'I want to be a Welsh speaker because...'

I want to speak to my grandchildren in Welsh

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:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

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I want to be a Welsh speaker because it shows respect to my adopted country, my clients, and my colleagues.

When I can speak Welsh my colleagues will assume I can join in their conversations.

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Wow! I really am so impressed. Well done and good luck with your Welsh. You will get loads of support from everyone here. Just ask :clap::clap::clap:

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… so that the next time I visit the Llyn, I can go into a shop, speak Welsh and get a good reply that I understand!

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Diolch !

I want to be a Welsh speaker to help me reconnect with my roots and I also think it is extremely important to preserve our indigenous languages (and ultimately allow them to thrive) My great - grandad was a native Welsh speaker and my nan says she used to love listening to him speak Welsh but she is sad she never leant to speak it properly herself.
Diolch yn fawr iawn!

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I want to be able to converse in Welsh with my family and to keep alive our heritage, history and culture - and if I ever stagger over the line of Marathon Eryri I’d like to be able to say something sensible yn Gymraeg.

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I’ve been struggling with this so hopefully thinking it through will help me get going again with the 6 minute challenges.

My why is still about connecting to my roots. As a child I wanted to speak Welsh because it mattered to my Grandpa that his Mum was Welsh but she had never used the language after her family moved to England so we had lost that connection. Visiting Wales as a child I remember being at a village show hearing the announcer say that he would “say everything in Welsh so we can all understand it and then say it in English so we can all understand it again.” I so wanted to be part of that.

From that perspective when I visit Wales and am able to read road signs, or watch TV programmes in Welsh and mostly follow or read books in Welsh I feel like I have made that change but there is something missing.

When I began going through SSIW challenges again on the six minute challenges my ‘Why’ was about gaining confidence sharing the language with my 2 year old. We read books picture books, sing action songs and watch tv in Welsh together and I scatter some phrases in he day but as he is talking more in English I have become more and more conscious of my shortcomings and mistakes and found myself afraid to try to say things in Welsh in case I am teaching him mistakes.

I guess part of my dream for how my life would change is that I might somehow make some connections to other Welsh speaking families so that both my son and I had some friends that we connect with through the medium of Welsh. I have hit a number of dead ends seeking this and without it I find myself wondering why I am trying to share a language with him if I can’t connect him with fluent speakers or reason to use it… I’m not sure of my next step here.

More immediately I want to comment on our picture books and TV programmes in Welsh rather than getting stuck half way through the sentence and falling back to English. The experience I’ve had since my first go at level 1 challenges has certainly helped me hear things I missed last time so hopefully I will make those comments in better Welsh too!

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I want to learn Welsh so I can speak to the Welsh-speakers I meet in my workplace. I work in a place where I hear a lot of Welsh being spoken, but when people try to speak to me in Welsh I have to ask them to speak in English instead. I’m looking forward to one day being able to answer them in their own language, even if it’s just to tell them where the bathroom is!

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I want to be a Welsh speaker because my Mother’s side of the family & my Godmother are Welsh & I have always wanted to converse with them in their native tongue. I hope that by learning Welsh I will feel more complete as I embrace my heritage more fully.

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I want to be a Welsh speaker because I am Welsh and grew up in this country but never learnt enough to speak the language fluently - I love the language and WHEN I am a fluent Welsh speaker I can show my dad how good the course is and maybe convince him to get on board as well (he’s Welsh but lost most of his Welsh language skills over time and would like to regain them)

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Way back when, I too had to give up Welsh for French! I’m a musician in Geneva now desperately trying to recapture and move on with my Welsh. I’m on the 6 month course and loving every minute.

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Pob lwc Nicola! What do you play?

I can’t remember what I put first time round for this but getting to challenge 15 I am feeling proud of my achievement. I don’t think welsh is the easiest of languages to learn but I do think it is beautiful and I love listening to it especially the songs.So much so I have joined a welsh learners choir. I want to be part of something special.

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Absolutely David - same here! I will be really proud once I can answer that question with Ydw!!

Hi there Gruntius, I’m sure your Dad is very proud indeed!! I wanted to learn Welsh to make all Welsh speakers proud and I wanted it to be my way of a thank you to them for having me live on their beautiful Island:joy:.

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Diolch @jeanette-lee, I really think he was, it still drives me. There’s no better way to thank us than what you’re doing, there’s always room for people like you. Good luck.

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Cantores dw i yn yr opera

I want to be a Welsh speaker because I live in Wales.

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