Sioned Vaughan Hughes Creu'r Gyfres Gwledydd y Byd

Sioned Vaughan Hughes: Creu’r gyfres Gwledydd y Byd / Creating the series Countries of the World

Cyfres Gwledydd y Byd
Cyfres ddiddorol o lyfrau ar gyfer plant, pobl ifanc ac oedolion sy’n dysgu Cymraeg
An interesting series of books for children, young people and adults who are learning Welsh

Mae Sioned V Hughes yn athrawes, darlithwraig yn yr adran addysg ym Mhrifysgol Cymru Y Drindod Dewi Sant, ac yn awdur nifer o lyfrau ac adnoddau addysgol i blant ysgolion cynradd. Yma mae’n mynd â ni y tu ôl i’r llen ynghylch pam a sut y creodd y gyfres Gwledydd y Byd (llyfr Patagonia – enillodd CAA Cymru gwobr y gwerthwr gorau yn yr adran llyfrau Cymraeg i blant gyda’r llyfr yma yn 2012).

Sioned V Hughes is a teacher, lecturer in the education department at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, and author of a number of books and educational resources for primary school children. Here she takes us behind the scenes as to why and how she created the Cyfres Gwledydd y Byd (her book on Patagonia won CAA Cymru the award for children’s bestseller in the Welsh-language books’ section in 2012).

