Welsh
prose goes back to the early ninth century. The Welsh language survived
many attempts to expunge it. This could be due in part to its
continued use in the churches and chapels - hence, much of the choral
works performed by Welsh Male Voice Choirs tend to be religious in nature.
The
Welsh alphabet contains 28 letters. Some of the 'letters' consist of
two letters having the one sound and are therefore classed as a letter
in their own right.
Every
letter in Welsh is pronounced - there are no silent letters as in English.
Most letters have only one basic sound, which makes pronunciation simple.
However, all vowels have a long and short form.
The
accent on Welsh words is, with few exceptions, on the last but one syllable.
The Welsh Alphabet ( Y Wyddor) with
equivalent English sounds
A
B
C
CH
D
DD
E
F
FF
G
NG
H
I
L
LL
M
N
O
P
PH
R
RH
S
T
TH
U
W
Y
-
- - -
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
short
as in 'man', or long as in 'half; never as in 'mane'
b as in 'can'; never as in 'city' as in "Bach" (the composer)
or 'loch'; never as in 'church'
d as "th" in "them"; never
as in 'smith'
the a as in "sane" or "self"
or immediately following "a", the sound is "ee" as "v" in "verb" as "ff" in "effortl"or f in 'for' as in "garden"; never as in
'gin' as in "long" as in "hat" (never silent) short as in "tin" or long
as in "tea" as in "lift"
as in "Llanelli" .
This sound does not occur in English.
Place the tongue on the roof of the mouth near the teeth,
as if to pronounce "l", then blow voicelessly.
m
n
short as in "pond" or long as in "rose"
p
as ph in 'photo'; has same sound as the Welsh ff.
always trilled as in 'arrow'.
r followed by a strong emission of breath
s (as in "song"; never as in "as"
t
as in "cloth", never as in "that"
as the y in the English word 'hymn'
as oo in "fool"
as u in"run"; as in "tea"
or "tin"
Note: Welsh vowels = A E I O U W Y
The only consonants doubled in Welsh are N and R
The letters
J K V X or Z never occur in pure
Welsh words.
A Few Welsh Greetings
Shw
mae
Bore da
Dydd da
Prynhawn da
Noswaidd dda
Nos da
Sut mae?
Hwyl
Diolch
Diolch yn fawr iawn
Croeso
Croeso i Gymru
Da
Da iawn
Iechyd da!
Cymru am byth!
Pen Blwydd hapus
Nadolig Llawen
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Os gwelwch yn dda
Hello
Good morning
Good day
Good afternoon
Good evening
Good night
How are you?
Cheers
Thanks
Thanks very much
Welcome
Welcome to Wales
Good
Very good
Good health!
Wales for ever!
Happy Birthday
Merry Xmas
Happy New Year
If you please