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Yn anffodus, ni ellir dod o hyd i'r dudalen y gofynnoch amdani. Fodd bynnag, os ydych yn chwilio am rywbeth i'w ddarllen, mae erthyglau diweddaraf parallel.cymru isod.

Unfortunately, the page that you requested can't be found. However, if you're looking for something to read then parallel.cymru's most recent articles are below.

Dadansoddi darllenwyr

Dadansoddi darllenwyr / Analysing the readership of Parallel.cymru

Ask Dr Gramadeg

Wrth ddysgu neu wella ein dealltwriaeth o’n  hiaith, mae angen cefnogaeth a chymorth oddi wrth bobl eraill arnom, pobl sydd wedi’i meistroli ac sydd gyda’r sgiliau i’w hesbonio’n effeithiol.  Yma, mae Mark Stonelake, sydd wedi ysgrifennu llyfrau cwrs i CBAC a Dysgu Cymraeg - Ardal Bae Abertawe, wedi cytuno i rannu ei ddoethineb gyda'r byd.  Mae parallel.cymru yn ei gyflwyno fe ar ffurf cwestiynau ac atebion, gyda thabl cynnwys isod.

When learning or improving our understanding of a language we need support and help from others who have mastered it and are skilled at explaining it to others. Here, Mark Stonelake, who has written course books for the WJEC and Learn Welsh- Swansea Bay Region, has kindly agreed to share his wisdom with the world. Parallel.cymru presents it in the form of questions and answers, with a table of contents below.

Mae Mark yn dod o Aberdâr yng nghymoedd de Cymru. Ar ôl ennill gradd yn y Gymraeg ac wedyn gwneud addysg Gymraeg ran-amser yn y 1980au, dechreuodd Mark weithio fel tiwtor a threfnydd llawn amser ym 1993, gan arbenigo mewn datblygu, trefnu a dysgu cyrsiau Cymraeg dwys iawn. Roedd Mark yn Swyddog Cwricwlwm ac Adnoddau yng Nghanolfan Cymraeg i Oedolion De-orllewin Cymru o 2006 i 2016. Roedd e'n Rheolwr Datblygiad Proffesiynol ac Ansawdd o 2016 i 2018 yng Nghanolfan Dysgu Cymraeg Ardal Bae Abertawe yn Academi Hywel Teifi, Prifysgol Abertawe. Yn ogystal â datblygu cyrsiau yn Abertawe, fe a gyd-ysgrifennodd gwrslyfr CBAC Sylfaen. Mae e wedi ymddeol o weithio lawn amser ers cynnar 2018 ond mae e'n dal i weithio mewn addysg ran-amser.

Mark is from Aberdare in the South Wales Valleys. After doing a degree in Welsh and working part-time teaching Welsh in the 1980s, Mark started as a full time tutor/organiser in 1993, specialising in developing, organising and teaching highly intensive Welsh courses. From 2006 to 2016 he was appointed as the Curriculum and Resources Officer in the South-West Wales Welsh for Adults Centre.  From 2016 to 2018 he was the Personal Development and Quality Manager at the Learn Welsh Swansea Bay Area centre in Academi Hywel Teifi at Swansea University. In additon to developing courses in Swansea, he co-wrote the WJEC Foundation course book. He retired from working full time in early 2018 but continues to teach part-time.

Nodyn am y geirfa wedi'i chyflwyno yma: Yma ac acw, mae rhai o'r geiriau'n fwy addas eu defnyddio gan ddysgwyr yn Ne Cymru na chan ddysgwyr y Gogledd. Fodd bynnag mae cysyniadau gramadegol yn gwmwys i bob tafodiaith Gymraeg.

A note on the language: Some of the vocabulary was written for learners in South Wales, but the grammar concepts are applicable to all Welsh dialects.

Nodyn ar sut mae'r gramadeg wedi'i gyflwyno: Mae'r defnydd yma wedi'u hysgrifennu ar gyfer dysgwyr sydd yn gwneud cyrsiau dros 4 - 10 o flynyddoedd. Felly, os bydd dysgwyr newydd yn gweld popeth yn yr un lle ac ar yr un pryd, efallai y byddan nhw wedi eu llethu ganddo fe. Dylai dysgwyr ddefnyddio'r defnydd yma i gefnogi ffurfiau eraill o ddysgu. Er enghraifft, byddan nhw'n gallu defnyddio'r ganllaw hon dros sawl blwyddyn i ddod o hyd i esboniadau amgen ac er mwyn egluro pynciau. Fe fydd hefyd yn rhoi cymorth i bobl sydd eisoes yn medru'r Gymraeg ac sydd eisiau cryfhau eu gwybodaeth, a gloywi eu deallwriaeth greddfol.

A note on the presentation: This content was designed to be delivered to learners over the course of 4-10 years, and new learners receiving this all in one place could feel overwhelmed.  Its purpose is to support an existing learning method, and for this guide to be referred to as a reference, clarification and alternative explanation over a number of years. It is also helpful for people with a good knowledge of Welsh to reinforce and clarify their intuitive understanding.

Rhagor o enghreifftiau: Mae enghreifftiau a delweddau ychwanegol gyda'r symbol * wedi cael eu paratoi gan Patrick Jemmer a Neil Rowlands i parallel.cymru. Er moyn cadw'r delweddau, right-click/long-press ac wedyn dewiswch 'Save As'.

Yn ychwanegol, diolch yn fawr i Patrick Jemmer am gyfieithu’r darnau gramadeg i’r Gymraeg ac y prawf ddarllenwyr am eu hawgrymiadau nhw.

 

More examples: The extra examples and images with the * symbol have been prepared by Patrick Jemmer and Neil Rowlands for parallel.cymru. In order to save the images, right-click/long-press and then choose 'Save As'.

In addition, thank you very much to Patrick Jemmer for the English to Welsh translation and to the proof readers with their suggestions.

 

Lefel Mynediad / Entrance Level

Termau Gramadeg
Beth yw ystyr y termau sylfaenol mewn gramadeg, fel berfau, enwau ac ansoddeiriau?
Grammar Terms
What are basic grammar terms such as verbs, nouns and adjectives?
Yr Wyddor
Sut mae'r wyddor yn wahanol yn y Gymraeg, a sut mae'n cael ei hynganu?
The Alphabet
How is the alphabet different in Welsh and how is it pronounced?
Ti & Chi
Pryd y dylwn i ddefnyddio Ti a phryd dylwn i ddefnyddio Chi?
Ti & Chi
When should I use Ti and when should I use Chi?
Adeiladwaith brawddegau / Trefn geiriau
Sut mae trefn y geiriau yn y Gymraeg yn wahanol i'r drefn yn Saesneg?
Sentence structure / Word order
How does the order of words in Welsh differ from that in English?
Enwau ag Ansoddeiriau a Rhifau
Sut mae enwau'n cael eu defnyddio gydag ansoddeiriau a gyda rhifolion?
Nouns with Adjectives and Numbers
How are nouns used with adjectives and numbers?
Cyflwyno Treigladau
Mae treigladau'n un o nodweddion arbennig yr ieithoedd Celtaidd, sy'n helpu sŵn yr iaith i lifo'n rhwydd. Pa synau sydd yn newid, a beth sy'n achosi'r newidiadau?
Introducing Mutations
One of the unique characteristics of the Celtic languages, mutations help the sound of the language to flow smoothly. Which letters change and what are the main changes?
Fe / Hi, Yn / Mewn & Y / Yr
Ar adegau, y geiriau byrraf sy'n achosi'r problemau gwaethaf. Sut, yn union y mae'r Gymraeg yn trin Fe/Hi, A/An, Yn/Mewn ac Y/Yr?
It, A / An, In & The
Sometimes the shortest words can give the biggest problems. Precisely how does Welsh deal with Fe/Hi, A/An, Yn/Mewn and Y/Yr (It, A/An, In and The)?
Y tri math o Yn
Mae'r gair Yn yn cael ei ddefnyddio mewn tair ffordd wahanol- beth ydyn nhw?
The three types of Yn
The word Yn is used in three different ways- what are these?
Mae, Oes & Ydy
Pryd y dylech chi ddefnyddio Mae, Oes ac Ydy? Mae hyn yn gallu achosi penbleth. Beth yw'r ateb?
Mae, Oes & Ydy
When to use mae, oes and ydy can cause confusion- when do we use which one?
Cyflwyno'r amser gorffennol - Es i / I went
Sut gallwn ni ddechrau defnyddio berfau cryno’r gorffennol i ddweud pethau fel 'I went'?
Introducing the past tense - Es i / I went
How do we start using the past tense and saying things like 'I went'?
Cyflwyno'r amser gorffennol (parhad) - Defnyddio 'Gwneud'
Sut gallwn ni ddefnyddio'r gorffennol cryno i ddweud 'I did' hefyd?
Introducing the past tense (continued) - Using 'Gwneud'
How do we extend the past tense by saying 'I did'?
Defnyddio berfau yn yr amser gorffennol
Sut mae gweddill y berfau'n rhedeg yn yr amser gorffennol?
Using verbs in the past tense
And what are the rules for the rest of the past tense verbs?
Yr amser gorffennol (Cael)
Sut gallwn ni ddefnyddio’r amser gorffennol i ddweud 'I had' hefyd?
The past tense (Cael)
How do we extend the past tense by saying 'I had'?
Yr amser gorffennol (Dod)
Sut gallwn ni ddefnyddio’r amser gorffennol i ddweud 'I came' hefyd?
The past tense (Dod)
How do we extend the past tense by saying 'I came'?
Rhagenwau Personol- Fy, Dy, Ei ayyb
Mae treiglo'n digwydd pan fydd rhagenwau'n cael eu defnyddio gydag enwau a berfenwau. Beth sy'n newid?
Personal Pronouns- How to say ‘my’, ‘your’, ‘his, ‘her’, etc
When we relate a noun or verb to a person some mutations take place. What changes?
Gallu, Moyn & Eisiau
Beth yw'r gwahaniaeth rhwng Gallu, Moyn ac Eisiau? Pam mae Moyn ac Eisiau yn gweithio'n wahanol i'w gilydd?
Gallu, Moyn & Eisiau
What is the difference between Gallu, Moyn and Eisiau, and why do Moyn and Eisiau behave slightly differently?
Cyn, Ar Ôl & Wedyn
Pryd y dylen ni ddefnyddio Cyn a phryd y dylen ni ddefnyddio Ar ôl neu Wedyn?
Cyn, Ar Ôl & Wedyn
When should we use Cyn and when should we use Ar ôl or Wedyn?
Y Ferf 'Bod'
Yn y Gymraeg mae berfenw 'Bod / To Be' yn hyblyg iawn, ac mae ganddi lawer o ffurfiau. Beth ydyn nhw?
The Verb To Be
The verb 'To Be / Bod' is very pliant in Welsh, and takes on many forms. What forms does it take?
Berfau Cryno
Trwy ddefnyddio'r rhain, rydyn ni'n gallu dweud pethau mewn llai o eiriau. Sut mae gwneud hyn?
Short Form Verbs
These allow us to condense an action into a shorter expression. How can we do this?
Wedi
Beth yw ystyr y gair Wedi, a sut mae ei ddefnyddio?
Wedi
What does the word Wedi mean, and how should we use it?
Rhaid i fi
Sut mae mynegi rhaid neu angen?
Rhaid i fi- I have to / I must
How do we express a necessity or need?
Arddodiaid
Dyma grŵp o eiriau sy'n golygu 'to, on, at' etc. Sut mae dewis pa un i ddefnyddio gyda berf os bydd angen un?
Prepositions
There are a range of words which equate 'to on, at', etc. How do we know which one to use with which verbs?
Ateb Cwestiynau
Dyw ymateb i gwestiynau yn y Gymraeg ddim cyn hawsed ag y mae yn y Saesneg. Beth yw'r dewisiadau?
Answering yes and no
Responding to questions isn't quite as simple as in English. What are our answer options?
Cyflwyno’r Amherffaith
Sut mae dweud beth yr oedden ni ei wneud yn y gorffennol?
Introducing the Imperfect Tense
How do we say what we were doing in the past?
Cyflwyno Gorchmynion
Sut mae dweud pethau fel Go! Get ...! Be...! ac yn y blaen?
Introducing Commands
How do we say things like Go! Get...!, Be...! and so on...
Ffurfio gorchmynion
Sut mae defnyddio gorchmynion gyda mwy o ferfau?
Command Endings
How do we use commands with a wider range of verbs?
Mynd â & Cymryd
Pryd mae defnyddio Mynd â, a phryd mae defnyddio Cymryd?
Mynd â & Cymryd- To Take
When do we use each form of Mynd â and Cymryd?
Bydd- Amser dyfodol Bod
Sut mae dweud pethau fel 'I will be there at 7'?
Bydd- the future tense of Bod (to be)
How do we say things like 'I will be there at 7?'
Sydd- Ffurf arall ar amser presennol 'Bod'
Pan fyddwn ni eisiau dweud 'who is/are’ or ‘which is/are' yn yr amser presennol, bydd rhaid defnyddio Sydd. Sut mae hyn yn gweithio?
Sydd- Another form for the present tense of 'Bod / To Be'
When we want to use the present tense with 'who is/are’ or ‘which is/are' we need to use Sydd- how does this work?
Defnyddio Gallu yn yr amser dyfodol
Sut mae dweud pethau fel 'I can', 'Can I', 'Yes you can' a 'No you can't'?
Using Gallu in the future tense
How do we say things like 'I can', 'Can I', 'Yes you can' and 'No you can't'?
Hwn, Hon, Hwnna, Honna, Y Rhain & Y Rheina
Mae ffurfiau'r geiriau sy'n golygu This, That, These and Those yn debyg iawn yn y Gymraeg- ydych chi'n gallu esbonio p'un yw p'un?
This, That, These and Those
The forms of This, That, These and Those are very similar in Welsh- can you you explain which is which?
Sut, Pa Mor & Pa
Pa eiriau rydyn ni'n eu defnyddio mewn cwestiynau fel 'How are you?', 'What kind of house is it?' and 'What colour is it?''
Sut, Pa Mor & Pa
Which forms do we use for questions such as 'How are you?', 'What kind of house is it?' and 'What colour is it?'

Lefel Sylfaen / Foundation Level

Cyflwyno'r Amser Dyfodol
Sut mae dweud pethau fel 'Will you get up?' and 'Will you pay?' yn yr amser dyfodol?
Introducing the future tense
How do we say things like 'Will you get up?' and 'Will you pay?' in the future tense?
Adolygu arddodiadau a'r terfyniadau priodol
Rywbryd byddwn ni'n gweld pethau fel 'arno fe' and 'amdani hi'- beth yw'r ymadroddion yma, a beth yw'r patrymau sylfaenol?
Recapping prepositions and adding endings
Sometimes we see things like 'arno fe' and 'amdani hi'- what are these and the patterns behind them?
Cyflwyno Bod fel That
Yn aml yn y Saesneg byddwn ni'n gadael y gair 'that' allan o frawddegau, ond dyw hyn ddim yn bosibl yn y Gymraeg. Sut mae cyfleu ystyr y gair 'that'?
Introducing Bod as That
In English we often omit 'that' from sentences, but this isn't possible in Welsh. How do we convey 'that'?
Cymalau yn yr amser dyfodol
Beth sy'n digwydd pan fyddwn ni'n siarad am y dyfodol?
Clauses with the future tense
What happens with 'bod' when we talk about the future?
Cip arall ar yr amser dyfodol
Sut mae defnyddio Mynd, Cael a Gwneud i ofyn cwestiynau ac i ffurfio brawddegau negyddol?
Taking a look at the future tense again
How do we form questions, use negatives and mynd, cael and gwneud?
Mwy am yr amser dyfodol
Dyma ni'n gweithio'n galed iawn i ddysgu am yr amser dyfodol -- gawn ni ymarfer y terfyniadau rheolaidd?
Extending the future tense
We are covering a lot of the future tense here- can we recap the straightforward regular endings?
Gofyn cwestiynau yn yr amser dyfodol
Sut mae gofyn cwestiynau fel 'Will you learn? or 'Will they see?'
Asking questions in the future
How do we ask questions such as 'Will you learn? or 'Will they see?'
Yr amser dyfodol (Cael)
Sut mae dweud pethau fel 'I’ll have' a 'May I have?'
The future tense of Cael
How do we say things such as 'I’ll have' and 'May I have?'
Yr amser dyfodol (Dod)
Gan fod Dod yn afreolaidd yn yr amser dyfodol, sut mae defnyddio'r ffurfiau yma?
The future tense of Dod
As Dod is irregular in the future, how do we use these forms?
Cyflwyno'r Goddefol
Sut mae dweud pethau sy wedi digwydd i ni, fel 'I was born' neu 'She was brought up'?
Introducing the Passive voice
How do we say things that have happened to us, such as 'I was born' or 'She was brought up'?
Mynegi hoffter gan ddefnyddio 'Mae'n well gyda fi'
Sut mae dweud pethau fel 'I prefer...' neu 'What do you prefer?' ...?
Expressing a preference with 'Mae'n well gyda fi'
How do we say things like 'I prefer...' or 'What do you prefer?'
Cyflwyno'r Amodol
Sut mae dweud pethau fel 'I would be' a 'They would go'?
Introducing the Conditional tense
How do we say things like 'I would be' and 'They would go'?
Yr Amodol (parhad)- If I Could
Sut mae dweud pethau mwy cymhleth gan ddefnyddio'r amodol fel 'If I was to go?'
Continuing the Conditional tense with If I Could
How do we extend the conditional tense and express a touch more complexity with things like 'If I was to go?'
Cyflwyno Rhifolion a Threfnolion
Sut mae dweud pethau fel 'the first, second or twenty-third'?
Introducing Cardinal and Ordinal numbers
How do we say things like the first, second or twenty-third?
Cyflwyno Gorchmynion- gyda Ti
Sut mae dweud pethau fel ''Stand up' neu 'Don't'...?
Introducing Commands- with Ti
How do we say things like 'Stand up' or 'Don't'...
Y Goddefol (parhad)
Cip arall ar y goddefol
Continuing the Passive voice
Taking another glance at the Passive voice
Mor, Cystal & Cynddrwg
Sut mae dweud 'So', 'As...as', 'As good as' ac 'As bad as'?
Mor, Cystal & Cynddrwg
How do we say 'So', 'As...as', 'As good as' and 'As bad as'?
Cymharu dau beth
Beth yw'r patrwm sylfaenol pan fyddwn ni'n dweud pethau fel 'Wetter', 'Taller' and 'Younger'?
Comparing two things
What is the pattern behind saying things like 'Wetter', 'Taller' and 'Younger'?
Cymharu Ansoddeiriau
Mae patrymau rheolaidd i'w defnyddio pan fyddwn ni'n cymharu pethau, er enghraifft pan fyddwn ni'n dweud "Mae Eglwys Gadeiriol Llandaf yn dalach na Neuadd y Ddinas ond Stadiwm y Mileniwm yw'r adeilad tala". Beth yw'r rhestr lawn?
Comparison of Adjectives
There are set patterns for comparing items, for example saying "Mae Eglwys Gadeiriol Llandaf yn dalach na Neuadd y Ddinas ond Stadiwm y Mileniwm yw'r adeilad tala". What is the full list?
Cymharu ansoddeiriau- Y Radd Eithaf
Sut mae dweud pethau fel 'The tallest', 'The biggest' neu 'The wettest'?
Comparing two adjectives- The Superlative
How do we say things like 'The tallest', 'The biggest' or 'The wettest'?
Cymalau: Tair ffordd o ddweud That- Taw, Y & Bod
Pryd y dylech chi ddefnyddio Taw, Y & Bod, y tri ohonyn nhw sy'n golygu 'that'?
Clauses: Three ways of saying That- Taw, Y & Bod
How do we know when to use Taw, Y & Bod where they each mean 'that'?
Dylwn
Sut mae cychwyn dweud pethau fel 'I should go'?
Dylwn- I should
How do we get started with saying things such as 'I should go'?
Geiriau llenwi- Sut mae cael amser i feddwl wrth siarad?
Beth dw i'n gallu ei ddweud i lenwi bwlch wrth i fi lunio'r frawddeg nesaf?
Verbal fillers- giving you time to think when speaking
What can I say to fill a gap while I'm still putting the next sentence together?
Cyflwyno Berfau Cryno
Rywbryd rydyn ni'n clywed ymadroddion fel 'Licwn i fynd' ac 'Allet ti?'- sut mae'r rhain yn cael eu llunio?
Introducing short-form verbs
Sometimes we hear expressions such as 'Licwn i fynd' and 'Allet ti?'- how are these formed?
Heb - Mae'r gair yma yn cael ei ddefnyddio i olygu 'without' a hefyd i olygu 'Ddim wedi'
Sut mae defnyddio Heb i olygu 'without' neu i olygu 'ddim wedi'?
Heb- Used as 'without' and in place of 'Ddim wedi' to mean 'have not'
How do we go about using Heb in its two different forms?
Wrth Fy Modd
Beth yw ffurfiau eraill yr ymadrodd 'Wrth fy modd', sy'n golygu 'I am delighted'?
Wrth Fy Modd- In my element or Delighted
What are the variations of 'Wrth fy modd', meaning 'I am delighted'?
Ar ôl, Ar bwys, O flaen & O gwmpas
Mae geiriau yma yn eithaf tebyg i'w gilydd- Beth yw'r gwahaniaeth rhyngddyn nhw?
Ar ôl, Ar bwys, O flaen & O gwmpas - After, Beside, In front of & Around
These sets of words can sound quite similar- what is the difference between them?
Bod yn yr Amodol: Byddwn, Byddet, Byddai, Bydden, Byddech, Bydden
Sut mae cychwyn dweud pethau fel 'I would go' a 'She would come'?
The conditional form of Bod: Byddwn, Byddai & Byddet
How do we start saying things such as 'I would go' and 'She would come'?
Cyflwyno Lluosog Enwau
Beth yw rhai ffyrdd o ffurfio lluosog enwau yn y Gymraeg?
Introducing plurals
What are some ways in which plurals are formed in Welsh?
Dim Ond
Beth yw ystyr yr ymadrodd 'Dim ond' a sut mae'n effeithio'r frawddeg o'i gwmpas?
Dim Ond- Only
What does 'Dim Ond' mean and how does it affect the sentence around it?
Pwysleisio rhannau brawddeg yn yr amser presennol ac yn yr amser gorffennol
Sut mae newid brawddeg i bwysleisio rhan wahanol ohoni hi?
Emphasising elements of a sentence in the present and past tense
How do we amend a sentence to emphasise a different part?
Cynffoneiriau
Sut rydych chi'n ychwanegu ymadroddion fel 'Aren’t I', 'Don’t you' a 'Won’t you' i gwestiynau er mwyn swnio fel siaradwr rhugl?
Cynffoneiriau- Tags
How do we add phrases such as 'Aren’t I', 'Don’t you' and 'Won’t you' to questions in order to help sound like a native speaker?
Er
Gall y gair Er olygu naill ai 'although' neu 'despite'. Mae ganddo fe sawl ystyr eraill hefyd - Beth yw'r rhain?
Er- Although / Despite
The word Er can mean although or despite, but it also has a few other meanings- what are these?
Pen
Yn arferol, mae'r gair Pen yn golygu 'head, end, top'. Mae ganddo fe sawl defnydd idiomatig hefyd- Beth yw'r rhain?
Pen: Head, End, Top & Idioms
Pen usually means head, end or top, but it also has a few idiomatic uses- what are these?
Mynd ati o ddifrif gyda Lluosogion
O'r blaen rydyn ni wedi cael cipolwg ar luosogion. Sut mae gwneud lluosogion i fwy o eiriau?
Diving into Plurals
Following the earlier glance at plurals, how do we use plurals with a wider range of words?
Y Genidol - Defnyddio dau air neu fwy gyda'i gilydd
Mae'r Gymraeg yn llai hyblyg na'r Saesneg pan fydd yn cysylltu dau air gyda'i gilydd- sut mae gwneud hyn?
The Genitive- Using two or more nouns together
Welsh is less flexible when joining two nouns than English- how do we accomplish this?
Y Treiglad Meddal gyda geiriau benywaidd unigol
Gawn ni weld rhai esiamplau o'r treigladd meddal gyda geiriau benywaidd unigol?
Soft Mutations with feminine singular nouns
Can we have some examples of soft mutations with feminine singular nouns?
Atgrynhoi Adferfau
Beth yw adferfau, a sut mae eu defnyddio?
Recapping Adverbs
What are adverbs and how do we use them?
Byth & Erioed
Pryd rydyn ni'n defnyddio Byth, a phryd rydyn ni'n defnyddio Erioed?
Byth & Erioed- Ever & Never
When do we use Byth and when do we use Erioed?
Ta Beth, Bron a Bron i Fi
Sut mae defnyddio'r ymadroddion defnyddiol hyn?
Ta Beth, Bron a Bron i Fi- Anyway, Almost, and I Almost
How do we use these handy little phrases?
Dyma fi’n, Cyfuno Lliwiau & Iawn
Sut mae defnyddio Dyma Fi? Sut mae disgrifio arlliwiau? Sut mae defnyddio'r gair Iawn?
Dyma fi’n, Cyfuno Lliwiau & Iawn- A short way of saying 'I am', Combining Colours, and using Iawn
How do we use Dyma Fi, how do we describe shades of colours and how can Iawn be used?

Lefel Canolradd / Intermediate Level

Allan / Mas, Ar Gyfer, Cam, Er Mywn, Yn Enedigol & Llys
Casgliad o gyngor ar y geiriau hyn
Allan / Mas, Ar Gyfer, Cam, Er Mywn, Yn Enedigol & Llys
A collection of advice on these words
Cyflwyno enwau gwledydd
Oes ffyrdd hawdd o ddysgu llawer o enwau gwledydd?
Introducing country names
Are there straightforward ways to learn lots of country names?
Yr arddodiad 'i'
Mae sawl ffordd o ddefnyddio'r arddodiad 'i'- beth yw'r rhain?
The preposition 'i'
'I' is used as a preposition in many ways- what are these?
Defnyddio Mo fel gair negyddol
Sut mae defnyddio'r gair negyddol Mo?
Using 'Mo' as a negative
How is Mo used to indicate a negative?
Ffurfiau amhersonol y berfau afreolaidd
Sut ydyn ni’n dod i gyfarwydd â ffurfiau llenyddiol Mynd, Cael, Gwneud, a Dod?
Impersonal forms of the irregular verbs
How do we become familiar with formal written forms of Mynd, Cael, Gwneud and Dod?
Mwy am Luosogion
Gawn ni gael cip arall ar fwy o luosogion?
Extending Plurals
Can we take a look at more forms of plurals?
Defnyddio Bod yn yr amser presennol a'r amser amherffaith
Sut mae defnyddio ymadroddion fel 'Fy mod i' a 'Credir y bydd' mewn cymylau enwol?
Using Bod as That in the present and imperfect tenses
How do we use forms such as 'Fy mod i' and 'Credir y bydd'?
Ardoddiadau yn Gymraeg ffurfiol
Beth yw ystyr ffurfiau llenyddol ar arddodiadau fel 'ataf', 'atom' neu 'atynt'?
Prepositions in formal Welsh
When we see prepositions in the form of 'ataf', 'atom' or 'atynt', what do they mean?
Gwahaniaethau pwysig rhwng Cymraeg y De a Chymraeg y Gogledd
Sut mae patrymau Cymraeg y De yn wahanol i'r rheini yng Nghymraeg y Gogledd?
Key differences between North and South Welsh
What are some of the main changes in patterns between North and South Welsh?
Atgrynhoi Yn
Gadewch i ni edrych ar y gair Yn unwaith eto- beth fydd yn treiglo ar ei hôl hi, a beth na fydd?
Recapping Yn
Can we just run through 'Yn' again- what mutates after it and what doesn't?
Dadansoddi'r gramadeg yn y gân 'Calon Lân'
Rwy'n hoff iawn o'r gân Cymraeg o'r enw Calon Lân, ond mae'n cynnwys Cymraeg llenyddiol- gewch chi esbonio ystyr y geiriau hardd?
Analysing the grammar in 'Calon Lân'
I'm really fond of the Welsh song Calon Lân, but it uses formal Welsh- can you talk us through the meaning of the beautiful words?
Defnyddio Gwneud yn amser dyfodol
Oes ffordd gyflym a hawdd o ddefnydio berfau yn yr amser dyfodol?
Using Gwneud in the future
Can you show us a quick and easy way to put verbs into the future tense?
Cyflwyno iaith ffurfiol
Mae rhai gwahaniaethau rhwng Cymraeg ffurfiol a Chymraeg ar lafar. Beth yw'r pethau mwyaf pwysig i'w deall pan fyddwch chi'n ysgrifennu?
Introducing formal language
As formal written Welsh is a little different from spoken Welsh, what are the main things we should learn about it first?
Defnyddio'r Amodol Cryno
Sut mae defnyddio'r Amodol Cryno i ddweud 'I would go' fel 'Elwn i'?
Using the shortened form of the conditional tense
How do we compress phrases such as 'Byddwn i’n mynd' into 'Elwn i'?
Yr Amodol: Cymharu'r ffurfiau ar lafar â'r rhai ffurfiol ysgrifenedig
Sut y byddwch chi'n ynganu ffurfiau'r Amodol pan fyddwch chi'n gweld geiriau fel 'Licwn i'?
Comparing the written and spoken forms of the Future Conditional tense
How do we learn the differences between forms such as 'Licwn i' and 'Licen i' (I would like)?
Atgrynhoi ac ymestyn syniadau ynglŷn â Phwyslais
Sut mae cyferbynu pethau? Sut mae mynegi syndod neu anghrediniaeth? Sut mae anghytuno?
Recapping and extending the Emphatic form
How do we contrast things, express surprise, disbelief, or disagreement?
Defnyddio'r geiriau pwysleisiol Taw & Mai, a'r Cyplad yn yr amser presennol, sef Yw
Sut mae defnyddio'r geiriau Yw, Taw a Mai i bysleisio rhywbeth?
Using the emphatic words Taw & Mai, and the present-tense connecting form of To Be, that is Yw
How do we use Yw, Taw and Mai to emphasise something?
Dydd & Diwrnod
Y geiriau Dydd a Diwrnod fel ei gilydd sy'n golygu Day, ond byddan nhw'n cael eu defnyddio mewn cyd-destunau gwahanol- beth yw'r rhain?
Dydd & Diwrnod- Words for Day
Both 'Dydd' and 'Diwrnod' mean 'Day', but are used in different contexts- what are those?
Hwn, Hon, Hwnna, Honno, Y Rhain, Y Rheina & Rheiny
Mae'r geiriau hyn i gyd yn eitha tebyg i'w gilydd- beth yw'r gwahaniaeth rhyngddyn nhw?
Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns- Saying This, That, These, Those
As each of these words is quite similar, how do we tell the difference between them?
Fan Hyn & Fanna
Sut mae dweud 'By here' ac 'Over there'?
Fan Hyn & Fanna- By here & Over there
How do we say things like 'By here' and 'Over there'?
Adolygu Ateb Cwestiynau
Gawn ni edrych ar y ffyrdd gwahanol o ateb cwestiynau unwaith eto?
Revising Answers to Questions
Can we go through again the different ways of answering questions?
Cyflwyno Amser Gorffennol Crwyno Bod- Bues, Buest, Buodd, Buon, Buoch & Buont
Sut mae dweud pethau fel 'Fuoch chi ar wyliau eleni?'
Introducing the Short Past Tense of Bod- Bues, Buest, Buodd, Buon, Buoch & Buont
How do we say things such as 'Did you go on holidays this year?'
Yn & Rhwng
Mae Yn yn golygu 'in' ac ystyr Rhwng yw 'between'. Rwybryd mae'n anodd pa un y dylech chi ei ddefnyddio- gawn ni egluro hyn?
Yn & Rhwng- In & Between
Yn means in and Rhwng means between but it can be unclear when to use which- can we clarify this?
Blwydd, Blwyddyn & Blynedd
Mae'r geiriau hyn i gyd yn golygu Year, ond maen nhw'n cael eu defnyddio mewn cyd-destunau gwahanol. Pryd y dylen ni ddefnyddio Blwydd, Blwyddyn neu Flynedd?
Blwydd, Blwyddyn & Blynedd- Different words for Year
Each of these means 'Year', but is used in different contexts- when do we use which?
Arall, Eraill, Y Llall & Y Lleill
Mae sawl gair sy'n golygu Other. Sut mae defnyddio'r geiriau gwahanol hyn?
Arall, Eraill, Y Llall & Y Lleill- Words for Other
How do we use the different forms of 'Other'?
Geiriau Bychain: Y Fannod (Y, Yr, 'R), A & Ac, Â & Ag
Beth yw'r ffurfiau gwahanol ar y geiriau Yr, A, ac Â?
Little Words: The Definite Article ('The'), 'And' & 'With'
Can we just run through again the differences between these forms of the definite article, and & with?
Di
Di- yw rhagddodiad sy'n golygu 'heb'. Rydyn ni'n ei weld yn eitha aml- sut mae ei ddefnyddio?
Di- Without or Less
I've seen Di, meaning without or less, appear quite often- how can it be used?
Cyflwyno Beirdd Cymreig

Cyflwyno Beirdd Cymreig / Introducing Welsh Poets

Croeso i ‘Cyflwyno Beirdd Cymru’. Yn yr adnodd hwn byddwch yn dod o hyd i wybodaeth am feirdd sy’n ysgrifennu yn y Gymraeg, neu sydd wedi ysgrifennu am y wlad. Dylanwadwyd ar y beirdd yn y cyflwyniad hwn gan bob agwedd ar Gymru, yn cynnwys traddodiadau barddol Cymraeg, a hanes, tirwedd a diwylliant Cymru. Yma byddwn yn dathlu lleisiau Cymreig, yn cynnwys rhai cyfarwydd, a rhai sy’n llai adnabyddus. Efallai y byddwch yn synnu nad yw rhai enwau cyfarwydd wedi’u cynnwys yn yr adnodd hwn. Roeddwn yn credu ei fod yn bwysig i ddangos yr amrywiaeth sy’n bodoli ym myd barddoniaeth Gymraeg, yn cynnwys y gwahanol arddulliau, o’r traddodiadol i’r arbrofol, sydd wedi bodoli trwy hanes Cymru.

Dyma adnodd addysgol rhad ac am ddim, ar gyfer y rhai sydd â diddordeb yn y Gymraeg, ac yn hanes a barddoniaeth Cymru. Mae wedi’i ysgrifennu er mwyn helpu pobl i ddysgu am feirdd Cymru yn y ffordd hawsaf posib, ac felly mae’n cynnwys dolenni i lyfrau ac erthyglau. Ynglŷn â’r wybodaeth am bob bardd, mae’r lluniau wedi’u cysylltu â gwefannau, ble fyddwch chi’n gallu dod o hyd i rai o’r llyfrau y mae sôn amdanyn nhw yn y cyflwyniad hwn. Mae’r awdur wedi manteisio ar wybodaeth academyddion, haneswyr a beirdd Cymreig blaenllaw wrth greu’r dudalen hon. Ymunwch â ni i ymchwilio i feirdd Cymru drwy hanes y wlad ac i ddarganfod pam mai un enw ar Gymru yw Gwlad frwd y beirdd.

Welcome to 'Introducing Welsh Poets'. In this resource you can expect to find information about poets who wrote in, or about, Wales. The poets in this introduction have been influenced by all aspects of Wales, including Welsh poetic traditions, Welsh history, landscape and culture. It is time to celebrate Welsh voices from the familiar to the new. It might be surprising that certain household names have not been included in this resource. This is because I thought it was important to explore the diversity within Welsh poetry and the range of styles, from the traditional to the experimental, that is present throughout Welsh history.

This is a free educational resource for those interested in Welsh language, history and poetry. It has been written with the intention of making further study of Welsh poets as straightforward as possible, including links to books and articles. The photos that accompany each poet are linked to websites where some of the books mentioned in this introduction can be found. This page has benefited from the knowledge of prominent Welsh academics, historians and poets. Join us in an exploration of Welsh poets throughout Welsh history and discover why Wales is called Gwlad frwd y beirdd.

Wedi'i gasglu a'i olygu gan / Collated and edited by: Rhea Seren Phillips rhea_seren
Gyda chyfraniadau oddi wrth / With contributions from: Aneirin Karadog, Professor Ann Parry Owen, Eurig Salisbury, Natalie Ann Holborow & Norena Shopland.

Mae'r eitem hon ar gael i'w lawrlwytho: / This item is available to download:

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Dros y canrifoedd, mae’r enw Taliesin wedi’i ramantu, ac mae’r bardd wedi cael ei ddyrchafu i fod yn rhan o fytholeg Cymru. Efallai mai un o straeon mwyaf adnabyddus Cymru yw’r chwedl am sut y daeth Taliesin i fod. Roedd y wrach, Ceridwen, wedi gorchymyn i was ifanc droi diod hud am flwyddyn a diwrnod. Bwriadwyd y ddiod ar gyfer ei mab oedd yn wrthun a diddawn pan gafodd ei eni. Penderfynodd Ceridwen fragu diod i newid ei natur. Â’r ddiod yn barod, tasgodd diferyn ar law'r gwas. Ar unwaith, rhoddodd y bachgen ei law yn ei geg i leddfu’r llosg gan yfed y ddiod a derbyn ei buddion i gyd. Ac felly daeth chwedl Taliesin i fod.

Bardd llys cynnar oedd Taliesin. Un o’r Cynfeirdd oedd e, oedd yn weithredol rhwng y 6ed a’r 12fed ganrif, fwy neu lai. Cyfoethog ac amrywiol oedd rôl y bardd yn yr Oesoedd Canol, yn cynnwys bod yn rhyfelwr, diddanwr, proffwyd, a chroniclydd. Roedd barddoniaeth yn draddodiad llafar, ac ysgrifennwyd fel arfer mewn ffurfiau a mesurau barddol, Cymraeg, sef cerdd dafod a chynghanedd. Un o ddyletswyddau bardd llys oedd ysgrifennu barddoniaeth i ganu clodydd noddwr enwog, fyddai’n aml o dras frenhinol (am fwy o wybodaeth am feirdd Cymraeg yn yr Oesoedd Canol, gweler y cyswllt isod). Roedd Taliesin yn enwog am ei allu i wneud hyn. Ymhlith rhai eraill, ysgrifennodd ddeuddeg o gerddi mawl i’w noddwr, y Brenin Urien Rhedeg a’i fab, Owain.

  • Aneirin oedd un o gydoeswyr Taliesin.
  • ‘Talcen disglair’ yw ystyr yr enw Taliesin.
  • Ysgrifennwyd Hanes Taliesin yn y 16eg ganrif gan Elis Gruffydd.

The name Taliesin has been romanticised throughout the centuries and the poet has transcended into myth. The story of how Taliesin came to exist is perhaps one of Wales’ most well-known stories. The witch Ceridwen tasked a serving boy to stir a potion for a year and a day. The potion was intended for her son who had been born grotesque and talentless. Ceridwen decided to brew a potion to alter his nature. Just as the potion was ready, a splash fell on the serving boy's hand. The boy immediately brought his hand to his mouth to ease the burn, consuming the potion and all of its benefits. And so, the legend of Taliesin was born.

Taliesin was an early Welsh court poet. He was one of the Y Cynfeirdd or 'The Early Poets' who were active around the 6th to 12th century. The role of the medieval poet was a rich and varied one that included warrior, entertainer, prophet and chronicler. Poetry was an oral tradition that was usually written in Welsh poetic forms and metre or cerdd dafod and cynghanedd. One of the duties of a court poet was to write panegyric verse or poetry written in praise of a celebrated patron, these individuals were often of royal descent (for more information about medieval Welsh poets see the link below). Taliesin was renowned for this ability. Among others, he wrote twelve praise poems for his patron, King Urien Rheged and his son, Owain.

  • Aneirin was one of Taliesin's contemporaries.
  • The name Taliesin means 'radiant brow' or 'shining brow'.
  • Hanes Taliesin was written in the 16th century by Elis Gruffydd.

Darn oddi wrth 'Marwnad Owain ab Urien'

Cysgid Lloegr llydan nifer
A lleufer yn eu llygaid.

Extract from 'Marwnad Owain ab Urien'

Wide England’s host would sleep
With the light in their eyes.

Books

Taliesin. 1988. Taliesin Poems. Translated from Welsh to English by Meirion Pennar. Wales. Llanerch Press. (See above photo.)

Lewis, G. Williams, R. 2019. The Book of Taliesin: Poems of Warfare and Praise in an Enchanted Britain. England. Penguin Classics.



Gwalchmai ap Meilyr (c.1132 - c.1180)

Cyflwyniad gan / Introduction by: Professor Ann Parry Owen

Roedd Gwalchmai ap Meilyr  yn un o’r cynharaf o Feirdd y Tywysogion neu’r Gogynfeirdd. Hanai o deulu o feirdd proffesiynol o Fôn (ac fe’i cysylltir yn arbennig â Threwalchmai). Bu ei dad, Meilyr Brydydd, yn fardd llys i’r Tywysog Gruffudd ap Cynan (marw 1137). Mae’r cerddi sydd wedi goroesi yn awgrymu cyswllt arbennig rhyngddo a’r Tywysog Owain Gwynedd (marw 1170), mab Gruffudd ap Cynan, yn ogystal â brodyr a meibion Owain. Roedd Madog ap Maredudd, tywysog Powys, yntau’n noddwr pwysig iddo, a chyfansoddodd awdl farwnad hir yn dilyn marwolaeth Madog yn 1160. Yn ogystal â’r cerddi mawl a marwnad traddodiadol, cadwyd ganddo gerddi crefyddol a myfyrgar, a hefyd gerdd Orhoffedd, lle mae’n ymffrostio yn ei alluoedd milwrol ef ei hun a rhai ei noddwr, Owain Gwynedd, ac yn llawenhau yn agweddau ar serch a natur. Cadwyd barddoniaeth Gwalchmai mewn dwy lawysgrif bwysig o’r Oesoedd Canol, sef Llawysgrif Hendregadredd  (c.1300) a Llyfr Coch Hergest (c.1400). Gwelir yn llinellau agoriadol ei Orhoffedd y llawenydd personol a’r brwdfrydedd sy’n nodweddu llawer o’i waith.

Gwalchmai ap Meilyr was one of the earliest of the Poets of the Princes or Gogynfeirdd. He belonged to a family of professional poets from Anglesey (and is associated in particular with Trewalchmai). His father, Meilyr Brydydd, was the court poet of Prince Gruffudd ap Cynan (died 1137). Gwalchmai’s extant poetry suggests a particularly close relationship with Prince Owain Gwynedd (died 1170), Gruffudd ap Cynan’s son, and Owain’s brothers and sons. Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys, to whom he composed a long elegy following his death in 1160, was also an important patron. As well as the traditional eulogies and elegies, Gwalchmai’s repertoire contains religious poems, poems of reflection, and his Gorhoffedd, a ‘boasting’ poem celebrating his own military exploits as well as those of his patron, Owain Gwynedd, and rejoicing in aspects of love and nature. Gwalchmai’s poetry has survived in two major medieval manuscripts, The Hendregadredd Manuscript (c.1300) and the Red Book of Hergest (c.1400). The opening lines of his Gorhoffedd convey the personal joy and enthusiasm that characterize much of his poetry.

Mochddwyreawg huan haf dyffestin,
Maws llafar adar, mygr hear hin.
Mi ydwyf eurddeddf ddiofn yn nhrin,
Mi ydwyf llew rhag llu, lluch fy ngorddin.

Early to rise is the sun in summer which is quickly approaching,
Sweet is the birdsong, splendid and fine is the weather.
I am a man of magnificent and fearless attributes in battle,
I am a lion at the front of a regiment, my onslaught is a lightning flash.

Books

For Gwalchmai ap Meilyr’s poetry, see J. E. Caerwyn Williams and Peredur I. Lynch, Gwaith Meilyr Brydydd a’i Ddisgynyddion (Cardiff, 1994), pp. 127–313.

Am waith Gwalchmai ap Meilyr, gweler J. E. Caerwyn Williams a Peredur I. Lynch, Gwaith Meilyr Brydydd a’i Ddisgynyddion (Caerdydd, 1994), tt. 127–313.


Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr (c.1155 - c.1195)

Cyflwyniad gan / Introduction by: Professor Ann Parry Owen

Roedd Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr yn un o Feirdd y Tywysogion neu Ogynfeirdd y ddeuddegfed ganrif. Canodd fawl i dywysogion pwysicaf ei oes: Madog ap Maredudd o Bowys (marw 1170), Owain Gwynedd (marw 1170), Owain Cyfeiliog (marw 1197) a’r Arglwydd Rhys ap Gruffudd o Ddeheubarth (marw 1197). Ef yw’r mwyaf toreithiog o’r beirdd llys, a chadwyd 3,847 llinell o’i farddoniaeth (mewn 48 cerdd) yn rhai o brif lawysgrifau Cymraeg yr Oesoedd Canol, yn cynnwys Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin (c.1250), Llawysgrif Hendregadredd (c.1300) a Llyfr Coch Hergest (c.1400). Mae ei repertoire yn eang, ac yn ogystal â cherddi traddodiadol o fawl a marwnad, canodd awdl hir yn moli eglwys Meifod a’i nawddsant Tysilio, cerddi crefyddol, cerddi dadolwch (cymod), cerddi diolch a cherddi serch. Roedd Cynddelw yn bencerdd, a nodweddir ei farddoniaeth gan hunanhyder ac ymwybyddiaeth o’i statws uchel. Mewn awdl yn cyfarch yr Arglwydd Rhys o’r Deheubarth, un o’r dynion mwyaf pwerus yn ei ddydd, mae’n atgoffa Rhys o’r ffaith eu bod yn llwyr ddibynnol ar ei gilydd, y naill heb lais ac felly’n ddi-rym heb y llall.

Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr was one of the twelfth-century Poets of the Princes or Gogynfeirdd. He sang the praises of the most important princes of his age: Madog ap Maredudd of Powys (died 1170), Owain Gwynedd (died 1170), Owain Cyfeiliog (died 1197) and Lord Rhys ap Gruffudd of Deheubarth (died 1197). He is the most prolific of all the court poets, 3,847 lines of poetry (in 48 poems) having survived in some major medieval Welsh manuscripts, including The Black Book of Carmarthen (c.1250), The Hendregadredd Manuscript (c.1300) and The Red Book of Hergest (c.1400). His repertoire was vast, and as well as the traditional eulogies and elegies, he composed a long poem for the church of Meifod and its patron saint, Tysilio, religious poems, poems of appeasement, poems of thanks and two love poems. Cynddelw was a master craftsman, and his poetry is characterized by a certain self-confidence and awareness of his high status as he addresses his patron princes. In an awdl for the great Lord Rhys of Deheubarth, he reminds Rhys of their interdependency, neither having a voice, and therefore powerless, without the other (an extract from the poem can be read below).

Ti hebof, nid hebu oedd tau,
Mi hebod, ni hebaf finnau.

You without me, you would have no voice,
Me without you, I have no voice either.

Books

Parry Owen, A. Jones, N. 1992. Gwaith Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr V.1. Wales. University of Wales Press. (See above photo).

Links

Myrddin Lloyd, D. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. 1959. Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr (fl. 1155-1200), the leading 12th century Welsh court poet.

Professor Ann Parry Owen is a Research Project Leader at The University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies and Senior Editor at the Dictionary of the Welsh Language. Her principle field of research is medieval Welsh language and poetry. She is particularly interested in the poetry, metrics and language of the Poets of the Princes, the later Gogynfeirdd who sang in the fourteenth century, and in the later poetical tradition of the fifteenth century. She is the co-editor (with Nerys Ann Jones) of two volumes, Gwaith Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr I and II, in the ‘Poets of the Princes Series’, and she has editions of later texts in the 'Poets of the Nobility Series' of which she is the series editor. Professor Ann Parry Owen was the Principal Investigator on the AHRC five-year team-based Guto’r Glyn Project (2008–13) and general editor of the new electronic edition that is freely available online at www.gutorglyn.net.


Iolo Goch (c.1320 - c.1398)

Iolo Goch Poems

Roedd Iolo Goch yn fardd llys yn yr Oesoedd Canol a gafodd ei eni yn Nyffryn Clwyd. Roedd yn ysgrifennu gan ddefnyddio’r traddodiad barddol Cymraeg o gerdd dafod a chynghanedd, ac yn ffafrio’r cywydd. Roedd Iolo’n ysgrifennu yn arddull y Gogynfeirdd, gan ddefnyddio iaith sy’n atgoffa dyn o Gymru hŷn. Ithel ap Robert, archddiacon Llanelwy, teulu’r Tuduriaid o Fôn, ac Owain Glyndŵr oedd ei noddwyr, a chyrhaeddodd un o’i gerddi ddwylo’r Brenin Edward III Lloegr, hyd yn oed (1347). Dangosodd y gerdd wybodaeth am frwydrau yn Lloegr, Iwerddon, a Ffrainc. Mae’i weithiau eraill yn cynnwys cerddi disgrifiadol, ac roedd un ohonyn nhw’n sôn am neuadd fawr Sycharth, oedd yn gartref i Owain Glyndŵr, yn ogystal â cherddi oedd yn ceisio ategu trefn ddwyfol, wleidyddol, a chymdeithasol (Mae’r ‘Y Llafurwr’ yn enghraifft o hyn). Roedd yn gydoeswr i Dafydd ap Gwilym a Llywelyn Goch Amheurig Hen.

Iolo Goch was a medieval court poet who was born in the Vale of Clwyd (his name translates to Iolo the Red). He wrote using the Welsh poetic tradition of cerdd dafod and cynghanedd, favouring the cywydd form. Iolo wrote in the style of the Y Gogynfeirdd, his use of language reminiscent of an older Wales. His patrons were Ithel ap Robert, an archdeacon of St. Asaph, the Tudur family of Anglesey, Owain Glyndŵr and one of his poems even reached the hands of King Edward III of England (1347). The poem displayed a knowledge of battles in England, Ireland and France. His other works include descriptive poems, one of which was about the great hall of Sycharth, home to Owain Glyndŵr, as well as poems that sought to uphold divine, political and social order ('The Labourer’ is an example of this). He was a contemporary of Dafydd ap Gwilym and Llywelyn Goch Amheurig Hen.

Llys barwn, lle syberwyd,
lle daw beirdd aml, lle da byd;
Gwawr Bowys fawr, beues Faig,
Gofuned gwiw ofynaig.

Baron's palace, place of generosity,
Where the bards come often, a good place;
Lady of great Powys, land of Maig,
A place of great promise.

Books

Goch, I. 2010. Welsh Classic Series: Iolo Goch Poems. Wales. Gomer Press. (See above photo.)

Links

Lewis, Prof.H. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. 1959. Iolo Goch (c.1320-c.1398), poet.

Canolfan Owain Glyndŵr Centre. Llys Owain Glyndŵr (the court of Owain) - a poem by Iolo Goch. 

 


Gwerful Mechain (c.1460 - c.1502)

The Works of Gwerful Mechain

Roedd Gwerful Mechain yn ferch i Hywel Fychan o Fechain ym Mhowys. Roedd ei thad yn aelod o’r teulu Vaughan, ac roedd Gwerful yn meddu ar y breintiau a ddaw o gael ei geni i deulu â statws uchel a boheddig. Roedd hi’n fardd canoloesol y mae cryn dipyn o’i gwaith wedi goroesi. Roedd hi hefyd yn fardd arloesol, ac mae hyn i’w weld yn y pynciau ddewisodd hi. Roedd hi’n un o’r beirdd cyntaf i ysgrifennu am gamdriniaeth deuluol; Mae ‘I’w Gŵr am ei Churo’ yn gerdd deimladwy, gref yn llawn o iaith ddig a delweddaeth llawn egni. Roedd hi’n fardd cynhyrchiol nad oedd wedi’i chyfyngu i un arddull,  ond mae’i gwaith yn cynnwys barddoniaeth grefyddol a doniol, a cherddi’n dangos ymwybyddiaeth gymdeithasol. ‘Cywydd y Cedor’ yw un o’i gweithiau enwocaf. Dyma gerdd sy’n ceryddu’i chymheiriaid gwryw am ganu clodydd corff menyw o’r corun i’r sawdl tra byddan nhw’n anwybyddu un nodwedd gêl. Cafodd y gerdd ei hysgrifennu mewn ymateb i 'Cywydd y Gal' gan Dafydd ap Gwilym.

Roedd Gwerful yn sylwedydd craff ar gymdeithas ganoloesol. Ysgrifennwyd ei cherddi crefyddol, sy’n cydymffurfio â moesoldeb caethiwus cymdeithas ganoloesol, yn gaeth, mewn cynghanedd, ond mae rhai o’i cherddi eraill yn fwy rhydd o ran y mesur, yn dangos ei meistrolaeth ar y grefft. Roedd Gwerful yn gydoeswr i Dafydd Llwyd a Llywelyn ap Gutyn, a byddai’n gohebu â nhw’n rheolaidd.

Gwerful Mechain was the daughter of Hywel Fychan from Mechain, Powys. Her father belonged to the Vaughan family, and Gwerful enjoyed the privileges that being born into a high-status and noble family afforded her. She was a medieval poet with a substantial surviving body of work. She was also an innovative poet which is reflected in her choice of subject matter. She one of the first poets to write about domestic abuse; ‘To Her Husband for Beating Her’ is a poignant and powerful poem full of enraged language and energetic imagery. She was a prolific poet who was not restricted to one style, her work includes religious, humorous and socially conscious poetry. One of her most well-known works is ‘Ode to a Vagina’, a poem that chastises her male counterparts for praising a woman’s body from her hair to her feet but ignoring one hidden feature. The poem was written in response to Dafydd ap Gwilym's 'Ode to a Penis' or 'Cywydd y Gal'. 

Gwerful was a keen observer of medieval society. Her religious poems, which conform to the restrictive morality of medieval society, were written in strict cynghanedd, while some of her other poems had a relaxed attitude towards the metre, displaying her mastery of the craft. Gwerful was a contemporary of Dafydd Llwyd and Llywelyn ap Gutyn, who she corresponded with on a regular basis.

Darn oddi wrth 'A Response to Ieuan Dyfi's poem on Red Annie'

Gwae'r undyn heb gywreinddu,
Gwae'r un wen a garo neb;
Ni cheir gan hon ei charu,
Yn dda, er ei bod yn ddu.

Extract from 'A Response to Ieuan Dyfi's poem on Red Annie'

Woe betide you, incompetent bard,
Who sings the praise of the chaste blonde,
While the loving, clever dark one
Gets lambasted and shunned.

Books

Gramich, K. 2018. The Works of Gwerful Mechain. Canada. Broadview Press. (See above photo.)

Links

Rattle. 2017. Gwerful Mechain: 'To Her Husband for Beating Her'.

Harries, L. 1959. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Gwerful Mechain (1462? - 1500), poetess.

Swansea University. The Welsh Department. Dafydd ap Gwilym.

 


Guto'r Glyn (c.1450 - c.1490)

Cyflwyniad gan / Introduction by: Eurig Salisbury

Eurig Salisbury a Barry J. Lewis: "Er mor anghyflawn yw’r darlun ar adegau, eto fe gawn [yn ei waith] gipolwg cyffrous ar Guto mewn lleoliadau arbennig ar adegau arbennig, ac yn raddol fe ddaw i’r amlwg amlinelliad o yrfa bardd ac iddi arwyddocâd gwir genedlaethol a rhyngwladol."

Cyfansoddai Guto yn Gymraeg. Cafodd ei eni yn nyffryn Ceiriog a bu’n byw am gyfnod yng Nghroesoswallt, lle cafodd fod yn fwrdais yn gyfnewid am ganu cerdd o fawl i’r dref. Teithiodd Gymru a’r gororau benbaladr, ac fe’i claddwyd yn abaty Glyn-y-groes.

  • Bardd mwyaf y bymthegfed ganrif.
  • Cymerodd ran fel milwr yn y Rhyfel Can Mlynedd a bu’n dyst i brif ddigwyddiadau Rhyfeloedd y Rhosynnau yng Nghymru.
  • Canodd fawl i uchelwyr mwyaf blaenllaw ei ddydd ar hyd a lled Cymru, yn fwyaf nodedig i Syr Wiliam Herbert o Raglan yn ystod ei fuddugoliaethau a’i gwymp yn yr 1460au.
  • Roedd yn bennaf gysylltiedig ag abaty Ystrad Fflur, Rhaglan, Croesoswallt (lle bu’n byw fel bwrdais) ac abaty Glyn-y-groes, lle bu farw a lle’i claddwyd.

Gruffudd Aled Williams– "According to the later poet Tudur Aled it was Guto of all Welsh poets who excelled in composing praise poems to noblemen: his work amply bears out this judgement, often boldly transcending poetic convention and delighting with its wit, vigour, and original imagery."

Guto composed in Welsh. He was born in the Ceiriog valley and lived for a time in Oswestry, where he was made a burgess in exchange for composing a poem of praise for the town. He travelled all over Wales and the marches. He was buried in the abbey of Valle Crucis.

  • The greatest poet of the fifteenth century.
  • Took part as a soldier in the Hundred Years War and witnessed the most important events of the Wars of the Roses in Wales.
  • Composed praise poetry for the leading noblemen of his day in every part of Wales, most notably for Sir William Herbert of Raglan during his spectacular rise and fall in the 1460s.
  • Principally associated with Strata Florida abbey, Raglan, Oswestry (where he lived as a burgess) and Valle Crucis abbey.

'Moliant i Wiliam Herbert o Raglan, iarll cyntaf Penfro, ar ôl cipio castell Herlech, 1468'

Na fwrw dreth yn y fro draw
Ni aller ei chynullaw.
Na friw Wynedd yn franar,
N’ad i Fôn fyned i fâr,
N’ad y gweiniaid i gwynaw
Na brad na lledrad rhag llaw.
N’ad trwy Wynedd blant Rhonwen
Na phlant Hors yn y Fflint hen.
Na ad, f’arglwydd, swydd i Sais,
Na’i bardwn i un bwrdais.
Barna’n iawn, brenin ein iaith,
Bwrw ’n y tân eu braint unwaith.
Cymer wŷr Cymru’r awron,
Cwnstabl o Farstabl i Fôn.
Dwg Forgannwg a Gwynedd,
Gwna’n un o Gonwy i Nedd.
O digia Lloegr a’i dugiaid,
Cymru a dry yn dy raid.

gutorglyn.net 21.53–70

'In praise of William Herbert of Raglan, first earl of Pembroke, after the capture of Harlech castle, 1468'

Do not exact a tax on the land over there
Which cannot be gathered.
Do not churn up Gwynedd into fallow-land,
Do not let Anglesey fall into misery,
Do not let the weak lament
Either treachery or theft from now on.
Do not let Rhonwen’s children roam Gwynedd
Nor the children of Horsa into ancient Flint.
Do not, my lord, allow any office to an Englishman,
Nor give any burgess his pardon.
Judge rightly, king of our nation,
Cast their privilege into the fire once and for all.
Take now the men of Wales,
Constable from Barnstaple to Anglesey.
Take Glamorgan and Gwynedd,
Make all one from the Conwy to the Neath.
If England and her dukes are angered,
Wales will come to your need.

gutorglyn.net 21.53–70

Books

Parry Owen, A. 2017. Plu Porffor a Chlog o Fwng Ceiliog: Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr a Guto'r Glyn. Wales. University of Wales for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies.

Williams. I. 1979. Gwaith Guto'r Glyn. Wales. University of Wales Press. (See above photo.) 

Links

The University of Wales. Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. 2011. The Poetry of Guto'r Glyn. 

Williams, Sir. I. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. 1959. Guto'r Glyn, a bard who sang during the second half of the 15th century (1440-1493).

Eurig Salisbury is an English and Welsh language poet. He graduated from Aberystwyth University in 2004 and 2006, where he now works as a lecturer. He won the Chair at the Urdd Festival in Denbighshire in 2006. Eurig was the first to hold the prestigious position of Bardd Plant Cymru or Welsh Children's Laureate for two years (2011 - 2013). Eurig Salisbury is the Welsh-language editor for 'Poetry Wales'. eurig | eurig.cymru/blog | soundcloud.com/podlediad_clera


Katherine Philips (c.1632 - c.1664)

Cyflwyniad gan / Introduction by: Norena Shopland

Cafodd Katherine Philips ei geni yn Llundain, ond treuliodd y rhan fwyaf o’i bywyd yng Nghymru. O’i chartref yn Aberteifi ysgrifennodd farddoniaeth a sicrhaodd ei bod yn cael ei chydnabod fel y bardd Prydeinig benyw cyntaf o bwys. Hi oedd y wraig gyntaf hefyd i gael llwyfannu drama’n fasnachol. Roedd hi’n adnabyddus yn ei chyfnod ei hun, ond diflanodd ei gwaith o olwg y byd yn ddiweddarach, a dim ond yn yr 20fed ganrif y sylweddolwyd ei wir werth. Pan ddechreuodd ysgrifenwyr ffeministaidd dynu sylw at ei barddoniaeth cafodd ei harddel fel un o feirdd mwyaf dylanwadol yr iaith Saesneg.

Mae llawer o’r drafodaeth ynghylch barddoniaeth Katherine yn canolbwyntio ar ofyn a oedd hi’n lesbiad ai peidio. Y rheswm am hyn yw bod ei gwaith yn ffocysu’n emosiynol ar fenywod, a’r perthnasoedd nwydwyllt yr oedd hi’n eu cael â nhw. Ni waeth beth fo rhywioldeb Katherine dyma’r cerddi Prydeinig cyntaf sy’n mynegi cariad rhwng dwy fenyw.

Katherine Philips was born in London, but spent most of her life in Wales. From her home in Cardigan she was to write poetry that marked her out as the first significant female British poet, as well as the first woman to have a commercial play staged. Well-known in her own time she fell into obscurity and it was not until the late 20th century that her true worth was realised. When feminist writers began to highlight her poetry she was finally acknowledged as one of the most influential women poets in the English language.

Much discussion around Katherine’s poetry and life concentrates on whether she was or was not a lesbian. For the emotional focus of her poetry was on women and the passionate relationships she had with them. Regardless of Katherine’s own sexual orientation they are the first British poems which express same-sex love between women.

Extract from 'To the Queen of Inconstancy, Regina Collier'

And you kill me, because I worshipp’d you.
But my worst vows shall be your happiness,
And nere to be disturb’d by my distress.
And though it would my sacred flames pollute,
To make my Heart a scorned prostitute;
Yet I’le adore the Authour of my death,
And kiss the hand that robbs me of my breath.

Books

Shopland, N. 2017. Forbidden Lives: LGBT Stories from Wales. Wales. Seren. (See above photo).

Philips, K. 2018. Poems by the Most Deservedly Admired Mrs. Katherine Philips (Classic reprint). England.Forgotten Print.

Thomas, P. Philips, K. 1990. The Collected Works of Katherine Philips: The Matchless Orinda. England. Stump Cross Books.

Orvis, D.L. 2015. Noble Flame of Katherine Philips. U.S.A. Duquesnes University Press.

Links

Jokinen, A. 2003. The Works of Katherine Philips. 

Poetry Foundation. Katherine Philips. 

British Library. Katherine Philips. 

Norena Shopland has a Master’s degree in heritage studies and has worked with leading heritage organisations including National Museums Wales, Glamorgan Archives and Cardiff Story Museum. She has extensively researched the heritage of LGBT people and issues in Wales for 15 years. She devised the first project in Wales to look at placing sexual orientation and gender identity into Welsh history, culminating in the Welsh Pride, the first exhibition exclusively on Welsh LGBT people, allies and events, and managed Gender Fluidity, the first funded transgender project in Wales. Norena arranged for Gillian Clarke to write the first poem in the world by a national or poet laureate celebrating the LGBT people of a country. NorenaShopland


Huw Morys (c.1622 - c.1709)

Cyflwyniad gan / Introduction by: Eurig Salisbury

Canai Huw Morys yn Gymraeg. Bardd mwyaf yr ail ganrif ar bymtheg. Roedd yn byw ar ffermdy Pont-y-meibion ger y Pandy yn nyffryn Ceiriog. Fe’i claddwyd yn eglwys Llansilin, lle roedd yn warden.

  • Un o’r beirdd olaf i ennill ei fywoliaeth yn canu cerddi i bobl yn ei gymuned.
  • Gwnaeth ddefnydd arloesol o’r gynghanedd ar fesurau rhydd newydd.
  • Canodd gerddi i fwy nag un haen yn y gymdeithas, o’r tlawd i’r mwyaf cefnog.
  • Thomas Parry: ‘Y mwyaf toreithiog, ac ar lawer ystyr y gloywaf ei ddawn o feirdd [yr ail ganrif ar bymtheg] … un o brif feirdd Cymru.’

Huw Morys composed in Welsh and he is considered to be the greatest poet of the 16th century. He lived at Pont-y-meibion farmhouse near Pandy in the Ceiriog valley. He was buried in Llansilin church, where he served as a warden.

  • He was one of the last poets to earn a living composing poetry for his community.
  • He made innovative use of ‘cynghanedd’ in new free metres.
  • He composed poetry for all levels in society, from the poor to the wealthy.
  • Thomas Parry: "the most prolific and in many ways the brightest bardic talent of the seventeenth century – one of the great Welsh poet."

Darn oddi wrth ‘Codi Nant-y-cwm’ (gofyn i grefftwyr adeiladu tŷ i dlodion)

Fi a’m holl gymdeithion,
Os gwir yw gwers y person,
Troed y ffordd i’r nefoedd gu
Yw adeiladu i dlodion.

Extract from ‘To build Nant-y-cwm’ (request for craftsmen to build a house for the poor)

Myself and all my companions,
if the parson’s sermon is true,
the beginning of the road to beloved heaven
is to build for the poor.

Books

Morys, H. Jones, F.M (ed). 2008. Y Rhyfel Cartrefol. Wales. School of Welsh, Bangor University. (See above photo.)

Parry, T. 1962. The Oxford Book of Welsh Verse. England. Oxford University Press.