Daearyddiaeth a gwledydd y byd
Dechreuodd fy niddordeb mewn daearyddiaeth a gwledydd y byd yn ifanc iawn. Roeddwn yn yr ysgol gynradd ac fe ddaeth fy athro dosbarth a darn o lafa i’r dosbarth. Roedd wedi bod yn ar ei wyliau haf yng Ngogledd America. Roeddwn wedi mwynhau dysgu ffeithiau am losgfynyddoedd ac yn awyddus iawn i ddysgu mwy am wledydd y byd. Yn yr ysgol uwchradd cefais athro daearyddiaeth ysbrydoledig ac roeddwn wrth fy modd yn dysgu mwy o ffeithiau am wledydd y byd.
Geography and countries of the world
My interest in geography and the countries of the world began very young. I was in primary school and my class teacher brought a piece of lava to the class. He had been to North America on his summer vacation. I enjoyed learning amazing facts about volcanoes and was really eager to learn more about the countries of the world. In the secondary school I had an inspiring geography teacher and continued to learn more about the countries of the world.
Bum yn ddigon ffodus i raddio mewn Daearyddiaeth ym Mhrifysgol Aberystwyth ac yna cymhwyso fel athrawes ysgol gynradd. Yn ystod y cyfnod yma cefais gyfle i deithio i Ffrainc i wneud gwaith maes ac i Lesotho gyda Dolen Cymru. Ar ôl cael fy mhenodi fel darlithydd ym Mhrifysgol Cymru y Drindod Dewi Sant cefais gyfle i deithio gyda myfyrwyr i Bostwana. Bum ym Mhatagonia ar daith gydag Aelwyd Crymych. Gan fy mod wrth fy modd yn teithio, penderfynais fynd ar fy ngwyliau i Seland Newydd a Gwlad yr Iâ. I was fortunate enough to graduate in Geography at Aberystwyth University and then qualify as a primary school teacher. During this time, I had the opportunity to travel to France to engage with fieldwork and to Lesotho with Dolen Cymru. After being appointed as a lecturer at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David I had the opportunity to travel with students to Bostwana. I visited Patagonia with Aelwyd Crymych. Since I loved traveling, I decided to visit New Zealand and Iceland on my holidays.
Beth oedd y gyfres hon felly?
Rhai blynyddoedd yn ôl cefais alwad ffôn gan Delyth Ifan yn CAA Cymru yn holi os oedd gennyf ddiddordeb mewn ysgrifennu llyfrau ffeithiol ar wledydd y byd i ddysgwyr. Gan fy mod yn mwynhau Daearyddiaeth ac yn hoff iawn o deithio, roeddwn wrth fy modd gyda’r cyfle ac felly derbyniais y cynnig yn syth! Roeddwn hefyd wedi cael fy ysbrydoli i ysgrifennu a chreu adnoddau addysgol daearyddol gan fy nghyd-weithwraig, Olive Dyer.
So, what sort of series was this?
A few years ago, I received a telephone call by Delyth Ifan from CAA Cymru (a publishing company at Aberystwyth University) asking me if I would be interested in writing non-fiction books on world countries for Welsh learners. As I was very interested in Geography and enjoyed travelling, I immediately accepted the offer! I had been also inspired by a former colleague, Oliver Dyer, to write and create geographical educational resources
Cyn mynd ati i ysgrifennu’r llyfrau rhaid oedd penderfynu yn gyntaf ar 6 gwlad. Dewisais 6 gwlad roeddwn wedi ymweld â nhw eisoes sef Seland Newydd, Patagonia, Ffrainc, Gwlad yr Iâ, Lesotho a Botswana.Before writing the books, a decision had to be made on which of the world countries would be the focus for the books. The 6 countries were those countries that I had already visited namely New Zealand, Patagonia, France, Iceland, Lesotho and Botswana.
Ar ôl dewis y gwledydd rhaid oedd gwneud ymchwil i gasglu ffeithiau diddorol am y gwledydd. Wrth ymchwilio edrychais ar ffotograffau oeddwn wedi eu tynnu pan ymwelais â’r gwledydd. Edrychais ar arteffactau a gwrthrychau roeddwn wedi eu casglu yn ystod yr ymweliadau. Roeddent yn cynnwys cardiau post, stampiau, arian, pamffledi, papurau newydd, dillad, anrhegion…After choosing the countries, research had to be done to gather interesting facts about the countries. During the research I looked at photographs that I had taken when I visited the countries. I also looked at artefacts and objects that I had collected during the visits. These included postcards, stamps, money, pamphlets, newspapers, clothes, gifts...
Yna, dyma gychwyn ysgrifennu draft cyntaf o’r llyfrau. Wrth ysgrifennu roeddwn yn ceisio cynnwys cyfuniad o ffeithiau am nodweddion naturiol y wlad ac hefyd nodweddion dynol.
Doedd dim lle i gynnwys popeth felly rhaid oedd dewis y ffeithiau mwyaf perthnasol ac hefyd cynnwys rhai ffeithiau diddorol am y gwledydd.
Then I began writing the first draft of the books. As I wrote I tried to include a combination of facts about the natural and human features of the countries. A there was not enough room to include everything, I tried to include the most relevant facts and also some interesting facts about the countries.
Ar ôl ysgrifennu y drafft cyntaf rhaid oedd anfon y drafft at y pwyllgor monitro a’r golygydd Delyth Ifan yn Aberystwyth. Dim ond testun oedd yn y drafft cyntaf gyda rhai syniadau ysgrifenedig am enghreifftiau o’r math o luniau/tablau/diagram y gellir eu cynnwys.After finishing writing the first draft of the books the draft was sent to the editor, Delyth Ifan, and the resource monitoring committee. The first draft only included text with a few written ideas about possible photographs, tables and diagrams that may be included later.
Y cam nesaf wedyn oedd ail-ddrafftio’r llyfrau gan ymateb i’r awgrymiadau a benderfynwyd gan y pwyllgor monitro. Yna wedi derbyn sêl-bendith y pwyllgor monitro, rhaid oedd cydweithio gyda’r dylunydd yn CAA Cymru wrth ddewis y dyluniadau ar gyfer y llyfrau. Roeddwn yn gallu helpu gyda’r ffotograffau gan fy mod wedi tynnu llawer o ffotograffau wrth ymweld â’r gweldydd.The next step was to re-draft the books and respond to the suggestions recommended by the monitoring committee. After receiving the approval of the monitoring committee I then worked with the designer in CAA Cymru to choose the designs for the books. I was also able to help with the photographs as I had taken a lot of photos when visiting the countries.
Er mwyn gwneud y llyfrau yn apelgar ac yn ddiddorol i blant penderfynwyd ychwanegu cymeriad cartwn ar ambell I dudalen. Roedd y cymeriad cartwn yn dweud pethau doniol fel ‘Mae’r poer yn drewi!” wrth ddweud ‘peidiwch mynd yn rhy agos at y guanacos achos maen nhw’n poeri!”To make the books appealing and interesting to children, it was decided to add cartoon characters on some pages. The cartoon character says amusing things such as ‘Their spit stinks!’ when informing the readers that they must not get too close to the guanacos because they spit.
Cyhoeddwyd y llyfrau yn gyntaf yn 2010. Ers hynny mae’r llyfrau wedi cael eu hailargraffu.
Mae cyfieithiad Saesneg o’r 6 llyfr ar gael ar wefan CAA Cymru. Hefyd mae syniadau am weithgareddau y gellir eu gwneud gyda’r llyfrau yn y dosbarth.
The books were published in 2010. Since then, the books have been re-printed. An English translation of the 6 books are available on CAA Cymru's website. You can also find examples of possible activities you could undertake using these books in the class.

