As the lessons progress, I am hearing “Ronny” for “Onny” more and more often.
Onny eved cooroo nathier/Ronny eved cooroo nathier. I was drinking bee last night.
I will continue to say “Onny” for now. That is what I learned. But I am curious about the “R”. Is it the grammatically correct form, or is it an accent issue?
‘O’n i…’ and ‘Ro’n i…’ are shorter versions of ‘Roeddwn i…’, and all mean the same thing. Just use what feels most comfortable for you.
The R is a vestige of Yr which is only used to precede forms of bod in the the most formal language these days - y mae, yr oeddwn, etc.
In terms of more informal language, the R is optional and entirely up to the taste of the individual speaker. It’s often assumed that inclusion of the R is slightly more formal, but I think that may be due to people searching for a nice tidy rule to apply where one is not merited.
In lessons with Coleg Gwent we learn the following
Ro’n i, which is short for roeddwn i = I was = statement
O’n i which is short for oeddwn i = was I = question
Do’n i ddim which is short for doeddwn i ddim = I was not = negative
Ro’n i’n yfed cwrw neithiwr = I was drinking beer last night
O’n i’n yfed cwrw neithiwr = was I drinking beer last night
Do’n i ddim yn yfed cwrw neithiwr = I was not drinking beer last night
It seems it is quite common to drop the ‘R’ when making a statement so I am afraid it is something to learn and accept.
I seem to remember that in one of the northern lessons, Aran suggests it’s more natural to drop the “r” in speech, i.e. “oedd”, rather than “roedd”.
I don’t think it has been addressed in the southern course. Or I don’t remember it. But I figure that O’n I or oedd will do me for now. Diolch.