I set myself a challenge a few weeks ago to speak welsh in siop tŷ Tawe. So today was the day, I’ve had a bit of a holiday and I haven’t been learning Welsh. I was not prepared and I went in with nothing to say. Long story short I wasn’t too happy with myself. Probably being too hard, I said prynhawn da and then dw i wedi dysgu tri mis. And dw i’n nerfus iawn. I understood a little of what the lovely man said but not all. What I wanted to say came into my head but got sort of shy and it wouldn’t come out.
More practice I think. It’s giving me the motivation to learn more and do better next time and I bought a book and lingo newydd.
I would recommend Siop Ty Tawe in Swansea, the man in the shop Caradog was lovely. my anxiety kicked in and I forgot his name but its online. He spoke Welsh to me and my boyfriend who doesn’t know and isn’t learning Welsh. He said something in Welsh and English. Brilliant. Definitely go there if you can.
Please, don’t call this a failed attempt - on the contrary, it’s a huge success! You took a very important step, probably the most important step, you leapt into a conversation, so congratulations to that! The nervousness and feeling shy will pass with time, that’s all very normal, and rest assured it happened/happens to all of us. Dal ati!
I agree with Hendrik - no failure there at all. You did siarad Cymraeg - a failure would be to not say a word of Welsh, but that’s not the case! As Hendrik said, you’ve made a huge leap . I often use a swimming metaphor with learning Welsh - when you first get into the water, you generally start with doggy-paddle, not full on front-crawl, but the important thing is getting into the water in the first place, which you did, so don’t be so hard on yourself!
I agree with the others completely. Well done. I fod yn onest, my first time, I froze up and cried. I don’t think I could even say, “Sasha dw i.” Keep up the good work and cheer yourself on for your success!
Ieeeee, totally agree with the others. Definitely not a failure, you’ve been brave and actually said something no matter if much less than you wished!
Fact is that, every time you try and say something makes it easier and easier, if you focus on what you’ve learnt from the experience instead of what you didn’t do “right”.
And actually just like all native speakers keep on telling me: every day they meet people who have lived there all their lives and never tried to say a word or two in Welsh! So big pat on your back and dal ati!
So… you set yourself the challenge to speak Welsh, and you spoke Welsh. I see I’m not alone in being unable to spot the failure there!
At least you had more success than I did in Pembrokeshire, where every inquiry of “do you speak Welsh?” was met with “Na. I mean, I did it in school, but not now” and even one “No. Wel, tipyn bach… I’m fluent in Spanish though”
I didn’t see any opportunities when I was in Pembrokeshire. The trick is to seek out places that do, cafes or Welsh shops. I found the place first but I don’t know of any locally. They don’t even speak Welsh in the libraries by me.
Jen - everyone else has said it already, but I’ll say it again: That was a resounding success!
You spoke some Welsh, you found out that Caradog is lovely, and you took part (a tiny part, yes, but how else would you start?) in a natural Welsh community situation. Tick, tick, tick!
But also, you now have a benchmark. It’s easy to say '“I’m going to speak Welsh” without really knowing what it involves. But the next time (make it soon!) that you go somewhere to speak Welsh, you can use what has already worked, and add a bit onto it. You’ve gone from looking at the maps and wondering what the road is like, to actually taking your first steps. Please don;t spoil the excitement you should be feeling by wishing you were walking a bit faster!
I’ve been to that shop. The fella is really lovely & I can recommend it to anyone. Noo please don’t class it as a fail, I know how you feel. First time I tried to speak to someone in Welsh in person I actually forgot every bit of Welsh I knew. Eventually I managed to scrape one or two sentances together but at least I managed something. Please when you can try it again & if you ever want to practice speaking with me please do. I’m looking for people to practice speaking welsh to X
It takes a few practices to help with your confidence & to stop the mind going blank. If you want, you can talk with me through Skype or through the SSIW Forum. I found writing a couple of word in a list form helped me to be able to say something in Welsh. Remember, you don’t need to be trying for a comversation just saying sentances in welsh to someone wether they are true or not.
Thanks. I’ve had a practice on Slack and joined a group for learners on telegram but I need to practice more. The problem is I’m never free when others are available but I’ll get there. Good advice about it not nattering if it’s true, I don’t say something in case it’s wrong but I need to thanks
Excellent, well done! You got over that initial fear and actually spoke out loud to someone in Welsh! Of course it was a nerve-racking experience: it would be surprising if it had not been. Nope, you did well and the next time you shall do better. Go for it! (And get that boyfriend of yours to learn some Welsh, too!)
How I wish I could get anyone in my family to learn some Welsh, just to have someone to practice with! I even have a stepdaughter at university in Cardiff, but she point-blank refuses to learn any Welsh despite being friends with a fluent speaker. Oh to have an opportunity like that!! She doesn’t know what she’s missing!
My boyfriend doesn’t have any interest and I can’t or won’t force him. I’ve tried getting him to do house stuff and failed. And my mother who always says she wants to learn Welsh doesn’t seem to care that iam. Much.
@jen well done! I can empathise with that because I stumble along a bit with Welsh speaking friends in my village near Carmarthen. Thankfully, they are also very kind
. I often use a swimming metaphor with learning Welsh - when you first get into the water, you generally start with doggy-paddle, not full on front-crawl, but the important thing is getting into the water in the first place, which you did, so don’t be so hard on yourself! 
Keep up the good work and cheer yourself on for your success!
