How to learn Welsh
I’m learning Welsh and get asked by people how to do it. I also get asked why, but there’s already a site about that. I’m not a language learning expert, but what follows are notes and links that I’ve found helpful. It might be that not all of it is perfect for you, so don’t think that you have to do everything. It’s also likely there are good ideas that I’ve missed, so I’ll be revising this every so often.
We start with what seems the biggest choice, what version Welsh to learn. If you’re starting without much support this can seem like a massive decision. I try to explain why it really doesn’t matter so much. Next, there’s a section on where you can actually get lessons for free or at least cheaply. After that comes a few sections on how to get help and where you can use your Welsh.
There’s a website I like called Fluent in 3 Months. That is a big challenge, but I close by asking if becoming Fluent is a helpful goal.
North or South Welsh?
The first decision you’ll make learning Welsh is: which version? Pleidiol wyf i’m gwlad, as seen on the coins, is Literary Welsh. I don’t know anyone who would use that in conversation. The choice that you hit straight away as a learner is whether you learn North Welsh or South Welsh. If you know nothing about the language, like most learners starting, this can look like an intimidating choice. What happens if you choose the wrong one? And why can’t you just learn Welsh?
Welsh hasn’t had official support for most of its existence, so there’s nothing like “The Queen’s Welsh”. What you have a local forms of Welsh. Aberystwyth and south tend to use southern forms of Welsh, while Machynlleth and north tend to use northern Welsh, but there’s not actually a neat divide. The differences between the two are a little grammar and in words the used. The biggest is o in the north for he/it and e in south for the same thing. There are other slight differences, so Dan ni’n mynd for We are going in the north against Dyn ni’n mynd in the south, but in spoken form this sounds more like an accent than different words. If you’re going out then Dan ni’n mynd allan uses a different word for out compared to Dyn ni’n mynd mas, but it’s not insurmountable. It’s more of a problem for beginners insecure about perfection in speaking and wanting to use the right word.
Most courses divide between North and South Welsh. The differences seem big when you start learning Welsh but, as you learn more, the versions seem to get closer. If you live in Wales, then the best version to learn is the local version. Don’t get bothered when you find everyone else is speaking a different form of Welsh. People move around and the media covers the whole country, you’ll hear every kind of Welsh.
Welsh Courses
There’s more than one way to learn Welsh and they all have their advantages and disadvantages.
Look local
If you live in Wales, then starting with Cwrs Mynediad or the entry for Wlpan is a good place to start. The social support from learning with people helps. If you have the time then there are also residential courses. Aberystwyth runs an intensive Welsh course in the summer. I’m told this is intensive, but during the 2–4 weeks you’re there you will make progress. If you don’t quite have that amount of time, Nant Gwrtheyrn has week-long courses at various levels.
The advantage of a live course is that the tutor is a handy contact for questions. There’s instant feedback on your learning. There can also be a sense of camaraderie when you run into something that you struggle with.
However, even with a good course, a course alone is probably not enough. There’s a risk of learning the course more than the language. So other sources are helpful. Fortunately there is support on the Internet.
SaySomethingInWelsh (SSiW)
You’ll find lots of people praising SaySomethingInWelsh. I like it, but it’s not for everyone. SSiW will teach you how to speak Welsh, there’s no written element. So you’ll start by learning that to try is trio and to speak is siarad. You’ll hear someone say ‘to try’ and have a short gap to say your response in Welsh before hearing two people give the correct response. Next you’ll hear ‘to speak’ and have a similar gap before hearing the answer. Every so often the course will drop in something it hasn’t told you, like ‘to try to speak’ and you can see if you can work out what the answer is, before two voices say ‘trio siarad’.
I was sceptical of this approach initially. I like being able to grammar in tables and how sentences fit together. However, the big advantage of SSiW is that the audio-only lessons mean you have to internalise the language. It’s not easy, and some people hate not being able to look up the word they’ve forgotten, but if you can stick with it, it is effective and there’s a lot of support on their forums and in their Facebook group for learners.
Even if the course is not for you in the long term, I’d recommend starting here with one or two lessons before adding something else.
