Well iddo fe, but well iddi...?

Welsh
#1

It seems that we drop the ‘hi’ from ‘well iddi hi…’, but retain the fe in ‘well iddo fe…’.

Is this just because it’s a bit clumsy to say ‘iddi hi’ and the feminine form allows the ‘hi’ to be assumed? I rather like the consistency of saying ‘well iddi hi’!

Ben

#2

I’m afraid you’re ‘seeing’ a rule where there isn’t one. In both these phrases it’s fine to include the fe/hi or to leave them out. The iddo and iddi indicate the gender anyway, so sometimes the full fe/hi version is used for emphasis, but it’s largely a matter of personal preference, so if you prefer well iddi hi, go for it, there’s no problem :slight_smile:

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#3

Thanks, as ever, Siaron!

That’s kind of what I was meaning in my post, but didn’t explain very well! It’s interesting that the SSIW team don’t seem to drop the fe, but consistently do with the hi.

Thanks so much!

Ben

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#4

While they can both be dropped, in practice, in the south at least, people tend to keep the ‘fe’ a lot more than the ‘hi’ - perhaps, as you say, because the ‘hi’ runs into the ‘iddi’ and you don’t really notice it.

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#5

I think it’s the case that initial h tends to get dropped off words a lot more in the south, leading to iddi 'i, which naturally would sound like or even get fully contracted to iddi.

I might be over thinking this, though. :slight_smile:

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