Eurig Salisbury is an English and Welsh language poet. He graduated from Aberystwyth University in 2004 and 2006, where he now works as a lecturer. He won the Chair at the Urdd Festival in Denbighshire in 2006. Eurig was the first to hold the prestigious position of Bardd Plant Cymru or Welsh Children's Laureate for two years (2011 - 2013). Eurig Salisbury is the Welsh-language editor for 'Poetry Wales'. eurig | eurig.cymru/blog | soundcloud.com/podlediad_clera


Sarah Jane Rees (1839 - 1916)

Cyflwyniad gan / Introduction by: Norena Shopland

Pan fu farw Sarah Jane Rees ym 1916, dywedodd yr ysgrif goffa yn y Carmarthen Journal y canlynol: “Gall dyn honni’n ddiogel nad yw’r un Gymraes arall wedi bod mor boblogaidd mewn cymaint o feysydd cyhoeddus ag oedd Cranogwen.”

Cranogwen oedd yr enw barddol a ddaeth ag enwogrwydd Sarah – mae’n gyfuniad o ddau air: Sant Crannog, yr enwyd Llangrannog ar ei ôl, a Nant Hawen, yr afon leol – ac yn wir llwyddodd hi i wneud nifer fawr o bethau yn ystod ei bywyd. Roedd hi’n forwr, athro, bardd arobryn, ysgrifennwr a golygydd, a phregethwr lleyg. Yn ystod ei hoes, gwnaeth gryn dipyn i hyrwyddo ysgrifenwyr benyw yng Nghymru, ond nad ydym yn gwybod llawer amdani heddiw.

Trwy ei hysgrifennu y daeth Cranogwen yn enwog, dros nos, bron. Yn 1865, cystadlodd yn yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, y digwyddiad cymdeithasol hwnnw sy’n Gymraeg i’r gwraidd. Yn y Brifwyl yn Aberystwyth, cyflwynodd gerdd o’r enw ‘Y Fodrwy Briodasol’. Rhaid i bob awdur ddewis ffugenw, ac felly pan ddaeth i’r golwg mai menyw oedd wedi ennill, roedd pawb yn synnu. Roedd hi wedi bod yn cystadlu yn erbyn ysgrifenwyr gwryw enwog a chydnabyddedig.

When Sarah Jane Rees died in 1916 Carmarthen Journal’s obituary said “It can safely be claimed that no other Welsh woman enjoyed popularity in so many public spheres as Cranogwen did."

Cranogwen was the bardic name for which Sarah was to become famous - a combination of Saint Cranog after whom Llangrannog was named and Hawen the local river, and she certainly covered a lot of ground in her life. She was a sailor, teacher, award winning poet, writer and editor and lay preacher. In her time she did an enormous amount for the advancement of Welsh women writers but today is little known.

It was through her writing that Cranogwen became a celebrity almost overnight. In 1865 she entered that quintessentially Welsh cultural event, the Eisteddfod. At the nationals in Aberystwyth she entered a poem ‘Y Fodrwy Briodasol’ ('The Wedding Ring'). All entries are anonymous and so when it was revealed a woman had won there was genuine shock. She had been competing against established and renowned male writers.

Darn oddi wrth 'Fy Ffrynd'

Ah! Annwyl chwaer, ‘r wyt ti i mi,
Fel lloer I’r lli, yn gyson;
Dy ddilyn heb orphwyso wna
Serchiadau pura’m calon.

Extract from 'My Friend'

Oh! My dear sister, you to me
As the moon to the sea, constantly,
Following you restlessly are
My heart’s pure affections.

Books

John, A.V. 2011. Our Mothers' Land: Chapters in Welsh Women's History, 1830-1939. Wales. University of Wales Press.

Jones, D.G. 1981. Cranogwen: Portread Newydd. Wales. Gomer Press. (out of print.)

Links

Matthews, C. BBC Wales. 2019. Hidden Heroines. 

Carradice, P. BBC Wales. 2013. Sarah Jane Rees, schoolteacher and poet.

WENWales. Sarah Jane Rees "Cranogwen".

 

Norena Shopland has a Master’s degree in heritage studies and has worked with leading heritage organisations including National Museums Wales, Glamorgan Archives and Cardiff Story Museum. She has extensively researched the heritage of LGBT people and issues in Wales for 15 years. She devised the first project in Wales to look at placing sexual orientation and gender identity into Welsh history, culminating in the Welsh Pride, the first exhibition exclusively on Welsh LGBT people, allies and events, and managed Gender Fluidity, the first funded transgender project in Wales. Norena arranged for Gillian Clarke to write the first poem in the world by a national or poet laureate celebrating the LGBT people of a country. NorenaShopland


John Ceiriog Hughes (1832 - 1887)

Cafodd John Ceiriog Hughes ei eni ar fferm yn edrych dros bentref Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog yng ngogledd-ddwyrain Cymru. Gadawodd yno i fynd i Fanceinion yn 1849, ble gweithiai fel rheolwr rheilffordd rhwng Manceinion a Llundain. Ychydig wedi hynny, cymerodd swydd fel clerc yn Llundain. Yn ddiweddarach, symudodd i orsaf reilffordd Caersws a gweithiodd yno am weddill ei oes.

Cymerodd ei enw barddol o afon yn llifo’n agos i’w gartre’, Afon Ceiriog. Teitl ei gasgliad cyntaf o farddoniaeth, wedi’i gyhoeddi yn 1860, oedd 'Oriau’r Hwyr' ('Evening Hours'). Dylanwadwyd ar ei waith gan y Gymru wledig, a chan berseinedd barddoniaeth ac alawon gwerin Cymraeg, yn enwedig y rhai a oedd yn deffro atgofion bore oes.

Yn ystod y cyfnod a dreuliodd yn Lloegr, dylanwadwyd ar Ceiriog gan y Cymry John Hughes, R.J. Derfel ac Idris Fychan, oedd yn aelodau o gymdeithas lenyddol. Roedd Idris Fychan yn arfer canu’r delyn, offeryn cerdd traddodiadol oedd yn cael ei ddefnyddio i gyfeilio i farddoniaeth Gymraeg ganoloesol. Roedd R.J. Derfel yn gefnogwr pybyr o hanes, iaith a diwylliant Cymru. Mae’u dylanwad i’w gweld yn y llyfr 'Cant o Ganeuon: Yn Cynwys, Y Gyfres Gyntaf o Eiriau ar Alawon Cymreig', y gyntaf o bedair cyfrol (y cyhoeddwyd dim ond un ohonyn nhw).

  • O bryd i’w gilydd, cyfeirir ato fel  ‘Robert Burns barddoniaeth Gymraeg’.
  • Cafodd ei hudo gan ganeuon gwerin Cymraeg, ac ysgrifennodd gerddi telynegol yn dilyn eu rhythm. Mae’r rhain yn cynnwys 'Dafydd y Garreg Wen'.

John Ceiriog Hughes was born on a farm overlooking the village of Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog in North-East Wales. He left for Manchester in 1849 where he worked as a railway manager between Manchester and London. Shortly after he took a job as a clerk in London. In later life, he moved to Caersws railway station where he worked until his death.

He took his bardic name from a river that ran close to his home, the River Ceiriog. His first collection of poetry, published in 1860, was called 'Evening Hours' or 'Oriau’r Hwyr'. His work was influenced by rural Wales and the musicality of Welsh poetry and folk tunes, particularly those that invoked memories of childhood.

During his time in England, Ceiriog was influenced by Welshmen John Hughes, R.J.Derfel and Idris Fychan who were members of a literary society. Idris Fychan played the harp, a traditional instrument used to accompany medieval Welsh poetry. R.J.Derfel was a staunch promoter of Welsh history, language and culture. Their influence can be seen in 'Cant o Ganeuon: Yn Cynwys, Y Gyfres Gyntaf o Eiriau ar Alawon Cymreig', the first of four volumes (only one of which was published).

  • He is sometimes referred to as 'the Robert Burns of Welsh poetry'.
  • He was fascinated by Welsh folk songs and wrote lyrical poems to their rhythm. These included 'David of the White Rock' or 'Dafydd y Garreg Wen'.

Extract from 'Alun Mabon'

The mighty mountains changeless stand.
Tireless the winds across them blow;
The shepherd's song across the land
Sounds with the dawn so long ago.

Books

Conran, T. 2017. Welsh Verse. Wales. Seren. (See above photo.)

Links

Jones, D.G. The Dictionary of Welsh Biography. 1959. Hughes, John (Ceiriog) (Ceiriog; 1832-1887), poet.

Welsh Icons News. 2019. John Ceiriog Hughes. 


T.H. Parry-Williams (1887 - 1975)

Cerddi TH Parry-Williams

Cafodd T.H. Parry-Williams ei eni yn Rhyd-Ddu, Eryri, a daeth o deulu o lenorion. Roedd ei dad, Henry Parry-Williams, wedi ennill clod yn yr Eisteddfod, ac roedd Ann, ei fam, yn chwaer i gynganeddwr uchel ei fri. Bardd adnabyddus ledled Cymru hefyd oedd R.Williams Parry, ac roedd yntau’n gefnder i T.H. Parry-Williams.

Mynychodd T.H. Parry-Williams Brifysgol Cymru, Aberystwyth, ble y daeth yn athro’n ddiweddarach. Aeth yn ei flaen i fynychu Coleg Iesu, Rhydychen ym 1909, gan astudio geiriau benthyg Saesneg yn y Gymraeg. Cyhoeddwyd yr ymchwil hwn o dan y teitl, ‘The English Element in Welsh’. Dim ond ym 1931 y cyhoeddwyd ei gyfrol gyntaf o farddoniaeth, ‘Cerddi’. Mae chwe chyfrol bellach o gerddi a thraethodau’n cynnwys y rhan fwyaf o’i waith creadigol, 'Olion' (1935), 'Lloffion' (1942), 'O'r Pedwar Gwynt' (1944), 'Ugain o Gerddi' (1949), 'Myfyrdodau' (1957) a 'Pensynnu' (1966). Cafodd y traethodau’u casglu at ei gilydd yn 'Casgliad o Ysgrifau’ ym 1984, a’r cerddi yn 'Casgliad o Gerddi' dair blynedd yn ddiweddarach.

Ysgrifennodd erthyglau academaidd, a daeth yn ffigwr adnabyddus ar y teledu a’r radio. Roedd e’n arfer chwarae rhan weithredol mewn cymdeithasau Cymraeg eu hiaith, yn cynnwys Llys yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, ac Anrhydeddus Gymdeithas y Cymmrodorion. Cafodd T.H. Parry-Williams ei urddo’n farchog ym 1958.

  • Fel plentyn ysgol, dechreuodd ysgrifennu dyddiadur manwl, arfer y daliodd ato weddill ei oes.
  • Roedd yn wrthwynebwr cydwybodol yn ystod yr Ail Ryfel Byd a chyhoeddodd gerddi yn y cylchgrawn heddychol, 'Y Deyrnas'.
  • Ysgrifennodd mewn cwpledi sy’n odli, ac ar ffurf soned.
  • Teithiodd yn eang; astudiodd ym Mhrifysgol Freiburg (yr Almaen), ac aeth e i Ogledd a De America, ymhlith mannau eraill.

T.H.Parry-Williams was born in Rhyd-Ddu, Snowdonia. He came from a literary family. Henry Parry-Williams, his father, had been successful in the Eisteddfod and Ann, his mother, was the sibling of a celebrated strict metre poet. T.H Parry-Williams’ first cousin, R. Parry-Williams, was also a well-known poet in Wales.

T.H Parry-Williams attended The University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he later became a professor. He went on to attend Jesus College Oxford in 1909 studying English loan words in Welsh. This research was published in 1923 titled 'The English Element in Welsh'. His first volume of poetry, 'Cerddi', wasn’t published until 1931. A further six volumes of poems and essays make up the main body of his creative work, 'Olion' (1935), 'Lloffion' (1942), 'O'r Pedwar Gwynt' (1944), 'Ugain o Gerddi' (1949), 'Myfyrdodau' (1957) and 'Pensynnu' (1966). The essays were collected in 'Casgliad o Ysgrifau' in 1984, and the poems in 'Casgliad o Gerddi' three years later.

He wrote scholarly articles and became a well-known figure on television and radio. He was active in Welsh societies including the Court of the National Eisteddfod and The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. T.H Parry-Williams was knighted in 1958.

  • As a schoolboy he started a detailed diary. A habit that he kept until his death.
  • He was a conscientious objector during WWII and published poems in the pacifist journal, 'Y Deyrnas'.
  • He wrote in rhyming couplets and sonnets.
  • He was well-travelled having studied in Freiburg University (Germany) and travelled to South and North America, among others.

Darn oddi wrth 'Hon'

Beth yw’r ots gennyf i am Gymru? Damwain a hap
Yw fy mod yn ei libart yn byw. Nid yw hon ar fap
Yn ddim byd ond cilcyn o ddaear mewn cilfach gefn,
Ac yn dipyn o boendod i’r rhai sy’n credu mewn trefn.

Extract from 'This'

What do I care about Wales? It is just fluke and accident
That I live within her confines. She is no more on a map
Than a small patch of land in the back end of beyond.
And a bit of a pain to those who believe in order.

Books

Parry-Williams, T.H. 2011. Cerddi Rhigymau a Sonedau. Wales Gomer Press. (See above photo.)

Links

Evans, R. The Curious Astronomer. 2011. “Hon” (This) – a poem.

Price, A. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. 2018. Parry-Williams, Sir Thomas Herbert (1887-1975), author and scholar.


Lynette Roberts (1909 - 1995)

Cafodd Lynette Roberts ei geni ym Buenos Aires, yr Ariannin, i rieni o dras Cymreig. Astudiodd Gelf yn The Central School for Arts and Crafts, Llundain. Ym 1939, priododd y bardd o Gymro, Keidrych Rhys, ac ymgartrefodd yn Llanybri. Cyhoeddwyd ei dau gasgliad o gerddi, Poems (1944) a Gods with Stainless Ears: a Heroic Poem (1951) gan Faber and Faber. Roedd T.S. Eliot, golygydd i’r cwmni, yn edmygu’i gwaith.

Ysgrifennodd Lynette Roberts am fywyd pentrefyn Llanybri, yn cynnwys y bobl oedd yn byw ac yn gweithio yn y pentref. Mae’r pynciau yn ei cherddi’n cynnwys erthyliad a byd natur. Roedd ganddi ddiddordeb neilltuol mewn adar.  Dylanwadwyd arni hi gan draddodiadau barddol Cymraeg, ac roedd hi’n eu defnyddio i fynegi’i phrofiadau ynghylch byw ar ffiniau pentref Cymraeg traddodiadol. Ym 1944, ysgrifennodd draethawd byr o’r enw ‘Village Dialect’ oedd yn mynegi’r brwdfrydedd hwn. Roedd arddull ei hysgrifennu’n arloesol, a dim ond yn ddiweddar y mae’i gwaith wedi derbyn y gydnabyddiaeth y mae’n ei haeddu. Mae barddoniaeth Lynette yn tynnu ar brofiad synhwyraidd dwys i ddangos bywyd yn y Gymru wledig yn ystod y cyfnod o ddatblygu technegol sylweddol a ddigwyddodd yn yr Ail Ryfel Byd. Gellir gweld esiampl o’r arddull hon yn ‘Air Raid on Swansea’ (1941). Mae’r gerdd yn cyfuno’i hiaith fywiog â’r arswyd technegol oedd wedi tarfu ar gefn gwlad llonydd Cymru.

Roedd Lynette Roberts a Robert Graves yn gohebu gyda’i gilydd. Yn aml byddai’r naill yn helpu’r llall i ddatblygu syniadau a cherddi. Roedd hi’n arfer ysgrifennu llythyrau personol a phreifat at y bardd Alun Lewis. Mae 'Poem from Llanybri' (1944) yn gwahodd Alun Lewis i ymweld â hi yn ei chartref yn Llanybri. Roedd hi’n ffrind i Elizabeth Sitwell, Vernon Watkins, a beirdd enwog o Gymru oedd yn ffynnu yn yr 20fed ganrif.

  • Dylan Thomas oedd y gwas yn ei phriodas . Diddymwyd ei phriodas ym 1948.
  • Yn hwyrach yn ei hoes, ymunodd â Thystion Jehofa.
  • Ym 1956, torrodd ei nerfau, a threuliodd gyfnodau mewn ysbytai meddwl.

Lynette Roberts was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina from parents of Welsh ancestry. She studied Art at The Central School for Arts and Crafts, London. In 1939, she married Welsh poet Keidrych Rhys and settled in Llanybri. Her two poetry collections, Poems (1944) and Gods with Stainless Ears: a Heroic Poem (1951) were published by Faber and Faber, whose editor, T.S Eliot, was an admirer of her work.

Lynette Roberts wrote about village life in Llanybri, including the people who lived and worked in the village. The subjects of her poetry include miscarriage and the natural world. She was particularly interested in birds. She was influenced by Welsh poetic traditions and used them to express her experiences of living on the borders of a traditional Welsh village. In 1944, she wrote a short essay called 'Village Dialect' that expressed this enthusiasm. Her writing style was innovative and it is only recently that she has begun to receive the recognition that her work deserves. Lynette's poetry draws on an intense sensory experience to depict life in rural Wales during the technological burst that occurred during WWII. An example of this style can be seen in 'Air Raid on Swansea' (1941). The poem fuses her vibrant use of language with the technological terror that had descended upon the quiet countryside of Wales.

Lynette Roberts and Robert Graves exchanged correspondence, often assisting each other with the development of ideas and poems. She held an intimate correspondence with poet, Alun Lewis. 'Poem from Llanybri' (1944) is an invitation to Alun Lewis to visit her at home in Llanybri. She was friends with Elizabeth Sitwell, Vernon Watkins and other notable Welsh poets of the 20th century.

  • Dylan Thomas was best man at her wedding. Her marriage dissolved in 1948.
  • In later life she became a Jehovah’s Witness.
  • In 1956 she suffered a mental breakdown and spent time in mental institutes.

Extract from 'Poem from Llanybri'

Then I'll do the lights, fill the lamp with oil,
Get coal from the shed, water from the well;
Pluck and draw pigeon, with crop of green foil
This your good supper from the lime-tree fell.

Books

Roberts, L. McGuinness, P (ed). 2005. Lynette Roberts Collected Poems. England. Carcanet Press. (See above photo.)

McAvoy, Siriol (ed). 2019. Locating Lynette Roberts: Always Observant and Slightly Obscure. Wales. University of Wales Press.


Mererid Hopwood (1964 - present)

Cyflwyniad gan / Introduction by: Aneirin Karadog

Wedi ei geni a’i magu yng Nghaerdydd, mae gwreiddiau teuluol Mererid Hopwood yn Sir Benfro.  Wedi cael ei haddysg yn Ysgol uwchradd Llanhari ac yna ym Mhrifysgol Aberystwyth, aeth ymlaen i ddatblygu gyrfa fel ieithydd dawnus sy’n arbenigo mewn Sbaeneg ac Almaeneg. Yng nghanol y 1990au, gan dynnu ar ei dawn fel ieithydd, dysgodd gynganeddu mewn gwersi a sefydlwyd gan y Prifardd Tudur Dylan a Geraint Roberts, Ysgol Farddol Caerfyrddin.

Yn ddigon buan daeth yn agos at gipio’r Gadair yn Eisteddfod Ynys Môn, 1999 cyn mynd ymlaen i’w hennill yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Dinbych, 2001 – y fenyw gyntaf erioed i gyflawni’r gamp.  Canodd awdl oedd yn trin deunydd na fu canu arno cynt yn hanes wrywaidd cystadleuaeth y gadair, sef y pwnc o feichiogi, geni babi ac yna’r brofedigaeth yn sgil colli’r plentyn.  Aeth ymlaen wedyn i dorri record arall, drwy fod y fenwy gyntaf i wneud y trebl, sef ennill y Gadair, y Goron a’r Fedal Ryddiaith.

“Yn y darn rhwng gwyn a du
Mae egin pob dychmygu”

Mae Mererid, trwy ei gwaith fel academydd, darlledwr, Prifardd ac awdur wedi dod yn enw cyfarwydd i gynulleidfaoedd yng Nghymru a thu hwnt. Mae’r Prifardd Alan Llwyd wedi sôn am bwysigrwydd Symlder Dyfnder mewn mynegiant barddol ac mae canu Mererid yn ymgorffori’r cysyniad hwn gyda’i cherddi sydd ar y cyfan yn ddealladwy o’r darlleniad cyntaf gan lwyddo i gynnwys dyfnder athronyddol.  Mae’n aelod disglair o staff Prifysgol Cymru Dewi Sant, wedi cyhoeddi nifer o lyfrau i blant a hefyd yn gwneud argraff yn ddiweddar gyda phrosiectau mawrion fel y gwaith comisiwn, Cantata Memoria, a grewyd ar y cyd gyda Karl Jenkins i gofio trychineb Aberfan, a’r sioe Eisteddfodol gyda Robert Arwyn a Bryn Terfel, i gofio Paul Robeson, ‘Hwn Yw Fy Mrawd’.

Mae Mererid Hopwood hefyd yn aelod blaenllaw o Gymdeithas y Cymod ac yn ymgyrchu’n angerddol dros heddwch.

  • Enillydd y Gadair yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, Dinbych, 2001.
  • Enillydd y Goron, Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Meifod, 2003.
  • Cyhoeddodd ‘Singing in Chains’ (Gwasg Gomer), cyflwyniad i’r gynghanedd dryw gyfrwng y Saesneg yn 2004.
  • Bardd Plant Cymru 2005-2006.
  • Enillydd y Fedal Ryddiaith, Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Caerdydd, 2008.
  • Cyhoeddodd 'Nes Draw’ (Gwasg Gomer), ei chyfrol gyntaf o gerddi, yn 2015.

Although born and brought up in Cardiff, Mererid Hopwood’s family roots are in Pembrokeshire. Having been educated in Llanhari secondary school and then in Aberystwyth University, she went on to pursue a career as a talented linguist specialising in Spanish and German. In the mid-1990s, drawing on her linguistic skill, she learned to fashion cynghanedd in classes established by the Chief-bard Tudur Dylan and Geraint Roberts, of Carmarthen Bardic School.

Soon enough she came close to seizing the Chair in the Anglesey Eisteddfod in 1999, before going on to win it in the Denbigh National Eisteddfod in 2001 – the first ever woman to achieve the feat. She composed an awdl (that is, an ode in strict metre), dealing with material that had not been touched upon previously in the masculine history of the chair competition, namely the topic of pregnancy, giving birth to a baby, and then the bereavement in the wake of losing the child. She then went on to break another record, by being the first woman to “win the triple” namely to win the Chair, the Crown, and the Prose Medal.

“In the spot between white and black
Are the buds of all imagining.”

Mererid, through her work as academic, broadcaster, Chief-bard and author, has become a familiar name to audiences in Wales and beyond. The Chief-bard Alan Llwyd has talked about the importance of the Simplicity of Depth in poetic expression, and Mererid’s composition embodies this concept in her poems which on the whole are comprehensible on the first reading, succeeding to contain philosophical depth. She is a dazzling member of staff at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, having published a number of books for children, who is also making an impression lately with big projects such as the commissioned work, Cantata Memoria, which was created jointly with Karl Jenkins to commemorate the Aberfan disaster, and the Eisteddfod show with Robert Arwyn and Bryn Terfel, to commemorate Paul Robeson, ‘Hwn Yw Fy Mrawd’ (‘This Is My Brother’).

Mererid Hopwood is also a leading member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (Cymdeithas y Cymod), and campaigns passionately for peace.

  • Winner of the Chair in the National Eisteddfod, Denbeigh, 2001.
  • Winner of the Crown in the National Eisteddfod, Meifod, 2003.
  • Published ‘Singing in Chains’ (Gwasg Gomer), an introduction to cynghanedd through the medium of English in 2004.
  • Children’s Poet Laureate, 2005-2006.
  • Winner of the Prose Medal in the National Eisteddfod, Cardiff, 2008.
  • Published 'Nes Draw’ (‘Further Away’) (Gwasg Gomer), her first volume of poems, in 2015.

Darn oddi wrth 'Ni Ŵyr Neb'

Ni ŵyr neb pa liw yw’r nos
I arall, ac er aros
Yn dynn, dynn, ni all `run dau
Hawlio mai’r union olau
Sydd i’w dydd...

Extract from Ni Ŵyr Neb'

No one knows what colour the night is
To others, and however close they come
No two can ever agree on what precise light
Lies on the day…

Books

Hopwood, M. 2009. O Ran. Wales. Gomer Press. (See above photo.)

Hopwood, M. 2015, Nes Draw. Wales. Gomer Press.

Links

Hopwood, M. Wales Arts Review. 2018. Language Journeys: Mererid Hopwood.

University of Wales, Trinity St.David. Professor Mererid Hopwood. 



Twm Morys (1961 - present)

Cyflwyniad gan / Introduction by: Aneirin Karadog

Bardd, Awdur, Athro, Ieithydd, Darlledwr.

Cafodd Twm Morys ei eni yn Rhydychen, addysgwyd ef yn Aberhonddu ac Aberystwyth, ac mae’n gallu honni hawl ar sawl man. Mae wedi teithio’n helaeth ond mae’i galon a’i enaid yn perthyn i Eifionydd.

“Gwell bod Cymro’n Eifionydd
Nag ar y daith i Gaerdydd.”

Mab i’r ysgrifennwr teithio adnabyddus Jan Morris yw Twm, a dechreuodd ei yrfa broffesiynol yn gweithio am gyfnod byr fel ymchwilydd i BBC Cymru.  Yn fuan, dechreuodd ddatblygu ei yrfa greadigol ei hunan, wrth ennill clod trwy sefydlu’i fand gwerin-roc, 'Bob Delyn a’r Ebillion', ef yw’r prif gyfansoddwr a chanwr, ac mae hefyd yn canu’r delyn ac offerynnau eraill. Dysgodd Morys sut i gynganeddu yn Ysgol Uwchradd Aberhonddu, ac mae’i feistrolaeth ar y ffurf gelfyddydol hon, ynghyd â’i steil llafar naturiol, yn gwneud i’w ysgrifennu deimlo’n gyfoes, ond eto, yn dragwyddol o glasurol mewn ffordd unigryw.

Mae’n gallu siarad Llydaweg yn rhugl, ac roedd yn byw yn Llydaw pan gyhoeddodd ei gyfrol gyntaf o farddoniaeth, ‘Ofn fy het’. Ar ôl dychwelyd i Gymru, daeth yn aelod blaengar o grŵp o feirdd a deithiodd o gwmpas Cymru i berfformio’u gwaith, a threfnodd  ddigwyddiadau barddoniaeth fyw oedd yn boblogaidd yn y 1990au. Roedd y grŵp yn cynnwys Myrddin ap Dafydd, Iwan Llwyd, Ifor ap Glyn, Meirion Macintyre Huws a Geraint Lovgreen, ymhlith rhai eraill. Yn y 1990au hwyr, aeth i deithio o gwmpas De America a pherfformio’i farddoniaeth, gyda ffrind a chyd-Brifardd, y diweddar Iwan Llwyd. O ganlyniad, cyhoeddwyd ‘Eldorado’, fel casgliad o farddoniaeth, a rhaglen ddogfen ar S4C yn cynnwys perfformiadau o’r cerddi ar hyd y daith. Mae Morys wedi cymryd rhan mewn llawer o Ymrysonau yn yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, ac wedi bod yn aelod o sawl tîm sy’n cystadlu yn Nhalwrn y Beirdd.

Mae Morys yn gyflwynydd profiadol ar Deledu a Radio, ac wedi cyflwyno rhaglen ddogfen ar Radio 4 am gynghanedd yn ddiweddar, ‘To Rhyme and Chime for a Chair’. Mae wedi cyfieithu a lleisio rhaglen am Ryfel Fietnam i S4C.

  • Enillydd y Gadair – Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, Meifod, 2003.
  • Bardd Plant Cymru, 2012-2013.
  • Golygydd 'Barddas' , y cylchgrawn barddoniaeth ers 2012.
  • Casgliadau o gerddi wedi’u cyhoeddi:
    • 'Ofn fy het', Cyhoeddiadau Barddas, 1995
    • 'Eldorado' – Twm Morys ac Iwan Llwyd, 2, Cyhoeddiadau Barddas, 2002.
  • Disgyddiaeth:
    • 'Gedon', 1992 (Crai),
    • 'Gwbade Bach Cochlyd', 1996 (Crai),
    • 'Sgwarnogod Bach Bob', 2003 (Sain),
    • 'Dore', 2004 (Sain),
    • 'Dal i ‘Redig Dipyn Bach', 2017 (Sain).

Poet, singer, musician, broadcaster, linguist, editor.

Twm Morys was born in Oxford, educated in Brecon and Aberystwyth, and he can lay claim to many a place. He has travelled far and wide but his heart and soul belongs to Eifionydd.

“Better an Eifionydd Welshman
Than one who’s Cardiff-bound”

The son of the heralded travel writer, Jan Morris, he started his professional career with a brief spell as a researcher for BBC Cymru. Twm Morys soon began to forge his own creative career and making a name for himself by starting his folk-rock band, 'Bob Delyn a’r Ebillion' in which he is the principal composer, singer, and also plays the harp and other instruments.  Having learned how to write in cynghanedd in Brecon High School, Morys’ mastery of the art form coupled with his natural and oral style makes his writing contemporary, yet timelessly classical in a unique way.

A fluent Breton speaker, he was living in Brittany when he published his first volume of poetry, ‘Ofn fy het’. Having returned to Wales he became a prominent member of a group of poets that went on poetry tours of Wales and  organised live poetry events that were popular in the 1990s. The group included Myrddin ap Dafydd, Iwan Llwyd, Ifor ap Glyn, Meirion Macintyre Huws and Geraint Lovgreen, amongst others.  In the late 90s he embarked on a poetic tour of South America with fellow Prifardd and Friend, the late Iwan Llwyd.  The result, 'Eldorado' was published as a collection of poetry and as a documentary for S4C containing performances of many poems along the way.  Morys has also taken part in many an Ymryson in the National Eisteddfod and has been in various Talwrn y Beirdd teams.

An experienced presenter on TV and Radio, Morys has most recently presented a documentary on Radio 4 about cynghanedd, ‘To Rhyme and Chime for a Chair’ and has translated and voiced a programme on the Vietnam War for S4C.

  • Chair winner – National Eisteddfod, Meifod, 2003.
  • Bardd Plant Cymru (Children’s Poet of Wales), 2012-2013.
  • Editor of 'Barddas' poetry magazine since 2012.
  • Poetry Publications:
    • 'Ofn fy het', Cyhoeddiadau Barddas, 1995,
    • 'Eldorado' – Twm Morys and Iwan Llwyd, 2, Cyhoeddiadau Barddas, 2002.
  • Discography:
    • 'Gedon', 1992 (Crai),
    • 'Gwbade Bach Cochlyd', 1996 (Crai),
    • 'Sgwarnogod Bach Bob', 2003 (Sain),
    • 'Dore', 2004 (Sain),
    • 'Dal i ‘Redig Dipyn Bach', 2017 (Sain).

Darn oddi wrth 'Dod Adre'

Blinais ar wib olwynion
Yn cyrchu, laru ar lôn
Wledydd y byd o lydan
Y bûm i arni `mhob man...

Extract from 'Dod Adre'

I wearied of the squeak of wheels
Setting forth, I had my fill
Of country lanes the world over
That I was on everywhere…

Books

Llywd, I. Morys, T. 1999. Eldorado. Wales. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. (See above photo.)

Links

British Council: Literature. Twm Morys.

Morys, T. Cerdd Dafod: a poet introduces a Welsh metrical tradition.

Aneirin Karadog is a poet, broadcaster, performer and linguist. He was the Children's Poet of Wales (2013). Aneirin won the chair at the National Eisteddfod in Monmuthshire (2016). He is a rapper and a member of the bands, 'Genod Droog' and 'Diwygiad'. NeiKaradog | soundcloud.com/podlediad_clera


Natalie Ann Holborow (1990 - present)

Rhyddhawyd casgliad cyntaf o gerddi Natalie Ann Holborow, ‘And Suddenly You Find Yourself’, gan Parthian yn 2017. Cafodd y casgliad ei lansio yng Ngŵyl Lyfrau Kolkata fel rhan o’r prosiect o’r enw 'The Valley, The City, The Village' (yma, roedd ysgrifenwyr o Gymru ac India yn teithio rhwng y ddwy wlad, gan brofi diwylliannau eraill trwy ysgrifennu).

Mae gan Natalie ymwybyddiaeth gymdeithasol gref ac mae’n defnyddio ei barddoniaeth i gyfathrebu â’i darllenwyr am bynciau pwysig nad ydyn nhw’n cael eu trafod yn aml, gan ddefnyddio iaith glir a gonest. Mae hi’n ysgrifennu am ei phrofiadau’n byw gyda Diabetes Math 1, bywyd cartref, a pherthnasau teuluol. Mae’i harddull farddol yn gadael argraff ddofn, a bydd y delweddau y mae’n eu creu’n aros yn hir yn y cof ar ôl i chi daro arnyn nhw. Mae’i harddull ysgrifennu’n fywiog a chyffrous, ac mae ar bob tudalen ddelweddau afluniedig o realiti sy’n farddoniaeth athrylithgar.

“Gwae i’r sawl a ddaw i’r casgliad hwn heb fod wedi rhagweld nad anorthrech mohonom ni, ac yn wir, mai marwol ydym ni i gyd, heb os.  Byddwch chi’n gadael, o leiaf, wedi cael eich argyhoeddi o’r ffaith (brinnach) nad oes rhaid i ddyn esgus ei fod yn anfarwol, ychwaith. Cyflwyniad ysblennydd o brofiad dynol ydyw, sy’n onest ac emosiynol, yn llawn atalfeydd a cholled a dryswch a chariad. Ai wedi ceisio cyrraedd y lleuad y mae Holborow? Ie, ac mae hi wedi glanio, crwydro dros ei wyneb, plymio i’r craterau, a hel coflaid o sêr wrth fod i fyny yno.” Wales Arts Review (gweler y dolenni isod).

  • Mae’i barddoniaeth wedi ymddangos yn 'The Stinging Fly' a 'New Welsh Review'.
  • Enillodd hi The Terry Hetherington Award a’r Robin Reeves Prize (2015).
  • Yn 2017, dechreuodd Natalie blog o’r enw Running on Insulin am fyw gyda Diabetes Math 1.
  • Mae hi wedi’i hysbrydoli gan ysgrifenwyr fel Dylan Thomas a Sylvia Plath.

Natalie Ann Holborow's debut poetry collection, ‘And Suddenly You Find Yourself’ was released by Parthian in 2017. The poetry collection was launched in Kolkata Book Festival as part of 'The Valley, The City, The Village' project (the project had writers from Wales and India travel between the two countries engaging with different cultures through writing).

Natalie is a socially conscious writer and she uses poetry to engage with her readers about important issues that are rarely discussed, and she does so using open and honest language. She writes about her experiences of living with Type 1 Diabetes, domestic life and familial relationships. Her poetic style leaves a deep impression and the images created echo long after reading. Her writing style is refreshing and exciting, every page is a distorted reality of poetical brilliance.

“Woe betide anyone who comes to this collection without the foresight that we’re not invincible and are indeed very much mortal. You’ll leave, at least, with the (rarer) conviction that nor do we need to pretend we are. It’s an honest, moving panoply of human experience, full of hiccups and loss and confusion and love. Shoot for the moon? Holborow has landed, roamed its face, dipped into the craters, and gathered an armful of stars while up there.” Wales Arts Review (see links below).

  • Her poetry has appeared in 'The Stinging Fly' and 'New Welsh Review'.
  • Winner of The Terry Hetherington Award and Robin Reeves Prize (2015).
  • In 2017, Natalie started a blog called Running on Insulin about living with Type 1 Diabetes.
  • She has been inspired by writers such as Dylan Thomas and Sylvia Plath.

I knuckled the question into the wall
Which dragged on between us, searched
With my palms for your warmth.

Books

Holborow, N. 2017. And Suddenly You Find Yourself. Wales. Parthian. (See above photo.)



Sophie McKeand (1976 - present)

Cyflwyniad gan / Introduction by: Natalie Ann Holborow

Natur. Gwleidyddiaeth. Ysbrydolrwydd. Dynoliaeth. Cymuned. Unigoliaeth. Angerdd. Gwyleidd-dra.

Byddai’n bosibl i fi ddal ati i restru’r geiriau sy’n codi yn fy meddwl pan fydda i’n meddwl am Gymru a’i chynhyrchion barddol cyfoethog; rydym yn adnabyddus am ein canu, ein hysbryd, ein synnwyr o gymuned.

A dyna pam y byddai’n afresymol ystyried beirdd cyfoes Cymru heb grybwyll Sophie McKeand, sy’n fardd arobryn ac awdur Ieuenctid Cymru. Mae’r cerddi yn 'Rebel Sun' yn fflachio ar draws y dudalen, fel nentydd yn llawn breuddwydion hylifol, sydd wedyn yn ffrwydro’n ddisyfyd o’r dyfroedd aflonydd fel haid o ddrudwyod yn crafangu’u ffordd i ganmol yr Haul Heriol ym mhob un ohonom ni.

Ond eto i gyd, mae clywed gwaith McKeand, yn llawn cryfder a pherseinedd syfrdanol wrth iddo gael ei ddarllen yn uchel, yn dyrchafu’r cerddi nes eu bod nhw’n dod yn rhywbeth mwy na geiriau’n unig:  dyma gerddi sy’n gyforiog o nerth, o ymdrech, am y llais unigol ym mhob grŵp sy’n llwyddo i gael ei glywed, o’r diwedd.

Mae Sophie McKeand yn defnyddio’i geiriau i’n golchi ni â golau’r Rebel Sun sy’n bresennol ym mhob un ohonom ni – a dyna pam roedd ei rôl fel Awdur Ieuenctid Cymru (2016 – 2018) mor bwysig i oleuo llwybr i do newydd o feirdd. Mae McKeand yn enaid o Gymru’n teithio’r byd yn ei fan, sy’n ein dysgu nid dim ond i werthfawrogi’n gwreiddiau ni yng Nghymru, ond hefyd, i dyfu fel blagur, ymledu fel blodau gwylltion, ac anturio drwy’r byd ehangach sy’n aros o’n cwmpas ni.

Nature. Politics. Spirituality. Humanity. Community. Individuality. Passion. Humility.

I could go on listing the words that spring to mind when I think about Wales and its rich poetic offerings; we are known for our song, our soul, our sense of community.

Which is why it would be absurd to consider the contemporary poets of Wales without giving a mention to Sophie McKeand, award-winning poet and Young People’s Laureate for Wales (2016-2018). On the page, the poems in 'Rebel Sun' hiss along the page like streams in their dreamlike fluidity, only to burst like a sudden flush of starlings, grasping out of the tumbling waters to praise the Rebel Sun in all of us.

Yet, hearing McKeand’s work aloud, in all its startling musicality and power, elevate the poems into something more than mere words: these are poems of power, of action, of the individual voice in every group, finally making itself heard.

Sophie McKeand uses her words to wash us with the light of the Rebel Sun present in all of us – which is why her role as Young People’s Laureate of Wales (2016-2018) was so vital to lighting the way for a future generation of poets. A Welsh soul travelling the world in her van, McKeand teaches us not only to appreciate our Welsh roots, but to grow like shoots, spread like wildflowers, and explore the wider world waiting all around us.

The eyes of a tiny woman who dreamed of trees
Were wrenched open by madness,
These images caused her to shrink from people so that
Some days she could not bear to exist
And hid inside a nut.

Books

McKeand, S. 2017. Rebel Sun. Wales. Parthian. (See above photo.)

Links

McKeand, S. SOPHIE McKEAND. 

McKeand, S. 2017. Sophie McKeand - Documenting the life of a community poet.

McKeand, S. Caught by the River. 2018. Shadows and Reflections: Sophie McKeand.

McKeand, S. New Wales Arts Review. 2018. Working Class Poet: Sophie McKeand.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fG9UFuxPzo]

Natalie Ann Holborow is a Swansea-born writer of poetry and fiction. She graduated from Swansea University with an MA in Creative Writing (2014). Natalie won the Terry Hetherington Award and the Robin Reeves Prize in 2015. Her debut collection, And Suddenly You Find Yourselfwas published by Parthian in 2017. missholborow


Rhea Seren Phillips rhea_seren is a PhD student at Swansea University studying Welsh poetic forms and metre in the English language. Her poetry has appeared in The Edge of Necessary: Welsh Innovative Poetry 1966-2018, Poetry Wales, Molly Bloom, Envoi, The Lonely Crowd among others. Rhea has written articles for The Conversation and has contributed articles to Parallel.cymru.

Diolch o'r galon i: Norena Shopland, Aneirin Karadog, Eurig Salisbury, yr Athro Ann Parry Owen, Natalie Ann Holborow, Patrick Jemmer (cyfieithydd), Prifysgol Abertawe a Parallel.cymru am gefnogi'r prosiect hwn.

A special thank you to: Norena Shopland, Aneirin Karadog, Eurig Salisbury, Professor Ann Parry Owen, Natalie Ann Holborow, Patrick Jemmer (translator), Swansea University and Parallel.cymru for supporting this project.

Sam Brown Canllaw i Gernyweg

Yn ddiweddar mae'r iaith Gernyweg wedi dod yn fwy amlwg i bobl y tu allan i'r Ddugaeth. Yn 2010 adnabu Llywodraeth Prydain y Gernyweg fel iaith swyddogol yng Nghernyw; yn 2018 cymerodd Gwenno yr iaith i wledydd ynysoedd Prydain, i Ewrop a'r tu hwnt efo'i halbwm newydd Le Kov (Lle Cof); ac yn 2019 dan ni'n dathlu pythefnos o Wythnos Siaradwch Gernyweg sy'n dechrau efo gŵyl cerddoriaeth a barddoniaeth Fest Kernewek – y tro cyntaf i ŵyl o'r math hwn gael ei chynnal erioed.

Felly beth am ddysgu ychydig o'r iaith hon? Fel siaradwyr Cymraeg dach chi mewn lle perffaith i ddysgu Cernyweg yn hawdd ac yn gyflym gan fod yr ddwy iaith mor debyg â'i gilydd. Dros y misoedd a ddaw mi fydda i'n cyhoeddi nifer o wersi syml fydd yn dysgu rheolau syml yr iaith i chi, rhoi tipiau am ffyrdd eraill o ddysgu ac yn eich annog chi i fynd allan a defnyddio iaith arall y nefoedd.

Nodyn byr: Dwi'n defnyddio Ffurf Ysgrifenedig Safonol yr iaith yn y gwersi hyn. Ryw bwynt bydda i'n paratoi erthygl am y gwahanol fathau o sillafu'r iaith a sut mae newid o'r un i'r llall.

Lately the Cornish language has become more visible to people outside the Duchy. In 2010 the British Government recognised Cornish as an official language in Cornwall; in 2018 Gwenno took the language into countries of the British Isles, into Europe and beyond with her new album Le Kov (Place of Memory); and in 2019 we are celebrating a fortnight of Talk Cornish Week which begins with a festival of music and poetry, Fest Kernewek – the first time a festival of this kind has ever been held.

So what about learning a bit of this language? As Welsh speakers you are perfectly placed to learn Cornish easily and quickly because the two languages are so alike. Over the coming months I will be publishing a number of lessons which will teach you the simple rules of the language, giving tips on other ways of learning and encouraging you to go out and use the other language of heaven.

Short note: I use the Standard Written Form in these lessons. At some point I will prepare an article on the different ways of spelling the language and how to change from one to another.

Bord Cynnwys / Table of Contents


 

Dysgu Cernyweg: Gwers 1 – Ynganiad a Chyfarchiadau
Dyski Kernowek: Dyskans 1 – Leveryans ha Gorhemynadow
Learning Cornish: Lesson 1 – Pronunciation and Greetings

Un o'r pethau anoddaf wrth ddysgu iaith newydd ydy deud y geiriau'n iawn, ac fel pob iaith mae gan y Gernyweg seiniau syml yn ogystal â seiniau anghyfarwydd a chaled.One of the most difficult things in learning a new language is saying the words right, and like every language Cornish has simple sounds as well as unfamiliar and hard sounds.
Yn y tabl isod dwi'n dangos gwyddor y Gernyweg a sut mae deud pob llythyren mewn cymhariaeth â'r Gymraeg a'r Saesneg. Dwi'n cynnwys symbolau o'r Wyddor Seinegol Ryngwladol i helpu dangos yr ynganiad.In the table below I show the Cornish alphabet and how each letter is said as compared with Welsh and English. I include the symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet to help show the pronunciation.
Dydy hyn ddim yn beth hawdd i ddysgu o bell felly peidiwch â phoeni os ydach chi'n drysu neu yn stryffaglu gwneud rhai o'r seiniau hyn ar y cychwyn. Bydd yn dod yn haws wrth i ni fynd yn ein blaen.It is not an easy thing to learn remotely so don’t worry if you are confused or struggle to make some of these sounds at the beginning. It will become easier as we go on.
Yr Wyddor / An Abecedari:The Alphabet
Yn yr enghreifftiau hyn dwi'n dangos enwau trwy ddefnyddio priflythrennau i helpu gwahaniaethu.In these examples I show nouns capitalised to help distinguish them.
Llythyren GernywegSain cyfartal yn GymraegSain cyfartal yn SaesnegEnghraifft (cyfieithiad)
Cornish letterEquivalent sound in WelshEquivalent sound in EnglishExample (translation)
A / a [a:]A - cathAh - cashKath (cath)
B / b [b]B - bisgedynB - abacusBora (gwawr)
C / c [s]S - wythnosS - smilecertan (sicr)
Ch / ch [ʧ]Tsi - tsieinaCh - changeChi (tŷ)
D / d [d]D - duD - daddu (du)
Dh / dh [ð]Dd - defnyddioTh - thisdhe (i)
E / e [ɛ]E - heE - envelopeewn (cywir)
F / f [f]Ff - fferyllfaF - fatherfast (sefydlog)
G / g [g]G - GwyneddG - gogwynn (gwyn)
H / h [h]H - hetH - hatHatt (het)
I / i [i:]I - gwinEe - teethMin (ceg)
J / j [ʤ]J - garejJ - jamJerkyn (siaced)
K / k [k]C - camCk - backKwilkyn (broga)
L / l [l]L - gloL - helplamma (neidio)
M /m [m]M - mamM - mumMena (bryn/mynydd)
N / n [n]N - henN - nopeNans (dyffryn)
O / o [ɔ]O - agorO - holdOlifans (Eliffant)
P / p [p]P - polynP - pepperPower (pŵer)
R / r [r]*R - rôlR - readyparys (parod)
S / s [z]S - sŵZ (meddal) - timesSeythen (wythnos)
T / t [t]T - tywelT - toadTren (trên)
Th / th [θ]Th - pethTh - thingOw thas (fy nhad)
U / u [y]W (byr) - wpsiU - orangutanBugh (buwch)
V / v [v]F - fodcaV - veryDha vamm (dy fam)
W / w [w]W - gwynOo - pooWolkom (croeso)
Y / y [ɪ]Y - gwynI - winbryntin (gwych)
* Gellir rolio'r r neu beidio. Yn bersonol dwi ddim, ond mae 'na rai o bobl sy'n ffafrio fo fel yn Gymraeg.* The r can be rolled or not. Personally I do not, but some people favour it as in Welsh.
Ymarfer 1 / Praktis 1:Practice 1:
Trïwch ddeud y geiriau ar y dde yn uchel. Mi fyddwch chi'n gweld rhai geiriau cyfarwydd i'r Gymraeg a'r Saesneg, a rhai geiriau hollol newydd. Peidiwch â phoeni os nad ydach chi'n gallu deud nhw'n iawn wrth gychwyn. Os ydach chi'n stryffaglu efo'r ynganiad, sbïwch ar yr enghreifftiau Cymraeg a Saesneg eto a'u deud nhw'n uchel cyn ceisio'r Gernyweg drachefn.Try to say the words on the right aloud. Again, if you come across any problems, look at the examples.
Deuseiniau / Diwvogalennow:Diphthongs:
Mae 'na hefyd sawl deusain yn y Gernyweg. Mae'r tabl isod yn dangos ychydig o'r rhai mwyaf cyffredin i chi.There are also several Cornish dialects. The table below shows you some of the most common ones.
Deusain CernywegSeiniau cyfartalEnghraifft (cyfieithiad)
Cornish DipthongEquivalent SoundsExample (translation)
gh [x]
(byth yn dod ar ddechrau geiriau)
fel loch yn Wyddeleg yr Albanlaghel (cyfreithlon)
eu [ø:]fel höher yn Almaeneg.Eus keus? (Oes 'na gaws?)
oo [o:]Ô - lônPoos (pwysau)
ou [u:]Ŵ - dŵrGour (gŵr)
ow [ɔʊ]fel 'oh dear' yn Saesneg.Kernow (Cernyw)
oy [ɔˑɪ]Oe - anhygoelOy (wy)
yw [ɪʊ]Iw - heddiwYth yw yeyn (mae'n oer)
Nodyn / Merkyans:Note:
Mae'r gh yn debyg iawn i'r ch yn Gymraeg, ond dwedir yn fwy meddal.Gh is very similar to ch in Welsh, but said more softly.
Ymarfer 2 / Praktis 2:Exercise 2:
Trïwch ddeud y geiriau ar y dde yn uchel. Eto, os dewch chi ar draws unrhyw problemau, edrychwch ar yr enghreifftiau.Try to say the words on the right aloud. Again, if you come across any problems, look at the examples.
Hyd llafariaid / Hys bogalennow:Vowel length:
Mae'r Gymraeg yn dangos hyd llafariaid trwy ddefnyddio toeau bychain, er enghraifft tap a tâp. Er mwyn dangos y wahaniaeth hon mae'r Gernyweg yn defnyddio cytseiniaid dyblyg, cymharwch tapp (tap) a tapa (tâp). Fel arfer mae hyn yn effeithio ar eiriau unsill, ond mae 'na eithriadau fel y dangosir isod.Welsh shows vowel length by the use of circumflexes, for example tap and tâp. To show this difference, Cornish uses double consonants: compare tapp (tap) and tapa (tape). As a rule this affects words of one syllable, but there are exceptions as is shown below:
Os oes un cytsain, mae'r llafariad yn hir. Os oes dau gytsain, mae'n fyr.If there is one consonant, the vowel is long. If there are two consonants, it is short.
Gall y geiriau Pel (pêl) a Pell (pell) achosi ychydig o drafferth i siaradwyr Cymraeg oherwydd yr L dyblyg. Mae'n rhaid cofio nad oes y sŵn ll [ɬ] yn bodoli yn y Gernyweg o gwbl a dim ond yn dangos hyd y llafariad maen nhw.The words Pel (ball) and Pell (far) can cause Welsh speakers a bit of trouble on account of the double L. It must be remembered the sound ll [ɬ] does not exist in Cornish at all, and the double l merely shows the length of the vowel.
Pan welir ll yn Gernyweg, dwedir fel l yn Gymraeg.When you see ll in Cornish, say it like l in Welsh.
Mewn geiriau deusill a mwy mae'r llafariaid yn fyr, er enghraifft: kavas (can), bogalen (llafariad), tapys (tapiau).In words of two syllables and more the vowel is short, for example: kavas (tin can), bogalen (vowel), tapys (tapes).
Eithriad i'r rheol hwn ydy geiriau deusill sy'n gorffen efo llafariad. Yn yr achosion hyn mae'r llafariad olaf wastad yn fyr, tra mae hyd y llafariad cyntaf yn dibynnu ar gytseiniaid dyblyg.An exception to this rule is words of two syllables that end in a vowel. In these cases the last vowel is always short, while the length of the first vowel depends on the double consonant.
Er enghraifft: tapa (tâp), apa (epa), kanna (can), ranna (rhannu).For example: tapa (tape), apa (ape), kanna (can), ranna (to share).
Ymarfer 3 / Praktis 3:Practice 3:
Dwedwch y geiriau canlynol gan gofio bod y cytseiniaid dyblyg yn byrhau hyd y llafariaid.Say the following words remembering that the double consonants shorten the length of the vowel.

glan (glan) / Glann (glan / ymyl afon)

Sten (tun)

Lann (llan)

Lamm (naid)

bras (mawr)

Snod (rhuban) / Snodow (rhubanau)

Gwen (gwên) / Gwenn (anws) – Mae'n bwysig gwahaniaethu rhwng y ddau yma!

Unn (un) – wrth gyfrif.

Myttin (bore) – Wrth fyrhau mae sŵn yr i [i] yn newid i sŵn yr y [ɪ]. Felly [mɪtɪn].

Cyfarchiadau / Gorhemynadow:Greetings:
Felly rŵan dan ni wedi dysgu sut mae gwneud seiniau'r Gernyweg, dan ni'n barod i symud ymlaen i ail rhan y gwers hwn, sef y cyfarchiadau. Sbïwch ar yr geiriau a'r brawddegau isod a thrïwch lenwi'r bylchau wrth ddarllen nhw allan.As you can see from the examples above, a lot of words in Cornish are similar to Welsh and English, and some look wholly strange. You will see more of these similarities and differences as we learn more Cornish in the months to come.

Dydh da. Helô / Dydd Da (cyffredinol)
Lowenna dhis. Helô (unigolyn cyfarwydd)
Lowenna dhewgh. Helô (sawl person/ffurfiol)

Hou! S'mae
Yow.
Ha!

Myttin da. Bore da.

Dohajydh da. P'nawn da.

Gorthugher da. Noswaith da.

Fatla genes? Sut wyt ti?
Fatla genowgh? Sut dach chi?

Yn poynt da, meur ras. Yn dda iawn, diolch.
Da lowr. Yn iawn.
Na pur dha. Ddim yn dda iawn.

Pyth yw dha hanow? Beth ydy dy enw?
Pyth yw agas hanow? Beth ydy'ch enw?

... yw ow hanow. ... ydy fy enw.
Ow hanow yw... Fy enw i ydy...

A ble hwre'ta dos? I le wyt ti'n dod?
A ble hwrewgh hwi dos? O le dach chi'n dod?

My a dheu a-dhyworth... Dwi'n dod o...

Splann dhe'th metya. Neis i gwrdd â ti.
Splann dh'agas metya. Neis i gwrdd â chi.

Duw genes! Hwyl fawr! (unigolyn cyfarwydd)
Duw genowgh! Hwyl fawr! (sawl person / ffurfiol)

Dha weles yn skon! Gwela i di'n fuan!

Agas gweles a-vorow. Gwela i chi yfory!

Nos da. Nos da.

Mar pleg. Plîs.

Meur ras. Diolch.

Drog yw genev. Mae'n ddrwg gen i.

Gav dhymm. Esgusoda fi.
Gevewgh dhymm. Esgusodwch fi.

A allav vy mos dhe'n bisva mar pleg? Ga i fynd i'r tŷ bach plîs?
Gyllydh. Cei.
Gyllowgh. Cewch.
Na yllydh. Chei di ddim.
Na yllowgh. Chewch chi ddim.

Ple'ma'n privedhyow? Lle mae'r toiled?
A-dro dhe'n gornel. Rownd y gornel.

Ymarfer 4 / Praktis 4:Practice 4:
Trïwch greu cwpl o sgyrsiau byr trwy ddefnyddio'r geiriau a'r brawddegau uchod.Try to create a couple of short conversations using the words and sentences above.
Diwedd y gwers / Diwedh an dyskansEnd of the lesson
Fel gallwch chi weld yn yr enghreifftiau uchod, mae 'na lot o eiriau tebyg i'r Saesneg a'r Gymraeg yn y Gernyweg, a rhai sy'n edrych yn hollol estron. Byddwch chi'n gweld mwy o'r tebygrwyddau a'r gwahaniaethau hyn wrth i ni ddysgu mwy o Gernyweg dros y misoedd a ddaw.As you can see from the examples above, a lot of words in Cornish are similar to Welsh and English, and some look wholly strange. You will see more of these similarities and differences as we learn more Cornish in the months to come.
Mae'r gwers 'ma wedi bod yn weddol syml fel rhestr o eiriau ac ymadroddion i chi eu cofio, ond yn yr un nesaf bydda i'n dangos i chi sut mae adeiladu brawddegau a dysgu cwpl o eiriau defnyddiol eraill.This lesson has been fairly simple as a list of words and phrases for you to remember, but in the next one I will be showing you how to build sentences and teaching you a few other useful words.
Os ydach chi am barhau i ddysgu yn y cyfamser galla i awgrymu gwefan www.gocornish.org fel man cychwyn i ffeindio mwy am yr iaith. I chi sydd wedi dysgu Cymraeg efo Say Something in Welsh, mae 'na hefyd fersiwn Cernyweg!If you want to carry on learning in the meantime I can suggest the website www.gocornish.org as a starting point for finding out more about the language. For those of you who are learning Welsh with Say Something in Welsh, there is also a Cornish version!
Dwi'n byw yn ardal Caerfyrddin ac yn awyddus dechrau dosbarth Cernyweg sy'n cwrdd pob hyd yn hyn. Os ydach chi am fod yn rhan o hyn, anfonwch neges ata i trwy Drydar: @SamBrown1993I live in the Carmarthen region and am keen to start a Cornish class which will meet from time to time. If you want to be part of it, send a message to me via Twitter: @SamBrown1993
Mi fydda i'n ôl cyn bo hir efo mwy o Gernyweg, ond tan wedyn...I will be back before long with more Cornish, but until then...

Duw genowgh!


Dysgu Cernyweg: Gwers 2 – Cyflwyniad i'r ferf bos
Dyski Kernowek: Dyskans 2– Kommendyans dhe verb bos
Learning Cornish: Lesson 2 – Introducton to the verb bos

Dach chi'n ôl - Dynnargh! (Croeso). Gobeithio mwynhaoch chi'r gwers cyntaf a dach chi'n teimlo'n hyderus wrth ynganu geiriau Cernyweg. Os nad ydach chi'n gyfforddus wrth greu'r seiniau eto, peidiwch â phoeni. Gallwch chi fynd yn ôl unrhyw bryd i adolygu'r gwers cyntaf, ond bydda i hefyd yn cynnwys geiriau newydd trwy'r gwersi o'ch blaen i roi help i chi.You’re back – Dynnargh! (Welcome). I hope you enjoyed the first lesson and that you are feeling confident with pronouncing Cornish words. If you are still not comfortable about creating the sounds, don’t worry. You can go back any time to review the first lesson, but I will also be presenting new words to help you in the lessons to come.
Cyn cychwyn, mae'n rhaid i mi gyfaddef bod 'na gwpl o bethau yn y gwers hwn efallai bydd yn eich dychryn. Ond peidiwch â phoeni a chymerwch eich amser wrth fynd trwyddo.Before we begin, I must confess that there are a couple of things in this lesson that may alarm you. But don’t worry, and take your time going through it.
Ta beth, ymlaen â ni i'r ail wers!Anyway, on with the second lesson.
Ddeud y gwir, dôn i ddim yn bositif beth rôn i am ei ddysgu i chi yn y gwers hwn. Ond dwi'n credu mod i wedi gwneud y penderfyniad cywir trwy ddewis cyflwyno un o'r berfenwau mwyaf defnyddiol yn y Gernyweg: bos (bod) a dechrau sôn am y treigliadau.Actually, I was not sure what I wanted to teach you in this lesson. But I think I have made the right decision in choosing to present one of the most useful verb-nouns in Cornish: bos (to be), and to start talking about the mutations.
Bos - Ffurf hir neu ffurf fer? / Bos - Furv hir po furv verr?:Bos - Long form or short form?:
Dan ni i gyd yn gyfarwydd â'r berfenw bos (bod) ym mhob iaith – defnyddies i ffurf ohono fo ar ddechrau'r frawddeg hon. Yn y Gymraeg mae'n anodd meddwl am unrhyw air sy'n fwy defnyddiol na bod, ac felly dyma fydd cynnwys y rhan hon.We are all familiar with the verb-noun bos (to be) in every language – I used a form of it at the start of this sentence. In Welsh it is hard to think of any word that is more useful than bod, and so this will be the content of this part.
Cyn i ni ddechrau, mae'n werth sôn am reol anghyfarwydd sy'n effeithio ar ddefnydd o'r berfenw bos yn Gernyweg, a hynny yw os ydy'n ffurf hir neu ffurf fer. Ond beth mae'r rhain yn golygu? A sut mae'n effeithio ar ddefnydd o ffurfiau'r ferfenw?Before we begin, it is worth mentioning a strange rule that affects the use of the verb-noun bos in Cornish, and that is that there is a long form or a short form. But what do these mean? And what effect do they have on the forms of the verbenw?
Edrychwch ar y tabl isod i gymharu'r ffurfiau hir a ber â'i gilydd:Look at the table below comparing the long and short forms with one another.
Ffurf hir / Furv hir / Long formFfurf fer / Furv verr / Short formCymraeg / Kembrek
Yth esov vyOv vyDw i
Yth esos taOs taWyt ti
Yma ev/hiYw ev/hiMae o/hi / yw o/hi
Yth eson niOn niDan ni
Yth esowgh hwiOwgh hwiDach chi
Ymons iYns iMaen nhw / ydyn nhw
Y brif wahaniaeth rhwng y ddwy ffurf 'ma yw defnydd ohonyn nhw. Dan ni'n defnyddio'r ffurfiau hir er mwyn llunio'r amseroedd parhaol, hynny yw defnyddio bos + berfenw, ac i ddangos lleoliad.The chief difference between these two forms is in the use of them. We use the long forms to denote duration of time, in this case using bos + verb-noun, and also to show location.
Cernyweg / KernowekCymraeg / KembrekSaesneg / Sowsnek
Yma hi ow tos.Mae hi'n dod.She is coming.
Yth esov vy ow tyski.Dwi'n dysgu.I am learning.
Yth esowgh hwi omma.Dach chi yma.You are here.
Cernyweg / KernowekCymraeg / KembrekSaesneg / Sowsnek
Diwedhes yw hi.Mae'n hwyr.It's late.
Medhyk ov vy.Meddyg ydwi.I'm a doctor.
Adhyskys yns i.Maen nhw'n addysgedig.They're educated.
Mae 'na eithriadau i'r rheolau hyn, ond fyddwn ni ddim yn poeni amdanyn nhw heddiw. Yn yr un modd fyddwn ni ddim yn cyffwrdd â'r ffurfiau hir tan wers hwyrach.There are exceptions to these rules, but we won’t worry about them today. In the same way, we won’t touch on the long forms till a later lesson.
Mae'n siŵr bod chi'n sgrechian ar ôl gweld y rheiny, ond peidiwch. Dwi ddim yn disgwyl i chi eu dysgu nhw yn syth. Yng ngweddill y rhan hon byddwn ni'n canolbwyntio ar y ffurfiau byrion.I expect that you are screaming after seeing these, but don’t. I don’t expect you to learn them straight away. In the remainder of this part we will concentrate on the short forms.
Y ffurfiau byrion / An furvow berrThe short-form verb-nouns
Fel dudes i uchod, dan ni'n defnyddio'r ffurfiau byrion ym mhob achos ond defnyddio berfenwau neu ddangos lleoliad, ac fel arfer maen nhw'n ymddangos efo enwau, ansoddeiriau ac rhangymeriadau y gorffennol.As I said above, we use the short forms in every case except with verb-nouns or to show location, and as a rule they appear with nouns, adjectives and past participles.
Dan ni'n gosod yr enwau/ansoddeiriau/rhangymeriadau o flaen ffurf fer o bos er mwyn llunio brawddegau.We put the nouns/adjectives/past participles in front of the short form of bos to form sentences.

Sam ov vy. Sam ydw i.
Ow howeth yw ev. Fy ffrind ydy o.
Oberoryon yns i. Gweithwyr ydyn nhw.

Yn anhebyg i'r Gymraeg gallwn ni ddefnyddio ansoddeiriau efo'r gystrawen hyn yn Gernyweg.Unlike in Welsh, in Cornish we can use adjectives with this construction.

Yeyn on ni. Dan ni'n oer.
Tanow os ta. Ti'n denau.
Lowen owgh hwi. Dach chi'n hapus.

