I was browsing through Gareth King’s ‘Modern Welsh: A Comprehensive Grammar’ over my breakfast cornflakes, as one does, when I came upon this thought-provoking clause tucked away in section 127 that lists those whom it is appropriate to address as ‘ti’: ‘certain goddesses and gods’. I can’t help feeling that this is one of those rare occasions where Gareth has let us down: you can’t just throw out that airy ‘certain’ and then give no further guidance, this could be important. OK, I am not, as it happens, personally in the habit of addressing divinities, but should the occasion arise I would certainly want to observe the correct protocol. So, which goddesses and gods, for God’s sake? And how is it decided – is it a question of which ones are felt to be more approachable? Well, Zeus seems to have had a short fuse, always chucking thunderbolts about, so ‘chi’ for him, I think; ditto Odin, who was a very dodgy character, and you certainly wouldn’t want to mess with Kali. I wondered about ‘ti’ for the younger goddesses, like Artemis, but then look what happened to poor Actaeon when he got a bit familiar with her: changed into a stag and torn to pieces by his own hounds.
This is clearly a metaphysical minefield, so if you are reading this, Mr King, please can we have in the next edition a list of world divinities marked with the appropriate ‘Ti’ or ‘Chi’. Meanwhile any advice gratefully received…
That’s given me a giggle this morning 
I must admit I’ve never noticed that list (whilst “browsing through Gareth King’s ‘Modern Welsh: A Comprehensive Grammar’ over my breakfast cornflakes, as one does”) before.
Just have to get @garethrking in on this…
Maybe this was intended for any divinities themselves reading the book: “It’s okay use ‘ti’ with your fellow divinities that you know well.”?
Us mortals, stick to the ‘chi’ if you want to be heard out. 
Good catch! I never thought of that! Because naturally they’d also be browsing through it over their morning ambrosia 
Duw, Osiris, Gandalf, Zeus, Freyja, Morgan Freeman, Elrond, Shiva, Hera, Obi-Wan Kenobi, God, Allah, Ganesha, Galadriel, Ra, Aphrodite - ti / chdi
Satan, The Prince of Darkness, Sauron, Wolves and Bears, Darth Sidious, Smaug, Beelzebub, Saruman, y Diafol, Shelob, Darth Vader, The Witch-King of Angmar - chi
So this is a purely good vs evil thing? (Although I personally see some cross-over in your list.)
Jumble up the list if you like, just promise me one thing, if you happen to find yourself on a quest with me to middle earth, please, please remember to smile nicely at Saruman and call him Chi before chucking your axe at at him?
In older Saesneg forms of Anglican prayer services God is addressed as Thee, definitely singular, definitely intimate. And in the more modern Cymraeg services he/she is definitely Ti.
Ein Tad yn y nefoedd,
sancteiddier dy enw;
deled dy deyrnas;
gwneler dy ewyllys,
ar y ddaear fel yn y nef.
Dyro inni heddiw ein bara beunyddiol,
a maddau inni ein troseddau,
fel yr ym ni wedi maddau i’r rhai a droseddodd yn ein herbyn;
a phaid â’n dwyn i brawf,
ond gwared ni rhag yr Un drwg.
Oherwydd eiddot ti yw’r deyrnas a’r gallu a’r gogoniant am byth. Amen.
Yes Margaret, it was always ‘ti’ for God and Christ in church/Sunday school/school when we were children. This is the version of Gweddi’r Arglwydd we learnt as kids…
Ein Tad, yr hwn wyt yn y nefoedd,
sancteiddier dy enw.
Deled dy deyrnas.
Gwneler dy ewyllys,
megis yn y nef, felly ar y ddaear hefyd.
Dyro i ni heddiw ein bara beunyddiol.
A maddau i ni ein dyledion,
fel y maddeuwn ninnau i’n dyledwyr.
Ac nac arwain ni i brofedigaeth, eithr gwared ni rhag drwg.
Canys eiddot ti yw’r deyrnas, a’r nerth, a’r gogoniant yn oes oesoedd.
Amen.
After all these years I still don’t know the Lord’s Prayer by heart, but your version, @CatrinLliarJones, is the version I don’t know! The above version is just the first that came to hand on google.
Why all the fuss? I honestly don’t mind whether people address me as “ti” or “chi”.
Thank you for this thread, and although I can’t help with the OP questions, it has reminded me of the most memorable church service I have ever attended. Many years ago we were on holiday, staying near the stunningly beautiful Cwm Gwaun, and we went to St Davids for the Sunday English service. As a church organist, I always enjoy visiting cathedrals where the music is usually done so well. At this particular service, the scheduled priest was sick, and a retired priest took the service. He had a lovely welsh accent, but what made the occasion so memorable was that he did the entire service from memory, and kept forgetting which language he was speaking. As we are so familiar with a communion service, not knowing the words wasn’t a problem, and his lovely accent just contributed to making it a very special service. He was equally lovely to chat to after the service as well. The music was great too, but it is the priest I remember!
‘chi’ is more formal and shows respect. So traditionally you would always address older generations with ‘chi’. I was brought up to call my parents ‘chi’, but as times have changed, my children call me ‘ti/chdi’, though they do call their grandparents ‘chi’.
In some social situations you may be taken as being overly familiar if you called someone ‘chdi’, where 'ch’i was more appropriate.
Mmm… So what about the other way round? Is it considered “wrong” if one uses “chi” when “ti” would be expected?
In view of the title of the thread I took that as a tongue-in-cheek remark that @Baruch classed himself amongst those with Divine attributes. 
Not wrong, but it certainly can feel as though you’re being a little cold…
This is an intriguing question raised by @Davids. With Thor you’re liable to get a thunderbolt down your underpants anytime you happen to be in his vicinity - the idea of addressing him as ‘ti’ doesn’t bear thinking about! Likewise, you might end up on Kali’s garland of human skulls in no time at all. Even the Welsh goddesses Ceridwen and Arianrhod are not exactly a laugh a minute. But I can just about imagine addressing Aphrodite as ‘ti’ (in fact, she might get a bit stroppy with any male who addressed her as anything else). I suppose one advantage is that most deities don’t speak Welsh, anyway. But in respect to these divinities, @Baruch’s question ‘Why all the fuss?’ - well if you should happen to encounter one your life might well depend upon it!
Basically yes, my weird sense of humour; although I actually find the topic very interesting - I don’t really get a chance to speak Welsh in the wild, and the ti/chi usage is one of those things that doesn’t seem to lend itself easily to the formal lessons. So I find the thread important to me beyond my warped interpretation…
Surely such an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent entity would speak Welsh (as well as every other language in the universe)?
Just saying…
What? Really? Openly posting under his own name on an online forum? Communicating with us mere mortals over the internet? Not using his P.A to post on his behalf?
Get away with you!