Well, it happens once a year that someone either visits me or gives me one day opportunity to chat in Welsh and I’m endlessly grateful for this however I didn’t meet any Welsh people who’d speak Welsh in my country except for Simon Brooks who came to travel around Slovenia and read excepts of his (that time) new book “Pam Na Fu Cymru” (Why Wales Never Was) and I’ve met briefly with him in Ljubljana.
I know (except from @gisella-albertini) there are more people in Italy who learn Welsh but nearer than that I am not aware one to be. With some luck there will be one Slovenian who I’ve given my last Say Something in Welsh card who’d learn in the future but this also isn’t certain yet though.
I’m sure Welsh speakers exist also in Italy.
But they don’t hang out in this forum. The one (from the map) that got mentioned once before didn’t respond, so I’m assuming he’s busy with other activities at the moment.
Anyway, in general, from where I live it’s often easier and cheaper going abroad than traveling through Italy (to nearby countries but also anywhere else with low cost flights)
As I wrote somewhere above, I’ve been thinking about a trip to Wales:
well I can go and come back for less than €100!
So I’m going to start with that. I’m quite a “jump in the water first, figure out how to swim later” type.
Now that I think about it, I only remember meeting two people from Wales in all my life: a very nice couple from Aberystwyth stuck in an Irish hostel in the middle of nowhere, just like me and when I was 18!
Definitely time to meet a few more!
@Deborah-SSi Has a very nice air bnb which I can recommend, having stayed there. She lives in Llandysul a Welsh speaking area, runs a lot of the group video sessions on the 6 month course and composes the weekly e mail.
Hope you make it Gisella, love reading your posts.
Rumors about @Deborah-SSi’s airbnb had leaked (at least) once before in this forum, when I had asked for tips on some thread about traveling in the South. And I’m pretty sure she knows I know about it, by now.
Anyway, I’ll post an update about my plans, in due time.
I spent 10 days in Cardiff this summer and had the time of my life. my welsh wasn’t very good yet but just to have the chance to listen in at learner’s meetings and using what little welsh I know was AMAZING. I highly recommend jumping in that water.
I think there are quite a few welsh folk and welsh learners within a few hours of where I live, it’s just a matter of finding them somehow. sure would be nice to have a get-together some day
Yes, I had seen this before, but I’m happy to see it again: such a sweet super young Dave.
And a Fiat 127 in the background too!
Also, I had seen this before SSiW or soon after I started. I didn’t have the slightest idea of what they were saying - now I’m astonished to see that I actually do understand most of it.
In any case, if you notice something I might enjoy, please do let me know, cause I might have missed it, thanks!!
Salve gisella-albertini! Another (half) italian here! Like you I absolutely adore the welsh language. I started to learn on Duolingo 10 days ago and will hit level 11 later today.
I’m starting to learn to play the harp and I must be able to understand the lyrics, in welsh, to the traditional folk tunes I intend to play. I actually feel an immense sense of satisfaction merely being able to learn the oldest language in the UK!
Congratulations on keeping at it for 3 months! What about the next 3?!
Ciao Marco! Nice to meet you, and glad to hear that you’re learning Welsh too!
Songs are still one of my main sources motivation, so from my experience I’d say it’s great you’re starting to play the harp and learning the songs and lyrics.
I have to admit that, at first, when I read harp I just thought about harmonica, because I’m so used to it…and after all I’m pretty sure I remember hearing Meic Stevens play that one, am I right?
However I guess you might refer to telyn kind of harp instead?
As for your question “What about the next 3?” - that post was actually from a few months ago, so I can proudly say I’ve been keeping at it for almost 7 more - and going strong.
p.s. By the way, my plan to go to Wales and challenging myself to speak in the wild worked!
In case you’re curious, you can find my report in parts around the forum (can’t remember all the links now though), or all together, here:
(bringing the telyn back to this thread otherwise I’ll never be able to find your answer again, in the future - a lot going on this Forum, that’s great!)
Thanks for the link and pob lwc with telyn playing!
Haha - I just lost an hour listening to Datblygu - awesome band. Reminds me of Fugazi only rawer, more passionate and much more meaningful lyrics. Thanks for that.
haha - are you perchance assuming my musical tastes are one-dimensional?!
I just ordered a couple of Datblygu albums to listen to when I’m resting from all the angelic harp sounds
O well…I admit my basic prejudice about harp players not being likely to appreciate Datblygu (or Fugazi) - but I’m glad you proved me wrong.
And sounds great, you’ve even ordered 2 albums!
To tell the truth it’s also because for me it’s quite the other way round: I’m used to rawer sounds and it’s taking me a while to get used to celestial singing as in more traditional Welsh music!
p.s. I already thought harps are charming instruments, though. I had recently discovered that a peculiar type used especially in Wales seems to be the very complex triple harp (telyn deires) apparently originated in Italy - but I’ve never heard anyone here playing it. Go figure!
Yes, the triple harp avoids the use of sharping levers or pedals but is harder to coordinate I think. There are not many people who play it at all.
I don’t know whether you remember the place but when I lived in Milan I used to go to the original Leoncavallo where they played a lot of early “thrash” live (THrash not TRash lol) amongst lots of other crazy raw stuff. Used to love a bit of CCCP hefyd!
I’m in the US, and the language I hear the most (aside from English, of course) is Spanish. It seems logical that if I learn another language, I ought to start there. Yet I’ve never been very passionate about learning a language until becoming obsessed with Welsh.
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Oh I see… I thought it was quite a gap, but Datblygu and Fugazi are easy listening compared to thrash!
Ha, of course I know il Leonka, but I’ve never been there. We had El Paso in Torino, and for more choice we used to go to France (closer to our taste & attitude, had friends etc).
Anyway to go back to Wales, so far, songs of harped bands I’ve enjoyed more are:
Bob Delyn a
