Llyfr newydd - Thinking Welsh by Gareth King

Yay! And indeed…Ueu!

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@garethrking one thing I’ve never been quite sure about is when to use elli di? and when to use galli di? In the section on “can, could” it shows galli di in the table, then elli di in the example sentences, but doesn’t explain the difference. Is elli di a more formal version? Or is it just regional variation?

PS: I’ve added the book title to the thread title, so all the avid readers will know where to post :slight_smile:

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HI Deborah - you’ve got galli di and gelli di which are identical in meaning,
the former promoted in courses and generally by the language police for reasons of regularity and therefore slightly more easiness, but the latter very common in native speech and always has been, going way back to Middle Welsh times.
There’s also gallwch chi/gellwch chi.
Elli di here, then, is simply SM on gelli di, because it’s a question.

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Cŵl, diolch! Sorry, I didn’t mean to mix the postive statement and question version, but I had an online session looming and I was typing in a hurry. I’m rather fond of gelli / elli di so I’m going to stick with it, seeing as it’s tradition :slight_smile:

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I am too, and I have always used gelli and gellwch myself.

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I’ve just read entry 79 on Numbers and I actually became quite choked up and emotional by the end of it! It expresses exactly what I think too!

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Choked up and emotional - it’s what I do!
That article is going to get me into SUCH trouble with the language police. :rofl:
But on this issue you and me are right, and they (as so often) are wrong.

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Entry pedwar ar bymtheg a thrigain?

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That’s the spirit, Richard!! :+1:

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Now that I’ve learnt to count in the Basque vigesimal number system, I really don’t see why Welsh should even consider abandoning the traditional one.

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Quite so, Deborah - and it isn’t even the ‘traditional’ one, it’s the REAL one!
I hope the Basques aren’t tinkering with their system…are they? Knowing the Basques, I would be surprised!

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Not even the slightest murmur about it that I’ve heard. Everyone seems perfectly happy with the system we have.

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Complete newbie here—I’m only up to Level 1 challenge 3–if I tried to start with Colloquial Welsh now, would it make it easier or harder to learn with SSiW? This course is actually working, but I’m hungry for more!

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Well I know what I think…

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That’s fair…:joy:

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We find @garethrking 's books complement what you’re learning with our courses very well indeed, and if there’s anything you have doubts about, you’re always welcome to ask here on the forum. You may even get the author himself replying :smile:

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After two months or so of SSiW I gave in to my love of grammar, reading and good writing. It was a smart thing to do, it makes SSiW even better. I now have the Basic, Intermediate and Working Welsh books, although I’m way too much of a newbie to get the best out of them. I now have an evil plan brewing: I’m going to blackmail my son into buying me the Thinking one. Continue having fun and success with this exciting language. One of these days I’ll even be able to understand it!

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The dopiest thing I ever did when I was taking French (a language requirement in school with no thought of actual use of the language given) was to stop reading in it. I love grammar too—though it is a personal problem, not a thing I impose on others—and dw i isio dysgu (to read as soon as possible).

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Raeding is so much the key.

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Id definitely not consider myself a prolific reader in English, Irish or Welsh. You might not think that by the amount of Welsh books i have laying around. There’s no bigger buzz or confidence booster to learning a new language than buying, reading and finishing your first new language book. This is more than true regarding Cymraeg. The graded reading book system is fantastic. Based on basic simple repetitive structures with interesting adult themes. Inasmuch as i have a few GK grammar books, iv reread most of them repeatedly, for example
E-ffrindau, Gangsters yn y glaw, Y Stryd y bont and currently sgŵp.
Nerdishly highlighting, underlining, but above all unconsciously learning and enjoying. Me and a few fellow learners/friends read together record and post in a WhatsApp group. Which highlights the only fault that’s there’s a lack of audio accompanied books.

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