One of the hardest things for Welsh learners is drumming up the confidence to persuade native speakers to speak to them in Welsh. Why? Because all people are naturally preconditioned to take the so-called “path of least resistance” in life. Just as it is easier to veg out in front of the television than to read a book, so it is easier to use English than to struggle through a stilted conversation in Welsh.
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A tongue twister is a sequence of similar-sounding words whose repeated pronunciation is challenging even for native speakers. They exist in all languages and are a fantastic way of improving your pronunciation, even though most of them don’t make a lot of sense!
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There is a popular saying in Wales: “Anyone can cuddle but only the Welsh can cwtsh!”
‘Cwtsh’ – or cwtch / cwts / cwtsi as it is alternatively spelt – can be loosely translated as “hug” or “cuddle” in English and is pronounced like the word “butch”. It is so popular that the Welsh sometimes use it even when they are speaking in English!
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Whether your child passes his exam with flying colours, or your best friend manages to get that long-desired promotion, there are many situations where it’s appropriate to praise someone for a job well done. In English, we have a range of encouraging phrases to choose between but what about in Welsh? Well, it turns out that there are plenty!
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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: