Just signed up for my first sentence since 1985 when a flat mate taught me to say Would you like a cup of tea? Something like “Tişe panad” OK, no idea of spelling, so I’ve written this as if it were Turkish, a virtually totally phonetically-spelt language.
For nearly 30 years I have been using Turkish script for transcription when learning a new language, especially if in a different script. I live in Ankara and teach English. Working with disabled students, we’ve long been looking for different ways of learning languages. For hearing impaired learners, I use Turkish script for transcription. Currently we have been looking for ways for visually impaired beginner learners to start with such an illogically-spelt language as English.
Welcome @louiseo and @claire-ozel! Great to have you here, and hear your stories. Let us know how it’s going for you, and feel free to ask any questions!
Now that is a really useful sentence. You can easily adapt it to offer cake, biscuits etc. I hope that your flat mate made the tea sometimes and did not expect you to offer every time.
Hoorah for mostly phonetically-spelt languages like Welsh and Turkish. Using English for transcription is so awkward (‘th’ as in thin or ‘th’ as in this).
Welcome @louiseo and @claire-ozel! I’m so glad you made it here to the SSiW forum! In the little more than a month since I signed up, I have found this to be the friendliest group of people on the internet! Good luck with your Welsh journey, and like others said, let us know how you’re doing and ask questions if you get stuck! Pob lwc!
How interesting - there is something quite intuitive about the three fingers in relation to strands of the W - I have no idea how it works unfortunately - so very likely that this is coincidental.
Hello, everyone! You all seem a very friendly bunch, which makes me very happy to have found you! I have completed day three, and am so excited to continue!
I am an American, who has been in love with everything Wales, especially the language, for about six years. I have dabbled in Welsh, on Duolingo, but I can already tell that this method of learning is going to be so much better for me. So glad to be here!
@Megan Welcome! I’m American, too, no Welsh ancestry but I’ve been fascinated by Wales since childhood. SSiW is a fantastic way to learn the language Have fun, let us know how you’re doing, and never hesitate to ask questions!
Welcome, @Megan
I started with Duolingo too and came here through a link on its forum. After about 18 months, I can confirm that SSiW is much more effective and also much more fun. Enjoy your learning.
Sue
Hello and croeso Megan! I found SSiW through Duolingo, too and totally agree with @Betterlatethan.
I would just add that in the beginning I tended to compare the effort to complete SSiW challenges and the slightly overwhelming feeling I got at the end of some of them with the easy and reassuring repetitions in Duolingo lessons - and wondered which would bring the best results.
10 months after trying Duolingo, I remember very well the English sentences and words I’ve been working on, but not the Welsh translation that I was supposed to learn!
6 months after starting SSiW I can understand and say way more I could expect to learn in such a short time.
Enjoy your learning and the friendly forum!
Croeso i’r ffrwm, Megan! (Welcome to the forum). Like AnnaC, I’m an American, also. At some point, if you’re not there already, you will want to speak Welsh with someone besides the family pet. It’s at this point, you’ll walk out your front door, scan the neighborhood and realize you are the only Siaradwr Cymraeg in eyesight. It’s around this moment you check the costs of round-trip flights to Wales ($400-$1,000 and up) and begin to bargain with your brain how to justify this cost with friends and family just so you can speak to someone in Cymraeg.
Now you ask yourself, “Why Welsh? I can find a Spanish speaker easier. Even Italian or Urdu are languages I can find someone to speak with.” Welcome to being a Welsh speaker in the United States. It’s a unique type of frustration. I personally blame @aran for creating this problem in my life.
Fortunately, you live in Virginia and there are options for you:
Welsh Society of Fredericksburg
Robert Roser
1203 Harbour Drive
Stafford, VA
22554
United States
email: roscycm@comcast.net www.welshfred.com - good group from what I’ve heard.
Lastly, I run a meet up for East Coast speaker on Thursdays from 7-8PM.. Details on the link but it’s a group of SSiW members from Maine to Florida who range from beginners to intermediates. I present a topic of interest and each person tells a story then each listener asks the story teller a question. After a couple of sentences, the speaker translates into English. This way we all learn. It’s a lot of fun and you are welcome to attend.
Thanks for the info, Delaware! Unfortunately, I’m hours away from Fredericksburg, & due to my work schedule, will be unable to attend the Thursday meet up
I have actually promised myself a trip to Wales, in a couple of years, as a birthday gift. Planning has already commenced
It’s at this point, you’ll walk out your front door, scan the neighborhood and realize you are the only Siaradwr Cymraeg in eyesight. It’s around this moment you check the costs of round-trip flights to Wales ($400-$1,000 and up) and begin to bargain with your brain how to justify this cost with friends and family just so you can speak to someone in Cymraeg. 