Dyma'r ffurfiau byrion eto i chi.Here the short form verb-nouns again for you.
Cernyweg / KernowekCymraeg / KembrekEnghraifft / Ensampel Example
Ov vyDw iDyskador ov vy.Athro dw i.
Os taWyt tiLowen os ta. Ti'n hapus.
Yw ev/hiMae o/hi / yw o/hiMorwenna yw hi. Morwenna yw hi.
On niDan niSkwith on ni. Dan ni wedi blino.
Owgh hwiDach chiA-varr owgh hwi. Dach chi'n gynnar.
Yns iMaen nhw / ydyn nhwPeboryon yns i.Pobyddion ydyn nhw.
Mi allwch chi weld sut mae'r gystrawen 'ma yn perthyn i'r Gymraeg.You can see how this construction relates to Welsh.
Ymarfer 1 / Praktis 1:Practice 1:
Cyfieithwch y brawddegau isod i'r Gymraeg. Maen nhw i gyd yn defnyddio geiriau sydd naill ai wedi ymddangos mewn enghreifftiau yn y gwersi hyd yma neu sy'n gyfarwydd i chi fel siaradwyr Cymraeg.Translate the sentences below into Welsh. They all use words which have either appeared in examples in the lessons so far or which are familiar to you as Welsh speakers.
1. Gwynn yw hi.
2. Kembrek yns i.
3. Lowen ov vy.
4. Gwin yw ev.
5. Berr os ta.
6. Diwedhes on ni.
7. Du yw an gath.
8. Trist owgh hwi.
9. An ki yw lowen.
10. Dowr yw glas.
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Peidiwch ag anghofio trïo darllen yr enghreifftiau uchod yn uchel.Don’t forget to try to read the above examples aloud.
Atebion ar ddiwedd y gwers.Answers at the end of the lesson.
Ymarfer 2 / Praktis 2:Practice 2:
Trïwch gyfieithu'r brawddegau isod i Gernyweg. Eto, mae'r geiriau hyn i gyd i'w gweld yn y gwersi hyd yma.Try to translate the sentences belwo into Cornish. Again, all the words can be seen in the lessons so far.
1. Athro ydy o.
2. Angharad dw i.
3. Dan ni'n hwyr.
4. Cath yw hi.
5. Dach chi'n oer.
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Y Treigliadau / An TreylyansowMutations
Fel yr holl ieithoedd Celtaidd, mae treigliadau yn digwydd yn y Gernyweg, ac i fod yn onest mae 'na fwy o dreigliadau yn Gernyweg nag mewn unrhyw un o'r ieithoedd eraill. Ia, mae hynny'n meddwl bod 'na fwy nag yn Gymraeg!As with all Celtic languages, mutations occur in Cornish, and to be honest there are more mutations in Cornish than in any of the other lenguages. Yes, that means there are more than in Welsh!
Yn lwcus, mae lot ohonyn nhw yn cyfateb â threigliadau Cymraeg. Heddiw byddwn ni'n canolbwyntio ar y treiglad meddal, ond cyn hynny, dwi'n mynd i roi'r tabl treigliadau Cernyweg i chi gael ei weld a'i ystyried. Dwi ddim yn disgwyl i chi ddysgu'r rhain i gyd yn syth, a byddwn ni'n dod iddyn nhw yn y man.Luckily, a lot of them correspond to Welsh mutations. Today we will concentrate on the soft mutation, but before this, I am going to give the table of Cornish mutations for you to see and ponder. I don’t expect you to learn them all straight away, and we will come to them in due course.
1
Dim treiglad / Andreylyes
/ No mutation
2
Meddal / Medhel / Soft
3
Llaes / Hwethys / Aspiriant
4
Caled / Kales / Hard
5
Cymysgedig / Kemyskys

6
Ar ôl 'th / Wosa 'th / After 'th
BVBPFV
ChJChChChCh
DDhDTTT
G + (a, e, i, y)-G + (a, e, i, y)KHH
G + (o, u, ro, ru)WG + (o, u, ro, ru)KHwW
G + (l, r)-G + (l, r)KGG
GwWGwKwHwW
KGHKKK
MVMMFV
PBFPPP
TDThTTT
Dudes i fod 'na lawer! Mae modd arbennig o ddangos pryd mae'r treigliadau hyn yn digwydd, a hynny trwy cyfeirio at rif y treiglad ar ôl geiriau sy'n ei achosi.I did say there were a lot! There is a special way of showing when these mutations occur, and that is through referring to the number of the mutation after words which cause it.
Er enghraifft: ow3 (fy) neu yn5 (yn).For example: ow3 (fy) neu yn5 (yn).
Bydda i'n defnyddio'r system 'ma i ddangos pryd mae treiglad yn digwydd.I will use this system to show when a mutation occurs.
Treiglad Meddal / MedhelheansThe Soft Mutation
Yn Gernyweg mae 'na enwau gwrywaidd a benywaidd, ac fel yn Gymraeg mae treiglad meddal yn digwydd i enwau benywaidd unigol ar ôl y fannod benodol: An / 'n.In Cornish, nouns are masculine and feminine, and as in Welsh a soft mutation occurs in feminine singular nouns after the definite article: An/’n.
Er enghraifft: mowes (merch), an vowes (y ferch).For example: mowes (girl), an vowes (the girl).
Mae sawl enw yn Gernyweg efo'r un genedl ag enwau Cymraeg: kath (cath), an gath (y gath). Ond dydy hyn ddim wastad yn wir: pons (pont), an pons (y bont). Felly cymerwch ofal wrth ddysgu geiriau newydd.Many nouns in Cornish have the same gender as Welsh nouns: kath (cat), an gath (the cat). But this is not always true: pons (bridge), an pons (the bridge). So take care when learning new words.
Ymarfer 3 / Praktis 3:Practice 3:
Gan ddefnyddio'r tabl treigliadau uchod, treiglwch yr enwau benywaidd hyn.Using the table of mutations above, mutate these feminine nouns.
1. An + bugh (buwch)
2. An + benyn (menyw)
3. An + gwlas (gwlad)
4. An + kath (cath)
5. An + milva (sŵ)
6. An + gwedhen (coeden)
7. An + treveglos (pentref)
8. An + mamm (mam)
9. An + kowfordh (twnnel)
10. An + esedhva (lolfa)
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Ymarfer 4 / Praktis 4:Practice 4:
Cyfieithwch y brawddegau isod gan ddefnyddio popeth dan ni wedi'i ddysgu heddiw.Translate the sentences below using everything that you have learned today.
1. Y gath yw hi.
2. Mae'r wlad yn oer.
3. Mae'r bont yn hir.
4. Gwyn yw'r ci.
5. Dach chi'n hapus.
6. Dyskador yw ev.
7. An medhyk yw adhyskys.
9. Oberoryon owgh hwi.
10. Skwith on ni.
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Diwedd y gwers / Diwedh an dyskans.End of the lesson
Dan ni wedi mynd dros lot o dir newydd yn y gwers hwn, ac mae'n siŵr bod chi'n llawn cwestiynau. Gobeithio nad ydwi wedi codi ofn arnoch chi. Yn y gwers nesaf byddwch chi'n dechrau defnyddio'r Gernyweg dwi wedi'i dysgu i chi yn fwy ac yn creu brawddegau eich hunain gan ddefnyddio popeth dan ni wedi dysgu hyd yma.We have covered a lot of new ground in this lesson, and no doubt you are full of questions. I hope I have not frightened you. In the next lesson you will begin to use the Cornish I have taught you more and to create your own sentences using everything we have learned so far.
Yn y cyfamser, teimlwch yn rhydd i fynd dros y ddau wers hyn cwpl o weithiau ac i ddefnyddio'r adnoddau arlein eraill i'ch helpu.In the meantime, feel free to go over the two lessons a few times and use other online resources to help you.
Dwi'n hapus i ateb unrhyw gwestiwn neu sylw sydd gynnoch chi, gallwch chi gysylltu â fi drwy Drydar: @SamBrown1993 a pheidiwch ag anghofio mod i am ddechrau dosbarth yn ardal Caerfyrddin.I am happy to respond to any questions or observations that you have, you can contact me on Twitter: @SamBrown1993 and don’t forget that I am looking to start a class in the Carmarthen area.
Agas gweles yn skon!
Atebion / Gorthebow / Answers
Ymarfer 1 / Praktis 1:Practice 1:
1. Gwynn yw hi.
2. Kembrek yns i.
3. Lowen ov vy.
4. Gwin yw ev.
5. Berr os ta.
6. Diwedhes on ni.
7. Du yw an gath.
8. Trist owgh hwi.
9. An ki yw lowen.
10. Dowr yw glas.
1. Mae hi'n wen / Gwen yw hi.
2. Cymreig ydyn nhw.
3. Dwi'n hapus.
4. Mae'n win / Gwin ydy o.
5. Ti'n fyr.
6. Dan ni'n hwyr.
7. Mae'r gath yn ddu.
8. Dach chi'n drist.
9. Mae'r ci yn hapus.
10. Mae dŵr yn las.
Ymarfer 2 / Praktis 2:Practice 2:
1. Dyskador yw ev.
2. Angharad ov vy.
3. Diwedhes on ni.
4. Kath yw hi.
5. Yeyn owgh hwi.
1. Athro ydy o.
2. Angharad dw i.
3. Dan ni'n hwyr.
4. Cath yw hi.
5. Dach chi'n oer.
Ymarfer 3 / Praktis 3:Practice 3:
1. An vugh
2. An venyn
3. An wlas
4. An gath
5. An vilva
6. An wedhen
7. An dreveglos
8. An vamm
9. An gowfordh
10. An esedhva
1. An + bugh (buwch)
2. An + benyn (menyw)
3. An + gwlas (gwlad)
4. An + kath (cath)
5. An + milva (sŵ)
6. An + gwedhen (coeden)
7. An + treveglos (pentref)
8. An + mamm (mam)
9. An + kowfordh (twnnel)
10. An + esedhva (lolfa)
Ymarfer 4 / Praktis 4:Practice 4:
1. An gath yw hi.
2. Yeyn yw an wlas.
3. Hir yw an pons.
4. Gwyn yw an ki.
5. Lowen owgh hwi.
6. Athro ydy o.
7. Mae'r meddyg yn addysgedig.
8. Mae'r nos yn ddu.
9. Gweithwyr dach chi.
10. Dan ni wedi blino.
1. Y gath yw hi.
2. Mae'r wlad yn oer.
3. Mae'r bont yn hir.
4. Gwyn yw'r ci.
5. Dach chi'n hapus.
6. Dyskador yw ev.
7. An medhyk yw adhyskys.
8. An nos yw du.
9. Oberoryon owgh hwi.
10. Skwith on ni.


Dysgu Cernyweg: Gwers Tri – Ffurfiau hirion o bos
Dyski Kernowek: Dyskans Tri – Furvow hir a bos

Helô eto, a keslowena (llongyfarchiadau) ar gyrraedd gwers tri! Gobeithio bod chi wedi joio'r gwersi hyd yma ac yn teimlo fel bod chi'n dysgu lot. Fel yn y gwersi blaenorol, dwi'n eich annog i ddarllen yr holl enghreifftiau Cernyweg yn uchel er mwyn helpu'ch tafod ddod i afael efo'r holl seiniau. Bydd yn dod yn haws bob tro dach chi'n gwneud hwn.

Adolygu / Dasweles:

Yng ngwers dau dysgon ni am y ferf bos (bod) a'r ddwy ffordd mae hon yn cael ei defnyddio. Felly i ddechrau heddiw, dwi eisiau i chi gyfieithu'r brawddegau dilynol. Cofiwch y defnyddir ffurfiau byrion o bos efo enwau ac ansoddeiriau.

Ymarfer un / Praktis onan:

Teimlwch yn rhydd i edrych ar wers 2 os nad ydach chi'n gallu cofio'r holl eiriau neu batrymau hyn.

  1. Dan ni'n hapus. .....................................
  2. Maen nhw'n wyn. .....................................
  3. Athro dach chi. .....................................
  4. Mae'r ci yn hwyr. .....................................
  5. Rwyt ti'n fyr. .....................................
  6. An gath yw melyn. .....................................
  7. Hen yw an karr. .....................................
  8. Berr os ta. .....................................
  9. Kembrek owgh hwi. .....................................
  10. Lowen on ni.       .....................................

Ffurfiau hirion o bos / Furvow hir a bos:

Prif rhan y gwers hwn fydd dysgu mwy am ffurfiau hirion o bos. Dyma'r tabl i chi eto i ddangos y ffurfiau hirion.

Ffurf hir / Furv hir Cymraeg / Kembrek
Yth esov vy Dw i
Yth esos ta Wyt ti
Yma ev/hi Mae o/hi
Yth eson ni Dan ni
Yth esowgh hwi Dach chi
Ymons i Maen nhw / ydyn nhw

Mae'r ffurfiau hirion hyn yn cael eu defnyddio er mwyn llunio'r amseroedd parhaol (lle defnyddiwn bod + yn + berfenw yn Gymraeg a to be + -ing yn Saesneg) ac i ddangos lleoliad. Heddiw mi fyddwn ni'n canolbwyntio ar ddangos lleoliad, ac yn edrych ar ddefnydd o'r ffurfiau hyn â berfau eraill yn y gwers nesaf.

Er mwyn dangos lleoliad, gosodwch adferf neu arddodiad efo'r ffurf hir. Er enghraifft:

  • Yth esov vy omma - Dwi yma.
  • Yma ev tre - Mae o adref.
  • Yth esowgh hwi y'n chi – Dach chi yn y tŷ.

Edrych ar yr eirfa hon. Dwi wedi dewis geiriau tebyg yn y Gymraeg a'r Gernyweg.

Cymraeg/Kembrek Cernyweg/Kernowek
Yma / fa'ma Omma
Yno / fa'na Ena
Fan'cw Hons
Yn/mewn Yn
Yn y/yr Y'n
Adref Tre
O gwmpas A-dro


Ymarfer dau / Praktis dew:

Gan ddefnyddio'r geiriau hyn, cyfieithwch y brawddegau hyn:

  1. Dan ni yma.
  2. Mae'r ci adref.
  3. Dach chi yn y tŷ.
  4. Dwi o gwmpas.
  5. Maen nhw fan'cw.
  6. Mae'r gath yma.
  7. Maen nhw adref.
  8. Mae'r dŵr fa'na.
  9. Dwi yn y dŵr.
  10. Rwyt ti fan'cw.

Ymarfer tri / Praktis tri:

Cyfieithwch y dilynol i Gymraeg:

  1. Yth esos ta a-dro.
  2. Yma'n ki y'n karr.
  3. Yth esowgh hwi tre.
  4. Ymons i hons.
  5. Yth eson ni ena.

Yn y gwers blaenorol cyflwynes i'r treigliadau i chi gan ganolbwyntio ar y treiglad meddal neu medhelhean. Ceir hwn mewn geiriau benywaidd ar ôl y fannod benodol, er enghraifft, benyn (benyw) – an venyn (y fenyw).

Ymarfer pedwar / Praktis peswar:

Treiglwch y rhain:

  1. An + kath
  2. An + tre
  3. An + davas (dafad)
  4. An + loor
  5. An + bugh

Mae'r treiglad meddal hefyd yn digwydd mewn ansoddeiriau sy'n disgrifio enwau benywaidd.

An venyn goth (Yr hen fenyw)
An gath dew (Y gath dew)
An gowfordh dewal (Y twnnel tywyll)

Ymarfer pump / Praktis pymp:

Treiglwch y dilynol:

  1. Kath + koth
  2. An + tre + gwag
  3. An + gwedhen + gwyrdh
  4. An + mamm + lowen
  5. Esedhva + bras (mawr)

Nodyn pwysig: Ni cheir treiglad meddal mewn ansoddeiriau sy'n dilyn enwau sy'n gorffen efo -S neu -Th.

An yeth Kernowek – Yr iaith Gernyweg
An eglos bras – Yr eglwys fawr

Ond mae'r treiglad yn dal i ddigwydd ar ddechrau'r enwau hyn.

An dreveglos bras – Y pentref mawr

Ymarfer chewch / Praktis hwegh:

Cyfieithwch y rhain:

  1. Y ddafad wen.
  2. Yr hen eglwys.
  3. Benyw fawr.
  4. Y gath dew.
  5. Y ci du.
  6. Yr iaith Gymraeg.
  7. Y bont wan.
  8. Y dŵr glas.
  9. Yr athro hapus.
  10. Y nos dywyll.

Gosod popeth â'i gilydd / Gorra pubtra war-barth:

Erbyn hyn dan ni wedi dysgu lot. Edrychwch ar y rhain i weld sut mae popeth yn cyd-fynd â'i gilydd.

Yma kath bras y'n chi. Mae cath gawr yn y tŷ
Yth esov vy y'n dowr glas. Dwi yn y dŵr glas
An venyn velyn yw lowen. Mae'r fenyw felyn yn hapus
Yeyn owgh hwi hedhyw. Dach chi'n oer heddiw
Yth eswogh yn le yeyn. Dach chi mewn lle oer
Leun ha tew yw an ki. Mae'r ci'n llawn ac yn dew
Yma'n fleghes hons. Mae'r plant fan'cw

Ymarfer saith / Praktis seyth:

Cyfieithwch y brawddegau isod:

  1. An dowr glas yw yeyn.
  2. Yma kath tew y'n gegin.
  3. An dyskador yw trist.
  4. Gwann yw an pons koth.
  5. Yma ki omma.
  6. Mae'r gegin yn wag.
  7. Mae'r hen fenyw yn drist.
  8. Maen nhw yn y dŵr oer fan'cw.
  9. Dach chi'n hapus a thrist.
  10. Rwyt ti'n hen.

Diwedd y gwers / Diwedh an dyskans:

Gobeithio ar y pwynt yma dach chi'n teimlo'ch Cernyweg yn cryfhau. Byddwch chi'n dysgu mwy o eiriau a gramadeg defnyddiol. Os oes gynnoch chi syniadau am themâu i wersi a ddaw cysylltwch â fi drwy Twitter - @sambrown1993.

Agas gweles an nessa tro!


Atebion Gwers Tri / Gorthebow Dyskans Tri

Ymarfer un / Parktis onan:

  1. Lowen on ni.
  2. Gwynn yns i.
  3. Dyskador owgh hwi.
  4. Diwedhes yw an ki.
  5. Berr os ta.
  6. Mae'r gath yn felyn.
  7. Mae'r car yn hen.
  8. Rwyt ti'n fyr.
  9. Dach chi'n Gymreig.
  10. Dan ni'n hapus.

Ymarfer dau / Praktis dew:

  1. Yth eson ni omma.
  2. Yma'n ki tre.
  3. Yth esowgh hwi y'n chi.
  4. Yth esov vy a-dro.
  5. Ymons i hons.
  6. Yma'n gath omma.
  7. Ymons i tre.
  8. Yma'n dowr ena.
  9. Yth esov vy y'n dowr.
  10. Yth esos ta hons.

Ymarfer tri / Praktis tri:

  1. Rwyt ti o gwmpas.
  2. Mae'r ci yn y car.
  3. Dach chi adref.
  4. Maen nhw fan'cw.
  5. Dan ni yno.

Ymarfer pedwar / Praktis peswar:

  1. An gath
  2. An dre
  3. An dhavas
  4. An loor
  5. An vugh

Ymarfer pump / Praktis pymp:

  1. Kath koth
  2. An dre wag
  3. An wedhen wyrdh
  4. An vamm lowen
  5. Esedhva vras

Ymarfer chwech / Praktis hwegh:

  1. An dhavas gwynn.
  2. An eglos koth.
  3. Benyn vras.
  4. Yan gath tew.
  5. An ki du.
  6. An yeth Kembrek.
  7. An pons gwann.
  8. An dowr glas.
  9. An dyskador lowen.
  10. An nos tewal.

Ymarfer saith / Praktis seyth:

  1. Mae'r dŵr glas yn oer.
  2. Mae cath dew yn y gegin.
  3. Mae'r athro yn drist.
  4. Mae'r hen bont yn wan.
  5. Mae ci yma.
  6. Gwag yw an gegin.
  7. Trist yw an venyn goth.
  8. Ymons i y'n dowr yeyn hons.
  9. Lowen ha trist owgh hwi.
  10. Koth os ta.

 

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A farwodd hi?
Did it die?

Y'n jydh hedhyw y hwodhyn ni bos nebes 500 kernowegor freth ha moy es teyr mil a wor temmik a'n yeth, kyn hwor peub a Gernow styryans an ger “Kernow”. Yma lyvrow-termyn ha lyvrow ow pos dyllys, yma towlennow pellwolok ha radyo kevadow rag kowsoryon a dyskadoron an yeth, ha Konsel Kernow re dhyllas aga thowlen teyr bledhen rag fatel vynnons skoodhya'n yeth. Grondyes war an re ma yth yw diogel dhe leverel bos an yeth Kernowek bew y'n kensa kansvledhen warn ugens. Mes ny veu desedhans an yeth pub prys mar gler, nyns esa saw yn 2010 y chanjyas UNESCO aga hlassans a'n yeth a varow dhe beryllys yn sevur. Ytho y'n erthygel ma y fynnav dadhla onan a gavylekka testennow yn istori an Kernowek, ha henna yw a verwis an yeth?Y dyddiau hyn dan ni'n gwybod bod 'na dua 500 o siaradwyr rhugl eu Cernyweg a dros tair mil sy'n gallu ychydig o'r iaith, er bod pawb o Gernyw yn gwybod ystyr y gair “Kernow”. Mae cylchgronau a llyfrau yn cael eu cyhoeddi, mae 'na raglenni teledu a radio ar gael i siaradwyr a dysgwyr yr iaith, ac mae Cyngor Cernyw newydd gyhoeddi cynllun tair blwyddyn am sut maen nhw am gefnogi'r iaith. Ar sail hyn mae'n saff i ddeud bod yr iaith Gernyweg yn fyw yn yr unfed canrif ar ugain. Ond dydy sefyllfa'r iaith ddim wastad wedi bod mor glir, dim ond yn 2010 newidiodd UNESCO eu dosbarthiad o'r iaith o farw i mewn perygl difrifol. Felly yn yr erthygl hon dwi am drafod un o bynciau mwyaf dadleuol yn hanes y Gernyweg, sef a farwodd yr iaith?These days we know that there are about 500 fluent speakers of Cornish and over three thousand more who know a little of the language, although everyone in Cornwall knows the meaning of the word ‘Kernow’. Books and magazines are being published, there are television and radio programmes available to speakers and learners of the language, and the Cornish Council have recently published a three-year plan of support for the language. On the basis of this it is safe to say that the Cornish language is alive in the twenty-first century. But the prospects for the language have not always been so bright, it was only in 2010 that UNESCO changed its classification of the language from ‘dead’ to ‘in serious danger’. So in this article I want to discuss one of the most controversial subjects in the history of Cornish, that is, did the language die?
Yn kensa yma res gul mencyon a vernans yethow. Pyth yw mernans yeth, ha fatel geskelm henna dhe'n Kenowek? Y hyllir deskrifa mernans yeth avel hemm: Yn yethonieth y hwer mernans yeth pan gell yeth hy howser genesik finek (rag moy gwelewgh: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-language-death-1691215). Mar tevnydhyn an deskrifans ma gans an Kernowek yma res bos kowser genesik finek. Ytho piw o an person ma? Mars esons i vyth oll.Yn gyntaf mae'n rhaid sôn am dranc ieithoedd. Beth yw tranc iaith, a sut mae hynny yn perthyn i'r Gernyweg? Gellir disgrifio tranc iaith fel hyn: Ym maes ieithyddiaeth mae tranc iaith yn digwydd pan golla iaith ei siaradwr brodorol olaf (Am fwy gweler: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-language-death-1691215). Os defnyddiwn ni'r diffiniad hwn efo'r Gernyweg mae'n rhaid bod wedi bod siaradwr brodorol olaf. Felly pwy oedd y person hwn? Os bodolon nhw o gwbl.First, we must talk about the death of languages. What is the death of a language, and how does this relate to Cornish? The death of a language can be described thus: In the field of linguistics the death of a language takes place when a language loses it last native speaker (for further details see: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-language-death-1691215). If we apply this definition to Cornish, there must have been a last native speaker. So who was this person? If they existed at all.
Yma unn hanow re deuth aswonys dre vos junyes gans mernans an Kernowek, henn yw Dolly Pentreath. Gwerther puskes a-dhyworth Porthenys y'n 1700ow o Dolly a gowsis Kernowek. Yth esa hi a vri rag sevel orth kowsel Sowsnek ha leverel: “Me ne vidn cewsel Sawznek!” ('My na vynn kowsel Sownsek' y'n Furv Skrifys Savonek). Y tevnydh tus bledhen hy mernans 1777 avel dydhans mernans an yeth yn fenowgh. Mes yma nebes dout yn-kever hemma. Mamm o Dolly, ytho yth yw certan hi dhe basya tamm a'n yeth dhe's flogh, John, ha tus erel y'n gemeneth a's onderstondyas. Onan aral a lavaransow a vri Dolly o “kronek hager du” a leveris hi dhe'n filosofer David Barrington. Ytho gwirhaval yw Dolly dhe waynya titel an kowser finek dre vos gnas bras na vynnas gweles hy mammyeth mones dhe goll yn le an Kernowegor genesik finek gwir.Mae un enw wedi troi'n enwog trwy gael ei gysylltu â marwolaeth y Gernyweg, sef Dolly Pentreath. Gwerthwr pysgod o Mousehole yn y 1700au oedd Dolly a siaradodd y Gernyweg yn rhugl. Roedd hi'n adnabyddus am wrthod siarad yn Saesneg trwy ddeud: “Me ne vidn cewsel Sawznek!” ('My na vynn kowsel Sowsnek' yn Ffurf Ysgrifenedig Safonol yr iaith. 'Dwi ddim eisiau siarad Saesneg'). Yn aml defnyddia pobl flwyddyn ei marwolaeth 1777 fel dyddiad tranc yr iaith. Ond mae 'na ychydig o amheuaeth ynglŷn â hyn. Mam oedd Dolly, felly mae'n rhaid iddi fod wedi pasio rhyw faint o'r iaith ymlaen i'w phlentyn, John, ac roedd pobl eraill yn y gymuned yn ei dallt hi. Un arall o ddywediadau enwog Dolly oedd “kronek hager du” ('llyffant hyll du') a ddwedodd hi wrth yr athronydd David Barrington. Felly mae'n debyg yr enillodd Dolly deitl y siaradwr olaf trwy fod yn dipyn o gymeriad nad oedd am weld ei mamiaith fynd ar goll yn lle y siaradwr brodorol olaf go iawn.

Dorothy Pentreath, Last Native Speaker of Cornish

There is one name that has become famous for its connection with the death of Cornish, namely Dolly Pentreath. Dolly was an 19th century fishwife from Mousehole and spoke Cornish fluently. She was well known for refusing to speak English, saying: “Me ne vidn cewsel Sawznek!” ('My na vynn kowsel Sowsnek' in the standardised form of the language. ‘I do not want to speak English’). Frequently people use the year of her death, 1777, as the date of the death of the language. But there is some doubt about this. Dolly was a mother, so she must have passed some amount of the language on to her children, and other people in the community could understand her. Another of Dolly’s famous sayings was ‘kronek hager du’ (ugly black toad) which she said to the philosopher David Barrington. So it is likely that Dolly gained the title of last speaker by being a bit of a character who did not want to see her mother tongue lost, rather than being the actual last native speaker.
Hogen mar pe Dolly an Kernowegor genesik finek, yth esa an yeth hwath owth eksistya ha bos devnydhyes gans niver a dus yn Kernow a dhysksa'n yeth – temmik avel an Manawek esa passyes dhe dhyskoryon gans Ned Madrell, an Manawegor genesik finek. Hag avel gans an Manawek y hyllyn leverel y kwithas an dhyskoryon ma an yeth Kernowek ow pewa.Hyd yn oed os oedd Dolly y siaradwr Cernyweg brodorol olaf, roedd yr iaith yn dal i fodoli a chael ei defnyddio gan nifer o bobl yng Nghernyw oedd wedi dysgu'r iaith – tipyn bach fel y Fanaweg a basiwyd ymlaen i ddysgwyr gan Ned Madrell, y siaradwr brodorol olaf. Ac fel efo'r Fanaweg gallwn ni ddeud bod y dysgwyr hyn wedi cadw'r iaith Gernyweg yn fyw.Even if Dolly was the last native speaker of Cornish, the language continued to exist and be used by a number of people in Cornwall who had learnt the language – a bit like Manx which was passed on to learners by Ned Maddrell, the last native speaker. And as with Manx we can say that these learners have kept the Cornish language alive.
Yn 1776, bledhen kyns Dolly dhe verwel, yth omdhiskwedhas lyther yn Kernowek gans pyskador henwys William Bodinar, keffrys a Borthenys. Y'n lyther ma y teskrif fatel dhyskas an yeth a-dhyworth pyskadoryon erel pan o va yowynk, mes herwydh ev yth esa le ha le a dus orth hy devnydhya dhe'n pols na. William a aswonnas Dolly hag i a gowsis yn fenowgh. A-barth dhe Dolly y leveris William ev dhe aswon pymp person aral y'n dreveglos a wodhya kowsel Kernowek. Y halsa hemm styrya bos tus yn leow erel a wodhya kowsel Kernowek.Ym 1776, blwyddyn cyn i Dolly farw, ymddangosodd llythyr yn Gernyweg gan bysgotwr o'r enw William Bodinar, hefyd o Mousehole. Yn y llythyr hwn mae'n disgrifio sut dysgodd yr iaith oddi wrth bysgotwyr eraill pan oedd yn ifanc, ond yn ei ôl o roedd llai a llai o bobl yn ei defnyddio y dyddiau hynny. Roedd William yn nabod Dolly ac roedden nhw'n siarad yn aml. Yn ogystal â Dolly roedd William yn deud ei fod yn nabod pump o bobl eraill yn y pentref a oedd yn gallu siarad Cernyweg hefyd. Gallai hyn olygu bod pobl mewn llefydd eraill yn gallu siarad y Gernyweg.In 1776, the year before Dolly died, a letter appeared in Cornish from a fisherman called William Bodinar, also from Mousehole. In this letter he describes how he learnt the language from other fishermen when he was young, but according to him fewer and fewer people were using it these days. William knew Dolly and they often spoke. As well as Dolly, William said he knew five other people in the village who could also speak Cornish. This could mean that people in other places could speak Cornish.

Llythyr William Bodinar

Y merwis William yn 1796, hag awos hemma yth yw possybyl leverel nag esa'n yeth dhe's klowes war an stretys yn fenowgh erbyn dalleth an nownjekves kansvledhen. Ny styr hemma na veu'n yeth ow pos kowsys vytholl, mes yth o kalessa dhe's trovya. Unn Kernowegor aswonys a'n oos ma o'n tiek John Davey a Voswydnek a veu genys yn 1812. Y tyskas John an Kernowek a-dhyworth y das hag y hwodhya klappya yn-kever themys sempel herwydh nebes pennfentynnyow, kyn nyns yw kler yn poran pes a'n yeth esa dhodho. Byttegyns John a gemer kresys rag skrifa Rim an Grankan, an gan Gernowek hengovek mogha a-dhiwedhes. Y merwis John yn 1891, mes erbyn an poynt ma y tallathsa akademogyon kovadha'n yeth ha dalleth an hyns dhe's dasserghi. Dyllas A Sketch of Cornish Grammar gans Edwin Norris yn 1859 gans Gwask Pennskol Resoghen avel merkyansow dhe weres tus orth redya dornskrifow yn Kernowek hengovek.Bu farw William ym 1796, ac oherwydd hyn mae'n bosib deud mai erbyn dechrau'r pedwaredd canrif ar bymtheg doedd yr iaith ddim i'w chlywed ar y strydoedd yn aml. Dydy hyn ddim yn golygu na siaradwyd yr iaith o gwbl, dim ond ei fod yn anos i'w ffeindio. Y siaradwr adnabyddus o'r adeg hon oedd y ffermwr John Davey o Boswednack a anwyd ym 1812. Mi ddysgodd John y Gernyweg oddi wrth ei dad ac roedd yn gallu sgwrsio am themâu syml yn ôl rhai ffynonellau, er nad ydy'n glir yn union faint o'r iaith oedd gynno fo. Serch hynny mae John yn derbyn y clod am fod wedi ysgrifennu Odl y Cranken, y gan ddiweddaraf yn y Gernyweg draddodiadol. Bu farw John ym 1891, ond erbyn y pwynt hwn roedd academyddion bellach wedi dechrau cofnodi'r iaith a dechrau ar y ffordd i'w hadfywio. Cyhoeddwyd A Sketch of Cornish Grammar gan Edwin Norris ym 1859 gan Wasg Prifysgol Rhydychen fel nodiadau i helpu pobl wrth ddarllen llawysgrifau yn Gernyweg draddodiadol.William died in 1796, and because of this it is possible to say that by the beginning of the nineteenth century the language was not often to be heard on the streets. This does not mean that the language was not spoken at all, only that it became harder to find. A well-known speaker at this time was the farmer John Davey of Boswednack, who was born in 1812. John learnt Cornish from his father and according to some sources could converse on simple subjects, although it is not clear how much of the language he had. In spite of this John gets the credit for having written Odl y Cranken (the Cranken Rhyme), the last song in traditional Cornish. John died in 1891, and by this point academics had now begun to record the language and started on the road to reviving it. A Sketch of Cornish Grammar by Edwin Norris was published in 1859 by the Oxford University Press as notes to assist people in reading manuscripts in traditional Cornish.

Odl y Grancen

Mar mynnyn leverel y merwis yeth awos mernans hy howser genesik finek, yma keffrys res mires war styryans a gowser genesik. Deskrif Leonard Bloomfield kowsoryon enesik avel: pobel a veu gorrys yn kerghynnedh yeth a-dhia bos genys (Language, 1994). Y hyllyn styrya hemma avel nebonan a dhyskas yeth y'n chi ha/po a-dhyworth y dewgerens. Ny wra'n deskrifans ma mencyon a frethder an gowsoryon ma, hag ytho y kas temmik a wedhynder orth aswon Kernowegoryon enesik.Os dan ni am ddeud bod iaith wedi marw achos marwolaeth ei siaradwr brodorol olaf, mae hefyd yn rhaid ystyried beth yw siaradwr brodorol. Diffinia Leonard Bloomfield siaradwyr brodorol fel: pobl sydd wedi'u rhoi mewn amgylch iaith ers ei enedigaeth (Language, 1994). Gallwn ni ddehongli hwn fel rhywun sydd wedi dysgu iaith wrth yr aelwyd a/neu oddi wrth ei rieni. Dydy'r disgrifiad hwn ddim yn sôn am rhuglder y siaradwyr hyn, ac felly mae'n caniatáu tipyn o hyblygrwydd wrth adnabod siaradwyr brodorol o'r Gernyweg.If we are to say that the language died with the death of its last speaker, we must also consider what a native speaker is. Leonard Bloomfield defines a native speaker thus: a person who has been in the environment of a language from birth. We can interpret this as someone who has learnt a language at home and/or from his parents (Language, 1994). This description says nothing about the fluency of these speakers, and so we may allow ourselves a little flexibility in recognising native speakers of Cornish.
A-dhia ban dhallathas tus leverel bos an yeth ow merwel, y feu derivasow di-niver a bobel a wodhya temmigow a'n yeth, ha tus a wodhya kowsel yn freth ynwedh. An re ma a gomprehend fleghes a wodhya'n Pader ha tavosethow y'n Kernowek a veu dyskys y'n skol, y'n chi hag a-dhyworth aga dewgerens. Ytho hag ow tevnydhya'n styryans a-ugh, y hyllyn leverel bos an re ma kowsoryon enesik hag ytho ny verwis an Kernowek.Ers i bobl ddechrau deud bod yr iaith yn marw allan, mae 'na wedi bod adroddiadau di-rif o bobl a oedd yn gwybod pytiau o'r iaith, a phobl oedd yn gallu siarad yn rhugl hefyd. Cynhwysa'r rhain blant oedd yn gwybod Gweddi'r Arglwydd ac idiomau yn y Gernyweg a ddysgwyd yn yr ysgol, y cartref ac oddi wrth eu rhieni. Felly gan ddefnyddio'r diffiniad uchod, gallwn ni ddeud mai siaradwyr brodorol oedd y rhain ac felly ni farwodd y Gernyweg.Since people began saying that the language was dying out, there have been countless reports of people who knew a little of the language, and also people who could speak it fluently. This includes those children who knew the Lord’s Prayer and Cornish expressions that they had learnt at school, at home and from their parents. So by using the broadest definition, we can say that they were native speakers and so Cornish did not die.
Niverow a gowsoryon yethow a janj dre'n tremyn oll, treweythyow y kressons, treweythyow yth iselhons, ha nyns yw an Kernowek dyffrans. Istori an yeth ma re varyas meur ha hi ow kelli ha kavos kowsoryon nowyth. Yn anfeusik nyns a'n erthygel ma dhe vanylyon yn-kever istori kowethasek an yeth awos nag usi saw komendyans dhe'n govyn a vernans (sopposyes) an Kernowek. Mar krysowgh y merwis an yeth po na, an dra bosek dhe bethi kov anodho yw bos an Kernowek bew y'n jydh hedhyw. Hi a gowsir gans kansow (mar na milyow) a dus ha pob bledhen yma'n niverow a's kows ow kressya. Yma hogen kowsoryon a's dyskas y'n chi. Ha honna yw yeth bew mar kovynnowgh dhymm!Mae niferoedd o siaradwyr ieithoedd wastad yn newid, weithiau maen nhw'n cynyddu, weithiau maen nhw'n lleihau, a dydy'r Gernyweg ddim yn wahanol. Mae hanes yr iaith hon wedi amrywio lot wrth iddi hi golli a chael siaradwyr newydd. Yn anffodus dydy'r erthygl hon ddim yn mynd mewn i fanylder am hanes cymdeithasol yr iaith gan mai dim ond cyflwyniad i'r cwestiwn o dranc (tybiedig) y Gernyweg ydy hi. Os credwch chi y marwodd yr iaith neu beidio, y prif beth i'w gofio ydy bod y Gernyweg yn fyw y dyddiau hyn. Siaredir hi gan gannoedd (os na filoedd) o bobl a bob blwyddyn mae'r niferoedd a'i sieryd yn cynyddu. Mae 'na hyd yn oed siaradwyr sydd wedi'i dysgu yn y cartref. A dyna iaith fyw os gofynnwch i mi!The number of people who speak languages is constantly changing, sometimes increasing, sometimes becoming less, and Cornish is no different. The history of the language has varied a good deal as it has lost and gained new speakers. Unfortunately this article cannot go into details about the social history of the language, since it is merely an introduction to the question of the (supposed) death of Cornish. Whether or not you believe that the language died, the main thing to remember is that Cornish is alive today. It is spoken by hundreds (if not thousands) of people and every year the number it is spoken by increases. There are even speakers who have learnt it at home. And that, if you ask me, is a living language!
My a wayt hwi dhe dhyski neppyth yn-kever isotri an Kernowek ha mernans yeth. Mar mynnowgh trovya moy, yma lyvrow hag erthyglow kevadow a omles war an poynt ma.Gobeithio bod chi wedi dysgu rhywbeth am hanes y Gernyweg a thranc iaith. Os ydach chi am ddarganfod mwy, mae 'na lyfrau ac erthyglau ar gael sy'n ehangu ar y pwnc hwn.I hope that you have learnt something about the history of Cornish and the death of a language. If you want to discover more, there are books and articles which expand on this subject.

 

Sam Brown Moddau Dysgu

Moddau Dysgu Ieithoedd: Fy mhrofiad i o ddysgu Cymraeg, Cernyweg & Almaeneg
Methods of Learning Languages: My experience of learning Welsh, Cornish & German

Gall y proses o ddysgu ieithoedd godi ofn mewn pobl, yn enwedig ar ddechrau'r daith. Rwyf yn gwybod hyn gan fy mod i wedi dysgu tair iaith yn rhugl, ac rwyf yn dysgu pytiau o ieithoedd eraill o hyd. Felly, yn yr erthygl hon byddaf yn cynnig mewnwelediadau personol o wahanol foddau o ddysgu ieithoedd a byddaf yn trio rhoi cwpl o dipiau am sut i wneud y proses o ddysgu yn haws. Yr ieithoedd yr ydw i wedi eu dysgu i lefel dda o ruglder yw: Almaeneg, Cymraeg a Chernyweg, ac fel mae'n digwydd dysgais i nhw i gyd mewn ffyrdd gwahanol. Felly byddaf yn defnyddio fy storïau personol o ddysgu'r rhain i sôn am dri modd o ddysgu iaith, sef: mynd i ddosbarthiadau, cyrsiau clywed, a dysgu o lyfrau.The process of learning languages can scare people, especially at the start of the journey. I know this as I have learnt to speak three languages fluently, and am still learning bits of other languages. So, in this article, I will be offering personal insights of different methods of learning languages and will try and give a few tips on how to make the learning process easier. The languages that I have learnt to a good level of fluency are: German, Welsh and Cornish, and as it happens I learnt each of them in a different way. So I will be using my personal stories of learning these to discuss three ways of learning languages: going to classes, audio courses, and learning from books.
I gychwyn rwyf am sôn am fy nhaith o ddysgu Almaeneg a ddechreuodd yn yr ysgol uwchradd, aeth â fi i'r brifysgol, ac wedyn i'r Almaen ei hun. Os nad oeddech chi'n gwybod yn barod, mae eithaf lot o ramadeg gan yr Almaeneg ac nid yw hwn wastad yn hawdd i'w ddeall (mae'n siŵr bod chi wedi clywed am y cyflyrau gramadegol). Un o'm hatgofion cynharach o ddysgu'r iaith hon yw eistedd yn yr ystafell ddosbarth ac yn adrodd y gwahanol fanodau penodol – mae 16 ohonynt yn Almaeneg! Cefais dipyn o drafferth wrth ddysgu yn wreiddiol, ni chefais ond gradd C yn fy arholiad TGAU, ac E y tro cyntaf sefais yr arholiad Lefel AS (sefais yr arholiad hwnnw tairwaith yn cael C isel ac wedyn C uchel). Pan gyrhaeddais i'r brifysgol roedd gennyf Lefel A ar radd C. Ond os neidiwn ymlaen pedair blynedd, dyna fi yn graddio yn yr Almaeneg â rhagoriaeth mewn sgiliau cyfathrebu. Felly, beth a ddigwyddodd? Dim ond mewn gwersi ffurfiol roeddwn i wedi dysgu'r iaith, felly beth a newidiodd? A yw'r stori hon yn dangos methiant yn y dull dysgu mewn dosbarth? A yw'n dangos llwyddiant?To begin with I want to mention my journey in learning German, which began when I was in secondary school, took me to university and then to Germany itself. If you didn't already know, German has quite a lot of grammar and this isn't always simple to understand (I'm sure you've heard of the grammatical cases). One of my earliest memories of learning this language is sitting in the classroom and repeating the various definite articles – there are 16 of them in German! I had a bit of trouble learning initially, I only got a C grade for my GCSE, and an E the first time I sat my AS Level exam (which I took three times, getting a low C and then a high C). When I arrived at university I had a C grade A Level. But if we jump forwards four years, there I am graduating with a degree in German with a distinction in oral communication. So, what happened? I had only ever learnt the language by attending formal lessons, so what changed? Does this story show a failure in classroom based learning? Does it show a success?
Wel, mae'n dangos y ddau i raddau achos yr hyn na ddywedais yn y paragraff uchod oedd sut yr oeddwn i yn ymddwyn yn y dosbarthiadau. Y prif beth a newidiodd wrth symud ymlaen yn yr Almaeneg oedd fy oed. 13 mlwydd oed oeddwn i pan ddechreuais ddysgu Almaeneg. Nid oedd diddordeb gennyf mewn dysgu o gwbl. Roeddwn yn casáu'r ysgol, ac yr unig beth yr oeddwn amdano oedd gadael. Oherwydd hyn, nid oeddwn yn talu sylw mewn gwersi ac nid oeddwn yn gwneud fy ngwaith cartref byth! Ond roeddwn yn gwybod pa mor bwysig oedd cael iaith ar fy CV a daliais ati i ddysgu nes imi sylweddoli sut cymaint yr oeddwn wrth fy modd ag ieithoedd. Erbyn cyrraedd y brifysgol roeddwn am ddysgu. Dechreuais ofyn cwestiynau fel rhan o'r dosbarth, gorffennais fy ngwaith cartref bob dydd. Yn ystod fy mlwyddyn olaf yno, fi oedd yr un cyntaf (ac weithiau'r unig un) i roi fy llaw yn yr awyr i ateb cwestiynau gan y tiwtoriaid.Well, it shows both to a degree as what I didn't tell you in the above paragraph was how I behaved during the classes. The main thing that changed as I progressed in German was my age. I was 13 years old when I began learning German, and I wasn't interested in learning at all. I hated school, and the only thing I wanted was to leave. Because of this I didn't pay attention in classes and I never did my homework! But I knew how important it was to have a language on my CV and I kept at it until I realised how much I loved languages. By the time I arrived at university I wanted to learn. I started asking questions in lessons, I finished my homework every day. During my final year there, I was first one (and sometimes the only one) to put my hand up and answer the tutors' questions.
Mae'n wir beth a ddywedir; rydach yn cael allan ohono'r hyn a roddwch mewn iddo. A dyna'n union sut mae cael y gorau allan o fynychu dosbarthiadau iaith (ac mae hyn yn gweithio ar gyfer unrhyw iaith, nid Almaeneg yn unig). Os eisteddwch yno heb ymrwymo â'r dosbarth, hyd yn oed os ydach chi'n cymryd nodiadau manwl, ni fydd eich sgiliau iaith yn gwella cystal â phobl eraill. Os ydach yn mynd i ddosbarth iaith, trïwch roi eich llaw yn yr awyr, cynigiwch fwy o atebion, a gwnewch eich gwaith cartref. Wrth gwrs, rwyf yn deall nad yw pawb yn gyffyrddus wrth wneud pethau fel hyn o flaen pobl eraill (mae yn ddychrynllyd wrth gychwyn!) ac nid ydwyf yn dweud bod yn rhaid ichi wneud hyn yn unig er mwyn dysgu siarad iaith yn well. Gwnewch yr hyn yr ydach yn gyffyrddus â fe.It's true what they say; you get out what you put in. And that's exactly how to make the most of attending language lessons (and this works for any language not just German). If you sit there without engaging in the classwork, even if you take detailed notes, your language skills won't improve as much as others. If you go to a language class, try putting your hand up, offer more answers, and do your homework. Of course, I know that not everyone is comfortable with doing things like this in front of other people (it's horrible at the start!) and I'm not saying that you have to do this alone to be able to speak a language better. Do what you're comfortable with.
Euthum i'r brifysgol ym Mangor, Gwynedd, a chyn imi symud yno ar ôl gorffen fy Lefelau A penderfynais fy mod i'n mynd i ddysgu Cymraeg er mwyn gallu siarad â phobl leol. Ond sut y medrai Cernywiaid 18 oed ddysgu iaith leiafrifol heb fod wedi symud i'r ardal lle y siaradir eto? Yr ateb – Say Something in Welsh (SSiW)! Dyma oedd yn ôl yn 2011 ac roedd y platfform hynod boblogaidd hwn yn ei ieuenctid o hyd. Pan ymunais â'r wefan, nid oedd ond un cwrs ar gael a wnaed o 26 o wersi unigol ac ychydig wersi ychwanegol i ddysgu cyfrif, y lliwiau, ac yn y blaen. Roedd y fforwm mor dda ag erioed, ond nid oedd mor brysur neu fawr fel y mae'r dyddiau hyn. Ar ôl gorffen y cwrs hwnnw a chyrraedd ym Mangor roeddwn yn gallu cynnal sgyrsiau eithaf hir yn y Gymraeg a chefais neidio dros y lefel gyntaf pan ddechreuais gwrs Wlpan â Chymraeg i Oedolion. O fewn i dri mis roeddwn wedi cwblhau pob gwers a oedd gan SSiW ar y pryd a dysgu digon o'r iaith i siarad yn fwy hyderus na phobl oedd wedi'i dysgu yn yr ysgol!I went to university in Bangor, Gwynedd, and before moving there after finishing my A Levels I decided that I was going to learn Welsh to be able to speak with locals. But how could an 18 year old Cornishman learn a minority language without having moved to the area it's spoken in yet? The answer – Say Something in Welsh (SSiW)! This was back in 2011 and this popular platform was still in its youth. When I signed up with the website, there was only one course available which consisted of 26 individual lessons and some extra classes to learn counting, colours, etc. The forum was as good as always, but it wasn't as busy or large as it is these days. After finishing the course and arriving in Bangor I was able to hold quite long conversations in Welsh and I was able to skip the first level when I started the Cwrs Wlpan with Welsh for Adults. Within three months I had finished every lesson that SSiW had at the time and I had learnt enough of the language to speak more confidently than people who had learnt at school!
Llwyddais wrth wneud hwn trwy dorri dau o brif reolau'r cyfrwng; 1) ni chymrais fe'n araf, a 2) ysgrifennais eiriau i lawr. Ond cyn ichi fynd i ffwrdd a dechrau anwybyddu rheolau a chanllawiau SSiW, gadewch imi esbonio. Yn y cwrs roeddent yn awgrymu mai tuag unwaith yr wythnos oeddech chi i fod yn gwneud y cwrs i adael digon o amser i'r wybodaeth setlo yn eich meddwl. Ar y pryd nid oeddwn yn gweithio ac felly roedd gennyf bob dydd yn rhydd. Golygodd hyn fy mod i'n gallu codi yn y bore, gwneud gwers nesaf SSiW, ac wedyn defnyddio gweddill y dydd i ganolbwyntio ar y wers honno a dysgu'r patrymau a geiriau, ayyb. I succeeded in doing this by breaking two of the medium's main rules; 1) I didn't do it slowly, and 2) I wrote down words. But before you go off and start ignoring SSiW's rules and guidelines, let me explain. In the course it was recommended that you did around one lesson per week to allow enough time for the information to settle in your mind. At the time I wasn't working and so I was free every day. This meant that I was able to get up in the morning, do the next SSiW lesson, and then use the rest of the day to focus on that lesson and learn the patterns and words, etc.
Weithiau gwrandawais ar yr un wers mwy nag unwaith, weithiau dwywaith y dydd, weithiau un dydd ar ôl y llall. Nid ysgrifennais eiriau i lawr o gwbl wrth wrando ar y wers. Yn lle hynny arhoswn i nes imi ei gorffen ac wedyn copïwn i'r geiriau oddi ar wefan mewn llyfr nodiadau. Ar ôl gwneud hyn cuddiwn i'r geiriau a thrïwn eu cofio heb sbïo arnynt. Roedd yn waith caled, ac am y tri mis hynny roedd yn swydd lawn amser imi. Ni fuaswn i'n awgrymu i unrhyw un drio hyn os maent yn brysur, ac os ydach chi am drio'r modd hwn allan, cofiwch pa mor bwysig yw cymryd egwyliau ac ymlacio trwy edrych ar y teledu, darllen llyfr da, neu drwy fynd am dro.Sometimes I listened to the same lesson more than once, sometimes twice a day, sometimes two days in a row. I didn't write down words at all whilst listening to the lesson. Instead of that I would wait until finishing and then I would copy down the words from the website into a notebook. After doing this I would hide the words and try to remember them without looking. It was hard work, and for three months that was my full-time job. I wouldn't recommend that anyone try this if they're busy, and if you do want to try this out, remember the importance of taking breaks and relaxing by watching TV, reading a good book, or going for a stroll.
Mae Say Something in Welsh wedi newid lot ers imi ei wneud saith mlynedd yn ôl. Felly lle roedd yn rhaid imi fynd i ddosbarthiadau Cymraeg er mwyn parhau wrth ddysgu'r iaith, nid oes rhaid y dyddiau hyn. Mae gennyf sawl ffrind sydd wedi llwyddo i ddysgu'r Gymraeg yn rhugl trwy ddefnyddio SSiW yn unig a hynny heb ddefnyddio fy null rhyfedd i. Mae SSiW yn dda iawn os ydach am ddysgu siarad yr iaith yn gyflym heb orfod mynd i wersi ffurfiol, er nad ydwyf yn sicr ynglŷn â dysgu darllen ac ysgrifennu â'r cyfrwng hwn yn 2018. Efallai gallai rhywun gynnig y wybodaeth hon imi?Say Something in Welsh has changed a lot since I used it seven years ago. So where I had to go to lessons to continue learning Welsh, you no longer have to now. I have many friends who have succeeded in learning Welsh fluently by only using SSiW and that's without employing my weird method! SSiW is really good if you want to learn to speak quickly without going to formal classes, though I'm not sure about reading and writing with this medium in 2018. Perhaps someone could offer this information to me?
Cernywiaid ydw i, a thrwy gymdeithasu a dod i adnabod Cernywiaid eraill sydd yn byw yng Nghymru, rwyf wedi darganfod rhywbeth diddorol iawn... Mae sawl un ohonynt wedi dysgu'r Gymraeg (neu wedi dangos diddordeb mewn dysgu) er mwyn teimlo'n agosach at eu cartref, hynny yw Cernyw. Fi oedd un o'r rhain, i raddau, ond ar ôl blwyddyn o fyw yng Nghymru roedd fy hiraeth wedi cynyddu gormod ac roedd yn rhaid imi wneud rhywbeth amdano. Roeddwn wedi darllen yn rhywle bod tua 70% o eiriau Cymraeg a Chernyweg yn dod o'r un lle. A chan ddefnyddio hyn fel man cychwyn dechreuais wneud tipyn o ymchwil ar y we. Dyma bryd penderfynais fynd ati a dysgu iaith fy hun, Cernyweg.I'm a Cornishman, and through socialising and getting to know other Cornishmen who live in Wales, I have discovered something really interesting... Many of them who've learnt Welsh (or have shown interest in learning Welsh) want to do so to feel closer to their home, that is Cornwall. I was one of these, to a degree, but after a year of living in Wales my hiraeth had risen too much and I had to do something about it. I had read somewhere that about 70% of Welsh and Cornish words come from the same root. By using this as a starting point I began researching online. This is when I decided to set to it and learn my own language, Cornish.
Wel, os oedd yn anodd dysgu Cymraeg tra fy mod i'n byw yng Nghernyw, roedd yn mynd i fod yn fwy neu lai amhosib i ddysgu Cernyweg yng Nghrymu. Dyna beth yr oeddwn yn ei feddwl beth bynnag. Euthum yn syth i Amazon ac ar ôl chwilio am oddeutu awr roeddwn yn sicr fy mod i wedi ffeindio'r llyfr perffaith i ddysgu'r Gernyweg: Skeul an Tavas (Ysgol y Tafod). Cefais fy siomi ychydig pan gyrhaeddodd y llyfr o'r diwedd gan ei fod mor denau. Ond roeddwn am ei ddefnyddio i ddysgu beth bynnag, a dyna'r hyn a wneuthum.Well, if it was difficult to learn Welsh whilst living in Cornwall, it was going to be nearly impossible to learn Cornish in Wales. That's what I thought anyway. I went straight to Amazon and after searching for about an hour I was certain I had found the perfect book to learn Cornish: Skeul an Tavas (The School/Ladder of the Tongue). I was a bit disappointed when the book came at last as it was so thin. But I wanted to use it to learn anyway, and that's what I did.
Bob dydd cwblheais bennod yn y llyfr, gan ddechrau â chenedl geiriau a gorffen â brawddegau llawn, er eu bod nhw'n fyr. Ond nid oedd y llyfr bach hwn yn ddigon imi- roedd eisiau mwy arnaf. Dyma le mae'r stori hon yn mynd mewn cyfeiriad gwahanol i'r ddwy flaenorol. Nid oedd cymaint o lyfrau neu adnoddau ar gael i ddysgwyr Cernyweg yr adeg honno, ond roedd geiriadur ar-lein, cymuned wych ar Facebook, a chwant siarad yn rhugl yn fy nghalon. Every day I finished a chapter in the book, starting with noun genders and finishing with full sentences, albeit short ones. But this book wasn't enough for me- I wanted more. This is where this story deviates from the previous two. There weren't as many books or resources available to Cornish learners at the time, but there was an online dictionary, a great Facebook community, and a desire to speak fluently in my heart.
Y dacteg a ddefnyddiais oedd cyfieithu. Erthyglau byrion ar Wicipedia yn gychwynnol ac wedyn symudais ymlaen at bethau hirach a hirach nes imi ddechrau cyfieithu straeon y Brodyr Grimm. Wrth edrych yn ôl arnynt roedd fy nghyfieithiadau cynnar yn ofnadwy. Roedd yr amseroedd yn anghywir, roeddwn wedi camsillafu sawl gair, ac weithiau roeddwn wedi creu geiriau newydd ac wedyn anghofio beth y golygasant. Ond trwy wneud hyn cryfheais fy sgiliau Cernyweg nes imi ddeall fy nghamgymeriadau ac ailddysgu sut i dynnu fy ngeiriau ffug i ddarnau.The tactic I used was translating. Short articles on Wikipedia to begin with, then I moved on to longer and longer texts until I started translating some of the Grimm Brothers' Fairy Tales. Looking back at some of my early translation is cringe-worthy. The tenses were all wrong, I had misspelt several words, and on occasion I had created some new words and then forgotten what they meant. But by doing this I strengthened my Cornish until I understood my mistakes and re-learnt how to pull my fake words apart.
Her feunyddiol oedd hon, yn enwedig gan ystyried y dysgais heb fynd i ddosbarth ac nad oedd llawer o lyfrau gennyf. Felly'r tip gorau yr ydwyf yn gallu ei argymell ichi a ddysga drwy'r modd hwn yw dewis testunau yr ydach yn eu hoffi. Nid oes unrhyw beth gwaethaf na chyfieithu pethau nad ydach yn hoff ohonynt (rwyf yn cael ôl-fflachiau i wersi cyfieithu yn y brifysgol). Mae'n gwneud i'r proses yn llawer mwy hwyliog os ydach yn ymddiddan â'r testun ar fwy nag un lefel. Mae straeon byrion yn fan cychwyn da!This was a daily challenge, especially considering that I learnt without attending any classes and that I didn't have many books. So the best tip I can offer to those who want to learn like this is choosing texts you like. There's nothing worse than translating things you aren't fond of (I'm having flashbacks to translation classes at university). It makes the process way more fun if you engage with the text in more than one way. Short stories are a good place to start!
Fel soniais amdano yn gynharach; rydach yn cael allan o ddysgu ieithoedd yr hyn a roddwch mewn i'w dysgu, a dyma fy mhrif dip ichi gael manteisio ar y geiriau hyn... Defnyddiwch eich ieithoedd. Bob dydd. Trwy'r amser. Pan ewch i'r archfarchnad, newidiwch iaith y peiriannau hunanwasanaeth i Gymraeg (gellir hyd yn oed gwneud hyn mewn bwytai McDonalds yn Lloegr), neu yn well na hynny, ffeindiwch aelod o staff a sieryd eich iaith darged. Ysgrifennwch ar Facebook ynddi, darganfyddwch ffilmiau a cherddoriaeth ynddi, darllenwch nofelau yn eich iaith newydd. Manteisiwch ar eich sawl tafod!As I mentioned earlier; you get out of language learning what you put in, and this is my main tip for you to get the most out of these words... Use your languages. Every day. All the time. When you go to the supermarket, change the language of the self-service machines to Welsh (you can even do this in McDonalds restaurants in England), or even better, find a member of staff who speaks your target language. Write on Facebook in it, discover films and music in it, read novels in your new language. Make the most of you many tongues!
Gobeithio eich bod chi wedi mwynhau darllen fy narn yma ac rydach yn teimlo wedi'ch ysbrydoli! Ond mae'n fwy tebyg byddwch chi wedi blino erbyn cyrraedd y pwynt hwn, yn enwedig os ydach chi wedi darllen fy Nghymraeg academaidd (sori am honno). Felly cymerwch egwyl fechan â phanad poeth braf ac ymlaciwch.Hopefully you've enjoyed reading my piece and you are feeling inspired! But it's more than likely that you're tired having gotten to this point, especially if you have read my academic Welsh (sorry for that). So take a short break with a lovely warm cuppa and relax.

Cernywiaid ydw i, a thrwy gymdeithasu a dod i adnabod Cernywiaid eraill sydd yn byw yng Nghymru, rwyf wedi darganfod rhywbeth diddorol iawn... Mae sawl un ohonynt wedi dysgu'r Gymraeg (neu wedi dangos diddordeb mewn dysgu) er mwyn teimlo'n agosach at eu cartref, hynny yw Cernyw.

Map o enwau llefydd Cernyweg

Map o enwau llefydd Cernyweg / A map of Cornish place-names

Gwaun Bodmin

Gwaun Bodminm ger prentre Minions / Bodmin Moor, near the village of Minions

anblogkernowek.blogspot.com / sambrown1993

Merkyans rag Kernowegoryon – mar kwelowgh nebes kammgemeryansow y'n erthygel ma, po mars eus poyntys dhewgh ragov dh'aga frederi, yth esov moy es lowen dhe addya po chanjya homma grondyes war agas kampollow.

Cyfres Amdani

Cyfres cyffrous o lyfrau ar gyfer oedolion sy'n dysgu Cymraeg
An exciting series of books for adults who are learning Welsh

Mae'r prosiect Cyfres Amdani yn cael ei ariannu gan y Cyngor Llyfrau ac mae pedair gwasg (Atebol, CAA Cymru, Gomer & Y Lolfa) wedi cyhoeddi pump llyfr yr un. Mae cydweithio agos hefyd gyda'r Ganolfan Dysgu Cymraeg Genedlaethol, ac mae'r llyfrau'n cydymffurfio gyda'r cwricwlwm newydd. Mae lefelau llyfrau'r prosiect yn cydymffurfio â lefelau dysgu ail iaith Ewrop.

The Amdani Series project is funded by the Welsh Books Council and four presses (Atebol, CAA Cymru, Gomer & Y Lolfa) have published five books each. They are also working closely with the National Centre for Learning Welsh, and the books correlate with the new curriculum. The levels of the books align with European levels of second language learning.

Helen Prosser, Cyfarwyddwr Strategol, Y Ganolfan Dysgu Cymraeg Genedlaethol: Mae’n bwysig bod ein dysgwyr yn cael digon o gyfleoedd i ymarfer defnyddio’r Gymraeg y tu allan i’r dosbarth, er mwyn datblygu eu sgiliau a magu hyder.  Bydd y gyfres fywiog hon o lyfrau deniadol yn adnodd gwerthfawr iawn, yn enwedig gan fod y llyfrau wedi’u teilwra ar gyfer gwahanol lefelau’r sector Dysgu Cymraeg. Mae wedi bod yn bleser cydweithio â’r Cyngor Llyfrau a dy’n ni’n gobeithio bydd y fenter hon yn ffordd o ddenu dysgwyr at ddarllen llyfrau Cymraeg yn gyffredinol, ac ar hyd eu siwrnai i ddysgu’r iaith.

Meinir Wyn Edwards, Golygydd, Y Lolfa: Fel golygydd rhai o’r llyfrau yn y prosiect, mae wedi bod yn brofiad grêt cydweithio gyda gweisg eraill. Gobeithio bydd mwy o lyfrau hamdden i ddysgwyr yn cael eu cyhoeddi ar ôl i’r prosiect cychwynnol o 20 llyfr ddod i ben. Os ydy nifer y siaradwyr Cymraeg yn mynd i gyrraedd y miliwn erbyn 2050 mae angen denu mwy o bobl i ddysgu’r iaith ac mae llyfrau fel hyn yn un cam bach pwysig arall tuag at gyrraedd y nod.

More insight and opinion... Tu ôl y Llen o'r Gyfres Amdani.

Helen Prosser, Strategic Director, the National Centre for Learning Welsh: It’s important our learners have plenty of opportunities to practise using their Welsh outside the classroom, so they can develop their skills and gain confidence. This new series of entertaining books will be a fantastic resource, especially so as the books reflect the different language patterns taught on our courses. It’s been a pleasure working with the Welsh Books Council and we hope this initiative will help attract learners to reading Welsh books in general, and all along their language journey.

Meinir Wyn Edwards, Editor, Y Lolfa: As an editor for some of the books in the project, it has been a great experience to collaborate with other presses. Hopefully more leisure books for learners will be released after the first project of 20 books comes to an end. If the number of Welsh speakers is going to reach a million by 2050 then there is a need to attract more people to learn the language, and books like this are an important  extra step to help reach the goal.

More insight and opinion... Behind the Scenes of Cyfres Amdani.

Am Ddiwrnod!

Author: Margaret Johnson
Welsh adaption of Big Hair Day
Adapted by: Meinir Wyn Edwards
twitter.com/meinir_wyn

Price: £4.99

Language: Very simple Welsh, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Mynediad Level: Mynediad / Entry

Publisher: Y Lolfa

Buy: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781784615567

Darllen mwy: Am y llyfr a chwis / Read more: About the book and quiz

Ymestynnwch eich Cymraeg gyda Jo Knell / Extend your Welsh with Jo Knell

Disgrifiad Gwales: Mae'r nofel yn sôn am ddiwrnod ym mywyd Sophia Reynolds, sydd ar ei ffordd i fod yn ecstra mewn ffilm, ond mae nifer o ddigwyddiadau yn ei rhwystro rhag cyrraedd y set. Mae'n gorfod ymweld â swyddfa'r heddlu sawl gwaith, ond does dim ots ganddi, oherwydd mae'n ffansïo'r plismon yno! 

Gwales description: This is a humorous romance about one memorable day in the life of Sophia Reynolds, who is on her way to be a film extra, but a number of incidents prevent her from reaching the set. She has to visit the police office several times, but she doesn't mind, as she fancies the policeman there! 

Meinir Wyn Edwards: Roedd hi’n bleser cael addasu nofel Lefel Mynediad hyd at Uned 8. Ond roedd hi’n her a hanner, gan nad o’n i’n gyfarwydd â’r eirfa a’r patrymau iaith sydd yn y cwriwlwm Dysgu Cymraeg newydd. Mae’r ymateb i’r llyfr yn y siopau wedi bod yn dda ac mae cyhoeddi llyfrau ysgafn i ddysgwyr Cymraeg yn hollbwysig.
Stori syml, gyda digon o hiwmor, am Sophia yw Am Ddiwrnod! (What a day!). Mae hi ar ei ffordd i fod yn ecstra mewn ffilm gydag un o’i hoff actorion, Fabio Facelli. Ond mae sawl peth yn digwydd iddi ar ei ffordd yno ac mae’n rhaid iddi alw yng ngorsaf yr heddlu sawl gwaith. Ond does dim ots gan Sophia, oherwydd mae llygaid neis iawn gan y plismon! Mae’n braf cael stori garu i godi calon!

Meinir Wyn Edwards: It was a pleasure to adapt an Entry level novel up to Unit 8. But it was a challenge and a half, since I was not familiar with the language patterns used in the new Learn Welsh curriculum. The response to the book in shops has been good and publishing light books for learners is vital.
Am Ddiwrnod! is a simple story about Sophia, with lots of humour. She is on her way to be an extra in a film with one of her favourite actors, Fabio Facelli. But several things happen to her on her way there and she has to call into the police station several times. But Sophia doesn't mind, because the policeman has very nice eyes! It's nice to have a love story to lift the heart!

Cyfres Amdani Am Ddiwrnod

Helen Prosser:
Elfen gyffrous bod yr awduron sy wedi ysgrifennu’r llyfrau Mynediad a Sylfaen wedi bod yn dilyn yr un patrymau iaith â’r cyrsiau cenedlaethol newydd. Mae hyn yn meddwl y bydd yn bosib darllen y llyfr cyntaf Am Ddiwrnod! ar ôl wyth uned o’r cwrs Mynediad.
An exciting element is that authors who have written the Entry and Foundation books have followed the same patterns as the new national courses. This means that it is possible to read the first book Am Ddiwrnod! after eight units of the Entry course.

