Almost three months since I started learning Welsh with SSiW, and…hey, I’m still here! When I decided to give a try to Challenge 1, mostly out of curiosity, I wasn’t even sure I’d get past lesson 2 or 3. Because, after all, I really don’t need to learn to speak Welsh.
I don’t live in Wales or anywhere close. I’m not planning to move there. I have no knowledge of Welsh ancestors of mine. I can’t think of any situation in my life now for which speaking Welsh could be necessary. I’m not even a Tolkien or a Celtic culture fan. I’ve spent only a few hours in Wales in all my life, as a teenager, on a train to Ireland. I didn’t hear anyone speaking Welsh, back then; I just saw a few names of towns, and they looked dreadful. So how on earth did I get myself into such trouble?
Welsh before SSiW
In 1995, a British musician, Ben Wallers, named a Welsh band among his favorites. I didn’t ask him to spell their name and, back to Italy, there was no way to figure out who those mysterious “datbloggy” could be.
About 10 years later, during a long boring drive in France, the iPod picked a song from a recently found record. “Hey, what language is this?!”. I just loved the way it sounded, even though the only words I could identify were casserole and germaine. I got totally hooked on trying to sing along those songs; or better, trying to repeat those sequences of somewhat weird sounds I was hearing. I can’t tell exactly why, but I sure had a whole lot of fun doing that!
Back home, my curiosity for the language didn’t completly vanish. It wasn’t strong enough to look for a serious course, but enough to try and find a bit more about it right away, and then try Duolingo Welsh lessons when they appeared, years later. Unfortunately, I got bored after a few days. All I remember now is a few names of foods and drinks, “Nos da, Draig”, and that they wanted me to repeat “I enjoy working as a secretary in a farm”. I quit, but there I found the link to…
SaySomethingInWelsh.com
I had a look at the website. The structure was set to change soon and that seemed to mean not having instant access to the same huge amount of free lessons any more. I happened to be about to leave for a lazy summer holiday at the seaside. It seemed quite a good timing: I love the seaside, but I don’t like doing crossword puzzles, playing cards, chatting about nothing with strangers - that’s how most Italians entertain themselves on the beach, when they’re not posting dumb rants and terrible pictures on Facebook. So why not studying Welsh instead?
I’m always full of enthusiasm, when I start something new; but it doesn’t last long. Therefore, I made a deal with myself: three months, no matter what. Then, we’ll see. So, every day, there I was on the beach, with iPod and headphones, listening to SSiW lessons and mumbling sentences in Welsh. From time to time, someone asked:
“What music are you listening?”
“It’s not music. It’s Welsh language lessons”
[astonished silence]
“Yes, I decided to learn to speak Welsh”
Standard reaction #1 - “But…is Welsh a language?”
Standard reaction #2 - “But…but…WHY???”
Most people in Italy think it’s an awkward idiom of the past that nobody uses any more, and basically useless. However, everybody seemed to accept my quirkiness with a mix of amusement and admiration, and sometimes even asked about my progress with apparently genuine interest.
As for myself, the first three months went pretty smooth. I’m enjoying it, it’s been easier than I expected and let’s not forget one thing: everything I learnt so far was almost completely free. I also got a lot of support from the Forum and I’m sure that this feeling of being directly connected to Wales, even from a thousand miles away, is one of the reasons why I’m still here. Of course there have been tough moments, like a few very challeging lessons where I got the sentences all wrong, felt totally exhausted and as if I was back to zero - but with a little patience and persistence it all worked out fine.
Oh, trying to listen to the radio - that’s still frustrating! Despite my huge efforts, I don’t have the slightest idea of what they’re talking about, since I can only catch a few scattered words.
However, when I went to England for the first time, I had the same feeling. And I had already studied it for 7 years at school, listened to hundreds of songs since I was a little child, and well…heard it and seen it a lot because English is just everywhere! Welsh is not. That’s intriguing, and also makes me more indulgent towards it.
How much did I learn?
My Official Common European Framework of Reference Skills - When I started
Listening: Can recognize titles when listening to the songs from one record (see resources list* for details). Can identify a few sequences of sounds as possible words and expressions.
Speaking: Can repeat words and sentences - including tough to pronounce ones like “reit lawr i’r gwleidyddiaeth” - from lyrics of 3 songs and sequences of sounds from a few more, quite accurately. Can say good night to a dragon.
Reading: Can follow and read aloud lyrics of 4 songs while listening to them.
Writing: Can copy words, one by one. Can spell “Datblygu” and “Nos da, Draig”.
My Official Common European Framework of Reference Skills - Now
Listening: Can recognize most words from SSiW lessons, and a few from familiar songs, in a fluent conversation. Can understand sentences from TV shows or in basic, slow conversations. Can understand simple questions.
Speaking: Can build dozens of simple sentences, mostly based on SSiW vocabulary. Can repeat full and more complex sentences from about 40 songs. Can answer to simple questions.
Reading: Can follow most songs lyrics while listening to them. Can understand the gist of texts on various topics.
Writing: Can spell several sentences from SSiW vocabulary lists, and from a few songs.
What next?
Well, I have to admit there’s always a voice in the back of my head telling it’s just a waste of time. But I’m not going to listen to it, yet. Three more months, and let’s see what happens. I just need to keep on enjoying it. And for that extra motivation…I think a trip to Wales is what it takes, to test how I survive out in the wild, among native speakers. So, hey, ho, let’s go make some plans now.
[*List of my learning resources will follow, in another post]
That’s impressive.