Siarad Cymraeg? Speak Welsh?

The Welsh language: 12 Fun facts

1. Did you know that Welsh is Britain’s oldest language?
2. In its ancient form, Welsh was originally spoken throughout Great Britain before the arrival of English-speaking invaders in the sixth century.
3. Apart from Latin and Greek, the Welsh language has the oldest literature in Europe.
4. The Welsh ‘Not’ was used in schools in Wales in the 19^th century to stop children speaking Welsh. Usually a block of wood, it was worn around the neck and whoever was wearing it at the end of the day was punished.
5. The Welsh alphabet (Yr Wyddor Gymraeg) has 29 letters – there’s no k, q, v, x or z, but instead we have ch, dd, ff, ng, ll, ph, th and rh to make up for it (yes, they all count as single letters).
6. We’re also greedy with our vowels and we have 7 vowels – a, e, i, o, u, w and y – but y can also act as a consonant.
7. The 1^st Welsh television channel, Sianel Pedwar Cymru (known as S4C, pronounced Ess-pedwar eck) was launched in 1982, aimed specifically at Welsh speakers.
8. The letter ‘j’ was officially added to the Welsh alphabet in 1987.
9. Welsh is a phonetic language; every letter has a sound, unlike English.
10. The English name for corgis – the little tailless dogs beloved of the late Queen – is derived from the Welsh cor-gi (dwarf dog).
11. Welsh is now the fastest growing language in the UK on the language learning app, Duolingo – with over 1.5 million learners registered.  
12. Historians agree that the word ‘penguin’ probably comes from two Welsh words, ‘pen’ (head) and ‘gwyn’ (white) and was actually used by Welsh settlers in Newfoundland to describe the Great Auk, which had similar plumage to the penguin in winter.

10 useful Welsh phrases

Shwmae                            A sort of general ‘Hi, how are you?’ greeting

Bore da                             Good morning

Nos da                              Goodnight

Hwyl                                  Goodbye

Sut dych chi?                   How are you?

Diolch                                Thanks

Ble mae’r dafarn?           Where is the pub?

Ble mae’r tŷ bach            Where is the toilet?

Cwtsh                                A warm hug or cuddle

Da iawn                             Very good

See more here: https://welshgiftshop.com/pages/useful-welsh-phrases-sayings-words

Where to learn Welsh

Learnwelsh.cymru: Welsh courses are available from a network of providers across Wales on behalf of the National Centre for Learning Welsh. Many are available online but classroom-based courses are also available. The courses are very reasonably priced and there are generous concessions. Nant Gwrtheyrn is the iconic Welsh language and heritage centre based in a former quarrying village on the beautiful Llŷn Peninsula.  A range of intensive Welsh courses, including residential and virtual, are offered there.

Say Something in Welsh: is described as “a unique Welsh course that is designed to have you speaking Welsh within the first half hour.” Available online.

Duolingo: currently has over 550,000 active Welsh learners. Duolingo a game-style language learning app that encourages leaners to spend a short time every day learning online. The app is free, with subscription available if you want more features.