Welsh
Cymraeg
Welsh is the healthiest of the Celtic languages: unlike its relatives it was never fully cut off from one generation to the next, and its use has been growing for some decades. Like Irish it puts the verb first and uses initial mutations. Its spelling disorients because w and y are vowels: the word cwm, for instance, is pronounced with an oo sound.
- Family
- Celtic
- Script
- Latin
- Speakers
- ≈ 900,000
- Where
- Wales
- In the game
- Rare language
How to spot it
The double ll, and w and y used as vowels (cwm, bryn), plus the circumflex ŵ, ŷ.
A few sentences
-
Dw i’n mynd i’r gwaith ar y bws bob bore.
I go to work by bus every morning.
-
Mae’r plant wedi blino’n lân.
The children are worn out.
-
Mae’n oer heddiw.
It is cold today.
-
Does dim bara ar ôl.
There is no bread left.
-
Dw i’n gweithio yfory.
I am working tomorrow.