Gangsters yn y Glaw

Author: Pegi Talfryn

Price: £4.99

Language: Simple Welsh, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Mynediad Level: Mynediad / Entry

Publisher: Gomer

Buy: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781785622410

Disgrifiad Gwales: Mae Elsa Bowen yn gweithio fel ditectif preifat; fel arfer mae'n ymchwilio i dwyll yswiriant. Ond mae hynny'n newid ar y bore Mercher yma. Mae sylw Elsa ar siop lyfrau Cymraeg yn nhre Caernarfon lle mae pethau annisgwyl yn digwydd. Mae'r stori yn canolbwyntio ar Lilith Lewis, gangster lleol sydd yn achosi trafferth.

Gwales description: Elsa Bowen works as a private detective; usually she deals with insurance fraud. But that all changes on this Wednesday morning. Elsa's attention is drawn to the bookshop in Caernarfon where strange things are happening. The story focuses on Lilith Lewis, a local gangster who causes trouble.

Darllen mwy: Cyfweliad â Pegi Talfryn / Read more: Interview with Pegi Talfryn

 

Cyfres Amdani Gangsters yn y Glaw

Pass Y Sugnydd Llwch Darling

Authors: Lucy Owen, Rhodri Owen & Mari George

Price: £4.99

Language: Simple Welsh, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Mynediad Level: Mynediad / Entry

Publisher: Gomer

Buy: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781785622403

Disgrifiad Gwales: Mae Rhodri yn gweithio fel cyflwynydd ar rhaglen i S4C. Mae Lucy yn darllen y Newyddion ar y BBC. Gabs yw eu mab. Mae'n benblwydd ar Gabs. Mae'r teulu yn penderfynu mynd am dro i Ardal Ogwr.

Gwales description: Rhodri works as a presenter on a S4C programme. Lucy reads news for the BBC. Gabs is their son. It's a birthday for Gabs. The family decides to go for a walk to Ogmore.

Pass y Sugnydd Llwch Darling

Stryd y Bont

Author: Manon Steffan Ros
twitter.com/ManonSteffanRos

Price: £4.99

Language: Simple Welsh, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Mynediad Level: Mynediad / Entry

Cyhoeddwr: Atebol

Buy: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781912261444

Disgrifiad Gwales: Mae Stryd y Bont yn dilyn hanes pobl sy'n byw ar yr un stryd mewn tref yng Nghymru. Pa gyfrinachau sydd ganddyn nhw? Pwy sy'n adnabod pwy, ac a ydy cymeriadau Stryd y Bont yn adnabod eu cymdogion mewn gwirionedd?

Gwales description: We follow the stories of people living on the same street in a Welsh town. What secrets do they have and do they really know their neighbours?

Manon Steffan Ros Stryd y Bont

Wynne Evans - O Gaerfyrddin i Go Compare

Author: Wynne Evans with Elin Meek
twitter.com/wynneevans

Price: £4.99

Language: Simple Welsh, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Mynediad Level: Mynediad / Entry

Publisher: CAA Cymru

Buy: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781845216856&tsid=12

Disgrifiad Gwales: Darlun personol a gonest iawn o hanes Wynne a'i deulu, ei brofiadau fel tenor enwog, a'i ymdrech fel oedolyn i ddysgu Cymraeg.

Gwales description: A very personal and honest history of Wynne and his family, his experiences as a famous tenor, and his efforts to learn Welsh as an adult.

Darllen mwy: Blas o'r llyfr / Read more: A taste of the book

Cyfres Amdani Wynne Evans


Sylfaen / Foundation

Samsara

Awdures: Sonia Edwards

Pris: £4.99

Iaith: Cymraeg syml, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Sylfaen Safon: Sylfaen

Cyhoeddwr: Y Lolfa

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781784616151

Disgrifiad Gwales: Mae Sam yn gaeth yn y corff anghywir ac mae arno awydd i newid rhyw. Wrth ymdrin â'r pwnc sensitif hwn gwelir rhwystredigaeth y cymeriad ac ymateb y bobl sydd agosaf ato.

Gwales description: Sam feels confined in the wrong body and wishes to change sex. The book deals with a sensitive subject as we follow the main character's frustration and the response of those closest to him.

Samsara - Sonia Edwards

Teithio Drwy Hanes

Awdur: Jon Gower
twitter.com/JonGower1

Pris: £6.99

Iaith: Cymraeg syml, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Sylfaen Safon: Sylfaen

Publisher: CAA Cymru

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781845216870

Disgrifiad Gwales: Yn y llyfr hwn mae Jon Gower yn mynd â'r darllenydd i 30 o leoliadau sy'n gysylltiedig â hanes Cymru. Mae'n esbonio pam mae'r lleoliadau yn bwysig yn hanes Cymru, ac mae e'n disgrifio eu harddwch a'u naws yn ei ffordd arbennig ei hun.

Gwales description: In this book, Jon Gower takes the reader to 30 different locations connected to Wales' history. He explains why these places are important to Welsh history and describes their beauty and atmosphere in his own special way.

Darllen mwy: Blas o'r llyfr / Read more: A taste of the book

Cyfres Amdani Teithio Drwy Hanes

Y Fawr a'r Fach - Straeon o'r Rhondda

Awdur: Siôn Tomos Owen
twitter.com/sionmun

Pris: £5.99

Iaith: Cymraeg syml, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Sylfaen Safon: Sylfaen

Cyhoeddwr: Y Lolfa

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781784615826

Disgrifiad Gwales: Cyfrol o straeon byrion yn ymwneud â hanesion pentrefi’r Rhondda.

Gwales description: A volume of short stories and anecdotes about villages in the Rhondda valley.

Darllen mwy: Blas o'r llyfr / Read more: A taste of the book

Ymestynnwch eich Cymraeg gyda Jo Knell / Extend your Welsh with Jo Knell

Cyfres Amdani Straeon o'r Rhondda

Y Stryd

Awdures: Helen Naylor
Addasiad Cymraeg o One Day
Wedi'i addasu gan Mared Lewis

Pris: £6.99

Iaith: Cymraeg, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Sylfaen Safon: Sylfaen

Cyhoeddwr: Gomer

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781785622397

Exclusive author insight:
Interview with Mared Lewis
.

Disgrifiad Gwales: Un noson. Un stryd. Ac mae gan bob person ym mhob tŷ broblem. Sut mae Nina yn mynd i ddweud ei newyddion wrth Dafydd? Pam mae Magi yn gorfod ailfeddwl am Xavier? Beth mae Sam yn mynd i wneud am y broblem fawr? Sut mae bywyd Huw yn mynd i newid am byth? Bydd un nos Wener yn newid popeth.

Gwales description: One Night. One street. And everyone in every house has a problem. How will Nina tell Dafydd the news? Why does Magi have to rethink her relationship with Xavier? What will Sam do about his big problem? How will Huw's life change forever? One Friday night will change everything.

Mared Lewis: Mae'r stori yn galw i mewn ac allan o fywydau'r bobol sy'n byw drws nesa' i'w gilydd ar un stryd arbennig mewn tref yng Ngogledd Cymru. Mae pawb yn byw drws nesa, ond mae ganddyn nhw fywydau diddorol, ac mae gen pawb ei broblem ei hun. Mae'n lyfr difyr, a dyma'r tro cyntaf i mi addasu llyfr gan rhywun arall. Roedd hi'n anodd i ddechrau peidio rhedeg i ffwrdd efo'r stori fy hun, ond fe ddaeth pethau'n haws.

Mared Lewis: The story pops in and out of the lives of people living next door to one another in a particular street in a town in North Wales. Everyone lives next door, but they lead interesting lives, and all of them have their own problems. It is an entertaining book, and that’s the first time I have adapted a book by someone else. At first it was difficult to stop myself running away with the story myself, but then things became easier.

Cyfres Amdani Y Stryd

Yn ei Gwsg

Awdures: Bethan Gwanas
twitter.com/BethanGwanas

Gydag arlunwaith y cartwnydd Huw Aaron
With illustrations by cartoonist Huw Aaron
twitter.com/huwaaron

Pris: £4.99

Iaith: Cymraeg, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Sylfaen Safon: Sylfaen

Cyhoeddwr: Atebol

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781912261307

Ymestynnwch eich Cymraeg gyda Jo Knell / Extend your Welsh with Jo Knell

Disgrifiad Atebol: Mae Dafydd yn cerdded yn ei gwsg, ac un bore, mae'n deffro yn waed i gyd. Mae'r llyfr yn dilyn olion traed gwaedlyd allan o'r tŷ a thrwy'r pentref ac yn darganfod Mrs Roberts a'i zimmerframe ar ochr y ffordd wedi'i tharo gan gar. Pwy sydd wedi ei tharo? A fydd yr heddlu yn arestio'r person cywir?

Atebol description: Dafydd walks in his sleep, and one morning he wakes up to see blood everywhere. The book follows the bloody footprints out of the house and through the village and discovers Mrs Roberts and her zimmerframe on the roadside hit by a car. Who hit her? Will the police arrest the right person?

Bethan Gwanas: Mi wnes i wir fwynhau sgwennu ar gyfer dysgwyr eto, a braf oedd gallu sgwennu am rywun gwahanol iawn i Blodwen Jones! Ro’n i’n hoff iawn o gymeriad Dafydd, ac roedd y broses o ddod i’w nabod o wrth sgwennu amdano yn ddiddorol. Dim ond y syniad o rywun yn cerdded yn ei gwsg ac yn deffro i weld bod gwaed dros y lle, oedd yn fy mhen i ar y dechrau. Doedd gen i ddim syniad gwaed pwy oedd o nes i mi ddechrau sgwennu, ac ro’n i’n ‘darganfod’ y stori yn union fel bod yn ddarllenydd. Gobeithio y bydd y dysgwyr yn mwynhau gymaint ag y gwnes i fwynhau!

Bethan Gwanas: I really enjoyed writing for learners again, and it was nice to be able to write about someone different different to Blodwen Jones! I liked Dafydd's character, and the process of getting to know him when writing about him was interesting. The idea of someone was walking in sleep and waking up to see that there was blood over the place was all that was in my head at the beginning. I had no idea who the blood was from before I started writing, and I just discovered the story in the same way as the reader. I hope that the learners will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed!


Canolradd / Intermediate

C'Mon Reff

Awdur: Nigel Owens
Wedi'i addasu gan: Elin Meek

Pris: £6.99

Iaith: Cymraeg, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Canolradd Safon: Canolradd

Cyhoeddwr: Y Lolfa

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781784616175

Disgrifiad Gwales: Addasiad o hunangofiant poblogaidd Nigel Owens, Hanner Amser. Mae'r testun wedi ei rannu'n benodau byrion, ac yn sôn am ei blentyndod, ei yrfa fel un o reffaris rygbi gorau'r byd, ei deithiau, ei deulu, ei iselder a'i rywioldeb.

Gwales description: An adaptation of Nigel Owen's autobiography Hanner Amser. The text is arranged into short chapters, mentions his childhood, his career as one of the best referees in the in the world, his travels, his family, his depression and his sexuality.

Cyfres Amdani Nigel Owens C'Mon Reff

Croesi'r Bont

Awdur: Zoê Pettinger

Pris: £6.99

Iaith: Cymraeg, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Canolradd Safon: Canolradd

Publisher: CAA Cymru

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781845216863

Disgrifiad Gwales: Straeon byrion sy’n llawn hiwmor, gan awdures sydd wedi dysgu Cymraeg ei hun.

Gwales description: Short stories with a good pinch of humour, by an author who is a Welsh learner herself.

Zoe Pettinger: Idiomau a diarhebion ydy teitlau’r straeon i gyd. Maen nhw mor bwysig a maen nhw’n cyfoethogi’r iaith. Mae pum stori yn y gyfrol ac mae pob un yn ‘genre’ gwahanol. Ro’n i eisiau apelio at bawb a ro’n i eisiau cynnwys straeon am ddysgwyr eu hunain. Dyn ni i gyd yn rhannu hiwmor am y treigladau a gramadeg, a dyn ni i gyd yn deall yr anawsterau o fod yn ddysgwr Cymraeg!

Zoe Pettinger: All the short stories have titles which are idioms or proverbs. They are so important and they enrich the language. There are five stories in the volume and each one is in a different genre. I wanted to appeal to everyone and I wanted to include stories about learners themselves. We all take part in the humour about mutations and grammar, and we all understand the difficulties of being Welsh learners!

Croesi'r Bont Zoe Pettinger
Exclusive author insight
: Croesi'r Bont gyda Zoe Pettinger

Gêm Beryglus

Awdur: Richard MacAndrew
Addasiad Cymraeg o Man Hunt
Wedi'i addasu gan: Pegi Talfryn

Pris: £4.99

Iaith: Cymraeg, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Canolradd Safon: Canolradd

Cyhoeddwr: Atebol

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781912261291

Ymestynnwch eich Cymraeg gyda Jo Knell / Extend your Welsh with Jo Knell

Disgrifiad Gwales: Mae Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog yn enwog am ei harddwch naturiol ac am y llwybrau cerdded. Ond mae'r lle yn cyrraedd y newyddion am reswm arall; mae pobl yn cael eu lladd yn yr ardal.

Gwales description: The Brecon Beacons National Park is famous for its natural beauty and for its walking trails. However the place reaches the news for another reason; people are being killed in the area.

Adolygiad gan Sue Ward, Dysgwraig o Say Something in Welsh: Stori dditectif gyffrous. Oedd diddordeb gyda fi yn syth o’r frawddeg gyntaf. Doeddwn i ddim eisiau stopio darllen! Mae’r iaith yn addas ar gyfer dysgwyr, ac mae’r geirfa ddefnyddiol hefyd.

Review by Sue Ward, learner from Say Something in Welsh: An exciting detective story. I had an interest straight from the first sentewnce. I didn't want to stop reading! The language is suitable to learners, and the vocabulary is very useful.

Cyfres Amdani Gêm Beryglus

Gwers Mewn Cariad

Awdures: Beca Brown

Pris: £6.99

Iaith: Cymraeg, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Canolradd Safon: Canolradd

Publisher: Gomer

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781785622373

Disgrifiad Gwales: Nofel ysgafn am ddyn sy'n syrthio mewn cariad â'i diwtor. Mae Liam yn newydd i ddosbarth Liz ym mis Medi. Ar yr wyneb mae'n hollol wahanol i'w diwtor Cymraeg. Er gwaetha'r gwahaniaeth oed mae carwriaeth yn datblygu rhwng y ddau, a Liz yn wynebu creisus tipyn mwy cymhleth na sut i gyflwyno treigladau...

Gwales description: A light-hearted novel about a man who falls in love with his tutor. Liam is new to Liz's class in September. On the face of it, he is completely different from his Welsh tutor. Despite the age difference, a love affair develops between the two, and Liz faces a crisis that is a little more complex than how to introduce mutations...

Exclusive author insight:
Ysgrifennu'r nofel i ddysgwyr, Gwers Mewn Cariad

Gwers Mewn Cariad Beca Brown

Y Llythyr

Awdures: Helen Naylor
Addasiad Cymraeg o Two Lives
Wedi'i addasu gan: Dwynwen Teifi

Pris: £6.99

Iaith: Cymraeg, with vocabulary at the bottom of each page

Amdani Canolradd Safon: Canolradd

Cyhoeddwr: CAA Cymru

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781845216818

Disgrifiad Gwales: Ym mhentref bach Treddafydd yng Nghymoedd de Cymru, mae Megan a Huw yn dod yn gariadon. Ond a fydd eu cariad yn ddigon cryf i oroesi'r amgylchiadau? Mae marwolaeth, eu teuluoedd, a'r blynyddoedd ar wahân i gyd yn eu herbyn nhw.

Gwales description: In the small village of Tredafydd in the south Wales valleys, Megan and Huw become lovers. But will their love conquer the circumstances? Death, their families and years apart are all against them.

Cyfres Amdani Y Llythyr


Uwch / Higher

Cawl a Storïau Eraill

Wedi'i golygu gan Rhiannon Thomas

Pris: £5.99

Iaith: Cymraeg

Amdani Uwch Safon: Uwch

Cyhoeddwr: Y Lolfa

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781784616168

Ymestynnwch eich Cymraeg gyda Jo Knell / Extend your Welsh with Jo Knell

Disgridiad Gwales: Casgliad o straeon cyfoes gan rai o awduron gorau Cymru.

Gwales description: Contemporary short stories by some of Wales’ best authors.

Cawl a Straeon Eraill

Cofio Anghofio

Awdur: Alan Maley
Addasiad Cymraeg o Forget to Remember
Wedi'i addasu gan: Elin Meek

Pris: £8.99

Iaith: Cymraeg

Amdani Uwch Safon: Uwch

Cyhoeddwr: CAA Cymru

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781845216825

Exclusive author insight:
Elin Meek explains how she translated Roald Dahl's works into Welsh
.

Disgrifiad Gwales: Stori deimladwy am ymdrech dwy chwaer i ddod i delerau â dementia eu mam, a'i effaith ar eu bywydau.

Gwales description: The story of two sisters who try to come to terms with their mother's illness, and its effect on their own lives.

Elin Meek: Mae nifer o themâu yn y nofel hon: problem gofalu am bobl sy'n heneiddio; dementia; tensiynau rhwng dwy chwaer; tensiynau rhwng pâr priod; beth sy'n ein gwneud ni'n hapus mewn gwirionedd. Dyna ro'n i'n ei deimlo beth bynnag, wrth ddarllen ac addasu'r nofel. Dw i wedi troi'r teitl yn Gymraeg - fel ei fod yn dangos bod angen i ni gofio anghofio am rai pethau yn y gorffennol, er mwyn symud ymlaen i'r dyfodol. Dyna mae'r prif gymeriad yn ei wneud yn y diwedd, dw i'n meddwl.
Roedd y nofel Saesneg wedi ei lleoli yn Llundain, Marlow a Brighton, felly newidiais i'r rhain i: Llanelli, Y Bont-faen a'r Mwmbwls, ger Abertawe. Mae Sarah, y prif gymeriad yn y nofel Saesneg, yn canu 'All Things Bright and Beautiful', felly yn Gymraeg, mae hi'n canu 'Calon Lân'. Dw i'n mwynhau meddwl am ffyrdd o Gymreigio nofelau fel hyn fel bod y darllenydd yn credu yn y nofel fel un sydd wedi'i lleoli yng Nghymru.

Elin Meek: There are a number of themes in this novel: the problem of caring for older people; dementia; tensions between two sisters; tensions between a married pair; and what makes us truly happy. This is what I was feeling anyway, when reading and adapting the novel. I've swapped the title in Welsh- so that it shows we need to remember to forget about some things in the past, in order to move on to the future. This is what the main character does in the end, I think.
The English novel was set in London, Marlow and Brighton, so I changed these to: Llanelli, Cowbridge and Mumbles, near Swansea. Sarah, the main character in the English novel, sings 'All Things Bright and Beautiful', so in the Welsh, she sings 'Calon Lân'. I enjoy thinking about ways to Welshify novels like this so that the reader believes the novel is one that is set in Wales.

Cyfres Amdani Cofio Anghofio

Cyffesion Saesnes yng Nghymru

Awdures: Sarah Reynolds
twitter.com/sarahyngnghymru

Pris: £4.99

Iaith: Cymraeg

Amdani Uwch Safon: Uwch

Cyhoeddwr: Atebol

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781912261284

Exclusive author insight:
Mae Sarah yn cyflwyno ei llyfr cyntaf, Dysgu Byw
.

Disgridiad Gwales: Mae Katie newydd symud i Gymru gyda'i gŵr newydd, Dylan. Yn ôl Dylan roedden nhw am fyw mewn tŷ enfawr, ond mae pethau'n mynd o chwith ac mae'n rhaid i'r ddau symud i fyw gyda'i rieni ef. Sut fydd teulu Dylan yn ymdopi gyda Saesnes hollol ddi-glem yn eu plith?

Gwales description: Katie has just moved to live in Wales with new husband Dylan. She had hope to live in a large house but things don't work out as she had anticipated, and she has to live with Dylan's parents. How will Dylan's family cope with a clumsy English woman?

Cyffesion Saesnes yng Nghymru

Sarah Reynolds: Mae pob priodas yn antur, ond mae priodi rhywun ry' chi ddim ond wedi nabod ers mis yn antur a hanner! Mae Cyffesion Saesnes yng Nghymru yn dilyn hynt a helynt Katie, sydd wedi cwrdd â Dylan o dan yr haul ar ynys rhamantus Sbaenaidd… ond mae Katie yn dysgu yn go gyflym, bod ei gŵr newydd yn dod fel bargen pecyn. Os yw’r briodas i fod yn llwyddiannus, fe fydd yn rhaid i Katie hefyd dderbyn ei deulu, ei wlad a’i iaith.
Mae Katie yn glanio yng nghefn gwlad Sir Gâr heb air o Gymraeg, a dim clem am ddiwylliant Cymru. Dyw ei siwrne ddim yn hawdd ac yn y nofel gomedïaidd hon; rydw i wir yn gobeithio fe fydd dysgwyr yn chwerthin a gwingo at rhai o’r camgymeriadau mae Katie yn gwneud ar hyd ei siwrne. Mae hon yn stori gariad nid yn unig rhwng Katie a Dylan ond hefyd rhwng Katie a Chymru.

Sarah Reynolds: Every wedding is an adventure, but marrying someone that you have only known for a month is an adventure and a half! Cyffesion Saesnes yng Nghymru follows the troubles of Katie, who has met Dylan under the sun of a romantic Spanish island... but Katie learns quickly that her new husband comes as a package. If the marriage is to be successful, Katie will have to accept his family, his country and his language.
Katie lands in rural Carmarthenshire without a word of Welsh, and not a clue of Welsh culture. Her journey isn't easy and this is a comic novel; I hope that every learner laughs and winces at some of the mistakes that Katie makes on her journey. This is a love story not only between Katie and Dylan but between Katie and Wales.

Llwybrau Cul

Awdur: Mared Lewis

Pris: £8.99

Iaith: Cymraeg

Amdani Uwch Safon: Uwch

Gomer

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781785622380

Disgrifiad Gwales: Mae'r nofel yn agor ar olygfa damwain liw nos ar ffordd gul yng nghefn gwlad Cymru. Mae tri char wedi cael eu heffeithio. Ond beth sy'n plethu'r tri gyrrwr, a sut cyrhaeddon nhw'r sefyllfa hon?

Gwales description: There has been a three car crash on the back-roads of rural Wales one dark night. But what joins the driver's of these vehicles, and how did they end up here?

Exclusive author insight: Mared Lewis: Creu Fi a Mr Huws & Y Stryd.

Llwybrau Cul

Trwy'r Ffenestri

Awdur: Frank Brennan
Addasiad Cymraeg o Windows of the Mind
Wedi'i addasu gan: Manon Steffan Ros
twitter.com/ManonSteffanRos

Pris: £4.99

Iaith: Cymraeg

Amdani Uwch Safon: Uwch

Cyhoeddwr: Atebol

Prynwch: gwales.com/bibliographic/?isbn=9781912261437

Disgrifiad Gwales: Dyma gasgliad o straeon byrion difyr a fydd yn siŵr o wneud i chi feddwl. Dewch i adnabod cymeriadau cymhleth, lleoliadau pell, a straeon fydd yn aros yn eich meddwl am amser maith.

Gwales description: A collection of diverse short stories which will be sure to make you think. Get to know complex characters, remote locations, and stories that will stay in your mind for a long time.

Cyfres Amdani Trwy'r Ffenestri

Logo Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru

Amdani_Poster_A4_Ionawr_2019

David Jandrell- Introducing Welsh Valleys Phrasebook

David Jandrell: Introducing The Welsh Valleys Phrasebook

David Jandrell's mission in life is documenting the the dialect of the South Wales Valleys (also known as Wenglish), and sharing his love of phrases such 'Tidy', 'Butt', 'Now in a minute' and 'Cwtch' with the wider world.  Here he introduces Valleys English, gives a sample of popular phrases and explanations from Welsh Valleys Phrasebook and then recounts his story of developing an interest in documenting this dialect...

Skip to: Sample Glossary / My life through Valleys English

Welsh Valleys Humour / Wenglish Dialect / Talk Tidy

Welsh Valleys PhrasebookA first visitor to Wales will almost certainly have to converse with a local at some stage, and that is where the trouble may start. Ask for directions and you will be no better off than if you’d bought a sat nav and the ‘speaker’ gave all directions in Klingon.

You will have very little idea of what has been said to you. You’ll probably assume that the person you spoke to answered you in Welsh. The reality is that that person would have actually been speaking to you in English – and it is this version of English that this piece of work is all about – that being, non-standard  English as used in Wales in everyday conversation.

This language is far removed from English that you will be used to and hopefully these pages will ease your communication problems during your stay in the country. Although, at first glance, you may wonder what language it is written in – it is actually written in English. The phonetic version of the written language, that is.

Pronunciation is the biggest hurdle to overcome and the Welsh Valleys Phrasebook is prepared with this in mind. The thing to remember here is that our non-standard words are not necessarily pronounced the Welsh way, even though those words may look like Welsh on paper!

So, if you see an English word, say it as that word is pronounced in English. That will be how it is pronounced in Wales – the difference being that word will mean something else.


Sample Dialogue and Glossary

Press the play button above to listen to David narrate a typical Valleys dialogue, and then match it to items you can read below!
Items in italics relate to a definition that can be found in the full book, which contains over 120 more phrases. Following the definition is a sample dialogue.

Big massive: Huge
“We were down the club earlier and this couple came in and you should’ve seen ‘em. She was a big massive bomper and he was a tiny little dwt.”

Boggin': Unattractive, ugly, unappealing,etc. Similarly, regional variations: Bulin’, Gompin’, Mingin’ Mulin’, Muntin’ & Scruntin’
“Have you seen the state of Ron’s new girlfriend? Boggin’ mun.
“I yeared she was bulin’. That bad is she?”
“Oh aye, gompin’.”
“His last girlfriend was no oil paintin’ mind.”
“More like an oil slick, mingin’ she was.”
“Oh aye, mulin mun.”
“Mind you, he’s muntin’, can’t expect ‘im to pull any lookers to be honest.”
“Aye, to be fair all his girlfriends ‘ave bin scruntin’.”

Butt/Butt/Butty: Informal term of affection to a mate, pal, friend, associate. The Welsh version of the English, ‘bud’ or buddy’.
“Where to are you off to butt?”
“Alright butt? I’m off to meet Bob down the park.”
“Hang on butt, here’s a stroke of luck, here he comes. Alright butt, how’s it going?”
“Aye, I’m alright butt. What about you?”
“Alright butt, aye.”
“Tidy.”

Cwtch: A very common word, now understood by most English speakers. Made even more famous when international rugby referee Nigel Owens belittled brawling players on national TV when he said: “If you want a cwtch, do it off the field, not on it”.  Commonly, cwtch has three meanings:
A cuddle: Physical show of affection.
To hide something: Example: “I was wrapping his birthday present and he walked in. I had to cwtch it a bit quick under the cushion.”
A place where you put things; akin to the English ‘cubby hole’.
“Cwtch it in the cwtch then give us a cwtch.”

Dai Twice: Contrived name allocated to anyone who’s real name is David Davies.

Dooberry: Generic name for something or someone used when the speaker either doesn’t know the name of the subject or can’t be bothered to use it. Similarly: Do-ins, Doodah, Mackonky, Oojackapivvy, Shmongah, Usser, Whatyoumcallit, Woducall, Wossnim etc.
“Have you seen the dooberry?”
“It’s over there by the oojackapivvy.”
“Who put it there?”
“Wossnim, before he went into town.”
Wossee gone to town for?”
“Gone to pick up a doodah.”
“I wish he’d said, I wanted a mackonky to go with this shmongah.”
“I think I’ve got one of them, over there by the whatyoumacallit. See it?”
“Aye, great stuff. I thought for a moment I’d have to borrow one off Woducall.”
“He ‘asn’t got one, he uses a different Do-ins.”

Drive: Generic name for the driver of a public service vehicle. Commonly heard when the contents of a double-decker exits at the bus station:
“Cheers Drive.”
“Cheers Drive.”
“Cheers Drive.”
“Cheers Drive.”
“Cheers Drive.”
“Thank you Driver.”  (Middle class passenger)

Gutsy: Greedy or gluttonous.
“Where’s all them doughnuts to?”
“I ate ‘em.”
“You gutsy bastard!”

Now, in a minute: Some time later. Certainly not soon.
Willew turn that football off? I want to watch the drama on ITV.”
“I’ll turn it off now in a minute love, when it finishes.”
“How long is left?”
“They’re three minutes into the first half.”

Tidy: A real monster. Tidy can mean just about anything positive, pleasurable, good, neat, smart, satisfying, etc.,  that the user chooses to describe as ‘tidy’. The list of possible definitions is inexhaustible, but could be represented in the abridged example:
“How’s it going butt?”
“Tidy, mun aye.”
“How did the interview go?”
“Tidy butt, I got the job. They gimme a maths test and I done it tidy by all account.”
“Tidy! Much different to what you’ve bin doin’”
“Oh aye, tidy job this is. Didn’t like my last job much to be honest. Gotta dress tidy an’all.”
“Tidy. Office job is it?”
“Aye. Gotta get some tidy shoes before I start. I’ve got a tidy suit and tidy shirts, but my shoes ‘en up to much.”
“Well you gotta ‘ave tidy shoes if you d’work in an office butt. Create a tidy impression see.”
“Well, I gotta dash. I gotta tidy my room before I get into town for them shoes.”
“All the best butt. See you in a bit I spoze. I’ll tell my missus about your new job.”
“Tidy. See you butt.”

Traaaaa: Goodbye. Farewell, ta-ta
“Ok, traaaa, see you Sunday.”
“Aye, see you Sunday, traaaa.”
“Traaaa.”
“Traaaa.”

Yer: Very versatile interchangeable word for; ear, year, here, hear. At the hospital:
“What’re you doin’ yer?”  (here)
“Got summut wrong with my yer.” (ear)
“What? You mean you can’t yer things?” (hear)
“Aye, ‘ad the problem over a yer and only now they’ve got round to seeing me.” (year)

Up by yer
If you ask a Welsh person where they are, or where something is, where they’ve been, where they’re going, you may not be fully au fait with the answer you get. We tend to like to instill a bit of mystery into the whereabouts of the subject of the question by not pinpointing its exact location, but steer you towards somewhere nearby. A form of guessing game that is played and enjoyed by all- the habit of saying, “By here” or “By there”.

So, if you ask where the Radio Times is and the response is “By there”, you may well be in the same boat as you were before you asked the question. This will mean that the responder will be making some gesture, either with his/her eyes or pointing with a finger which means that you must make a conscious effort to observe him/her when he/she responds so that you can follow the physical signs to find what you are looking for.

On the other hand, the responder may be more specific and reply with a: “By there by the coffee table.” This will enhance your success at finding the Radio Times exponentially because all you have to do is find the coffee table and hunt around in that vicinity.

The ‘by’ in this case is actually a non-descript unit of measurement. The Radio Times could actually be on the coffee table, on the floor at the side of the coffee table, a yard away from the coffee table or roughly within the same postcode that the coffee table is sitting in at the time. Quite a lot of scope there, but all perfectly acceptable.

You will see that I did not exaggerate when I made reference to within the same postcode when I tell you about a snippet gleaned from a conversation I heard a few years ago:
“Where to is Manchester?”
“It’s up north somewhere, up by Liverpool.”
In this case, the ‘by’ represented a distance in the region of 34 miles! As you can see, in this case it has actually exceeded the post-code boundary.

Asking and replying using the ‘by’ method

There are no standard protocols when questioning and answering here. There are certainly no rules covering tense, grammar, syntax – this is entirely governed by the speaker, and depending on the speaker, this can become as convoluted as he/she deems appropriate. Here are some examples of questions/answers which show the scope for the progression of bizarreness.

Questions                                                        Answers
“Where to is it?                                               “It’s up by yer.”
“Where is it to?”                                             “It’s down under by there.”
“Where’s it by?”                                             “It’s over by there.”
“Where to is it by?”                                        “I don’t know where to it’s by”
“Where by is it to?”                                        “It’s up over by yer.”
“Where by will you be to.”                              “In the bus station, by Burger King.”
“I put it by yer, and it en by yer now.”            “It was by yer. Where’s it’s to now?”


David Jandrell: My life through Valleys English

David JandrellMy immersion into the non-standard version of English spoken in the Welsh valleys began in 1955 when my mother gave birth to me on the kitchen table in a tiny house on the border of two villages, Cwmcarn and Pontywaun, in the county then known as Monmouthshire. Although I can’t remember it, the first words that I would have heard would have been along the lines of:
“Cor, flippin ‘eck mun. Inny luvly.”
“Aw bless. Jess like ‘is daar.”
“Worra luvly little dwt, he is, inny. Oooooh aye.”
“Worrew gonna call ‘im Joan?"
“Come over by yer Margaret and see your brother. Go on mun, give ‘im a kiss innit.”

And that was the language I grew up with.

In those days, Monmouthshire was a political hot potato, with regular debates of: is Monmouthshire in England or in Wales? This debate had been going on and off for over 400 years and even now in 2018 it is not clear when this area was ‘English’ or ‘Welsh’ or how long these periods of Englishness and Welshness lasted to classify those who lived there.

When I was in Cwmcarn Junior School the education authority seemed to lean towards Englishness, as I remember from my introduction to the National Anthem. It would have been sometime before St. David’s Day when the whole school were ushered into the school hall and told to sit cross-legged on the floor. The Headmaster unrolled a large printed canvas with ‘Land of Our Fathers’ in huge letters written on it. The anthem was actually written in English, and that’s how we were taught the anthem – in English.  For some reason, the educationalists throughout my primary secondary and tertiary education never deemed it compulsory to teach us the Welsh version.

My first ever contact with the Welsh language proper came about during visits to Cwmcarn post office. The postmistress, Mrs Clarke, rarely tended the counter- instead she sat at the back of the shop and shouted in Welsh at someone into one of only seven telephones that were in Cwmcarn at the time. Mrs Clarke often came up in our conversations in school:
“Dwn Mrs Clarke talk funny?”
“Aye. Can’t understand ‘er mun.”
“Our mam d’reckon it’s Welsh she’s talking.”
“Cor, flippin’ ‘eck, Welsh is it?”
“Aye, according to our mam anyhow.”
“Avew gorra shout Welsh?”
“Speckt so, Mrs Clarke’s always shouting when she d’talk it.”

So apart from Mrs Clarke, the language that I was immersed in was the south east Welsh Valleys version of English.

In 1974 the county on Monmouthshire disappeared and replaced by the county of Gwent and we were now all officially Welsh. Phew!  Having said that, Gwent was very Anglicised at the time compared with most of its surrounding areas, and still is.

My mother’s language was intermittently anglicised. This phenomenon occurred when she was on the telephone. My parents were very friendly with Charles Dickens’ great-grandson, Cedric Dickens, and he telephoned them regularly. He spoke with a very refined public school English accent (think Jacob Rees-Mogg), so when the phone rang Mother would get into ‘the zone’ to be ready just in case the caller was Cedric. If it wasn’t, she still maintained the posher stance but toned it down a bit so that she didn’t appear snobbish to whoever she was talking to.  If it was Cedric though, she went for the ‘full monty’.

When I got to the fifth form in school (aged 15) I noticed that the girls, with whom we’d shared every lesson since we entered secondary education, started to become a ‘bit posher’ and began to refine their language as they tried to sound sophisticated. Us boys didn’t really embrace this and distanced ourselves from them, as we were only interested in fighting and playing football. We didn’t need to use BBC English in order to follow these pursuits!

Before leaving for University, my group of friends decided that we would all meet up in the Beaufort pub in Newbridge over the following Christmas break to compare notes on our first term away from home. I noticed some drastic changes in the language that me ex-peers were using- I was the only person using the language that we all spoke the previous September.  Instead of picking up regional English accents, they all had the same accent- a version, or as near as they could get, to ‘BBC English’ obviously to ‘fit in’ with their newly acquired peer groups

I didn’t feel as if I ‘knew’ them any more and was quite disappointed that these people had modified their speech and, ‘bettered themselves’ in their eyes.  Even the swearing had been poshed up. I noticed that the standard valley exclamation, ‘fuckin’ ‘ell mun!’ had morphed into the more refined sounding, “Fahking Hell!”

I heard the term, ‘well spoken’ a lot in those days and those who were ‘well spoken’ deserved more respect and a better level of customer service from shopkeepers if they were ‘well spoken’. I began to hear this term more and more and my sister extended it to being ‘better spoken'. To me, ‘well spoken’ was code for ‘not using the Valleys language or accent.’

I always made sure I maintained my valleys accent throughout my 20s and 30s while living in England. When I visited shops I always asked for what I wanted in my natural Valleys accent. This meant that, mostly, I would not be understood and my request would be met with a, ‘pardon?’

When returning to work in Wales in my 40s I noticed that the bonding of different social groups centred entirely around the friendly but competitive banter about how we all spoke.  One thing this new environment taught me was that, despite the very diverse mix of accents- from the west country to Swansea, including Cardiff, Barry, Newport and the Valleys, the consensus was that the least desirable accent to have was, yes, you guessed, the Valleys accent.  

Interestingly, my Valleys accent has been ridiculed and patronised more by people from Newport and Cardiff than any other regions in the UK – including the times when I resided ‘over the bridge’. Yes, if you had a Valleys accent you were the pits. It was probably because of this that I started to take an interest in accents, idioms and language which led me to observe and report on them in the future.

I had observed how diverse the Valleys accent was in the Ebbw Valley (where I now live) and had identified vast differences in accents (five distinct) between Risca in the south to Ebbw Vale, in the north. Risca is very anglicised, but travel north towards places like Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale, their vowel sounds get flatter and more drawn out, changes in syntax are marked and aitches rarely sounded. So, I was well armed with thoughts of noticeable changes in ways of speaking between distances of five or six miles in the Ebbw valley, but I was not prepared for what I was about to experience when I took up a teaching post at Ystrad Mynach college in 2000.

Students at Ystrad Mynach came from the Rhymney, Rhondda, Cynon and Taff valleys. By this time you’d think I was a bit of an expert in Valley accents, dialect and idioms. Not so. It took me a good eighteen months before I was fully au fait with the language used by the students. In my early days I failed to understand many of the students because their version of the Valleys English was so far removed from the version that I used. They didn’t have any trouble understanding me though – according to them, I spoke with a refined English accent, akin to newscasters on the telly.

Even the staff regarded me as a bit posh, even aloof. I remember a brief conversation with a colleague not long after I’d started:
“Where to are you from then, butt?”
“Cwmcarn.”
“Where by is that to?”
“Near Newport.”
“English arrew?”
“Er …. no. Welsh.”
“Bugger off, Newport’s England mun.”
They believed this so strongly that amongst a small group of colleagues, I was known as, 'English Dai.'

When I wrote Welsh Valleys Phrasebook I drew on the non-standard English used in a wide spectrum of different areas gleaned from my own ability to speak fluent Ebbw valleyspeak and my recently acquired Rhymney/Rhondda/Cynon/Taff valleyspeak. Whilst very diverse, the nonstandard English used was standard within the villages that used it and was the norm – even though 10 miles away, the language could be very different.  I concluded that the language is as vibrant and colourful as it has always been.

Will the language of the Welsh valleys ever die out? I hope not.


David's books are available from Y Lolfa:

Welsh Valleys Phrasebook

Welsh Valleys Humour

Cwmtwp: Gossip From the Valleys

Dysgu Cymraeg Ble a Sut Learn Welsh Where and How

Mae yna lawer o adnoddau a sefydliadau sy'n cefnogi'r iaith Gymraeg a'r rhai sy'n ei ddysgu. Mae'r dudalen hon yn casglu rhai o'r prif eitemau at ei gilydd, ynghyd â mewnwelediad perthnasol oddiw wrth gyfranwyr parallel.cymru. Cofnodwch, rhannwch a mwynhewch!

There are many resources and organisations that support the Welsh language and those learning it. This page collates some of the main items together, plus relevant insight from parallel.cymru contributors. Bookmark, share and enjoy!


Gwersi / Lessons

Y Ganolfan Dysgu Cymraeg Gendlaethol / The National Centre for Learning Welsh

Canolfan Dysgu Cymraeg Genedlaethol logo

learnwelsh.cymru

The National Centre for Learning Welsh is responsible for all aspects of the Welsh for Adults education programme - from curriculum and course development to resources for tutors, research, marketing and e-learning. Its aim is to attract new learners to the Welsh language and increase the numbers using and enjoying Welsh each day. The National Centre works with a network of  providers across Wales, which delivers Welsh courses on its behalf and are outline below.

Addysgydd ac Awdures Eiry Miles:
Creu cyrsiau newydd ar gyfer dysgu Cymraeg / Educator and Author Eiry Miles: Creating new courses for learning Welsh

Lynda Pritchard Newcombe:
WLPAN: O Israel i Gymru: Llinach cyrsiau Cymraeg i Oedolion / From Israel to Wales: The lineage of Welsh for Adults courses

Say Something In Welsh

saysomethingin.com/welsh

SaySomethingInWelsh is a course that focuses on helping people learn to speak and understand Welsh, and avoids wasting time on complicated grammar rules and reading/writing. Based on the latest research in language learning, the course provides downloadable MP3 files for free. The entire introductory course of 25 lessons, the practice sessions and vocabulary units are all entirely free of charge. Give it a go and you'll be speaking Welsh in no time!

Nicky Roberts:
Dysgu Cymraeg gyda Say Something In Welsh / Learning Welsh with Say Something In Welsh

Profiad Iaith: Pobl Sydd yn Siarad am Ddysgu a Defnyddio’r Iaith / Language Experience: People Speaking about Learning and Using Welsh

Duolingo

duolingo.com/course/cy/ en/Learn-Welsh-Online

Everyone learns in different ways. For the first time in history, we can analyze how millions of people learn at once to create the most effective educational system possible and tailor it to each student. Duolingo's ultimate goal is to give everyone access to a private tutor experience through technology. It's hard to stay motivated when learning online, so we made Duolingo so fun that people would prefer picking up new skills over playing a game.

Duolingo Welsh for English speakers:
Dathlu 1 miliwn o ddefnyddwyr / Celebrating 1 million users


Cyrsiau Lleol / Local Courses & Classes

Anglesey, Conwy & Gwynedd

Denbighshire

Wrexham & Flintshire

learnwelsh.cymru/about-us/providers/coleg-cambriapopeth-cymraeg

Canolfan Iaith Clwyd
Pwll y Grawys
Denbigh
Denbighshire
LL16 3LG

[email protected]

01745 812287

popethcymraeg

learnwelsh.cymru/about-us/providers/coleg-cambriapopeth-cymraeg

Coleg Cambria
Grove Park Road
Wrexham
LL12 7AB

[email protected]

01978 26 7596

Ceredigion, Powys & Carmathenshire

Carmarthenshire

Merthyr Tydfil, RCT & Bridgend

Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport & Torfaen

learnwelsh.cymru/about-us/providers/aberystwyth-university

Aberystwyth University
P5 Penglais Campus
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion SY23 3UX

[email protected]

0800 876 6975

learnwelshCP

learnwelsh.cymru/about-us/providers/carmarthenshire-county-council

Carmarthenshire County Council
Parc Dewi Sant
Carmarthen
Carmarthenshire
SA31 3HB

[email protected]

 01267 246861

learncymraegSG

learnwelsh.cymru/about-us/providers/university-of-south-wales

University of South Wales
D Block (Dyffryn)
Trefforest
Pontypridd
CF37 1DL

[email protected]

01443 483600

learncymraegMG

learnwelsh.cymru/about-us/providers/coleg-gwent

Learn Welsh Gwent
Coleg Gwent
Blaendare Road
Pontypool
NP4 5YE

[email protected]

01495 333710

learncymraegGWE

Pembrokeshire

Swansea, Neath & Port Talbot

Cardiff

Vale of Glamorgan

learnwelsh.cymru/about-us/providers/pembrokeshire-county-council

Preseli Community Learning Centre
Ysgol y Preseli
Crymych
Pembrokeshire
SA41 3QH

[email protected]

01437 770180

LearnCymraegPem

learnwelsh.cymru/about-us/providers/swansea-university

Learn Welsh
Talbot Building
Swansea University
Singleton Park Campus
Swansea
SA2 8PP

[email protected]

01792 60 20 70

learncymraegABA

learnwelsh.cymru/about-us/providers/cardiff-university

School of Welsh
Cardiff University
John Percival Building
Colum Drive
Cardiff
CF10 3EU

[email protected]

029 2087 4710

LearnCymraegCF

learnwelsh.cymru/about-us/providers/vale-of-glamorgan-council

Learn Welsh
Palmerston Learning Centre
Cadoc Crescent
Barry
CF63 2NT

[email protected]

01446 730402

LearnWelshBro


Cyrsiau Preswyl / Residential Courses

Nant Gwrtheyrn

Nant Gwrtheyrn

nantgwrtheyrn.cymru

Nant Gwrtheyrn or “the Nant” as it is often called, now home to the National Welsh Language and Heritage Centre, is a magical place located in a former quarrying village on the northern coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in north Wales. The Centre specialises in Welsh for Adults (as a second language) and offers intensive residential courses throughout the year.

Prifysgol Aberystwyth

Prifysgol Aberystwyth logo

aber.ac.uk/en/learn-welsh

A four-week intensive summer course. Over the years, hundreds of people have become fluent Welsh speakers thanks to this ground-breaking course. You will be immersed in the Welsh language from dawn to dusk, speaking the language both in the classroom and socially.

Prifysgol Caerdydd

Prifysgol Caerdydd

welshforadults. cardiff.ac.uk

Intensive courses every summer of varying lengths. Experience the capital city of Wales and enjoy great Welsh history and culture on your doorstep. Cardiff is a vibrant city which is packed full of Welsh history and opportunities to speak the Welsh language.

Prifysgol Cymru Y Drindod Dewi Sant

University of Wales Trinity Saint David logo

uwtsd.ac.uk/ courses/welsh-learners

One-week intense courses at Easter and in July in Lampter. The University is located in the heart of Welsh speaking Wales, providing learners with ample opportunity to practise the language. Where better to learn Welsh? Come to the University of Wales Trinity Saint David on the Lampeter campus to learn Welsh quickly, in a relaxed atmosphere with the help of experienced Welsh language tutors.


Gwrando a Gwylio / Listen and Watch

Apton

Apton Logo

apton.cymru

A streaming service specifically for music by Welsh labels- over 10,000 tracks with no advertising.. Compatible with iOS and Android smartphones and web based platforms.

Cymru FM

Cymru FM logo

cymru.fm

Cymru FM is a 24/7 online radio platform which allows users to contribute and broadcast their very own radio shows. It’s mainly aimed at Welsh speakers, Welsh learners and those with a keen interest in anything Welsh. It allows local communities to create and broadcast their own shows.

Radio Cymru

Radio Cymru logo

bbc.co.uk/radiocymru

The main source for listening to Welsh-language talk shows and music; the new Radio Cymru 2 station offers even more choice of broadcasts, and you can catch up online for free.

Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens:
Hyrwyddo cerddoriaeth Gymreig ar draws y DU / Promoting Welsh music across the UK

S4C

S4C Logo

s4c.cymru

s4c.cymru/clic

s4c.cymru/en/ entertainment/dal-ati

Welsh language TV channel. Shows are available online for 30 days on catch up, and each Sunday morning a show for learners is broadcast: Dal Ati (keep at it).

Cyflwynydd S4C Alun Williams:
Straeon am fy ngyrfa ym myd teledu / Stories from my TV career


Darllen / Read

Cyfres Amdani

Cyfres Amdani

parallel.cymru/amdani

An exciting series of 20 books for adults who are learning Welsh, arranged by level (Mynediad, Sylfaen, Canolradd and Uwch) and aligned with national Welsh for Adults curriculum. A wide range of authors have contributed, including some of Wales' best-known and some who have learnt Welsh themselves. The range contains 14 new works and 6 adaptions of Cambridge Readers for new English speakers.

BBC Cymru Fyw

BBC Cymru Fyw

bbc.co.uk/cymrufyw

The main source of online written news and analysis for Welsh-language speakers.

Gwales

GWales logo

gwales.com

The retail arm of the Welsh Books Council, allowing you to buy from one place any of the vast range of Welsh-language books and publications. International shipping is available at reasonable rates.

Llyfr y Mis:
Monthly selections from the Welsh Books Council


Cyhoeddwyr / Publishers

Atebol

Atebol logo

atebol.com

CAA Cymru

CAA Logo

aber.ac.uk/en/caa

Gomer

Gomer logo

gomer.co.uk

Y Lolfa

Y Lolfa logo

ylolfa.com


Defnyddio'r Iaith / Using the Language

Yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol

Eisteddfod logo

eisteddfod.wales

Held during the first week of August every year, the National Eisteddfod is a celebration of the culture and language in Wales. The festival travels from place to place, alternating between north and south Wales, attracting around 150,000 visitors and over 250 tradestands and stalls. The history of the Eisteddfod in Wales can be traced back to 1176, with the modern history of the organisation dating back to 1861.  Traditionally a competition-based festival, attracting over 6,000 competitors every year, the festival has developed and evolved over recent years, and whilst the competitions form the central focus for the week, the Maes (site) itself has grown and developed into a vibrant festival with hundreds of events and activities for the whole family.

Gareth Thomas:
Iolo Morganwg a’r Eisteddfod Genedlaethol / Iolo Morganwg and the National Eisteddfod

Mentrau Iaith

Mentrau Iaith logo

mentrauiaith.cymru

The Mentrau Iaith are the way in which local communities work together for the benefit of the Welsh language.  They have proven to be an effective community development model whose work makes a real difference to local communities. Today, there are 22 Mentrau Iaith which serve each and every part of Wales, such as providing events for learners, activities for children and organising music gigs.

Marged Rhys & Heledd ap Gwynfor:
Chwe mis ym Mentrau Iaith Cymru / Six months in Mentrau Iaith Cymru

Cymdeithas yr Iaith

Cymdeithas yr Iaith logo

cymdeithas.cymru

A group of people campaigning on behalf for the Welsh language and the communities of Wales as part of the international revolution over rights and freedoms.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith:
Blog dwyieithog / Bilingual blog


Gwyliau / Festivals

Tafwyl

Tafwyl logo

tafwyl.org

Tafwyl is Cardiff’s annual Welsh arts and culture festival – a huge Welsh party! It's a family friendly festival, and is a lively mix of music, literature, drama, comedy, art, sports, food and drink. The event is nine days in total: a fringe event held all around the city for 7 days, ending with the main weekend event at Cardiff Castle at the start of July. Entry to Tafwyl is free and open to all – Welsh speaker or not. It’s a great event for families, Welsh learners and people experiencing Welsh language and culture for the first time.

Eisteddfod yr Urdd

Eisteddfod Urdd

urdd.cymru/en/eisteddfod

The Urdd National Eisteddfod is one of Europe’s largest youth touring festivals that attracts around 90,000 visitors over a week at the end of May and is held in a different location in Wales each year.  The Eisteddfod is a competitive festival with over 15,000 children and young people under the age of 25 competing during the Eisteddfod week in various competitions such as singing, dancing and performing. They have won their place following local and regional rounds held in the spring months leading up to the Eisteddfod.

Gŵyl Arall

Gŵyl Arall logo

gwylarall.com

A jam-packed weekend of literature, music, art and film in Caernarfon each July.

Dani Schlick:
Gŵyl Ddewi Arall yng Nghaernarfon / Gŵyl Ddewi Arall in Caernarfon

Eisteddfod Rhyngwladol Llangollen

Llangollen International Eisteddfod logo

international-eisteddfod.co.uk/cy

The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a music festival which takes place every year during the second week of July in Llangollen, North Wales. Singers and dancers from around the world are invited to take part in over 20 competitions followed each evening by concerts on the main stage. Over five thousand singers, dancers and instrumentalists from around 50 countries perform to audiences of more than 50,000 over the 6 days of the event.


Rhyngweithio / Interact

Map of places to speak Welsh

parallel.cymru/siarad

A crowd-sourced interactive map of over 300 shops, cafes, pubs and more where there is likelihood of staff speaking Welsh.

Say Something In Welsh Forum

forum.saysomethingin.com

A large community of learners from all over the world; a warm welcome is offered to all. To encourage accessibility, the language of the forum is English or bilingual.

Welsh speaking practice on Slack

welshspeakingpractice
.slack.com

A community of volunteers offering facilitated video/spoken practice sessions on Slack- all are welcome, including to sessions aimed at very new learners.

Yr Iaith Gymraeg ar Twitter

parallel.cymru/twitter

An dashboard of the main accounts on Twitter that use Welsh; a chance to read and participate in conversations.


Lloegr / England

London Welsh Centre

londonwelsh.org

The home of the Welsh language community in the South-East, the Centre has a bar, classes, choirs and organises social events from its base in Kings Cross.

Derby

derbywelshlearnerscircle. blogspot.co.uk

A keen group of learners and speakers in Derby, who also caretake resources and contacts for communities around England.

Jonathan Simcock:
Dysgu a defnyddio Cymraeg yn Derby / Learning and using Welsh in Derby

Wales Week in London

walesweek.london

Wales Week in London is an annual series of activities and events that celebrate and promote everything that's great about Wales. Through a calendar of events around St David's Day, which galvanises existing Welsh communities in London, Wales Week in London builds a positive momentum across the capital that is distinctly about Wales.


Golgedd America / North America

AmeriCymru

AmeriCymru logo

americymru.net

Offers magazine stories, classes and an online shop for the Amercian Welsh-interest community.

Ninnau & Y Drych

Ninnau logo

ninnau.com

The North American Welsh Newspaper, dedicated to preserving and enhancing the vitality of the North American Welsh community.

Cymry Efrog Newydd / New York Welsh

New Work Welsh

newyorkwelsh.com

A network to support Welsh people and those that have an affinity for Wales, with a monthly meet-up, as well as a number of cultural and professional events.

Cymdeithas Madog

Cymdeithas Madog

madog.org

Cymdeithas Madog, the Welsh Studies Institute in North America, Inc. is a non-profit that sponsors Cwrs Cymraeg, a week-long Welsh language course at a different North American campus every July.

North American Festival of Wales

North American Festival of Wales

thewnaa.org

The festival is held in a different location each year, in either the U.S. or Canada, and celebrated over the shared Labor Day holiday weekend. It celebrates the life, heritage, and culture of Wales over four full days of song, merriment, and camaraderie with old and new friends.


Adnoddau / Resources

Ask Dr Gramadeg

Ask Dr Gramadeg

parallel.cymru/ask-dr-gramadeg

A bilingual online grammar guide, presenting bite-sized topics in the order that Welsh for Adults classes are taught, with a search facility.

BBC Bitesize

BBC Bitesize

bbc.com/bitesize/levels/z8w76sg

Welsh language revision and study resources for GCSE pupils, but great for adult learners as well.

Cysill Ar-Lein: Gwirydd Sillafu a Gramadeg Cymraeg / Spellchecker and Grammar checker on-line

Cysill Ar-lein logo

cysgliad.com/cysill/arlein

An online spealling and grammar checker, from Bangor University's Language Technologies Unit.

Cyfeiriadur Cymreig / Welsh Directory

Y Lolfa logo

ylolfa.com/directory

A comprehensive list of services, companies and resources that operate through the Welsh language.


Mwy o fideos a sŵn / More videos and sound

S4C's Hwb

Hwb S4C

youtube.com...

Between 2012 and 2014 S4C broadcast a series for new learners called Hwb (boost), presented by an experienced tutor, Nia Parry, and a learner, Matt Johnson. Archives are available on S4C.

Yn Chwarae 

Yn Chwarae

youtube.com/c/YnChwarae

Sianel Youtube Gemau Fideo i Oedolion 18+ / A YouTube channel for gamers aged over 18

Y Pod

Y Pod

ypod.cymru

A collection of Welsh-language podcasts.

Learn Welsh with Nicky

Learn Welsh with Nicky

youtube.com

Nicky started learning Welsh at the end of 2016 and made very rapid progress; his YouTube channel captures his infectious approach to the language.


Crewyd gwaith celf y prif lun gan Rhiannon Roberts, rhiannonart.co.uk
The artwork in the main image was created by Rhiannon Roberts, rhiannonart.co.uk
Rhiannon Roberts: Peintio Cymru mewn lliwiau newydd / Painting Wales in new colours


 

Enwau Cymraeg- Tarddiad ac Ystyr

Tarddiad ac Ystyr Enwau Cymraeg / Origin and Meaning of Welsh Names

Enwau Cymraeg i blant/bechgyn/merched: adnodd unigryw - Welsh names for children/boys/girls: a unique resource

Drwy gydol yr oesoedd a ledled y byd mae rhoi enwau ar bobl wedi bod yn beth bwysig. Wrth gwrs, mae i'r Gymraeg, fel i bob iaith arall, draddodiad hynafol o greu a defnyddio ffurfiau cynhenid ar enwau. Felly ceir Aeronwen (teg), Eiluned (hi a ddymunir yn fawr), Tirion (tyner, hapus), Awstin (hybarchus), Emlyn (gweithgar), a Terrwyn (dewr). Isod mae rhestr o enwau Cymraeg ar gyfer gwragedd a dynion fel y gellwch fwynhau harddwch a hanes yr iaith, a darganfod rhyw wybodaeth ddefnyddiol, efallai, fydd yn eich helpu i benderfynnu ar enw ar gyfer eich baban newydd (neu'ch cath neu gi, pwy a ŵyr?), neu ar ffugenw i'w ddefnyddio wrth gystadlu mewn Eisteddfod!

Throughout the ages and across the world, giving people names has been an important practice. Of course, Welsh, like every other language, has an ancient tradition of creating and using native forms for names. Thus we have Aeronwen (fair), Eiluned (greatly desired), Tirion (mild, happy), Awstin (venerable), Emlyn (hard-working), a Terrwyn (brave). Below is a list of Welsh names for women and men so that you can enjoy the beauty and history of the language, and discover some useful information, perhaps, which will help you to decide on a name for your new baby (or your cat or dog, who knows?), or on a pen-name to use to compete in an Eisteddfod!

Noder: Mae llawer iawn o wybodaeth eirdarddol ar y we o ran enwau cyntaf Cymraeg, ond yn anffodus, dyw ychydig o'r syniadau ddim yn hollol ddibynadwy! Hoffwn i gydnabod y ddyled fawr sydd arnaf i  'The Oxford Dictionary of First Names'. David Sutton, davidsuttonpoetry.com.

Note: There is a good deal of etymological information about Welsh forenames on the web, but unfortunately some of it is not very reliable! In carrying out these amendments, I would like to acknowledge the considerable debt I owe to the 'Oxford Dictionary of First Names'. David Sutton, davidsuttonpoetry.com.

Neidiwch i enwau bechgyn / Jump to boys names

Enwau Merched Cymraeg / Welsh Girls names

The most popular given Welsh-language female names (based on new birth registrations in Wales) in 2017 were, from first to tenth: Erin, Ffion, Seren, Megan, Mali, Alys, Nia, Cadi, Eira, Martha.

