How to speak Welsh for the first time?

Before you were born - possibly before your mother was born, I was at my ‘Auntie’s’ on Gower and a young man from Germany came looking for somewhere to stay, brought by our neighbour who took visitors. Auntie had been a teacher of French and German, so tended to have visitors from anywhere ‘foreign’ brought to her! ‘Our’ German was lovely and when he said he was touring and just wanted to stay a couple of nights, we asked about his plans. “I’m going to Merthyr Tydfil.” he said. "Why on earth do yuu want to go to Merthyr?" I cried, amazed, and I’m afraid I had the same reaction when I read your post. It turned out that our young visitor didn’t actually want to go there, he wanted to connect with a train to somewhere more scenic, I forget where. BUT, please tell me what attracts you to Merthyr??? You aren’t related to that young man, are you? We actually drove him to where he wanted to go and showed him Merthyr on the way, to explain my initial reaction! To anyone from Merthyr, I do NOT mean to insult your lovely, historic, friendly home - it just wasn’t on the ‘must see’ tourist map in my day!

Late to the party, but anyway … I told already elswhere … a greeting in Welsh wherever I came to in Caerdydd was prety good starter either to speak Welsh further or to revert back to English. And if you take it lightly it can be even fun to explore how many people are willing to speak or speaking Welsh in the first place.

In Nero caffee I’ve got smile on my face with the guy who clearly told me (not in the angry but rather cheerful manner) “I can’t speak even English good enough what Welsh.” “I don’t believe you entirely.” was my cheerful reply both laughing to the occassion … and I’ve got my coffee regardless I’ve ordered it in Welsh anyway … it’s not hard to understand “Coffi mawr plis.” anyway, is it? :slight_smile:

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I think that starting every conversation in Welsh really does make a difference . I have spent this week down in Llangranog and was determined to spend the whole week speaking only Welsh if possible. On the way down we stopped in Machynlleth where I got served in Welsh in the 2 shops and cafe that we went in . I simply started the 3 conversations in Welsh and got a reply in Welsh , no problem at all. In the Urdd centre in Llangranog , where we were staying , I spent the whole week speaking Welsh which was great although there was an English speaking family in our group who I also spoke to throughout the week as I didn’t want them to feel left out but to everyone else it was Cymraeg only. I got served in the ice cream shop and 2 pubs in Llangranog in Welsh with no problem. One guy in the pub was a bit taken aback at first when I spoke to him in Welsh but after a few second he gathered himself , thought of his reply and aswered me. I guess he may be out of practice and just not used to strangers addressing him in Welsh first .
I had not been to that beautiful part of Wales before so wanted to explore the area a bit , so on the Thursday we went for a drive to explore the local towns. The first stop was Aberteifi . I wanted a panad so found a cafe . I went in and asked for a panad o de a siocled poeth. I was met with a confused "what ? Sorry I don’t understand " to which I replied “dachi ddim yn siarad cymraeg ?” To which he replied “no”. Determined not to give up I said "ga i banad o de , cup of tea " to which he replied ,“cup of tea , yes” "a siocled poeth , hot chocolate hefyd plis " to which he replied “ok sit down an I’ll bring it over” At least he might understand the Welsh for tea and hot chocolate if someone asks him again .
Next we headed for Castellnewydd Emlyn . On the way we found a really nice river with some small water falls so thought it would be a nice place to stop . On entering the car park I wound down the widow and said “hi ydach chi’n iawn ? Faint dach chi angen ?” I didn’t fully understand his reply but I understood just enough to know that he was letting me in without paying . Speaking Welsh is starting to have its advantages :grinning: . I went in to a nearby pub and there were 2 young girls working there . I asked for half a pint (in Welsh of course ) and was met with a completely blank response from both of them . I asked again “hanner peint o carlsberg plis” still looking puzzled she poured me a full pint. I gave up , said diolch and paid for the full pint .
Next stop was Castellnewydd Emlyn . I heard a little bit more Welsh spoken on the street here. I went in to the chippy and asked for 2 hot dogs and chips (in Welsh) but the young girl didn’t understand a word . Another woman came over and said in English "we don’t sell hot dogs " to which I replied in Welsh "it says you do on the board outside " she replied to me in English saying that she will do hotdogs for us . At least she managed a half hearted “diolch” as we left. Next I went to the post office to pay my weekly rent. I said to the young girl behind the counter “hi ga i dalu £xx ar hun plis” without saying a word she ran away and got another lady to serve me . She served me nervously in very broken Welsh which of course is completely fine. On the way out I overheard a 3rd girl working there saying to the girl that ran away at first "I remember when someone tried to speak Welsh to me once " After this my daughter needed the toilet so I stopped an old lady to ask if there were any public toilets in the village . She apologised and said that she didn’t understand Welsh at all as she was from England . In this instance I reverted to English. She was a lovely lady who walked us to the toilets herself . I did tell her about SSIW but she looked confused saying that she didn’t understand my accent very well and that she didn’t use technology .
Next and last stop was Llandysul , a lovely little village. We didn’t go in to any shops here but we went to the park where we heard a mixture of English and Welsh being spoken . I said hello in Welsh to a guy who was with his grandkids but I didn’t understand his reply at all. He had a really strong accent .
On the way home yesterday we stopped in Aberystwyth where we had a good walk around and stopped for a beer and slush puppy at a cafe on the beach. I ordered these in Welsh but the girl didn’t understand. For some reason on this occasion I simply reverted to English.
The last stop on the journey home was Blaenau Ffestiniog . The weather was lovely for the journey home but obviously as we got to Blaenau we had torrential rain. It was like music to my ears getting out of the car and hearing so much Welsh being spoken all around us by all ages , which unfortunately wasn’t the case down south. We got served in the chippy and co op in Welsh no problem at all. Even here though you do still hear a surprising amount of English.
I think that if all Welsh speakers/learners started every conversation in Welsh where possible then it would possibly turn the tables and help make Cymraeg the default language again. It’s obviously an uphill battle but it could make a difference

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This is what I’m telling to people all the time!

