eisiau is a word that has many different pronounciations, and yes, it’s a regional thing. You’ll also come across it said as ISH-o, ISH-ah, ISH-eh…
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Croeso to the forum as well 
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Ah, thank you! It is a SHAPESHIFTER of a language!!!
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It certainly can be! 
In its written form it is usually pretty straightforward but in its spoken form it’s full of curve-balls! 
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HI!
I heard about SaySomethingInWelsh on the Jeremy Vine show last week and it has inspired me. I was born and brought up in Cardiff in an English speaking family and it has always grated on me that I cannot speak my own language. I will be entering my 50’s later this month and it’s time I did something about learning this amazing language.
My question is - how do I get onto the Southern course? I have this evening merrily completed my first three practices only to discover that they are the Northern dialect. I have searched high and low but can’t find how to access the southern version.
Please help!!
Rachel
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Hi Rachel,
I heard that show - it was inspiring wasn’t it!..Jeremy and Aran both did great - and you too, as you’ve got started! Well done.
Have you signed up to one of the assisted courses or are you started doing the challenges by yourself?
Rich
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( if you are working through the challenges yourself, you can change regions under “settings” - which is the little cog wheel on the App or in the menu under your name on the main site. )
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Welcome, Rachel! We’re so glad you are here! If you are using the Challenges on the website, the option to change regions is at the bottom, like this (please excuse my horrible arrow 
) Also, I have mine set to green, but yours may be a different color, don’t worry if the banner at the top looks a bit different!)
If you are using an app, the choice should be in the settings. Let us know if you need more help!
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Thanks Anna - I’d forgotten about that link on the challenge page - much simpler! 
If you are on the App @rachel-claire , click on the settings cog wheel - and choose the region there.
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dal ati Aran, you’ve had an amazing week, the sands are shifting and your efforts are going to be realised.
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In addition to what the others said, I think the site was reworked such that you start with “Say one sentence in Welsh”, and that sentence is only available in the Northern version. @aran should be able to shed more light on this.
Once you get to the Challenges themselves, you should be able to switch over to the Southern version. (Come join us, we have cookies 
)
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Yes, this is exactly right - Rachel (and welcome to the forum!), if you’re still working through the shorter 5 and 10 minute ‘one sentence’ sessions, those are pretty non-dialectish with a slight northern tinge - but as soon as you’re into the half-hour sessions, you’ll be able to switch to southern as described above - in fact, as soon as you reach them you should get forced to choose between northern and southern…
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Hi all and a big thanks for your replies! I think I’ve been trying to run before I can walk and looking for the southern dialect challenges before finishing the ‘one sentence’ challenges. At this stage I can’t find switching between dialects an option under settings so maybe that sorts itself out when I’ve completed the 5 ‘one sentence’ challenges? I will continue onto day 4 and 5 right now which should then link me further. Thanks again everyone.
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You’ve probably arrived there by now, but yes, is the answer. If you decide to continue on after the taster course, you’ll be asked to choose between north and south
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Thanks Dee, and yes now motoring through challenge 4 (in the southern dialect). My brain feels like it’s on fire - but I’m learning so much and enjoying it even more
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That’s a lovely description of how the methodology works… 
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Those brain cells are definitely being put through their paces and remarkably I’ve already noticed my short term memory has improved in other areas - methodology works for sure 
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That’s hugely interesting - there’s no solid academic evidence I’m aware of that short term memory is trainable across different activities (and some that suggests otherwise) so anecdotal stuff like that is particularly fascinating…
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Hi there,
I’m Emma. I’m new to the course. I’ve just finished week 2, challenge 3 and 4 of the six month course.
My other half is welsh and very keen for me to learn the lingo. His whole family are first language welsh speakers and all their professions are through the medium of welsh too so I’d love to be able to be part of it too.
I have one question - linked to this post - and I think I know the answer. I’d say for a good 75% of the podcasts I’m having to press the pause button. I think for about 80% of the podcast I get the sentences correct, the rest are a few words out usually.
Does this mean I should repeat them? I get the feeling from all the posts I’ve read that no I shouldn’t. But I just want to check. If I’m pausing for most of the podcast, but getting the sentences mostly correct (even though it hurts my brain a lot), am I doing the right thing by continuing?
Look forward to hearing from you
Em 
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Croeso i’r ffrwm, Emma-16. (Welcome to the forum.) You ask a great question! I won’t answer for Aran, but you will get plenty of practice to repeat what you’ve learned in future podcasts/session. I think I can safely say, everyone hit’s the pause button. I do a lot, mostly because I want to say the sentence in it’s entirety first to see if I’m correct. Most times, I keep moving on to the next challenge. If I need to repeat, because I feel I don’t have a good grasp of the material, I’ll rewind a few minutes to the phrases I’m struggling with and repeat them. When I say, not having a good grasp of the material I do NOT mean I can’t say the sentence fully before SSiW does, it means, do I know how to construct the sentence. I’m not always interested in speed, but comprehension. Speed and accuracy comes with frequent use.
Try this experiment, go ahead and do the next 2-3 challenges/podcasts and then come back to the podcast you’re currently on and see if it’s not easier. I can practically guarantee it will be. That’s my opinion. That’s my experience and this program and forum is an amazing resource. So many helpful people who are genuinely interested in helping one another learn Welsh.
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