#welsh speaker

[edi-mccredie]

[Biting and hissing and sighing and clawing at my hair HIRE A WELSH TRANSLATOR TO TRANSLATE YOUR WELL-MEANING ADS I STFG]

Let's do a lesson in my most frequently seen Welsh Translation Error, shall we?

What it says in the images:

"Os nad yw rhywbeth yn teimlo'n iawn, Gofyn am Angela wrth y bar."

What that literally means:

"If something doesn't feel right, [to ask] for Angela at the bar."

What they should have said:

"Os nad yw rhywbeth yn teimlo'n iawn, Gofynnwch am Angela wrth y bar."

In this case the word "gofyn" does get the point across, since it does literally mean ask in a neutral form, but here I think it is appropriate to use the Imperative form of the verb instead of the neutral form.

In Welsh we have an entire seperate sort of ¿tense? for when we are commanding, instructing or suggesting that someone do something, called the Imperative or the Command form. In formal situations like the one seen here this involves simply shoving an "-wch" on the end of the word. (Informally you might use a single "-a" suffix)

Example here from the same initiative in Wrexham:

Headline in image: "Tafarndai yn Wrecsam yn cefnogi ymgyrch 'Gofynnwch am Angela'"

Without using the Imperative it's sort of like you're throwing verbs out there with no indication as to who is meant to be doing them. "Gofyn wrth y bar"? But who exactly is asking at the bar? Is it in the past? Future? It feels clunky.

Of course if it was just an actual Welsh speaker talking informally or a learner saying this I wouldn't bat an eyelid, but I really expect better from ads, signs and Official Communications you know? I see this shit fucking everywhere and it drives me bananas.

[llyfrenfys]

Bad Takes in the Welsh tag vol. II- this reblog on a post about the number of Welsh speakers. (I have cropped out the username of OP and as ever, I only focus on the sentiment, not the person. If you know OP's url kindly do not send them anon hate etc.).

So I saw this take a few days ago in a reblog on a post in the Welsh tag and wanted to address this sentiment as well, since it does the opposite of that other bad take that I saw and made a post about the other day. To be clear, I don't disagree entirely with OP, but there's an element of wishful thinking that I sometimes see when it comes to Welsh / other minoritised languages which can end up doing more harm than good.

This screenshot was also discussed in the LGBTQIA+ Welsh Discord I run and the broad consensus from those of us in there who live in Wales is that OP is painting a very inaccurate picture of the status of Welsh, particularly of Welsh in North Wales. It is frustrating when you have people who value Welsh, but don't value Welsh enough to bother with accuracy in their promotion of the language. This post is intended as a gentle reminder that we can fight for the Welsh language without misrepresenting the situation on the ground so to speak.

The post itself has a 'fuck yeah, Welsh!' attitude which I personally love. But sadly this particular post is riddled with misinformation. First of all, we have "Welsh law is that all signs must have We[l]sh text on them but there is nothing in the law that says signs must also have English on them". Now the wording is kinda vague here- but I'm going out on a limb and saying that the OP is likely referencing The Welsh Language Standards Guidelines (which have been updated several times over the years). The guidance has a number of Standards relating to signs in the Welsh language, such as Standard 32, Standards 47-52, Standard 66 and Standards 111-113. The section of Interpreting the Standards also contains relevant text, such as in Part 3- Interpreting the Standards article 15:

Plain text: "For the purposes of the standards a requirement to publish, provide or display any written material in Welsh does not mean that material should be published, provided or, displayed in Welsh only, nor does it mean that the material should be produced in Welsh first (unless that is specifically stated in the standard)"

Of the Standards listed above, Standards 47-52 are specifically designated as Standards relating to signs and notices displayed or published by a body. Which state things like "... if the same text is displayed in Welsh and in English, you must not treat the Welsh language text less favourably than the English language text" - Standard 47 and "You must ensure that the Welsh language text on signs and notices is accurate in terms of meaning and expression" - Standard 49.

Anyway, back to the point. OP is incorrect in stating that there is a loophole by which the Welsh Law forgot to specify that the signs had to have English as well as Welsh and that public bodies can get away with monolingual Welsh signs. This just isn't true. Important to note is that the law is intended for public bodies- so big companies, road signage makers etc. This guidance isn't for random farms in North Wales which have signs that say "wyau <-" pointing up the lane with no English translation.

