My ears are poorly functioning at the best of times and I simply cannot make out what is being said:
Dwedodd fy mam wrtha’i na dy fam di yn hoffi pel droed.
Can someone put me out of my misery, please?
I know it’s probably too much to ask, but it would be really helpful if there were transcripts available for the challenges, for those of us who are hard of hearing. The frustration of not quite hearing some of the words, even after listening to them a dozen times, is pushing me towards giving up.
One thing this course has taught me more than anything is how much of what I (we?) hear is not so much heard as implied from context. I had achieved reasonable fluency in French before my hearing started to deteriorate, and I rarely have this sort of problem in French (and even more rarely in English, of course), but I have at least one head-scratching moment in each Welsh challenge where I just do not know what is being said.
My problematic sounds are usually th, dh, s and f. The fact that I missed a g sound is a bit worrying.
Yes, it’s been shown that in your first language you definitely don’t hear every word, but your knowledge of the language just fills in the gaps with what you’re expecting. It’s one reason why you shouldn’t worry about trying to get things perfect in a new language when you’re speaking to a first language speaker. As long as you’re reasonably close, they will hear what they’re expecting anyway
The problem isn’t just that it’s not my first language, though. The problem is an increasing disability which makes it impossible for me to catch some of the words spoken on the course. This is not the fault of the speakers, it’s my disability. If I can’t hear properly, and can’t even make a sensible estimate of what is being said, I can’t commit it to memory, and I can’t even look it up in a dictionary.
Have you tried the Automagic course yet Richard? It’s the same course material but includes video and the sentences written out in English and Welsh, which may help with your hearing difficulties.
If you click on the word ‘Learn’ at the top right of a forum page, you should then see an option for Automagic.
It’s a relatively new addition to the SSiW world and works in a slightly different way - for instance, instead of being in set lessons that give so much to you in 30 minutes, AutoMagic is one stream of material that allows you to do as much as you like in one go, then stop, and when you come back it will carry on from where you were.
It also has settings that let you control whether you get more repetitions of earlier material to practise, or whether you move on to newer material more quickly giving you more control over the pace of your own learning.
I’ve surrendered to a hearing aid, after bravely resisting much too long. Would a hearing aid be a solution for you? (They do whistle oddly from time to time, though.)
Heh. I’ve been far too proud, but I’ve recognised that it has reached a point where I need some assistance. I’ll be making an appointment with an audiologist this week.
Getting hearing aids (teclynau clust?) was one of the best decisions I have made. I no longer find myself constantly asking people to repeat things. There is a period of adjustment but you will soon get used to them and come to appreciate them and wonder why it took you so long to get some!
