Last week, I had the amazing experience of being interviewed by S4C Dysgu Cymraeg, S4C’s brand new service for language learners. (If you’ve never heard of S4C, it’s Britain’s only Welsh language television channel and it’s definitely worth watching if you want exposure to all varieties of Welsh!)
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Sesiwn Fawr is one of the most popular music festivals in Wales, attracting thousands of people each year to the historic town of Dolgellau where it has been held since its humble beginnings in 1992.
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If you speak or have ever studied French, you will surely have noticed the many lexical similarities it shares with Welsh. I can remember visiting Wales for the first time as an adult and being in disbelief at how much I could already pick out from the street signs, all thanks to my high school French.
Now, this isn’t because French had a direct influence on Welsh but because French descends primarily from Latin, which was the language of the Romans who conquered Britain in 43 AD.
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If you stop and think about how many ways there are of saying “goodbye” in English – from the standard “bye” and “see you later” to the more niche expressions like “cheerio” to “toodle-loo” – it should come as no surprise that Welsh has a wide range of phrases too. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular ones now! 🙂
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The Welsh word for congratulations is … a long one! 😉
I remember it took me ages to learn how to pronounce this word without getting my tongue tied, so don’t worry if it takes you a while for you to master it as well. Let’s break it down into small bite-sized syllables, shall we?
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When you sign up for a Welsh course, one of the very first survival phrases you’ll learn is “How are you?”. This “cyfarchiad” (greeting) can be expressed in two different ways:
The Welsh language has a wide range of sayings and phrases that are worth exploring if your aim is to sound like a native. Why not see if you can slip some of the following into your next conversation! 😉
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When I first became curious about language learning, I admit that Welsh wasn’t my first choice. I was a starry-eyed seventeen year old in Canada, obsessed with Japanese pop music, and all I could think about was immersing myself in the Japanese language, travelling to Japan, and perhaps one day even moving there for good. Welsh wasn’t even close to being on my radar.
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If you are confused by the usage of ‘erioed’ and ‘byth’, you aren’t alone! It is something I struggled with when I first started learning Welsh and many of my fellow learners agree that it is one of the most difficult distinctions to wrap your head around!
Translated into English, both words can mean either ‘ever’ or ‘never’ depending on the context but they aren’t interchangeable. Put simply, ‘byth’ is used for ongoing situations whereas ‘erioed’ is restricted to completed events. Let’s take a look at what I mean by analysing the examples below.
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In every language, including Welsh, there are certain expressions that people tend to use over and over again when speaking.
Below you can find ten expressions you’ll come across on a regular basis in colloquial Welsh. By mastering these expressions, not only will you be able to carry on a more natural conversation in Welsh but you’ll also be able to impress all your friends! 😃 I hope you enjoy using them!
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