Now, the next sentence is a little loaded, well-meant, but a little loaded nonetheless. "The Welsh nationalist dominated rural authorities in the North"- it's loadedness comes down to its vagueness I think. While it isn't wrong per se that Welsh Nationalist parties like Plaid Cymru do well in the North West, it is a little skewed to ascribe Welsh speaking status to whichever party is doing the best in a given area. It isn't that clear cut, unfortunately. To get into this issue, we have to talk maps.

So those Welsh speaker maps that have nice gradients and have the West of Wales coloured in dark, gradually getting lighter as you move East? Unfortunately, these maps can be very misleading (especially if, like in the map OP was commenting on, the source of the data was left off). But the long and short of it is- these maps tend to imply that Welsh is exclusively spoken in the NW and that everywhere East of Bangor has had it. But the data presentation is very flawed, since it tends to erase Welsh language gains in places like Cardiff, Swansea and Monmouthshire.

You've all seen maps like this right? NW in the darkest colours and SE in the lightest?

Unfortunately when it comes to these kinds of maps, they can be very misleading from a language revitalisation point of view.

Here's some maps I actually studied at undergrad for this purpose

On the face of it, your eyes zip up to Gwynedd and Môn on the first map and then over to the second and- 'oh no!' you might say, there's been a -2.1 to -4.0 percent decline in Welsh speakers in those areas. And of course, this is something that language revitalisation wants to address. But look at the first map again. Look at, Monmouthshire, Caerphilly, Cardiff and Swansea. Then look at the second map.

Welsh speaking is actually being increased in these areas, between 2001 to 2011.

The misleading nature of a language map like this one is not its borders, its colour or key, but its omission of the sociopolitcal forces at play in language revitalisation. Large population centres like Cardiff, Caerphilly, Newport and Swansea are actively gaining more Welsh speakers. While Gwynedd and Môn are losing some. But Welsh speaking (despite a few wobbles) is on the increase. So where did those Welsh speakers from the North go?

South.

It isn't a hard-and-fast rule, but many rural Welsh speakers (especially those who live in areas with high amounts of holiday homes which drive up rent/cost of staying in villages in North Wales) actually end up moving to more urban areas in the South, meaning that some of the decline of Welsh speaking in North Wales is down to Welsh speakers just, moving to a different part of Wales- which in turn makes those areas see an increase in Welsh being spoken.

Of course, we actually have to address the cause of the exodus of Welsh speakers from rural areas holiday homes raising house prices making them unaffordable for locals and drives them away but the way that our data is represented is not as dire as it looks. Still not great, mind, but not apocalyptic either.

Then there's the other inaccuracies in this post. Small businesses like farm shops, high street businesses and houses can have Welsh-only signage because they are not local authorities and much of the guidance indirectly referenced by OP mostly only applies to local authorities. This is how you have farm shops advertising produce in Welsh only, or shop names in Welsh (such as Siop y Pethe and Broc-Môr in Aberystwyth) or the name of the house my flat is in. Businesses have different regulations for signage inside the shop in different situations. But the guidance indirectly referred to by OP in the screenshot mostly applies to road signage.

Big name brands such as Tesco are definitely not going to have monolingual Welsh stores and it is disinformation to suggest that they do- especially not when they've made gaffes such as "sboncen" to mean squash (the drink). "Sboncen" means squash (the sport), while they should have put "sgwash", meaning the drink.

Or my favourite instance of these "arwyddion gwael", in which instead of offering a free ATM service, this ATM on the Tesco Express in Aberystwyth offered "codiad am ddim" (free erections):

So I dread to think what a fully monolingual poorly translated Welsh Tesco would look like.

I don't disagree with OP on the final part, that we should celebrate Welsh's "punk ass attitude" in surviving despite attempts to eradicate it from existence. But spreading false information is definitely not the way we should be doing that.

Instead, we can celebrate things like the National Eisteddfod coming to places like Wrecsam in 2025, which aren't typically selected due to there being fewer speakers. But what bringing the National Eisteddfod to areas with low-speakers does is reestablish that yes, actually, Welsh deserves to be spoken all over Wales, not just in Y Fro Gymraeg (Welsh concept equivalent of the Gaeltacht in Ireland). It's an active, real reclamation of areas previously lost for Welsh and revitalising them by bringing the language back with the biggest Welsh language event anywhere.