Enw / Name Tarddiad ac Ystyr / Origin and Meaning
Aberfa Aber (estuary) + fa (place)
Abertha Aberth, aberthiad (sacrifice)
Adain Adain (wing)
Adara Adar (birds)
Addfwyn Addfwyn (mild, gentle)
Aderyn Aderyn (bird)
Aelwen Ael (brow) + (g)wen (white, fair)
Aelwyd Aelwyd (hearth)
Aeres Aeres (= etifeddes, heiress)
Aeron From the Celtic goddess of battle and slaughter, Agrona. This name probably derives from an Old Celtic element represented in modern Welsh by aer (battle), but its modern use may be due to its association with aeron (berries, fruit)
Aerona A variant of Aeron
Aeronwen From Aeron + (g)wen (white, fair)
Aeronwy From Aeron + an ancient name suffix of uncertain derivation
Afanen Afanen (= mafonen, raspberry)
Alaw Alaw (lily, water lily; also air, melody)
Alis / Alys A Welsh form of Alice
Alwen The feminine form of alwyn (very white, beautiful)
Alwena A variant of Alwen
Amser Amser (time)
Aneira A feminine form of Aneirin (modern Aneurin), of uncertain origin. Aneirin was a famous Old Welsh poet, author of Y Gododdin
Angharad An (intensive prefix) + car (root of a verb meaning to love) + the nounal suffix -ad. An ancient name that figures in Welsh mythology: in the Mabinogi Angharad Golden Hand first rejects Peredur's suit, then falls in love with him when he returns as the unknown Mute Knight
Angwen An (intensive prefix) + (g)wen (white, fair)
Anna A Latinate form of Anne. The name of one of King Arthur's sisters.
Annwyl Annwyl (dear, beloved)
Anwen A variant of Angwen
Anwyl A variant of Annwyl
Anwyn A variant of Angwen
Aranrhod Aran (great, huge) + rhod (wheel). The name of the ancient Celtic goddess of the moon, and in the Fouth Branch of the Mabinogi, the mother of the hero Lleu Llaw Gyffes
Argel Argel (refuge, sanctuary)
Arglwyddes Arglwyddes (lady, female equivalent of a lord)
Argoel Argoel (= rhagarwydd, sign, portent)
Arial Arial (= llawn ynni, full of energy, vigorous)
Arianell Arianell = Ariannaidd (silver)
Arianrhod A modern version of Aranrhod, reintepreting the name as arian (silver) + rhod (wheel)
Arianwen Arian (silver) + (g)wen (white, fair). The name of a daughter of Brychan, a semi-legendary 5th century chieftain
Arlais Arlais (temple of the head, brow)
Armes Armes (= proffwydes, prophetess)
Arthes Arthes (= arth fenyw, she-bear)
Arwen A female form of Arwyn, from arwyn (very bright, splendid)
Arwydd Arwydd (sign)
Asgre Asgre (breast, bosom)
Aures Aur (gold)
Awel Awel (= gwynt ysgafn, breeze)
Aylwen Ael (brow) + (g)wen (white, fair)
Banon Banon (= brenhines, queen)
Beca From the biblical name Rebecca
Begw A short form of Megan
Berth Berth (= hardd, beautiful)
Berthog Berthog (= cyfoethog, rich)
Bethan A form of Elisabeth
Betrys A Welsh form of Beatrice
Blodeuwedd Blodau (flowers) + (g)wedd (appearance). In the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, Blodeuwedd is the wife of Llew Llaw Gyffes, who betrays him and ends up being turned into an owl (tylluan)
Blodeuyn Blodyn (flower)
Blodwen Blodyn (flower) + (g)wen (white, fair)
Branwen Bran (raven) or bron (breast) + (g)wen (white, fair)
Bregus Bregus (= brau, frail, delicate)
Briallen Briallen (primrose)
Brin Bryn (hill)
Bron Short for Bronwen
Bronwen Bron (breast) + (g)wen (white, fair)
Bronwyn A variant of Bronwen
Buddug Buddug (= llwyddiannus, victorious)
Cadwyn Cadwyn (chain)
Caethes Caethes (= caethferch, female slave)
Cadi Short for Catrin, a Welsh form of Katherine
Cafell Cafell (oracle)
Caitrin / Catrin A Welsh form of Katherine
Cari A diminutive form of Angharad or Carys, meaning beloved
Carryl A Welsh form of Carol
Carys / Cerys Car (love = cariad) + -ys ending; a very popular name
Ceinwen Cain (fiar, lovely) + (g)wen (white, fair). The name was borne by a fifth century saint, daughter of the chieftain Brychan
Celyn Celyn (holly)
Ceri Of uncertin origin, probably a shortening of Ceridwen
Ceridwen Cerdd (song) + teg (fair). In Celtic mythology, Ceridwen is the goddess of poetic inspiration, and also said to be the name of the mother of the poet Taliesin
Corsen Corsen (= cawnen, reed)
Cragen Cragen (shell)
Cranogwen The name taken as bardic title by Sarah Jane Rees of Llangrannog, who in 1865 became the first woman to gain the coveted chair of the Royal National Eisteddfod in Aberystwyth
Creirwy The name given to the daughter of the goddess Ceridwen
Crisiant Crisiant (crystal)
Cristyn A Welsh version of Christine
Cymreiges Cymreiges (= menyw o Gymru, a Welsh woman)
Dafina A Welsh form of Davina, a Latinate feminine form of David
Del Del (= pert, pretty)
Delia A classical Greek epithet of the goddess Artemis, who lived on the island of Delos
Delwyn A modern name composed of the elements del (neat, pretty) + (g)wen (white, fair)
Delyth A modern name composed of the elements del (neat, pretty) + the suffix –yth, formed on analogy with such names as Gwenyth
Derren Aderyn (bird)
Derwen Derwen (oak tree)
Deryn Aderyn (bird)
Dicra Dicra (delicate)
Difyr Difyr (pleasant, amusing)
Dilwen The female form of Dilwyn
Dilys Dilys (genuine, sincere)
Druantia From Druantia, a hypothetical Celtic tree-goddess postulated by Robert Graves in his study 'The White Goddess'. The name would be connected with the Celtic element drus (= derw, oak)
Drysi Drysi (briers, brambles)
Dwyn Dwyn (pleasant, agreeable)
Dwynwen Dwynwen was nawddsant cariadon yng Nghymru, (the Welsh patron saint of lovers)
Dylis A variant of Dilys
Ebrill Ebrill (April)
Efa A Welsh form of Eve
Eiddwen A modern Welsh coinage, apparently from eiddun (desirable) + (g)wen (white, fair)
Eiluned A variant of Eluned. In the Mabinogi, a collection of tales from Welsh myth, she is a servant of the Lady of the Fountain who rescues the knight Owain
Eilwen A variant of Aelwen
Eira Eira (snow). A modern Welsh coinage
Eirian Eirian (fair, beautiful)
Eirianwen Eirian (fair, beautiful) + (g)wen (white)
Eiriol Eiriol (snowdrop)
Eirlys Eirlys (snowdrop)
Elen / Elin Probably a Welsh form of Helen, being used in early Welsh texts as the name of the mother of the emperor Constantine
Eleri Of uncertain origin, the name borne in the 5th century by the daughter of the sem-legendary chieftain Brychan. Also the name of a river in Ceredigion, but the river-name has a different origin
Eluned Apparently formed from an earlier Luned or Lunet; in the Arthurain romances of Chretien de Troyes, the form is Lunete.
Enfys Enfys (rainbow)
Enid Of uncertain origin; in Arthurian legend the name of the long-suffering wife of Geraint
Enrhydreg In the Welsh tale 'Culhwch and Olwen', the name given to the daughter of Tuduathar
Epona From a Gaulish word meaning ‘great mare’. In Celtic mythology Epona was a goddess associated with horses
Erdudvyl The name of a legendary daughter of Tryffin in Welsh tales
Eres Eres (= rhagorol, strange, wonderful)
Erin / Eryn From Gaelic Eirinn, the dative case of Eire (Ireland)
Esyllt Of obscure origin but probably meaning ‘of fair aspect’. Esyllt was the tragic mistress of Tristram in Arthurian romance
Eurneid The name of a daughter of Clydno in Welsh tales
Eurolwyn Aur (gold) + olwyn (wheel). Eurolwyn was a daughter of Gwydolwyn in Welsh tales
Ffansi Ffansi = dychymyg (fancy, imagination)
Ffion Ffion = bysedd y cŵn (foxglove)
Fflur Fflur (flowers, beauty)
Ffraid A Welsh form of Brigid, an Irish saint
Filomena Filomena was an early Italian saint; her name comes via Latin from the Greek Philomenos, from philein (to love) + menos (strength)
Gaenor A Welsh spelling of Gaynor, which is itself an anglicised variant of Gwenhyvar
Garan Garan (crane, heron)
Garwen The name of a mistress of King Arthur, daughter of Ogyrvan Gawr, mentioned in Triads of Britain
Gaynor An anglicised variant of Gwenhyvar
Gladys An anglicised form of the Welsh name Gwladus, of uncertain derivation
Glain Glain (gem, precious stone)
Glenda Glen (clean, pure) + da (good)
Glenys A modern Welsh coinage, probably from glen (pure, clean) + -ys ending
Glesni Glesni (blueness, paleness) from glas
Glynis A variant of Glenys
Goewyn The name of a woman who appears in the Mabinogion tale 'Math fab Mathonwy'
Goleuddydd Goleu (bright) + dydd (day)
Gorawen Gorawen (= llawenydd, joy, joyfulness)
Grug Grug (heather)
Gwanwyn Gwanwyn (spring, the season)
Gwawr Gwawr (dawn)
Gwen Gwen, the feminine form of gwyn (white, fair)
Gwenant Gwen (white, fiar) + nant (stream)
Gwenda Gwen (white, fair) + da (good)
Gwendolen A variant of Gwendolyn
Gwendolyn Gwen (white, fair) + dolen (ring, bow). In Geoffrey of Monmouth, the name of the wife of the mythical Welsh king Locrine
Gwener A Welsh version of Venus, goddess of love
Gweneth A variant of Gwenith
Gwenfrewi Gwen (white, fair) + frewi (reconciliation). The name of a famous Welsh saint, anglicised as Winifred
Gwenhwyfar Gwen (white, fair) + hwyfar (smooth, soft); famous as the name of King Arthur’s wife
Gwenith Gwenith (wheat, used in poetic expressions to mean the pick of the bunch)
Gwenyth A variant of Gwenith
Gwenllian Gwen (white, fair) + lliant (flood, flow, probably in the transferred sense of foamy, referring to a pale complexion)
Gwennan The name of a daughter of Brychan, a 5th century king
Gwenno A llysenw (nickname) for Gwen
Gwerful A Welsh traditional name composed of elements gwair (bend, ring, circle) + the lenited form of mul (shy, modest)
Gwladus Of uncertain origin; probably no connection with gwlad (country). Anglicised as Gladys
Gwlithen Gwlithyn ( = diferyn o wlith, dewdrop)
Gwylan Gwylan (seagull; used figuratively of a fair maiden)
Gwyneira Gwyn (white) + eira (snow)
Gwyneth An altered form of Gwynedd, used as a female name
Gwynne Gwyn (white, fair)
Haf Haf (summer)
Hafgan Haf (summer) + can (song)
Hafren Hafren was a legendary British princess who was drowned in the river Severn. The name shares its origin with Severn (Latin Sabrina), which is one of Britain’s most ancient river names
Heledd Of uncertain origin. The name of a semi-legendary 7th century princess in whose name a lament for her brother's death was composed in the 9th century
Heuldys Heuldes (sunshine, warmth of the sun) from haul (sun) + tes (warmth)
Heulwen Heulwen (sunshine)
Heulyn Heulyn (diminutive of haul, sun = pelydr yr haul, ray of sunshine)
Hyledd A variant of Heledd
Hywela Hywel (visible, easily seen, prominent)
Idelle A Welsh form of Ida
Ifanna A female form of Ifan
Ina A short form of various names ending in –ina, such as Christina
Iola A female form of Iolo, which is itself a diminutive of Iorwerth
Iona From the name of the Scottish island
Irwen The female form of Irwyn
Iseult / Isolde Variant forms of Esyllt, the name of the tragic mistress of Tristram in Arthurian romance
Jenna A fanciful alteration of English Jenny, with the Latinate ending a
Leri A short form of names ending in –leri, such as Meleri, Eleri and Teleri
Lili Lili (lily)
Liliwen Lili (lily) + (g)wen (white)
Llian A short form of Gwenllian
Llinos llinos (linnet)
Llio / Llion A short form of Gwenllian
Lois A biblical name of unknown origin, borne by the grandmother of a certain Timothy in the New Testament, recipient of two epistles from St Paul
Lowri A Welsh form of Laura. The mother of William Morgan, who translated the Bible into Welsh, was called Lowri
Luned A traditional name, an earlier form of Eluned
Mabli A Welsh form of Mabel, which derives from Old French amabel, meaning lovable
Madlen A Welsh form of Magdalene
Maelona A feminine form of Maelon, from mael (prince)
Mai Mai (the month of May)
Mair A Welsh form of Mary
Mairwen Mair (Mary) + (g)wen (white, fair)
Mali A Welsh form of Molly
Mallt A Welsh form of Matilda
Manon Manon (queen, maiden)
Mari A Welsh form of Mary
Mared / Marged A Welsh form of Margaret
Martha A biblical name from an Aramaic word meaning 'lady'. It was borne in the New Testament by the sister of Lazarus and Mary of Bethan, see Luke 10.18
Meagan A Welsh pet form of Meg, which is a diminutive of Margaret
Medi Medi (September)
Megan / Megann A Welsh pet form of Meg, which is a diminutive of Margaret
Meinir Meinir (tall and slender, or as a noun, beautiful young woman, sweetheart)
Melangell The name of the Welsh patron saint of animals, possibly deriving from mel (honey) + angell (angel). The Latin form of her name is Monacella
Meleri The name of St. David's grandmother
Meredith From an Old Welsh personal name Meredudd, of uncertain origin; the second element probably means ‘lord’
Mererid A Welsh form of Margaret
Meri / Meridith / Merry Variant forms of Meredith
Meriel A Welsh form of Muriel, which in turn derives from the Gaelic Muireall, apparently composed of Old Celtic elements meaning 'sea' + 'bright'
Morfudd Morfydd ferch Urien is a figure of Welsh Arthurian legend. She is the daughter of Urien Rheged by Modron, and twin sister to Owain.
Morgan / Morgana / Morganica A traditional Welsh name derived from Old Celtic morcant; the meaning of the first element is uncertain, the 'cant' means 'circle, completion'
Morwen Morwyn (young unmarried woman, maiden)
Myfanwy My (an affectionate prefix) + banwy (= benyw, woman); used in a famous Welsh song
Myfi A short form of Myfanwy
Nerys An old Welsh name of uncertain origin, perhaps from ner (lord) + ys suffix
Nest / Nesta A Welsh form of Agnes
Nia A name of Irish origin, meaning radiance, made popular by a poem by T. Gwynn Jones, ‘Tir na n- Og’, published in 1916. The poem is based on the story of the Irish hero Ossian, who falls in love with Nia Ben Aur
Non / Nona Latin nona (ninth). Nona was the name of the mother of St. David, patron saint of Wales
Olwen / Olwenna / Olwin / Olwyn Ol (track, footpring) + (g)wen (white, fair). Olwen was the giant’s daughter whose hand was sought by Culhwch, a key character in the Mabinogion; where she wallked, flowers would spring up in the track of her white feet
Paderau Paderau, the plural of pader (rosary)
Petra A Welsh feminine form of Peter
Philomen Filomena was an early Italian saint; her name comes via Latin from the Greek Philomenos, from philein (to love) + menos (strength)
Rhedyn Rhedyn (fern)
Rhiain / Rhian Rhiain (young woman, maiden)
Rhiannon / Rhianon / Rianne From old Celtic Rigantona (great queen); in Celtic mythology Rhiannon was a goddess associated with the moon
Rhianwen Rhian (maiden) + (g)wen (white, fair)
Rhonda Of English origin, probably a blend of Rhona and Rhoda, though now sometimes taken to be composed of the Welsh elements rhon (pike, lance) + da (good). Nothing to do with the Rhondda valley, which derives from a river name of completely different etymology.
Rhonwen A traditional Welsh name deriving either from the elements rhon (pike, lance) + (g)wen (white, fair) or rhawn (hair) (g)wen (white, fair)
Rhosyn Rhosyn (rose)
Rowena A Latinised form of a Saxon name of uncertain origin, perhaps from two elements meaning fame and joy
Saffir Saffir (sapphire)
Sara A Welsh form of Sarah
Seren Seren (star)
Siân A Welsh form of Jane
Siani A pet form of Siân
Sioned A form of Siân, corresponding to English Janet
Siwan A Welsh form of Joan. A famous historical Siwan was the wife of Llewelyn Fawr, and the eponymous heroine of a play by Saunders Lewis.
Tanwen Tân (fire) + (g)wen (white, fair)
Tegan / Tegwen / Tegwyn Teg (fair) + (g)wen (white, fair)
Tegeirian Tegeirian (orchid) from teg (fair) + eirian (beautiful)
Teleri An extension of the Welsh name Eleri, with the addition of an honorific prefix ty (your). Teleri, daughter of Peul, is mentioned in the Mabinogi
Telyn Telyn (harp)
Tesni Tesni (heat of the sun)
Tirion Tirion (gentle, mild)
Tiwlip Tiwlip (tulip)
Una A name of Irish origin, of uncertain derivation, possibly meaning 'lamb'
Wenda A short form of Gwendolyn
Yseult A medieval French form of Isolde, the name of the tragic mistress of Tristram in Arthurian romance

Analysis of female given names in Wales, 1997-2017

This table shows the Welsh-origined given female names in Wales, sorted by year, from 2017 through to 1997, based on new birth registrations. Use Show 10 entries to select 50, and you can then sort by year or name. Use Next and Previous to see more years.

Name201720162015201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000199919981997
Erin911141011139892114136133142157179146103871129480575347
Ffion8888105103116128177157182208221201208249253227223215232248205
Seren78112119142159198221214256252222185166118113988386623137
Megan778491131140153184204233268258261268329331342391452430358350
Mali716464628254535453424237463039
Alys5770475359343230292931
Nia4838483845575751598997937688938010197768799
Eira444433
Cadi44383742473644373735
Martha43395344484249373945
Lowri41343434486064605361846969851009411098101104105
Efa40433539354134
Elin3732424248514658476156625172595255675041
Eleri3432363932
Gwen3431
Cerys333635387869109116961331611631701271491621619758
Carys324440456669779189110114130142107698893929079
Lois4134514551504943384240353736475843
Bethan 35394963627991108103123126173200212244275
Tegan344936505364586051464929
Celyn3333
Catrin3440565766816474728591636877
Lili42374134
Mari313235
Rhiannon353934443057575263949088
Sara31303531484654
Angharad322935555358
Rhian30313248325248
Siân3550505155
Ceri31293336
Sioned284143
Total151314161420161618191818151619181819192019


Enwau Bechgyn Cymraeg / Welsh Boys Names

The most popular given Welsh-language male names (based on new birth registrations in Wales) in 2017 were, from first to tenth: Dylan, Harri, Osian, Evan, Elis, Jac, Rhys, Cai, Morgan.

Enw / Name Tarddiad ac Ystyr / Origin and Meaning
Aeddan A Welsh form of Aidan
Afan Probably a loan from the Latin Amandus. The name of an early Celtic saint, a grandson of Cunedda Wledig, king of Gwynedd, in the early 6th century. He is said to have been martyred by pirates on the bank of the River Chwefru
Aled Aled (= epil, offspring)
Alun Probably a Welsh cognate of Alan, a name borne by a character in the Mabinogi, Alun of Dyfed, and made popular in the 19th century through its use as a bardic name by John Blackwell (1797-1840)
Alwyn A version of Alvin, which derives from Old English elements aelf (elf) + wine (friend)
Anarawd Anarawd was a legendary father of Iddig. The name may mean undisgraced, free of shame
Andras A Welsh variant of Andrew
Aneirin Of uncertain origin, possibly meaning modest; Aneirin was a famous Old Welsh poet, author of 'Y Gododdin', which tells the story of an unsuccessful raid on Catraeth (Catterick) by three hundred chosen warriors of the Old North
Aneurin A modern spelling of Aneirin
Angwyn An (intensifying prefix) + gwyn (fair)
Arawn In Welsh mythology, Arawn was the king of the otherworld realm of Annwn, appearing prominently in the first branch, and alluded to in the fourth.
Arfon From the placename, which means 'facing Anglesey': Arfon refers to the southern shore of the Menai Strait, the part of mainland Wales closest to the island of Anglesey.
Arthfael Arth (bear) + mael (prince). This was the name of a 6th-century Welsh saint who founded abbeys in Brittany
Arthus A variant of Arthur, which is itself of uncertain derivation, appearing first in the Latin form Artorius
Arwel An Old Welsh name of unknown meaning
Arwyn Arwyn (very bright, splendid)
Awstin A Welsh form of Austin, which is a contraction of the Latin Augustinus, which in turn derives from Augustus, meaning great, magnificent
Bedwyr The name of one of King Arthur's knights, anglicised as Bedivere. He plays a prominent part in the early Welsh tale 'Culhwch and Olwen'
Berwyn An ancient Welsh personal name comprising the elements barr (head) + (g)wyn (white, fair)
Bleddyn / Bledig Wolflike, from blaidd (wolf) + the diminutive suffix –yn. Blaidd was often used in early Welsh poetry to mean hero
Bowen From ap Owen; son of Owen
Brith Brith (= brych, speckled)
Brân Bran (crow, raven)
Brenin Brenin (king)
Brychan Brychan (a brindled covering)
Bryn Bryn (hill)
Brynmor Bryn mawr (great hill)
Cadell Cad (battle) + diminutive suffix -ell
Cadfael Cad (battle) + mael (prince)
Cadfan Cad (battle) + man (place)
Cadoc The name of a Welsh saint, born around AD 497, who was famed for his wisdom and became Abbot of Llancarfan in Glamorganshire
Cadogan An anglicised form of Cadwgawn
Cadwalader An anglicised form of Cadwaladr
Cadwaladr Cad (battle) + gwaladwr (leader). St Cadwaladr was a 6th century British chieftain who died fighting the pagan Saxon invaders
Cadwgan / Cadwgawn Cad (battle) + gwgawn (= gogoniant, glory). The name occurs in the Mabinogi as the son of Iddon
Caerwyn A variant of Carwyn, reinterpreted as caer (fortress) + (g)wyn (white, fair)
Cai / Cei A Celticised form of Latin Gaius, the Welsh form of Kay, one of King Arthur's knights, who along with Bedwyr plays a prominent part in the early Welsh tale 'Culhwch and Olwen'
Caradoc An ancient Celtic name apparently derived from a root car- (to love). In Geoffrey of Monmouth, Caradoc Vreichvras (Caradoc Strongarm) is one of King Arthur's knights
Carwyn A modern Welsh coinage comprising the elements car (love) + (g)wyn (white, fair)
Cefin A Welsh form of Kevin, which comes from the Gaelic Caoimhin, a diminutive of caomh (comely), hence 'little comely one'
Celyn Celyn (holly)
Cledwyn A traditional Welsh name, apparently from caled (hard, rough) + (g)wyn (white, fair)
Cynddelw A traditional Welsh name, of uncertain origin but possibly from an Old Celtic element meaning 'high, exalted' + delw (image)
Cynwrig From Welsh cyn (chief) +  ('hero, man) + the suffix -ig indicating 'has the quality of'
Dafydd A Welsh form of David
Dai Now used as a short form of Dafydd, but originally a separate name deriving from an Old Celtic element tei (shining)
Deiniol Apparently a Welsh form of Daniel. The name was borne by a 6th century saint
Derfel The name of a 6th century Welsh saint, reputed to have been a follower of King Arthur. Recently fictionalized as the hero of a trio of Arthurian novels by Bernard Cornwell
Deri / Derwyn = Derwen (oak)
Dewi A Welsh form of David, the usual form in the Middle Ages; Patron saint of Wales
Dewydd A Welsh form of David
Dilwyn A modern Welsh name, from dilys (genuine, steadfast) + (g)wyn (white, fair)
Drystan A Welsh form of Tristram
Dyfan A Welsh form of Damon. St Dyfan was a rather obscure early Christian saint and martyr in Roman times, and possibly Wales's first martyr
Dyfed From the Welsh county name, which anciently referred to what is now Pembrokeshire. In the First Branch of the Mabinogi, the hero Pwyll is Lord of Dyfed
Dylan A name of uncertain origin, probably connected with an element meaning ‘sea’. In the Mabinogi, Dylan is the miraculously born son of Aranrhod
Eifion An Old Welsh name; the name of a son of Cunedda
Eilian From Latin Aelianus. A noted bearer is St. Eilian (Elian), a Catholic saint who founded a church in North Wales around the year 450. The Parish of Llanelian is named after him.
Einion Einion (anvil)
Einwys A pet form of Einion
Elidyr Elydyr (brass, bronze)
Elis A Welsh form of Ellis, which is derived from Elias, the Greek name of the prophet Elijah, meaning ‘Yahweh is God’
Elisud An old Welsh name, deriving from elus (kind, benevolent)
Emlin / Emlyn Of uncertain origin, possibly from the Latin Aemilianus, which may itself come from a lost Celtic name
Emrick / Emris / Emrys A Welsh form of Ambrose, which derives via Latin from the Greek ambrosios (immortal)
Emyr Emyr (emperor, king, lord). The name was borne by a 6th century Breton saint who settled in Cornwall
Eurig Eurog (golden, gilded)
Evan / Ewan / Ewen Anglicised forms of Ieuan
Ffrancis A Welsh form of Francis, which derives ultimately from Italian Francesco (Frenchman)
Folant A Welsh form of Valentine, from the Latin name Valentinus, from Latin valens (strong, healthy)
Gareth Of uncertain derivation, this name first occurs in Malory’s ‘Morte d’Arthur’
Gavan / Gavin A modern form of Gawain
Gawain / Gawen Of uncertain derivation, but possibly deriving from Gwalchmai; the name of one of King Arthur’s knights
Geraint Of uncertain derivation, possibly from an old British name that appears in a Greek inscription as Gerontios, and maybe influenced by a Greek word for ‘old man’. Geraint was one of King Arthur’s knights.
Gerallt A Welsh form of Gerald, which is of Germanic origin, comprising the elements ger (spear) + wald (rule)
Gethen / Gethin A lenited form of cethin (= tywyll ei groen, dusky, swarthy)
Glaw Glaw (rain). A modern Welsh name
Glendower An anglicised form of Glyndwr
Glendower / Glyndwr Glyn (= cwm, valley) + dŵr (water). This name is often given in honour of the 14th century Welsh patriot Owain Glyndwr
Glyn Glyn (= cwm, valley)
Glynn A variant of Glyn
Gofannon / Govannon From a Latin form Gobannus, one of the deities worshipped by the ancient Celts, which is related to the Irish gobae (smith). Gofannon was a great worker in metal, and appears in the early tale 'Culhwch and Olwen', where one of the tasks given to Culhwch by Olwen's father is to get Gofannon to sharpen his brother's plough
Goronwy A name of uncertain origin. It occurs in the Mabinogi, where Goronwy Pebyr becomnes the lover of Blodeuwedd and kills Llew Llaw Gyffes. Also the name of a steward under Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, king of Gwynedd
Grigor A Welsh form of Gregory, from Greek Grigorios (meaning gwyliadwrus, watchful)
Griff / Griffin / Griffith / Gruff / Gruffin / Gruffud / Gruffudd / Gruffydd The second element means lord; the meaning of the first is uncertain. The Griff variants are anglicised forms of Gruffudd
Grwn Grwn (= trum, crib, ridge, piece of ploughed land between two furrows)
Guto A pet form of Gruffudd
Gwalchgwyn Gwalch (hawk) + gwyn (white)
Gwalchmai / Gwalchmei Gwalch (hawk) + an element of uncertain meaning, possibly meaning 'plain' and probably unrelated to Mai, the name of the month
Gwallter A Welsh form of Walter, which is of Germanic origin, deriving from wald (rule) + her (army)
Gwatycn a Welsh form of Watkin, which is a diminutive of the name Watt (also Wat), a popular Middle English given name itself derived as a pet form of the name Walter
Gwilim / Gwilym / Gwillym A Welsh form of William
Gwyn / Gwynn Gwyn (white, fair)
Gwynedd The name of a region of mediaeval North Wales, now resurrected as the name of a county
Gwynfor A modern coinage, apparently from gwyn (white, fair) + the mutated form of mawr (great)
Gwydyr / Gwythyr A Welsh form of Victor
Hari / Harri A Welsh form of Harry, itself a form of Henry, from Latin Henricus, which itself derives from two Germanic words, haim (home) + ric (ruler)
Heddwyn hHedd (peace) + (g)wyn (fair, blessed). Popularised by the fame of the young poet Ellis Humphrey Evans, killed in the First World War, who took Hedd Wyn as his bardic name
Hefin Haf (summer)
Heilyn Heilyn (= arolygwr, steward). A traditional Welsh name, originally a byname for a steward or wine-pourer, from heilio (to pour out, dispense)
Heulog Heulog (sunny)
Howell An anglicised form of Hywel
Huw A Welsh form of Hugh, which comes from a Germanic word hug (mind, spirit)
Hywel Hywel (visible, prominent, eminent). A name borne by Hywel Dda, 10th century founder of Welsh laws
Iago A Welsh form of Jacob. This was the name of two early Welsh kings of Gwynedd. It is also the name of the villain in Shakespeare's 'Othello'
Ianto A diminutive of Ifan
Idris Iud (lord) + ris (ardent, impulsive)
Idwal Iud (lord, master) + (g)wal (wall, rampart)
Iefan / Ieuan / Ifan A Welsh form of John
Iestin / Iestyn A Welsh form of Justin
Ifor A traditional Welsh name of uncertain origin, sometimes anglicised as Ivor, but Ivor has an entirely different origin, coming from Scandinavian words yr (yew) + herr (army, warrior)
Ilar A Welsh form of Hilary, which comes from the Latin Hilarius, from hilaris (cheerful)
Illtud / Illtyd From il, el (multitude) + tud (land, people). The name was borne by a famous 5th century saint. Illtyd is the modern spelling.
Ioan A Welsh form of John
Iolo / Iolyn Pet forms of Iorwerth
Iorwerth A traditional Welsh name formed from the elements ior (ord) + a mutated form of berth (handsome)
Islwyn Taken from the name of a mountain in Gwent, which is formed from is (below) + llwyn (grove)
Iwan A Welsh form of John
Jac A Welsh form of Jack
Lewys A Welsh form of Louis or Lewis
Llew / Llewelyn / Llywellyn An ancient name of uncertain origin, going back to an Old Celtic form Lugobelinos, where the first element seems to be the name of the god Lugh. It became altered by association with llew (lion)
Lloyd / Loyd An anglicised form of llwyd (grey, grey-haired)
Llywarch A traditional Welsh name, formed from the god's name Lugo + Old Celtic marcos (horse). Llywarch Hen (534-608) was a prince and poet of the kingdom of Rheged, and accounted one of the four great bards of early Welsh poetry, along with Aneirin, Taliesin and Myrddin. A number of early poems are attributed to him, though whether he actually had any hand in them is unknown
Lyn A short form of Llewellyn
Mabon / Mabyn From mab (son); Mabon seems to have been the name of a divinity; it is also borne by a character in the Mabinogion tale ‘Culhwch ac Olwen’
Macsen / Maxen A Welsh form of Maximus, a 4th century Roman ruler who according to legend married a Welsh princess. Maximus means 'greatest'
Madoc / Madog A Welsh form of the Irish Maedoc, which derives from an Irish root 'aed' meaning 'fire'. The name of a Welsh prince who allegedly discovered America in 1170
Maldwyn A Welsh variant of Baldwin, derived from the Germanic elements bald (bold, brave) + win (friend)
March March = ceffyl (horse, stallion)
Maredudd A Welsh form of Meredith
Martyn A Welsh form of Martin, which comes from Latin Martinus, from mars, the god of war
Medwyn The name of a Welsh saint whose feast day falls on January 1st.
Meic / Meical A Welsh form of Michael
Merfyn A traditional name, composed of two Old Celtic elements mer (probably meaning marrow) + myn (eminent). Anglicised as Mervyn
Meurig A Welsh form of Maurice, derived from Latin Mauricius via Old Welsh Mouric
Mihangel A Welsh form of Michael
Morcan / Morgan A traditional Welsh name derived from Old Celtic morcant; the meaning of the first element is uncertain, the 'cant' means 'circle, completion'
Mostyn From the name of a place in Clwyd, on the Dee estuary. The placename itself is Old English rather than Welsh in origin, from mos (moss) + tun (settlement, enclosure)
Myrddin / Myrddyn An ancient Welsh name, famous as the name of the wizard in Arthurian romance. It seems to have been composed of Old Celtic words meaning 'sea' and 'hill, fort'
Nye A pet form of Aneurin
Osian This derives from the traditional Irish Gaelic name Oisin, a name borne by the son of great Irish Hero Fionn mac Cumhaill. Oisin was lured away by a fairy woman to Tir na'n Og, the Land of the Young, and when he grew homesick and came back to see his kin, found that centuries had passed and all the Fianna were long dead
Owain An ancient Welsh name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Latin Eugenius. Owain appears as a character in the Mabinogi, where he is a knight rescued by the Lady of the Fountain.
Owen An anglicised form of Owain
Pedr A Welsh form of Peter
Pryderi Pryderi (anxiety, care). The name borne by the hero of the First Branch of the Mabinogi
Prys From ap Rhys (son of Rhys)
Rees An anglicised form of Rhys
Rhisiart A Welsh form of Richard
Rhodd Rhodd (= anrheg, gift)
Rhodri From an Old Welsh personal name formed from the elements rhod (wheel) + rhi (ruler). Rhodri the Great was a 9th century king of Gwynedd
Rhydderch A traditional Welsh name, originally a byname meaning 'reddish-brown', and the origin of the surname Protheroe, from ap Rhydderch, son of Rhydderch. Anglicised as Roderick
Rhys A traditional Welsh name meaning 'ardour', borne by several rulers of south-west Wales in the early Middel Ages, such as Rhys ap Tewdur and Rhys ap Gruffudd
Robat A Welsh form of Robert
Sawyl A Welsh form of Samuel
Seimon A Welsh form of Simon
Selwyn An English name, transferred from a surname, probably deriving from sele (hall) = wine (friend)
Siarl A Welsh form of Charles
Siôn A Welsh form of John
Sionym A pet form of Siôn
Siriol Siriol (cheerful, joyful)
Steffan A Welsh form of Stephen, which derives from a Greek word for crown
Talfryn A modern Welsh name, deriving from tal (high, end of) + a mutated form of bryn (hill)
Taliesin An Old Welsh name composed of the elements tal (brow) + iesin (shining). Taliesin was a renowned 6th century Welsh poet
Tarian Tarian (shield)
Teilo The name of a 6th century Welsh saint, reputed to be a cousin and disciple of St David. He became bishop of Llandaff. The name derives form an Old Welsh form Eliau or Eilliau
Terrwyn Terrwyn (= dewr, strong, steadfast)
Tomas / Tomos / Twm / Tŵm A Welsh form of Thomas
Trefor Tre (town) + mawr (great). Originally a surname, which in turn derives from a common placename. Anglicised as Trevor
Tristan / Trystan A Welsh form of Tristram, a hero of mediaeval romance. The name is of unknown origin, but may be connected with the Pictish Drostan
Tudur A traditional Welsh name, derived from the Old Celtic form Teutorix, composed of elements meaning 'people, tribe' + 'ruler, king'. Sometimes believed to be a form of Theodore, but in fact there is no connection
Urien An ancient name, possibly deriving from Old Celtic elements meaning 'privileged' + 'birth'. The name of a historical king of Rheged who fought against the Northumbrians in the 6th century, who also makes an appearance in the Mabinogi
Ynyr A traditional Welsh name of uncertain origin, possibly from Latin Honorius. There is a reference in the Mabinogi to a battle between two Ynyrs
Wil A short form of Gwilym
Wyn / Wynne A short form of Gwyn

Analysis of male given names in Wales, 1997-2017

This table shows the Welsh-origined male given names in Wales, sorted by year, from 2017 through to 1997, based on new birth registrations. Use Show 10 entries to select 50, and you can then sort by year or name. Use Next and Previous to see more years.

Name201720162015201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000199919981997
Dylan150149163215209230261258342353348355322333332328310203163184145
Harri12713712012012310610195759576874552494651563738
Osian1151161271171221191011431059884102835669464440443537
Evan816792103107139136166195175193174140134117697863544135
Elis7056545352443739404128
Rhys647395104117152193190232302298305275302298300333326293334300
Jac6472979610210495969997101101818992847162604444
Tomos618376809010193891111011079499947611199114114113109
Cai59587059656685871101031061331058293595854414744
Ellis525276746568586970708486777669664868505063
Ioan525268545966727681921006984686969687147
Macsen52503745
Owen4857565366659391123120125121150134161146143131161158107
Hari384137
Gruffydd36
Gethin47394979819091951097766644940414245
Iestyn393650756952697181781228284583141
Owain373838545159857772918187718080707165
Ifan36403631
Cian444547466459646968697045494032
Ieuan3840475170867794105102116978910511510894114
Iwan424348535064686662758470101837341
Steffan3740393744634646535262546965
Lloyd613838525875525576
Siôn4745624957565882718477
Ewan404745514957444936
Dafydd3742629081909799998492
Aled3645373735525872
Tomas40413639384634333840
Lewys373633
Carwyn3338
Dewi3233
Rhodri344146
Gareth415674
Geraint37
Huw41
Total151418181719181920212022222426252325262521

Tudalen a luniwyd gan David Sutton, gyda chymorth gan Neil Rowlands and Patrick Jemmer
Page compiled by David Sutton with support by Neil Rowlands and Patrick Jemmer


Geirfa Thematig

Dyma gyfres o eirfaoedd/rhestrau chwilio, a drefnir yn ôl lefel eich iaith. Gellir ei defnyddio fel canllaw cyfeirio, neu gallwch ei hastudio trwy ddefnyddio'r teclyn Quizlet sydd wedi'i fewnosod yng ngwaelod pob erthygl. Gallwch hefyd fynd yn uniongyrchol at yr eitemau Quizlet: quizlet.com/parallelcymru.

This knowledge base provides a series of glossaries/lookup lists, arranged by the level of your language. It can be used as a reference guide, or you can study it using the Quizlet widget embedded in the base of each article. You can also go directly to the Quizlet items: quizlet.com/parallelcymru.

 

Termau Rhagarweiniol / Introductory Terms

Termau Canolradd / Intermediate Terms

Rhestrau llawn o Gramadeg Cymraeg / Full lists of Welsh Grammar

Enwau Lleodd / Placenames

Termau Themaidd / Themed Terminology

Cymraeg yn y Gweithle / Workplace Welsh


More about studying with Quizlet

What is Quizlet and how can I use it?  -> A quick guide to Quizlet.

There are different ways to study or test yourself: Quizlet Study Tools.


 

Idiomatic Expressions in Welsh

Enwau Cymraeg- Tarddiad ac Ystyr

Ask Dr Gramadeg

Geiriadur i Dysgwyr

Etymoleg Prif ddelwedd

Gwreiddiau Geiriau Cymraeg / Etymology of Welsh Words

Pam rydyn ni'n dweud 'Cymru'? O ble mae geiriau'n dod? Ydy'r iaith Gymraeg yn gwbl unigryw? Mae deall etymoleg a gwreiddiau iaith yn rhan bwysig o ieithyddiaeth a dysgu iaith. Yma, rydyn ni'n edrych ar etymoleg yr iaith Gymraeg gan ddangos bod ei gwreiddiau ar hyd a lled y byd. 

Gan: Madison Keeping

Why do we say 'Cymru'? Where do words come from? Is the Welsh language completely unique? Understanding the etymology and origins of a language is an important part of linguistics and language learning. Here, we look at the etymology of the Welsh language, showing that its roots spread far and wide across the world.

By: Madison Keeping

Mae Madison Keeping yn fyfyrwraig PhD ym Mhrifysgol Abertawe sy'n ymchwilio defnydd salwch meddwl mewn llenyddiaeth Gymraeg ddiweddar. Ers 2018, mae hi wedi bod yn gweithio yn Adran y Gymraeg ym Mhrifysgol Abertawe fel tiwtor.

Madison Keeping is a PhD student in Swansea University researching the use of mental illness in recent Welsh literature. Since 2018, she has been working in the Welsh Department in Swansea University as a tutor.

Awdur ac ymgyrchydd Heini Gruffudd: “Mae’r dudalen yma’n rhoi cyfle i ddysgwyr a siaradwyr Cymraeg roi eu traed i mewn i ddyfroedd diddorol etymoleg. Mae tarddiad geiriau Cymraeg yn amrywiol- nid mor amrywiol â’r Saesneg wrth gwrs- ac mae deall o ble y daeth geiriau’r iaith yn gymorth mawr i ni i ddeall sut mae’r iaith yn gweithio. Dyma’r ymdrech ddwyieithog ar-lein gyntaf i nodi tarddiad geiriau, ac rwy’n edrych ymlaen at weld y rhestr yn cynyddu.”

Author and campaigner Heini Gruffudd: "This page gives learners and Welsh speakers the chance to put their feet into interesting etymology waters. The origins of Welsh words are varied- not as diverse as English, of course- and understanding where the words of the language came to us is a great help to us to understand how the language works. This is the first online bilingual effort to identify the origin of words, and I'm looking forward to seeing the list increasing."

Yr Athro Steve Morris: “Dyma adnodd hynod werthfawr i bawb sy’n ymddiddori yn yr iaith Gymraeg. Mae gwybod o ble mae geiriau wedi dod yn ein helpu, nid yn unig i ddeall mwy am hanes ein gwlad a sut mae’r iaith yn adlewyrchu’r hanes yna, ond hefyd cyfoeth a chryfder y Gymraeg fel iaith sydd wedi benthyca, ymgyfoethogi ac addasu o ieithoedd eraill ar hyd ei hoes.”

 

Associate Professor Steve Morris: "This is an invaluable resource for all those interested in the Welsh language. Knowing where words have come from help us to not only understand more about the history of our country and how the language reflects that history, but also the wealth and strength of Welsh as a language that has lent, enriched and adapted from other languages throughout its life."

 

Gwreiddiau’r Iaith Gymraeg

Mae gan yr iaith Gymraeg hanes cyfoethog iawn sy'n rhychwantu'r canrifoedd. Cyn y Gymraeg, Brythoneg oedd prif iaith Cymru, Lloegr a de’r Alban, pan ddaeth y Rhufeiniaid yn 43 AD. Daeth y Gymraeg o’r Frythoneg, rywbryd rhwng 400 a 700 AD. Mae barddoniaeth Gymraeg gynnar yn dod o’r cyfnod hwn.

Am fwy o wybodaeth, gweler dysgucymraeg.cymru/amdanom-ni/hanes-y-gymraeg ac erthygl parallel.cymru parallel.cymru/hanes-a-datblygiad-yr-iaith

Origin of the Welsh Language

Welsh has an extremely rich history which spans centuries. It evolved from Brythonic, the main language spoken in Wales, England and Southern Scotland when the Romans invaded in 43AD. Welsh began to emerge as a distinctive language sometime between 400 and 700 AD – early Welsh poetry survives from this period.

For more information, see learnwelsh.cymru/about-us/welsh-language-fast-facts and parallel.cymru’s article parallel.cymru/hanes-a-datblygiad-yr-iaith/?lang=en

Gair Cymraeg / Welsh Word Cyfieithiad / Translation Iaith Benthyg / Borrowed Language Tarddiad ac Ystyr / Etymology and Meaning
Cymru / Cymry Wales / Welsh people Brythoneg / Brythoniccombrogi = com (rhagddodiad sy’n golygu cydwladwr) + brogi (gŵr o’r un wlad)

combrogi = com (prefix which means compatriot) + brogi (fellow countryman)

ll. combrogos
Wales / Welsh Wales / Welsh Germaneg / Germanic


Eingl-Sacsonaidd / Anglo- Saxon (Hen Saesneg / Old English)
Walh (ll. Walha) = (rhywun o dramor / rhywun estron / siaradwr iaith Geltaidd)
(foreigner / stranger / Celtic speaker)


Waelisc = ([pobl] Brythoniaid / Britons)
Wēalas = (tir y Brythoniaid / the Britons’ land)


Yr Elfen Lladin- The Latin Element

Yr Elfen Ladin yn yr Iaith Gymraeg

Fel rydyn ni’n gwybod, mae’r Gymraeg wedi benthyg nifer o eiriau o’r Lladin dros y canrifoedd.

Y dosbarth gyntaf o eiriau benthyg oedd geiriau a berthynai i fywyd / arferion milwrol megis: castell, ffos, llafn, mur, pebyll, saeth.

Yn sgil y rheiny, daeth geiriau a oedd yn ymwneud â masnach a llafur megis : aur, hestawr, mesur, plwm, pwys.

Ond wrth i’r Ymerodraeth Rhufeinig ddod yn fwy cryf, manteisiwyd hefyd ar eu dull o fyw a gwelwyd, cegin, ystafell a ffenestr, gwisgwyd maneg a torch, bwytodd y bobl torth ac yfon nhw, gwin.

Diolch i'r llyfrau Henry Lewis, Yr Elfen Ladin yn yr Iaith Gymraeg, (Caerdydd: Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru, 1943) a Geiriadur Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru  am yr wybodaeth hon.

The Latin Element in Welsh

As we know, Welsh has borrowed many words from Latin over the centuries.

The first group of words were those which belonged to military life and customs such as: castell (castle), ffos (ditch/trench/moat), llafn (blade), mur (wall), pebyll (tents), saeth (arrow).

In the wake of those came words that were related to trade and labour such as: aur (gold), hestawr (=hestor a measure of quantity, two bushels), mesur (measure/quantify), plwm (lead), pwys (pound).

But as the Roman Empire grew in strength, their lifestyle was adopted and things such as cegin (kitchen), ystafell (room) and ffenestr (window) were seen, things such as maneg (glove) and torch (chain/collar) were worn, people ate torth (loaf) and drunk gwin (wine).

Many thanks to Henry Lewis, Yr Elfen Ladin yn yr Iaith Gymraeg, (Caerdydd: Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru, 1943) a Geiriadur Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru  for this information.

Etymoleg allwedd

Lladin / Latin

Gair Cymraeg / Welsh Word Cyfieithiad / Translation Tarddiad / OriginDefnydd mewn ieithoedd eraill / Use in other languages
abadabbot (eg)abbatem / abbāt abat = Hen Gernyweg (Old Cornish)
abbas = Llydaweg Canol (Middle/Medieval Breton)
achoscause / reason (eg)occāsiō
addolito adore / worship / idolise (be)adōrāre
*ansicr / uncertain
addurn ornament / decoration / adornment (eg)adorno adorn = Catalaneg (Catalan)
adorno = Portiwgaleg (Portuguese)
amlnumerous / many (ans)amplus
angel angel (eg)angelus ángel = Catalaneg (Catalan)
angel = Slofeniad (Slovenian)
ángel = Sbaeneg (Spanish)
angel = Swedeg (Swedish)
angoranchor (eg/b)anchoraingor = Hen Wyddelig (Old Irish)
anifail animal (eg)animaliumaneval = Llydaweg Canol a Diwedd (Middle and End of Century Breton)
arfarm / weapon (eg/b)armaarvov = Cernyweg Canol (Middle Cornish)
arm = Hen Wyddelig (Old Irish)
asendonkey / female donkey (eb)asinaasen = Hen Gernyweg (Old Cornish)
asen = Llydaweg Canol (Medieval Breton)
astud attentive / concentrated (ans)astutus > sy’n dod, o bosib, o’r ffurf Ffrangeg (which possibly comes from the French word) astut astut = Llydaweg Canol (Middle Breton)
aur golden (ans)aurum
barf beard (eb)barbabarf = Hen Gernyweg (Old Cornish)
barv = Llydaweg Canol (Medieval Breton)
basshallow / shaol (ans)basusbas = Hen Ffrangeg (Old French)
bas = Saesneg Canol (Medieval English)
bendith blessing (eb)benedictio / benedictum
braich arm (eb/g)bracchiumbrech = Hen Gernyweg (Old Cornish)
braç = Catalaneg (Catalan)
braccio = Eidaleg (Italian)
bresych cabbages (ll)brassica braisech = Gwyddelig (Irish)
cadair chair (eb)cathedra cadar = Llydaweg (Breton)
cathair = Gwyddelig Canol (Medieval Irish)
cathaoir = Gwyddelig
cadira = Catalaneg (Catalan)
cadeira = Portiwgaleg (Portuguese)
cadwynchain (eb)catēna
campfeat / achievement (eb)campus [maes brwydr / battlefield]
canghellorchancellor (eg)cancellāriuscanceller = Catalaneg (Catalan)
kancelár = Slofaciad (Slovakian)
capelchapel (eg)capellacapella = Catalaneg (Catalan)
kapela = Croation
kapell = Swedeg (Swedish)
kapell = Norwyeg (Norwegian)
carchar prison (eg)carcerem carhar = Cernyweg (Cornish)
castell castle (eg)castellum kastell = Llydaweg (Breton)
cau hollow / empty / sunken (ans)cauus
cawscheese (eg)cāseuscáis = Gwyddelig (Irish)
kaas = Iseldireg (Dutch)
cell cell (eb)cella
clochbell (eb)clocca cloch = Cernyweg (Cornish)
cloche = Ffrangeg (French)
glocke = Almaeneg (German)
klocka = Swedeg (Swedish)
cochred (ans)coccum
corffbody (g)corpus corf = Cernyweg (Cornish)
corp = Gwyddelig (Irish)
creadur creature (eg)creātūra
cwmwlcloud (eg)cumulus
cyfftrunk [of tree] (eg)cippusqueff = Llydaweg Canol (Middle Breton)
cyllell knife (eb)cultellus
cysonconsistent (ans)consonuscoson = Hen Lydaweg (Old Breton)
dewinwizard / sorcerer (eg)divinus
diafol Devil (eg) diabolusdiabhal = Gwyddelig
duivel = Iseldireg (Dutch)
diavol = Rwmaneg (Romanian)
diablo = Sbaeneg (Spanish)
disgybllearner / pupil (eg)disciplusdiscebel = Hen Gernyweg (Old Cornish)
draigdragon (eb)dracōdrage = Norweaidd (Norwegian)
dysgu to learn (be)discō
effaitheffect / consequence (eg/b)effectus
eglwys church (eb)ecclesiaeglos = Cernyweg (Cornish)
eclais = Hen Wyddelig (Old Irish)
église = Ffrangeg (French)
eisiau to want (be)exisgŭus (to demand)
estronforeign / alien / stranger (ans + eg)extrāneusestren = Cernyweg (Cornish)
estrangeiro = Portiwgaleg (Portuguese)
etranger = Ffrangeg (French)
estranger = Catalaneg (Catalan)
ffa beans (ll)faba fav / fao = Llydaweg (Breton)
faf / fa = Cernyweg (Cornish)
ffenestr window (eb)fenestra fenêtre = Ffrangeg (French)
venster = Iseldireg (Dutch)
ffrwythfruit (eb/g)fructus
gramadeggrammar (eg)grammătĭca
lleidr / lladrad thief (eg) / theft (eg)llatrōlladre = Catalaneg (Catalan)
ladrón = Sbaeneg (Spanish)
llyfr book (eg)libr(um)liuer = Hen Gernyweg (Old Cornish)
llythrletter (eg)littera
MaiMay (eg)Mensis / MaiiusMai = Ffrangeg (French), Estoneg (Estonian), Rwmaneg (Romanian)
Maj = Swedeg (Swedish)
meddygdoctor (eg)medicusmethek = Cerynyweg Canol (Middle Cornish)
milthousand (rhif / number)mīliamila = Basgeg (Basque)
mil = Catalaneg (Catalan), Sbaeneg (Spanish)
moddway / mode / means (eg)modus
nerfus nervous (ans)nervōsus
nifernumber (eg/b)numerusnyver = Cernyweg Canol (Middle Cornish)
orgrafforthography (eb/g)orthographia
pabpope (eg)pāba
pabelltent (eb/g)papilōpuball = Gwyddelig (Irish)
padellpan / dish / bowl / skillet (eb)patellapadel = Hen Gernyweg (Old Cornish)
pechod sin (eg)peccātumpechet = Llydaweg Canol (Middle Breton)
peccad = Hen Wyddelig (Old Irish)
pêrpears (ll)pira
perygldanger / peril (eg)perīculumperigo = Portiwgaleg (Portuguese)
periklu = Maltese
pericolo = Eidaleg (Italian)
plantchildren (ll)planta
plufeathers (ll)plūmaplume = Ffrangeg (French)
piuma = Eidaleg (Italian)
pluma = Sbaeneg (Spanish)
plyguto bend / bow (be)plicōplygye = Cernyweg Canol (Middle Cornish)
poblpeople (eb)populus pobyl, pobel = Cernyweg Canol (Middle Cornish)
pobl = Llydaweg Canol (Middle Breton)
pont bridge (eb)pons pons = Hen Gernyweg (Old Cornish)
pont = Ffrangeg (French)
porfforpurple (ans)purpuraporpra = Catalaneg (Catalan)
postpost (eg)postis
* Gw. hefyd (see also)
post Saesneg Canol (Middle English) & Hen Ffrangeg (Old French)
prifprincipal / prime / main (ans)prīmus
priodproper / right / approriate (ans)prīvātus
pysgodfish (ll)piscātuspesce = Eidaleg (Italian)
pescado = Sbaeneg (Spanish)
sach sack / bag (eb/g)saccussach = Llydaweg Canol (Middle Breton)
sac = Catalaneg (Catalan)
sac = Ffrangeg (French)
säck = Swedeg (Swedish)
santsaint (eg)santussant = Catalaneg (Catalan)
santo = Eidaleg (Italian)
santo = Portiwgaleg (Portuguese)
sarffserpent (eb/g)sarpans *ffurf llafar (spoken term)
sebonsoapsāpōnsabó = Catalaneg (Catalan)
savon = Ffrangeg (French)
jabón = Sbaeneg (Spanish)
seguridle / lazy (ans)sĕcūrus
selsigsausage (ll)salsīciasilsicq = Llydaweg Canol (Middle Breton)
salsitxa = Catalaneg (Catalan)
seneddparliament *cymharer (compare)
senātus
a Hen Ffrangeg (Old French) = sened
sillafsyllable (eb)syllaba
sychdry (ans)siccussuho = Croatian
suchy = Pwyleg (Polish)
sucho = Slovak
seco = Sbaeneg (Spanish)
synnwyrsense / wisdom (eg/b)sentīre
tafarnpub / tavern (eb/g)taberna*mae nifer o'r ieithoedd Ewropeaidd yn defnyddio'r cystrawen hwn / A number of European Languages use this form:
taverna = Catalaneg (Catalan) a Croatian
taberna = Sbaeneg (Spanish)
tavernă = Rwmaneg (Romanian)
taverna = Eidaleg (Italian)
terfynboundary (eg)terminus
tonwave (eb)tonntonn = Gwyddelig (Irish)
trist sad (ans)trīstis tristis = Llydaweg (Breton)
tríst = Gwyddeleg (Irish)
triste = Ffrangeg (French)
ysbrydghost / spirit (eg)spīritus
ysgolschool (eb)schola
ysgrifena writing (eb)scrībendum
ystafellroom (eb)stabellum
ystyrmeaning (eg/b)historia


Ffrangeg / French

Gair Cymraeg Cyfieithiad Tarddiad Defnydd mewn ieithoedd eraill / Use in other languages
tŵr tower tour túr = Gwyddelig


Beth yw ‘gair cyfansawdd’?

Gair sydd yn cynnwys o leiaf dwy forffem yw gair cyfansawdd e.e. ‘prifathro’, lle mae’r morffemau unigol, ‘prif’ ac ‘athro’ yn gallu sefyll fel geiriau unigol ar eu pennau eu hunain.

Gweler wici.porth.ac.uk/index.php/Gair_cyfansawdd am fwy o wybodaeth.

What is a compound word?

A compound word is a word which contains at least two morphemes ( a unit of a language that cannot be further divided). For example, ‘prifathro’ (headteacher) where the morphemes ‘prif’ (main) ac ‘athro’ (teacher) can stand on their own as individual words.

See wici.porth.ac.uk/index.php/Gair_cyfansawdd for more information.

Geiriau Cyfansawdd / Compound Words

Gair Gymraeg / Welsh Word Cyfieithiad / TranslationCyfansoddiad y gair / Word Formation
AbertaweSwansea (eb)Aber (estuary / mouth) + Tawe (the river Tawe > mouth of the river Tawe
amcangyfrifto estimate (be) /
estimate/estimation (eg)
amcan (target / aim / purpose) + cyfrif (to count)
ansoddair adjective (eg)ansawdd (quality / characteristic) + gair (word)
atalnodpunctuation mark (eg)atal (impediment / hindrance) + nod (mark)
bochdewhamster (eg)boch (cheek) + tew (fat)
bwytyrestaurant (eg)bwyd (food) + (house)
campwaithmasterpiece (eg)camp (accomplishment / achievement) + gwaith (work)
canhwyllbrencandlestick (eg)cannwyll (candle) + pren (wood [piece of])
canmlwyddiantcentenary (eg)cant (hundred) + blwydd (year) + iant
canolbarthmidland (eg)canol (middle) + parth (domain/zone)
canolbwyntfocus (eg)canol (middle) + pwynt (point)
cigfranraven (eb)cig (meat) + brân (crow)
cildroireverse (be)cil (to retreat) + troi (turn)
coedwigforest (eb)coed (trees / wood / lumber) + gwig (wood / forest / grove)
cofnodrecord / entry (eg)cof (memory / recollection) + nod (mark / object)
cofrestrregister (eb)cof (memory) + rhestr (list)
collnodapostrophe (eg) coll (loss) + nod (mark / object)
crefftwaithcraftsmanship (eg)crefft (craft / handicraft) + gwaith (work)
croesairparadox / a crossword (eg)croes (cross) + gair (word)
croesfforddcrossroads (eb)croes (cross) + ffordd (way / road)
cyfeirlyfrdirectory (eg)cyfeirio (to refer) + llyfr (book)
cyfrinairpassword (eg)cyfrin (secret) + gair (word)
cylchgrawnmagazine / periodical (eg)cylch (circle) + grawn (store / accumulation / treasure)
cysylltairconjunction (eg)cyswllt (contact / link) + gair (word)
delfrydideal (eb)delw (image / icon / idol) + bryd (dear one / intent / desire)
doethairapophthegm / aphorism (eg) doeth (wise) + gair (word)
dwyieithogbilingual (ans)dwy (two) + iaith (language) + og
dwylo hands (ll) dwy (two) + llaw (hand)
dyddlyfrdiary / journal (eg)dydd (day) + llyfr (book)
dyffrynvalley (eg) dwfr (water) + hynt (path / course)
ebychnodexclamation mark (eg)ebychu (to exclaim) + nod (mark / object)
eisteddleseat / pew (eg/b)eistedd (to sit) + lle (place)
ffermdyfarmhouse (eg)fferm (farm) + (house)
ffurflenform (eb)ffurf (format) + llen (sheet/curtain)
gemwaithjewellery (eg) gem (jewel) + gwaith (work)
glasgwelltgrass (ll)glas (blue / green in Welsh) + gwellt (grass)
gliniadurlaptop (eg)glin (lap) + cyfrif[iadur] (computer)
grawnwingrapes (ll)grawn (grain / seed) + gwin (wine)
gwaedlifhaemorrhage (eg) gwaed (blood) + llif (flow)
gwefanwebsite (eb/g)gwe (web / internet) + man (site)
gwerslyfrtextbook (eg)gwers (lesson) + llyfr (book)
gwerthfawrvaluable / precious (ans)gwerth (worth) + mawr (big)
gwestyhotel (eg)gwest (lodging) + (house)
gwladgarwrpatriot (eg)gwlad (country) + carwr (lover)
hawlfraintcopyright (eb)hawl (right / permission) + braint (privilege)
heddlupolice (eg)hedd (peace) + llu (throng / host / large number of people / army)
heddwas policeman (eg)hedd (peace) + gwas (servant / attendant)
hwylbrenmast / flagpole (eg)hwyl (sail) + pren (wood / tree)
iachuslawnwholesome (ans)iachus (healthy) + llawn (full)
llawysgrifhandwriting / manuscript (eb/g)llaw (hand) + ysgrif (a writing)
llofruddmurderer (eg)llaw (hand) + rhudd (crimson)
llwydnostwilight (eb)llwyd (grey) + nos (night)
llyfrgell library (eb)llyfr (book) + cell (cell)
maestrefsuburb (eb)maes (field) + tref (town)
mamiaithmother tounge (eb)mam (mum / mother) + iaith (language)
mislifmenses / period (eg)mis (month) + llif (flow)
môr-leidrpirate (eg)môr (sea) +lleidr (thief)
ofergoelsuperstition (eb)ofer (fruitless / vain / unavailing) + coel (belief / credit)
peirianwaithmechanism / machinery (eg/b)peiriant (machine) + gwaith
pêl-droedfootball (eb) pêl (ball) + troed (foot)
penelinelbow (eg/b)pen (head / end) + elin (forearm)
pennodchapter (eb)pen (hhead / end) + nod (note)
pentrefvillage (eg)pen (head / end) + tref (town)
pentwrpile / stack / cluster (eg)pen (head / end) + twr (batch / heap)
penwythnosweekend (eg/b)pen (head / end) + wythnos(week)
plentyndodchildhood (eg)plentyn (child) + dod (to become / arrive)
poptyoven (eg)pobi (to bake) + (house)
prifathrohead teacher (eg)prif (master / principal) + athro (teacher)
prifddinascapital city (b)prif (main / principal) + dinas (city)
prifforddhighway (eb)prif (main / principal) + ffordd (way/road)
prifysgol university (eb) prif (master / principal) + ysgol (school)
priodfabbridegroom [groom] (eg) priod (rightful) + mab (son)
prydferthbeautiful (ans)pryd (sight / appearance) + berth (fair / beautiful)
prynhawnafternoon (eg)pryd (time / occasion / period) + nawn (the ninth hour of the day)
pythefnosfortnight (eg)pymtheg (fifteen) + nos (wythnos or night)
rhagenwpronoun (eg)rhag (before / in front of) + enw (name)
rhithweledigaethhallucination (eb)rhith (shape / form) + gweledigaeth (vision / dream)
rhwydwaithnetwork (eg)rhwyd (net) + gwaith (work)
rhywbethsomething (eg)rhyw (some) + peth (thing)
rhywle somewhere (adf)rhyw (some) + lle (place)
rhywsutsomehow (adf)rhyw (some) + sut (how)
rhywunsomebody (eg)rhyw (some) +un (one)
safbwynt standpoint / point of view (eg)sefyll (to stand) + pwynt (point)
safleposition / location (eb/g)sefyll (to stand) + lle (place)
symudliwiridescent (ans)symud (to move) + lliw (colour)
tafodiaithdialect (eb)tafod (tongue) + iaith (language)
tanwyddfuel / firewood (eg)tân (fire) + gwŷdd (tree)
teirgwaiththrice (adf)tair (three) + gwaith (time / occasion)
triphlygtreble (ans)tri (three) + plyg (fold)
truenimisery / wretchedness (eg)truan (wretch / poor fellow) + i (1st person)
tueddfryddisposition (eg)tuedd (tendency) + (appearance)
tylwythtribe / kinsfolk (eg) (house) + llwyth (tribe / clan)
uchelwraristocrat (eg)uchel (high) + gŵr (man)
uncornunicorn (eg)un (one) + corn (horn)
unionstraight / direct ans)un (one) + iawn (right /okay)
unwaithonce (adf)un (one) + gwaith (time / occasion)
ymhlithamong(st) (ardd) yn (in) + plith (midst)
ymysgin the midst of yn (in) + mysg (mixture)
ysbytyhospital (eg/b)ysbryd (spirit) + (house)
*ansicr yw union ffurf yr enghraifft yn ôl GPC (the exact example is uncertain according to DWL (Dictionary of the Welsh Language)

Dylanwad y Saesneg

Wrth ystyried hanes cythryblus yr iaith Gymraeg, hawdd yw gweld dylanwad y Saesneg a'r Normaniaid arni. O ganlyniad i statws israddol y Gymraeg yn y gorffennol a grym eithriadol Saesneg dros y blynyddoedd, nid yw’n syndod bod bach o debygrwydd rhwng rhai elfennau o’r Gymraeg a’r Saesneg. Ond ers twf dwyieithrwydd yng Nghymru a datblygiad y byd modern, technolegol, mae dylanwad y Saesneg wedi dwysáu. Oherwydd hyn, erbyn heddiw, mae llu o eiriau a phriod-ddulliau Saesneg wedi ymddangos yn y Gymraeg 

Am fwy o wybodaeth, gweler:

  • Morris, Steve a Rottet, Kevin, Comparative Stylistics of Welsh and English, Arddulleg y Gymraeg, (Caerdydd: Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru, 2018)
  • Parry-Williams, T.H. The English Element in Welsh – A Study of English Loan Words in Welsh, (Llundain: Hon Society of Cymmrodorion, 1923)

The English Influence

As we consider the turbulent history of the Welsh Language, it is easy to see the influence of English and the Normans on Welsh. Due to the inferior status of Welsh in the past and the exceptional strength of English over the years, it is not surprising that there is an element of similarity between certain elements in Welsh and English. However, since the growth of bilingualism in Wales and the development of the modern, technological word, the influence of English has only intensified. Today, as a result, we see a whole variety of English words and idioms which have an influence on the way we speak Welsh.

For more information, see:

  • Morris, Steve a Rottet, Kevin, Comparative Stylistics of Welsh and English, Arddulleg y Gymraeg, (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2018)
  • Parry-Williams, T.H. The English Element in Welsh – A Study of English Loan Words in Welsh, (London: Hon Society of Cymmrodorion, 1923)

Saesneg / English

Gair Cymraeg / Welsh Word Cyfieithiad / Translation
abacwsabacus
ambiwlans ambulance
bacwn bacoun Saesneg Canol / Medieval English
blanced blanket
bws bus
cacen cake
carcar
catalogcatalogue
cerdyn card (+yn)
cofficoffee
craccrack
criced cricket
cwpan cuppe Hen Saesneg (Old English)
dawnsio to dance (verb)
desg desk
dramadrama
e-boste-mail
ffôn phone (telephone)
garej garage
incink
lico to like (verb)
losinsweets (lozenge)
modernmodern
mwg mug
naturnature
neis nice
papur paper
portreadportrait
potelbottle
pŵr power
rygbi rugby
seiclo to cycle
sianelchannel
sigloto shake (shiggen) Medieval English / Saesneg Canol
siocled chocolate
sioe show
siop shop
siwgrsugar
siŵr sure
smwddio to iron (to smooth)
syrffio to surf
tetea
teledutelevision
tost toast

Dylanwad Cymraeg ar Saesneg / The influence of Welsh on English

Gair / Word Diffiniad / Definition Tarddiad / Origin
corgi Ci bach sy’n frodorol o Gymru (Sir Benfro a Sir Aberteifi)

A small dog which originates from Wales (Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire)
cor (dwarf) + ci (dog)
penguin Gair Cymraeg = pengwin

pen + gwyn = white head * tarddiad ansicr (uncertain origin)


Diolchiadau

Hoffwn ddiolch yn fawr iawn i Geraint Lewis, Heini Gruffudd, David Sutton, Rhian Jones a Phrifysgol Abertawe am eu hawgrymiadau a'u cymorth.

Thanks

I would like to deeply thank Geraint Lewis, Heini Gruffudd, David Sutton, Rhian Jones and Swansea University for their suggestions and advice.


Mae'r eitem hon ar gael i'w lawrlwytho: / This item is available to download:

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Geiriadur i Dysgwyr

Geiriadur i Ddysgwyr: Ar-lein / Dictionary for Learners: Online

This reference guide contains over 1600 common words. To support those new to the language, the most common words also have a pronunciation guide. Under the English word is the Welsh word on the left, with the approximate pronunciation using English sounds to the right. The stressed sound is underlined. For a fuller explanation, click the ‘How to Use This Guide’ button below. Full credit for the content goes to Mark Stonelake.

How to Use This Guide

All | A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y
There are currently 0 names in this directory beginning with the letter a.

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Pronunciation Guide

In Welsh words the stress usually falls on the last but one syllable (a syllable is a unit of sound). Putting stress on a syllable means lengthening the sound with more emphasis in the voice.

For example, people with a Welsh accent would pronounce the surname Meredith as Mer-ed-ith, with the last sound but one ‘ed’ stressed. People with an English accent would tend to put equal weight on all three syllables – Mer-ed-ith.

If the stress falls on the last syllable of a Welsh word it is usually marked by an accent e.g. carafán. There are very few words like this in Welsh.

Try saying these words: – canol – canolfan. The stress moves on each time a unit of sound or syllable is added.

Abbreviations used

(adj) adjective- a describing word
(b) benywaidd – feminine (noun)
(col) colloquial– a word used in one area of Wales
(au) ….(s) plurals e.g. shop(s) – siop(au)
adre(f) (f) not pronounced
{rhed} root/stem of the verb e.g. rhedeg {rhed-}
(t.ll.) treiglad llaes – the word causes an aspirate mutation
(t.t.) treiglad trwynol – the word causes a nasal mutation
(t.m.) treiglad meddal – the word causes a soft mutation
(adj.) adjective
….(to) verb e.g. talk (to) – to talk
(tag) tags are short questions that we put on the end of sentences such as ‘…isn’t it?’
N.W. a word used in North Wales
S.W. a word used in South Wales

Further resources

For a complete learner’s dictionary I recommend Heini Gruffudd’s Welsh Learner’s Dictionary, and for a comprehensive online dictionary go to Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru.

Idiomatic Expressions in Welsh

Ymadroddion Idiomau yn y Gymraeg / Common Idioms in Welsh

Isod, mae rhestr o ymadroddion a phriod-ddulliau pob dydd yn Gymraeg. Idiomau nodweddiadol Cymraeg yw llawer ohonyn nhw ac felly ni ellir eu cyfieithu’n llythrennol o’r Gymraeg i’r Saesneg (neu i’r gwrthwyneb). Rydym wedi cynnwys enghraifft o sut i ddefnyddio pob un yn y golofn ar y dde. Mae llawer o briod-ddulliau Cymraeg yn mynegi teimlad mewn ffordd gryno e.e. 'Cenedl heb iaith (yw) cenedl heb galon'. Mae i'r rhan fwya' ohonyn nhw rythm cryf pan gân nhw'u hadrodd yn uchel e.e.'A ddwg ŵy a ddwg fwy'. Ar ben hynny, mae llawer yn creu delwedd fyw e.e. 'Mae e’n cadw draenog yn ei boced'. Gallwch ddefnyddio'r offeryn ‘Dod o hyd’ yn eich porwr i chwilio am idiom penodol yr ydych wedi'i glywed.

Yr hyn sy'n gwneud y casgliad hwn yn wahanol i gyflwyniadau eraill yw bod yr eitemau wedi'u trefnu mewn grwpiau; i ddechrau, mae rhai ymadroddion cyffredin iawn ar gyfer pobl sy’n newydd i’r iaith, ac eraill sy wedi'u trefnu yn ôl pynciau. Nodwch y bydd yn rhaid newid ambell i air (e.e. rhagenw personol), yn dibynnu ar y person neu’r bobl byddwch chi’n cyfeirio atyn nhw.

Below is a list of common expressions. Many of them are idioms, because they cannot be translated straight from Welsh to English, either word-for-word or vice versa. They are sayings that are characteristic and particular to Welsh.Many Welsh idioms express a sentiment in a concise way, such as 'Cenedl heb iaith yw cenedl heb galon' ('A nation without a language is a nation without a heart'). Most of them have a strong rhythm when they are spoken out loud, such as 'A ddwg ŵy a ddwg fwy' ('He who steals an egg will steal more'). And then again, very many create a vivid image such as 'Mae e’n cadw draenog yn ei boced' ('He keeps a hedgehog in his pocket' for 'He's tight with money'). 

What makes this collection different from other presentations is that the items are collated into groups; initially there are some very common expressions for those new to the language, and then others arranged by topic. We have included an example of how to use each one in the column on the right. Note that you’ll have to change some of them depending on the person or the people to whom you’re referring. You can use the Find function on your browser to look for a particular idiom that you have heard.

Mae'r cynnwys hwn wedi'i goladu a'i drefnu gan Patrick Jemmer, gyda diolch i Dafydd Roberts a David Sutton
Collated and arranged by
Patrick Jemmer, with thanks to Dafydd Roberts and David Sutton

Idiomataidd Cyffredin / Common Idioms

Detholiad o'r idiomau a glywir gan amlaf / A selection of the most-heard idioms.

