I'm half Welsh and half English. My mum is Welsh, though was born and grew up in the south of England and doesn't speak Welsh, though has tried to learn it. I was born and grew up in Lancashire, in the northwest of England with English as my mother tongue. However, there were always Welsh language materials - books, records and tapes - around the house when I was growing up and I picked up a few words and phrases from them.
My first unsuccessful attempt to learn Welsh was in 1988 with a Linguaphone Welsh course. Unfortunately at that time I lacked the self-discipline to study every day, and the motivation and determination to keep studying for any length of time. So it wasn't long before I gave up.
In 1998 I decided to have another a go at learning Welsh, because I applied for a job at Bangor University for which a knowledge of Welsh was desirable. The course I used this time was Teach Yourself Welsh, which I worked my way through a couple of times. While I did learn the basics of Welsh, I was nowhere near fluent, and didn't get the job in Bangor.
In 2003 I meet some Welsh speakers while on holiday in Portugal and tried to speak to them in Welsh. I quickly realised that my Welsh wasn't very good at all. After going home I thought that I had tried to teach myself quite a few languages, but wasn't fluent in any of them. I decided to focus on one, and chose Welsh.
The main course I used was Colloquial Welsh. I also used Teach Yourself Welsh, Cadw Sŵn, as well as courses in the BBC website. I listened to Radio Cymru (Welsh language radio) more or less every day, read novels and short stories for learners, and listened to and sang Welsh songs.
At the time I was living in Brighton, where there were few Welsh speakers or learners. I did find one Welsh learner to practise with via Gumtree, and a native speakers of Welsh in the Brighton Welsh Male Voice Choir, which I sang with for a while.
In 2007 I attended a two-week Summer Welsh Course at the University of Wales Lampeter. The course was interesting, the tutors were great, and there was an interesting mixture of other students. I could understand most of what the tutors and other students said, and by the end of the course I felt reasonably confident speaking Welsh.
In 2008 I spent a week learning Welsh at Nant Gwrtheyrn, the Welsh Language and Heritage Centre on the Llŷn Peninsula in North Wales. The course was interesting and introduced me to the Welsh of North Wales, which differs in various ways to the Welsh of South Wales, which I had been learning until then.
Also in 2008 I moved to Bangor in Wales to do an MA in linguistics at Bangor University. I have been there ever since. I speak Welsh regularly, listen to Radio Cymru, read Welsh books, sing and play Welsh songs and tunes in folk music sesions, and write in Welsh, especially on Facebook and Instagram.
Information about Welsh | Phrases (serious) | Phrases (silly) | Numbers | Family words | Terms of endearment | Colours | Time | Dates | Weather | Idioms | Proverbs | Tongue twisters | Songs | Tower of Babel | Coelbren y Beirdd (Bardic alphabet) | Braille for Welsh | Links | My podcast about Welsh | Comparison of Celtic languages | Celtic cognates | Celtiadur | Books about Welsh on: Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk [affilate links]
Welsh, French, German, Italian, Icelandic, Japanese, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Korean, Scottish Gaelic, Spanish, Esperanto, Hungarian, Turkish, Arabic, Czech, Irish (Gaelic), Latin, Manx (Gaelic), Russian, Urdu, British Sign Language (BSL), Hindi, Breton
About this site | Omniglot - a potted history | About me | My language learning adventures | My musical adventures | My singing adventures | Song writing | Tunesmithing | My juggling adventures
Hanner Cymro, hanner Sais dw i. Cymraes di-Gymraeg yw fy mam. Oedd ei thad hi o’r Barri yn wreiddiol, ond fe gafodd hi ei cheni a'i magu yn Sir Sussex yn ne-ddwyrain Lloegr. Cefais fy nghenu a fy magu yn Sir Gaerhirfryn gyda Saesneg fel mamiaith. Roedd llyfrau a phethau eraill yn y tŷ i ddysgu Cymraeg, ac mi wnes i dysgu rhyw geiriau a brawddegau ohonyn nhw.
Fy nghais cyntaf i ddysgu Gymraeg oedd ym 1988 efo gwrs Cymraeg Linguphone. Yn anffodus bryd hynny na doedd gennyf hunanddisgyblaeth i ddysgu bob dydd, ac doedd gen i ddim gymhelliant a phenderfyniad i ddysgu am amser hir. Felly ar ôl amser byr, mi wnes i rhoi'r ffidil yn y to.
