Tiny questions with quick answers - continuing thread

I couldn’t agree more, I’ve switched to the Challenge approach this morning and that suits me much better. Very much a case of personal preference but both are wonderful resources. Thanks very much for your advice, it’s really appreciated.

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I’ve just learnt that a purring cat is actually singing in Welsh (gotta love your clichés :heart_eyes_cat: )… However, I couldn’t really find what the second word in the expression “canu grwndi” means? Any ideas?

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grwndi comes from grŵn which means groan/drone/hum

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Does anyone know what the best way of saying “via” is in Welsh (in the sense of “I’m going to Bangor via Conwy)? I can’t seem to find anything in a dictionary.

You can use trwy or drwy for via - both equally acceptable.
“Dwi’n mynd i Fangor trwy Gonwy / Dwi’n mynd i Fangor drwy Gonwy”

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Diolch - that seems obvious now it’s been suggested!

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I understand that Bant is a synonym. So would the following phrase be correct in comparison to what i believe to be a South Saying.

Off/Away we go!
Bant â ni!
I ffwrdd â ni!

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Yes, absolutely - bant â ni = i ffwrdd â ni

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Hi, quick question

Something which I’m finding difficult is soft mutations. Is it important to learn these as a beginner?

With all the mutations, it’s important as a learner not to overthink or let them panic you. Yes, they are important to learn, but they can also be overwhelming. So don’t worry about it if you leave them out or get the wrong one - that’s perfectly natural. You will, over time, come to feel when something sounds right because you’ve heard it said so often.
The biggest problem they tend to cause is when you try to find words in a dictionary, because most dictionaries will only list original, unmutated forms. So my advice would be to find a mutations table to keep handy so that you can ‘reverse’ the mutations when using a dictionary.

It’s important not to ignore them completely, but it’s also important not to let them get in the way while you’re learning :slight_smile:

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Thanks for another fantastic reply as ever! Is there any threads or videos on soft mutations your aware of please? I understand what letters change but I’m unsure of when this happens

I can’t remember if there are any threads dedicated solely to mutations (but you can always use the search function to check), but perhaps the BBC Bitesize guides will be a good starting place.

The problem with when they change is that it is a fairly big list and there are always exceptions! Some will be easy to pick up because they are very common, others (because they might be rarer or more specialised) won’t, but as I said, don’t get too wrapped up in the whens and whys to begin with - you can always delve deeper into the grammar at a later stage.

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That’s great I’ll have a good look at that now. Thank you as always :slight_smile:

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Not a video but I found this very useful.

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That’s great, I’ll order a copy now.
Will come in useful for my 3 year old who’s just started to learn Welsh at school

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A couple of little thoughts from me, in addition to all the useful advice above:

  • You’ll find that SSiW teaches mutations, without teaching mutations. That is, you’ll get used to what sounds right (which is exactly how most first-language Welsh speakers learn them - most people don’t know the rules, they just do them instinctively!)
  • There are all sorts of great Welsh dictionaries available, but I find the Bangor Uni one really good, because it recognises a mutated word and takes you to the root word and its definition: https://geiriadur.bangor.ac.uk/ (also available as an app on your phone)
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It took me awhile to find it but I knew there was definitely something. the closest I found would be:

Mae pobl fel “moch yn y winllan.”

  • like pigs in the vineyard (spoiling everything because they don’t realise how lucky they are with what they’ve got)

I’ve come across “ddigon i yfed/fwyta” before in the courses and never gave it much thought… however, I’ve only just noticed that it should be “ddigon i’w fwyta” (but not “ddigon i’w yfed”)? Could anyone please enlighten me why the w is suddenly there in one case and not the other? Diolch :slight_smile:

In both cases, the full version would be “[Mae gen i] ddigon i’w yfed” and “[Mae gen i] ddigon i’w fwyta”. The Welsh way of expressing this is “[I have] enough to eat/drink it”. (There is a grammatical reason/explanation, but I’ve never really bothered to learn about it in great detail - I’ve just learned the “this is how you say it” reason…)

But often the w is missed out in speech (and that would be considered a perfectly natural thing to do). If it is, though, the mutation remains to show that it was once there. (Perhaps not relevant in this case because of the i but useful to know for other similar structures.)

Perhaps the reason you’re hearing it dropped next to “yfed” is to do with the confluence of vowels, whereas the consonant at the beginning of “fwyta” makes it more audible or more likely to be voiced?

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I have just double checked, and the text version does say ddigon i yfed but ddigon i’w fwyta ,so it wasn’t just my hearing :slightly_frowning_face: