfed ganrif. Gwelir nodweddion Hen Gymraeg yng ngwaith y Cynfeirdd, sy’n dyddio o ddiwedd y chweched ganrif, er fod y llawysgrifau’n llawer mwy diweddar.

Gwrandewch y fersiwn Gymraeg

Welsh is a Celtic language, closely related to Cornish and Breton. The Welsh we speak today is directly descended from the language of the sixth century.

Very few examples of Early Welsh exist today, with the earliest dating back to the middle of the ninth century. Elements of Old Welsh are seen in the work of the Cynfeirdd, originally dating back to the sixth century, although all manuscripts are much later than this date.

Listen to the English version

Source: http://www.bwrdd-yr-iaith.org.uk

Welsh and Gaelic education

By Simon

According to an article on Eurolang, education through the medium of Welsh is becoming so popular in Wales that there aren’t sufficient places in Welsh medium schools for all those who would like to attend them. As a result, the growth of Welsh medium education is being held up.

Increasing numbers of parents are wanting to send their children to Welsh medium schools, even in mainly English-speaking areas, such as Newport, where 31% of parents surveyed said they would probably send their kids to Welsh medium schools if such schools where available nearby.

At the same time enrolment in English medium schools has been dropping and many schools have empty places.

In other news, a brand new Gaelic medium school opened in Glasgow recently. It has 320 places and provides nursery, primary and secondary for children between the ages of 3 and 18.

Education through Welsh or Gaelic seems to be a very effective way for kids to acquire fluency in those languages, and the popularity of such education is encouraging.

Word of the day – Gaeilgeoir

By Simon

A Gaeilgeoir is an Irish speaker or Irish language enthusiast. The plural is Gaeilgeoirí. So I could say Is Gaeilgeoir mé – I am a Gaeilgeoir (in both senses of the word). When Irish was the main language in Ireland, I doubt if there was a need for such a word, though I could be wrong.

There’s an interesting article about recent immigrants to Ireland learning Irish here. It also mentions that attitudes to the language are changing partially as a result of increased cultural and linguistic diversity in Ireland. The author, a Gaeilgeoir from Dublin, comments that she used to get stared at and whispered about when talking Irish to her children in public, but this doesn’t happen so much nowadays as there are quite a few other languages being spoken in Ireland.

In Welsh the equivalent terms are Cymro Cymraeg (Welsh-speaking Welshman), Cymraes Cymraeg (Welsh-speaking Welsh woman) and Cymry Cymraeg (Welsh-speaking Welsh people). Cymru-Cymraeg or y Fro Gymraeg are the areas of Wales where Welsh is the main language – the Welsh equivalent of Gaeltacht. There are also terms for non-Welsh-Speakers: Cyrmo/Cymraes/Cymry di-Gymraeg – e.g. Cymraes di-Gymraeg yw fy mam – my mum is a non-Welsh-speaking Welsh woman.

Are there equivalent terms in other languages?

Newyddion o Gymru / News from Wales

By Simon

Fe ffeindiais i dwy straeon diddorol o Gymru heddiw:

Pwyleg yn Wrecsam
Mae plismon o Wrecsam yn dysgu Pwyleg oherwydd fod tuag 10,000 o fewnfudwyr o’r Wlad Pwyl yn byw yno, a fe wnaeth e ddod yn ail yng Ngwobrau Blynyddol i Swyddogion Cymunedol.

Selsig ddraig
Oherwydd does dim cig draig yn y selsig gydag enw ‘selsig y Ddraig Gymreig’ (a wneir gyda chig moch, cennin a chilli), mae rhaid i gwmni o Grug Hywel newid yr enw, yn ôl Gwasanaeth Safonau Masnach.

Two news stories from Wales caught my eye today:

Polish in Wrexham
A policeman from Wrexham is learning Polish in order to communicate with the numerous Polish immigrants who live there, and he came second in the Jane’s Police Review Community Police Officer of the Year Award.

Dragon sausages
A Welsh company may face legal action because of the potentially misleading name of one of its products: Welsh Dragon Sausages. After analysing the sausages, the fine people at from Trading Standards determined that not one trace of dragon meat was to be found in them, so are advising the company to change the name. The sausages actually contain pork, leek and chilli.

Word of the day – hysbyseb

By Simon

Today’s word, hysbyseb (pl, hysbysebion), is the Welsh for advertisement or insertion. Related words include, hysbysebu, to advertise or inform, hysbysfwrdd, noticeboard, hysbysiad, announcement, and hysbysrwydd, information, which is also gwybodaeth.

Hysbyseb comes from the hysbys, which means known, and is used in the term for soothsayer, dyn hysbys.