[mali-umkin]

Irish, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic speakers, I need your help! 🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

For a piece of academic writing I am working on right now, I was wondering if in the context of those three languages, you have positive or negative examples of:

1) The presence of non-standard dialects digitally or in the media (any content creator you know, any regular speakers on the radio that actively uses a non-standard dialect, or on the contrary, you only encounter standard Irish/Welsh/Gaelic. If you have any example of non-standard writing too, for example in the printed press, I am all ears)

2) Do you speak and/or write a non-standard dialect and have been looked down upon for it by other speakers? If yes what dialect and in what context

3) What do you think about purification practices in which loan-words from English are replaced by new words? Which words do you use? If you study the language formally, which are taught to you?

Thank you, and please reblog!

- A grateful Celtic student

[aerithisms]

rotating the pub scene from 73 yards in my mind i think there is so much being said there about wales and welsh/english tension that is so interesting and is going so under discussed

[madbalalaika]

[ingravinoveritas]

Flew into to Vancouver today for a speaking engagement, and the guy sitting next to me on my connecting flight was watching Passengers. Looked over for one moment and there was Michael as the robot bartender. I can't escape...

[bimoonphases]

@wolfstarmicrofic March 16 – prompt 16: Episkey – word count 264

Episkey - Heals minor injuries

Sometimes Remus thought he had lost too much for just one lifetime. He would wake up with a crushing weight on his chest and usually run to the garden with a cup of tea to calm down. It was too much, too much loss. So many friends and family, all gone in the first war. Those twelve years of losing himself at the bottom of a bottle. All the others, some of whom he had even taught for a year, gone in the second war. So much loss, clinging to him like a poisonous vine.

A scream followed by a loud wail made him come back to himself and he turned around to see the little boy sprawled on the garden path, crying. He hurried to him, while Sirius sprinted from the cottage door.

“It’s alright, mon coeur, it’s alright,” Sirius said, as he picked the boy up. “You wanted to run to Dad but you fell?”

“Anwell hurt,” the boy whined, extending a tiny bruised hand towards Remus.

Remus sat down by his husband and their son, taking the tiny hand in his and having a look at it.

“It’s only a scratch, fy nghariad, Dad and Papa will make it better in no time,” he said, taking his wand from his pocket. “Episkey! See? It’s all gone now.”

Anwell stopped crying and finally smiled, his face red from the tears. Remus smiled back. Yes, so much loss. But that was the past. And the present looked bright enough. Bright as the smile on his son’s face and on the man he loved.

[meddwlyngymraeg]

Pan dwi’n mynd ar Tumblr (yn arfer): “Dwi ar Tumblr”

Pan dwi ar Tumblr (yn dwp): Weithiau, dwi’n mynd i Dumblr

[ex-libris-craux]

Casting call!

Podcast Shadows at the Door has put out a casting call :) From showrunner Mark Nixon:

We're casting the last few available smaller roles in our folk horror production written by Gareth David Lloyd. We're looking for female identifying Welsh Voice Actors with a professional home set-up for modestly paid smaller roles -- one of which is for a fluent Welsh Speaker.

Poke Mark on the SatD Twitter if you're interested, and please RB/share if you know someone who might be!

[whumpzone]

How did Col name his bear? (Col with his bear is the sweetest thing ever)

"Chu" is a cute name, and it sounds like a kiss noise, and it's very very loosely based off one of the many Welsh words for 'cute'

[bretha-stitchwitch]

I wrote this little tale to accompany a sculpture I was commissioned to make as a wedding gift. I promptly ran out of printer toner, but still had a bottle of ink, a dip nib and a very strange set of priorities whereby handwriting the story in calligraphic script appealed more than leaving the house and spending money on printer ink.

And thus my longest calligraphic project was embarked upon!

No alt text for the images, but the full text depicted is in plain text under the Read more.