Duolingo
Duolingo has a Welsh course, currently in beta. It’s been a staggering amount of work done in a short time to get this running. It’s what you’d expect from an internet language course. There are audio elements, where you type in responses, and snippets where you translate from Welsh to English and vice versa. If, like me, you’re bad at typing accurately, you might find the mobile interface slightly easier as often you can use words as blocks. You tap on the blocks to put words in the right order instead of spelling them out letter by letter. And SwiftKey has predictive text in Welsh, for when you have to type out letter by letter.
I was surprised to find this wasn’t working so well for me. However, a play with some other courses on Duolingo shows it’s the actual site I struggle with, not the course itself, which is one of the better ones. I particularly like that they course writers didn’t split North and South Welsh, you can work in whatever you prefer. And there’s plenty to learn. If you’re starting from scratch then you shouldn’t scroll down the lesson list to see how much there is. It’s intimidating. However, once you’re making progress, you’ll see this means there’s long term support for your learning.
While it’s not my favourite, I know plenty of people who prefer this method to others. It’s a matter of personal preference.
It’s not about finding the course
I don’t think there’s such a thing as the one course you need to learn Welsh. Whatever course works best for you, when you try and use Welsh outside of class people will throw all sorts of odd phrases at you. So while I don’t find Duolingo flows well for me, that extra difficulty means I’m working at language recall in a different context. The same goes for class when I can get a reminder of completely new ways to say something. No one I know wants to learn how to speak a language badly, so it’s understandable if we prefer to stick with one method of learning that we click with. Who wants to be reminded of how much they still don’t understand? Still mixing things up can help push the language you have learned into new contexts and help embed it in your mind.
Where to get help
Language learning can feel like a solitary activity. This is weird really, because a language isn’t something that works with just one speaker. The Internet is a big help, because it gives you access to a community and also support.
The first place to start is Twitter. Twitter is perfect for language learning. A lot of people sit down with a book and attempt to read it in their target language. After half a page when they’ve been looking up every other word to see what it means, any sense of achievement is lost in what feels like a futile slog.
Tweets are much better to read because with just 140 characters there’s only so many impossible words someone can use. You’ll also be reading Welsh is it’s used today, not some stylised form where everyone remembers all the grammatical rules. You will need to follow people to see those tweets, and there’s a short-cut. The best place to start looking for people to follow is the followers list for Awr Y Dysgwyr.
@AwrYDysgwyr (The Learners’ Hour) is Twitter account that helps Welsh learners. Every Monday between 9pm and 10pm people tag tweets #aydysgwyr, these get retweeted by the @AwrYDysgwyr account so everyone following can see them. You’ll see tweets in Welsh from learners as they say hello, but you’ll also be able to ask for advice, or ask a question about something that’s bothering you. If you want book recommendations, for example, there’s a good chance that someone else has read something and can tell you if it’s worth buying or not.
Another Twitter account to follow is @yrawrgymraeg. Yr Awr Gymraeg (The Welsh Language Hour) is between 8pm and 9pm on Wednesday nights. Anything tagged #yagym gets retweeted. It’s used by people and businesses that want to get attention from a Welsh speaking audience. You can use it to find accounts you might be interested in following.
Dictionaries
If you’re reading tweets, a dictionary will be useful. There are plenty on the web you can use. The fastest is the Geiriadur Bangor. Type your word in and you’ll get English and Welsh words back.
Another one I like is Gweiadur. You’ll need to sign up for free to use it, but it has a great bonus when you look up a verb. Take something like gadael (to leave). It’s an awkward verb because the stem is gadaw- Gweiadur runs the verb so you can see what the past form is, along with a whole load of other tenses that you may never use.
If you are absolutely stuck for a word the biggest dictionary I’ve seen is Geiradur yr Academi. If you can’t find a word in one, there’s a good chance you can find it in another.
The only one I would avoid is Google Translate. One day it will be good, but for now the quality is patchy.
Facebook and Reddit
If you’re on Facebook then there are a few pages that share learning tips. In addition to the SSiW group, there’s also a page for Welsh learners that shares idioms as well as words. A page for Materials for Learners and a Cymraeg community. They’re all usually good at sharing posts by other learn Welsh pages. You should also be able to find a page for your local Menter, language support enterprise, if you live in Wales.
