Welsh Learners Chat and Support Thread

[alexpolismum]

Diolch cardibach for the idea!

I'm just getting started as a learner so that's my limit in Welsh so far!

This is where we can chat, use our Welsh as we are learning and give each other help/ advice/ encouragement, etc.

wel helo pawb
croeso i Cymru ac yr Iaeth!

welcome to Wales and the Language

My spoken welsh is good, people are surprised when they find out I'm a learner but my written welsh is not, so I will be getting things wrong so please correct me if you see anything ok.

helo mamas12! My Welsh whether written or spoken is nonexistant so far. Somehow I don't think my vocabulary knowledge of other languages is going to be so helpful this time, so I'm quite looking forward to the challenge of Welsh.

I'm currently in Gwlad Groeg but coming to the UK soon, and I hope to find a course with other speakers. I'll be starting on the Internet for now, though.

Having listened to my first lesson on Say Something in Welsh, I can now say:

dw i'n hoffi Cymraeg.

yey
Wait till you get to
Vicar Port Talbot ydw i
and
Capten tim rugby ydw i
They're gret

I don't need a lesson for that! I can see what they must mean - I'm the vicar of Port Talbot and I'm the rugby team captain.

I'm quite pleased with Say Something in Welsh, it seems like a good course to get you started. I'm using some other materials too to see how to spell things.

P'nawn da! Ga i join hefyd?

I'm in north Wales and need to be fluent to teach here really dwi'n caru Cymraeg, a dwi'n trio i dysgu, ond dwi'n meddwl a thread like this could really help!

I followed the link from your other thread OP, and heard you mention treigladau (mutations) I've just had two two hour lessons on them so can lend a hand (a bit) if you like? And the more I talk about them, the more they will stick in my head, so it could be mutually beneficial :)

Oh im excited by this thread

Diolch i chi gyda am ddangos diddordeb yn fy iaith, dwi'n barod i helpu unrhyw adeg! Dwi'n prowd ohono chi!

Thank you for showing an interest in learning my language, I'm happy to help. I'm proud of you! Feel free to PM

Panadbois diolch am eich helpu. Rydw i'n gallu siarad tipyn bach ond dydw i ddim yn gallu ysgrifennu da iawn. Rydw i'n dweud hefo, fel TwllBach paid gyda . Gobeithio rydych i'n deall hwn a dydy i ddim llawer o gamgermeiriadau.

Hopefully that says Panadbois, thanks for the help. I can speak a little but I can't write very well. I say north wales "with" like TwllBach not south wales "with". I hope you can understand this and there aren't lots of mistakes

Ia, dwi'n wedi meddwl 'hefo/efo' is Gogledd Cymraeg a 'gyda' is south walian. Or at least that's what I was told

Dwisio dysgu i siarad efo confidence achos pan people siarad i fi, dwi'n teimlo'n too scared i trio i ateb yn Gymraeg

Yes, I agree Twllbach. Yr unig amser dwi'n iwshio/ defnyddio 'gyda' ydi i 'sgwennu, ond mae'r ddau yn iawn.
I use gyda when writing sometimes, but use hefo, otherwise. Both are fine though.

I'm all for teaching Welsh learners words that we use, for example iwshio instead of defnyddio, or licio instead of hoffi. Although not correct, it is what we say ourselves, verbally, with friends and family. My Welsh improves massivly when I'm talking to my boss or the headteacher

Ooh I knew licio could be used for hoffi, but I've never heard defnyddio before

I find that I can understand and speak welsh much better than reading or writing it. I think that actually, it's not the hardest language to learn - I am finding it easier than German for example. It's just that the alphabet is different.

Cymraes arall fan hyn yn barod i helpu os oes ishe! Dwi'n dod o Gaerdydd felly dwi'n siarad cymraeg y de.

Another Welshwoman here ready to help if needed! I'm from Cardiff so I speak south walian Welsh.

Noswaith da! Dysgwyr arall fan hyn. Dw i wedi dysgu Cymraeg ers amser hir ond mae'n rhaid i fi trio siarad ac ymarfer mwy, felly diolch iawn am dechrau y 'thread' hyn (hon? hwn??).

Evening! Another learner here. I've been learning Welsh for a long time but I must try and speak and practice more, so thanks for starting this thread!

I've never heard a Welsh speaker use the word 'iwshio' before - I always feel like I'm cheating when I use Wenglish words like that!

