[From S4C… 
]
“Welsh eh? The language of love!”
S4C has launched a new app to help learners enjoy the hit drama series Gwaith/Cartref even more.
Actress Andrea Edwards who plays the quirky administrative officer Miss Perkins in the series, is thrilled with the app because like Miss Perkins, Andrea has learnt Welsh.
Originally from Ferndown in Dorset, Andrea moved to Wales when she was 17 years old, because her dad wanted to “move to the land of his fathers”.
Since learning Welsh, Andrea’s life has changed completely. “I think it’s important to portray learners in TV programmes to draw attention to the fact people do succeed in learning Welsh, and that learners make a valuable contribution to Welsh-language communities,” says Andrea, who describes herself as being the “wrong side” of 40.
In 2003, Andrea appeared on another S4C series, language camp cariad@iaith love4language to learn Welsh. She wanted to communicate better with local people and to speak the language to get more Welsh-language acting jobs.
Little did she know that not only would she fall in love with the language, she would also fall in love with another learner on the series.
“I went on the series to learn Welsh – but I also met my future husband in the bargain. It was completely unexpected and came as a bit of a surprise. Welsh eh? The language of love,” laughs Andrea.
That future husband was another learner called Dario Jones from Gaiman in Patagonia. “When Dario came to Wales, his first language was Spanish; he couldn’t speak a word of English, and only a little Welsh. We communicated in Welsh,” she explains.
Three years later Andrea married Dario in Patagonia, and they now live in Brithdir, near Dolgellau and speak Welsh fluently together.
“Dario and I speak Welsh all the time to each other but sometimes a Spanish sentence or an English word will creep in! It depends on the emotion or the situation,” says Andrea. “Learning Welsh has given me access to the language but also the beautiful country and its culture, and these days I feel more Welsh than English.”
As well as finding the key to Andrea’s heart, the language has also opened many doors for her and twelve years on, Andrea has acted in both languages.
“I’ve learnt to speak North Wales Welsh so it takes a bit longer to learn scripts in the South Wales dialect. Before filming Gwaith/Cartref, there were certain dialectal words I’d never heard,” laughs Andrea.
For more information about the Dal Ati app to help you watch Gwaith/Cartref, go to the Dal Ati website s4c.co.uk/dalati.
Gwaith/Cartref
Sunday 22 February 9.00, S4C
English subtitles
Also, Tuesday 24 February 10.00 with on-screen English subtitles
Website: s4c.co.uk
On demand s4c.co.uk/clic
A Fiction Factory production for S4C