If you’re a Redditor r/cymru is friendly, but you can also try r/learnwelsh.
YouTube
The biggest channel on YouTube for learners is Dal Ati (formerly Hwb) from S4C. You could catch up with the latest videos, or you could start from the oldest and work your way forward. The programmes are a mix of Interviews, lessons preparing for interviews and other segments. Learners might also find some of S4c’s Pump helpful too.
It’s not just S4C producing Welsh video on YouTube. Welsh Plus has some videos covering odd words and idioms. Learn Welsh with zePOINTofzeDAY also covers phrases and more unusual words. Another video series with a view for oddities is Wales Shark / ideadragon, which might also teach you some phrases you won’t learn elsewhere and might not want to teach to small children.
Y bont
Y Bont is a site that supports Tutors and Learners for Adult Welsh courses. One of the features you might find helpful is Rhyd-y-bont, opera sebon or a soap opera for learners.
The attraction of Rhyd-y-bont is that the epsiodes introduce new vocabulary as the story progresses. It’s not exactly a podcast, there’s no easily accessible RSS feed to add to iTunes or Pocket Casts, but you can download the files as MP3s.
Clwb clonc
If you live in Wales, something else you can search for is a Clwb Clonc. These are chat clubs for learners. They’ll meet between once a week to once a month at various locations. Your local Menter Iaith will have a list of places near you. Google is also a help.
A chat club can help as a support group for your learning. It’s also a way to find out about events near you. The more anglicized your area is, the harder it can be to find out about Welsh language events.
Memrise
Memrise is a site a bit like Duolingo, though anyone can create a course. It means not all courses are equal, but there are some good workouts on offer. The method is that you’ll see something like mynd means go, then get a word and pick the partner to it from options. So to start you might see Mynd and then see options for Come and Go. As more words get introduced older words reappear but this time as one among six or eight options. You also have to type the right word occasionally. All this is done against the clock.
Unlike SSiW or Duolingo, I don’t think you could learn Welsh from scratch with Memrise. That doesn’t mean it’s a waste of time though. Some of the courses are great ways to refresh your memory or add a little vocabulary.
Media / Events
Is there a point to learning Welsh if you’re not going to use it? There are a few ways you can put your new language to use.
Newyddion / News
The most useful thing I have found about learning Welsh is that it makes it easier to get news about Wales. The English-language media tends to carry news from London. Even Wales-based media in Wales will carry different stories depending on language, compare BBC Wales with Cymru Fyw. Along with the BBC, Golwg 360 regularly updates its news site. Y Cymro arlein is another news source.
S4C
Even if you’re outside the UK, you can watch some S4C programmes. Drama on S4C can be a challenge to follow as the language is complicated — but imagine how tedious it would get if it were all accessible to someone with a very low level of Welsh. Quiz programmes can be helpful as the questions tend to be short enough to be able to guess what is being asked. Celwydd Noeth is a good show to catch, as it has the questions and answers written (in Welsh) as part of the graphics for the show.
Radio
There are no subtitles with radio, which can make it more of a challenge than television, but there are some good shows to catch. Taro’r Post is a talk show, and when the discussion is about current news events it can be possible to work out what people are talking about. With iPlayer radio it’s accessible after transmission.
Magazines
I’m not sure if there’s anything more dispiriting than sitting down to read a book or magazine with a dictionary and finding you’re looking up almost every other word. There is a shallow end for magazines though Lingo Newydd, a magazine for learners. Articles have guides for the level of learner with a mix of things from beginners to more advanced. While the language can be simplified, the articles can be interesting. Except the horoscopes. I can’t bring myself to say anything positive about horoscopes — even in Welsh. As well as the physical magazine, there’s also an electronic version you can buy via the ap Golwg (iOS, Android), so it’s an option worldwide.
