Hen Gwrs a Chwrs Newydd

Cwpl o bethau

Hearing “unrhywbeth” commonly in the new course where “dim byd” was used generally in the old course. Has anything changed in common useage in the past few years.

Also think we’re getting a different pattern in the use of dal. Old course - Dw i’n dal i fynd. New course - Dw i dal yn mynd. Am I hearing correctly?

Shwmae Hywel

In the new course, we are hearing “unrhywbeth” to talk about “anything”, but I also believe it’s being used in the negative as well, where “dim byd” covered that in the old course.

I think because the new course hasn’t covered “dim byd” to mean “nothing” yet, is why you’re hearing “unrhywbeth” being used in all possible permutations of how the word can be used. Perhaps later in the new course, “dim byd” will be introduced with all its own permutations, and examples of situations where each of these 2 words would be used will be given to us to practice with.

I love that “dim byd” because not only in Cymraeg “if something is negative, everything is negative” but this also happens in Slovene. Exactly the same. “unrhywbeth” is quite strange to me however if we say “rhywbeth” it seams quite logical “unrhywbeth” would be its oposition. :slight_smile:

I think the only usage of ‘dal’ in the new Level 1 is ‘dal angen’ and ‘dal isio’ - if you’re hearing something different, let me know where and I’ll try to drill down :sunny:

so its yn dal I before noun-verbs I am still going out and dal yn when its followed by an adjective - it is still too wet e.g.>?
I do love these questions - it makes me really sit down and think about it - and it is interesting to see what people come across on these courses. Dat ati

But they’re opposites aren’t they Hywel?
rhywbeth = something
unrhywbeth = anything
dim byd = nothing

Sa’in gweld y prob :smile:

if we say “rhywbeth” it seams quite logical “unrhywbeth” would be its oposition. smile

I don’t follow this, either, @tatjana. Is it possible you’re thinking of the prefix “un” having the same negating effect in Welsh as it has in English (do/undo, lock/unlock etc)? I’m pretty sure it doesn’t.

Dim o gwbl Huw. Gwrandwch i Gwrs 1, Gwers 1, 20min 54secs.

“Dw i ddim yn gwneud dim byd!”

Double negatives were certainly presented as being the norm when that was recorded. Ydy unrhywbeth wedi newid ers hynni oedd y cwestiwn ond sa’in mynd i fecso am y peth. Dw i’n hapus i defnyddio y ddau fersiwn.

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Can’t find the reference immediately. To short cut matters, which is the correct version?

I hear that as “I don’t do nothing” but understand and process it as “I don’t do anything”.
Welsh, Italian and other languages do not share English’s aversion to double negatives.
In Italian “Non ho niente” = “I don’t have nothing” which we interpret as “I don’t have anything” is perfectly grammatically sound.
As is often stressed on this forum, one has to consider the whole phrase rather than attempt a word for word translation. If we do this there should be no problem in hearing unrhywbeth/anything and dim byd/nothing when they stand alone as being opposites rather than synonyms.

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That’s how I understand the introduction to unrywbeth. I might be VERY wrong though.

So is in Slovene: “Nič nimam.” - double negative “nič” = nothing and “nimam” = I don’t have.

If we’d follow English version we’d say “imam nič” what means I have nothing. Both can be correct in this cases but we use that double negative structure though and is gramatically correct.

Both :sunny:

Dw i ddim yn gwneud dim byd is fine and normal.

Dw i ddim yn gwneud unrhywbeth is fine and normal.

Un in Welsh isn’t like un in English. Rhywbeth is something - unrhywbeth is anything. :sunny:

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Shwmae @hyweljohn

I asked the same question about “dal” because it threw me for a loop. This thread may be helpful: Dal - i and yn

Personally, I still get caught up on it. But what can I do, but sob. :wink: Hope you and Helen are well!

@sandrahulland That’s what I make of it, too.

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