#welsh:reference

[guillemelgat]

Hello, do you know of any good resources for learning Welsh? I know about SSiW and Duolingo and have used them in the past, but I was wondering if you knew about any more good ones. Thank you so much, and Happy New Years to you!!

Okay, I will say that SSiW is by far my top recommendation, at least for getting started. Yes it's annoying to have to do those drills, no it's probably not perfect, but it does exactly what's on the label: teaches you to be able to say things in Welsh. That being said, it shouldn't be the only thing you use, and if you can't handle it then I totally understand. Here are some other resources I quite like:

Language Resources:

The Welsh government has a website for Welsh learners, it might take some digging but there's a lot of things there, even if you're not located in Wales

BBC Wales' Welsh at Home is deprecated but is still available in an archive version, and has lots of vocab and grammar (plus it's divided North/South, which is always good)

Clwb Malu Cachu is also very old but has lots and lots of good stuff

You can look at the BBC's WJEC Welsh as a Second Language review page if you need more materials to study from, although this isn't really a good way to learn the language

Reference Resources:

Geiriadur Bangor is the best online dictionary, it's very helpful and can unconjugate verbs and unmutate words to figure out what the dictionary root is if you're stuck. Also, if you look at the bottom left of the homepage there's a list of links to other dictionaries and resources, in case you want them.

Modern Welsh: A Comprehensive Grammar & Modern Welsh Dictionary by Gareth King are both excellent resources if you can get your hands on them (by any means necessary, I Do Not See). The dictionary is the cheaper of the two and I would highly recommend it because it has phrases in it as well, which is pretty much the only thing it has that the Geiriadur Bangor doesn't.

Listening/Reading Practice:

It has gone by many names but I think S4C Dysgu Cymraeg is the current one, you can also look at Hwb and there's a couple more in between as well, but this is basically Welsh television's learners program, and has media in Welsh that's been designed for learners.

Pigion: Highlights for Welsh Learners is a podcast with a similar purpose, it takes clips from Radio Cymru for learners and they also have vocab and little summaries for each clip on their website. This one is really a good way to get in your listening practice.

If you live in Wales (or the UK in general??) you can watch S4C. If you don't you can't, which is where I am suffering rn ahaha.

You can read the news on Golwg360 or BBC Cymru, Welsh followers let me know if you have other recommendations.

You can listen to BBC Radio Cymru live online, and you can also browse their listing of podcasts (fingers crossed that's the right link).

Hansh makes a ton of pop-culture-y internet content for teens/young adults, if you want something not too serious to watch.

General Websites:

Readlang actually has very good Welsh support, if you're serious and can afford it then getting pro might be worth it, but the free version also works perfectly well! You can also add it as a browser extension which is very useful for reading news sites.

Memrise courses: I like the 150 Welsh Verbs, 150 Welsh Adjectives, and All Around Confidence for a longer course if you'd like

I will say that Duolingo is one of my least favorite Welsh resources, if it's what you like then go for it but I'd recommend SSiW much more.

Aaaaaaand I think that's going to be it for now, if anyone wants me to add things just let me know but I hope this is a good starting point for you anon :)

[guillemelgat]

GUILLEMELGAT’S CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD | Cymru (Wales)

A Mari Lwyd with her retinue at St Fagans in Cardiff (source). The Mari Lwyd is one of the most famous Welsh traditions. A ribbon-bedecked horse skull on a pole which is covered by a bedsheet, she comes knocking on doors and challenges anyone who answers them to pwnco, a rhyming battle (or sings them carols if it’s a gentler version).

A Plygain service at Capel Jewin, a Welsh church in London (source). Plygain is another very well-known Welsh Christmas tradition. The Plygain service was held early in the morning on Christmas day (the word plygain is said to come from the Latin for the cock’s crow, since it began before dawn). Because it was dark in the church, the people in the village would all bring candles to light up the space.

Two people singing Plygain carols at the church in Llansilin (source). Plygain services traditionally centered on the singing of carols, which would be performed a capella by one or two people. The services typically lasted until breakfast time. Many of the older carols were highly religious and almost a substitute for a sermon; modern Plygain is generally less intense. The tradition nearly died out, but several communities around Wales have maintained it for the unique singing rather than for its religious character.

A woman making Welsh treacle toffee (source). The night before Christmas, it was common to gather together and make Christmas taffy, typically during the hours before the Plygain service. The taffy was made over the stove and stretched by hand, usually while talking with family and neighbors. Another tradition in some areas was to cool off the taffy by dropping bits of it into cold water and to try to figure out who someone’s future spouse would be by seeing what letters the taffy looked like it had formed.

A greeting card with a song about Siôn Corn (source). The Welsh version of Santa Claus is Siôn Corn (‘[Chimney] Stack John’). The song on this card was written by J. Glyn Davies and is still commonly sung by children during Christmas concerts.

A box from Pembrokeshire which would be used to hold the captured wren, decorated on the outside with ribbons (source). The tradition on Twelfth Night in Pembrokeshire—or other days during Christmastide in other parts of the British Isles—was to capture the wren, a tiny bird. The wren was considered to be bad luck, and capturing it was a way to ensure a prosperous new year.

A modern group parading around the wren (source). Once captured, the wren would be brought from house to house, and people would pay to look at it within the box.

A sprig of holly, like that used for older St Stephen’s Day traditions (source). Up until several centuries ago, there was a tradition on the day after Christmas (Gwyl San Steffan) of groups of young men going around and beating the arms of girls with holly branches—or, in some cases, family members beating the last person up in the morning. This tradition, needless to say, has died out.

Two boys in Llangynwyd with their decorated apples, out to ask for Calennig (source). While not a Christmas tradition, the New Year’s tradition of Calennig is just as important of an occasion. Children would decorate an apple with three sticks and adorn it with hazelnut and boxwood leaves. They would then go from door to door, singing a song to wish the family good luck in the new year and asking for a gift (usually food or money).

[guillemelgat]

Advanced Learner Challenge (Welsh): Day 26

[ original post with full list of challenges / other posts by me for this challenge ]

Today’s Challenge:  Think of an everyday interaction you might have (for example, going to the bank) in which you do not yet have the vocabulary you would need. Look up the vocabulary you would use in such a situation (cultural differences are also worth noting!)

Since I’m catching a plane tomorrow, I thought it might be good to learn some airport vocabulary in Welsh, not that I would probably ever get the chance to use it but who knows? Some of these also probably apply to trains/buses/etc so will still be useful in a variety of situations. The things marked with a single question mark are probably okay just unconfirmed, anything with more than one question mark should be used with caution.

check in - cofrestru

luggage - bagiau

boarding pass - tocyn (???)

passport - trwydded deithio

identification - cerdyn adnabod (?)

security - diogelwch

terminal - terfynfa

gate - giât (?)

flight - hediad

destination - pen taith

departure(s) - ymadawiad(au)

airplane - awyren

take-off - mynd i’r awyr

steward - stiward

seat - sedd

seat belt - gwregys diogelwch

window - ffenest

aisle - eil

turbulence - tyrfedd (?)

arrival(s) - cyrhaeddiad(au)

customs - tollau

baggage claim - hawl bagiau (??)