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

… because, even though I am a proud Englishwoman, I feel a strong connection with Wales from family ties, etc, and quite simply because Welsh is a beautiful language!

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wow, that is SO helpful. Thank you.

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…to honor my Welsh heritage; and, as a Unitarian Universalist minister, my dream is to one day visit one of the Unitarian churches in Wales and maybe even give a sermon in Welsh!

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I want to be a Welsh speaker so that I can slip into a Welsh pub without triggering the rule that makes everyone switch to speaking Welsh and - here’s the best bit - then join in with the switchover to Welsh when the next Englishman walks in.

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I am proud to be Welsh And at 77 years of age it is about time I learnt to speak welsh

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I have never mastered a language before, so if I succeed in this, it will give me a great sense of achievement

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…I love the delight on children &babies faces when I try to speak to them in their first language. ( I’m a children’s physio).

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Croeso to another older learner! I am a few months younger than you, but another ‘war baby’!

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Hi everyone!

I want to be a Welsh speaker because my girlfriend has been learning Welsh and now it seems she hit the plateau and needs support. This is the immediate honest reason that actually drives me to learn. Additional reasons are: (1) I like the sound of Welsh (2) I live in Wales and (3) I am interested in languages.

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I want to be a Welsh speaker because I made a promise to myself that I would do my best to learn Welsh when my husband and I achieved our dream of living here (which we have). Apart from the sense of achievement, I understand how important it is to the local people in our adopted community. I’ve made some good friends here already and I know they appreciate the effort I’m making.

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Where I work, the usual Welsh/English banter goes on, all very good natured.
I want to see the look on my colleagues faces when I speak Welsh to them
.I know there are some first language speakers there, so I want to be able to show them that me speaking Welsh is not some carefully rehearsed “memory trick”.
You never know, I may even end up cheering the Welsh team on match day!

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I want to be a Welsh speaker because I have always felt the need to speak the language and bought a small 23 page booklet in the 1960s entitled
“How to speak Welsh in a week (A rapid method of learning Welsh by means of conversation)” Price Ninepence Net.

I have recently joined the SSIW 6 month course and feel that 6months may be more realistic than “Welsh in a week” and am really enjoying the challenge
so far.

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Just been reading all the many reasons, and a number are quite touching. Many years back I used to watch childrens television with my boys. My ambition at the moment is to be able to watch and understand Sam Tân. It might seem daft to most people, and certainly that includes my wife, but if I manage to achieve that, I shall be very satisfied.

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My grandsons speak Welsh as their first language and although I sing in Welsh I cannot converse in it with them. Also I would like to be able to do more than repeat the church service by rote, To be really able to take part would be so wonderful.

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I want to be a welsh speaker because I love the language and the culture and I think it’s extremely important those things are preserved and passed on.
Also, the language provides a sense of identity and belonging. It binds people, brings them and communities together.
By becoming a welsh speaker I am hoping to explore more of wales in my native tongue and, develop new friendships.

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I want to be a Welsh speaker for various reason because my maternal grandfather was a welsh speaker but the language died out in the family when he died when my mother was a small child.There has always been a yearning to speak welsh and I have tried several times but failed due to different things going in my life.,I want to be able to converse with welsh speakers who attend clwb siarad in preston and to speak it when I visit Wales.I not only want to speak it but also to read it.

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Per the instructions for Week 8 of the 6MWS Course:

This was the original reason I posted:

I want to be a Welsh speaker because it’s been a lifelong dream to regain that part of my heritage and be part of keeping the language alive.

That’s the primary reason, but I discovered another reason just a couple of weeks ago when I told my sister I’d signed up for the Six Months Welsh Speaker course: she actually thought it was wonderful! This is a big deal because we’ve never got on very well and she’s spent decades disapproving of everything I do (we’re both in our 60s). To have her now applaud something I’m trying to do is a sensational thing!

One thing I hope will happen when I’m a Welsh speaker is that I can go to gatherings such as the North American Festival of Wales and not have my single Welsh sentence be, “Mae’n ddrwg gen i, ond dw i ddim yn siarad Cymraeg” (I’m sorry, but I don’t speak Welsh).

Now, as to another thing I hope will happen (per Week 8):

I want to be able to understand more of what I hear on Radio Cymru, and to watch S4C programs without subtitles; at least, most of the time! :grin:

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I want to be a Welsh speaker because it’s a life-long ambition. I was born in Pontypridd but moved to England when I was 5 so never had the chance to learn. Now we have retired to North Wales, I want to be able to chat to the many lovely Welsh speaking friends I have made, particularly in Sadwrn Siarad and Merched y Wawr. I’m sure the speaker’s topics are very interesting, but I can’t understand much of what they say!

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I think that IS a particularly good reason though.

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I very much want to be a Welsh speaker because it is our family’s heritage. It has always been something that I had attempted from time to time, but work and family didn’t allow for it to fit in often enough. But with technology things have become easier and more accessible. After discovering SSIW, I am now able to plug my headphones in and multitask while walking, cleaning or cooking. What I have surprising discovered so far, is that my memory and recall in my everyday life have improved as well. It’s good to work your brain and I am very thankful for everyone’s efforts that bring this opportunity to me here in Canada.

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