It’s a matter of mutation - if the ‘international’ thing you are describing is feminine and singular, then rh becomes r
e.g. international law = cyfraith ryngwladol because cyfraith is feminine.
If the thing is masculine, there’s no mutation
e.g. international committee = pwllgor rhyngwladol because pwllgor is masculine
Also, plurals don’t take the mutation, even if they’re feminine
e.g. uned ryngwladol (uned is feminine) but in the plural = unedau rhyngwladol
Oh, it’s a gender based mutation? Interesting. That wouldn’t have occurred to me - or, evidently, anyone I work with The best explanation at the office was “sometimes it’s just spelled that way”
Diolch yn fawr Siaron!
I’m pretty sure (I speak N more than S these days) that gweud (S) and deud (N) are the colloquial forms and that dweud is the formal form, so for an official email, I’d go with dweud.
I have come across two Welsh words for the English word “peace”, namely “Heddwch” and “Tangnefedd”. Are these words totally interchangeable? Which one would be used, for example, in the context of peace between nations?
Although they both mean the same, tangnefedd is a more literary/biblical word, so whilst they are interchangeable, heddwch is by far the one most commonly in use, especially in speech.
Geiriadur yr Academi gives: a country at peace with its neighbours = gwlad mewn heddwch â’i chymdogion
That’s an interesting question, which I can’t really answer, but here’s my tuppence worth.
Heddwch is the word used at the Eisteddfod before the major prizes are given. “Oes Heddwch?” It’s also related to the word Heddlu, (peace crowd?). In the prayers I read in church about Ukraine we are definitely praying for Heddwch. However, in certain parts of the service we ask for the peace of the Lord to be with us, on you, and that’s definitely Tangnefedd.
On a related note - what’s the difference between “hedd” and “heddwch”?
different regions sometimes disagree over what nouns are gendered in what way…
The base assumption is that everything is masculine if you want an acceptable easy rule…but with practice the common feminine ones will come naturally
cath fach / ci bach
gweud is extremely common south of aberystwyth. Aberystwyth to Machynlleth is a mix of both.
Heres a question.
Why … hedd and heddwch … tangnefedd and tangnefeddwch
I realise the -wch is not a command form. I always viewed this as a true inflexible noun…or does it add a more abstract meaning… does dim clem da fi…i fod yn onest
Tangnefeddwyr = peacemakers by the way.
Heddweision - policemen (plismyn) - literally : Peace servants
The -wch suffix does denote an abstract noun, but as for why there are four forms, 'sgen i ddim clem chwaith! I have no idea either!
I’m sure this is a really dumb question - it’s about the course, rather than the language! I’ve never scrolled right in the app beyond the “old course” sections, but today I did and found some weekly and daily exercises. How should I use these alongside working through the main levels?
Please include whatever Welsh idioms you like for “idiot” in your reply!
Hi @phil-23, I’m sure that people will gladly advise you of idioms for “idiot” - if you’re willing to explain why! Your sensible question is perfectly in place.
Firstly, the old courses were made before the new Levels. The current SSiW approach is to encourage use of the Levels, as they were made building on the experience of making the old Courses as well as what was perceived as shortcomings of the old courses. But if you search on the Forum you will find many people, myself included, who think that the Courses are excellent (as are the Levels). It’s probably best not to do them both together - finish the three Levels first. The Courses take you back to step 1, but they have a different vocabulary and different emphasis on grammar. Many of us think that the old Courses complement the new Levels.
The daily and weekly listening exercises that you mention were meant to support the old Courses, so it would make sense not to use them unless you start learning those Courses, in which case they become self-explanatory (on the safe assumption that you’re not an “idiot” ).
Best of luck.
That’s great, thank you!
And absolutely not applicable to you (because as Baruch points out your question is extremely sensible), but my favourite idiom for “idiot” is “twmffat” (which is literally a funnel).
I shall pass that on to my wife who feels she has great need of that word! Thanks!
How would I say “a wing” in reference to a building - “the west wing of the building”? Gareth King’s Dictionary translates “wing” as adain, asgell or asgellwr depending on context, but I don’t know which translation fits a building.
For that kind of wing, you can use asgell or adain, though I think asgell may be the more common one for that use.
Quickie on lefel 2 her 17, and how to use taswn, etc (I’m in the northern version). There’s a lot of examples like “mi driwn i esbonio tasech chdi’n arafu”. Tasech suggests a “formal/plural” conversation, but I thought “chdi” was a northern form of “ti”, so informal\singular. So why isn’t it “…tasech chi’n arafu”, or is it actually the informal “chdi” and it’s “tasech” for some other reason (like I can’t say “taset chdi” without swallowing my tongue)?