Breakthroughs: Does anybody have small successes/breakthroughs speaking Cymraeg they want to share?

Thank you! By the time I get to the end of the 6 month programme, I should be way beyond the level they require of me. I was excited to learn anyway, but even more so when I can show off to HR!

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Thanks Marilyn,

Iā€™m in the UK, yes, so I imagine the book issue may be slightly less pressing for me ā€“ although, as an online programme, they should make everything available digitally whenever you are in the world.

Your dissertation really does sound fascinating ā€“ happy to be one of your respondents, if you get it approved :blush:

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Brilliant, thank you Liz,

I will take you up on that please and let you know once the uni decides.

Hwyl,
Mari

PS Although I loved my work, retirement is the best job I ever had :joy:

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I promise Iā€™m not stalking but Bore Cothi was playing on my radio again this morning and for the first time I heard the line of the limmerick. It had a rugby theme, so I was doubly excited and decided to give it a go, you might be pleased to hear @nia.llywelyn, if you remember my attempts in Machynlleth! Iā€™m sure it was sothach llwyr (recently learnt that in Level 2, Ch 20) but, bless her, Sian read it out anyway. If anyone is interested it gets a mention either side of Cor Meibion Pendyrus singing Cwm Rhondda (fantastic) at about 1hr 10mins and 1:14. And if you do listen, please know that I support both Wales and England - itā€™s going to be tough in the pub tomorrow!

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Diolch @jenny-5. Iā€™ve been thinking, weā€™ll start a 1/2 hangout soon called Hwyl Geiriau Fun with words. You must join us, have you still got access to 6/6 support or just the WSP. Alsoā€¦when would be the best time for you?

Da iawn, Iā€™m going to have a listen now x

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Arbennig @jenny-5 :star2::star2::star2:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000fx8n
Iā€™m going to share this on slack if you donā€™t mind :smile:

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Just realised you wont have got my replies @nia.llywelyn as I sent them through the wrong channel.
So here is one: Sounds interesting. I canā€™t do Tues or Thurs eve or Monday daytime (Welsh activities already); also Tues, Thurs & Fri daytime not great.
I just use WSP. Whatā€™s 6/6?
And hereā€™s the other: Dim problem Nia. Yn falch dy fod wedi ei hoffišŸ˜‚
Iā€™m really not very good at this technology lark, sori :disappointed_relieved:

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Wow that is fantastic - just caught up with this - well done @Cetra - this is what SSIW is all about but haws dweud na gwneud and you have done it.

Well done - that is an amazing achievement,

Rich :slight_smile:

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If I had been in that cafe, I would have been very dog-friendly. I might have never left, because Iā€™d be petting all the animals.

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I had my first real breakthrough today when I took a phone call at work fully in Welsh. Although it was a conversation about attending a Welsh sabbatical course for my job and they knew I was a learner, I was happy to finally have a full conversation with someone.

I was feeling under pressure at first as I was struggling to understand a lot of what was being said but thrn they told me I was excellent for someone who had only been learning then year which was a huge confidence boost (especially as I find it hard to speak to other people in Welsh)!

Just wanted to share!

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Da iawn. And speaking on the phone is harder than speaking face to face as you donā€™t have all those other clues to help you. Keep up the good work!

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Brilliant @mark-bourke-richards, getting over those hurdles, however painfully, big or small, is immense! Well done and dal ati.

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Diolch pawb!

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Well, the thing which Aran always says will happen actually happened. A native Welsh speaker was really surprised at how much I know after only two months (his reaction was ā€œdau fis?!ā€) Itā€™s a nice feeling. :grinning:

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The smallest of small breakthroughs.

We are watching ā€˜Hiddenā€™ (in English). When the characters are speaking to each other in Welsh (there are subtitles), words keep jumping out at me. Some (very short) sentences I almost understand too. Needless to say, my family are becoming tired of my shouts of glee every time it happens. :blush:

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The only Cymro Cymraeg in the village came in today while I was serving in the village shop. He told me about his problems with hospital appointments and I understood most of it, then I asked him for his payment in Welsh. Yes!! No time for more as people were waiting. The bit I found most confusing was switching back to English for the next customer.
Sue

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Well done! Thatā€™s great! :clap:
Completely understand how exciting that is!

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Hello, I have begun meeting a friend for Welsh speaking for the duration of a gwydraid (neu ddau). And it is kind of cool knowing that i might just sort of say this in Welsh!

I find it difficult though to initiate conversation to tie in with the recent lessons i have been completing. There always seems to be a noun missing somewhere. ANy tips anyone can give for more effective practiced conversation?

Diolch,
Roel

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Heya Roel! Iā€™d just say just speak as much as you can, and as often as you can. Thatā€™s the only way I am doing it now - Iā€™ve done the challenges on here and havenā€™t got time to do night classes so I just find as many chances to use the bits I do know and every time I find I pick up a new word or phrase.

Listening to Radio Cymru is good to picking up how the language flows and sounds. For me, music is a big thing I talk about in English anyway, so learning the vocab around that in welsh and then trying to meet people to talk about it means that I can talk about some of what I would talk about in English, but in welshā€¦ (if that makes sense!). Iā€™m now trying to find a group of ppl to play cards and board games yn Gymraeg haha.

With regard to now knowing the welsh word for something, I usually just put in the English word and keep the conversation going. Things like ā€œNes i siarad gyda my grandmother penwythnos diwethaā€. Thereā€™s no problem in that at all, the most important thing is keeping the convo going imo :slight_smile:

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Anyone ever try to put something together in Welsh, and it doesnā€™t look/sound right? You canā€™t figure out why it seems wrong, just a feeling you have. Upon looking it up, you discover the correct answer was something you wouldnā€™t have guessed. But even though it was beyond your knowledge, you instinctively knew you had it wrong. Iā€™ve done this on multiple occasions, most recently in this sentence I wrote when joking around.

ā€œDwiā€™n licio y ffilm, ond dwi ddim isio ysgrifennu am hiā€ vs. ā€œDwiā€™n licio y ffilm, ond dwi ddim isio ysgrifennu amdaniā€.

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