In all words expressing want/need/must, there is always a fair bit of overlap in meaning. For example, in english you probably wouldn’t bat an eyelid if someone said “I need to go (to the bathroom)“ and another person says “I have to go“ instead.
It’s similar in Welsh, a lot of words cover a range in meaning, and you can just use what you’re more comfortable with, you’ll still be understood.
That said, the main difference in meaning is whether the motivation is internal (want) or external (must/be forced).
I think that’s why I say isie when iestyn says must a lot and I like the idea of internal and external. But does this apply to the different ways to say need? Is isie and angen internal / external?
There are also regional differences at work here. In the northern courses we generally use angen for need and isio for want (note that isie and isio are really the same word - technically spelled eisiau but probably rarely heard that way).
Personal choice will work much better for you than trying to construct a rule set… You’ll also find that you tend towards using whatever you hear other people use most…
Thanks, looks like it’s more of a continuum. I’ll think about it a lot less now I know a bit more. It was like an annoying itch or mosquito buzz that was distracting me. Also, does anyone else think that they use the forum to avoid a particularly difficult challenge, instead of working at it? As they say know thyself!
Diolch
Ah, yes, you’ll be neither the first nor the last with that one…
Numbers
On level 2 challenge 2(N) 15 is pymtheg
but I always thought it was un deg pump. Are these just 2 valid alternatives or is something else going on?
yes, they are both valid alternatives. The difference is that pymtheg is an older way of saying it - un deg pump (as I understand it) was introduced much later to make counting ‘easier’ for learners. But you’re absolutely fine using either when it comes to stating the number on its own. When you get to dates or sequences, however, you’ll find that pymtheg is the one used (i.e. if you want to say “15th”, it will be pymthegfed - in theory you could say pumed ar ddeg, but I’ve never heard anyone do that)
It’s always worth learning the two different number systems, it’s stood me in really good stead.
A quick google search came up with this page … https://www.omniglot.com/language/numbers/welsh.htm … it’s not perfect but it’s a good start.
There are loads of similar pages out there.
my favourite has always been deunaw! That is eighteen! It said to me that three had always been an important number to our people, so naw, being three threes is important and two of those is deunaw not any of the other options. 17 is dau ar bumtheg and 19 is pedwar ar bumtheg, I believe, but eighteen is special!
very close:
pymtheg is the root word. So it’s un ar bymtheg. Small changes I know but Bumtheg looks very close to bum deg, which is 50.
My favourite number “thing” is (if I am remembering correctly) “un chwegain” meaning a 50p piece (or presumably once it meant a ten bob (shilling) note. “chwegain” = 6 x 20 = 120. There used to be 240 old pennies in a pound, so 120 pence = half a pound (money), nowadays 50p.
(I think I got that out of one of Gareth King’s books, and may not have remembered it exactly…).
diolchI i do not think I ever met chwegain, although my memory could have easily mislaid it! Is it still used for 50p? Because it must cause as much confusion to children as my referring to putting silver threepenny bits (pronounced thre’pani) bits in the Christmas pudding!
Glad I was not imagining it. Have to say , as ex primary school teacher, I prefer the “newer” version- makes calculating easier! I’ll take in the other version but not beat myself up if I use the modern one!
Advice I’ve always remembered from my first Welsh teacher -
Where there are two versions of something, use the one you feel comfortable with but be aware of the other (because that’s what other people might use).
Oh, if only English teachers had been like that in my day! I do not know what happens now, but ‘correct English’ was so stressed that, in York, “Happen I will!” would have been corrected crossly to “Perhaps, child, perhaps you will!” And that is just one example of the “Kill all dialect as soon as possible!” policy! If it is still like that, it is no wonder that those educated in English are fixated on perfect answers! I hope, now the BBC has local accents on air, those days of trying for ‘perfect BBC English’ are over!
Wow, the vocabulary in the SSiW app has such a useful new feature that makes it so much easier to find words and examples in ‘All - mode’. To the genius who did that: Diolch o galon, it’s fabulously helpful!
…which leads on seamlessly to my great joy at being able to use the word “na” again at every opportunity. It was definitely a no-no in my early days in the NE. I’m not talking of the Bugs Bunny “nah”, but the short Welsh style “na”. OK, it might be Scandinavian, but I like to think of it as a Celtic left-over.
Edit - OK not totally seamlessly, as I was responding to Hendraig’s post.
Is that on the main website (desktop), or just for I-Phone users?
I’m not sure, John, as I’m not very tech savvy. I’m using an older iPhone 4 and found the new feature there, in the SSiW app. The main website doesn’t seem to show the ‘All - mode’ with the new feature created for it, no. Are you using an Android mobile? I hope someone with more knowledge can give you a better answer.