A series of 5 fortnightly classes in Llanilar Village Hall near Aberystwyth is starting on 8th Sep 2016. The course will give an overview of Welsh language, music and literature and look at how Welsh compares with other European languages as well as covering the whole history of Welsh poetry and prose from the Gododdin to the present day in a fun and accessible way. The course will be suitable for those with no previous knowledge of Welsh as well as fluent Welsh speakers or Welsh learners. There is more information on the fb page below or do contact Harriet Earis for more details on info@harrietearis.com or 07890 142029
Diddorol iawn, Harriet.
Might well be worth ÂŁ50 for 5 sessions.
Iâll save up and e-mail you if Iâm free.
Sounds interesting.
I recently discovered a series/collection of music called âCwm-Rhyd-y-Rhosynâ. Itâs fairly modern, 1970s origin I believe, but includes many traditional songs. Apparently itâs fairly well known, even âfamousâ amongst first language speakers, and a part of childhood upbringing.
It got me thinking, what else have I missed out on? Maybe this course could answer that!
The classes sound fantastic! Will definitely keep my eyes peeled for future dates.
Itâd be lovely if you fancied coming Warren. Hope you might be able to make it. If you want any more info about the course then just email me! Iâve run it in Llanidloes before and as a residential course in Plas Tan y Bwlch in North Wales and itâs always gone well. Iâm just hoping a few more people will sign up. Iâve left it rather late to advertise it so if youâd like to come then thatâd be brilliant.
Byddai feân wych os chiân gallu dod! Fingers crossed. If you fancy just coming to a couple of sessions thatâs fine too. You can just pay for each one independently. Each one will stand alone although there will also be a progression through the history of Welsh literature - so come to the early ones if you want the medieval period and the later ones for 20th/21st century! Itâd be lovely though if you could come to the whole course. Weâre thin on the ground at present so Iâd be delighted if youâd like to come to all or part of it!
Hope to see you at a future event or if you want to just come to just one or two classes this term youâd be very welcome to dip into it!
Currently in Llundain otherwise Iâd definitely come along! Hope it all goes well
Thanks @HarrietEaris. Iâll come to the first session on the 8th September and look forward to it. Future sessions depend on family commitments rather than money ( even though Iâm a Cardi who was brought up in Aberdeen )
My conversational Welsh is OK but my reading and writing skills are limited (by which I mean - absent)
I donât use Facebook so please post here or PM me if there are any changes.
Sorry Harriet it does sound interesting, but itâs too far for me to travel for an evening. Best of luck with, I hope you get enough people on board.
No worries. Thanks anyway Warren!
I attended Harrietâs first session in Llanilar last night and it was one of the most informative, enjoyable and interesting evenings I have spent for some time.
She is clearly highly qualified in all the contemporary Celtic languages with specific enthusiasm for mediaeval Welsh.
Her enthusiasm for her theme (the shared attributes of Indo-European Languages) was infectious. Her delivery and preparation was excellent. There were seven participants each with varying levels of Welsh (and various other languages) and she engaged each one of us brilliantly.
Following an introduction to links between English and Welsh words illustrated by a table game, she went on to the âmeatâ of her first session. The Gododdin, Eryr Pengwern and Stafell Gynddylan no less! She delivered extracts of these lugubrious, tragic epics with written translations, of course. My only criticism is that her voice is just too beautiful to render the horror of âEryr Pengeryn, pengarn llwyd, heno: Aruchel ei eban: Eiddig am gig Cynddylanâ = âGrey-capped eagle of Pengwern, tonight: On high its cry: Jealous for Cynddylanâs fleshâ
Two of her introductory quotations will resonate with many on this forum:
âThe limits of my language are the limits of my worldâ (Wittgenstein)
âThose who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their ownâ (Goethe)
Diolch o galon iddi ti @HarrietEaris. Saâiân gallu aros am dy ail sessiwn.
Aw, diolch yn fawr iawn am y geiriau caredig! Rwyân disgwyl ymlaen at y sesiwn nesaf ar yr 22ain hefyd!
If anyone else from the forum would like to join us, then please do. Weâve got space! Weâll be doing Dafydd ap Gwilym and extracts from Y Mabinogi next time and attempting to write some âcynghaneddâ in English amongst other things!
Also the historical aspect. Like remembering that ´Wales´ once went all the way to Edinburgh and Dumbarton.
Canu Heledd moves me. Imagine if the Welsh had retained what is now Shrewsbury, how that might have changed the subsequent history and geography?
Instead:
Llys Benngwern neud tandde
The Welsh city was turned into a funeral pyre. And Heledd, the female narrator, survived but went insane from the trauma. Trist iawn i gyd.
Harriet, last night, finished her excellent series of interactive presentations on Welsh Language and Literature and I have enjoyed each and every one immensely; firstly because they resonate exactly with my interest in Welsh in particular and languages in general and their shared roots; secondly because of her infectious enthusiasm; and thirdly because of her meticulous preparation. (I claim the prize for the forumâs longest ever sentence. )
She ended each session with some musical elements and, on one occasion, performed for us on one of her harps.
She is thinking of offering another series of fortnightly presentations starting on 12th January 2017 in the Canolfan at Llanilar (between Aberystwyth and Tregaron). She would like to have a minimum of 8 to 10 people to make them viable. Her price for the last series was ÂŁ10 per session. I hope Iâve made it clear how worth it I found them to be. I am posting this without her knowledge (yet) or even permission, but Iâm sure she wonât mind.
You can find more about Harriet Earis here
Iâm so disappointed I wasnât able to make any of those, and Iâm afraid January is still a little early for me. A friend from Llandysul made it to the first one, but unfortunately became very busy with work and wasnât able to get to any others. She echoed your sentiments on how worthwhile it was though.
Perhaps when Harriet gets to her third series Iâll be ready
Itâd be lovely to have you whenever you can make it, Dee! Thanks so much for the positive response!