In article
,
DaveS writes
eems we have been in a hotbed of Welsh language speakers. Im into
languages and in the process of getting around have asked a few times
of folks for help pronouncing things. Well, Our little group has
become something of a community project. Yesterday the postman stopped
and backed up on the little lane we were hiking down to administer a
pop quiz for retention and added a few new vocabulary words by way of
assignment. Then at dinner another fellow pointed out proudly that he
had taught me the one and two letter connectors, (the y words), to
which Dewi added some racy bits. I think it would be possible to be
speaking Welsh in a month or two more of immersion as almost everybody
here is at least partially bi-lingual and once you get some of the
things like the W, the ff, the dd, the ch etc down, the spelling
doesn't seem so strange. And many of the words that look weird in the
Welsh spelling, sound out like English, pronounced with a heavy Welsh
accent.

Hi Dave,

the problem with the Welsh language is - there is literary Welsh and
colloquial Welsh and never the twin shall meet :-)

I love Cymraeg Llenyddol - Literary Welsh and that can be quite daunting
for a learner. Colloquial Welsh is equivalent to (say) doncha Know.
and a learner might never realise the origin of the phrase or word.

The mutations in Welsh are a mine field, but for a true natural Welsh
speaking Welshman it is natural for him to mutate certain consonants.

You mentioned the y word. this is the definite article and causes the
first consonant of a feminene noun to mutate. eg a cat would be cath
but /the/ cat would be y gath.

My the way it is said that in Welsh we have no swear words in stead we
blaspheme.

Mwynhewch eich gwyliau.

Perhaps one of your new found friends will translate for you.

Bye for now.
--
Bill Grey