American learners - and everyone else - you've got to see this!

And here she is again (I think):

About 22m into the programme for about 4 minutes. Da iawn!

(Yes, I was surprised how many Welsh speakers Gary managed to find - was it him on S4C as well? I hope Radio Cymru’s / S4C’s travel budget hasn’t been blown! :slight_smile: ).

On the theme of the presidential election, there is another interesting one on BBC Cymru Fyw today about Charles Hughes who’s parents came from Tredegar and who narrowly lost the 1916 US presidential election to Woodrow Wilson. The interesting bit was that if he had won, then the President of the US, the Prime Minister of Australia (Billy Hughes of Caergybi) and the Prime Minister of the UK - David Lloyd George, would have all been Welsh speaking country leaders at the same time.

3 Likes

It looks like it’s the same interview - I think the travel budget has been carefully used to get 2 programmes for (almost) the price of one :slight_smile:

1 Like

Fascinating! - We would then have been “…three nations separated by two common languages” :slight_smile:

Interesting word that - “arlywydd” - is it more than co-incidence that it is similar to “arglwydd” (“lord”), I wonder?

1 Like

the root for arlywydd apparently goes back to llyw - rudder, helm or more recently a steering wheel and llywydd is a pilot, captain or ruler. wrth y llyw is an expresion for at the helm and rhaglywydd is or has been used for regent, vice-president or president elect.

Arglwydd or arlwydd is a bit messier. GPC suggests ar + glwydd, because there is/was another variant of arglwydd - culwydd which means the same thing, but there isn’t a recorded glwydd. There is llwydd for success or prosperity and that would work wouldn’t it. Also Llwyd is not just grey, but way back could mean, grey haired or old. - perhaps grey haired, old and succesful are linked?

Something is hinting at Llaw having a link in both of these, but that’s a wild one to throw in (llyw and llwy or rudder and spoon are things you might hold with your llaw or hand) - llaw ar y llyw (hand on the rudder) - a route to success (llwydd).

2 Likes

This is fabulous - love this sort of etymology.

2 Likes

forgot about llywodraeth as well - I love it when words link together. I also like the fact that in English we are governed by a government, but in Welsh we could imagine that we have an institution to steer us or simply do the steering - philosophically quite a difference.

1 Like

A concept I have never liked! The whole point of democracy is ‘by the people, for the people’ and ‘governed’ carries with it hints of Royal Prerogative and ‘telling’ rather than discussing! I do realise that anarchy is impractical as a way of running a country, but choosing steerspeople is a much nicer concept than electing those who will govern us, rule over us…

1 Like

Just thought I’d like to wish all our US folk a happy Thanksgiving! Hwyl dda pawn!
@Sionned! And all!

2 Likes

Diolch, @henddraig! Thanks for thinking of us over here “across the pond”! I’ll be happy and thankful to be with my family for dinner this afternoon :slight_smile: :turkey:

1 Like