Sioned Vaughan Hughes- Cyfres Gwledydd y Byd Gwlad yr Ia2-3

Sioned Vaughan Hughes- Cyfres Gwledydd y Byd Gwlad yr Ia6-7

Sioned Vaughan Hughes- Cyfres Gwledydd y Byd Ffrainc10-11


Mae'r llyfrau yn y gyfres yw: / The books in the series are:

Sioned Vaughan Hughes Gwledydd y Byd BostwanaSioned Vaughan Hughes Gwledydd y Byd FfraincSioned Vaughan Hughes Gwledydd y Byd Gwlad yr Ia
Sioned Vaughan Hughes Gwledydd y Byd LesothoSioned Vaughan Hughes Gwledydd y Byd PatagoniaSioned Vaughan Hughes Gwledydd y Byd Selend Newydd
Sioned V Hughes Cymru 1Sioned V Hughes Cymru 2Sioned V Hughes Cymru 3

* Mae Cymru 1 a Patagonia allan o stoc ar hyn o bryd / Cymru 1 and Patagonia are out of stock at the moment


Mae Sioned wedi gweithio gyda CAA Cymru ar gyhoeddiadiau eraill hefyd, gan gynnwys O Bedwar Ban Byd 1 a 2. Pecynnau yw'r rhain sy'n hyrwyddo gwybodaeth a dealltwriaeth plant 3-7 oed o ddiwylliannau a daearyddiaeth gwahanol genhedloedd y byd ac yn cynnwys cardiau gwybodaeth, atlas a CD. Maen nhw hefyd ar gael yn Saesneg (Here, There and Everywhere 1 & 2). Am fwy o wybodaeth, ewch i wefan CAA Cymru.Sioned has also worked with CAA Cymru on other publications including O Bedwar Ban Byd 1 a 2. These are packs that promote knowledge and understanding of children aged 3-7 of of different geography and cultures in various countries and include information cards, an atlas and CD. They are available in English as well (Here, There and Everywhere 1 & 2). For more information, visit CAA Cymru's website.

CAA Cymru yw un o gyhoeddwyr addysgol mwyaf blaenllaw a phrofiadol Cymru. Mae’r cwmni yn rhan o Brifysgol Aberystwyth ac wedi bod yn cynhyrchu adnoddau addysgol Cymraeg a Saesneg i blant, pobl ifanc ac athrawon er 1982, gan gyhoeddi dros 2,500 o gyhoeddiadau dros y blynyddoedd.
Mae gennym ni nifer o gyhoeddiadau defnyddiol i unigolion sy’n awyddus i wella eu Cymraeg – yn eu plith, dwy gyfrol gan Non ap Emlyn, sef:Y Chwiliadur Iaith, llyfr A4 sy'n egluro pwyntiau gramadegol ac yn dangos enghreifftiau o batrymau yn gryno ac yn eglur; a Golwg ar Iaith – llyfr A5 gwerthfawr sy'n canolbwyntio ar wella gramadeg Cymraeg ac sy’n cynnwys ymarferion ac atebion, help ymarferol a syniadau am ble i gael mwy o wybodaeth.
Mae mwy o wybodaeth am CAA Cymru ar y dudalen Cyfres Amdani- Llyfrau i Ddysgwyr: Tu ôl y Llen.

CAA Cymru is one of Wales's most prominent and experienced educational publishers. The company is part of Aberystwyth University and has been producing educational material in both English and Welsh, for children, young people and teachers, since 1982. Over the years it has produced more than 2500 publications.
We have a number of useful publications for individuals keen to improve their Welsh – among them, two volumes by Non ap Emlyn, i.e. Chwiliadur Iaith (Language Enquirer), an A4 book that explains grammatical points giving compact and clear examples of patterns; and Golwg ar Iaith (Language Overview) – an A5 book with an emphasis on improving Welsh grammar, containing exercises and answers, practical help and ideas on where to get more information.
There is more information about CAA Cymru on the page Cyfres Amdani: Behind the Scenes.

Y diweddaraf oddi wrth Authors: How and Why I Wrote