My Welsh Class ...

I am studying Novel Two at TAFE this year and, I must say, it is nice to be back among my fellow writing wannabes. Sadly, the subject is on a Tuesday night, at the same time as my Welsh language class.

Now, I am not Hermione Granger. I cannot be in two places at once so, for one year only, Welsh will have to take second place. I will not give up on the language entirely. I have an iPod and audio lessons from BBC Catchphrase and the Rosetta Stone language program.

I will not fall behind!

In an effort to reinforce my progress, I am going to publish some of my lessons. Now I know this may alienate the majority of my readers (you know, my husband and my brother), and confound others (that’s you Fiona). But fortunately it will not seriously impact my blogging income ;-).

In the past, when I have put Welsh on my blog, I have had it corrected by my teacher, beforehand. But seeing as I now have no, official, teacher, you will see my linguistic skills in their pure and unadulterated form.

If anyone out there would like to correct my work, please leave a comment in the comment box.

Otherwise, be prepared for awe.

I am currently studying: gwers saith deg dau (that’s lesson 72 for the uninformed) It is: trafod y teulu (about the family). My prose may get tipynbach (a little) repetitive. But overlook that and – gollwch i ti, (lose yourself), in the poetry (or butchery) of the language.

Dwy enw Lisabeth – my name is Elizabeth.

Mae fy ŵr enw Andrew – my husband’s name is Andrew.

Roeddwn ni ‘n briodi am dau deg pump blynyddoedd – We have been married for twenty five years (Andrew that is your cue to make a loving comment).

Rydyn ni ‘n cael yn plant pedwar, dwy ferch a dau fab, gyda i ni – we have four children, two daughters and two sons.

Mae fy mab hynaf enw, Jack.

Mae fy merch hynaf enw, Phoebe.

Mae fy mab iau enw, Seth.

Mae fy merch iau enw, Naomi Priya.

I think you can work that out. Here are some clues: enw = name; hynaf = elder; and iau = younger.

See, Welsh is easy!

Mae Jack ‘n dau deg pedwar flwydd oedd – Jack is twenty four years old. Mae ei wraig enw Vanessa – His wife’s name is Vanessa.

Rydyn ni ‘n byw o Canberra – they live in Canberra.

Mae Phoebe yn dau deg un flwydd oedd. Mae hi’n ddi-briod. Phoebe is twenty one years of age. She is not married.

Mae Seth yn un deg naw oedd a mae Naomi yn un deg pedwar oedd– Seth is nineteen and Naomi is fourteen. Mae nhw yn ddi-briod, wrth gwrs! – they are not married, of course.

Mae fy Mam yn byw o Adelaide – my Mum lives in Adelaide.

Mae fy mrawd yn byw o Malawi, canolbarth Affrica, gyda ei deulu – My brother lives in Malawi, Central Africa, with his family.

Mae fy Mam daeth yn Gymru yn wreithiol – My Mum comes from Wales, originally.

Mae fy mrawd a i fi gawson ni ngeni yn Loegr – My brother and I were born in England.

Roedd ein Tad yn Saesneg –My Dad was an Englishman.

Fe symoddon ni yn Awstralai ym mil nawr chwech nawr – We moved to Australia in 1969.

Are you confounded?

Yes, so am I!

Mostly by the mistakes I'm certain I have made.

But I am going to put this on my blog anyway.

I hope some of my Welsh class take pity on me (an exile for the arts) and respond with corrections.

Hwyl

Lisabeth

Little Britain

Welsh is the language of heaven, something I do for my heart. I expect it is supposed to be good for my brain, too (it certainly beats doing the Sudoku). But I tend to find my old grey matter lacks adhesive. I do homework (sometimes), and I try to listen to my Mp3 lessons, and I attend class, but no matter how hard I try, it does not stick.

That is where the heart comes in.

The heart is not about competition or achievement.It is about connection. It is about the little trill of satisfaction my pulmonary muscle gives when I see or hear a Welsh word. The start of recognition I get upon seeing the word eisteddfod used arbitrarily, by non Welsh speakers, and knowing eistedd means, 'to sit.' It is a warm, throbbing, umbilical kind of feeling that give me a sense of history and resonance and belonging. But ... enough of that, I am being overly sentimental.

In Welsh we have been studying comparative, equative and superlative adjectives.

Now the Welsh word for tall is: tal If we want to say John is tall we would write:

Mae John yn dal

The equative:

Mae John yn mor dal a Bill reads: John is as tall as Bill.

