So, as I said elsewhere, I’m trying to write something down about why I’m learning Welsh and so on and so forth. Like the comments on the thread on whether or not it’s OK to use SSiW to learn to read/write, I’d view this as complementary to the immense amount of progress I feel I’ve made by doing things properly, so to speak; but it’ll also make me seek out specific vocabulary that I want (like ieithoedd lleiafrifol - ‘minority languages’) and try to use the structures and grammar I’ve learnt to string together more than a few sentences at a time.
I’m aware of the thing about not posting loads of Welsh-only text so as not to put new learners off, so I will add translations – also useful in case what I’ve written in Welsh is complete gobbledygook, too! But I would add that I was a more-or-less complete beginner only a couple of months ago, so I hope it won’t be too off-putting anyway.
Right: I would be grateful for any comments on the following. If it’s a horrible, incomprehensible mess, please only tell me the worst mistakes – but if it’s largely right, please do tell me anything.
Dw i 'di bod yn dysgu Cymraeg efo SSiW am ddau mis, a dw i isio trio ysgrifennu rhywbeth rwan am pwy ydw i ac am pam dw i isio dysgu Cymraeg. Dw i’n meddwl bod 'na dau reswm pam dw i isio trio ysgrifennu: y cyntaf, er mwyn dysgu mwy trwy trio; a’r llall, er mwyn ffeindio’r geiriau y bydda i angen taswn i isio medru esbonio pam! (Dau neu tri wythnos yn ôl, es i i’r caffi fan 'ma yn Rhydychen i sgwrsio efo ddysgwyr eraill, a do’n i ddim medru esbonio pam dw i’n dysgu Cymraeg – falle dylwn i 'di paratoi yn well ar gyfer y sgwrs…)
Falle hyn ydy’r peth cyntaf sydd dw i angen dweud: Sais dw i, dw i’n byw yn Lloegr, dw i wastad wedi byw yn Lloegr, a does gen i ddim cysylltiad efo’r Cymru. Mae fy rhieni yn Saesneg (er bod maen nhw’n byw yn Ffrainc), mae fy mhartner yn Saesneg (wel, hanner Brasilaidd), a mae ein plant yn siarad Saesneg (ond mae’r fengaf yn gwybod sut i ddweud “Dw i’n hoffi coffi”, a mae ei chwaer yn gwybod sut i ddweud “Dw i’n licio coffi”, rwan!). (Maen y ddau yn rhy ifanc i yfed coffi…)
Felly, pam dysgu Cymraeg, a sut wnes i ffeindio SSiW?
I’ve been learning Welsh with SSiW for two months, and I want to try to write something now about who I am and why I want to learn Welsh. I think there are two reasons why I want to try to write: firstly, in order to learn by trying; and secondly, in order to find vocabulary that I will need if I were to want to be able to explain why! (Two or three weeks ago I went to an Oxford SSiW learners’ meetup in the Jericho Café and was unable to explain why I’m learning Welsh – perhaps I should have prepared better for that conversation…)
Maybe the first thing I need to say is this: I’m English, I live in England, I’ve always lived in England, and I have no connections with Wales. My parents are English (although they live in France), my partner is English (well, half Brazilian), and our children speak English (but the youngest knows how to say “Dw i’n hoffi coffi”, and his sisater knows how to say “Dw i’n licio coffi”, now!). (They’re both too young to drink coffee.)
So – why learn Welsh, and how did I come across SSiW?
More in due course, if I’m not being a pain…
- Alice