Bore da pawb! (See, I'm learning already! OK, I admit it, I got that ready from somewhere )

Do you not really use 'hoffi' then? That was the word on the south welsh Say Something in Welsh lesson I listened to yesterday. Should I use 'licio' instead?

I've just made some notes from your posts, to help me to learn some vocab and word order.

As I said on the other thread, as to which language is harder to learn, having learnt demotic (modern) Greek, with a completely different alphabet, cases, extra conjugations only for certain circumstances, loads of adjectival suffixes, etc etc, I would be surprised if Welsh is harder!

Bore da OP sut dach chi bore ma?
How are you this morning? At least I think that's what bore ma means. I was going to see heddiw, so it would have been how are you today?

Also, if I knew you well, I would have said sut wyt ti instead. I've been told that 'ti' is the informal 'you' and 'chi' is the formal and also the one to use when addressing more than one.

Back in the day, though, as a sign of respect, children would address their parents as 'chi' and apparently, wives would also use 'chi' for their husbands!

I hear hoffi more than I hear licio, but every now and then I do hear it. I still use hoffi though.

Bore da TwllBach! dw i'n da heddiw, diolch. Sut dach chi?

You can call me 'ti' if you like, TwllBach. I'm assuming it works much like the 2 'yous' in other languages, like French, Greek, etc.

I've found loads of materials to learn with online. Plus, my dad has sent me an email with some bbc lessons called Catchphrase that he recorded some years ago "just in case". I had no idea he had it!

Bore da. North east walian here, one year into a Bangor University Wlpan course.

We tend to use hoffi here, ble instead of lle and llaeth instead of llefrith .

I haven't got the confidence yet to try and write any Welsh sentences on the thread, so marking my place for lurking and trying to translate other people's stuff .

A massive diolch yn fawr to whoever it was who first suggested the Say Something in Welsh website. I've only just started and I already feel like I'm getting somewhere.

Let's try a sentence or two. Dw i'n gwneud y cwrs Say Something in Welsh. Dw i'n yfed paned o de (also). Dw i'n trio siarad Cymraeg. Dw i'n trio (write) Cymraeg.

Funtimewincies don't worry about how correct you are, just try writing anyway. The more you use the language, the better it gets and the more natural it seems to you. Look at what I am writing in Welsh - hardly anything, and very simple stuff, but so what. I have to start somewhere!

I just typed Learn Welsh in on youtube and there's loads of stuff, some of it is bound to be for beginners, so I'm off to investigate!

Be' ydy gwneud, OP? Is it 'do'?

Hefyd means too/as well so you could use that for also. Ysgrifennu is 'write' I think.

A few sentences:

TwllBach enw i. Dwi'n 24 oed a dwi'n byw yn Nghaergybi efo fy mhartner. Dwi'n gweithio yn y swyddfa yn y gwesty. Mae gen i un ci a un cath.

My name is TwllBach. I'm 24 years old and I live in Holyhead with my partner. I work in an office in a hotel. I have one dog and one cat.

Has anyone tried these podcast lessons ? I found them via youtube.

I've had a very productive day, looking through various links that were posted on the other thread, searching for materials.

I've also got my dd (3yo) and ds1 (4yo) running round the house shouting "dw i'n hoffi" and funny mixtures of Welsh, English and Greek (dh is Greek and they are bilingual). DD has just told me "dw i'n moyn mynd to Granny's house". Ds1 keeps asking me to "play the funny Cymraeg words again!"

gwneud is do. At least, I hope it is!

Alex enw i. Dw i'n 34 oed a dw i'n byw yn Alexandroupoli yn Wlad Groeg efo fy (family). Dw i'n gweithio yn y (translation office). Mae gen i (three children).

I just used your sentences to write something too, Twllbach, I hope you don't mind.

Can anybody tell me whether 'dw i' should be all one word or two? I see some people writing it one way and some the other, does it matter? Is it a bit like writing 'can't' and 'cannot' or something?

Prynhawn da Alex mamas ydw i, dwi'n lot henach d'ach chi!
Mae ferch a bachgen 'da fi, yr ddau yn (teenagers).
Mae rhaid i im fynd i sipa nawr so byddau'n dod yn ol wedyn ok
I have go shopping now so I will pop back later ok

siopa dim sipa!!