Eisteddfodau
There are more Eisteddfodau than the National Eisteddfod in Wales. There are also local eisteddfodau, often bilingual that you can attend. In particular around March/April there are often Learner Eisteddfodau in preparation for the national learner competition at the National Eisteddfod. If you’re not the competitive type, these are still great places to meet other learners and exchange information about what’s going on around you.
Miwsig
The big advantage Welsh-language bands have over English language bands is that Simon Cowell has no interest in Welsh music. There are still good innovative bands singing in both Welsh and English, but the Welsh language bands aren’t up against The Shiny Suit Five, who came fifth in X-Factor, fourth in the Voice and lost out in the final to the banjo-playing dog in Are You Sure Britain’s Got Talent?
It means that if you listen to Radio Cymru, or Cymru FM you’re more likely to hear a variety of music, some of it sounding like English music in Welsh, but some cutting a path of its own.
Libraries
Something you’ll see on Twitter is people recommending various books. That’s great, but trying to buy ALL THE BOOKS is expensive, and maybe dispiriting if they site around the house glaring at you from their unread pages. Instead it can be better to get books from libraries.
If you live in Wales you’re in luck. Not only do you have a local library, you have access to the ebooks collection. You can get Welsh ebooks without having to leave your computer. The books are in .ePub format, so you can’t read them on a Kindle, but they work with PC, Mac and Kobo as well as Smartphones and Tablets with the right app.
If you have children then you can also find that local libraries will have Welsh language events as well. I don’t have children, so my eyes glaze over when I see these adverts. They crop up on my Facebook feed from time to time, so it’s well worth following your local library if you have a Facebook account.
The upside of this is that when you use your library, you’re helping everyone by reminding the local council that they are getting used, helping keep them open for everyone, regardless of whether they’re bilingual or monoglot.
It’s your language if you use it
Two people have had a big impact on how I use Welsh. One is Benny Lewis. He argues that the biggest impact on your ability to speak a language is whether or not you use it. A language you don’t use is not going to get polished.
Ok, easy in a widely spoken language like Spanish, but if I were to try doing this in Welsh I’d look like an idiot right?
The other is Dave Rogers, who writes the blog Twpsyn yng Nghaerlouw. I saw this blog by someone who’s been learning Welsh longer than me, but maybe not so much longer than me. Blogging more than a few words can be tiring, but you can learn enough to tweet in Welsh quickly. If you have an interest, like wildlife, even simple sentences can help.
Dyma froga yn fy ngardd. Mae e’n hoffi pwll bas. Mae e wedi dychwelyd gyda’r Gwanwyn.
I had to look up bas for shallow, but then I had to look up the spelling of camaraderie when I used that earlier too. You might have to look up a few more words now, but with a little practice you’ll pick up words like dychwelyd (return). I don’t let a few problems I have with English unnerve me, so I’m trying to feel more at ease with Welsh.
How do you know when you’re done?
I wouldn’t say I’m fluent, but what would a fluent person say about the photo above? I suppose I could add Wnes i dynnu’r llun yn fy nhŷ blaenorol, because I took it at the house where I used to live, but there’s only so much you can say about a photo of a frog. Maybe fluent people don’t talk about photos of frogs.
How about a more common test? I can order coffee in Welsh. That’s a ‘real world’ test. However, there’s only so many responses you’re likely to get back when you do that, so maybe that’s not a good test for fluency either. So what does become a good test for fluency? There’s an article on Fi3M, How many words do you need to speak a language fluently? It’s a common question, but Benny Lewis says: It’s like asking a composer “How many notes do you need exactly, before you have a musical masterpiece?”
I think one reason for asking that is the we do quantify language in the school system like any other topic. But for adults the reason for learning Welsh isn’t usually to score n% on a test. You’re learning Welsh to do something. In my case I’m interested in learning about what’s happening locally, so I’ll feel fluent when I can regularly read Cymru Fyw or Golwg 360 without having to reach for help. For you it might be understanding what the local place names mean and why, or being able to help your child with her homework.
What matters isn’t a hypothetical score for how much Welsh you know, it’s what you can get out of using it. If you follow @AwrYDysgwyr and tweet Shwmae! #aydysgwyr between 9 and 10 on a Monday evening then you’ll have made a start.
