hi i’m currently learning going well lwith what i’ve done so far, i’ve worked my way up to challenge 21 (never speaking it in public yet or found a speaker to speak too mind), i think im doing well grasping the sentences and pronouncing the words but im not really good with the mutations yet by now am i expected to know them by now? also where can i learn about them so i know how the word will change and when?
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No, not at all - there are lots of mutations and it takes quite a time to master them all.
There are lots of mutation charts available on the internet which tell you which letters change to what other letters, but the trickiest part is remembering what causes them to change, and that’s a pretty long list of things.
The advice to learners - in true SSiW style - is don’t worry about getting them perfect. Although it’s great to get them right, getting them wrong while you’re learning is really not a big deal. The most common ones will slot into place the more you listen to and use Welsh, and the less common ones will eventually do so too.
There are quite a few sites on the internet that will give you a start with mutation-causing words & constructions, but if you really want to delve into them (and other grammar) it’s worth investing in some grammar books. The ones written by Gareth King are particularly good.
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I would very seriously echo what Siaron has said here. I can remember looking at the list of mutations and their causes in a teach-yourself book, which was pages long, and thinking “how the hell am I going to learn all of those?” And the trick is not to try… 
A linguist recently told me that there are only a scarce few people who know all the rules, and some of them only apply to formal written Welsh in any case.
But I found doing SSiW that I developed an “ear” for what sounds right: “Dwi’n mynd i fynd i’r siop” etc. You say it so many times that eventually it feels wrong to say “Dwi’n mynd i mynd”, and that’s the reaction that people who have grown up speaking the language have.
Then once I’d finished SSiW and was speaking Welsh out in the real world, I did go and learn about the mutation rules (or most of them!) And now I sound a bit too posh when I speak Welsh, because I’m mutating where lots of other people wouldn’t…
Having said all of that, if you’re curious, and interested in grammar generally, it will do you no harm to get one of Gareth King’s excellent books (I found Basic Welsh Grammar a really useful one) - but hopefully it’s just explaining to you what you will be doing naturally from doing SSiW.
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Helo Ashley,I agree with Sara that you will develope a ear for mutation changes so don’t worry about them,Learning is I think a drip drip process and you learn a lot by making mistakes. I purchased a book Taclo Treigladau(mastering mutations) by Elin Meek,for helping children learning mutations and I regularly go back to it to revise[adolygu) it is available thro www.gomer.co.uk or gwales
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My view, as a lower learner than you guys, is that I am ignoring them unless they suddenly spring to my mind or my lips.
My attitude is that I am learning, and like a first learner, i.e. a child, I will say things incorrectly, but it won’t matter much as long as I can be understood.
You all understand a small child who says “Today I goed to the shop with Mummy and she buyed me a new book”.
I reckon that incorrect or missing mutations are just part of the early stages of learning Welsh, and I don’t get het up about them.
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