The Welsh Language – Sounds Like I’m Trying To Spit On Someone!
Today is the first day of the Welsh Travel Blogging Junket and I’m in Cardiff, the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales (see Visit Cardiff) to undertake a half day course to learn the Welsh Language.
God bless them – the Welsh have been stubborn enough to annoy the English for so long, that they’ve kept their heritage alive by still practicing this somewhat difficult language. Welsh has been in existence since the 9th century, and it’s undertaking somewhat of a resurgence amongst younger people – who want to keep their culture and identity going, so good on them. About 25% of people speak Welsh in Wales, and it’s particularly spoken in rural areas.
I need a big Welsh Language Translation!
I had a crack at learning some Welsh, and made a complete dog’s breakfast (this is slang for a ‘mess’) out of it. I’m glad there was someone there to provide a Welsh Language Translation for me – as now I know what it must feel like to have locked in syndrome. The only word of Welsh I seem to remember is cwru (pronounced curro), which means beer. But I know the word ‘beer’ in every place I go to, because I need beer for my travel survival mechanisms.
Actually, this is how you order beer (or cwru) in Welsh – you’ll see what I mean about it being so difficult!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30OwBWtxTZE[/youtube]
If you’re keen, print off this conversation below on how to have a conversation in Welsh about beer in a Cardiff pub!
For this post, I have to somehow teach you some basic Welsh, and then you have to leave a comment using at least two Welsh words using Google Translate to show me your Welsh Language Translation. That’s probably two words better than I can manage at the moment.
Normally, I’m not too bad at learning another language – I know a bit of Spanish to get by in South American countries, which have opened up a lot of new experiences for me. But trying to learn Welsh was bit like trying to talk underwater with a mouthful of concrete whilst trying not to let my projectile saliva hit some of my fellow travel bloggers.
Here goes – some of the words I learnt include the following:
Other things we learnt was one of the world’s longest town names: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
I would say the Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch sign is bigger than the actual town itself. It literally means “The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio’s of the red cave”.
What’s even more ridiculous, there is a website called . I hope your computer has widescreen.
I’m just wondering who the hell would type that into Google?
More Welsh Language Translation Stuff
So there you go – have a crack at a Welsh Language Translation, and use Google Translate to do it. Leave a comment below with at least two Welsh words!
You know what? Even if you left some profanities in Welsh, I couldn’t tell because I can’t even understand normal Welsh words!
Anyway, leaving a comment will get you in for practicing to win a Flip Mini HD! So comment away!
Welsh is a ‘Kauderwelsch’ as we would say in Germany, oe a sweet Tohuwabohuuu.
Shake it, well done Travel Tart!
The German Cowboy
First of all, thanks for this nice share. Although I rarely post any comment on any blog but this time I though I should appreciate your good effort and ask you to keep at it. I just loved being here Sign language is my only mean of communication, besides the internet.
Sounds like fun:0 Last time I was in Wales we stayed in my Auntie Chrissie’s cottage in a little place called Fachelich:)
I lived in Wales for about three years and apart from croeso and yacky da the only words I learnt were araf (slow) and tacsi.
Ha ha, thanks, I eel like I’m not alone!
A couple of Welsh words? Dim problem! What I don’t get is the half day ‘Learn Welsh’ course? Isn’t that like a one-day tour of Australia?? Os gwelwch yn dda!! (I don’t think there’s ANY translation for ‘PULEEEEESE’).
I think I could be here for 10 years and barely learn 5% of the Welsh language!
O fy dduw, mae hyn yn wallgof! Ac yr ydym ni yn credu Saesneg yn galed!
Pob lwc dysgu Cymraeg
According to google that means good luck learning Welsh ( you’ll need it!) personally – i think as long as you have beer mastered, who needs the rest of a language!
Mate, two MUST know words “Iechyd da!” = Cheers!
Wait until you are in a Geordie pub, and some Welsh rugby player comes up to you and wants to have a fight with you, but you don’t know what he is talking about and you can’t understand him. You can tell he is getting pretty pissed off with you just by the body language, but buggered if I could ever understand them…
Good on ya Boyo! Fascinating. Have you also been tuning up your vocal cords? I hear there’s a good song to be had in Wales.
Mae fy hofrenfad yn llawn llyswennod 🙂
Rydych chi o’r fath darten teithio, Anthony. Cymerwch eich gwraig y tro nesaf!
Hi,
I just wanted to say that I have been reading for a a couple of days and I would like to sign up for the updated feed.
Bloody uffern dwi yn dod i ben yn ceisio ei deall.
That says Bloody hell i am exhausted trying to understand it
I feel like i need to be exorcised…
Who’d have thought that you regard the language as difficult and you having had the whole day to learn it? Personally I learnt German and Russian in 3 hours so its ridiculous that they contrived to create a language that you couldn’t fathom in a whole day. That’s just being deliberately obstinate
Bending to your authority on languages that you’re usually so proficient at learning (“I know a bit of Spanish”), and doffing a cap on your humour being even more advanced than your linguistics.
And Welsh is way, way older than the 9th century.
Hwyl, aros adra.
For me, Spanish was easier because it shares many latin based words with English. Welsh looked like a jumble of words to me. At least it has Latin script, unlike Russian!
Sorry, half day. With a cup of tea halfway through perhaps.
Mul dwl.
Anws blewog Hairy anus
Basdun Bastard
Cer i grafu! Go and scratch!
Twll tin arse hole
cachi shit
coc oen lambs dick
drewgi siffilitig syphilitic stink-dog
y sais afiach! you horrible person!
Wonderful post! Made me LOL… AND sign up for your newsletter! I have NO gift for languages, but I can fake it in several, thanks to a friend telling me (during a long 3.5 month voyage on a Yugolslavian freight ship when I was 19 & spoke NO Serbo-Croatian) that “all you need to know how to say is: whisky, cigarette, cigarette lighter, and ashtray, and you’ll be fine”. To which I add “I love you”, which has turned out to be THE GREAT ice breaker! Rwyf wrth fy modd i chi! (See- it works, right? 🙂 )
Yes it works.. sort of.. ;P