Examples of usage

Dw i wedi gweld hysbyseb am swydd newydd yn y papur heddiw.
I saw an advert for a new job in the paper today.

Gweler ein hysbyseb yn yr atodiad wythnosol.
See our advertisement in the weekly supplement.

Word of the day – amynedd

By Simon

amynedd [a’mənɛð] = y gallu i ddioddef, goddefgarwch, dioddefgarwch, dyfalbarhad, pwyll

Examples of usage

Amynedd sant sy genno fo.
He has the patience of a saint.

Bydd rhaid i ni fod dipyn yn amyneddgar.
We’ll have to be a bit patient.

Today’s word is something you need plenty of when learning a language – patience. I came across it in the Welsh novel I’m currently reading, Enoc Huws. Another interesting word that came up today was dyfalbarhad (perserverance), which is something else you need when learning languages. When I started reading this novel, I found it quite heavy going and could only read a page at a time. Now I’m becoming more familiar with the story and the vocabulary, I’m able to read whole chapters fairly easily.

Definite countries

By Simon

Only a few country names are accompanied by the definite article in English. These include the UK, the USA, the Netherlands, the Gambia, the Sudan, the Ukraine and the Lebannon. In some cases the definite article is only used occasionally – Sudan and Lebannon, for example, usually manage perfectly well without it. Why some countries are more definite than others is a bit of a mystery. Any suggestions?

In Welsh only some of countries have the definite article, though not the same ones as in English. Examples include yr Ariannin (Argentina), yr Aifft (Egypt), y Ffindir (Finland), yr Almaen (Germany), yr Eidal (Italy), yr Iseldiroedd (the Netherlands), yr Alban (Scotland), y Swdan (the Sudan), y Swistir (Switzerland) and yr Unol Daleithiau (the United States).

Most countries have the definite article in Irish, with the exception of Alba (Scotland), Ceanada (Canada), Cúba (Cuba), Gána (Ghana), Iosrael (Israel), Lucsamburg (Luxembourg), Meicsiceo (Mexico), Maracó (Marocco) and Sasana (England)

Word of the day – eisteddfod

By Simon

eisteddfod /aɪˈstɛðvəd/ (pl. eisteddfodau), noun – cwrdd cystadleuol, eisteddiad. eisteddfod

Related words
eistedd, verb – gorffwys ar sedd neu gadair, seddu. to sit, to seat
eisteddfa / eisteddle, noun – lle i eistedd, sedd. seat
eisteddfodol, adjective – yn ymweud ag eisteddfod. eisteddfodic, to do with eisteddfodau
eisteddfodwr, noun – un sy’n mynychu eisteddfodau. an eisteddfod-goer

Eisteddfod is one of the few Welsh words that is used in English, at least in the UK. The word is derived from eistedd, to sit/seat. The first eisteddfod was held in 1176 by Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth at his court in Cardigan (Aberteifi), when he invited poets and musicians from all over Wales to a grand gathering. The best poet and best musician were awarded a chair at the Rhys’ table, a tradition that continues to this day.

The modern eisteddfod, which dates back to the late 19th century, is a folk festival featuring music, poetry, dance, drama and literature. Local, small-scale eisteddfodau are held all over Wales, and there a number of larger eisteddfodau, including the National Eisteddfod of Wales or Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru, which is held once a year alternating between North and South Wales, and the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod or Eisteddfod Gerddorol Ryngwladol Llangollen, featuring performers and visitors from all over the world, and held annually in Llangollen.

The 2006 National Eisteddfod is currently going on in Swansea (Abertawe), and you can hear live broadcasts from it on Radio Cymru. For details, see: www.eisteddfod.org.uk

Word of the day – gwlyb

By Simon

gwlyb /’gulIb/, adjective = wet, dank, sloppy, liquid

gwlyb, ansoddair = gwleb, yn cynnwys hylif, llaith, wedi gwlychu, yn bwrw glaw

This is a lovely Welsh word that looks impossible to pronounce to non-Welsh speakers. It actually sounds something like goo-lib – both w and y are vowels in Welsh.

Related words
gwlypach, comparative – wetter
gwlypa(f), superlative – wettest
gwlybaniaeth, noun – moisture
gwlybwr, noun – liquid
gwlybyrog, adjective – wet, liquid
gwlychu, verb – to wet, soak, drench

Examples of usage:

oedd hi’n gwlyb y bore ma ym Mrighton
– it was wet in Brighton this morning (there was a big storm)

bydd hi’n wlypach o lawer yn y De nag yn y Gogledd
– it will be a lot wetter in the South than in the north