David's blog

I went to a rally for the Welsh language today, just a short bus ride away. On the way, I stopped at a chippy expecting the usual small portion, but not today—and ironically, I wasn’t even that hungry. Entry to the rally was free, and they handed me some things at the gate. I didn’t want to carry it all afternoon, so I stuffed what I could into my pocket and took the rest back.  I’m not sure why I’m writing this in English instead of Welsh, given I’d just been to a Welsh language rally where they spoke about how precarious the situation is for the language. I had my education, sadly, through the medium of English, and I suppose I struggle with some Welsh words. Sometimes even locals don’t understand the ones I use—like the word for “polite,” which I thought was “fanesol.” When I used it last night, a local didn’t understand me. I’m not sure what word they’d use, but I guess I should ask. I’ve since found another word, “cwrtais,” which apparently means polite. Words in Welsh and Eng...

On Saturday, I took the bus to Porthmadog, intending to do some shopping and head back as usual. However, I changed my mind and decided to go to Caernarfon for a music festival called Gwyl Arall. It was a very hot day; the bus to Porthmadog had air conditioning, but the connecting bus didn’t, though it was manageable. When I got to Caernarfon, I wanted to find the music venue, but there were several to choose from. I grabbed lunch and wandered through the lively town, which offered more than just music—there were activities like walks, lectures, and book reviews. The gig I wanted to see was in Neuadd y Farchnad, the market hall. There was an entrance fee and a joke about my age, as I might have been one of the oldest there. I went to see some new artists on the Welsh music scene because I think it’s important to support them. The first band was decent, though the sound quality was poor, and I couldn’t hear the vocals clearly, which was also true for the second band. The third act, Elid...

**Is Learning the Welsh Language Difficult?** Learning Welsh can be challenging, especially if your only language is English. Some of the sounds in Welsh don't exist in English, which can make pronunciation tricky. However, many languages share similar sounds with Welsh, so speakers of those languages might find Welsh less difficult than an English monoglot would. Take, for instance, the Welsh "CH"—it has a harsh, throaty quality, unlike the softer "ch" sound in English. Languages like Lithuanian use similar guttural sounds, which makes it easier for their speakers to read Welsh phonetically. I discovered this recently when I asked a Lithuanian man to read some Welsh aloud. He managed it remarkably well, while a monolingual English speaker might have struggled without prior exposure. The takeaway? The more languages you know, the easier it is to learn new ones. But motivation can be hard to find if you already speak English—it's so dominant globally that man...

I watched a program last night about people who wanted to move to Wales, it was based on the english version ones but it was in Welsh.  This one was based on this area and featured people who I knew and ones that I did not.  There was a lady who had learnt Welsh in very short time fair play to her, I think she came from Blackpool and had even joined cymdeithas yr iaith the society which protects the language.  I guess what the program showed me is the fact that people move here the area is changing and will change and its not the place I grew up in anymore nothing stays the same the world moves on even if I am not happy with the pace it is going it will go at the paec it wants to and you have to keep up I guess, if you don't you will be left behind The main point of the program was regarding the Welsh language and culture and how it will change, it has to thrive or it will get left behind, the language and culture will be here a long time after me which I guess is a comfo...

Yma mae nghalon Mae’r gwynt yn simne yn rhuo fel llew A’r pistyll yn llonydd dan arfbais o rew Hel cardod mae’r robin ai lygad fach hy (audacious) A llwch mawr yr eira wrth dlacen y ty Cytgan   Yma mae nghanon yma mae                                    nghan               Yma mae nghalon yma mae                     nghan  Fe chwelir y cwysi (furrow) gan ddannedd yr og (harrow) Fe chlywir or pellter hen ddeunod y gog Cin hir daw y wenol i’r bondo (eaves) yn ol Ar awel i ddawnsio ar laswellt y ddol Mae caeau’r cynheuaf yn weigion bob un A’r hen fwgan brain a saiff wrtho’i hyn Mae’r ydlan yn orlawn gan sgubau...