So I am very curious, is it common to find native Welsh speakers or Welsh learners who never or rarely use mutations or noun gender correctly when speaking Welsh? As for Welsh learners is it common to find those who just skip learning the mutations and the genders of words and just learn the words without them?It would be difficult to skip the mutations when learning sentences and that in some instances you have to use mutation because the entire meaning of the sentence would change, but besides these cases are there those who just donât do mutation right? Are there dialects that tend to just naturally use less mutations?
Would a speaker (fluent or not) get judged or get weird looks for doing so?
Is there anyone here who doesnât use every single instance of mutations that would be described in a formal Welsh grammar?
*Keep in mind when I say correctly I only mean correctly regarding an official grammar of the standard language(if there is even such a thing), if a dialect doesnât use a certain mutation that doesnât mean the dialect is âwrongâ.
Itâs not common to find 1st-language Welsh speakers who never or rarely use mutations or genders correctly, although thatâs not to say that they always use them correctly either.
I have heard of learners (not many, admittedly) who never or rarely use them correctly, but itâs not an approach to be recommended - there are 1st-language speakers who would find this disrespectful to the language. Of course, learners are naturally going to make more mistakes, and whilst this is not something to stress over, neither is it an excuse not to bother trying to learn mutations or genders!
Sometimes you will come across dialects that donât mutate things or even over-mutate them (e.g. the soft mutation of gwneud gets you to wneud, but itâs very common in the North especially to hear neud) and there are also some nouns which are regarded as masculine in some areas but feminine in others, so what would sound right to someone from one area may sound wrong to someone from another.
There are certainly pendants who would judge others on not mutating or getting genders wrong, but these are in the minority - most would accept that itâs a genuine mistake or a matter of âstill learningâ.
Well certainly me for one!
Some mutations are more commonly left out than others - the aspirate mutation for instance is not as widely used as it once was, so while the rules in formal grammar havenât changed, the day-to-day useage has.
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Iâve heard native speaker slip occasionally and correct themselves if they get something wrong, just as an English speaker would if they fumble a sentence. Iâve never heard a native speaker ignore mutations. As a learner, Iâve always done my best to get mutations right and learning via oral methods helps a lot because youâre learning sentences and phrases, rather than separate words, therefore the mutations naturally come as part of the learning. I think trying to pretend mutations donât exist would sound very wrong.
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I think the important thing is to have a go. My (albeit limited) experience is that most people donât mind if you get the mutation or grammar wrong as long as youâre trying. Just not bothering might be taken as rude/disrespectful. So Iâd say donât fret about being perfect, but do try to do your best.
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