Ymadrodd / PhraseDehongliad / InterpretationMewn cyd-destun / In context
Ail lawSecond-handMae hi’n hoff o wisgo ‘sanau ail law
She’s fond of wearing second-hand socks
Ar benOver / finishedMae’r arholiadau ar ben erbyn hyn, diolch byth!
The exams are finished now, thank goodness!
Ar ben ei gilydd
Ar bennau ei gilydd
On top of each other / crammed inDyna lanast! Mae’r lluniau oll ar bennau ei gilydd
What a mess! All the pictures are on top of each other
Ar fy mhen fy hun
Ar dy ben dy hun
Ar ei ben ei hun
Ar ei phen ei hun
Ar ein pennau ein hunain
Ar eich pennau eich hunain
Ar ei pennai eu hunain
On his own
On your own
On his own
On her own
On our own
On your own
On their own
Dw i’n casáu bod ar fy mhen fy hunan yn y tywyllwch
I hate being on my own in the dark
Arllwys y glawPouring rainMae hi’n arllwys y glaw heddi’ fel arfer
It’s pouring with rain today as usual
Ar bigau'r drainOn the points of thorns / On tenterhooks / on edgeRo’n ni ar bigau’r drain wrth ddisgwyl y canlyniadau
We were on tenterhooks awaiting the results
Ar y blaen / Ar flaenIn front / ahead / leadingMae tîm Cymru ar y blaen yn y gystadleuaeth hyd yn hyn
The Welsh team is leading in the competition so far
Ar bob cyfrifOf course / with pleasure / by all meansYdych, dych chi’n gallu dod gyda ni ar bob cyfrif
Yes, you can come with us by all means
Allan o wyntOut of breathAr ôl dringo’r staer bydda’ i allan o wynt
After climbing the stairs I’ll be out of breath
A’m gwynt yn fy nwrn
A'th wynt yn dy ddwrn
A'i wynt yn ei ddwrn
A'i gwynt yn ei dwrn
A'n gwynt yn ein dyrnau
A'ch gwynt yn eich dyrnau
A'u gwynt yn eu dyrrnau
With my wind in my fist / Out of breathCyrhaeddodd hi’r ysgol a’i gwynt yn ei dwrn, wedi rhedeg yr holl ffordd yno
She arrived at school out of breath, having run the whole way there
Bob amserAll the time / alwaysMaen nhw’n dod yn hwyr bob amser
They come late all the time / They’re always late
Cenedl heb iaith (yw) cenedl heb galonA nation without a language is a nation without a heart
Codi ofn ar rywunTo frighten someoneGobeithio y bydd y bwgan brain yn codi ofn ar y adar i gyd
I hope that the scarecrow will scare all the birds
Ar fy ngholled
Ar dy golled
Ar ei golled
Ar ei cholled
Ar ein colled
Ar eich colled
Ar eu colled
Worse off / losing outByddwn ni ar ein colled o ganlyniad i’r toriadau newydd
We’ll be worse off as a result of the new cut-backs
Cyn bo hirBefore long / soonByddwn ni’n dod i ymweld â chi cyn bo hir
We’ll be coming to visit you before long
Crynu yn ei ‘sgidiauShaking in one’s bootsRo’n i’n crynu yn fy ‘sgidiau o weld y ddamwain
I was shaking in my boots from seeing the accident
Dal atiTo keep at itEr mwyn llwyddo, bydd yn rhaid i chi ddal ati!
In order to succeed, you’ll have to keep at it!
Mae'n dda gan (rywun) / gyda (rhywun)(Someone’s) gladMae’n dda gyda fi gwrdd â chi
I’m pleased to meet you
Ddim hanner callNot all there / daftDwyt ti ddim hanner call os byddi di’n credu hynny!
You're not all there if you believe that!
Dro ar ôl troTime after timeByddwn ni’n mynd yn ôl i’r un gwesty dro ar ôl tro
We go back to the same hotel time after time
O ddrwg i waethFrom bad to worseAeth y sefyllfa o ddrwg i waeth ar ôl i chi gyrraedd!
The situation went from bad to worse after you arrived!
Dysgu ar gofTo learn off by heart / by roteYn yr hen ddyddiau byddai pobl yn dysgu cerddi ar gof
In the old days people would learn poems by heart
Dweud y drefn wrth (rywun)To tell (someone) offDylet ti ddweud y drefn wrth y plant swnllyd ‘na!
You should tell those noisy children off!
Gair am airWord for wordRwy’n gallu adrodd llawer o gerddi hyfryd, gair am air
I can recite many lovely poems, word for word.
Gorau po gyntaSooner the better‘Gorau po gynta yr ei di at y deintydd’ meddai Dad
‘The sooner the better you go to the dentist’ said Dad
I’w weldTo be seenDoedd dim byd i’w weld yn unman
There was nothing to be seen anywhere
Gwell hwyr na hwyrachBetter late than neverPan gyrhaeddodd e’r cyfarfod o’r diwedd, ‘Gwell hwyr na hwyrach’ oedd unig sylw’r cadeirydd
When he arrived at the meeting at last, ‘Better late than never,’ was the chairperson’s only comment
Gwenu o glust i glustSmiling from ear to earYn ystod y parti roedd hi’n gwenu o glust i glust
During the party she was smiling from ear to ear
Gwneud ei orau glasTo do one’s very bestDyn ni wastad wedi gwneud ein gorau glas yn yr arholiadau
We’ve always done our very best in the exams
Gwneud y troTo make do / To do the trickBydd y matras ‘na’n gwneud y tro nes i fi brynu gwely newydd
That matress will do the trick until I buy a new bed
Mae’n hen brydIt's about time / high timeMae’n hen bryd i ni fynd ar wyliau
It’s about time we went on holiday
Mae hi ar ben ar (rywun)It’s all over for (someone)Roedd hi ar ben arno fe pan gyrhaeddodd mor hwyr
It was all over for him when he arrived so late
Mae hi wedi canu ar (rywun)It’s all over for (someone)Roedd hi wedi canu ar Y Gweilch yn dilyn ail gais Y Sgarlets
It was all over for the Ospreys following the second try for the Scarlets
Mae hiraeth ar (rywun) am (rywbeth)(Someone) is longing for / yearning for / nostalgic about (something)Roedd hiraeth arna i am yr hen ddyddiau ysgol
I was nostalgic abut the old school days
Man a manMight as wellAr ôl dydd caled o waith, man a man i ti fynd i’r dafarn
Arfer a hard day of wrk, you might as well go to the pub
O'r golwgOut of sightAeth yr arwyr ifainc o’r golwg dros y ffosydd
The young heroes went out of sight over the trenches
Pwyso a mesurTo weigh up / consider carefullyBydd arnoch chi angen pwyso a mesur yr holl syniadau’n ofalus
You’ll need to weigh up all the ideas carefully
Rhag ofnIn caseDyma i chi gwmpawd rhag ofn i chi fynd ar goll
Here’s a compass in case you get lost
Rhoi'r gorau iTo give it upByddai’n well i ti roi’r gorau i ‘smygu, ‘achan!
You’d better give up smoking, mate!
Teg edrych tuag adrefIt's good to look homewards
Uchel ei glochLoud-mouthed / loudJiw, Jiw, roedd y gyrrwr tacsi ‘na yn uchel ei gloch, on’d oedd e?
Good grief, that taxi driver was loud-mouthed, wasn’t he?
Unwaith ac am bythOnce and for allRhaid i ni gael gwared ar y bysen saethwr unwaith ac am byth!
We’ve got to get rid of the knotweed once and for all!
Wrth ei fodd oDelighted / in one’s element aboutRo’ch chi wrth eich bodd o glywed y newyddion da
You were delighted to hear the good news
Yn awr ac yn y manEvery now and thenByddan nhw’n mynd i’r Alban yn awr ac yn y man
They go to Scotland every now and then
Yma ac acwHere and thereRoedd llestri brwnt wedi’u gadael yma ac acw ar y byrddau i gyd
Dirty dishes had been left here and there on all the tables


Mwy o Idiomataidd Cyffredin / More Common Idioms

Ymadrodd / PhraseDehongliad / InterpretationMewn cyd-destun / In context
A barnu wrthJudging byA barnu wrth ei wyneb, mae hi wrth hi bodd
Judging by her face, she’s delighted
Cael a chaelTo have a close shavePasiais i’r arholiad, ond cael a chael oedd hi
I passed the exam, but it was a close shave
Cael siom ar yr ochr orauTo be pleasantly surprisedCefais i siom ar yr ochr gorau o weld y sioe
I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the show
Cadw (o) hyd fraichTo keep at arm’s lengthMae e’n cadw ei frawd o hyd braich
He keeps his brother at arm's length
Cilio i’r cefndirTo take a back seatAr ôl iddi ymddeol ciliodd hi i’r cefndir unwaith eto
After she retired she took a back seat once again
Codi awydd arno fe
Codi awydd arni hi
To make one want to do somethingRoedd y gwynt hyfryd yn codi awydd arna i i flasu’r gacen
The lovely smell made me want to taste the cake
O’r cychwyn cyntafFrom the very beginningRydych chi wedi bod yn anobeithiol o’r cychwyn cyntaf!
You’ve been hopeless since the very beginning!
Fel cynffon buwchLater than everyone elseByddi di wastad yn cyrraedd fel cynffon buwch!
You always arrive later than everyone else!
Dianc â chroen cyfanTo escape unscathedRoedd e mewn damwain ond dihangodd â chroen cyfan
He was in an accident but escaped unscathed
Fel mae’n digwydd As it happensDw i ddim yn gweithio ar hyn o bryd, fel mae’n digwydd
I’m not working at the moment, as it happens
Dod trwyddi To see it throughMae’r cwrs yn anodd iawn ond bydda i’n dod trwyddi
The course is very hard but I’ll see it through
Dros ei grogi
Dros ei chrogi
For the sake of his hanging / For all the world / For all the tea in ChinaFyddwn i ddim yn dod gyda chi dros fy nghrogi
I wouldn’t go with you for all the world
Dweud arno fe
Dweud arni hi
To have a bad effect on oneBydd y diffyg awyr iach yn dweud arnyn nhw
The lack of fresh air will have a bad effect on them
Mae e’n falch o
Mae hi’n falch o
He’s pleased to / She’s pleased toByddem ni’n falch o ddod i’r parti
We would be pleased to come to the party
Gallu dweud ar ei lygaid
Gallu dweud ar ei llygaid
To tell from one’s eyesRo’n i’n gallu dweud ar eu llygaid eu bod yn drist
I could tell from their eyes they were sad
Golchi ei ddwylo â
Golchi ei dwylo â
To wash one’s hands ofDylwn i olchi fy nwylo â’r holl gynllun
I should wash my hands of the whole plan
Lawn gymaint âQuite as much asDw i ddim yn ‘smygu bellach lawn gymaint ag o’r blaen
I don’t smoke now quite as much as before
Pwy a ŵyrWho knows / You never knowPwy a ŵyr, efallai y bydd hi yno
You never know, perhaps she’ll be there
‘Does rhyfedd ei fod e
‘Does rhyfedd ei bod hi
No wonder one isDoes rhyfedd ein bod ni’n hwyr bob amser!
No wonder we’re late all the time!
Traed o briddFeet of clayMae hi’n ffroenuchel ond mae ganddi hi draed o bridd
She’s stuck up but she has feet of clay
Tynnu blewyn o’i drwyn
Tynnu blewyn o’i thrwyn
To take the wind out of one’s sails / To deflateBydd colli’r swydd yn tynnu blewyn o’i drwyn!
Losing the job will take the wind out of his sails!
(Yn) ôl ei draed
(Yn) ôl ei thraed
In one’s footstepsMae fy chwaer eisiau dilyn yn ôl fy nhraed
My sister wants to follow in my footsteps
Y tu ôl i’w gefn
Y tu ôl i’w chefn
Behind one’s backMae dy ffrind di’n hela clecs y tu ôl i’th gefn
Your friend is gossiping behing your back
O’i wirfodd e
O’i gwifodd hi
Of one’s own accordBydd yn rhaid i chi astudio o’ch gwirfodd
You’ll have to study of your own accord

Priod-ddulliau Mwy Cymhleth a Diarhebion / More Complex Idioms and Proverbs

Mae diarhebion yn debyg i idiomau (neu briod-ddulliau) - dywediad byrion, adnabyddus ydyn nhw, yn cyflwyno doethineb mewn ffordd gwta, gofiadwy. Isod mae rhestr o briod-ddulliau a diarhebion mwy cymhleth, yr ystyron llythrennol a sawl nodyn ar sut maen nhw’n cael eu defnyddio.

Proverbs are similar to idioms - namely short, well-known sayings, conveying wisdom in a curt, memorable way. Below is a list of more complex idioms and proverbs, the literal meanings and with some notes on how they are used.

Am Bobl / About People

Ymadrodd / PhraseYstyr llythrennol / Literal meaningDehongliad / Interpretation
(Mae e’n) angel pen ffordd, diawl pen tân(He is) an angel on the road, a devil at the fireplaceHe is two-faced / He is charming to outsiders, horrid when you know them
Anodd tynnu cast o hen geffylIt is difficult to cure an old horse of a bad habitYou can’t teach an old dog new tricks
Roedd hi’n berwi fel cawl pysShe was boiling like pea soupShe was chattering / talking incessantly
Mae e’n cadw draenog yn ei boced
Mae hi’n cadw draenog yn ei phoced
He / she keeps a hedgehog in his pocketHe’s / she’s tight with money
Gellir diddanheddu’r blaidd ond ni ellir ei ddinaturioThe wolf’s teeth can be removed but his nature can’t be changedA leopard never changes his spots
Ddim yn werth cnec mochyn (pumswllt)Not worse than a sheep’s fart / Completely worthless / uselessDyw ei frawd e ddim yn werth cnec mochyn
His brother’s completely worthless
A ddwg ŵy a ddwg fwyHe who steals an egg will steal moreOne thing leads to another
Mae ganddo fe ddwylo blewog
Mae ganddi hi ddwylo blewog
He has ‘sticky fingers’
She has ‘sticky fingers’
Mae gan y plant y drws nesa’ i ni ddwylo blewog, a bydd pethau’n diflannu bob tro o’r ardd!
The children next door to us have sticky fingers and things are always disappearing from the garden!
Mae e ar gefn ei geffyl gwyn
Mae hi ar gefn ei cheffyl gwyn
He / she is on the back of his / her white horseHe / she is full of mischief
Mae e ar gefn ei geffyl
Mae hi ar gefn ei cheffyl
He / she is on the back of his / her horseHe / she is exultant / proud / on his / her high horse
Mae e ar gefn ei geffyl cwta
Mae hi ar gefn ei cheffyl cwta
He / she is on the back of his / her short horseHe / she is in a temper
Mae e fel marchog ar geffyl
Mae e fel marchog ar farch gwyn
He is like a knight on horseback
He is like a knight on a white steed
He is like a knight in shining armour
Mae hi’n dawnsio ar y dibynShe is dancing on the cliff edgeShe’s playing with fire
Dyw’r dau dîm ddim yn yr un caeThe two teams are not on the same field/pitchThe two teams are not in the same league
Mae’n draed moch arnaf fiIt’s pigs’ feet on meI’ve made a mess / in a mess
A ddywedo leiaf, hwnnw yw’r callafWho speaks the least, he is the wisestEmpty vessels make the most sound
Mae e’n gwybod hyd ei gyrn
Mae hi’n gwybod hyd ei chyrn
He / she knows the length of his / her hornsHe / she knows his own strengths and weaknesses
Heb ei fai, heb ei eniHe who is blameless has not been bornNo-one is without fault
Mae e’n lladd gwairHe’s mowing hayHe’s killing time
Mi rown fy mhen i’w dorri (Gogledd)
Fe rown fy mhen i’w dorri (De Cymru)
I’ll give my head to be brokenI’m absolutely certain
'Tin du!’, meddai’r frân wrth yr wylan'Black arse!’, says the crow to the seagullThe pot calls the kettle black
A ŵyr leiaf, a ddywed fwyafHe who knows least, says mostEmpty vessels make the most sound


Niferoedd / Numbers

Ymadrodd / PhraseDehongliad / InterpretationMewn cyd-destun / In context
Ateb yn unairTo answer unanimouslyAtebodd yr holl bobl yn unair gan weiddi ar y gwleidydd
All the people answered unanimously, shouting at the politician
Mae mwy nag un ffordd i gael Wil i’w welyThere’s more than one way to get Wil to his bed / There’s more than one way to do somethingMae’n flin ‘da fi nad yw dy gynllun i ennill mwy o arian wedi llwyddo, ond, ceda di fi, mae mwy nag un ffordd i gael Wil i’w wely
I’m sorry that your plan to earn more money hasn’t succeeded, but, believe you me, there’s more than one way to do it.
Dan unAt the same time / togetherBydd yn llawer gwell os byddan ni oll yn mynd i weld y rheolwr dan un
It will be a lot better if we all go to see the manager at the same time
Rhedeg am y cyntafTo run for first-place / To raceGallwn ni redeg am y gynta’ i’r siopiau
We can race to the shops
Fel ci â dau gynffonLike a dog with two tails / Extremely pleasedRoedd Siôn fel ci â dau gynffon ar ôl ennill y gêm
Siôn was extremely pleased after winning the game
Ddwywaith gymaintTwice as muchFydda i ddim yn llwyddo hyd yn oed os bydda i’n astudio ddwywaith gymaint â hi
I won’t succeed even if I study twice as much as her
DauddyblygTwo-fold / As much againRoedd gan fy Mam doniau dauddyblyg: fel athrawes ac fel awdur
My Mother had two-fold talents: as a teacher and as an author
DeufisolBi-monthlyBydd y cyfarfod deufisol yn digwydd unwaith bob yn ail fis
The bi-monthly meeting takes place once every two months
Di-ail
Heb ei ail
Heb ei hail
Second to noneMae’r siop newydd yn y dre’ heb ei hail
The new shop in town’s second to none
'Does dim dwywaith amdaniThere’s no two ways about it / It’s absolutely certain‘Sdim dwywaith amdani, bydd yn rhaid i ni symud tŷ flwyddyn nesa’
There’s no two ways about it, we’ll have to move house next year
Tri chynnig i Gymro‘Three tries for a Welshman’Mae rhai’n credu y bydd Cymro neu Gymres yn llwyddo o gael tri chyfle i gyflawni tasg, a dyna pam y dywedir ‘Tri chynnig i Gymro’
Some people believe that a Welshman or Welshwoman will succeed after having three tries at completing a task, and that’s why they say ‘Three tries for a Welshman’
Tri chysur henaint: tân, tê, a thybacoThe three comforts of old age: fire, tea, and baccyWel, falle taw tri chysur henaint yw tân, tê, a thybaco, ond dylai rhywun fod wedi rhybuddio Tad-cu cyn iddo danio’r tŷ gyda’i getyn ac wedyn trio diffodd y fflamiau gyda disgled o dê!
Well, perhaps the three comforts of old age are fire, tea, and baccy, but someone should have warned Grand-pa before he set the house on fire with his pipe and then tried to put out the flames with a cup of tea!
Unwaith yn y pedwar amserOnce in the four times / Once in a blue moonDim ond unwaith yn y pedwar amser byddan nhw’n mynd i ymweld â ni
It’s only once in a blue moon they come to visit us
Mae e ar ei bedwar
Mae hi ar ei phedwar
He’s on all fours
She’s on all fours
Aethon ni ar ein pedwar er mwyn mynd trwy’r twnnel
We went on all fours to go through the tunnel
Estyn ei bump
Estyn ei phump
To extend his hand
To extend her hand
Peidiwch ag estyn eich pump os byddwch yn cwrdd â’r cwîn!
Don’t extend your hand if you meet the queen!
Rhoi ei bump ar
Rhoi ei phump ar
To nab / grab / pinchDych chi wedi rhoi’ch pump ar fy mrechdan i?
Have you pinched my sandwich?
Yn y seithfed nefIn seventh heavenBydda i yn y seithfed nef pan fydda i wedi gorffen y gwaith
I’ll be in seventh heaven when I’ve finished the work
Yr hoelion wythThe eight nails / Pillars of the communityUn o’r hoelion wyth rownd ffor’ma yw Jones y Cigydd
Jones the Butcher is one of the pillars of the community round here
Ar y nawOn the nine / awfully / terriblyRoedd yr arholiad yn anodd ar y naw
The exam was terribly difficult
Saith gwaeth / Naw gwaethSeven times worse / Nine times worse / Much worseRoedd ei phroblemau naw gwaeth ar ôl iddi golli ei swydd
Her problems were much worse after she lost her job
ArddegauTeenage yearsYr arddegau yw’r cyfnod rhwng un deg un ac un deg naw oed
The teens is the period between eleven and nineteen years old
Siarad pymtheg i'r dwsin
Siarad deunaw i'r dwsin
To talk nineteen to the dozenMae e wastad yn siarad pymtheg i'r dwsin
He always talks nineteen to the dozen
Taro deuddegTo hit the nail on the headMae’r adrodd gan y pennaeth wedi taro deuddeg o ran problemau’r ysgol
The report by the headteacher has hit the nail on the head with respect to the school's problems
Hanner cant namyn unForty-nineUn llai na phum deg yw hanner cant namyn un
Forty-nine is one less than fifty
Rhif y gwlithNumbered like the dew-drops / InnumerableCafodd milwyr rif y gwlith eu lladd ym Mrwydr y Somme
Innumerable soldiers were killed in the Battle of the Somme


Am Bethau / About Things

Ymadrodd / PhraseYstyr llythrennol / Literal meaningDehongliad / Interpretation
Allwedd arian a egyr pob cloMoney is the key that opens all locksMoney’s the answer to everything
Bwlch yr aiff ceffyl a throl drwyddo yw hwnThis is a gap a horse and cart will go throughThis is a huge gaping hole
Y mae dau du i bob tudalenThere are two sides to every pageThere’s two sides to every story
A elo yn hwch i Rydychen, yn hwch y daw yn ôlA sow that goes to Oxford will still be a sow when she returnsYou can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear
Mae’r esgid yn gwasguThe shoe is squeezingMoney is tight
Gŵr dieithr yw yforyTomorrow is a strangerTomorrow’s another day
Dyna’r drwg yn y cawsThat’s the badness in the cheeseThat’s the fly in the ointment
Gwell fy mwthyn fy hun na phlas arallBetter my own cottage than the palace of anotherThere’s no place like home
Aeth y newydd ar gyrn a phibauThere news spreads on horns and pipesThere news spread like wildfire
Segurdod yw clod y cleddA sword’s credit is its idlenessPower is best when it’s not used


Am Wneud Pethau / About Doing Things

Ymadrodd / PhraseYstyr llythrennol / Literal meaningDehongliad / Interpretation
Cam dros y trothwy, hanner y daithA step over the threshold is half the journeyEvery journey begins with a single step
Can di bennill mwyn i’th nain, fe gân dy nain i tithauSing your grandma a sweet song and your gran shall sing for youI’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine
Canu cyn borefwyd, crïo cyn swperTo sing before breakfast is to weep before supperDon’t count your chickens before they’re hatched
Paid â chodi pais ar ôl piso (informal)
Peidiwch â chodi pais ar ôl piso (formal)
Don’t raise your petticoat after peeingDon’t cry over spilt milk
Y cyntaf i’r felin caiff faluThe first to the mill will get to grindFirst come, first served / The early bird catches the worm
Deuparth gwaith ei ddechrauTwo-thirds of a job is starting itOnce begun a job’s soon done
Ennyn cannwyll i chwilio am haul canoldyddTo light a candle to search for the mid-day sunTo go on a fools’ errand
Gwna dda dros ddrwg, uffern ni’th ddwgRepay evil with good, and hell will not claim you
Roedd e’n cerdded yn ling-di-longHe was loitering / walking casuallyHe was dilly-dallying / shilly-shallying
Dianc rhag y mwg a syrthio i’r tânTo escape from the smoke and fall into the fireTo jump from the frying-pan into the fire
Dyfal donc a dyr y garregConstant tapping breaks the stoneSlow and steady wins the day
Dw i eisiau rhoi’r ffidil yn y toI want to put the fiddle in the roofI want to throw in the towel / give up
Gorau cam, cam cyntafThe best step, the first stepEvery journey begins with a single step
Gorau prinder, prinder geiriauThe best economy, economy of wordsLeast said soonest mended
Gochel y pechod cyntaf, canys y mae lleng yn dynn wrth ei sawdlBeware of the first sin, for there is a legion hard on its heelsBad leads to worse
Hawdd dywedyd ‘mynydd’ na myned drostoIt is easier to say ‘mountain’ than to go over itIt’s easier said than done
Hawdd dweud na ‘neudIt’s easier said than done
Hir y byddir yn cnoi tamaid chwerwA bitter morsel will be chewed for a long timeSin in haste, repent at leisure
Pan fo llawer yn llywio fe sudda’r llongWhen the steersmen are many the ship will sinkToo many cooks spoil the broth
Prynu cath mewn cwdTo buy a cat in a bagTo buy a pig in a poke
Mae rhywbeth ar y gweillThere’s something on the (knitting) needlesThere’s something in progress / ‘up’
Na sang ar droed ci chwerwDo not trample on an angry dog’s pawLet sleeping dogs lie
Troi’r gath yn y badellTo turn the cat in the panTo change the subject


Mwy Priod-ddulliau Cymhleth a Diarhebion / More Complex Idioms and Proverbs

Ymadrodd / PhraseYstyr llythrennol / Literal meaningDehongliad / Interpretation
Adar o'r unlliw (a) hedant i'r unlleBirds of the same colour fly to the same placeBirds of a feather flock together
Adfyd a ddaw â dysg yn ei lawSweet are the uses of adversityAdversity brings learning in its hand
Adfyd ddwg wybodaeth, gwybodaeth ddoethinebAdversity bears knowledge, and knowledge wisdomHardship is a good teacher
Araf deg mae mynd ymhell / Yn ara’ deg mae dal iârBy going slowly one goes farSlow and steady wins the race
Nid aur (yw) popeth melynEverything yellow is not goldAll that glitters is not gold
Benthyg dros dro popeth yn y byd hwnNothing’s permanentA temporary borrowing is everything in this world
Mwyaf y brys, mwyaf y rhwystrThe greater the hurry, the greater the hindranceMore haste less speed
Cartref yw cartref er tloted y boThere’s no place like home
Ceffyl da yw ewyllysDetermination is a good horse
O geiniog i geiniog yr â’r arian yn buntFrom penny to penny the money becomes a poundLook after the pennies and the pounds look after themselves
Mae chwarae’n troi’n chwerw wrth chwarae gyda thânPlaying turns bitter when you play with firePlay with fire and you’ll get burned
Chwery mab noeth, ni chwery mab newynogA naked boy will play, but a starving boy will not play
Ci yn udo noson ole, newydd ddrwg ddaw yn y boreA baying dog on a moonlit night, bad news comes in the morningA portent of doom
Wrth gicio a brathu mae cariad yn maguKicking and biting, love grows up
Cynt cwymp dâr na miarenSooner an oak falls than a briarHome is home despite how poor it may be
Mae dafan ddu ym mhob praiddThere is a bad sheep in evey flockThere’s a bad apple in evey barrel
Derfydd dannedd merch yn gynt na’i thafodA girl’s teeth wear out sooner than her tongue
Diwedd y gân yw’r geiniogThe end of the song is the pennyTo sing for your supper
Dywed yn dda am dy gyfaill, am dy gelyn dywed ddimSpeak well of your friend and about your enemy say nothing
Mae’r euog yn ffoi heb neb yn ei erlidThe guilty flee when no one chases himThe guilty flee their own shadows
Gall pechod mawr ddyfod trwy ddrws bychanA big sin can come in through a tiny doorOne thing leads to another / It’s a slippery slope
Gormod o bwdin a dagith giToo much pudding chokes a dogTo have too much of a good thing
Gwell bachgen call nab renin ffôlBetter a wise boy than a foolish king
Gwyn y gwêl y frân ei chywThe crow sees her chick as whiteTo have a biased opinion of someone
Gŵr heb bwyll, llong heb angorA man without sense is a ship without an anchor
Yr hen a ŵyr a’r / yr ifanc a dybiaThe old know and the young suspectRespect the wisdom of your elders
Llon llygod lle ni bo cathMerry mice where there's no catWhen the cat's away, the mice play
Yr oen yn dysgu’r ddafad i boriThe lamb teaches the ewe to graze
Mewn pob daioni mae gwobrIn every goodness there’s a prizeGoodness is its own reward
Rhaid cropian cyn cerddedOne must crawl before walkingLearn to walk before you can run
Taro’r post i’r pared gael clywedTo hit the post so that the wall hears


Am ragor o wybodaeth, gweler / For more information, see:

Geiriadur Idiomau- A Dictionary of Welsh and English Idiomatic Phrases

A R Cownie (2001) Geiriadur Idiomau (A Dictionary of Welsh and English Idiomatic Phrases). Cardiff UK: University of Wales Press

A Little Book of Welsh Proverbs

T Jones ac B Fitzgerald (1996) A Little Book of Welsh Proverbs (Welsh and English). Belfast UK: Appletree Press


Diarhebion Hynafol / Ancient Proverbs

Ceir y diarhebion hynafol, canlynol ar y blog diddorol iawn o'r enw Sedulia's Quotations lle mae'r awdur wedi'u casglu nhw o sawl hen ffynhonnell. Yma, rydym ni wedi diweddaru'r sillafu ychydig, trwy, er enghraifft, droi 'fyno' yn 'fynno', heb newid ystyr yr ymadrodd. Rydym hefyd wedi darparu cyfieithiadau sydd ychydig mwy llythrennol i lawer o'r diarhebion, a rhoi ystyron lle roedd angen.

Mae'n ymddangos bod 'arwyddeiriau' hen deuluoedd yw llawr o'r rhain, ac felly ni fydd pobl yn eu defnyddio ym mywyd pob dydd heddi' fel rheol. Rydym yn eu rhannu nhw yma i ddangos sut y defnyddir iaith eitha' hynafol yn cynnwys ffurfiau ffurfiol a llenyddol iawn - ni fydd yn rhaid i ddysgwyr eu dysgu na'u defnyddio ar lafar!

The following ancient proverbs are found on the very interesting blog called Sedulia's Quotations where the author has collected them from several old sources. Here, we have updated the spelling a little, by, for example, turning 'fyno' into 'fynno', without changing the meaning of the phrase. We have also provided translations which as a little more literal for many of the proverbs, and given meanings where needed.

It appears that many of these are the 'mottoes' of old families, and so people don't use them in everyday life today as a rule. We are sharing them here to show how quite archaic language, containing very formal and literary forms, is used - there's no need for learners to learn or use them in speech.

A ddarleno ystyriedLet him who reads reflect
A ddialo air hagr rhoed ateb tegHe who would revenge a harsh word let him give a gentle reply
A ddwg angau nid adferWhat death takes it will not restore
A ddywedo pob un gwir ywWhat everyone says is true
A elwir yn gall a gais fod yn gallHe who is called wise will seek to be wise
A fo gâr iddo ei hun a gaiff pob un arall yn gâr iddoHe who is his own friend will have everyone else as his friend
A fo ysgafn galon ef a gânThe light-hearted will sing
A fynno barhau yn hir yn ieuanc aed yn ebrwydd yn henHe who wishes to stay young for a long time let him soon become old
A fynno barch bid gadarnHe who desires respect let him be strong
A fynno Duw derfidWhat God wills let it be done
A fynno ei fodd porthed amyneddWho desires to be satisfied let him feed patience
A fynno wrando bid gymarHe who would listens let him be a companion
A fynno iechyd bid lawenHe who desires health let him be cheerful
A gano yn ei wely, a gria cyn cysguHe who sings in his bed shall cry before sleeping
He who wishes his neighbour ill, shall come to ill himself
A gerir neu caseir a welir o bellHe who is loved or hated is seen from afar
A ystyrio gwnaedHe who considers: let him act
Mae adfail dedwydd yn ddiddosA joyful ruin is snug
Adfyd a bair i rai edrych o'u deutuAdversity causes some to look around them
Adfyd a ddaw â dysg yn ei lawAdversity brings instruction in its hand
Adfyd a phall a wna ddyn yn gallAdversity and failure make a man wise
Addawa y môr a'r mynyddHe promises the sea and the mountain
Addef yw tewiTo be silent is to confess
Ail natur yw greddf arferiadPractised instinct is second nature
Allan o olwg allan o feddwlOut of sight out of mind
Am y tywydd gorau tewiIt is best to be silent about the weather
Aml fai lle nis cerirMany are the faults where there is no-one loving
Amlwg cas a chariadHatred and love are conspicuous
Amod a dyr ddefodAn agreement will break a custom
Anaml lles o rodio'r nosSeldom is there benefit in wandering at night
Angen a dyr ddeddfNeed will break a law
Angwanegiad mefl mawrairAugmentation is the shame of boasting
Ar ddiwedd y mae barnuAt the end there is judging
A'r ni roddo na charu ni chaiff a ddymunoHe who neither gives nor loves shall not have what he desires
Arf glew yn ei galonThe weapon of the brave is in his heart
Arglwydd gwan, gwae ei wasWoe to the servant of a feeble lord
Asgre lân, diogel ei pherchenSafe is the owner of a pure heart
Ateb araf gan ddysgedigA slow answer from a wise man
Blwyddyn o eira, blwyddyn o lawndraYear of snow, year of plenty
Bo tynnaf y llinyn cyntaf y tyrThe tighter the string the sooner it will break
Bum gall unwaith, hynny oedd llefain pan y’m ganedI was wise once, that was crying when I was born
Byr ei hun, hir ei hoedlShort his sleep, long his life
Doeth pawb tra tawantAll are wise while they are silent
Hir nych yr angauLong is the languor of death
Ni chaiff chwedl nid êl o’i dŷHe gets no news who goes not from his house
Ni ŵyr neb lai na’r hwn a ŵyr y cyfanNo one knows less than he who knows all
Nid hawdd gwybod y cyfanIt is not easy to know everything
Pob hir nychdod hir angauEvery long pining is a long death
Plant gwirionedd yw hen ddiarhebionOld proverbs are the children of truth
Rhydd barn i bawbOpinion is free to all
Y doeth ni ddywed a ŵyrThe wise man does not say what he knows

 

Llwytho i Lawr fel PDF

 


Enwau Cymraeg- Tarddiad ac Ystyr

Wales Around the World

Wales Around The World: A Collection of Societies and Groups

Welsh people and Welsh speakers have relocated all over the world, and in North America there is a very strong interest in Welsh life by those with ancestry. However it can be difficult to find what provision there is, so here Michelle Fecio and Neil Rowlands present a non-comprehensive list, organised by continent and with, where existing, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Items with a bilingual name, often including Cymdeithas (society), indicate that there is some Welsh-language provision or speakers in the group.

Mae Cymry Cymreig, a rhai Cymraeg eu hiaith, wedi adleoli i bedwar ban byd, ac yn Ne America mae gan bobl a'u teulu'n hanu o Gymru ddiddordeb cryf iawn mewn bywyd Cymreig a Chymraeg. Fodd bynnag mae'n gallu bod yn anodd darganfod beth sy ar gael, ac felly yma mae Michelle Fecio a Neil Rowlands yn cyflawni rhestr o'r fath bethau, er nad un sy'n cynnwys popeth. Mae wedi'i threfnu yn ôl cyfandir, a lle maen nhw'n bodoli, mae manylion ar gyfer cyfrifon Weplyfr a Thrydar hefyd. Os bydd i'r grŵp enw dwyieithog, yn aml un yn cynnwys 'Cymdeithas', wedyn dyna'n dangos mai yn y grŵp ddarpariaeth o ran y Gymraeg, neu fod rhai pobl sy'n siarad Cymraeg yn cymryd rhan.

 Would you like to add a society? Hoffech chi ychwanegu cymdeithas? Email us!

For other groups and indivduals, take a look at the Say Something in Welsh forum, expat.com or the international offices of the Welsh Government.

Bord Cynnwys / Table of Contents

Cymru / Wales

I gael trosolwg cynhwysfawr o'r ddarpariaeth Gymraeg yng Nghymru, ewch i Map o Lefydd i Siarad Cymraeg.
For a comprehensive overview of Welsh-language provision within Wales, go to Map of Places to Speak Welsh.


Lloegr ac yr Alban / England and Scotland

London contains the only Welsh-language centre outside of Wales, the ever-popular London Welsh Centre in Kings Cross, plus a Welsh-language school. The main groups outside of that are Liverpool Welsh, as Liverpool has been a 'capital in exile' for North Wales, plus the Derby Welsh Learners Circle has a thriving community.

Parallel.cymru: Jonathan Simcock: Dysgu a defnyddio Cymraeg yn Derby / Learning and using Welsh in Derby

Society name
City
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Birmingham Welsh Society

Birmingham

Bournemouth and District Welsh Society

Bournemouth, Dorset

Bradford Welsh Society

Bradford, West Yorkshire

Chelmsford and District Welsh Society

Chelsmford, Essex

Coventry Cambrian Society

Coventry, West Midlands

Derby Welsh Learners Circle

Derby, Midlands

Edinburgh Welsh Society

Edinburgh, Scotland

Welsh Society of Hull and East Yorkshire

Hull, East Yorkshire

Liverpool Welsh

Liverpool

The Borough Welsh Congregational Chapel, London

Southark, London

London Welsh Centre

Kings Cross, London

London Welsh School / Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain

Greenford, London

Siop Shop Manchester- bakery

Manchester

Norwich Welsh Society

Norwich, East Anglia

Welsh Club Preston

Preston, Lancashire

Sheffield and District Cambrian Society

Shefflield, midlands

Society name
City / State
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Melbourne Welsh Church

Melbourne, Victoria

Welsh Society of Western Australia

Perth, Western Australia

Sydney Welsh Society / Cymdeithas Cymry Sydney

Sydney, New South Wales

Auckland Welsh Club

Auckland, New Zealand

The Welsh Dragon Bar

Wellington, New Zealand

New Zealand Welsh / Welsh Society of Wellington / Cymdeithas Cymreig Wellington

Wellington, New Zealand


Canada

 

Society name
Province / Territory
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Calgary Welsh Society

Alberta

St. David’s Society of Edmonton

Alberta

British Columbia-Victoria Welsh Society

British Columbia

Vancouver Welsh Society

British Columbia

Welsh Society of Manitoba / Cymdeithas Gymreig Manitoba

Manitoba

St. David’s Society of Toronto

Ontario

Ontario Welsh Festival

Ontario

Ottawa Welsh Society / Cymdeithas Cymry Ottawa

Ottawa


Ewrop / Europe

 

Society name
City / Country
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Welsh Society in Brussels and Belgium / Cymdeithas Gymreig Brwsel

Brussels, Belgium

Welsh Society in Ireland

Ireland

Paris Welsh Society

Paris, France


Y Dwyrain Canol & Asia / Middle East & Asia

 

Society name
City / Country
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Welsh Social Club of Dubai

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

St. David’s Society of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

St. David's Society Japan / Cymdeithas Dewi Sant Siapan

Tokyo and Kansai, Japan

St. David’s Welsh Society of Singapore

Singapore


Yr Wladfa (De America) / Patagonia (South America)

Of all the Wales-Patagonia connections, the best starting place is Cymdeithas Cymru-Ariannin; also Welsh-language tours are available through Welsh Patagonia.

Parallel.cymru: Jeremy Wood- Yr Iaith Gymraeg yn y Wladfa / The Welsh language in Patagonia
Parallel.cymru: Cerdiau Post o Ysgyl y Cwm / Postcards from Ysgol y Cwm

Society name
City / Country
Website
Facebook
Twitter

The Wales-Argentina Society / Cymdeithas Cymru-Ariannin / La Asociación Gales-Argentina

Patagonia & Wales

Capilla Seion

Esquel, Patagonia

Ysgol Gymraeg y Gaiman

Gaiman, Patagonia

Capilla Glan Alaw

Gaiman, Patagonia

The Landings Museum / Amgueddfa'r Glaniad / Museo del Desembarco

Puerto Madryn, Patagonia

Asociacion Galesa Puerto Madryn

Puerto Madryn, Patagonia

Asociacion San David

Trelew, Patagonia

Asociación Eisteddfod del Chubut

Trelew, Patagonia

Ysgol Yr Hendre

Trelew, Patagonia

Ysgol y Cwm

Trevelin, Patagonia

Society name
State
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Cymdeithas Madog, the Welsh Studies Institute in North America

Annual course

Welsh North American Association and North American Festival of Wales

Annual festival

NINNAU & Y Drych- the North American Welsh Newspaper

Newspaper

Alabama Welsh Association

Alabama

Welsh League of Arizona

Arizona

Welsh American Society of Northern California

California

Colorado Welsh Society

Colorado

Welsh Society of Western New England

Connecticut

Gulf Coast Welsh Society, Sarasota

Florida

St. David’s Welsh Society of St. Petersburg

Florida

St. David’s Welsh Society of Georgia

Georgia

Idaho Welsh Society

Idaho

Chicago Tafia

Illinois

Cambrian Benevolent Society of Chicago

Illinois

Iowa Welsh Society

Iowa

Boston Cymrodorion

Massachusetts

St. David’s Society of Minnesota

Minnesota

St. David’s Society of Utica, New York

New York

Welsh Congregation of New York / Eglwys y Cymry Efrog Newydd

New York

New York Welsh

New York

Welsh Society of Central Ohio

Ohio

Welsh Society of Oregon

Oregon

Delta Welsh Heritage

Pennsylvania

Welsh Society of Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

St. David’s Society of Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island Welsh Society

Rhode Island

Welsh Society of Fredericksburg

Virginia

Puget Sound Welsh Association

Washington

Washington DC Welsh

Washington DC

Welsh Society of Central Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

Poultney Area St. David’s Society

Vermont

Welsh Club of Milwaukee

Wisconsin

David Jandrell Grumpy Old Valleys Men

David Jandrell’s Monthly Column: Surprise, Surprise

Welcome to a monthly series of exclusive articles by Welsh Valleys Humour author David Jandrell.  In it he explores frustrations with modern life, all recounted through his unique humour and Valleys dialiect...

November 2019: Suprprise, Surprise

I’ll tell you what surprised me:

I found a credit card on the road the other day right outside the Dentist’s surgery. I thought: “I’ll pop it into the police station.”

So, I did. There was a retired guy who works on the reception desk and he came to greet me. I slipped the credit card through the gap between the counter and what I assume is a bulletproof screen and said;

“I just found this down by the Dentist’s surgery.”

He picked it up, looked at it and them shrugged his shoulders. He said:

“Strange.”
“Strange?”
“Yes, there isn’t a Halifax in town is there?”
“I’m not sure.”
“No, there isn’t. Anyway, why have you brought it in here?”
“Because it’s a police station.”
“Well, we don’t take in lost property.”
“Why not?”
“Dunno, just don’t.”
“I’ve handed things in here in the past.”
“You may have, but they don’t do it anymore.”
“That’s strange then – it seems to me that if you lose an item, the Police Station would be your first port of call. I mean, if I lost my wallet or something I’d be ringing the Police station to report it and to enquire if it had been handed in. That’s pretty standard isn’t it? I mean if I lost my wallet or something I wouldn’t think, ‘Oh, I lost my wallet, I think I’ll give the wallpaper shop a ring.’ Surely you get calls like that, you know, people reporting the loss of something?”
“Yeah, but we tell them that we don’t take lost property anymore.”

I said something like, ‘Very strange’ again as I was edging towards the door to get out quick before the guy made an attempt to thrust the credit card onto me. I was determined to leave it there. And I managed it. I was surprised though, it didn’t make any sense.

What surprised me even more was the last time I took something I’d found into the police station they were as helpful as helpful can be. Maybe even too helpful:

I had found a polythene sachet with a few hundred small pills in it. I showed it to one of the feral yoofs who hang around outside the chip shop and he told me it was ecstasy. He said he’d take them off my hands for £100. I declined his offer.

Later, I walked into the police station, plonked them on the counter and said to the constable on duty:

“I found these in Cwmcarn. I’ve been told they’re ecstasy.”
“Oh, right. Where did you find it?”
“On the bus stop..”
“Oh. There’s a lot in there. Worth a few bob I expect.”
“I guess about £100, well that’s what somebody offered me for them.”
“£100? Aye, and the rest. So why are you handing them in?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you could have flogged ‘em. You could have made a fortune.”
“That would make me a drug dealer wouldn’t it? I thought we were trying to stamp that out.”
“Er ….. oh aye, yes, er …. good point. I’ll just take your details. Name and address and all that.”
“Why would you need that?”
“There used to be, I’m not sure if we still do it, if you hand something in and it’s not claimed within a certain time you can keep it, 90 days somebody said but I’ll have to check. Someone found a ring in Lidl carpark and handed it in and asked about getting it back if it wasn’t claimed and I’d never heard of it before. I can ask if you can hang on for a bit.”
“You don’t think I want these back do you?”
“Oh, I see. Yeah, probably not. I’ll give these to our Drugs boys.”
“Ok. Thanks. Bye.”
“Bye now, and thanks for handing these in.”

You can see how I was surprised about the credit card thing now can’t you? I mean, the guy who dealt with me over the ecstasy tablets was so helpful. He even tried to give me advice on selling them to make a profit, and, took every step to let me have them back if some drug dealer didn’t come in to announce that they’d been lost and ask if they’d been handed in. That’s if that thing about finders can keep things that they’ve handed in that are not claimed. I’m not sure if that is true or if it’s an urban myth. He wasn’t either.

Something else surprised me when I was in the police station. I noticed that the wall was covered in pictures of ‘Wanted Men.’  What surprised me was they’d let them all go after they’d taken their photographs!

Something else that surprises me as well is the tactic that people use to counter the issue of people parking on their property without permission.

It surely is an imposition for a landowner to find a vehicle parked on their land and the last thing they’d want is for it to be there long term. Yes, they’d want to get the thing shifted as soon as possible. So, in order to aid the swift removal of the offending vehicle, they clamp it – meaning that it can’t be moved at all! I find that very surprising. I don’t get the logic there.

Something else that surprised me about clamping was the time my friend got clamped.

He is a metal worker and one day he got back to his car to find that it had been clamped. Quick as a flash he opened the boot and dragged two long rubber pipes with nozzles on the ends of each and utilising the oxy-acetylene bottles also contained in the boot, burnt the pesky clamp off his wheel. He left the smouldering heap of metal where his car had been with a business card and a note quoting them a price to weld the clamp back together again!

I was surprised by that to be honest. He left his details on a pile of metal which amounted to criminal damage and I expected that sooner or later he would have been visited by the clamp owners or the police. What was even more surprising, he wasn’t visited by anyone!

I was surprised a few months ago when I was on my way to the Spar to get some fags. The people I work with were all on these Vape things and were telling me how marvellous they were and how they hadn’t had a fag since they’ve been vaping. They mentioned that a vaping shop had just opened up a few shops down from the Spar.

Well, I was intrigued by these stories and as I was approaching the Spar I thought I may as well go the whole hog and go to the vaping shop and sort myself out with a vaper. And then! Just as I got to the vaping shop, I was surprised to spot the proprietor standing on the pavement outside his own shop – smoking a fag.

I was so surprised, in fact, that I turned on my heels and toddled back to the Spar where I was able to buy 20 Bensons.

I’ll tell you something else that surprised me. My mate did 28 days in HMP Cardiff for failure to pay ongoing fines regarding his initial refusal to pay for a TV licence.

It all hinged around the fact that we had a TV which he used purely to watch DVDs and as a monitor for the games that he has for his X-Station-Playbox thing. He never watched TV and in fact had no aerial or TV line in his house but the BBC people still nabbed him.

He did tell me the full story surrounding his argument and the TV licencing people’s argument about why he should or should not have a TV licence, but my eyes glazed over and my mind switched off about an hour into it so I never actually heard the full details – the outcome though, after several legal battles and mounting supplementary fines and unpaid legal costs, they sent him to prison – where he was able to watch TV for free, without a licence!

Something else that really surprised me was the content of a newspaper article that I read. My attention was drawn to the headline which said something like, “Headless Corpse Found.”

On reading the full article, it turned out that a headless corpse had been found amongst a load of discarded cardboard boxes at the rear of a London street market.

A senior policeman at the scene made a statement which inferred that they felt that the head had been removed in an attempt to conceal the identity of the victim. He went on to say that, at the moment, police were unable to establish the cause of death.

Now I’m not Hercule Poirot nor do I have any more than a novice’s understanding of human anatomy and physiology but I’m pretty sure that if a head and body are separated from each other, neither will survive. I was surprised that the senior police officer at the scene had ruled that scenario out as a possible cause of death before making his statement

I was surprised after reading another news article. This one concerns the Big Issue magazine and its distribution techniques. I believe that the rules that qualify people to be Big Issue sellers have been slackened a bit of late and you don’t have to be homeless in order to sell it any more. But, at the time that I read the article, they HAD to be – in fact, their spiel was pitched at tugging the heartstrings of the public by stating that if you bought a Big Issue you were helping a homeless person.

Anyway, I was attracted by the headline, “Big Issue seller charged with attempted murder!”

On reading the article, I was surprised to learn that the accused had attempted to murder his flatmate (!) for stealing 40 grand, in cash, from their flat.

I was surprised on two counts on this one. If he has a flatmate, then he must have a flat and if he has a flat, he isn’t homeless.

The other thing was, who the Hell has 40 grand, in cash, lying around the house? If I had 40 grand in cash in the house, I tell you what, I wouldn’t be hanging around bus stations in the ‘chucking-it-down’ with rain every day trying to scrape together the 10p profit they make on each magazine they sell. Absolutely not!

Forget the attempted murder charge – what about him selling the Big Issue and not being homeless eh? Let’s get things into perspective. I’m surprised that the police hadn’t addressed that before concentrating on the minor matter of attempted murder. Very surprised.

And while we’re on the topic of the Big Issue.

Years ago, I did this Open University course. It was dire. I hated it. But, I’d paid for it and I’d started it so I thought I may as well finish it.

One of the worst bits about the course was that I had to go to lectures in Cardiff on Saturday mornings. Yes, Saturday mornings! And, because I don’t drive, to get there on time I had to catch the 7am bus from Cwmcarn. Yes! 7am! On a Saturday morning!

Anyway, following one sad sojourn to the ‘dungeon of ennui’ that being, the lecture theatre that I used to frequent, I’m on the return journey – the 1pm out of Cardiff and bound for Cwmcarn.

I spotted a magazine on the back seat that a previous occupant had discarded, so, I picked it up and discovered that it was the latest copy of the Big Issue. I flicked through it and it contained a prize crossword that I decided to have a go at to break the journey up a bit.

I am very chuffed to say that I completed the crossword and I thought that I may as well send it off seeing as there was a prize involved. And I won! About a month later I was the proud recipient of a jiffy bag containing a Big Issue T-shirt to commemorate my winning of their crossword.

Soon after that, I received notification that I had passed the Open University course as well. Yay! And, soon after that I received a course feedback form from them – you know the type of thing. It’s where you write what an enjoyable course it was, loved every minute of it, fantastic course material, great lectures, my life hasn’t been the same since I did it, this has opened so many doors for me …… blah, blah, blah.

Well, I really couldn’t think of anything at all to write on the form because for me the course had been none of the standard things that you write on these types of forms.

So after thinking long and hard about it all and the whole experience I realised that if I hadn’t been doing that course, I wouldn’t have been on that bus, I wouldn’t have found that copy of the Big Issue, I wouldn’t have been able to do the crossword and I certainly wouldn’t be in possession of a Big Issue T-Shirt! It had all been down to the course.

So, I returned the form blank - apart from answering one question, which was;

“What do you think you have gained from doing this course?”

I put: “A Big Issue T-Shirt.”

And, do you know what surprised me? They didn’t query it.

Either they don’t read the feedback forms or they actually think that for this particular course instead of issuing certificates, the OU dish out Big Issue T-Shirts. I wonder which it is?

Something else surprised me after reading about the Battle of the Atlantic and the Sinking of the Bismarck.

The Bismarck was supposedly the most powerful battleship afloat at the time and was creating havoc amongst the British ships.

Apparently there was a chap flying a Fairey Swordfish - a biplane torpedo bomber and he spotted the Bismarck and dropped his torpedo. The torpedo headed towards the Bismarck, hit it and disabled its rudder which slowed it down enough for the British ships to catch up with it and eventually sink it.

The bit that surprised me, however, wasn’t until I watched the film, ‘The Dam Busters’.

It all revolved around destroying the dams holding back the reservoirs that were vital for the productions of the German weapons of mass destruction.

In order to do this, they got this chap called Barnes Wallace who spent months inventing a ‘bouncing bomb’ which works on the same principle that we used as kids when we used to skim flat stones across the local pond.

Anyway, Barnes Wallace finally invented the bouncing bomb and it worked! They destroyed the dams and severely hindered the German progress,

What surprised me was, why didn’t they just send a few Fairey Swordfishes in to do the job? I’m surprised they didn’t think of that. I bet Barnes Wallace did but kept schtum. Well, he got his film out of it didn’t he. Good luck to him I say.

And while we’re on the subject of planes,

I was interested to read that whenever a plane crashes, they hunt through the wreckage to find the ‘black box’. The black box is indestructible and it holds all the clues as to what caused the plane to crash. What surprises me is if the black box is indestructible, why don’t they make planes out of the same stuff that they make the black boxes out of? Answer me that, eh?

Something that surprised me the other day at the garden centre was the fact that I have an allotment full of dirt, and, my missus made me buy a great big bag of more dirt. As I plonked it into the boot of the car, I noticed that the packaging said that it was, ‘Multi-Purpose Compost’.

I’ve thought long and hard about that since and I can‘t think of anything else you can do with that apart from growing plants in! I was surprised that the suppliers were allowed to call it ‘Multi-Purpose’, because if you can only grow plants in it, it’s hardly multi-purpose in my view.

And while I’m on the subject of misleading packaging, I was surprised that those PG people are allowed to call their product, ‘Pyramid Teabags’ when they are quite clearly tetrahedrons! Not pyramids!

And what about Freddo chocolate bars? I was surprised after reading the wrapper on one of those. There’s a message which says,

“Have you been to Cadbury World? Ring this number.”

So I rang the number and asked if I’d been there because I didn’t know if I’d been taken there as a kid maybe and forgotten about it – and they didn’t know if I’d been there either!

I’ll tell you what surprised me was the time when I didn’t win a £100 prize in a Pangram contest.

You probably know the saying, ‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.‘ That’s a Pangram. They’re contrived sentences designed to contain all the letters in the English alphabet. This particular one has 35 letters.

Many people have tried to get as close to 26 letters as they can by designing even more contrived and nonsensical phrases the best so far is, ‘Jived fox nymph grabs quick waltz’, which contains 28 letters. Not bad but the sentence would never occur naturally in conversation so I don’t think it should be allowed.

Anyway, I entered a competition to make a sentence that contains all the letters in the alphabet and getting as near to 26 as possible.

My entry was, ‘BCEFGHJKLMPQUVXYZ isn’t a word’ for 26 letters, smack on. And, it didn’t win. What’s more, it makes sense, not like the pathetic, ‘Jived fox nymph grabs quick waltz’

So, I queried it and they said that they wouldn’t allow it because BCEFGHJKLMPQUVXYZ isn’t a word. Well I know that! That was what my entry said!

Yes, I was surprised by that – well the fact that I didn’t win AND their attitude afterwards!

Something else that surprised me was the fact that Isaac Newton was a nutter.

He believed in the ‘law of sevens’; the idea that the natural laws obeyed a numerical rule – that being, seven. In Newton’s time, there were seven known celestial bodies; the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

There were seven metals used in alchemy; Gold, Silver, Copper, Mercury, Lead, Tin and iron.  Seven notes in a musical scale (A-G) and so on, and so on, ad infinitum.

Newton’s problem started when he first split white light using a prism. Naturally, he expected to see seven colours. Instead, he saw six. And in reality, there are only six.

In order to comply to his ‘law of sevens’ philosophy, he decided to invent a ‘new’ colour which he  called ‘indigo` to make the numbers up. His indigo, ‘appeared’ between Blue and Violet.

Nowadays, scientists have acknowledged that indigo is merely a shade of violet (the true sixth and final colour of the rainbow). I bet that surprised you!

In 1973, Pink Floyd released an iconic album with an iconic cover – The Dark Side of the Moon. As an aside, I love the Floyd, but I hate Dark Side of the Moon. I think it’s the worst thing they ever did. I bet that will surprise a lot of people – but anyway, back to the story and the iconic cover.

The cover shows a beam of white light split by a prism into six colours! They got it right! Newton got it wrong, the Floyd got it right! What surprised me about all this is that Newton was knighted and made a Fellow of the Royal Society – and the Floyd got nothing! That really surprised me. Still surprises me.

I’ll tell you what surprised me is the invasive levels of Health and Safety that has slowly crept into our lives and have become so stringent that we are restricted in just about everything we are allowed to do. Health and Safety is an absolute minefield (don’t tell the H&S inspectors that, though), and its going to get worse.

Kids can’t play conkers in schools playgrounds any more.  Shopkeepers cannot inflate Balloons bought online with Helium for ‘Health and Safety’ reasons. They can inflate balloons bought in the shop, but not those bought online! Bridlington council banned the flying of kites on their beaches because, “kites were often propelled at high speeds … and are considered a risk in a beach setting.”

If you want to buy Christmas Crackers you have to provide ID - “it is a criminal offence to sell a product containing explosives to anyone under 16.”

I could go on, but I’m not going to as I can feel my blood pressure rising.

On the other hand it is still legal for disaffected feral ‘adults’ to buy fireworks over the counter. I think they call them Chavs. These are the sort of people who think it is acceptable to let these off in public places from Mid September when these things go on sale and continue to do so up to and after the 5th of November.

On the 5th of November even the responsible members of society flock into their back gardens and local areas of waste-ground in their millions to start fires (often with volatile fluids to ‘give them a good start’) and set off fireworks willy-nilly so that they can cheer and whoop at the spectacle that they have created for their kids.

A quick glance at the activity logs at the local fire station or the A&E departments all over the UK on the 6th of November will confirm that this annual ritual is a Health and Safety nightmare, but for some reason they have ignored it. What has always surprised me is the fact that govt has not gone down the H&S route and made this celebration a public display only event which are organised  by local councils and created by professional pyrotechnicians with the appropriate safety aspects in place before the event starts and policed by the appropriate people . Oh aye, I’m still surprised by that. I bet the people who have been blinded and maimed for life as a result of this oversight are even more surprised than me.

I’ll tell you what surprises me.  We are all aware, or should be by now, of the problems of global warming and the need to protect our environment. Of course a lot of the issues are out of Joe Public’s control and can only be sorted out by corporate decisions from the moguls of industry and governments. But, ol’ Joe can do his bit. We are encouraged to sort our refuse into different coloured bins and bags so that the council can take it all away of Thursday mornings – in the same vehicle!

We all know about the importance of trees – they breathe in Carbon Dioxide (the stuff we breathe out) and breathe out Oxygen (the stuff we breathe in). Marvellous! That’s teamwork for you. We can’t do without them.

So what do we do come Christmas? We flock to supermarkets and other establishments to buy a tree that has just about become established after striving against all odds to reach that stage in its development having been grown from a seed the size of a dried pea, and cut them down so we can prop it up in our front rooms, hang some tinsel, some chocolate Santas and a few baubles on them, for about a week, before chucking it down the bottom of the garden or leaving it on some waste-ground after dark when you can’t be seen dumping it. And complain about the needles that are still sticking into our feet in March because they’re impossible to Hoover up out of our plush shag piles.

In Britain, we chop down 8 million trees annually! I don’t know how much space they would take up if they were all clumped together but I bet it would be at least the size of Wales, (the standard unit used to measure areas of deforestation).

Of course, the more environmentally savvy of us will take their trees to the council tip – making sure that they chuck theirs into the ‘Green Skip’, you know because they’ll now be safe in the knowledge that they’ve done their bit. Idiots.

Did I mention that that surprised me? Well, if I didn’t, it does.

I’ll tell you what surprised me the other day. We were all made aware that there were a lot of fake fivers, tenners and twenties in circulation. I went in the pub one night and noticed a new sign that had appeared behind the bar near the optics, which said:

“All notes tendered at the bar will be checked using a counterfeit detector.”

What surprised me is that if they are going to take such steps to detect fake notes, why didn’t they use a REAL detector? I found that very surprising.

All in all, I think my life has just been one surprise after another. I wonder what will surprise me next.


 

October 2019: A Planned Day Out in Town (Abandoned)

I was only thinking the other day – How can I write a complete catalogue of my grumpiness without including what Alice Cooper referred to as, ‘It’s The Little Things.’ You know, those little things that don’t warrant a full blown rant like those that I have produced in the past.

To get the full picture I have put together a collection of these ‘little things’ which are all genuine reports of actual events presented as if they happened in one day. They didn’t, but there’s no reason why they couldn’t have. According to the title, it concerns a day when I intended to have a wander around town. It goes something like this.

When I got up, I was still smarting over the palaver that I had to suffer the previous day at the Royal Mail sorting office. I had gone there to collect a parcel that they had tried to deliver when I was in work and they’d pushed a card through the door which invited me to the sorting office to pick it up myself.

So, I arrived, and presented the card to the bloke on the counter and told him that I had come to collect my parcel. We had a little conversation; it went like this:

“Have you got ID with you?”
“Er, no.”
“Then I can’t give you any items until you do.”
“I’ve collected several items for here in the past and this is the first time I’ve been asked for ID.”
“Well you should have been.”
“Doesn’t the fact that I am actually in the possession of this card confirm that I am rightful recipient of the parcel that is addressed to me?”
“No.”
“Doesn’t common sense tell you that I must be the house owner as I had to gain access to the property to enable me to pick this card up from the doormat.”
“That doesn’t prove anything.”
“It proves that I picked the card up from the inside of the house. Doesn’t that suggest anything to you.”
“No. You could have gained access to the house illegally.”
“Are you suggesting that a burglar, having just ransacked my house is going to rub salt in the wound by collecting my mail as well?”
“No.”

Just then another postie appeared who knew me.

“Oh, hiya Dai. How y’doing matey?”
“Great Neil. Can you do me a favour and confirm with your colleague that I am who I am claiming to be because he won’t give me my parcel because I haven’t got ID.”
“Yeah, I can ID you. Here’s your parcel.”

As I picked up the parcel and winked at Neil, the original ‘customer service’ guy looked daggers at him. I had won his little battle and not even he could dispute that Neil’s word wasn’t good enough to override his attempt to enforce that miniscule amount of power that he, temporarily, had over me and he had to acknowledge that I had scuppered his plans to prolong his ‘jobsworth’ façade any longer.

But that was yesterday. Time to forget and move on. Today is another day. How am I going to get through it?

It’s 9am so let’s catch up on the News. Blinkin’ Brexit! Is that the only thing happening- I’ll mute it until something interesting catches my eye. It’s not muting! Come on! The remote control has a message on it now saying ‘no power’. It worked 18 seconds ago to turn it on and now its run out! Right, change the batteries in the TV remote All my other TVs had a little set of buttons that you pressed and turned – but not this one! Technology eh?

So, I am hunting thorough the drawer that normally contains the batteries – plenty of batteries there, none of which are the right type for the remote. My search was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. I quickly tightened my dressing gown belt to make sure that I wasn’t going to display something that whoever was calling would not want to see and I opened the door. It was a postie – not one of the two that I had spoken to the day before. Another one.

He went to hand me a parcel and one of those electronic signature things. I held out my hand to receive the parcel, but withdrew it sharply when he said “Can you take this for number 52. I can’t get a reply there.”

I looked at him and with all the dignity I could muster, replied “No, I won’t.”

We had a little conversation – it went like this:

“What do you mean, ‘you won’t’?”
“I can’t explain it any better than that.”
“I’m only asking for…………………….”
“I know what you asked and I’m refusing to do it.”
“Why?”
“It’s not compulsory is it? I mean, do you think I’m obliged to do it?”
“Well no, but people normally do.”
“I would, normally, but things have changed since yesterday.”
“What happened yesterday?”
“Well I don’t owe you an explanation, but I will anyway. I was refused access to a parcel at the sorting office yesterday because I didn’t have ID with me.”
“Quite right too.”
“So, despite all the stringent steps Royal Mail take to safeguard recipients’ parcels at the sorting office, and despite the fact that they are in possession of the ‘Sorry you were out’ card, when the shoe is on the other foot and it suits you, all of your security consciousness goes out of the window you think it is acceptable to leave parcels with a perfect stranger and expect them to do your job for you and deliver it purely on the basis that they share the same postcode.”
“I’m not expecting you to deliver it. I’ll leave a card telling them I’ve left it here.”
“You could have done that yesterday when you failed to deliver my parcel. Instead I had to go to the sorting office to collect mine. Just leave the same instruction for whoever lives at 52 because you ain’t leaving it here matey!”
“That’s spiteful.”
“No, it isn’t. If Royal Mail have guidelines and procedures regarding the security of parcel deliveries I’m going to stick rigidly to those even if you aren’t. I’ve had them enforced on me so for the sake of continuity I’m going to maintain your employer’s standards and refuse your request.”

And that was that. Back to the news.

Oh, it’s the ad break. Whatever happened to Fairy Liquid ads telling me that hands that do dishes can be as soft as your face? We don’t get those any more. Instead, I return to an ad telling me how to combat bacterial vaginosis! Where’s the remote? I have to turn that off. There it is. Argh, still haven’t found the batteries – I’ll have to press the ‘off’ button on the front of the TV. Arrgggghhh we haven’t got one. I forgot. How things have changed eh?

So, let’s get to the reason I got up in the first place, to, wander round town, have a meal, you know just generally potch about. But first, a newspaper.

I left the house and hadn’t realised that it had been raining all the time that I had been conversing with the postie. It still was, and I had left my hat in the house. Couldn’t be bothered to go back for it. Let’s just make a dash for the newsagents – maybe the rain will stop later. Fingers crossed.

As an aside, I have changed my ‘newspaper buying venue’ as a result of the minor fracas in the one that I used to frequent. It was the day of my father’s funeral when this incident took place. We’d had the service, the cremation and the wake. Everyone had gone home fully fed and watered and now the evening was my own. I’ll just pop to the shop, get some fags and that’ll be it. The completion of the worst day of my life was in sight. I approached the counter. The shop assistant looked at me and spoke; this is how the conversation developed:

“Oh, how are you?”
“I’m OK thanks, glad it’s all over to be honest.”
“I bet. Was it a nice funeral?”
“I beg your pardon? Did you just ask me if it was a nice funeral?”
“Yes.”
“Are you insane?”
“What?”
“A nice funeral! Is there such a thing?”
“Well … er …”
“I’m not sure that the words ‘nice’ and ‘funeral’ should ever appear in the same sentence. What did you expect me to say? Something like, ‘Oh yes. It was marvellous. Loved it. Can’t wait for the next one’. Hopefully it’ll be yours!”