THE TALE OF BRAN AP HYWEL Y CEIRIOS

Once upon a time… for that is how all such tales begin, is it not? Once upon a time, there were many dragons. And the fiercest, most famous dragon in all the land was Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon of Cadwalladr. Many songs and tales there are of Y Ddraig Goch, but none give his name, for indeed no-one thought to ask it.

But a name he had – two names, in fact. Dragons always have two names, the one being short and easy for mere humans to pronounce, the other as long and twisting as dragons themselves. It grows with the dragon who bears it, and if you know how large a dragon can grow, you know just how long that is.

Only the dragons know the long name of Y Ddraig Goch, but to we poor mortals we would more properly have been named Hywel Y Ofnadwy – and terrible he was in name and deed alike! You may well know the story of his battles with the White Dragon of Albion, and of the many slain by his talons and flame.

But what is less well known is that he had a son, Bran, who was nothing like his father. Bran ap Hywel was but a wee young wyrm when his terrible father fell to the swords of men, and barely remembers him.

For years and years past counting, Bran lived quietly in his cave on a cliff on the Isle of Anglesey. Aside from the occasional fish (which he enjoyed well enough), an even more occasional sheep (which he enjoyed better) and the gulls and terns that shared his cliff, Bran had little company and no conversation.

Until the day a great mathematician – the great mathematician, some might say, Mr William Jones himself – came walking past Bran’s cave. Out leapt Bran – for such things must be done if you are the son of Hywel Y Ofnadwy – and down tumbled Mr Jones, and that might have been the end of him and the start of a very different tale, except that Mr Jones was busily pondering the matter of pi and begged to be spared so he could finish his thought. He spoke so eloquently of the wonders and glories of this pi that Bran was entranced. He picked the man up, brushed him off as gently as he could, and sat down to listen.

Many a long conversation they had about the matter, Mr Jones holding forth on the one side, Bran asking questions on the other, unravelling the uses of pi and the need to find some single letter to capture its beauty. Bran claims it was he who gave Mr Jones the idea of using runes – for he is a very literate dragon, and has read a great number of books, many of them stolen by his terrible father. However, all one knows for certain is that Mr Jones did indeed come up with a rune for his pi, and a very fine rune it is too – so fine that for years no-one was clever enough to use it.

After his friend left, Bran grew quite lonely in his cave on a cliff, and missed the little company and much conversation he had had. So one sunny summer afternoon, when all the fruit was ripe on the branches and the grain was shining golden in the fields, he took to the skies and flew and flew, hoping he might find a friend.

Late that afternoon, a wonderful smell – a smell like the sweetest honey and the richest butter – drew Bran ap Hywel down to a farm in a vale. A neat little farm it was, with golden grain in the fields, an orchard buzzing with bees, and white sheep dotting green hills, the very picture of peace and plenty – until Bran landed, that is.

Well, the sheep bolted from the hills, the bees buzzed out of the orchard, and the golden grain thrashed and lashed in the wind from his wings.

Gwen, the farmer, ran from her thatched cottage to see what all the fuss was about, and found herself staring into the glowing green eyes of a great red dragon, high as her house and twice as long, folding his wings and staring right back at her.

“Good afternoon, madam,” said Bran (for he was a very polite dragon), “I do apologise for intruding. My name is Bran ap Hywel y Ofnadwy, though I am nowhere near as terrible. I was passing by in search of friendly conversation, when I caught the mmost marvellous smell – a smell like the sweetest honey and the richest butter – wafting from your charming little cottage. I know that the best conversation always occurs in the presence of fine victuals, and I therefore wondered if I might perhaps beg your indulgence and try a morsel?”

Well, poor Gwen didn’t know what to think! She stared up at this great red dragon, speaking as clearly as her vicar and twice as polite, and tried not to imagine all the things that might smell to a dragon like the sweetest honey and the richest butter. But she, too, was polite, and knew it was only good manners to offer tea to guests, however unexpected.

“If you’ll just wait here for a moment, sir, I’ll bring you out a cup of tea. As for whatever you smelled, couldn’t say for certain what it was, but I took a cherry pie from the oven not two minutes ago – would a bit of pie suit?”

Bran’s eyes lit up – and when it comes to a dragon, that is no metaphor – for here was another person who knew about pi!

“That would be delightful, madam, and I would be honoured if you would join me, to talk about the pi.”