You’ve visited approximately all the cities we did in bootcamp last year. I didn’t have the feeling Welsh wouldn’t be spoken there. … Oh, and you’ve been to lovely little (@Iestyn’s) village Llandysul I call it a little town though. I loved walking there around despite I was nervous not to loose myself on the streets and never finding back to where our gathering point was for who knows what reason really. :slight_smile:

I wasn’t to gogled yet but I love de o Gymru very much! One day, when I’ll be big and rich I have to give to myself (and my two boys (husband and son)) the tour around again …

I’ve written elswhere on social media being in Welsh or English “Speak Welsh, people, no matter what!” and I mean it. I also demanded if/when I visit Cymru again people to speak Welsh to me (if they’re Welsh speakers/learners of course).

So, instead of fighting for my own language for which some say is also slowly but steadily dying, I’m fighting for Cymraeg with all my heart and soul. …

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Whatever is driving Slovene out of Slovenia? I am shocked! I thought, when you became an independent State your language would be safe! Oh, and what is spoken in Slovakia? You know I am ashamed of my ignorance of your area. :sob:

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Well, it’s not that bad yet, but there are tendences that the language is weakening due to all sorts of influences - from ex Yugoslav languages (as families are very mixed all over Slovenia - and all the way to the fact that English is influencing our language maybe nowdays even more than German. We still have our language at schools but the experts warn that our language is very spoiled with all sorts of foreign influences and also people lack of knowing the grammar and correct use despite they’ve learnt all in school.

In Slovenia Slovene is spoken and is official language of course, but as I’ve said here’s a lot of influence from outside. Families speak their native language if they’re not Slovene, however they speak Slovene aswell but this is really totally colloquial and even colloquial more mixture of Slovene and their own language.

And … you’re not ignorant @henddraig. It’s normal one can not be familiar with everything and everywhere. :slight_smile: Thank you for carring though. Appriciated.

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Next time you come to Llandysul, let me know! I live here :slight_smile:

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I know the chippy and the coop in Blaenau very well, I am tossing up whether to try my Welsh on them in October when next we are at our cottage!
It doesn’t always rain in Blaenau, by the way.

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Thankyou @Deborah-SSi I will be sure to do that. You’re lucky living in such a nice village and I would like to visit that area again one day
@jessieskinner I can remember only one time when visiting Blaenau Ffestiniog when it was sunny and dry. As soon as we got out of Blaenau that day the black skies cleared and the sun shone again :joy:. Yes you should give it a go . I found it strange that in both the chippy and co op most of the customers were speaking Welsh but they were getting served at the tills in English , but the cashiers obviously speak Welsh as they replied and served me in Welsh with no problem.

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It doesn’t always rain in Blaenau, by the way.

I thought you were talking about the Blaenau/Blaina (Gwent) over the hill from where I was born and where I used to spend my summer holidays, in which case the above statement would be hard to verify. :laughing:

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Rhod Gilbert has a bit in one of his routines where he talks about not taking off his poncho until he was 15.

(except he didn’t call it a poncho and I can’t remember the other names for that style of rainwear…)
(edit: But it might have been “cagoule”).

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When it is very misty with high cloud, it can envelope Blaenau Ffestiniog. As you come down towards Betws-y-Coed, and it is more or less downhill all the way, you come down through the cloud and the sun comes out.
So, just because it is horrible in Blaenau it doesn’t mean it is horrible everywhere.
On the other hand we were there in November last year and it was fabulous. Very cold, beautiful blue sky, and everything covered in hoar frost.
We took the train into Llandudno to do some Christmas shopping and the Conwy Valley was stunning.

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it was a mac in my day! Oh, I remember when they invented plastic ones! So handy to stuff in a pocket, but easily ripped!

Although most people seem to have concluded that having some form of quality mark for outlets that use Welsh doesn’t work it strikes me that this is exactly what is needed in an attempt to get Welsh spoken in shops again. If anyone else thinks there is some mileage in this or knows of things that are already in place it would be good to hear of them.

I work for a construction quality mark and in the last two weeks have been on different sites in London where information has been made available in Welsh via a QR code (alongside most other European languages) and I was impressed by that. Whenever I meet a site manager with a Welsh name I always ask if they speak Welsh though only two have admitted it.

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i wonder if this is any use to anyone
http://cymdeithas.cymru/cwrs-bethesda
it might be good for e.g. a mam with small children who can’t go away for long and/or has a limited budget. If this is no use, the main Cymdeithas site will likely show other options! @cat-1? any use for you?

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I’ve been wanting to go on this since picking up a leaflet about it at the Eisteddfod . I have managed to get that weekend off work but am still unsure if I will have anyone to have my daughter for the weekend

could she not go too?

Well… we actually wanted to walk the Beacons Way but on day 1 my brother became sick so we had to find a place to stay and we found a nice accommodation in Merthyr. But, as someone who had Geography as an advanced course in school, the city was really interesting (we talked a lot about the Ruhrgebiet and its history and Merthyr is kind of similar to it in terms of its coal mining history and the problems it faces today etc.) :slight_smile:

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All I can say is that it is wonderful to come across someone who values Merthyr for what it is and was, rather than just as a place to get away from! Of course, it is many years since I was there, so I expect it is much changed, but the people were always great and that is what makes a place! :smile:

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Does your brother speak Welsh as well? That can add a lot of complication speaking a different language if not.

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