And that was that really. Didn’t go in there again. She’d been getting on my nerves a bit anyway, to be honest. She had an annoying habit of saying, ‘There you go’ after each sale. Either that, or ‘Cheers’. Whatever happened to, ‘thank you’ when the change has been handed over and the customer is ready to depart. ‘There you go?’, ‘Cheers?’ where did those come from?

‘Cheers’ is a pub thing surely, or booze related. Not a parting comment on receipt of a copy of The Sun in exchange for 55 English pence! And to make it worse, possibly in an attempt to ‘posh it up’ a bit, she actually said, ‘chairs’ rather than ‘cheers’. We’re in the Welsh valleys here luv, not deep Surrey! ‘Chairs’ indeed!

Anyway, that’s all behind me now, back to today and into my usual newspaper outlet. It must be said though that my new paper vendor gets on my nerves a bit as well. He likes to try to predict what I’m going in to buy and tries to pre-empt my request for whatever I was going into the shop for by asking me before I get a chance to.

I regularly buy fags in there and when he sees me enter the shop, he’ll turn to face the fag shelves and say, “Twenty?” That used to annoy me intensely. It was going to annoy me even more today because my gamble to risk not going back to get my hat on the basis that I didn’t think it was going to rain heavily backfired – it was like a monsoon. I was drenched.

So, in I go, and, before he could say ‘Twenty?’ I got in first with, ‘a Daily Mirror please,’ which he duly plonked on the counter – and, before I could delve into my pocket for the 80p required to pay for it, he caught me unawares and hit me with a sneaky, “Twenty?”. I responded with, “No, just the one thanks. I think the news will be the same in all of them.” He’s never chucked a ‘Twenty?’ at me after that for some reason. Thankfully.

I spotted an interesting looking magazine and decided to buy that as well. My vendor informed me that the mag and paper together would come to £2.01 and I offered up a fiver to pay for my items. He said:

“Have you got a one pence piece?”
“No, I haven’t”
“You didn’t even look.”
“I know I haven’t got one because they don’t exist. Everything I have actually exists, I don’t do non-existent things, because they don’t exist.”
“Eh?”
“I have a two pence piece, a five pence piece, a ten pence piece and a fifty pence piece and I have a penny. Pence is the plural of penny, you can’t have one pence piece only a penny piece. It’s singular, see not plural, that’s why we don’t attach the term pence to a single penny. Would it help if I gave you the one penny piece that I have?”
“Er, yeah, thanks.”

So, I hand over a one penny piece and then start to get a bit on edge. Commonly in retail outlets when the necessities have been done – asking for the goods, being told the price, tendering the payment and awaiting the change, there is a danger period looming. And now was the time.

Effectively, the transaction has been completed and there is nothing else to be said, but, for some reason, vendors seem to be overcome with a compulsion to engage the customer in a bout of platitude coinciding with the handing over of the change. The topic is usually weather related where the vendor seems to feel a need to describe the weather, which the customer has just walked through to get into the shop, in case he/she is unaware of the nature of the atmospheric conditions prevailing outside of the shop. I’m 64 years old. I have seen and walked through rain before. I know what it is. But anyway:

“Blinkin’ ‘ammering down today innit.”
“Hmmm.”
“And they said it would be fine today. Bloomin’ ridiculous it is. Ridiculous!”

And they say it as if the weather has got it wrong, not the forecasters! Ridiculous! I point at my watch and frown which signals that I am in a rush and gives me the carte blanche to escape whilst he is in mid-sentence. At the bus stop. I am sharing the shelter with a fellow ‘waiter’ who asks me what time the next bus is due. I tell her I don’t know – and then she starts: “I think they run to suit themselves these days anyway. Supposed to be here every ten minutes, well I’ve been here for eighteen and seen nothing. You wait for three hours and then six all turn up at the same time.”

I move away from the shelter – it is more acceptable for me to get wetter than to listen to her.

In my peripheral vision I see someone approaching, I lean back a bit to make some room on the pavement for her to pass. She glances at me and says ‘Thanks’ and then stops dead when she sees my face.

“Oh hiya Dai, I nearly walked past you then. I didn’t recognise you without your hat on.”
“Er, but you did. You recognised me. You spoke to me.”
“Oh aye, of course I did too. Don’t we say daft things? Can’t stop I’ve got to get to the post office before the crowds get in. Pension day today innit.”
“Bye.”

She leaves.

“Don’t we say daft things?” – well you do.

I look up, a huge vehicle has pulled up at the bus stop. It is 26 feet long and has, 151 Newport written on the front. Luckily for me fellow ‘waiter’ informs me that this is the bus. I wouldn’t have known that if it hadn’t been for her. For that I will be eternally grateful.

I let her get on first so that I can see where she sits so I can sit somewhere else. Because she had initiated the ‘conversation’ I didn’t want her to decide that we were now best friends and she could sit by me and engage me in conversation for the duration of the trip. I present my over-60s bus pass to the driver and stride up the aisle looking for somewhere to sit, being sure not to make eye contact with my newly found friend. All I can see are the crowns of bowed heads of people gawping into mobile phones. Silence, apart from a woman shouting into a mobile phone:

“What it is, I’m on the bus (pause) I’m on the bus (pause)  Risca. I’m in Risca (pause) What? (pause) get milk? Aye, run out have we? (longer pause) No. I’m going up our mam’s first. Pointless me coming home and then going up our mam’s after innit (pause) well come up our mam’s then and meet me there. I’ll be about 20 minutes. (pause) Right, see you there then. Tra.”

Thanks for sharing that with me.

Then, I notice that there’s a floor show going on. A doting mother has deemed it appropriate to allow her toddling daughter to wander the aisle saying, “Hiya” to everyone. Her adoring eyes follow the child around the bus with a quick glance at each recipient of a “Hiya’ to make sure that they too are loving the entertainment created by her out-of-control offspring. The recipients make a cursory smile to let mother know that they’ve seen and enjoyed the ‘show’ then get back to their games of Fornite, Borderlands and the like.

Sadly, the bus didn’t not have to make a sudden stop. That would have made the entertainment worth watching, although it would have been rough on the ears to endure the resultant screams from mother and child.

We arrive at the bus station. Everyone starts to filter off. Each passenger, before alighting, turns to the driver and says:

“Cheers drive.”
“Cheers drive.”
“Cheers drive.”
“Cheers drive.”
“Thank you driver.”    (middle class lady)
“Cheers drive.”
“Cheers drive.”

Why do we feel that we have to thank the driver for doing what he is supposed to do? We don’t say: “Thank you ‘Mr. Chip Shop proprietor’ for cooking my chips rather than giving me them raw.” or “Thank you ‘Mr bin man’ for collecting our rubbish and taking it away.” No, we don’t. We accept that people do what they do and don’t need thanking constantly – apart from bus drivers. Why?

I retrieve a list that my missus had prepared for me to pick up some items that she cannot get in the village. Thirteen items, in all. Luckily, the shop I opted to try to get them in had them all in stock, marvellous! I placed them on the little conveyor belt and waited for them to edge their way towards the till and checkout operator. I am suddenly aware that someone is standing very close to me – too close! I suspect that this is someone that I know and has crept up and is going to try to cause me to jump as he shouts, “Hiya Dai” in my ear.

But I’m one step ahead. I already know that the person is poised to do whatever he/she is going to do. I brace myself ……… nothing happens. I turn to face the mystery stalker and discover that it is someone that I don’t know. He acknowledges me with a sickly, servile smile and averts his eyes to his midriff. I do the same. He is clutching a pack of throwaway razors. I wonder why he wanted me to look at what he proposed to buy. I look him in the eyes and he says “I’ve only got a pack of razors.”

Why did he tell me that? I wondered what the protocol was, do I go through all the things on the conveyor belt? “Well, I’ve got a pack of Paracetamols, some shower gel, a pack of 12 envelopes…” No, I’m not doing that. He is still looking at me expectantly, am I missing something? He obviously wants a response.

So, I give him one: “Well I admire a bloke who knows what he’s got and is prepared to share that information with a perfect stranger.” He goes away and joins another checkout queue. Thankfully.

The person in front of me has caused a massive hold up. I can’t understand why someone who has just watched 42 items go through the checkout, piled them into carrier bags and then realised that at  point she’s going to have to pay for them. I have to stand there why she unloads the carrier bags back onto the checkout desk to ascertain which carrier bag her purse is at the bottom of.

Ah, found it. As usual it was in the last bag. Oh, and now she’s counting the cost out in silver and copper. I should have joined the other queue with my mystery stalker from earlier. An unreasonable amount of time later and my items have gone through the till. The checkout operator informs me of the cost and I’m poised to present my card to the contactless ‘thing’.

Before I have a chance to do so, she asks:

“And would sir like a bag today?”
“Today?”
“Yes.”
“Well I’m here now aren’t I? When do you think I may need one? Next Thursday?”
“We have to ask.”
“I know. The initial phrase, ‘And would sir like a bag’ is fine. Makes sense. It’s the tagged on ‘today’ is the problem. It’s superfluous. Of course I would like a bag, thank you.”
“OK sir.”
“Tell me, do you have a staff suggestion box?”
“Yes we do.”
“In that case can I respectfully suggest that to ask your colleagues to drop the ‘today’ from that sentence and to pass that message on to your customer service trainer to leave it off your sales spiel that you learn before you get your ‘checkout wings’. There really is no need for it.”
“Righto sir. Have a nice day now.”

Aaaaarrrgggghhhhhh!

I go into the bakers and plonk a Wholemeal Sandwich loaf on the counter.

“Anything else sir?”
“No just the loaf please?”
“To take out?”
“Do you think I’m going to sit over there and eat this in one go?”
“Er … sorry, I’m on autopilot.”
“You’re on auto-something luv!”
“That’ll be £1.40 then please.”

I’ve had enough. Let’s get a bite to eat. I’ve ordered and I’m seated at my table waiting for the meal. I think I’ll scroll through my Facebook newsfeed to see if there is anything interesting on there. First post: “All my love to my darling husband on our 25th wedding anniversary. Love you lots.” Why share that with the world? Your husband is there – tell him! Not us. We don’t care!

Next: “That’s it! The worst day of my life! I just can’t go on any more!” Well? Are you going to enlarge on that?  No? Fishing for responses I guess. Ah yes, here they are:

“What’s the matter babes? I’m always here for you.”
“OMG. PM me.”
“Hey hun, if you wanna talk, let me know.”

Well you’ll get nothing from me. Here’s another one. A request for my friend to ‘like’ his band. Let’s get one thing straight. If I like something, I like it. I don’t need prompting. I’ll just like it. I won’t press a ‘thumbs up’ icon to let the rest of the world know I like it. Why should they know what I like? I don’t think that’s what liking is about – you know, sharing your preferences with 100,000,000 other people! And the other thing is, I don’t like your band.

Here’s another one. A very profound statement and point well made. Yeah I’ll go along with that. I agree entirely with your message. Oh hang on, a threat: “99% of people won’t share this because they haven’t got the guts. I did. Don’t be one of the 99%.”

Well I’m going to be one of the 99% now. I would have shared it if not for the ‘dare’. Your point was very poignant but ruined by the ‘cowardice threat’. Take that threat off your message and your message will reach a much bigger audience.

Someone speaks to me. I look up and see a man standing at my table. "Pardon” I say.

“I said, ‘do you think they’ll win later. I mean they should do. On paper they’re favourites but they don’t play on paper, they play on grass (laughs – joke here).” The thing is when a team are struggling you can rip the form book up.”
“What are you on about?”
“Liverpool. You’ve got a Liverpool top on.”
“Oh, I see your reasoning. I don’t support them.”
“Why have you got a Liverpool top on then?”
“I saw in it a charity shop. It was £1. It fitted me so I bought it. It could have ‘Dai Jandrell is nothing but a great big fat slob’ embroidered across the front in 4 inch high letters and for £1, I’d wear it.”
“Who’s Dai Jandrell?”
“Me.”
“Oh. Actually I don’t support them either. I support Mansfield Town, for my sins.”
“What does that mean?”
“Er, it means my favourite team is Mansfield Town.”
“I got that bit mate, that’s straightforward. It’s the ‘for my sins’ bit I’m querying.”
“Well it means, er … well … I don’t know what it means really.”
“To me it sounds as if you’re paying some sort of forfeit. Like if someone said, ‘Your punishment for doing what you did it is you have to support Mansfield Town for the rest of your life’.”
“Oh no, that didn’t happen. It’s where I’m from – always supported them since I was a kid.”
“Well it’s been nice talking to you but my meal is arriving. I’ll bid you ‘good day’.”

My football fan friend leaves and a very demotivated looking waiter unceremoniously dumps my meal in front of me. As he turns away he utters a hurried:

“Enjoy your meal.”
“Er.. thank you. You’re not going to win this year’s ‘Bob Monkhouse Award for Sincerity’ are you?”
“Pardon.”
“Wouldn’t it have been better to have said, ‘I hope you enjoy your meal’ like as if you meant it? You clearly don’t mean it.”
“That’s what we’ve been told to say.”
“It comes across as an instruction. You may as well just go the whole hog and put a German accent on and say, ‘You vill enjoy zis meal or you vill be shot!’ That’s how you message came across.”
“Sorry about that.”
“And for your information, I do not intend to enjoy this meal. I’m on a diet. Normally I would order a large mixed grill with side orders of extra chips and onion rings followed up with Banoffee pie with clotted cream. Instead I have to try to force this pasta and salad stuff down my crop – and you have just tried to take away my right to NOT enjoy my meal by telling me that I must.”
“Sorry.”

Ten minutes into the eating process, I speak to another waiter.

“I have had more verbal contact with you and your colleagues in the last ten minutes than I have had with my missus over the last three weeks.”
“Sir?”
“If my meal is not ‘everything alright with it’ be sure to know that I will draw your attention to it. I’m not enjoying it, I never intended to but it is what it is. It is what I ordered and what I expected, and,  taking it as it is, everything is alright with it. It was alright when I started to eat it and it still is. The only thing that is wrong with it is that I have to look up every time you or one of your colleagues walk past me to respond to another one of your ‘customer service requirements’ to enquire if ‘everything is alright with your meal sir?’ which is happening at a frequency of every 19 seconds. Please stop and tell your colleagues to as well.”
“Righto sir”.

Then I hear “Alright Dai, how y’doing?”. It’s my mate Bob.

“Hello Bob. Eaten?”
“Yeah, heading home. Lucky I saw you. They do a cracking English All-Day Breakfast, fair play.”
“Oh, thanks for that mate. I’m on this rabbit food garnished with sludge. Diet see.”
“What are you doing in town?”
“Well I was going to just wander about, but to be honest I’ve had an absolute gutsful already. If you’re heading home can I pinch a lift off you? I can’t put up with that bus trip again.”
“Why what’s happened?”
“Nothing really. Just people. Just people getting on with their lives.”
“I know what you mean.”


September 2019: Literature's Overly-smart Writing

‘I woke with a jolt. My mind was in gear and I quickly reconstructed my itinerary for the day. I had been looking forward to this day – it had been planned well in advance and today was the day when it would all come to fruition. I made my way to the window and drew the curtains with trepidation. The only possible thing that could scupper my plans was a dreary, rainy day and I prayed that today, of all days, would be fine.  The vista that greeted my eyes was glorious. The trees swaying majestically in the gentle morning breeze casting a brief shadow over the lush grass that scintillated in response to the light and dark as the sun glinted across it, each blade kissed by the morning dew…………………….’

Whoa! Hold it right there. Any need for that?

Descriptive writing they call it. Well, it is descriptive I’ll give you that and if you are describing something you need to write in a convoluted manner like that.

So, if you’re a marketing executive promoting a product or service, a witness producing a written statement regarding a crime or simply trying to make an item that you’re selling on Ebay more attractive to a buyer, then structure your sentences as such and pepper them with superlatives. Makes sense?

But, when you are producing prose where your intention is to report a series of every day actions, is there any need to slip into the kind of language as seen in the first paragraph? I don’t think so.

If that same scenario was presented as: ‘I woke suddenly. I had a lot on that day so I thought I’d better get up. I checked the weather. It was fine. Great! Now for breakfast and a coffee and let’s get going.’

Does the reader need to know about the majestic swaying of the trees and the grass being kissed by the morning dew? Does the second version of the same event lessen the impact or understanding of what is actually going on? I don’t think so.

I call the style used in the first paragraph ‘flowery writing’ and I can’t stand it.

I have been subjected to flowery writing in the past and it’s fair to say I’ve ruled it out of my life because of the way that it has frustrated me when trying to ‘see the wood from the trees’ as the writers’ pomposity in his her/choice of words actually clouds the direction in which the passage is taking. Well, it does for me anyway.

Sure, if you are trying to create tension or describe an ‘exciting bit’ in your book, then go for it, but, when every sentence is full of descriptive fillers, that gets a bit tedious.

Some authors actually take this technique to a higher level and I think when works like this are appraised, they become classed as ‘literature’ as opposed to the standard works that are classified as, Sci-Fi, Crime, Romance, etc., that we see signposted on the shelves of WH Smiths, Waterstones and the like.

Black is black and white is white. Grey areas exist in the realms of construction only, and can be seen on walls that have been coloured with coatings from the Dulux catalogue, ranging from the BS numbers 00A05 to 00A09, oh, and on the side of Royal Navy battleships. I’m afraid that’s where they end. In the same way 5 + 5 = 10 and 9.99 isn’t nearly right no matter how many people you can find who’ll agree with you.

The problem with literature and a great deal of poetry is that it has been produced by people who have deemed it necessary to be ‘smart’ with language. Or have they? Have I been too harsh? Maybe it’s just the way that the readership approach their efforts. Whichever way around, I have observed generations of people who believe they should be ‘smart’ with reading. This is where the ‘grey area’ that doesn’t actually exist, appears.

When I was studying to be a teacher I had to do ‘Professional English’, on the basis that ‘all teachers are teachers of English’. I had to attend English classes for two years and we studied a novel a term. At the end of each term there would be a choice of four essays that had to be done; three on the book and the other you could do without having actually read the book. That’s the one I always did. This is because I would never read the book.

‘Why is that, Dai?’ I hear you say.

I can remember sitting open-mouthed during the discussions relating to the first of the set books, where my peers were making reference to the text and plot by saying things like,  “On page 34 Fred says blah, blah, blah, but if you go to page 87, he says blah, blah, blah. Now don’t you think that blah, blah, blah………..?”

Then some other person would interrupt with, “Yes, but on page 235, he says, “Blah, blah, blah…………” etc. The lecturer would then scratch his furrowed brow and say, “Hmmmm, yes, I see your point. It’s very interesting isn’t it, the way that the author has blah, blah, blah

I could not get involved with this at all, mainly because I hadn’t bought the book by the time we had the first ‘discussion’ and had decided that from that point on that I wasn’t going to – or take part in any subsequent dissections of whichever novel the lecturer deemed suitable to ‘discuss’ for the duration of the course.

My view is that if the main character had asked his wife to “Pass the salt” on page 67 then he merely wanted to ‘spice up’ his chips, and it would have little bearing on the possible location of the murder weapon referred to on page 142, or a precursor to making a pass at his wife’s sister – which would eventually happen on page 235.

I often wondered whether authors ‘built in’ these little subliminal signs into every piece of dialogue and descriptive writing in order to enhance the plot, or whether it was a case of people over-exercising their ‘smart’ reading muscles. There were by far too many of these “But then if you go to page 56 …” references to make it possible for authors to construct at the time of writing, unless each book took about 900 years to pen.

I remember our English lecturer ‘bragged’ (and I use the term ‘bragged’ loosely here), in response to one of my outbursts when I queried the point made above, “When I was in University, we spend two terms on the first word of one novel, and at the end of the second term, our lecturer said, ‘look, we can talk forever about this, but we really must move on’.”

I have cracked open rocks to reveal fossil fish that have not seen the light of day for 165,000,000 years; I have rocks in my cabinet which are older than the earth; I have seen diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds in situ; I found a 40 foot marine reptile at Lyme Regis. I could tell anyone everything they wanted to know about those, and more, and would not take more than ten minutes on each. Two terms on the first word of a novel! I really think it’s about time we started to get things into perspective.

I find this type of thinking very pretentious and have very little patience with the nonsense that is talked about it. The number of ‘scenarios’ that are discussed are endless and are only limited by the amount of time that people set aside to waste and make them up.

When I worked in the museum, to get from Geology to the canteen I had to walk through the art department, and on several occasions I heard Brian Sewell talk-alikes uttering “Yes, I think I can see what the artist is trying to say here.” I’d have a glance at the same picture and conclude that the artist was saying that he thought he’d paint a picture of a bowl of fruit, and as I’d recognised it as such, he’d done a pretty good job of it. No more to be said.

 

So lets move on to the poets. Now these have tried to be even ‘smarter’ with language. They have done this by making the last words of their sentences rhyme with the previous ones. Must be really clever, I don’t think I could ever, as a scientist with no imagination be able to cause a sensation by using words and diction, to report works of fiction for people to recite with all their might and become a literary hero even though my experience is virtually zero.

Funnily enough, if I had pressed the return key at appropriate points in the above paragraph, although I didn’t know, I could be a poet.

The thing is, this bloke Blake wrote a poem about a Tiger and people have talked about it ever since. I always wanted to do something that would never be forgotten and talked about for ever and ever, and I managed it this year. I forgot to record Midsomer Murders for my missus.

Sadly, the Blake bloke has been so ‘smart’ with his poem, he has neglected to proofread his work. He can’t spell ‘tiger’ and he has used what I call an ‘optical rhyme’ to make his poem work! By this I mean: ‘What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?’ It looks as if it should rhyme – but it doesn’t, does it?  It’s a bit like this one:

As I was walking through
A little town called Slough
I bought a little trough
For my pig, who’s been rough
After eating stale dough

(I made that up by the way).

If fifty people analyse literature or poetry, from what I have witnessed, there could be up to fifty interpretations of it. These will all be perfectly valid to each interpreter. But which is correct? – the answer of course is none of them. The only person who knows what Tyger Tyger means is Mr Blake himself.  Did he document somewhere else what he meant by it? No? Well, we’ll never know then.

I must add that the ‘best’ I’ve seen is from a Professor of English who wrote, “The rhythm of the poem is designed to reflect the stripes on the tiger.” I have scoured the OED and there isn’t a word in there that accurately reflects my thoughts on that little gem.

Personally, I think that if someone writes a piece of work and 500 years later people are still arguing about what the writer meant by it, it means that it was badly written in the first place.

Let’s write down what we mean and do away with ‘smart’ reading and writing. “A domesticated animal of the feline variety came to rest on a jute-based floor covering in a position that can only be described as sitting.” Is this what we want? Do we have to communicate in this way in order to command respect from the readership?

And to add to the mix, some people have actually written poems that don’t rhyme. So they haven’t had to be as smart as the others who have at least made to effort to be very choosy about the final words of each of their sentences – no they just write short sentences underneath each other. That’s not hard is it?

I’ll finish with one of my favourites- from Keats.

There was a young woman from Bude
Who went for a swim in the lake
A man in a punt
Stuck his pole in her ear
And said, “You can’t swim in there, it’s private.”

(That’s Ron Keats from the bar in the Cwmcarn Workman’s Club)

And that doesn’t rhyme either.


August 2019: Purple Haze in the Vestry

So there I was, just after 5am every day tramping round the streets of Cwmcarn with a bagful of papers over my shoulder, and, my role was to push these through doors until the bag was empty. I was about ten at the time.

There was never anyone else about at that time – anyone with any sense was still in bed. So to relieve the boredom I had nothing else to do but think about stuff.

It was normally random stuff and my thoughts reflected what was going on around me – things that I’d heard or observed during the times when all the other people had woken up and were out and about and interacting with others.

One particular thing that I thought about came around when it was coming up to Christmas and the whole of the school were rallying around the production of Cwmcarn Infants School’s blockbusting nativity play.

So, my thinking topic for that period was Christmas and everything that went with it. In particular, what excuse I could manufacture to exempt me from taking any part in the nativity play whatsoever. I wasn’t doing that well on that point, to be honest.

Another thought came into my mind though which, although I didn’t know it at the time, kind of guided me through life, and still does today.

This was all about the logistics of the paper-delivery process. Basically, this was:

  • Lug a bag of papers that didn’t weigh less than my own body weight around
  • Remove the ‘top’ paper from the bag
  • Try to decipher my father’s handwritten street name and house number that was scrawled above the newspaper’s header
  • Identify the house that the paper was destined for.
  • Open the gate at the bottom of the 140 almost 900 gradient steps to climb.
  • Open the gate at the top of the same flight of steps
  • Fold the paper and insert into the letter box
  • Walk through the gate and close it before descending the vertical steps
  • Descend the vertical steps and close the gate at the bottom of them
  • Repeat – (about 150 times)

The picture that slowly began to form in my mind was the task facing Father Christmas. Based on the things that I had to overcome, I started to have serious doubts about the feasibility of Father Christmas’s task every Christmas eve.

Using my paper-round as a benchmark, I scaled up the job to assess exactly how large Santa’s task was. My concept of the size of the world that I was living in was fairly limited at this time so I started with my round and added the four other paper-boy’s rounds to the whole. We each did about 4 streets and between is we delivered to the whole village.

I imagined having to deliver papers to the whole village on my own. It would take a day at least. I began to wonder how Father Christmas could manage to deliver presents to every house in the village, and, all in one night as well! As well as that, I just had to push papers through the letter-box – Father Christmas had to climb down the chimney! With a big sack-full of stuff!

One paper per house, that’s all it was for me. And, that paper had the address handwritten on the top for me. Father Christmas had to sort out all the presents for all the boys and girls, and parents as well, they had presents too you know! And make sure that all the presents went to the right people. And all down the chimney! Wow!

Then something struck me. The next village, Abercarn. Santa would have to go there as well surely, and then, there was Newbridge, Blackwood to the north. Going south there was Crosskeys, Risca, Newport – and what about Cardiff? Oh and Swansea as well and there’s Manchester, Liverpool, London.

I didn’t know the names of any other places in the UK at the time but I knew the UK was big, a lot bigger than Cwmcarn. And, If it would take a day to deliver one paper to every house in the village, how could Father Christmas deliver everybody’s presents to everywhere else all in one night? And down the chimney! Oh, and what about France, Germany, America, Africa – they had Father Christmas as well. This doesn’t make sense. There is no way that that is possible.

I think I pondered this dilemma for two consecutive days during my paper round before I reached my conclusion and was ready to share it. The next day in school, I got a few friends together and started off with: “Oi, boys, there cannot possibly be a Father Christmas.”

“What do you mean Dai?”

So, I explained myself and presented the evidence which was met with frowns and furrowed brows.

“So, where do our presents come from Dai?”

And this was the flaw in my theory. I hadn’t built a strategy into my well-reasoned theory to deal with a question like that. I didn’t have an answer for that one and I couldn’t formulate a reasonable explanation as to where the presents actually came from. Sure enough, the presents appeared overnight, but where did they come from? A mystery indeed.

My theory spread through the school like wildfire, and, well you know what the valleys grapevine is like, by the time it has been passed on half a dozen times, the ‘news’ had transmogrified into “Father Christmas has died!”

This resulted in many children going home in varying states of blubbing which led to a barrage of parents coming to the school to ask why a school could issue such a wicked statement to children of that age. The teachers, of course, had no knowledge of this and after a brief investigation they discovered that the person who had introduced this vile rumour was me!

I was dragged into the headmaster’s office where he and two other teachers grilled me as to how I had come to spread such a vicious statement. When I explained myself I was hauled over the coals for causing unnecessary anxiety throughout my peer group for starting a rumour that was obviously incorrect – that being, there’s no such thing as Father Christmas.

The ironic thing about this ‘dressing down’ was that three adults who surely were old enough to know the truth about Father Christmas actually disciplined a ten year old for being correct. Educational standards indeed!

By now, my fame surrounding the Truth v Santa debate had reached the older boys who were a few years ahead of me in school and one day I was approached by two of them. They had decided to share a secret with me:

“Dai, you’re right. There is no such thing as Father Christmas.”
“I knew it. But, where do the presents come from then?”
“It’s your Dad.”
“Wow! My Dad is Father Christmas!”

For about an hour I pondered this and, for a short time within that hour, I even held the belief that my Dad had been Father Christmas all the time and although it was right there in front of me, somehow I seemed to have missed it.

It wasn’t very long though before I realised that my father wasn’t Father Christmas because he was always there when I went to bed on Christmas Eve and still there when I got up on Christmas morning. And then the hour of pondering was over.

I am now old enough to know that my suspicions were correct – there is no such thing as Father Christmas. The tooth fairy told me.

There was another thing going on during this period of my life – and this began even before my paper-round experiences. This was my enforced attendance at church. I was too young to remember my debut in this establishment – I was probably wrapped in swaddling clothes, carried there and held by my mother for the duration. And throughout my development into a small child and eventually into a young boy, I had grown enough to fit into the smallest cassock and surplice that they had in stock in the church vestry.

Yes, my mother and father were big church-goers, and so was I. They sat in the congregation and I sat in the choir stalls looking as angelic as I could in full view of my parents and all the other characters that frequented the place. And when I say ‘sat’, that’s what I did. Just sat. Well I stood up when everybody else did and then sat down again when they did.

Choir? No chance. Never sang a word in any service from the first day of my incarceration until my release, many years later. And, it wasn’t a release for good behaviour either!

In my early days in the choir stall, I couldn’t read so I had an excuse for not joining in even though I held a hymn book in front of me as if I could decipher the words that it contained. The only reason that I scoured the hymnbook so diligently was because I could follow the progress of the hymn because the verses were laid out in a format that I could tell how long the hymn was. How I longed for the last verse to come along, after which we could all sit down again.

The Sabbath was an onslaught for me. After getting up before 5am Mondays to Saturdays, I had a lie-in on Sundays – ‘til 7am, when I was washed and dressed in my Sunday best ready for the 8:30am service. I was probably the most hated person in the village from 8am onwards ‘cos I was the one who tolled the bell to remind the church-goers that a service was about to start -  and cause consternation amongst the other 99% of the village who were trying to sleep off the previous night’s weekend celebratory booze-ups in the local hostelries.

After the 8:30am service. There was another one at 11am. This was called matins. Then at 2pm there was Sunday school – my parents didn’t go to that. Finally, there was Evensong which started at 6pm and seemed to go on forever.

In my early days, before I could read the hymns in the hymn book and before I had acquired a vocabulary of about 100 words, I really had no clue about where I was and what was going on. I just stood up and sat down as I described before, basically went through the motions.

The whole caboodle was a bit like a low key, primitive performance of the present day popular dance troupe, ‘Diversity’ who made a lot of money for being able to sit down, stand up, turn around and jump up in the air at the same time. A bit like us lot in church, apart from the turning around bit. We didn’t turn round. Or jump up in the air. Just stood up and sat down. Well, it’s a start isn’t it?

As I got older and my vocabulary grew; I began to get a feel for why I was there and what was going on. I didn’t engage with it though, I just maintained my usual stance of sitting there and looking as angelic as I could alongside all the other children who had been plonked in the choir stalls by their parents. We were all in the same boat. And our heads were sinking fast.

My initial ambivalent persona slowly altered into one of resentment as I pictured my friends, whose parents did not go to church and had a marvellous time on Sundays – up the mountain catching snakes, playing football, cricket, building dens, watching ‘Lost in Space’, etc. And there was I. Then, something strange happened and my demeanour suddenly changed.

We had been in school on a Friday and all of the pupils were called into the hall for a lecture from the headmaster. One of my friends had been caught pinching apples and we were made aware of the consequences of this action – he had been suspended from school (hardly a punishment) and we were told what a wicked boy he was. The headmaster told us that he wouldn’t have got away with the theft even if he hadn’t been caught by the gardener because Jesus had been there and had seen it all!

Then, on the Sunday, the vicar gave thanks to God for looking after my aunt who was in hospital and making a good recovery following a fall. Apparently, she was very lucky as the fall could have been much worse than it was, but, luckily, Jesus was with her at the time and as a result, the fall was minor rather than major! Phew!

Now I happened to know that the theft of the apples and my aunt’s fall had taken place at exactly the same time – and Jesus had been present at both incidents. That didn’t make sense so I decided to check this out with the vicar after the service. I wasn’t quite prepared for his answer.

“You see David, God is watching over us all, all the time. He is with us now, he is with your aunt in hospital. He is with all the poor little children who are starving in Africa. He is with everyone, all the time.”

I adopted my ‘talking to the vicar' pose. This was, sickly angelic smile, wide-eyed whilst nodding in agreement. That was my outward persona – my head, on the other hand was saying: “I’m not having a bar of that matey. You must think I was born under a banana boat.”

I wasn’t very good at metaphors in those days, if ‘metaphor’ is the correct word for that kind of saying.

I didn’t query this with him – I was still smarting over the dressing down I’d had over the Father Christmas incident, but my opinion was the same on this one as it was on the Father Christmas episode. It didn’t make sense. My feeling mirrored the previous one – and I wasn’t falling for that again.

I was pretty sure that, like before, the churchy equivalent of the ‘older boys’ who told me that I had been right about Father Christmas would sidle up to me and say, “You’re right about this one too.” But nobody did.

I suppose many people will be shocked to see me bracket Jesus and Father Christmas into the same peer group, but, for me, a child of that age with a pragmatic outlook, the concept of both characters being able to do the things that people claimed they could just didn’t make sense.

If I were to comment on my own spirituality gleaned from those days when I frequented the church I would say that the overarching message was that everyone should live decent lives, be nice to people, love your fellow man, respect nature and learn to share the planet that we live on with everything else that reside here at the same time as us.

In that respect I would adhere to the values that they taught, and I still do. I don’t think that I needed to go to church 4 times every Sunday to maintain that ethic. I can do that on my own.

Because of being born and brought up where I was, we were only made aware of Jesus Christ. It wasn’t until I got older that I found out that there were other Gods as well, all worshipped by millions of people and I began to wonder- if there was an ultimate being, who was it?

It seemed to me that worship was geographical and that people were trained to follow the teachings of the ‘local Gods’ and had no knowledge of any of the others! They were never told about the existence of other Gods. We certainly weren’t. I imagined the Archbishop of Canterbury dying and going to heaven to find Vishnu sitting on the throne. “Well, Archbishop it’s fair to say that you were a thoroughly decent chap when you were on Earth, but, unfortunately you opted to worship someone else – so, it’s down to the other place for you. Off you go now.”

And when I got even older I began to realise that all the people who worshipped their own Gods were so convinced that they were right and the other worshippers were wrong that they were prepared to fight and even kill those who followed a different creed.

I was also aware that people who worshipped the same Gods split themselves into factions and sub-factions where they fought each other! Yes, worshipped the same Gods.

In the UK we have seen the strife between the Catholics and the Protestants (same God) and judging by the plethora of people who want to preach to me on my doorstep every other day when I’m trying to watch Eggheads, new factions are springing up all the time!

So, if any good came out of my time in church, it would have been the way that it led to me taking the stance that I did on religion, and I still distance myself from that philosophy to this day.

Which brings me to my release from my own enforced worship, well relegation from the choir stalls anyway, but it was a start. The way that I managed to survive the onslaught that was, Evensong (the service that started at 6pm and lasted for months), was by smuggling my pocket radio into the service.

The method was to put the radio into my trouser pocket with the earphone (on a long lead) plugged into it ready. This bypassed the radio’s speaker so that the sound only came out of the earphone. Then, feed the earphone lead up under my shirt until it popped out over the collar. Then put on the cassock and surplice, and we’re ready to go. If you hadn’t got it right before the cassock and surplice went on you basically had to undress to make any adjustments because those robes didn’t allow any access to the trouser pocket at all.

I sat in the choir stall at right angles to the way that the congregation was facing, and, as soon as the service started it was a simple case of slipping the earpiece (that was sitting on my collar) into my left ear – the one on the blind-side of the congregation and listen to Fluff Freeman’s Pick of the Pops. My friend Paul, another token chorister, sat to my left and from time to time, when a record came on that I wasn’t particularly fond of, I’d let him listen by slipping the earpiece into his right ear. We did this every Sunday and never got caught.

Until……..

It was 1967, I was twelve and the only record in the charts worth listening to was Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Purple Haze’. We sat in expectation as Fluff played the top twenty. Every now and again, Paul would say: “Is he on yet?”

I’d shake my head and pass him the earphone. Then after a few minutes I’d gesture for him to slip the earphone into my left ear. Then at last, Purple Haze started. I gave him a wink and a thumbs up. He whispered, “Gimme a listen.”

I shook my head and hogged the earphone. He whispered again, “Come on mun, give us a listen.” I shook my head, so he grabbed the earphone and yanked it out of my ear. Unfortunately, he pulled the lead so hard that it came out of the output socket in my pocket and the whole of the church got a full blast rendition of the classic song. And, I couldn’t get at it to turn it off!

The only thing I could do was to make a dash for the vestry to remove the ceremonial robes, so I made a break for it. The trouble was, it was during the vicar’s sermon, a particularly quiet bit. And, just in case there was any chance that nobody had noticed my exit, I realised that I was being closely followed by Paul, who for some reason, was still clutching the lead!

Thankfully, I was chucked out of the choir for that. And, even more thankfully, my parents realised that church wasn’t really the place for me and I was given the option to go to church or do something else.

Apart from a few weddings and even fewer funerals, I have never darkened those doors since I was given the option.

It’s funny how those twists of fate went such a long way in shaping my life and I often wonder what would have happened if Harry Belafonte had been singing “Mary’s Boy Child” when Paul pulled the lead out my radio! Instead of being persecuted for being involved in that ‘Hendrix Incident’ and  branded, ‘Evil’ I may have been lauded as a child saint and ended up as the Archbishop of Canterbury – being sent ‘downstairs’ by Vishnu after my demise.


July 2019: Work Characters

I started work in 1965(ish). I reckon I was about 10 when I started so that would make it 1965. My father was the newsagent in the village we lived in and there was a shortage of paperboys.

One of my earliest memories was standing in the middle of the shop with my father plonking a bagful of newspapers over my shoulder to see if I could stand.

I think that this procedure may have started much earlier because there were many times that I did collapse which indicated to my father that I was ‘not ready yet’

If I’d had my wits about me I would still have been collapsing at the age of 15 in an attempt to fool my dad into thinking that I was still ‘not ready’.

But, as I was not that savvy in those days, I finally managed to stand up when fully loaded, at about 5:15am and at the age of 10, and my father deemed I was ‘ready’ and I was introduced to the world of work by tramping around the village in monsoon conditions. I did point out that I could barely walk with a full bag but he fed me a line that every time I delivered a paper, the bag got lighter. I suppose he was right but I didn’t really notice the weight difference after every delivery at the time. I was also unaware the 140 near vertical steps that I had to climb to get to every house, open the gate at the top, remember the special instructions for that house, deliver the paper, shut the gate and then negotiate the descent whilst wrestling with a bagful of papers that probably weighed more than me.

‘Special instructions?’ I hear you say.

Yes, this involved the actual penetration of the door with the paper. Some people wanted their paper pushed right through, others wanted the paper pushed halfway through (presumably so that they wouldn’t have to bend to pick the paper up from the ‘welcome mat’). But, on days when it was raining, about 30% of the people who wanted their papers pushed halfway through wanted them pushed all the way through (in case half of it got wet). I had to remember all these!

I could come a cropper on this one though – on certain occasions, it would start to rain after I had delivered and before the people who wanted their papers pushed halfway through had done so – and the paper got wet. And it was my fault! And they would complain too – Aaarrrggghhhh!

Then, when I was about 15, I landed the most coveted job in the village – peeling the spuds in the chip shop. They paid a fiver a week, for five evenings from about 5pm to 7pm. Marvellous! My paper round (which I was still doing) paid 15 shillings a week – (75p) so, I was making £5.75 a week, which was a king’s ransom in those days.

Despite having been tramping the streets before 6am every day and being up to my elbows in potato peelings and starch five evenings a week, I still managed to utilise the time that I had in school to gain good enough results to go to University.

I entered that period of my life already fully geared up in the work ethic mentality – effectively I had eight years of working to deadlines behind me, and mostly before I had my National Insurance number when, at that stage, I could have theoretically, worked officially and paid tax and NI, for the first time.

I worked in the evenings when at University (bar work etc) and during the summer holidays I worked on building sites where I wiled away the time carrying bricks, mixing cement, sweeping up, going to the chip shop for 40+ people at a time and going to builders’ supplier to ask for things like; bubbles for spirit levels, skirting ladders, striped paint, sky hooks, sparks for the grinder, left handed hammers and long weights.

When my University days came to and end and I was ‘educated beyond my intelligence’ as my missus refers to my academic upbringing, I was ready to enter the job market proper.

I am now in my 45th year in ‘proper’ work. And, now, as I have a great career behind me I like to look back and recall, mainly with a shudder at all the highlights of those previous 44 horrendous years.

From those years I have had stints working in, Cardiff Museum, scientific research, local government, Civil Service, private industry, steel, furniture, education (secondary and higher), youth work, construction, statistics and numerous voluntary position to select highlights from.

Well, no highlights to speak of- I mean it was work wasn’t it. You just do it and come home. That’s what I thought anyway.

The overarching thing that struck me about my ‘proper’ work experience was the people that I had to share my working day with. Prior to my first proper job, I was basically a free agent – worked on my own and to my own work ethic, but, when I encountered my first ‘workmates’ I couldn’t fully engage with them, well, apart from a very small few.

I wondered how these people’s minds worked – did they adopt a ‘work persona’ that took over their whole outlook which took them over as they drove into the car park in the morning? Surely they did, I mean they couldn’t be like that all the time could they? If they were, I would be the in the minority – and, I must be on the wrong planet.

Nobody really wants to go to work, but seeing as it is a necessity my philosophy has always been to turn up, do what is required and make the whole experience as pleasurable as possible. Looking at my ex-colleagues it seems that I am in the minority in this area as well.

As time went on, I began to notice traits in my peers and they prompted me to categorise them in order to slot my workmates into different groups which I used as a benchmark for the way that I put up with and dealt with their horrendous personalities and characteristics.

Here they are.

Empire builders – usually the most inefficient workers, but a very successful strategy inasmuch as they usually manage to ‘fool’ their line managers into thinking they are hardworking and an asset to their dept. They create a ‘busy’ environment by monopolising their time by getting involved with things that are not their concern. The thinking behind this is, I think, “If I’m continually sorting out problems, I’m not sitting at my desk ‘getting on’ with the mundane paperwork side of the job.” – which is part of their remit.

Of course, a lot of this time will be spent liaising with their boss, just to make sure that he/she is aware of the empire builder’s whereabouts at every minute of the day and compounds the myth that he/she is completely tied up with something ‘over and above’ their duties. These can then be used as a ‘lever’ when they are so behind with their own work that they claim to be slogging away at home until 11pm, just to keep their heads above water. Empire builders are not backward in coming forwards when quoting the number of hours they do at home and mention this frequently every day. The answer to that is “If you can’t do the job in 8 hours, you shouldn’t be doing it. That suggests to me that you are incompetent so we should look at giving you a less demanding role.” I always got into trouble when I said that.

Another philosophy they may hold is the ‘I do everything in this office, the place wouldn’t survive without me. They can never get rid of me.’

They do this by ‘snagging’ all the ‘meaty’ duties, that are those noticed by those ‘in charge’ and farming out all the parts of those jobs that they don’t like to other people. This is where systems fall down because one person is not taking responsibility for the completion of a task, and gives the empire builder carte blanche to blame the ‘others’ when something, which is part of their remit, goes ‘pear shaped’.

Bored admin worker – These are generally quiet and never appear to be participating in large bouts of inactivity. They know what is expected of them and just do that, quietly and unobtrusively. If they come in one morning and they have 2,394 items which have to be filed, they will do it by home-time. If they come in the next day, and they have 16 items to be filed, they will do it – but it will still take them until home-time.

They also have developed a remarkable ‘knack’ of positioning their monitor in such a position that nobody else in the room can see that they are continually on Ebay, Candy Crush Saga, Fortnite (with sound muted), Facebook and other web based entertainment sites.

The last thing they want is to attract attention to themselves and they never do – however they will spend long periods of time complaining about their role – “I can do better than this! I’ve got 2 GCSEs you know. Can’t wait to get out of this hole!”

Smoothers – these are people who don’t like confrontation and will do anything to avoid such. Usually, they are in positions of authority. Smoothers are probably the worst people to go to if you have issues or problems. The smoother’s philosophy is to ‘smooth over’ issues and get complainants out of his/her office as quickly as possible. They do this by trying to make people ‘feel good’ and take a light hearted view of the problems. They appear to show a great deal of empathy when listening and will try to say what the complainant wants to hear. His/her aim is to reach a point whereby the complainant leaves his/her office with a smile on his/her face, usually accompanied by a wink and a slap on the back. He/she will reinforce the feeling of well-being by cracking a joke as the complainant leaves. Once the door closes, the smoother will be overcome with a feeling of ‘sorted that one out’ and do nothing to get to the root of the problem.

Of course this problem will arise again and the smoother will go through the motions again.

If the problem continues to recur, he/she will issue a ‘blanket lecture’ in a staff meeting and infer that every member of staff is guilty instead of taking the guilty party aside and addressing the problem head-on with that person.

The effect of this is that those who are not guilty will be thinking, “Did he/she mean me?” and unfortunately, those who are guilty will also be thinking, “Did he/she mean me?” as well. The more astute members of staff will be offended by the dressing down and tackle the manager afterwards – which will be met with another ‘smoothing off’ exercise by saying something like, “Obviously. I wasn’t referring to you.” Unfortunately, the smoother will also say this to the guilty person who suspects that he/she was the person that the smoother was referring to in the dressing down.

Long stayers – these are people who have worked in the same place since they left school and are now middle-aged or older. They are normally extremely average in ability but have put the time in. They are basically getting paid for attendance and have reached the dizzy heights of whatever position they have reached within the company because of longevity rather than contribution and achieved their own level of incompetence during their first week. They generally have a meaningless title alongside a disproportionately large salary and is most commonly observed in companies where nepotism is rife.  They seem to be able to come in late every morning, spend longer at lunch than is allowed and have to leave early. Nothing is ever said to them. This is because they grew up with the boss, who has achieved his/her high status through graft and ability but remained loyal to their inadequate long-term mates by creating positions for them and although their contribution is minimal, in fact, some would say, a negative value they are kept on. I called this, ‘being promoted out of harms way.’

Usually despised by other members of staff whose daily routine can be interrupted by their apparent sporadic attendance and the inefficient way in which they conduct themselves on the odd occasions that they frequent the workplace.

Much of their working day is spent in meetings, or socialising with customers/suppliers or people from outside the organisation.

Managers (a few here)

Busy busy bees – always too busy to deal with staff. Never follow up leads and feedback on reports.

  • “Haven’t had time to look at it yet.”
  • “Sorry, completely went out of my mind.”
  • “I’m just about to go into a meeting.”
  • “Something more important came up.”

Answers to above that are rarely used (although I did…)

  • It would be a different matter if I hadn’t produced the report by the time you asked for it.
  • What would have happened if producing the report went completely out of my mind?
  • And?
  • How do you know it was more important when I hadn’t told you what I was going to say to you?

Whizz-kid – The fast mover who has worked his way ‘up the ladder’ – usually by treading on his/her peers on the way up.

When new members of staff are being shown around on their first day, after they have been introduced to the whizz-kid, the established member of staff, usually adds, when the whizz-kid is out of earshot;

“He/she used to be great him, till he/she got promoted. You know, one of the lads/girls. He/she is a right tyrant now since he’s/she’s the boss. Hate him/her. Started the same day as me he/she did. Now look at him/her. If that’s what being a boss is I’m happy as I am.”

Low esteem & insecure managers – These come across as aloof and abrupt - A smokescreen to cover up their complete unsuitability as a man-manager.

They do not have the mentality to handle the authority and believe that, to be able to be authoritative they have to be rude. This is probably in an attempt to emulate their previous boss’s attitude as they would be likely to be totally unsuitable as mangers as well. “Well I’m the boss now- better start behaving like a tyrant, like my boss did.”

Far from generating respect, this pompous acquired persona doesn’t enhance the managers’ authority, it merely makes staff members wary of them and be less than co-operative – and when managers don’t have the support of their staff …

When the inevitable happens, these will not delegate. They will try to do everything themselves for fear of being let down by demotivated staff (of their creation) until they grind themselves into the ground.

At this point, they will not sort the staff out themselves, but go bleating to their own boss in order to pre-empt backlashes as a result of severe shortcomings in day to day tasks, which are a direct result of the shortcomings of the manager.

Hip manager – probably the most irritating. He /she adopts the full management psyche and bolsters this by using all the hip management spiel.

“Have the guys got a ball-park figure for me yet? I know it’s a big ask but we need to be on it 24/7. We’re all standing at the bottom of a very greasy pole but we must touch base and make sure we’re singing from the same hymn-sheet, you know, making sure we have all our ducks in a row.”

You have probably realised by now that I was not impressed by any of these characters and whilst I had the misfortune of spending eight hours a day cooped up with them and subjected to their foibles, I managed to keep myself sane by maintaining very low-key relationships with them and communicated with them on an even lower level which was pitched solely on business related stuff and did not deviate one iota into personal or social topics.

Unless they asked, of course. That was where the trouble started – when they asked.

The thing is if something is on my mind or needs to be said, then I have to say it. Over the course of my working life, my colleagues realised that if they asked, then I would tell them – and this usually meant that people wouldn’t ask any more because they didn’t want to hear the answer. Some people even stopped speaking to me at all, which, I guess was their way of inflicting some sort of punishment on me because of my bluntness, but, in reality, I preferred it that way.

I have a few examples.

“Dai, I noticed that you have not put your name down for the staff Christmas party.”
“Oh.”
“Are you aware of it?”
“Yes.”
“Shall I add you?”
“No.”
“Oh. Er …. you haven’t been to any staff do’s since you’ve been here.”
“I know.”
“Any reason for that?”
“Yes. I don’t want to go.”
“Well why not? Everybody’ll be there.”
“That’s why I don’t want to go.”
“Why?”
“I have nothing in common with these people.”
“What do you mean?”
“As my line manager, you choose who I spend eight hours a day with, I choose who I socialise with in my spare time.”
“What about the people in the Midlands office, or the people in the North office, you speak to them twenty times a day and you’ve never met them!”
“I have no more desire to meet those people than I have to meet my maker.”
“I think we’d better wrap this up here.”
“I think that would be a good idea too.”

Soon after that, we had a team building day, where I did (unfortunately), meet those people. During the ‘post team-building exercise chat’, in response to the question:
“What did you learn from today’s exercise?” my response was:
“I learnt to not attend any more team building exercises.”

This prompted a scoff from one of my colleagues which forced me to add:
“Eddie, I have spoken to you thousands of times since I joined this company and I always suspected that you were an insufferable bore. Now, after having met you and spent a day with you, I know you are.”

And the last one- Innovation Day.

A visiting facilitator came in to talk to us about Innovation. He was a professional speaker and one of the most irritating people I have ever encountered. He began his spiel:
“Good morning peeps. Today I am going to talk to you about Innovation. This is going to be very informal and easy-going and it’s going to be led by you. So, if at any time you get bored or if I start getting on your nerves, just get up and go.” (Pause for laughter).

I got up and went.

I still made it to the buffet though!

So, if you have read this have you spotted anyone you know that would fit into any of my workplace categories?

Or, are you one of these? Go on, be honest……


June 2019: Microwave Televisual Tips

This is a concept that may be new to many people but has been in operation in my house for a number of years.
It is based on the microwave ethic, whereby, you can prepare hot food in a fraction of the time that you can do using conventional methods. Using this same technique, you can cut down the amount of time that you spend watching the barrage of unadulterated drivel that the TV companies deem acceptable to pump into our living rooms 24 hours day.

They already believe that all the British public want to see is; people cooking, people dancing (on floors and ice), people participating in talent contests (judged by people who are not qualified to assess talent) and people rummaging through their attics, charity shops and car boot sales to see if they can sell the junk that they've bought for a profit. That lot probably takes up 60% of the available air time, so I'll deal with the rest here.
How microwave TV works: Look for these signs when viewing to gauge when it is safe to turn off and still not miss anything.

TV Cop drama format

TV cop plots are easy to decipher very soon after the programme starts. The first is:

• US cop show where a rookie cop is placed with an established cop (both cops different gender) as their partner. The rookie and established cops’ gender can be interchangeable, but for this example I will nominate the established cop as being male and the rookie, female.
The established cop’s historic partner has been killed during a drugs bust and is assigned an attractive female replacement. He is still grieving over his partner and has little time for his new partner and shows her no respect and has not confidence in her ability as a cop. They hate each other.
The outcome – she will save his life and solve the crime because of her innovative and non-conventional detective skills. They will fall in love and live happily ever after.
‘Safe to turn off time’ will be when they have their first row and she is seen entering her apartment in tears while her partner goes to a bar to get drunk – usually 7 to 10 minutes into the show.

• Midsomer Murders. A body is found in a field and Barnaby and his sidekick arrive in a sleepy village to investigate. An eccentric and haughty toff lady arrives on a horse and says something like; “I say old chap, you can’t jolly well leave that police car there! It’s a public right of way don’t you know. I am on the parochial church council and a close friend of the Archdeacon so you’re going to have to move it I’m afraid. Damned oiks!”
The outcome – She’s the killer. Or, if not, it’ll be her equally eccentric and insular husband who breeds cabbage white butterflies and makes gooseberry jam.
‘Safe to turn off time’ will be when she rides off into the heart of the village leaving Barnaby and sidekick looking bewildered. Again, 7 to 10 minutes in.

• Diagnosis Murder. US cop/medic drama starring Dick van Dyke. Dick is a senior doctor in a hospital and his son in the show (and in real life) is the police chief. There are two other ever present characters, a young male doctor and a young female doctor. This quartet is in every programme.
Each episode will have two other characters which are both dedicated to that episode alone. Basically, each show will revolve around these six characters.
The outcome; One of the ‘new pair’ of characters gets murdered and the murderer will be the other one.
‘Safe to turn off time’ will be when we find out which of the ‘new pair’ has been murdered- usually 4 to 5 minutes after the start.

And, while we are on the subject of medical dramas:

Casualty

After the statutory build up to the accident which led to the patient being admitted to the hospital in the first place, he or she is taken to resus, saved and moved to a ward. The camera will zoom in, several times, to the furrowed brow of the doctor or nurse who is treating the patient. He/she suspects that ‘something is up!’ A further 17 close-ups of the suspecting medic’s body language and facial expressions instils the feeling that ‘something sinister’ is going on with the viewer.

The outcome: the patient has signed himself/herself out of the hospital against the advice of the medics. The doctor/nurse, who suspects that ‘something is up’ goes round the patient’s house and finds the place filthy, mal-nourished children coughing and spluttering, dogs’ poo in the kitchen and a rather bedraggled parrot sitting in a filthy cage. The medic immediately refers the family to social services, then, cleans up the mess in the kitchen, orders a takeaway meal for eight via Deliveroo and diagnoses Psittacosis as the cause of the kids’ coughing (then cures it) and arranges for the parrot to be collected by the RSPB for rehabilitation.

MEDICS DO NOT DO THIS. Also, they do not follow people around hospital car parks to liaise with family members who have had a rumpus with their hospitalised partners or family members on the ward!

So, start watching Casualty if you are ever taken to A&E following a minor scrape and at 1am the doctor who treated earlier in the day calls at your house on his way home after a 139 hour shift just to see if you are OK. While he is there, he cures your gas fire of spilling Carbon Monoxide, changes the battery in your smoke alarm and organises a visit from the fire service to inspect the fire hazards in your home that he has concerns over. If you ever experience this, you are an extra in Casualty, you are dreaming or totally out of touch with reality.

Sci-fi Generic formats

TV Sci-fi has followed the same clichéd plot line for generations; aliens either visiting Earth to conquer and occupy because their own planet has become uninhabitable, or aliens visit to warn us that our planet is heading the same way as theirs if we don’t sort ourselves out. Then they try to conquer us anyway.

The outcome: The military will be depicted as being inadequate and fail at every attempt to defeat the aliens. The aliens will finally be defeated by a suburban family – the parents are estranged and the kids (a boy and girl) will be trying to get them to sort out their differences. They will have an extremely cute mongrel puppy who will go missing following the aliens’ arrival, very early into the film.

When the aliens have been ousted from by the family, the parents will fall in love with each other again and the little dog will reappear from under a pile of rubble not 3 feet away from the cwtching family. Final shot will show the dog joining the cwtch as the kids cry with joy. Roll credits.

‘Safe to turn off time’ will be when the wife spots a light in the night sky and phones her estranged husband to say that she is concerned about the safety of the kids. He tells her to ‘sod off’ and stop over-reacting. About 5 to 6 minutes in.

Dr Who

Dr Who was half tidy to be fair. Years ago anyway. Good storylines, good acting and well structured. Each story would be serialised over 4 weeks so that there was plenty of time to build characters, explore the plot and the viewer was 100% au fait with the way that the story was developing.
Now, they do all that in 40 minutes (less if you include the opening and closing titles).

SO, they have to introduce the characters, what motivates them, why they are doing whatever they are doing and how the Doctor works all this out and defeats them.

Wow! It’s as if we’re in a rush – and if you can follow the plot, take a bow.

And, living where I do, I find that I am familiar with all the locations that they use. I find it very difficult to engage with characters who, whilst very expertly made up, and supposedly slime monsters from Metabelus 3, live on the waste ground behind the bus stop next to Cwmcarn chip shop!

‘Safe to turn off time’ is straight after the opening theme (‘cos that’s still great) or as soon as the doctor produces a sonic screwdriver to use for something other than putting some shelves up. About 2-3 minutes after the theme stops, if you get that far.

Star Trek

Again, another show that has gone downhill (at a rate of Warp Factor 9). Since the original series, the programme makers seem to have concentrated on the highly techno effects (which are great, to be fair), but they don’t appear to have any money left over to visit any planets any more. So, when watching ‘The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager etc., all the action has to take place entirely aboard the ship. They also seem to have not budgeted for lighting because the shows are all very dark and gloomy. Turn the lights on mun! Can’t see what’s going on!

The first time I saw ‘The Original Series, I thought I could see a pattern forming. The first character I saw was Mr Scott, who was Scottish and spoke with a Scottish accent. I was wondering if all the characters' names had a connection to where they were from or what they did. Then my theory went out of the window when, in the next scene, I noticed that Dr. McCoy wasn’t a crisp.

In the original series, OK the polystyrene scenery wobbled and the transporter was always broken down, but Kirk and Spock used to beam down to planets and have fist fights with aliens and 80% of the time, Kirk used to have an illicit affair with the most attractive of the alien women who resided there. Worth watching just for conversations like this:

Kirk: “Scotty, get this transporter working, we’ve got one minute and 23 seconds to beam aboard and save the universe!”
Spock: “That’s one minute 22.0982394832978478 seconds, to be precise captain.”

Very refreshing and so different from the ‘norm’ of televised Sci-fi. ‘Safe to turn off time’ is when the programme starts and anything other than the words ‘The Original Series’ appears after ‘STAR TREK’ on the screen.

Soap

Not Dove, Knight’s Castille, Carbolic etc., the other sort. Hollyoaks, Eastenders, Emmerdale Farm, Coronation Street, Pobol y Cwm – you know who they are.

‘Safe to turn off time’ is in the gap between when the continuity announcer says:
“And now (insert soap name here)
and before the opening music comes on.

If you can’t find the remote and the theme song is coming to an end and there’s still no sign of the remote. Put your foot through the telly.

Whatever next?


May 2019: Cause of Death

Murder is a funny thing isn’t it? Not comical- strange. Very popular these days as well. Just watch the news. I am not going to explore ‘murder’ here as if I have some morbid fascination for it, but I am going to discuss the way that it is reported in the news and on cop shows.

I have been intrigued by some of the ‘stories’ that I have read or heard regarding suspicious deaths and I will share them with you here. Perhaps you can offer some rational explanations to some of the theories offered by the authorities as to the causes of death or some of the detection techniques that are used.

One of the most used methods of establishing ‘time of death’ is to look at the victim’s watch. Almost in every episode of Midsomer Murders, the pathologist says to Tom Barnarby:

“Time of death was 3:45pm, because that’s what time his watch stopped.”

Jack Frost’s pathologist says it as well.

In reality, there’s some huge assumptions going on here:

  1. Did the method of killing the victim cause the watch to stop, or was he killed last week and it stopped because it hadn’t been wound for a few days?
  2. Was the victim’s watch showing the correct time when it stopped? – I just glanced at my watch and it’s three minutes fast!
  3. Had the battery run out?
  4. Was the watch working at all? Even a stopped watch shows the correct time twice in a 24 hour period?

If I was a policeman, I’d need a little more substantial evidence than the time showing on a deceased’s watch to build my case on.

And what if they find a body and the watch is still going? What does that mean?

Another one that has puzzled me is the one where they can’t identify a body, so they resort to dental records. If they don’t know who has been killed, how on earth do they know who his dentist is?

I’d love to know how this works – if anybody out there knows, please get in touch.

I have this picture in my mind of a young bobby going round all the dentists in the town with a plaster cast of a set of teeth in his pocket and asking:

“Recognise these?”

It’s a nice picture, but I don’t for one minute think it’s a true one.

One of the most intriguing ones I saw was on my internet home page news section.

The headline said: HEADLESS CORPSE FOUND. It was accompanied by a picture of a police car with copious quantities of the blue and white striped sellotape they use to cordon off areas, draped over the bonnet. You know the one I mean.

So, I clicked on the link and the story ‘opened up’.

Apparently, the headless body of a man had been found amongst some boxes and other wrapping materials near a market somewhere in London!

Here’s the interesting bit. According to a police autopsy report, they were unable to establish the cause of death.

Now I’m not Hercule Poirot, but I think that maybe the answer was so obvious that they may have missed it. If they examined the rest of the body and found no obvious causes of death in or on it – poisoning, drug overdose, bullet holes, stab wounds, Ebola, then they must be looking at the head … and there wasn’t one.

Neither am I a medical historian, but I am quite sure that it has not been recorded anywhere that a head or body had ever survived after having become detached from one another. If you know of an instance, please get in touch.

I don’t think that it is unreasonable to assume, after all other possible causes had been ruled out, that the lack of head was a pretty strong contender for ‘most likely culprit’.

Further down the article, they tackled the issue of ‘why’ the head had been removed and concluded that it may have been an attempt by the killers to conceal the victim’s identity – and within the same paragraph, went on to say that they had managed to identify the victim from the credit cards in his wallet which was found in his jacket pocket.

Let’s be fair, if you are going to kill someone and then become involved in one of the most extreme ‘hiding the identity of your victim’ exercises I can think of – removing the head, then perhaps you’d take the extra precaution of checking his pockets to make sure they didn’t contain a plethora of identity giveaways such as a chequebook, utility bills, passport, driving licence or checked the back of his collar to make sure his mother hadn’t sewn a name tag into it like my mother used to do to mine when I was in school to make sure that I came home wearing the same clothes that I left the house with on days when we had PE.

I think that is the longest sentence that has appeared in any of my ‘thoughts’ so far.

And what about Dennis Nilsen? You know, the civil servant who used to ‘kill for company’. When he was approached by the law, he openly admitted his crimes without any prompting from the officers involved. So you’d think the trial would last about 5 minutes wouldn’t you:

“Are you guilty of these crimes.”
“Yes.”
“Right, take him down and chuck the key away.”

Wrong! The trial went on for weeks. Why? Because the legal wranglers were trying to establish whether Nilsen was sane or not!

On yet another hand, people have questioned my sanity on the grounds that: I don’t like Christmas, parties, weddings, have 33 guitars, 29,000 albums, eat After Eights at half past seven, have the audacity to go out with a shirt and tie that don’t match, own a rabbit called Malcolm and a cockatiel called Blin, get annoyed when people ask me if I ‘understand what they mean’ three times in every sentence, hate soap, don’t like the Beatles, started to write unbelievably long sentences, miss appointments as a result of having a vocabulary good enough to understand what the term ‘next Friday’ means and being able to spell palaeontologist.

So if I’m insane and Nilsen is sane, then pass me a straightjacket and I’ll gladly wear it.

Er … what colour tie would go with that?


April 2019: Matching Shirt and Tie

Years ago the nature of my job meant that I had to wear a shirt and tie. This caused massive problems for a number of people– me being one of them.

By far, the most difficult thing I did on any working day was put a shirt on. This was due solely to my fingernails. They are very long- well on my right hand anyway. Rose, my partner calls them ‘talons’. I use them for playing my guitar.

Some people have asked me why I don’t use a plectrum – this is because I grow my own and I very rarely lose them. I was always losing plectra when I used them – usually by dropping them in the sound-hole in acoustic guitars. Have you ever tried getting a plectrum out of an acoustic guitar? Or even worse – a Gibson 335!

I also find it impossible to pick coins up from flat surfaces for the same reason – but that’s another story.

Anyway, back to shirts. The problem is doing the buttons up. I reckon I could have an extra hour in bed in the mornings if I didn’t have to put a shirt on. And the worst shirts are those that have buttons on the ‘point’ of the collar. A nightmare!

So I’ve got the shirt on, fully buttoned. I add the tie. Job done. Problem solved for me. This is where the problems for the other people started.

These problems are all about colours and patterns. I don’t understand anything about colours and patterns- not when it comes to shirts and ties anyway.

The technique I use when selecting my shirt was to grab one from the wardrobe – usually when I am looking somewhere else, maybe to locate my shoes or at the clock to see exactly how much time I had to get ready. My ‘tie selection’ was remarkably similar – a random ‘grab’ from the tie rack.

It is this ‘hit and miss’ selection method that caused the problems for the other people.

The trouble is they very rarely ‘matched’. These people were never shy in coming forward with their comments on my ‘colour scheme’ of the day. My reactions to these outbursts are pretty much the same.

In July 1986, I bought a box of Tic-Tacs (mint flavour). When I was getting near the end of the box, I poured some into the palm of my hand to eat and realised that the box was now empty, so I decided to put one back to eat later on. I ate the remaining Tic-Tacs safe in the knowledge that I had one left.

