I’m reading a book about the bard Hedd Wyn now, in Welsh, and I must confess that I’m much lazier than you are and I sometimes don’t stop to look up a new word, I just convince myself that I more or less understand the gist. I probably shouldn’t be reading a book like this one right now, but it’s very interesting so I can’t resist. I hope by the end I will be able to have a celebratory drink too, but right now it’s a deep dark forest full of unknown words for me.
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I recently bought this (partly because it is recommended by Gareth King), but I also bought the English version. I was not intending to read it straight away - I have several less ambitious books to get through first, but have had a skim through, and the Welsh doesn’t look too impossibly difficult, although I will cheat shamelessly by using the translation as required (probably a lot in the beginning, but hopefully less over time).
I also have that bilingual book “Si Hei Lwli” that you mentioned Sara. I bought it ages ago, but realised immediately that it was too difficult for me, even with having the English there - I was not able to see how the Welsh was working, and put it aside for (much) later. However, now, I can read it with relative ease (using the English side for help), and it feels satisfying to have made some evident progress.
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You are brave!! I only got the English version. As I am particularly interested in prehistory, I would have been very, very frustrated if I’d tried what you are doing.
Oh, the irony of that fact that years back, I could read a lot of books in Cymraeg, which I no longer can!!
I think there may be a lot to be said for not learning to read until listening and speaking is well developed, but you can’t stop people doing what they want to do.
I don’t remember learning to read in English, because I somehow learnt to read before I started school. I do remember and it still happens from time to time, hearing a word I have only ever read before and it’s always a surprise to realise that my ‘in head’ pronunciation is wrong!
I’m doing the same thing with Welsh, beginning to hear words that I’ve only previously seen. It’s only a minor adjustment somehow, so I’m not concerned about it.
A local charity shop, had a display of Welsh language books for St Davids Day in the wIndow. So I popped in today to relieve them of some of them, I was shocked to discover that most of them were ex-school library books! Are children not taught to read Welsh in English medium schools anymore? I wonder if I can donate them back to the schools when I’ve got through them!
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I have had a similar shocked feeling when I’ve bought 2nd hand books on Amazon marketplace, only to find that they are (often virtually pristine) ex-public-library books, and I wonder whether they have been replaced by other Welsh books - I hope so!
You should to the National Library in Wales and ask for a book that isn’t about the Welsh language or Welsh history. I studied Biology at Aberystwyth University and often went to the National Library, to be the very first person to open many Science books that were sometimes published years ago, more pristine than you’d find in a bookshop!
Yes, sadly some of the books in the shop today seemed to have never been read!
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I mentioned in another thread (Tips on Learning Vocab) that I bought “Roots and Branches” from Amazon and was shocked to find it stamped “Coleg Gwent”. That too was in A1 excellent condition!!
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You did well. 2 available now at £400, and one for nearly £1,000!