Well I think ‘Merched y Wawr’ is poetic for we jam-makers who get up at dawn.! And ‘sboncen’ for a game of squash .
I love the way Welsh requires an orotund delivery, a rolled r and every vowel loved to death before you can move on to the next one, no letter allowed to be ignored until it has had its time in the sun .
And fun? What about the old way of counting based on 15’s and 20’s … just when you think you’ve got the hang of it, dau ar bymtheg etc, up comes ‘deunaw’. And 24 horses -pedwar ceffyl ar hugain -its like ‘yes, we got 4 horses, and then there’s the other twenty over there’. I love it. And all those special succinct words for time, -neithiwr, echdoe, trannoeth and so on.
Going back to "ci and “key”. I was sitting in a café with a friend and all around us were fluent Welsh language ladies having a good conversation. One of the phrases that kept recurring was “ac wedyn”. Suddenly my friend said “Whose “wedding” are they talking about”? It’s good that we can see the funny side of things whilst we are still learning a wonderful language.
Pob lwc Mererid
Have I mentioned the cafe in Builth which welcomed good dogs? English friend and I and dai cwn da were eating there.
A lady and gentleman came to the table behind me and began to chat in a mix of Cymraeg and English. Suddenly, the lady stiffened, looking down at my Cavalier Truffle. “Ci!” she exclaimed. “Eh?” asked her husband. The lady gesticulated wildly down at Truffle behind her, "CI!"
“It means dog” I said quietly to my bemused friend. The lady said no more!
Each and every one of those points is right on the mark!!!
Love it!! @Iestyn 's presentation and humor is what really got me into it, my wife thought it was amusing also (though doesn’t speak it) my younger brother said the same as I think he has joined and started too!!
‘Torriad y wawr’ is another one, but it’s the same length as the other, so it’s probably not the one you’re trying to find. Was it an idiomatic phrase, I wonder?
@steve_2 Diolch yn fawr Steve! Gobeithio bo ti’n (dy fod di’n) cadw’n iawn!
Well, it was a poetic phrase, and not something one would use everyday. Unfortunately, it was a long time ago now that he told me, and my memory of it is now too vague to pin it down. I have in the meantime however, thought of someone who just might possibly know / remember, as he probably also heard him saying it. Will report back if successful!
While visiting the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol a few years ago, I bought “A Dictionary of Welsh and English Idiomatic Phrases”. After poking around for a while, I failed to find a poetic phrase for the dawn.
Dyn a wŷr y peth! Who knows!