When ‘later-on’ finally arrived, I decided to eat my last Tic-Tac, and I discovered that something had happened when I put the last one back into the box. I don’t know what had actually happened, but I know that I hadn’t put it back in the box as it was empty. Maybe I dropped it. Maybe it had slipped through my fingers and was lurking somewhere in the lining of my pocket. Whatever had happened, the true fate of my last Tic-Tac was going to be a mystery for ever.

Quite frankly, I have worried more about that Tic-Tac than I have ever or ever will worry about my shirt/tie colour scheme!

Nevertheless, despite my attempts to explain to my critics how little this meant to me I still got barracked as soon as I arrived at work.

“Get dressed in the dark this morning Dai?”

This is the most common greeting. Of course, I needed an explanation and we had a little conversation. It went like this:

“Problem with my colour scheme?”
“That tie doesn’t go with that shirt!”
“Why?”
“Because they clash!”

Let’s analyse that. When I ask my critics the exact nature of the complaint, I am told that the colours don’t ‘go’! When I ask why, I am told that they ‘clash’.

Neither of my questions had been answered.

When I ask ‘why’ the colours don’t go together, ‘because they clash’ is not an answer. It’s merely saying that they don’t go together in a different way. I want to know why they clash. There must be a reason.

I think that the main reason is because people believe what they hear without ever thinking it through. They have been told that these colours ‘don’t go’ and they stick with that for the rest of their lives.

If someone can give me a rational explanation as to why they clashed and I can understand that there is a physical reason why I should not wear a striped shirt with a paisley tie, I would be a little more selective about my attire. Until then, I would continue to dress in the way that I did.

Some of the more articulate of my critics, tried to explain my lack of fashion sense by quoting a little poem. It went like this:

“Blue and green should never be seen,
Unless there’s another colour in between.”

Well, if this is true, what about bluebells? If they feel strongly about this little poem and they want to take it up seriously, then they should be prepared to cross swords with God! I mean, you can’t criticise his or her fashion sense can you?

I reckon my shirt and tie combination is the new black anyway.


March 2019: Eating Out

We eat out a lot. Every Saturday we eat out- we have no option.

Because we both work Monday to Friday, we have to do our shopping on a Saturday and this involves going out. As a result, we eat out. This is a part of the shopping process and it generally means eating in the restaurant part of whichever superstore we’re in or a pub or café in whichever town we find ourselves in when we are doing our shopping.

The thing is, there are those that say that we don’t ‘eat out’ at all. There’s ‘eating out’ and ‘eating out’ and in their eyes, we don’t ‘eat out’.

Let’s examine that last statement and try to work out exactly what it means – at first it may not make sense, but it’s really quite simple.

We are eating out because we are out of the house and we’re eating, that’s ‘eating out’. I may have mentioned my vocabulary before- I know what the words mean. The other form of ‘eating out’ is the ‘going out for a meal’ philosophy when the reason for going out is for the meal. That’s considered ‘proper eating out’, not the way we do it.

So, ‘going out for a meal’ is an entirely different kettle of fish and doesn’t mean the same as ‘eating out’ the way we do it. ‘Going out for a meal’ has become a social occasion in itself, and involves a large degree of snobbery to boot.

I find eating a chore, it’s a necessity. We have to do it or we’ll die. Eating interrupts my daily routine. I have to stop what I’m doing to eat, and as a result, I make the ‘eating’ process as quick and painless as possible. One of the things that I associate with ‘going out for a meal’ is that it takes a long time – a helluva long time and is by no means a ‘social occasion’.

Only once have my partner and I been ‘out for a meal’ – this was an onslaught! We sat down at noon and we were still awaiting the sweet at 4:20pm! I guess you could call that a once in a lifetime experience because when we left the premises, we both looked at each other and said in unison, “Never again.”

So it’s fair to say that meals are not social occasions for us and although we do eat out, this is as a consequence of being out and not why we go out.

I mentioned the word ‘snobbery’ earlier on. “Why did you use the word, ‘snobbery’ Dai?” I hear you say. Well ‘snobbery’ is the best way to describe the way in which the meal is reported.

I am absolutely astounded by the sheer small mindedness of people, who for some reason, think that I may be interested in what they had to eat the previous night. So, despite being told, they still bore me out of all proportion with a 25 minute barrage of drivel when they relate what they had for starters, main course, sweet, cheese and biscuits, coffee and liqueurs etc. I hate that.

Of course this is just a prequel to the real reason why they are telling you this. This is a big build up to the punch-line. And the reason is - to tell you how much it cost.

“Oh yes, it was marvellous, and you know what, it only came to £450. Mind you, we did have two bottles of wine as well.”

Oh, well that makes it an absolute bargain then doesn’t it…

My partner and I went to Cornwall a few years ago and stumbled across a place called Padstow. Whilst wandering around this quaint little village we encountered a large queue which went two thirds of the way around a building. We didn’t join the queue, but we did walk alongside it until we got to the front and saw why these people were queuing. They were queuing to get into Rick Stein’s restaurant. I managed to catch one comment from one of the punters as we passed, “Oh yes, we always eat at Rick’s when we come to Cornwall”. I wouldn’t like to be in his office in the morning to have to listen to his commentary on the meal at Rick’s, and the price. Oh, and the price!

Just out of interest, I looked at the price list in the window. I only saw the first item on the Starters menu and stopped reading. It said:

Tomato Soup  - £10

What can you do to tomato soup to make it worth £10? I’d insist on seeing Rick opening the tin himself – with his teeth before I’d pay £10 for a bowl of tomato soup.

No, I take that back. I wouldn’t pay £10 for a bowl of tomato soup under any circumstances. Tomato soup is not worth £10. Well it is if you have 15 gallons of the stuff, but you don’t get 15 gallons of soup in posh restaurants do you – more like, you’d be lucky to get enough soup to cover a slice of bread with an evenly-spread 25 micron thick coating.

Going back, for a moment, to the infamous once in a lifetime meal that I spoke of earlier – the starter came to me on a saucer. A saucer! Yes, this is not a typo, it was a saucer. Not only did it come to me on a saucer, the only part of the receptacle that contained any food was the little circular depression in the middle that the cup rests on!

And it looked like a piece of art. I didn’t know whether to eat it or hang it in Tate Modern. But at least it had a drizzle of olive oil.

According to the menu, this starter was worth £17.50!

Restaurateurs have been taking the mick out of restaurant-goers for years. It’s a licence to print money! The portions are tiny and the prices are extortionate. And people will flock to eat in these restaurants and pay the prices because they think that if they do it ‘says something about them’. I won’t put here what I say about them – I have said it to them though.

And another thing. The more horrible something is, the more expensive it is.

I have had the misfortune of eating Beluga caviar. Google tells me that currently it costs £225 for 50g. It is absolutely vile. It is beyond my comprehension that anyone with fully functioning taste buds can put their hand on their heart and honestly say that it is nice. But the Brownie points you score when you add that you’ve spooned a few portions of that down your crop during your latest sojourn to the local bistro is absolutely staggering.

One last mention of the once in a lifetime meal – on the way home we stopped off at the chippy and had pasty and chips because we were starving. People who have just had a five course meal shouldn’t really be doing that, but that sums up the ‘going out for a meal’ ethic for me.

I think that my response to the waiter to his question:

“How did you find your steak sir?”

“I just moved a pea and there it was.”

was perfectly justified, even though it was not graciously received.

Incidentally, pasty and chips twice, cost less than one starter – it’s absurd.

So, we don’t go out for meals, and I’m glad.

When we do eat out, as opposed to ‘going out for a meal’, I object very strongly to the token ‘enjoy your meal’ throwaway comment that waiters/waitresses make as they dump your brunch on the table in front of you. It sounds like an instruction! I hope that this phrase will be taken out of the ‘table waiting training manual’ very soon because if anything is going to make me not enjoy my meal is the thought that it is compulsory and I can get myself into some sort of trouble if I don’t.

Next Saturday I’m going to Lidl to buy a bottle of olive oil and I’m going to carry it around with me at all times. Why? I hear you say.

So I can give the head of next person who decides to tell me what they’ve had to eat the night before a severe drizzle.

I bet Rick would be proud of me.


February 2019: The Safe Humour of modern TV Comedy

Well, what can I say? TV comedy ….dear, dear, dear. It’s a shame really because there are some really funny people out there. The problem is that they’ve all followed a very similar pattern when producing their shows – they’re very popular, but aren’t they pulling a really big scam? Am I the only person to have noticed? I hope not.

Let me explain.

Back in the 1960s, there was a chap called Dick Emery. He did sketch shows and he had lots of characters. I want to concentrate on two characters in particular – one was a very flamboyant middle-aged woman, I guess modelled on Diana Dors, and the other was a very camp chap who minced around in very bright colours!

The scenario was that a ‘street interviewer’ approached one or t’other of these characters to ask a topical question. At some point during the ‘interview’ the interviewer would ask a question that would be a double entendre. Naturally, the Emery character would assume that the interviewer was being smutty and punch him on the shoulder and follow it with the line:

“Oooh you are awful …………………..but I like you.”

And that was the end of the sketch.

I suppose it was moderately funny at the time, or perhaps the first time, but it happened show after show, series after series.

What was actually happening here was Emery had created a successful character, penned a funny sketch, and then decided to bombard his audience with it every week. He actually took away the audience’s right to laugh until the “Oooh you are awful.” bit had come.

They waited for him to say it, then laughed. They knew it was coming, but they sat through it until the “Oooh you are awful.” cue came, and …….they laughed.

Turn the TV on now, and we have the same thing. Since the mid-eighties we have watched blockbuster comedy, awarding winning comedy – and we’ve been watching the same show over and over again.

Here’s my advice – watch the first-ever episode of a new comedy show, and go out and play pool or something for the rest, and all subsequent series and repeats – ‘cos if you’ve seen the first, you’ve seen ‘em all.

Safe humour that’s what it is – they know it’ll be a hit, so they give the audience what they want. They don’t want to have to analyse the ‘joke’ or work on complicated plots, they want it on a plate.

Write a cracking first episode, set your stall out, develop the characters and let the punters know what’s going to happen, then give them the same episode, only tweaked a little, for the rest of their lives.

I mean if you are a producer of a comedy programme, you wouldn’t want to do that would you? I mean, I really don’t think you meant to do that did you?

But if it suits the audience, well, it suits you sir, and you sir and it suits you as well madam. The trouble is, if people don’t want this, they have to be vocal about it. Because if they don’t, the writers will think that’s what you want. And if that’s what you want mate, that’s what you’ll get, I said that’s what you’ll get mate.

And you’ll get two old codgers sitting in big chairs saying things like:

“See that heap of garbage over there, that’s our act that is.”

So, let’s do a little survey:

Scenario one

A chap is pushing a wheelchair down the street. The wheelchair is occupied by his friend. The ‘pusher’ notices that one of the wheels has a puncture, so he puts the brake on the chair and tells his friend he’s going to the shop to buy a pump.

During the time that the ‘pusher’ is away buying the pump, does the wheelchair occupier:

  • Sit patiently for his friend to return?
  • Chat politely to passers by?
  • Read a newspaper?
  • Go hang-gliding?

Scenario two

An old woman is sitting in a front room with her grandson. A visitor calls round with some home made cake and some flowers for the old woman – a nice gesture. The old woman is moved to tears and tells the visitor how thoughtful she is and how much she appreciates the gifts. The visitor says she has to go. The old woman sees her to the door. When the visitor has left, the old woman:

  • Makes a nice cup of tea
  • Watches Eastenders
  • Puts the flowers in a vase
  • Swears uncontrollably and subjects her grandson to a tirade of abuse aimed at the visitor suggesting that she is not nice. (Severely watered down description).

Scenario three

A bland looking corner shop. Very little stock in sight. A customer comes in and asks for something really obscure – like a saddle for a five humped camel.

The shop owner shuffles backwards until he is near an open door which leads to the living quarters. He turns his head towards the door and;

  • Informs the customer that they don’t sell five humped camel saddles
  • Shouts “MARGARET!!!!!”

Scenario four

People come into work the morning after a broadcast and re-enact one of the ‘sketches’ from last night’s show. You know, two people who sit face to face across a desk and spend the morning saying:

  • “Am I bovvered?”
  • “Am I bovvered – look at my face, am I BOVVERED.”

Enough of scenarios - I mean, yeah but no but, the thing is I was meant to go down the shop for an Argus, like, and I seen Josh and Katie, right, and he reckon I was with Casey last night, and I wasn’t, I was down the tunnel wi’ Rob and Mercedes and ‘er baby and anyway, Casey stayed in, I know ‘cos her mam wouldn’t let her out ‘cos of what ‘appened Friday. Then the Police come and said I’d trashed Mrs Jenkins’ garden an I said yeah but no but ……. Yes this is what we laugh at!

Anyway, if you answered 4 to scenario one, 4 to scenario two,  2 to scenario three and scenario four made you feel sick, you now have no reason to watch any more new series of TV comedy. Why? Because you’ve already seen ‘em. Even the ones that haven’t been written …. sorry, modified yet.

Let’s go back to the sixties and imagine an alternative Monty Python ‘setlist’

Show 1

  • Dead Parrot Sketch
  • Spam Sketch
  • Lumberjack Song
  • Ministry of Silly Walks
  • Cheese Shop
  • Climbing the two peaks of Kilimanjaro

Show 2

  • Dead Panamanian tree frog sketch
  • Plumrose chopped ham with pork sketch
  • Steeplejack Song
  • Ministry of Speech Impediments
  • Fruit Shop
  • Climbing the four peaks of Mt Fuji

Show 3

  • Dead Staffordshire bull terrier sketch
  • Corned Beef Sketch
  • Civil Engineer Song
  • Ministry of Arm Defects
  • Grocers Shop
  • Climbing the eight peaks of Ben Nevis

Etc

It wouldn’t happen – these guys had imagination. They wrote show after show of completely unique material. And they were all ‘something completely different’.

The TV companies don’t seem to want this any more. Nowadays they want to insult the viewers’ intelligence by pre-programming them so that they laugh ‘on cue’. The audience know the gags before they see the show and wait for the punch-line before laughing. That is what I call ‘safe humour’ in the extreme.

And am I bovvered ……………….. not arf!  (sorry Fluff)


January 2019: The over-use of science terms

It would have been the mid to late 1970s when I heard it first. It may have happened before that- I just noticed it then. By the mid 1970s, my vocabulary had increased exponentially since the last time I mentioned it – and I could spell palaeontologist!

Most of the words that I had added to my vocabulary were scientific ones as I have become a scientist by this time – which is probably why I noticed it.

“What did you notice, Dai?” I hear you say.

I noticed that advertisers had started to use scientific words and terms in their spiel.

I suspect that this was because advertisers thought that introducing these terms into their ‘jingles’ added credibility to the products they were hawking. I guess it worked because adverts today are peppered with ‘scientific words’ that give the consumer very little information about the product, yet make it sound good.

Probably the most used at the time, and still in use is the word ‘aerobic’.

People did everything aerobically – they went to work aerobically, climbed the stairs aerobically, exercised aerobically. They even had classes where people danced around to music. This was called aerobics.

Aerobics classes were, basically, a disco in the day without booze and no scrap in the car park. And someone led the dancing. You didn’t get that in proper night-time discos.

At the moment I am actually writing this in an aerobic environment – I’m not Hercule Poirot but I am 100% certain that you are reading this in an aerobic environment as well. Unless you are currently residing in a vacuum.

The thing is you see, aerobic used to mean ‘in the presence of air’. Well, it still does. The only thing is it now means lots of other things as well.

I have never been in a vacuum so I can state categorically that everything I have done so far (and I’m 63) has been done aerobically. I guess you are the same.

One of my favourites is polyunsaturates. What a fantastic word! What a word to ‘chuck’ into advertising spiel – genius! Who knows what it means?

But, there it was, right in the middle of a margarine commercial. Suddenly everyone ‘knew’ that if something didn’t have polyunsaturates in it, it wasn’t worth eating and people spent hours scouring the small print on the packaging to weed out the products that didn’t have polyunsaturates in them.

“I only have stuff these days that have so many polyunsaturates in that you need to be Tyson Fury to push lid on.”

Personally I prefer monosaturates, but I’m a bit funny like that. And these ‘free radicals’ that everyone talks about – I’ve always had to pay for mine!

So the scientific boom took off and advertisers clambered over themselves in order to find a more complicated sounding word. And then suddenly ... they found it ...

Monosodium Glutamate – Wow! What a corker! Where can I get some from?

Shoppers now had a new word to discuss at checkouts. If you were really lucky you could find ‘stuff’ that was packed with polyunsaturates and had monosodium glutamate in it as well. Once you had identified products containing both, you rang all your friends and you bought only those until the next word came along.

And, these words came along – too many to mention here. That’s because I have to concentrate on the best, most profitable scientific term to be exploited to date.

Organic.

I doubt whether they’ll ever beat organic as a misleading licence to print money.

Everything you can eat is organic. If it wasn’t, you couldn’t eat it.

There are things that are organic that you can’t eat, but you can’t eat anything that isn’t. At least, I can’t think of any at the moment.

The word organic simply means that suppliers can stick an extra fiver a pound onto something that they ‘claim’ is organic – even though the product is organic anyway!

“Can I have a pound of carrots please?”

“Certainly madam, would you like these organic ones?”

“No, I think I’ll try the stainless steel ones over there …..oh and I’ll have two pounds of granite tomatoes while I’m at it. Didn’t like the garnet mica-schist ones I had last week, they were a bit gritty.”

“Anything else madam.”

“Yes please anything that has polyunsaturates, monosodium glutamate and pro-V vitamins in it. Gotta be careful these days innit. Global warming see. Oh aye!”

Where will it end?

Perhaps …

“Don’t miss Ed Sheeran’s new album. It’s marvellous. Lots of great songs, great flute, singing, harp and packed full of trioxydiphenolpolysynthacetyldistratalamine!”

And monosodium glutamate.

It’s organic ‘an all.

Honest.


December 2018: Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly

Tra-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
'Tis the season to be jolly
Tra-la-la-la-la, la-la-la- whoa!

No, no, no!

“Oh surely not Christmas, Dai?” I hear you say.

‘Fraid so.

Christmas is a time of great ambivalence in the vicinity of ‘me’. Can’t really decide which way the needle on the swingometer would go on this one.
On the one hand, I get time off work. Which is good.
On the other hand, the rest of it is bad. Very bad.

I work ‘office hours’ which means that everything is closed when I leave to go to work, and closed when I come home. That means that if I want to go to the bank, the dentist, the post office, ring the tax office, renew my TV licence etc., I have to book a day off. Quite a lot of these things I can do on a Saturday, so Saturdays are written off trudging around all the places that I can’t visit through the week. Even then, there are things that I can only do on weekdays, so they don’t get done unless I use valuable annual leave days in order to do them.

So, when Christmas comes, I find I have weekdays off – marvellous. And then I find everywhere is closed …….. because it’s Christmas.

That’s not the worst thing about Christmas. There are lots of worse things about Christmas- the trouble is I can’t decide which of the worse things is the worst.

Perhaps it’s the relentless barrage of back-to-back ‘family films’ where American children save the world over and over again. Plot: their parents will be separated at the start of the film and they will have a little dog that goes missing after five minutes.

An hour and a half later, just after they've saved the world, their parents will fall in love again and as the ‘lovey-dovey’ strings come in to herald the start of the end titles, the dog suddenly appears from a manhole, safe and sound. “Aw, there’s lovely”.

Just time for a quick break dominated by Ker-Plunk, Mousetrap and My Little Pony ads, before another remarkably similar ‘American children save the world again’ film starts. These are interjected occasionally by British films such as The Great Escape and the Wizard of Oz – sorry that’s about an American child saving something. And there’s a dog in it.
So it’s just one British film then. But it’s always those two.

Perhaps it’s the Slade song. Everywhere you go it’s blasting through tannoys and piped into lifts and public toilets- it normally comes as a package with classics such as the Wizzard song, and the plethora of other Christmas ditties that are supposed to ‘get us in the mood’. Gets me in a mood!

Perhaps it’s the droves of frantic shoppers who swarm into Newport and Cardiff like herds of stampeding buffalo so that they can buy ……….. anything. And they’ll be yelling into mobile phones:

“Where are you now? I’m in Smiths, I’ve got the ‘X Station Play Box from Hell’ and the DVD and the 139 inch flat screen, the entire Simpsons episodes box set, the Wii, the Fender Stratocaster, the iPod and the MP3 player for Jamie. Shall I get Amy’s Wii here? They’ve got two left? Oh you’ve got one. Great. Did you get her laptop and the digi-cam? And the new mobile with the video and built-in DVD player, you know the one that cooks your tea for you when you get home? Good. I’ll just pop over the jewellers for their main presents, then all we have to do is get something for their stockings. Oh, and they haven’t got the Ed Sheeran CD, perhaps we can nip over to Bristol, they’re bound to have it over there. Yeah, see you back at the car.”

Or perhaps it’s the woman who can see that the shop she wants to enter is crammed solid to the front door with people. The aisles are full, people are queuing to get out, it’s worse than the Black Hole of Calcutta – and she is trying to force her way in, with a pushchair! She will probably have three squealing kids hanging off each arm as well. She will be ‘empathising’ with their obvious distress by saying something like;

“If you don’t shut up, you can stay at nannies tonight, and you won’t have no Christmas dinner neither!”

If I decided to walk into an empty shop with a wheelbarrow full of pigeon droppings, they’d probably ask me to leave. Why? I’d cause less fewer problems and wouldn’t smell as bad.

If there’s anyone out there who can explain the mentality of someone who does that, please get in touch. By that I mean ‘try to get into an already crowded shop with a pushchair’ – not a barrow full of pigeon droppings, although both actions throw serious doubts on the perpetrators’ sanity.

Maybe it’s the parties – I won’t dwell much on this topic as I have mentioned these before, but it’s ‘party time plus VAT’ at Christmas!

The first, and for many the last over the Christmas period, is the works ‘do’. This is where a whole conglomeration of people, who have nothing whatsoever in common apart from the fact that they work together, are thrown together for a ‘social event’. So you’ll have seasoned drinkers and people who rarely bother, guzzling beer together as if it’s going out of fashion.

The end result – the whole payroll are howling drunk, usually before the meal is served, and the garbled conversations throughout will be about work – because that’s the only thing they know about each other.

This is an ideal opportunity for drunken members of staff to tell their line managers what they really think of them, and for the ‘aggression gene’ to be triggered into action – owned those who think that they turn into Mike Tyson after three and a half pints of lager, and attack the first person who they think are ‘looking at them funny!’

It will also be an opportunity for the office lothario to use the office ‘do’ as a hunting ground to ‘add a few notches’ to his well hacked bedpost – usually on the photocopier. And of course, it’s easy to press the ‘start’ button to record the event for posterior. Sorry, posterity.

On the other hand, it might be the daft things people say – one of my favourites is:

“Oh we love Christmas morning, watching the kids opening their presents.”

Watching the kids opening their presents! What on earth does that mean?

Well I actually do know what it means, (my vocabulary has increased exponentially and as such I can now spell micropalaeontologist), I just can’t understand the fascination of it.

I haven’t got kids myself but I don’t think I could see how much of a big deal this is. Perhaps someone who has kids may like to invite me round to their house on a Christmas morning to watch their children opening their presents and maybe I can see if there’s anything in it. And what’s the protocol? – would I return the invitation by asking them to pop round my house to watch me opening my mail, or maybe observe me putting our shopping away when we come back from Morrisons?

According to most parents, kids have more fun out of the boxes that these presents came in that they ever did from their contents!

Or perhaps it’s the carol singers. These are really irritating. Nobody does it properly – they think they can arrive on your doorstep, sing three quarters of the first line of a well known carol and then you are obliged to shower them with money and platefuls of hot mince-pies covered in clotted cream.

They do it backwards these days, and that really annoys me – they knock the door and start singing when you answer it, and never a great rendition either:

“Good King Wencelas looked out
Dum de doo de da da” …………………………gradually fizzles out, accompanied by a ‘give us some money’ gesture.

Perhaps it’s the 14-17 year old hoodies who don’t even bother to learn the first line of the carols they ‘hum’ when you answer the door – they are too busy trying to hold themselves up whilst trying to get you to fund their next flagon of White Lightning or whatever is the most popular ‘yoof’ tipple of the day, nowadays.

Another really irritating thing about it all is the way that the media controls people. Christmas is a prime example.
Poor old Joe Public, apart from having to find the cash to pay for the mortgage, gas, electricity, car, water, TV, insurances, food and everything else his family use throughout the year, has two BIG things to set his sights on. Woes betide him if he fails on either of these, well, on any of the others as well, but these are the ones everyone notices, the main ones. They’re the summer holidays and Christmas.

So, he’s been saving hand over fist for (revisit paragraph recounting the person in Smith’s on the mobile), to ensure that he has ‘met his requirements’ for the occasion and earned his Christmas dinner. He’s done it. All the family are happy, he’s had his dinner – found a 10p in the pudding! The queen’s speech has finished …and ....the first advert after the Queen's speech is …….for Thomson holidays!

Poor old Joe gets about 18 seconds of respite before the media give him just a little nudge, as if to say:

“Well Christmas is gone now mate and if you haven’t got everything by now it’s too late. Put it behind you – hey, don’t forget your holidays, that’s the next thing you have to strive for. Christmas has been a success, now don’t let them down – make sure they have a goodun this summer!”

Yes, I think it would be fair to say that I’m not a huge fan of Christmas.


November 2018: Communication Problems

I’m very good at answering questions, as they are put. I can give someone an instant answer to their question, and my answer will be logical, well thought out and accurate. The trouble is, very often when I have responded, I am aware that I may be slightly ‘out of sync’ with the questioner - it becomes clear when these responses are met with frowns and furrowed brows.

I play guitar and I am right handed. I don’t like to use plectrums because they are awkward fiddly little things and I am forever dropping them. I find it difficult enough to play guitars as it is without concentrating on having to hold on to those blinkin’ things as well! The worst bit is when you drop them inside the sound-hole of a guitar. Try getting it out! And if you drop one into a Gibson 335 through one of the ‘f’ holes you can forget it. I have a rattley 335 that I’ve had since 1978 and it’ll still be rattling when it is featured on the Antiques Roadshow in the year 2089 – if the programme is still running, of course.

To overcome my plectorial issues I have long nails on my right hand (to pluck the strings) and short nails on my left (so that I can place my fingers in the fret-board). A very common ‘communication problem’ that I experience here is when people spot my hands and say:
“Why do you grow your nails on your right hand?”, as if they think I nurture them like someone who grows tomatoes.

I don’t ‘grow’ them, they grow automatically. I have no control over their growth whatsoever. The only thing I make a conscious decision about when it comes to nail length is: when it comes to cutting or biting them, I opt out. Apart from my left hand, that is. So, when I explain to my inquisitors that I am not ‘growing’ my nails, I am simply ‘not cutting’ them, they look at me as if I am from Mars and the topic of conversation, after a pregnant pause, swiftly moves onto something else.

Another common ‘communication problem that I experience is when the term; “See you next Friday”, crops up. It doesn’t have to be Friday, it could be Sunday, Wednesday or any other day, but I will use Friday for this example.

When I agree to meet someone next Friday, about 50% of the time one of us fails to turn up. For some reason, the term next Friday means different things to different people. I know what the word ‘next’ means. I am not sure that I am in the majority of the population’s understanding of the definition of ‘next’.

The last of many 'next' incidents was when I was speaking to my boss about a problem. It was a Monday afternoon. He said, “Come and see me at 11am next Friday and we’ll discuss it fully.”

At 11am on the dot on the following Friday I’m knocking on his door. I did not expect his greeting:
“Hi Dai, what can I do for you?”
“Er, we spoke on Monday and you said to pop to see you at 11am on Friday. Did you forget?”
“Oh, erm. Actually I was expecting you next Friday.”
“Why?”
“Well, because next Friday is next Friday.” (In a patronising tone).
“But when you said that to me on Monday, ‘next Friday’ is today in my book.”
“Eh?”
“Well it’s the first Friday we’ve encountered since Monday, that’s what ‘next’ means. After Monday when you said it, this is the first Friday that’s come along. That’s why I’m here now, because it is the next Friday to arrive after your invitation.”
“Ah, I can see where the confusion is now. No, today is ‘this Friday’, when I said ‘next Friday’ I meant the Friday of next week, a week today, if you’d prefer.”
“So, if we were both on a bus stop and I asked you which bus I had to catch to take me to Cardiff and you told me to catch the ‘next bus’, would you expect me to ignore the next bus to arrive at the bus stop and catch the one after that?”
“Er, no?”
“You do have some concept of the meaning of ‘next’ then?”
“Of course.”
“So what’s the difference between Fridays and buses then? You’re spot on with buses but all over the shop when it comes to Fridays.”
“Er … well, actually I’ve got some time now, shall we, erm, do it now instead of next Friday?”
“Well, seeing as it’s next Friday now, let’s do it now then.”

I have thought long and hard about this common misnomer which has caused me great distress and inconvenience over the years and analysed, fully, the ways in which Fridays can be used and identified, correctly, in the English language:
‘Today’ –  Used if you are referring to that day and on that day it is a Friday when you are doing the referring .
‘Tomorrow’ – Used on a Thursday you are referring to the following day – which will be a Friday.
‘Yesterday’ – Used on a Saturday when referring to things that happened on the previous day.
‘Last Friday’ – Used to refer to the previous Friday that occurred prior to the day that you are referring to it.
‘Next Friday’ – Used to refer to the next Friday that is due to arrive after the day that you are actually doing the referring.

And that’s it.

NB: No mention of ‘this Friday’ at all. ‘This Friday’ doesn’t exist. It is a red herring that people chuck into conversations to deliberately disrupt my social calendar. There is no ‘this Friday’. And that’s my final word on the matter.

Another ‘communication problem.’ I remember mentioning to a friend that I had been given a pirate copy of the latest Hollywood blockbuster movie that was still in the cinema and hadn’t been released on DVD yet. He asked me if it was a good copy.

When I replied; “Dunno, I haven’t seen the original”, he looked at me as if I’d grown another head! He seemed to think that I could give him a judgement on the quality of the copy without having seen the original. I didn’t. Apparently his query was all about whether the copy was watchable or not, my answer was to the question as it was put - about whether the ‘copy’ was an accurate representation of the original. Isn’t that what a copy is?

To illustrate, I was given a copy of a DVD of a concert that was shot from the audience on someone’s mobile phone – it was absolutely awful! A friend asked me if I could copy it for him, and I did. This ‘copy’ was equally as unwatchable as the original but it was an excellent copy. That’s what the word copy means, innit?

Here are some more:

When asked to check by my partner  ‘how many potatoes’ we had, I was met with a severely furrowed brow, when I replied: “Seventeen”.
I made the mistake of thinking that any question that started with the words:
“How many ……?”, must contain a number in the answer.
According to my partner, what she wanted to know was ‘if we had enough’.

Enough for what? The rest of our lives? The street? ………….apparently it was if we had enough for dinner. Well the answer to that is, if we are going to eat anything under or up to seventeen we’re OK, anything over that and we’ve had it.

And to answer the question that everybody asks- how did I know there were seventeen in the ‘spud tray’- I counted them. This is why I was able to give such a precise answer to a very flimsy question.

One of my favourites was the day my partner decided to involve me in the pre-shopping ritual of preparing a shopping list. The conversation went like this:

“Dai, make a list of the things we want.”
“I don’t know what we want.”
“Then look in the cupboard and see what we haven’t got.”
“Looking in the cupboard is going to tell me nothing."
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if I look in the cupboard the only information I can glean from that is what we have got – what we haven’t got won’t be in there!”

Another one that tripped me up surrounded the wrong usage of the word ‘get’. This anecdote is authentic and is reported here as it happened, but, I must be honest when it happens now I just act thick and do something similar because it is a very new and annoying misnomer that is creeping into the language.

A friend called round. I said: “Fancy a cuppa?”
“Yeah, thanks. Can I get a coffee, white no sugar?”
“Sure.”

I put the kettle on, made myself a cup of tea and came back into the room, sat down and started chatting to him. He must’ve changed his mind because he didn’t go into the kitchen and get a coffee, white with no sugar – he just sat and chatted to me with a furrowed brow.

Another area that causes communication problems for me is trying to converse with people who use a method of responding to questions that I call, “The answer any question apart from the one that has been asked technique and leave Dai to try to guess the information he requires.” (I have never guessed right).

Some examples below. In all examples, I am the questioner.

“Nice guitar. Where did you get it from?”
“Oh, I’ve had it for ages.”

“Are you enjoying this film?”
“I’ve seen it before”

“How long are you going to be?”
“I’m just putting my boots on.”

“How far is it from here to Newport?”
“About half an hour.”

(Since when has distance been measured in hours? And time taken to reach a destination surely depends on which way you go and how fast you drive, doesn’t it?)

“When was the last time you saw Derek?”
“Oh, I haven’t been out for ages, mate.”

“How long have you been a veggie?”
“Ever since we came back from Tenerife.”

Aaarrrggghhhhhh!

To recap, I’d like to revisit that marvellous phrase from the text and marvel in it one more time. I am referring to a phrase that Shakespeare at his best could not match. Of course, I’m thinking about:

“Then look in the cupboard and see what we haven’t got.”

Just savour that for a few moments.

And, I’m writing this on a Thursday night. If at any time today, any of you asked me to give you a ring next Friday, then expect a call from me tomorrow.


October 2018: I Hate A Good Party

I love a good party ……… sorry, I’ll start again. I hate a good party. I also hate bad parties, mediocre parties and anything else in between. The word ‘party’ makes me shudder, especially if preceded with the term, ‘Will you come to my?’

Apart from driving cars, parties cause me more stress than anything else. “But you are supposed to enjoy parties!” I hear you say. Well, I guess people do enjoy themselves at parties, but it’s not compulsory. I think people ‘enjoy’ themselves at parties because they think it is compulsory.

They go into ‘enjoyment mode’ as soon as they arrive at the venue – ‘enforced glee’ if you like. “Yippee, here we are! So nice to see you! Let’s start enjoying ourselves!”.  And they don a paper hat and bounce off into the ‘crowd’ making strange whooping sounds whilst firing party poppers at anything that moves.

I can’t seem to be able to start ‘enjoying’ myself to order – unlike most. “Right lads, enjoying yourselves, on the count of three. One ….. two …… wait for it …. wait for it, …..too soon Atkins, get to the back of the queue. Three!! Begin……. now!!”

I have spent hours staring aghast at groups of people doing the ‘Birdie Song’, ‘Agadoo’ and that one where they all sit on the floor rowing to the Hawaii 5-0 tune. Fascinating!

And then suddenly one of them will spot me and come over. “Don’t sit there on your own Dai, come over here with us and enjoy yourself.”

The sheer arrogance of it. The whole concept that I would enjoy myself if I ‘came over there with them’ is absurd. “This is a party Dai, you need to enjoy yourself. The trouble with you is you don’t know how to enjoy yourself and we’re the people to show you how.”

I’m 63 now and I’ve enjoyed myself thousands of times. The trouble is, none of those times have been at a party.

I don’t like the people who force themselves onto me in order to ‘aide’ my enjoyment. They try to drag me physically onto the dance-floor when it’s obvious I don’t want to. I object to that.

I also object to the fact that when they are trying to do it, they are so drunk that their eyeballs look as if they’re about to change places with each other at any moment whilst they’re blowing those hooter things, you know – they look like a Swiss-roll that uncurls when you blow into it. Usually has feather on the end.

Now, let’s get on to weddings. Obviously a big day for those getting wed, but for me it’s an utter nightmare.

A typical wedding itinerary is:

  • Arrive at the church, hang about and exchange pleasantries with other people who are also hanging about.
  • Go inside the church and hang about until the bride arrives (late by tradition)
  • Participate in the service (half an hour of real activity, although contains 10 minutes of hanging about while they sign the book)
  • Go outside the church and hang about while photos are taken and aunties kiss the couple.
  • Go to the reception venue and hang about until the bride and groom arrive.
  • Hang around inside the venue with the bride and groom, until dinner is ready.
  • Participate in the reception (this is the second real activity of the day – but is interjected with several periods of hanging about, between courses, speeches etc)
  • Largest period of hanging about yet – clearing away the dinner stuff and setting up the disco.
  • The Party! Agadoo, Birdie Song, Hawaii 5-0 thing et al. Stopped half way through for the buffet.
  • Disco continues after buffet. Scrap starts. Scrap normally heralds the end of the festivities.

A lot of hanging about. I don’t like hanging about either.

I like looking at the factions at the wedding reception. You have;

  • The bride’s family - top tablers
  • The groom’s family - top tablers
  • The bride’s friends - all on one table
  • The groom’s friends - all on one table
  • The people who the bride works with - all on one table
  • The people who the groom works with - all on one table
  • The ‘others’ - all on one table

The others? There always seems to be a group of people at weddings that don’t fall into any of the categories 1-6 in the list above. These are the ‘nobody knows who the hell they are’ faction. They are at every wedding and don’t get involved with any of the others. In reality, the occupants of the other tables don’t mix either. They conduct their own festivities within the confines of their own table. They’re like satellites orbiting the ‘top table’. The merging of the tables’ occupants only comes when the disco starts and they venture onto the floor to jiggle around to whatever drivel the DJ decides to bombard his audience with.

All participants in this exercise must be made aware of a major Health & Safety hazard here – the children, formerly employed as page boys and bridesmaids, will be holding hands running around uncontrollably and weaving themselves around all obstacles – furniture and people alike, in some sort of ‘time’ with the music, like a great big snake, only more deadly than any encountered by the likes of Irwin and Attenborough.

It is the period after the buffet when the disco gets going for the second time that ‘bonding’ of the factions takes place with earnest. This is more generally known as ‘the scrap’ and these, previously autonomous groups merge into one and really ‘get close’ to each other. By this time, of course, the feral children will have discarded their shoes and are now sliding around the floor independently of each other. They will have realised that you can slide farther if you are not connected as a snake and will pursue their newly found skill until they are either stopped by a parent or collide with an object, such as an item of furniture or another human being.

Anyway, enough of that.

On the whole, I am always likely to decline an invitation to a party because I dislike them so much. The trouble is, when you decline an invitation there follows an inquest as to why you won’t go. I think that if people are kind enough to invite me, they should then be gracious enough to accept my ‘thanks but no thanks’ response.

So, although I am not obliged to explain my reason why, it’s never good enough.

For some reason the term “I don’t like parties.” becomes either misunderstood or misconstrued to mean something else.

Misunderstood? – perhaps by the time the term leaves my mouth and before it reaches the ears of the person I’m speaking to, it has mysteriously been translated into Latin or Klingon or something, because it is normally countered with;

“What do you mean, you don’t like parties?”

Misconstrued? – He didn’t mean that, there’s obviously some sinister reason why he won’t go and he doesn’t like to say. Perhaps he doesn’t like me!

It seems that it is acceptable to refuse some requests but unacceptable for others:

Quiz time

It is OK no answer ‘no’ to some of these questions. Which are they?

“Would you like to come to my house and hang from the ceiling by your toenails?”
“Could you look after my cobra while I pop down the Spar for some cornflour?”
“Can I take a few snaps of your missus in the nude to show the lads in work?”
“Do you want to come to my party?”

Answer

The first three.

D’ya know what I mean?


September 2018: Buzzwords and Youth Language- A Grumpy Old Valleys Man Rebels

Whatever happened to the language that I learned as a kid? I sat exams in those days and one of the ones I passed was a thing called an O Level which confirmed that I had learned English to a level that when I used it I could understand and be understood by those who used it alongside me.

All went well until I got a job doing admin in an office. I was introduced to the boss on my first morning, who said: “So, you must be David. Welcome aboard.”

I thought, “Welcome aboard? I wasn’t aware that I’d just joined the Navy!”

Since then I’ve taken part in ‘thought showers’ where everyone ‘touched base’ to ‘make sure we were all singing from the same hymn-sheet’ before shinning up the proverbial ‘greasy pole’. You know, ‘making sure we had all our ducks in a row’.

I thought I’d better become fluent in this language ‘PDQ’ to be honest; didn’t want to make a fool of myself in front of the ‘fat man in the canoe’ did I? This involved two strategies, ‘blue sky thinking’ and the sort that is done ‘outside the box’. If I was going to get ‘up to speed’ – it was a ‘big ask’ I know, but I was ‘on the case 24/7’.

Anyway, after I had ‘drilled down’ all the inappropriate standard terms, I was ‘going forward’ in my quest to avoid being the ‘Dilbert’ in the company. It nearly went ‘pear shaped’ a few times but I managed to ‘ramp up’ at the ‘eleventh hour’ It was a ‘low hanging fruit’ scenario and I thought it was time to ‘run it up the flagpole to see who saluted’.

Even though I had always been taught to avoid clichés like the plague, I had quite a ‘bumpy ride’ and when all said and done I ‘upscaled’ by listening to other speakers and I managed to ‘wash the face’ of my problem – it was a sort of ‘quid pro quo’ strategy that ‘put it to bed’ adequately.

When I thought I had the ‘bandwidth’ I decided to ‘run it by’ the ‘man in the chair’ by arranging some ‘face time’ – luckily enough he had a ‘window’ and he was able to see me. He’s a bit of a ‘crackberry’ but I decided to give it ‘my best shot’ – If my ‘arse was on the line, I didn’t want any cock-ups’.

Fortunately the ‘one-to-one’ was a success and I was able to converse with my colleagues in such a way that I was understood and my language didn’t become a ‘negative value driver’ to them. In the end, I became ‘head honcho’ of the ‘whole shebang’ and ‘wore the crown’ until the owners decided to ‘draw a line under it’ and the ‘whole caboodle’ went ‘down the pan’ as a result of ‘corporate downsizing’.

Working with young people introduced me to a whole new language which, after three decades in that environment, I am still not completely au fait with the things that my learners say to me.

Apparently, Greggs’ sausage rolls are ‘peng’ when they’re hot but ‘sick' when cold. You can imagine how upset I was when someone told me that my Gibson Les Paul was ‘sick’ but apparently, in that context, ‘sick’ becomes the highest compliment you can give. Strange.

One thing that annoys me a bit is a common response, made to any comment that the recipient is not happy with – it is the dismissive and throwaway: ‘whatever!’ “I’m sorry to have to tell you, but we’re going to have to amputate your legs.” “Whatever!”

This comment normally follows the adoption of a particular pose – arm outstretched, other hand on hip, a tapping of a foot and eyes raised to the heavens.

Another one is the equally annoying, what I call the, ‘gap after like’ method of conversing.

“And he walked in, right, and I was like ……………………… (long gap accompanied by a facial gesture supposed to convey what the person was ‘like’)
“And he was like ………………. (another gap, same as above)
“And the atmosphere, it was like ………… (ditto)
“I said to him, I said ‘great to see you again’ ……………. (long pause) ……….. Not!”
“And he was like ………………….. (etc).

This method of communication is split between verbal phrases coupled with visual facial gestures in order to convey the message as it is intended. So, you have to listen to the dialogue and observe the gestures to get the meaning of the message because half of it is unspoken. It must be said though, I have witnessed someone adopting this method whilst on the telephone!

The ‘like’ usage is now slowly taking over the language – it is now unusual to hear a sentence that is not peppered with this word.

“I was, like, really disappointed.”
“My dog is, like, really naughty.”
“Your new watch is like, cool.”

Someone told me last week: “My dad said he was going to get me a car for my birthday and he got me, like, a Corsa?”

Why didn’t he tell me what his dad had actually got for him? He got a car that was ‘like a Corsa’. I’ve been trying to think of cars that are like Corsas. Why not just say what you got rather than try to describe what you got was ‘like’?

And then, of course, everything that is said displays the Australian Question Intonation, which is Latin for the rising intonation towards the end of sentences so that every sentence sounds like a question. Grrrrr.

‘Going forward’. Everyone is going forward these days – so much so that it is now commonplace for ‘going forward’ to be tagged on to the end of almost every sentence because ………………… er ……. I don’t know. Can someone, like, let me know?

I once had a boss that used to hold monthly meetings to go over what we’d achieved during the month and what was expected of us in the upcoming month. He used the term so much that no-one actually listened to what he was saying – everybody’s attention was geared towards counting up the number of times he said ‘going forward’ to compare their totals with the other people who were in the same meeting.

In more recent years I notice that a lot of people keep telling me they’ll see me later. It’s a popular parting greeting, but they never do.

I was getting into the car the other night after work and someone who I didn’t really know but saw occasionally in the lift or in a corridor was getting into his car which was parked next to mine. I winked at him and he smiled and said, “See you later,” before getting into his car and driving off. I wondered if he was going to pop round the house that evening. He didn’t. I stayed in though in case he did.

I don’t know whether people think I’m a bit thick. I’m beginning to think they do. I don’t know why, but nowadays people seem to want to confirm that I’ve understood what they’ve just said by tagging on a “D’ya know what I mean?” to the end of every sentence.

“I don’t want another drink, I’ve got work in the morning, d’ya know what I mean?”
“They’re a good band, but I wouldn’t go to see them live, d’ya know what I mean?”

When I reply: “No I didn’t understand a word of that mate, can you say it again, only in not such complicated terms”, people look at me as if I’m from Mars!

Now if someone said: “The obliquity of the ecliptic is not a fixed quantity but changing over time” in mixed company, I think that a “D’ya know what I mean?” would be an appropriate tag on. This is a complicated term.

But there’s nothing intrinsically difficult about: “I watch Emmerdale, but I prefer Coronation Street, d’ya know what I mean?”

I know what this means, my vocabulary is such that I can grasp statements like that.

I can spell palaeontologist. Going forward.


August 2018: 70s Prog Rock in Wales

As I was saying, my classical upbringing meant that the pop tunes of the 60s didn’t really mean much to me. Neither did those of the 70s, 80s, 90s and noughties for that matter- I’d go as far as to say that I went out of my way to avoid listening to it.

Sometimes you couldn’t avoid listening to the pop that was current for the day. In the 70s and early 80s, when I frequented discos, you would be bombarded with whatever was in the charts at the time, so I was present when quite a lot of this was being played. Occasionally I’d hear something that was interesting and it would spur me into asking someone ‘in the know’ what the record was. That happened lots of times but, at the time of writing I can’t recall any bands from that time that warranted a mention. The interest must have surely been short lived.

The Beatles and the Stones were the two ‘big boys’ at that time. I didn’t particularly like either, but if someone held a gun to my head and asked me to choose I’d have gone for the Stones. I would listen to the Beach Boys out of choice though; my favourite single of all time is “Good Vibrations- fantastic! The variations, tempo changes, the theramin, the way it was constructed – a masterpiece!

Even so, I was pretty much disinterested with the music of the swingin’ sixties, I was mainly still in classical mode …until …

My first real interest in the non-classical music (known as underground) at the time was when I heard a band called The Nice. They played music for music’s sake and not as a matrix to house the pointless self-indulgent lyrics like:

“Oh my baby’s left me ooooh ooooh oooh
What I am I gonna doooh ooooh ooooh
I love you so much I can’t poooh ooooh ooooh
Ooooh ooooh ooooh ooooh ooooh!”

Yes, it’s number one – it’s Top of the Pops, as it ‘appens guys and gals eurghh eurghh eurghh now then, now then. It’s “I love you so much I can’t pooh” how’s about that then? Goodness gracious!

From there I quite easily made the transition to people like Egg, King Crimson, Van der Graaf Generator, ELP, Refugee, Genesis et al. I’m still listening to ‘prog rock’ as its known these days- full of big chords, crashing symbols, swirling synths, mellotrons ….. aahh bliss!

I’d go as far as to say that if someone brought out a CD and the only lyrics were ‘That Dai Jandrell is nothing but a great big fat slob’, as long as there was plenty of guitar and synthesiser in it and it lasted for about 40 minutes, I’d probably like it. In fact, thinking about it, I might even do it myself one day unless someone like Pendragon, Spock’s Beard or Porcupine Tree beat me to it.

Of course, you had to go to watch your heroes, and when they toured you all dashed off to the Cardiff Capitol or Bristol Colston Hall to revel in the overindulgences of the likes of Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Genesis, YES, etc. We all had our mullets on show, scruffy Wranglers and starry multi-coloured T-shirts on to identify with the ‘prog-rock audience’ personas.

At the end of the show, we’d proudly wear the latest ‘tour T-shirt’ over the starry T-shirt to go home in. The starry T-shirt was just for ‘going’ in. The tour T-shirt was for ‘coming home’ in.  This would also mean that at the next Emerson, Lake and Palmer show you would ‘go’ in the last Pink Floyd T-shirt so that all the audience would know you’d been to the last Floyd tour!

It’s fair to say that prog audiences were exclusively male – and they stared at their shoes throughout the shows in a way to convey to the others just how ’far out’ the music was. Girlfriends generally didn’t like prog shows because, as one said to me: “They played for two and a half hours and only did four songs!” I saw Tangerine Dream back in the seventies at Cardiff Uni and they started at midnight and were still playing at 5am when I left – and they hadn’t stopped!

Nowadays, the prog audiences are still the same, and the same people. I rarely go to a show these days where I don’t know the whole audience. We still wear our ‘Pink Floyd winter tour 74’ T-shirts to let everyone else know that we were there. These T-shirts are now contoured to accommodate our beer guts and man-boobs. For osteo-arthritic reasons, we tend to not stare at our shoes anymore.

They call these veteran progging bands and their audiences dinosaurs these days. Luckily enough, I am, and can now spell, palaeontologist.

The overall view that the artistes must get from the stage is that they are being watched by a ‘convention of retired Captain Birdseye actors’ on a reunion jolly. This is probably why my students call me Merlin, Gandalf and Dumbledore and why I always seem to get the handing out presents and leading the festivities gig at our end of term Christmas dos.

The one drawback of dragging one’s girlfriend to prog show is that you have to repay the debt by going to see non-prog acts when their preferred bands tour. This means that, over the decades, I have had to sit through the likes of Queen, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Chris Rea, Mungo Jerry, Michael Jackson etc. In my defence, I may add that I drew the line at UB40. When there is a line to be drawn, that line is well in front of UB40, and I stand firm on that.


July 2018: Music

I suppose it all started when I was about three – or when I was able to press downwards with enough pressure to depress the ivories on our piano keyboard, I’m not sure which came first. My grandmother was a piano teacher, and we had a piano; I guess it was inevitable.

I got to something like Grade 4 and the age of eleven before I managed to convince my parents that I hated playing the piano more than any of the words in my vocabulary could describe. I didn’t have that many words at the time, I mean, in those days I couldn’t even spell palaeontologist – and now I are one!

My attention had been grabbed by these things called guitars. I guess this would have been circa 1963 when I noticed these come to the front of the stage. Prior to that, I was aware of their existence – you saw them usually in the front row ‘stalls’ of ‘big bands’. They were always the very large cumbersome looking Gretch’s or Gibsons, you know, the ones with the ‘f’ holes in them.

Suddenly, on TV, you began to see three blokes standing there as bold as brass, strumming these things and singing with a drummer behind them. I believe in those days they were known as ‘popular beat combos’ and they were always in black and white.

They sang three minute ‘pop’ songs and I was never really into it much at that time. Whilst I was intrigued by my newly found instrument, I was still influenced by my classical training and my favourites in those days were the heavy Russians: Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Mahler and Bartok – even though Mahler and Bartok were neither Russian nor heavy at that time. They still aren’t.

I never really liked the twee, pointless little ditties they sang. It was always about somebody’s baby had left them and other crises which I couldn’t really care about, no matter how much I tried. I was interested in the music though – they way it way constructed and what each person was doing in order to produce the music.

I found lyrics a barrier to my quest to analyse what was going on and tried frantically to ‘blot’ out the singing in order to listen to the music. My opinion in those days, and these days, is that singing actually ruins a good song.

My parents had a similar problem with lyrics – they hated them as well, but for a different reason. They used to say: “Blinkin’ racket! All that screaming and shouting. That’s not singing! You can’t understand a word they’re singing!”

The thing that confused me about that was the fact that my parents blasted Gregorian chants and opera out of our radiogram during this period of my life – and they couldn’t understand a word of that either!

Anyway, getting back to guitars. I decided I wanted to play a guitar and that was it. My parents told me that I should carry on with the piano because; “If you can play the piano, you can play any instrument.” That is a very popular little saying – I've heard it loads of time. Doesn’t make any sense though. But when your parents tell you things, you believe them don’t you?

I often wondered what would happen if you gave Rick Wakeman a trombone and said: “Go on son, give us a rendition of ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ on that!”

So, I carried on with the piano. And then, and I guess I would have been about twelve by this time, I acquired my first guitar. I can’t remember where I got it from, but it was my first, and I loved it more than all the words in my vocabulary, at the time, could describe. My vocabulary was about the same as the last time I mentioned it, and I still couldn’t spell palaeontologist!

Whilst there was a plethora of piano teachers around at that time – teachers of other instruments were scarce – in fact there weren’t any. There was a paper and comb player who did impromptu sessions in Cwmcarn Club on Saturday nights, but these performances were booze related and he didn’t actively ‘teach’ people how to do it.

There was also  a spoons player in the vicinity ………….er …………..that was it.

So, I had to teach myself.

I based my ‘learning plan’ on something I’d noticed when playing the piano. If you could find the first note, all you had to do was identify whether the next one was higher – in which case you’d move right on the keyboard, and if the note was lower, you’d go to the left. That was the essence of music for  me – I mean if music didn’t do that, music would just be one note.

And this is the way I learned to play the guitar, by listening and moving up or down the fret-board according the individual notes that made up whatever tune  I was trying to play.

And now, 53 years on I just seem to know where I have to put my fingers to enable me to produce the things I want to. People have asked me to teach them how to do it, but I can’t – not unless they have 50 years to spare.

So I guess I can play the guitar – to a fashion. The problems start when I start playing with other people. Well, initially things go very well. People say things like;

“That was good Dai, can you play that again?”

That’s my biggest nightmare, because generally I can’t! I can play something similar at a push, but the same? No chance. I’ve left bands because of this.

One band I played with gave me a tape which contained their favourite versions of the songs we did and asked me to learn the guitar solos because they wanted them played like they were on the tape every time we did them. I listened to the tape and we had a conversation. It went like this.

“Have you listened to the tape Dai?”
“Yes.”
“What do you reckon?”
“I can’t play that!”
“What do you mean you can’t play that – it’s you playing it!”
“I know that, but I can’t play that note for note as I played it before.”
“But we want you to.”
“Well I’m not going to sit down and work out each solo as I originally played them, I’ll just do them off the cuff as I usually do.”
“But we want them to be them same every time we play.”
“Well if you want that, when we have a gig, why don’t we just send the tape to the venue and we can go to the pictures instead?”

I don’t think that’s what music is all about – what about you?


June 2018: Cold Caller

Phone rings; I pick it up.

“Hello.”
“Is that David Jandrell?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, hello David. I’m Nigel and I’m phoning from PCS. You used to have cover with us.”
“I know.”
“Can I inform you that conversations are recorded for training purposes? I was wondering if I can tell you about our new offers.”
“No thanks.”
“It’s just, we have some fantastic new …………..”
“Look, as you said, I ‘used’ to have cover with you. If I wanted to continue I’d still be with you.”
“Well, you may be interested in a new package. Can I have your date of birth?”
“What do you want that for?”
“To confirm that it is you I’m talking to.”
“Er …. you rang me! Who the Hell do you think you’re talking to?”
“Pardon?”
“Your opening line was, ‘Is that David Jandrell’, yes?”
“Yes.”
“And I said, ‘yes’, did I not?”
“Yes.”
“So I’ll ask the question again, who the Hell do you think you’re talking to?”
“Er ……. I have to ask ….er …….. for security purposes.”
“So, when you said ‘is that David Jandrell’, did I say ‘no’?
“Er…. no, you said ‘yes’.
“See, if I hadn’t been me when you asked me if I was David Jandrell, I’d have said ‘no’ wouldn’t I?”
“I suppose so.”
“So, who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”
“Well, for security reasons ………………..”
“You rang me!”
“I know.”
“You see, if I rang my bank or the HMRC or someone like that, I would have to prove to them that I was who I was claiming to be in case I was involved in some sort of scam. I can understand why that is necessary, you know, that’s if I ring someone.”
“Good, now we’re seeing eye to eye. This is the same thing.”
“No it isn’t. You rang me out of the blue and less than 30 seconds into our conversation you are asking me for personal details.”
“Well I can’t continue until you give them to me.”
“Good.”
“Good?”
“Yes. I don’t want to continue talking to you.”
“But ….. er ………”
“I’ll tell you what I’ll do for you. Seeing as you rang me, I’ll give you my date of birth if you confirm to me who you are first.”
“Eh?”
“How do I know that you are who you are claiming to be?”
“Er ….. because I told you?”
“Well anyone can do that!”
“What do you mean?”
“Well if I rang your bank and said, ‘Hello, I’m Nigel from PCS’ and they asked me to confirm your identity by giving your date of birth and asking me some security question and my response was, ‘I told you who I was’, are they going to give me full access to your account?”
“Er …. no.”
“Right. So I cannot continue with this conversation until you have convinced me that you are who you say you are.”
“How am I going to do that?”
“Well it’s going to be difficult I know but I’m really looking forward to listening to hear you try.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well there's no point in giving me your date of birth because I don’t know what it is. I don’t know what your first pet’s name was or what your mother’s maiden name was, so, you’re going to have to come up with something else. Treat it as a test of initiative.”
“Well ……. er…..”
“You can’t can you?”
“No.”
“Are you going to end this call or shall I continue to deliberately run your phone bill up?”
“I’ll end it.”
“Excellent. Bye.”

I’d love to be in their training session when they play the recording of that back to the trainees...


David's books are available from Y Lolfa:

Welsh Valleys Phrasebook

Welsh Valleys Humour

Cwmtwp: Gossip From the Valleys


David Jandrell- Introducing Welsh Valleys Phrasebook

Newyddion i Ddysgwyr Newydd

Newyddion i Ddysgwyr Newydd

Yma, mae Peter Mescall yn ysgrifennu a Huw Rowlands yn adrodd newyddion i ddysgwyr newydd yn Gymraeg (eithaf) syml. Mae'n cael eu cyhoeddi ar benwythnosau.

Here, Peter Mescall writes and Huw Rowlands reads the news in (quite) simple Welsh. It is published on weekends. Words that are underlined can be clicked or pressed to show an English translation.

Newyddion i Ddysgwyr Newydd ddydd Sul 27/10

Rygbi
Yn y rownd cyn derfynol, collodd Cymru eu gêm yn erbyn De Affrica a mynd allan o Gwpan Rygbi'r Byd. Bydd De Affrica yn wynebu Lloegr yn y rownd derfynol ond y diwrnod cynt mi fydd gan Gymru un gêm yn weddill yn erbyn Seland Newydd am y trydydd safle.

Maes Awyr Caerdydd
Mae'r Prif Weinidog Mark Drakeford wedi mynnu nad ydy'r llywodraeth yn cynllunio i werthu Maes Awyr Caerdydd. Roedd y Ceidwadwyr Cymreig wedi awgrymu y dylai'r maes awyr gael ei ddychwelyd i'r sector preifat ar ôl i weinidogion gytuno i fenthyg swm ychwanegol o £21.2m.

Etholiad Cyffredinol
Mae Prif Weinidogion Cymru a'r Alban, Mark Drakeford a Nicola Sturgeon, wedi cyhoeddi y byddan nhw'n croesawu cynllun Boris Johnson i gynnal etholiad cyffredinol. Ond mi wnaethon nhw ychwanegu eu bod nhw angen manylion am estyniad posib i'r broses Brexit cyn gwthio am etholiad cyn y Nadolig.

Terfysg Yr Wyddgrug
Mae Theatr Clwyd wedi ail-greu terfysg a ddigwyddodd yn yr Wyddgrug mewn perfformiad byw ar strydoedd y dref. 150 o flynyddoedd yn ôl, bu farw pedwar person yng nghanol terfysg a ddechreuodd ar ôl i berchennog pwll glo, yn ardal Coed-llai gyflogi glowyr o Loegr a lleihau cyflogau glowyr lleol.


Newyddion i Ddysgwyr Newydd ddydd Sul 20/10

Rygbi
Yn rownd wyth olaf Cwpan Rygbi'r Byd yn Oita, Siapan, roedd rhaid i Gymru frwydro yn ôl i sicrhau buddugoliaeth dros Ffrainc. Ar ddechrau'r ail hanner roedd 'na gerdyn coch i glo Ffrainc, Vahaamahina ar ôl iddo fo roi penelin i wyneb blaen asgellwr Aaron Wainwright, ond roedd rhaid i Gymru aros tan yr wyth munud olaf cyn iddyn nhw sgorio'r cais i ennill y gêm. Bydd Cymru yn wynebu De Affrica yn y rownd gynderfynol ddydd Sadwrn.

Swyddi
Mae cwmni cynhyrchu peis wedi cyhoeddi eu bod nhw'n mynd i greu 110 o swyddi newydd ym Medwas, ger Caerffili. Mae Peter's Food Service yn mynd i ychwanegu shifftiau eraill ac mae angen iddyn nhw recriwtio rhagor o staff. Yn ôl y cwmni, maen nhw wedi siarad â rhai o'r gweithwyr a gollodd eu swyddi ar ôl i'r wmni dodrefn Triumph fynd i'r wal yn gynharach yn y mis.

Gwleidyddiaeth
Mi wnaeth Prif Weinidog Cymru, Mark Drakeford alw ar Boris Johnson i "ufuddhau i'r gyfraith". Yn ôl Mr Drakeford, dylai Mr Johnson fod wedi gofyn am estyniad mewn llythyr er mwyn atal Brexit heb gytundeb. Ond mi wnaeth Mr Johnson anfon y llythyr at yr Undeb Ewropeaidd heb ei lofnod ac anfon llythyr arall sy'n mynegi ei fod o isio osgoi rhagor o oediadau. Mae Llywodraeth San Steffan yn cynllunio i gynnal pleidlais arall er mwyn cytuno gadael yr Undeb cyn diwedd y mis.


Newyddion i Ddysgwyr Newydd ddydd Sul 13/10

Rygbi
Yn rygbi Cwpan y Byd, mi wnaeth Cymru orffen ar frig eu grŵp ar ôl buddugoliaethau yn erbyn Ffiji ac Wrwgwái. Bydd eu gem nesaf yn erbyn Ffrainc yn rownd yr wyth olaf. Sut bynnag, mi wnaeth dyfodiad teiffŵn Hagibis arwain at ganslo gemau rhwng Lloegr a Ffrainc a Seland Newydd a'r Eidal.

Pêl-droed
Mi wnaeth Cymru sicrhau pwynt pwysig oddi cartref yn erbyn Slofacia. Mae'r canlyniad yn golygu eu bod nhw'n cadw'r gobaith o gyrraedd rowndiau terfynol Euro 2020 yn fyw.

Llyfrgell Genedlaethol
Mae'r Llyfrgell Genedlaethol wedi prynu un o'r fersiynau gwreiddiol o'r darlun enwog Salem. Yn wreiddiol y bwriad oedd cynnig y darlun mewn arwerthiant. Dywedodd arwerthwyr Rogers Jones & Co fod perchnogion y darlun yn falch bod Salem yn aros yn rhan o gasgliad cyhoeddus.

Pentre Cythraul
Yn New Brighton, Sir y Fflint mae ymdrech i gael cydnabyddiaeth i ffurf Gymraeg ar enw'r pentref. Yn ôl rhai sy'n byw yn y pentref, Pentre Cythraul ydy'r enw gwreiddiol ac mae swyddfa Comisiynydd y Gymraeg wedi dweud y byddan nhw'n adolygu enwau lleoedd yn y sir cyn hir. Ond mae yna rai / gryn amheon gyda golwg ar a ddylai'r enw fod "Pentre Catherall, ar ôl y diwydiannwr Josiah Catherall neu Pentre Cythrel".


Newyddion i Ddysgwyr Newydd ddydd Sul 06/10

Annibyniaeth
Mae arweinydd Plaid Cymru, Adam Price wedi dweud y bydd refferendwm yn cael ei gynnal ar annibyniaeth Cymru erbyn 2030. Roedd Mr Price yn siarad â BBC Cymru a dywedodd y bydd refferendwm yn bendant yn ystod y "degawd nesaf". Ychwanegodd ei fod o'n disgwyl "na fydd y DU ry'n ni'n gyfarwydd â hi yn bodoli ymhen blynyddoedd".

Brecsit
Yn San Steffan, mae Liz Saville Roberts, arweinydd Plaid Cymru yn Nhŷ'r Cyffredin, wedi galw cynnig Brecsit newydd y Prif Weinidog, Boris Johnson yn "ffantasi". Mae'r cynllun newydd yn cynnwys cael gwared ar y 'backstop', y polisi yswiriant i sicrhau nad oes ffin galed rhwng Iwerddon a'r Deyrnas Unedig. Ond yn ôl Mr Johnson oedd yn siarad yng nghynhadledd y Blaid Geidwadol ddydd Mawrth, heb y cynllun newydd, yr unig ddewis sydd ar ôl fyddai dim cytundeb.

Eisteddfod yr Urdd
Ymgasglodd tua 1,600 o bobl yn Sir Ddinbych ddydd Sadwrn er mwyn ymdeithio o Ysgol Uwchradd Prestatyn i groesawu Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr Urdd 2020. Bydd yr ŵyl yn cael ei chynnal ar Fferm Kilford ger Dinbych rhwng 25 a 20 Mai flwyddyn nesaf.

Rygbi
Mae Cymru wedi dechrau ei hymgyrch yng Nghwpan y Byd efo buddugoliaethau dros Georgia ac Awstralia. Mae'r canlyniadau'n golygu bod Cymru ar frig eu grŵp. Bydd y gêm nesaf yn erbyn Fiji.


 


Ymwadiad
Ysgrifennwyd rhai o’r erthyglau 'Dysgwyr' gan bobl sydd eisoes wrthi’n dysgu Cymraeg. Efallai y dewch ar draws rhai camgymeriadau ieithyddol yn y Gymraeg o bryd i’w gilydd.

Disclaimer
Some of the 'Learner' articles have been written by those who are still learning Welsh. You may therefore come across some linguistic errors in the Welsh from time to time.


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