One of the first things in the Lefel 2 exercises is “are those your children?” - the answer being “ai eich plant chi ydy rheina?” The southern version has “ifê” instead of ai. OK, I think I can see this is an emphatic pattern question, but I can’t remember ever hearing anyone actually saying this. Does the “ai” actually do anything, or would it be OK just to say “eich plant chi ydy rheina?” - so the statement, just making it sound like a question?
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The ai and ife are question markers (similar to how mi and fe are positive statement markers). Some people use them, others leave them out and use tone of voice as you’ve suggested - it’s a personal preference/local preference and both ways are fine in speech.
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Great, thank you! Now all I need is a useful phrase for “no, never seen them before” 
Nacydyn (or you can use nagydyn) - byth 'di weld nhw o blaen
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