We are moving to North Wales. I am trying to learn and encourage my children.
There is Duolingo aimed for kids with cartoons etc, however this is South Wales dialect? So should I avoid this so not to confuse them and myself?
Is there anything for North Welsh similar? Fun and easy to learn from… cartoons, stories etc. They aren’t interested in joining in with this audio. It’s great for me and I can then pass this onto them… but rather have something aimed for them also?
Thank you!
Hi Nicola. Until someone more knowledgeable comes along I thought I would give you my thoughts.
I don’t have much experience of teaching children other than my 3 year old. How old are your children?
I really try not to get hung up on North v South as it really isn’t that simple as a line across the country. You will find people speak variants of both no matter where you are and S4C does not just broadcast south etc. If you can only access suitable material in Southern Welsh then it is better than nothing. You will also find that you can still communicate with people even if you are not speaking the same way as them, the variances are small enough that I don’t feel it’s worth getting worried about.
My mother is also learning Welsh with me, she learned South and I learned North. We talk to each other every weekend on the phone and try to speak at least an hour in Welsh before we run out of vocab and switch. We understand each other pretty well.
Hope that helps.
Hi Nicola.
As Ruth said, S4C have plenty of programmes in northern dialects.
If you contact Menter Iaith (ideally the one local to where you will be moving), they will probably have some local material for you.
Hi Nicola. Which part of North Wales are you moving to?
Arh thank you for your messages. I haven’t used this site before and not sure how to rely individually!
We are moving to Adfa, Montgomeryshire Clare, think it’s the top of mid Wales. Some say it’s North. It seems best to go with North Welsh? Now I’m not so worried after reading your reply Ruth. We will just go with North but not worry if cartoons etc are south - seems you sort of learn both!!
Our very own @aran created a series during Lockdown called Bedtime Welsh, where he and his kids taught a couple of sentences or phrases a night, using the same method as the SSiW courses. They’re still available on YouTube - just search for Aran Jones or Bedtime Welsh. And they’re northern!
Good luck with the move Nicola.
Oh thank you very much!! X