It’s been a while… And maybe this thread is redundant, but before it becomes extinct, here is some exciting news specifically for the hard of hearing who are learning to SSiW, or more to the point trying to HSiW (hear something in Welsh).
Friends, those of you like me who rely on hearing aids are probably aware of the huge and rapid advances in technology that can help us. But if you have not checked lately, let me share some brilliant news. Just before Christmas I was almost tearing my hair out in frustration with the limitations and problems with my ‘devices’. However, thanks to the support and patience of others on this forum, who did interpret certain sounds and words for me, not only did I gain more confidence through SSiW, but I became increasingly determined not to be defined by my deafness, but to enjoy sounds again. One thing led to another, and maybe that positive spirit communicated itself to my audiologist who contacted the various suppliers and offered to let me try the ‘latest’ and ‘best’ advanced system. What a Christmas present!
Bottom line–I ‘hear’ better now than I have in 25 years. I have a phone that connects directly into my hearing aids and a gizmo that lets me connect directly to my computer and MP3 player so I can listen to SSiW better than ever. And if all that is not good enough, the supplier simply charged a ‘restocking fee’ and the minimal cost of an upgrade. Without the impetus to learn Welsh and a SSiW Skyping friend/mentor who also is very hard of hearing but a techno-whiz I would never have known how good life could be!!!
One last comment… You know the musical intros to the lessons? They are now literally like music to my ears, and whenever I start a lesson the music seems to connect me with all you great folk also on this journey. I also always listen to the music at the end now–it is like a friend saying ‘nos da’–'till tomorrow.
I leave it to whoever administers this Forum to decide whether I should resurrect this thread or join a newer one on this new-look site. I was confused by the dates against the new ‘What am I hearing’ thread–is it the newer more relevant version of this? If it is, I just wanted wrap this up by encouraging not only those of you trying to decipher what you are hearing, but also those who struggle with hearing anything–not just Welsh. You would not believe what is possible–or maybe you would, so good luck in chasing down what works for you.
Best wishes and a big DIOLCH YN FAWR IAWN,
Marilyn
I’m extreamely happy to hear such great news about your hearing abilities.
Further on: To my knowledge there’s no thread like this so you can freely bump it up as long and as many times you want. All in all, here’s a lot of interesting and useful reading in it.
And more further: YOU WERE HUGELY MISSED not only by me but I dare to say by many of us.
PLIS–help. I spoke too soon boasting how well I hear things–looks like I still stumble on the occasional sound.
Course 2, Gwers 9–what is the little S. Wales’ squeak sound instead of the ‘h’ in ‘hi’ eg dylai hi? Is it a ‘v’?
It was introduced in Gwers 7 or 8 initially–I should have asked then.
Squeak aside, I am forging ahead now and have set a new goal–to finish Course 2 by the end of September, with the Vocabulary sessions.
Easy peasy eh? Oh, for those of you wanting to expand your English usage and sound Canadian… Just add an ‘eh’ at the end of your thought or sentence. Good eh. Is there a Welsh equivalent?
I wondered if it was one of those weird and wonderful South Walianisms. I gather there are some variations even between valleys and villages.
I have worked in PNG which used to have over 1000 distinct languages (just 700 last time I checked) because of the vertical terrain separating the valleys.
So what’s the odd squeak or hiccough between friends?
The beer will be flowing at the Red Dragon tonight as the Vancouver Welsh Society hosts a choir from Wales, so I am sure to hear a variety of hiccoughs
OK Tatjana, let’s brush off the wonderful story books you created.
Both horses are needing to focus on training over the next couple of months, but rumours around the stables say that ‘Gwers’ can already take hurdle #9 in his stride. That means he is starting to get in shape for the second race (aka Course vs Level).
What about the ‘Champ’? Is he still ‘taking it easy’ after a fall at the 5th fence of Level 2 during practice earlier in the year?
Anybody having trouble with ‘my sister’? Not literally my own sister but the pronunciation of my sister in the southern course. I can’t quite work out what is being said in the statement Challenge 21. I’d rather ask my sister. Bydden well da fi ofyn (my sister). By my reasoning, my sister should be …fy chwaer but I am hearing something different. Any assistance greatly appreciated. I believe there may be more than one translation for ‘my sister’.
Diolch
“'n wâr i”.
Fy> yn (normal change in spoken Welsh round 'ere)
Yn= yn/'n
Chwaer -
‘Ch’ disappears from “chw” (again, normal round 'ere)
And the minor sound change of “ae” > “â”.
Simple common changes, just all happening in a short couple of words.
Yes, sometimes several familiar changes manage to all stack up in the same word and the result can leave you foxed. The ae vowel has the a part extended, so much so that in several parts of Wales it takes over completely, and yes. also chw is an exaggeration of an earlier hw which is still common, and down in the South where they drop their h´s all you´ve got left is the w. So adding it all up chwaer comes out a something like (h)wâr.
But it could be worse. In Cornish the word is hwoer. The oe now sounds like something between a Welsh o and w (-oo-) hence one English visitor wrote : And they do call their sisters whores! (Oh Dear!)
According to David Crystal, Welsh speaking (yay!) authority on English, and on how English was spoke at the time of Shakespeare, there are a lot of puns in Shakespeare we miss because pronunciation has changed.
At the time, “hour” and “whore” were pronounced the same, giving a point to the rather weird “and thereby hangs a tail!” exclamation which makes sense as marking a ‘joke’.
Loads of them hidden away, apparently - but on that basis, I’m not sure they’re worth the effort searching for…
Of course, my Girls’ Grammar School did not mention whores!!
In fact I got into trouble for reading out “Finger of birth-strangled babe, ditch delivered by a drab”!
And it was innocent! I didn’t know the official school edition was different from my dad’s old copy which I’d found at home!!! I still think censorship of a play studied for O’level was wrong anyway!