The tea was ready in a trice – even with Gwen’s hands trembling and shaking – and was only a little spilled. She fetched her grandmother’s soup tureen of fine bone china for the dragon’s cup, and laid the pie on her best Sunday serving plate. Then, all a-flutter and a-tremble, she brought out her rocking chair and her sewing table, laid a fresh white cloth and her silver soup ladle for the dragon’s spoon, and brought out the tea and pie.

Bran bowed his thanks and waited ever so quietly while Gwen poured the tea and cut him a slice of pie (which was rather more than half). Once she had another cup of tea and a slice of pie for herself, Bran lifted the ladle carefully between his claws and took a nibble. Such a flavour he had never known! Sweeter than honey, richer than butter – better than all the sheep he had ever tasted. His eyes glowed with happiness, and smoke rose from both nostrils in his delight.

“Madam, this is the most marvellous, most delectable thing I have ever had the pleasure of eating. May I ask what it is?”

“Cherry pie, sir, my mother taught me the recipe.” Gwen watched him take another mouthful and savour it. “I daresay I’ve improved on it a bit, for people do tell me my pie is better than hers. Have you never had cherry pie before?”

Bran sighed. “Alas, madam, I have not – but I see now why my dear friend Mr William Jones was so enamoured of it.” And with that, he took another mouthful, and the pie was all gone.

All that summer and into the autumn, Bran stayed by Gwen’s little thatched cottage. He fetched back her sheep – for you may remember they all ran off when he first arrived – and re-thatched her roof, and brought her sweet wild cherries by the bucketful. Gwen taught him her mother’s recipe for cherry pie – with her own improvements, of course. And many a conversation they had over tea and pie, until Gwen quite forgot she had ever been afraid of him.

When the snows came, Bran said his farewells and returned to his quiet cave on a cliff on the Isle of Anglesey, to curl up and dream of cherry pie until spring. When the winter waned and the sun returned, Bran stretched his wings, took a deep sniff, and flew off in the direction of a smell like the sweetest honey and the richest butter.

He returned to Gwen’s cottage each year, gathering cherries on the way. Each year, they baked pies and drank tea, and talked and laughed like the very best of friends – which is exactly what they were. And if Gwen’s pies were a little better, Bran’s were a little larger, and always a little scorched around the edges – which is hardly surprising, for he baked them with his own breath.

Of course, dragons live much longer than we do, and one day Gwen drank her last cup of tea, ate her last slice of pie, had her last conversation with Bran, and went to sleep. Bran gathered boughs of cherry blossom for her funeral, and carved her headstone with his own talons, washing it with his tears. Then he flew back to his cave on a cliff on the Isle of Anglesey, cradling the silver soup ladle she had left him in her will.

All that winter, instead of dreaming of cherry pie, he dreamt of his friend and their last conversation, and the promise he had given her: to go out into the world and find new friends, and new conversations, and to always bake a cherry pie on Midsummer’s Eve to remember her.

So now each year, as winter wanes and the sun returns, he stretches his wings, takes a deep sniff, picks up his ladle, and flies off in search of a smell like the sweetest honey and the richest butter, a smell like warmth and welcome, for there he knows he will find tea and cherry pie and good conversation.

But he is a very polite dragon, is Bran ap Hywel, and would never overstay his welcome. He is welcome, isn’t he?

THE END

Bonus pictures of Bran for any who wanted to meet him:

[deadlydelicious]

kind of crazy that in the UK i still have to stop and explain to people what Nain and Taid mean. like in Canada, sure, its a foreign language i don't mind explaining. But in the UK? the 'United Kingdoms' of England, Scotland and WALES? I can't just talk about my Nain and Taid, I have to stop and explain what that means?