To say John is taller than Bill we add 'ach' to the adjective - Mae John yn dalach na Bill

Please notice that the word, tal, has become, dal. That is because Welsh is Ninja language. It is always mutating.

When we want to say John is the tallest, however, the form changes. We do not say Mae John (john is), we say: John ydy'r talaf

In class I had a great deal of trouble remembering this. I don't know why, it seems simple now I am writing it, but the lesson was more like a post-it-note than a Super-glue kind of an experience. In the end, we tried playing around with the superlative form and being, well ... a little silly.

For example: Rydw i 'n unig hoyw yn y pentre, means, I am the only gay in the village (now where have I heard that phrase before?).

I am not sure how you would say I am the gayest person in the village. I will have to ask my Welsh teacher. We didn't tackle the first person superlative. It might be: Rydw i 'n person hoywch yn y pentre.

But I do know how to say: David is the only gay in the village. It goes like this: Davydd ydy'r unig hoyw yn y pentre.

For some reason, I no longer have trouble remembering the construction.

It's funny what sticks in your mind.

Blog Cymraeg, arall - another Welsh Blog

Take your violins out. I have an emigrant tale to tell. Reach for the tissue box your heart’s strings are about to be pulled. Except, I am going to tell this story in Welsh.

We have been learning to express the notion of, when I was young, I used to … and I wrote this story, all by myself. Ok, it is a little repetitive but if you have read any of my earlier Blogs Cymraeg you will be used to that.

Roeddwn i ’n arfer chwarae pel-rwyd pan oeddwn i’n ifanc.
When I was young I used to play netball.

Roeddwn i ’n arfer gwbeud gymnasteg, hefyd, a jwdo, a dysgu tenis a mabolgampau.
I used to do gymnastics, too, and judo, and tennis lessons and athletics.
(Are you feeling sorry for me, yet?)

Roeddwn i ’n arfer dysgu nofio a dysgu marcho gaeth, hefyd.
I did swimming lessons and horserding lesson, too.
(Have you worked out what, I used to is in Welsh yet?)

Roeddwn i ’n prysur, iawn pan oeddwn i ’n ifanc!
I was very busy when I was young

Roeddwn i ’n arfer chwarae hoci a chwarae pel-meddl pan oeddwn i yn yr ysgol awchrad. I used to play hockey and softball when I was in high school.

Roeddwn i ’n arfer gwneud drama, hefyd, a roeddwn i ’n arfer dysgu guitar a dysgu fliwt. Roeddwn i ’n arfer mynd i ’r clwb ieunctid eglwys, hefyd.
I did drama, too, and I used to learn guitar and flute. I went to a church youth club, too. (What about the word for, too — of course it is hefyd).

Pam reoddwn i ’n arfer dysgu cynifer chwaraeon?
Why did I learn so many sports?

Pam reoddwn i ’n arfer gwneud cynifer hobiau?
Why did I do so many hobbies?

Dydw i ddim yn gwybod. Rydw i ’n meddwl am fod fy rhieni yn migrants.
I do not know. I think it was because my parents were migrants.

Mae ’r rhaid i ni gwneud mwyaf on cyflon!
We must make the most of my opportunities!

Rydw i ’n canol oed nawr.
Now I am middle aged. (This is your chance to add a comment such as — no Liz, you are so young. Andrew I expect you to be first.)

Dydw i ddim yn chwarae pel-rwyd na tenis, na, hoci, na pel-meddal.
I do not play netball, or tennis or hockey.

Dydw i ddim yn gweud jwdo na gynasteg, na mabolgampau.
I od not do judo or gymnastics or athletcis.

Dydwi i ddim yn chwarae guitar neu ’r fliwt. Dydw i ddim yn reidio yn ceffyl.
I do not play guitar or flute. I do not ride a horse.

Dydw i ddim yn hoffi chwaraeon.
I do not like sports. (I expect thhe tears are flowing freely now)

Rydw i ‘n dysgu Cymreag. Rdyw i ’n rhedeg a gadwn heini. Rydw i’n darllen llyfr a rydw i’n ysgrifennu llyfr. Rydw i’n mwynheu garddio ac embroidery.
I learn Welsh. I jog to keep fit. I read books and I write books. I enjoy gardening and embroidery.

Rydw i ’n hoffi yn ganol oed.
I like being middle aged.