Mi wnes i penderfyu ceisio dysgu Cymraeg un waith eto ym 1998, oherwydd mi wnes i ymgais am swydd ym Mhrifysgol Bangor, ac roedd gwybodaeth o Gymraeg yn manteisiol amdano. Teach Yourself Welsh oedd y cwrs defnyddiais y tro hwn. Er wnes i dysgu cryn dipyn o Gymraeg, ro’n i ddim yn rhugl o gwbl, ac mi ges ddim y swydd.
Ym 2003 pan ro’n i ar fy ngwyliau ym Mhortiwgal, mi wnes i cwrdd â Chymry Cymraeg ac mi wnes i ceisio siarad â nhw yn y Gymraeg. Mi wnes i sylweddoli yn fuan oedd fy Nghymraeg yn wael iawn. Ar ôl i mi mynd adref, mi wnes i meddwl ro’n i wedi ceisio dysgu fy hunan cryn dipyn o ieithoedd, ond ro’n ddim yn rhugl yn un ohonyn nhw. Mi wnes i penderfynu ganolbwyntio ar un iaith, ac mi wnes i dewis y Gymraeg.
Colloquial Welsh oedd y prif cwrs wnes i defnyddio. Mi wnes i defnyddio Teach Yourself Welsh and Cadw Sŵn hefyd, a chyrsiau ar wefan BBC. Mi wnes i gwrando ar Radio Cymru bob dydd, mwy neu lai, mi wnes i darllen nofelau a straeon byrion ar gyfer dysgwyr, ac mi wnes i gwrando a chanu caneuon yn y Gymraeg.
Ar y pryd, ro’n i’n byw yn Brigthon, lle nad oedd llawer o bobl sy’n siarad neu sy’n dysgu Cymraeg. Mi wnes i dod â rhwyun oedd yn dysgu Cymraeg trwy Gumtree, a Chymro-Cymraeg yng Nghôr Meibion Cymreig Brighton, lle mi wnes i canu am sbel.
Yn 2007 es i'r Cwrs Haf Cymraeg ym Mhrifysgol Cymru, Llanbedr Pont Steffan. Roedd y cwrs yn ddiddorol, roedd y tiwtoriaid yn wych, ac roedd cymysgedd diddorol o fyfyrwyr eraill. Mi wnes i medru deall y mwyfrif y ddywedon y tiwtoriaidd a'r mwfyrwyr eraill, ac erbyn gorffen y cwrs, ro’n i’n medru siarad Cymraeg yn eitha da.
Yn 2008 mi wnes dysgu Cymraeg am wythnos yn Nant Gwrtheyrn, Canolfan Iaith a Threftadaeth Cymru ar benrhyn Llŷn. Roedd y cwrs yn ddiddorol, ac mi wnaeth o fy nghyflwyno i Gymraeg y Gogledd - hyd at hynny ro’n i’n dysgu Cymraeg y De.
Hefyd yn 2008, mi wnes i symud i Fangor yng Nghymru i wneud gradd meistr mewn ieithyddiath yn y prifysgol, a dw i wedi bod yna ers hynny. Dw i’n siarad Cymraeg yn aml, dw i’n gwrando i Radio Cymru, dw i’n darllen llyfrau yn y Gymraeg, dw i’n canu caneuon yn y Gymraeg yn sesyniau gwerin a chôrau, dw i’n sgrifennu yn y Gymraeg, yn enwedig ar Facebook ac Instagram.
Information about Welsh | Phrases (serious) | Phrases (silly) | Numbers | Family words | Terms of endearment | Colours | Time | Dates | Weather | Idioms | Proverbs | Tongue twisters | Songs | Tower of Babel | Coelbren y Beirdd (Bardic alphabet) | Braille for Welsh | Links | My podcast about Welsh | Comparison of Celtic languages | Celtic cognates | Celtiadur | Books about Welsh on: Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk [affilate links]
Welsh, French, German, Italian, Icelandic, Japanese, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Korean, Scottish Gaelic, Spanish, Esperanto, Hungarian, Turkish, Arabic, Czech, Irish (Gaelic), Latin, Manx (Gaelic), Russian, Urdu, British Sign Language (BSL), Hindi, Breton
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