And by crazy I mean it makes me verbally trip and want to angry cry and yell 'YOU FUCKERS CLAIM YOU OWN THIS LAND, THAT'S IT PART OF YOU, BUT YOU DON'T CARE TO KNOW IT?' when I think about the fact that the heir to the throne is called the Prince of Wales, but no one cares to know the Welsh words for grandparents

The first fucking countries England colonized was were the Celtic Nations, and its crushed the Welsh so much I've literally had to sit thorough coffee break laughter about how 'daft' the language that my Nain got beaten for speaking is, at the same time you talk about taking a holiday to Snowden to avoid the crowds in England

Fuck you Fiona. Its not fucking funny, its not a 'joke language', its not 'letter soup' Ieuan is not a spelling mistake with too many vowels. You shame your ancestors, your name is Celtic too, know what blood wrote it

[surumarssi]

Genuinely I love the way some english speakers roll their R's with a really soft H before it

[speakergame]

hi I've been obsessed with Speaker for the past 3 days (since I found it, essentially) and I must say it's so fun and I can't wait for more! immediately I became a Seb girly and then Li came in? immediately, I take both (especially since I did choose the option that I had a crush on Li, for the potential drama 👀) also Rory? I love 'em (I went with f!Rory and honestly, having a werecoyote gf? the dream)

i will not call Li a short king, but it would be funny teasing him (in my case) that he's shorter by 1inch

i have 2 questions:

if there is a situation where Speaker in nakey could there be a choice that they have nipple piercings? 👀 it's alright if no, just putting it out there, a food for thought let's say

are you Polish? because I am and if it's mentioned in any fiction I get extremely confused that people know about... well, Poland even if it's kinda big country xD also is Seb's mom Polish? cause you said his dad is from Hong Kong, but he knows the language

sorry for the long ask! have a nice day/night!

for your first question, there's a bit coming up later in chapter 4 that I've been calling "body customization choices" (it was originally going to be in chapter 3, but that choice section got a little too long so I moved it). it will include options for nipple/naval piercings, as well as other things like tattoos, scars, and clothing style!

and for your second question: no, I'm not Polish, but my spouse's family is. his great-grandmother was one of the most charismatic and charming people I've ever met, and I wanted to pay her an homage 💙 and yes, Sebastian's mother is Polish, she moved to the United States to marry Bas's dad, so she's only recently immigrated (well, about 30 years ago or so) and speaks Polish as a first language

[mishkakagehishka]

yeah no fr you get it. i notice so many little things that just feel weird when games try to be too realistic. like modern fallout games? you immediately notice when character's mouths or animations are wonky. tbh i play far too few super-realistic-games to really point out any ones i have flaws with but like!

final fantasy! 15 is pretty realistic but still keeps that anime vibe. prompto's hair is a little silly but hey, its ff! and it fits in the world and doesn't feel off. kh? entirely silly. even in kingdom hearts 3 where there's a lot more like "high-def" textures and stuff, all the characters are so silly and anime-esque that it still just works.

hell i sometimes think ts2 has more polish and personality than ts4, and that came out in approx 2004...

idk man i love my silly anime games and my clunky/chunky/low-poly graphics. realism is fun as are pretty graphics but man. i can look past shitty graphics if the story and characters are fun and i have a reason to care. but if the graphics are slowing my device down and i can barely play? that's just a pain.

on that note why are assassin's creed games so fucking big. i had to dl over 100gb for ac: valhalla awhile ago. is this even necessary anymore...? ngl i like ac4's graphics more than the more modern games sometimes...

sorry im a little passionate abt games. oopsies. ily corks

No, but exactly, that's why i brought up ff. It has a dash of realism to it, but the charas look so stylised in the anime way despite that, that flaws don't jump out as much as they do in the RE engine, to me. I very much remember wonky hair being a thing despite the fact that i played one (1) 3D final fantasy entry, and that was years ago, but it never struck me as odd, because... it was stylised, and it could get explained as part of the style. When you aim for photorealism, even the most minor flaw registers as - a flaw, cannot be explained by saying "it's stylised".

And, yeah, real. I can't tell you for Valhalla or Odyssey - I don't own them and don't really have an urge to get them either (not in an elitist "it's not a proper ac game", but just a bit of a side-eyeing "i play ac for certain reasons, and odyssey and valhalla took a path that removed those reasons"), but from what I hear they have a fuckton of content. I think Origins also took so much to download, it was ridiculous.

(And same tho. I made tumblr bc i wanted to be insane ab elder scrolls somewhere, enstars just kinda took over. But i've always been a video game freak)

[cytser]

it's very exciting to read phrases in welsh and realise that i understand what they mean. even more exciting is when i realise that it takes me longer to work out the literal translation, because that means i can understand some welsh implicitly like i do with english. and that's the goal!