I’m after some advice. I’ve been doing SSiW on and off for a while and am doing the 6 month course now. When I started I picked south as my dad is from Caerdydd. I have got to the end of level one. I’ve tried to start level 2 many times but I can’t get my teeth around it and I ended up pausing my course. I desperately want to get started again.
However, since I picked south, a couple of things have happened. Firstly, I went to the Eisteddfod last year and realised that I absolutely love North Wales and so if I visit I’m more likely to go there. Secondly, my sister moved to Wrecsam and my niece is learning Welsh at school - North. Thirdly, I took advantage of the lock down last week and did a week long online course with Popeth Cymraeg which was north.
I really enjoyed the online course and would like to do more in conjunctio with SSiW - living in the middle of England, the more practice speaking I can get the better.
So I have a choice to make. Do I stick with south (I’m aware that south tends to be used more in books and on TV) or do I switch to North? If I switch to North would I be able to do this with level 2 of SSiW, or would I be better off going back to start level 1 again in North? Is it feasible to keep going with south on SSiW but do north in online evening course?
Personally I’d suggest whipping through level 1 north - and then everything is all lined up. Having done the southern level 1, the Northern one should be very straightforward.
However having done other northern material already, you could try challenge 1 of level 2 and see if you could pick it up from there - it’s just SSIW is fabulous at getting you speaking so it would seem a shame to miss out on SSIW 's ability to get those northern sentences flowing…
I am definitely not planning on dropping SSiW! It is just that the northern course I can do in September is the only one that is guaranteeing staying online all year and not just until restrictions are lifted.
Well dych is the official standard, which happens to be the same as the southern form. But you will also usually see eisiau in books and newspapers - this is the official standard and happens to be a northern form (as opposed to southern moyn, which you won’t see nearly as much). So it’s swings and roundabouts
( yes, sorry, I meant using level 1 north to help get the sentences flowing rather than just cutting across to level 2 - I’m sure all options could / would work - I guess it depends how much you find you know if you have a little go at challenge 1, level 2 north - if you know it all - cario ymlaen!)
I did SSiW South Level 1 and 2, first.
Then despite being an ardent fan of Southern accent , I decided to check a few challenges of Level 1 North - out of curiosity, and also to help me understand more of the programmes on S4C that I actually find quite a bit more Northern-oriented (but of course it mostly depends on which programmes you decide to see, which might give you an impression or the other).
Well, I have to admit I was quite a bit confused by the differences. So, from my experience I would say it’s probably a good idea just to restart Northern version from Level 1.
However, just like @rich said: since you have access to them, why not give a try to first challenges of Level 2 North and see how it goes?
Maybe you see it works just fine for you!
After trying various ways of learning both dialects, I found that the following method worked best for me: I chose one dialect (North, because I go there more often), and stayed with it. But I also listened to all the South lessons without actually speaking. I effectively used the Southern speaking lessons as listening exercises. This way, I avoided the very mild confusion that I had encountered when actually trying to speak both dialects, but at the same time I learned the Southern structures and vocab in the few cases where it differs from the North. In addition, it’s a good way to get used to the different accent.
If you want to follow a short-cut for Baruch’s terrific idea, you could just listen regularly to the southern listening exercises to keep your hand in, while working through the northern material - or the other way round…
, I decided to check a few challenges of Level 1 North - out of curiosity, and also to help me understand more of the programmes on S4C that I actually find quite a bit more Northern-oriented (but of course it mostly depends on which programmes you decide to see, which might give you an impression or the other).