Yup, singing in choirs is massively popular, and yes, across the generations. My daughter sings in two choirs - was 3! plus at school - and I know Trystan conducts a children’s choir, youth choir, pensioners’ choir, and two mixed oratorio choirs. I sing in a community choir and lots of my friends sing in more groovy women’s choirs. It’s quite a thing!
The choir my daughter sings in is called Côr Glanaethwy - they came third on Britain’s Got Talent about 3 years ago. Lots of stuff on YouTube.
Just got round to listening to the interview with Trystan. It wasn’t the accent which threw me - more the realisation that he could rattle off the registration number of his first car…
I’ve often wondered about ‘adra’ in the Gwyneth Glyn song - that explains it !
Oh, I think I spotted an ‘adra’: Ffion Dafis.
Does it make sense (according to where she’s from)?
It seems I’m not able to find Welsh celebrities bios - I don’t know why! I understand she’s an actress, but I’m seeing here in “Casa Dudley” - that’s the kind of tv show for me!
Yup, Ffion is from Bangor, she’d be very much an ‘a’. Check out Byw Celwydd and Rownd a Rownd, she was in both of those. Also did Lady Macbeth (in Welsh) fairly recently.
Yup. She’s from Dwyfor-way I think, but definitely still ‘a’ territory!
I know… I can’t remember the reg of the car I have now!
I admit playing slightly unfair to google translate, but for me it was worth it.
On the serious side, I’m always happy to hear anything about music, so if there’s any chance…I’m for it. @beca-brown
By the way I’m also curious to find out what in Wales is called sol-ffa, since in Italian, besides being two notes, it commonly means something boring and repetitive!
excellent!
Here’s a more sensible but not half as interesting explanation!
Just want to thank you guys cuz these are HUGELY helpful - any topic and every accent/dialect is interesting b/cuz its the language and how its used to express oneself that is great to me - and the transcriptions help to get that important perspective of balance between grammer and everyday speaking. I’m enjoying the comments and explanations as to dialect/accent regions because I don’t have the luxury of hearing any spoken Welsh except radio and tv which is just not the same as ‘real life’. Thank you, thank you ️
One word I was having trouble with in the first two podcasts was WRACH. It kept cropping up, and though I could still get the gist of what was being said, it bothered me that I couldn’t pin down that specific word.
The dictionary was no help - the only thing it offered was a mutation of gwrach, which is a witch!
But yesterday, triumph! I figured it out. It is a simplified version of HWYRACH, which is a Gog alternative to effallai (ie maybe). Hurray!
Thanks for pointing that out.
Yup - ‘wrach’ or ‘wyrach’, short for ‘hwyrach’ (‘perhaps’) - and not to be confused with the Welsh for witch, which is ‘gwrach’ or ‘y wrach’!!
The Caernarfonshire version of ‘wrach’ is ‘ella’. ‘Wrach’ is used in Conwy, Flint, Wrexham area, and Meirionydd, and in mid-Wales generally I think, and would become ‘falle’ as you go down south.
Yup - ‘ella’ is short for ‘efallai’, while ‘wrach’ is short for ‘hwyrach’. Both mean the same thing really. ‘Hwyrach’ also means ‘later’, but would never be abbreviated to ‘wrach’ in that context.
Btw, it seems that the translation is missing the section:
B: Be di o?
T: Ffyrgi bach ydi o, Ferguson, ddaru drawsnewid - ddaru chwyldroi amaethyddiaeth - yn enwedig amaethyddiaeth yng Nghymru oherwydd odd o’n dractor odd lot o ffermydd a thyddynod bach, dodd o’m yn dractor i ffermydd mawr, fel dwi’n deud, chwyldroi amaethyddiaeth yng Nghymru. Oedd na filoedd ohonyn nhw’n cyrraedd Cymru a miloedd yn dal mewn bodolaeth, sy’n dangos pa mor wydn oedd y tractorau hynny. Ddaru Harry Ferguson gynlluniodd y tractor, odd o’n mynd rownd sioeau amaethyddol yn dangos ac arddangos y tractor gyda hogyn naw oed, sy’n dangos pa mor syml, pa mor hawdd oedd trin y tractor a gyrru tractor.
Goodness @beca-brown you have been busy!
…I am busy hanging onto the coat tails of your industrious output!
These conversations initially really seemed quite advanced for me (my eyes widened I’m sure when I heard the first one!) but I have dug in and spent a fair bit of time with the ink-pen out, going through the Welsh trying not to use the translations (but which are invaluable when stuck of course) - before listening again - and so on.
Perhaps because I am fond of old cars too - I feel I have turned a corner on Trystran’s interview and feel like I have ‘got my ear in’. It was a subject I really related to - it is very interesting how a little thing can make a difference. Fingers crossed.
As a completely separate point, I have just read through the Welsh transcript of the latest one (at work at the moment…can’t really listen until later), I get a real feeling that there is something really special being created here…and we are only four in! These interviews are so much more than Welsh - they are each a little slice of Wales and Welsh history.
Things that people may not know or find difficult to believe - this latest one reminds me of the story my mother used to tell me about my older brothers and my elder sister - quite a bit older than me - who were brought up in Dolgellau in the very late 50’s and early 60’s…when the family moved south to Brecon, their English was deemed very poor - so they were put into the B stream until they caught up.
This is something which is hard to imagine now - I have had more than one funny look from people when I’ve told this story. It also engendered a sense of outrage in my siblings which is fun to provoke at times!
I am really looking forward to giving the new one a listen tonight.
Keep up the good work - you are a great addition to the team!
Rich
Well, finally made it to the end of number 3 (just in time for the appearance of number 4 - phew!)
I have to say I found that one tough going. Not i think because of the accent but because there was so much unfamiliar vocabulary (stuff on linguistics and dialect, stuff on cars and tractors, stuff about committees!!) The other ones i picked up the gist of just listening and then once I’d gone through the transcript I could make out most of.the words I’d not heard first time. This one, I was still struggling to pick out a lot of words even after going through and deciphering the transcript.
But as I am sure Aran would tell me, this is where the learning happens!
A priceless resource.
I know what you mean…!
It’s a stretch for me based on my current level but probably just what I need!
Hi Rich - what a lovely message! So glad you’re enjoying the contributions. It’s interesting you saying that there’s a slice of Welsh life/history within the talks - I’ve been trying to find a balance between giving people a sense of Wales past and present in different areas and from different perspectives, while also covering subjects - like cars! - that are nothing to do with Welshness. I hope it’s working ok.
An apology for the technical side of things this week - the sound level is a little lower than usual, I think I may have let Leri move away from the mic a little! But you can always put it down as good practice for eavesdropping and espionage!