So this is quick.
I live in the United States. I’m really curious about this method. I know English, Chinese(my heritage), and Spanish (because of where I live). Learning languages is not new to me. I’m really, really curious about this, and I think it’d be a cool party trick if I could speak welsh. Now my question: north, or south? Help!
This has been asked a lot on this forum and it really comes down to personal preference. Have you got any connections with Wales? Do you like any particular Welsh accent? There’s not that much difference in the big scheme of things. If it really makes no difference to you then just pick one and go for it. If you really get the bug you could always do the other course later on. Good luck and have fun.
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No connection. I’m really more fascinated by the course than the language TBH. I’m really curious if this method will work so I guess I’m using myself as an experiment. I’ll just learn north welsh for the simple reason that I already downloaded the lessons :).
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What I’d like to do, is study all 3 levels, without talking to anyone. Then try to have a conversation with welsh (with who, god knows, because I don’t know anyone lol) and see how far I get, without using English.
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Welcome to the Forum and hope your learning goes well. Good Luck!
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Currently the Northern Course has more material. That will change at some point but might help you choose. Alternatively, find someone you’ll speak to and find out where they are from, then go from there.
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To be honest there isn’t going to be a terrible amount of difference between the two.
If it really comes down it, choose the one with the accent you prefer!
My wife, despite speaking very posh when speaking English - is desperate to have a Gogledd accent with her Welsh - and I think she wants to do some of the Northern lessons after finishing SSiW in an attempt to get that!
In reality, the terms/words are a bit interchangeable.
I have a couple of friends from Machynlleth (for a long time considered to be the North/South border in terms of language) and they mix everything up.
I’ve even heard them say things like “Dw i’n moyn (I want - generally southern) llefrith (milk - northern) efo (with - northern) fy coffi (my coffee)”
Having said that, I live in Aberystwyth - and we are a bit Northerly. So admittedly some Gogledd words have entered my vocabulary and always receive a bit of a “look” when I go back down South! 
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Well, no problem then. A Gogledd accent is posh! 
(just kidding around here tmod… ).
To almost quote her exactly, she wants to try and get an accent like “Gruff Rhys if he were female”!
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Croeso, Welcome to the Forum and to our language @harrisontu
If you carry on learning, you may be able to find other folk in the US to meet, or we have Skype sessions which you might be able to join, if the timings match. Where in USA are you?
I am also from the US and very sensitive to political discord. I’m brand new to Welsh and fantasize about visiting for an extended period/possibly emigrate. My family is from Northern Wales - Llyn Peninsula so I’ve started with learning Northern. Are there hard feelings that go with the two dialects that would make it a good idea to learn both eventually? Many thanks.
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I wouldn’t worry about actively learning the two. I am learning Northern, and a lot of my friends are learning Southern. We understand each other well enough! The differences are not huge. In fact I attended a Southern Bootcamp and it was a great experience.
I am unaware of any ‘hard’ feelings and others may help here, all I am aware of is gentle teasing/leg pulling! All taken in good heart! Good Luck!
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Cool.
I’m in california btw. I love learning welsh. I did challenge 1 yesterday and “dwee mind I tria thuski sharad cymrig”. god knows I didn’t write that right, but what the hell. To the other American, it is nice to know I’m not the only crazy person here.
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Croeso! And you might be surprised how many of us crazy Americans you’ll find hanging out here (I’m up north of you in Portland, myself).
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Thank you!
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I think there are plenty of us crazy Americans around here. I’m in Colorado and there’s even a Colorado Welsh Society in Denver, though it doesn’t seem to be very active right now. I’m glad to be able to turn to this forum.
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Welcome! And yes, there are quite a few of us crazy Americans here - including a few of us here in California! I chose to learn northern Welsh, because that was what I started with (and is the only part of Wales I’ve ever been in). It really won’t make that much difference once you get into it though. This is a fantastic method for learning languages, and I think you’ll enjoy learning Welsh.
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That would be my wife, then! (They grew up in the same village.)
It is a very sexy accent
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Oh wow! Now I find that the wonderful helpful person who is helping me when I try to sort out my ipad problems in the evening is in Portland, Oregon, not Portland, Dorset, where half my Dad’s ancestors were from!
About Norh and South in Wales, I learned a mangled mix of the two and at one stage this was deliberately taught! I hadn’t realised how mixed up I was until I came to SSiW to try to revive all I had forgotten. But I don’t think it really matters which you learn. Maybe more people speak Cymraeg in the North, so it depends whether you want to join the majority of save an endangered species!!!
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Greater number in the south, greater concentration in the north.
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