Breakthroughs: Does anybody have small successes/breakthroughs speaking Cymraeg they want to share?

Well done. The answer, Beiro, for a writing implement seems to pop up regularly, so is worth keeping in your back pocket, or behind your ear :grimacing:

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Coincidences time; one of my friends recently met a very enthusiastic / enthused Welsh learner on a train. She mentioned the story to me, and I rightly guessed he would be an SSiWer.

Better still, he has an unusual name. I tracked him down - he is same challenge/level as me (level 2 challenge 6).

Even better still, we have just had our first conversation: 45 minutes long, 43 minutes of which were in Welsh. Go Us!

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I was at the rugby sevens in Aberaeron last week completely by accident really. We headed for the coast with a tent and stumbled across the event. My mate Rhodri owns a the Hive there so we popped in and he took us the rugby.

Now I practise with my girlfriend a lot but it can be difficult at times whereas I got chatting to someone at the rugby and we chatted in Welsh for about a quarter of an hour. Few stumbles but they happen! Definitely felt like a milestone!

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Its a huge success. I have the same freeze on a daily basis. If you want to utter a diolch i would be very happy to diolch back . Ive just done the swapping sentences for 10 minutes with @cetra and it was very enjoyable as there was no need to worry about what came out of our mouths as long as it was welsh
Daliwch ati :grin:

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You need to be prouder actually!! Go you!!! Waaaayyyyy!

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Diolch one mae eisiau I fi dechrau ymarfer. Maybe get on slack and have a chat. I’m too much of a chicken to speak to people at the moment :joy: I’m at the end of level one is it too soon?

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Its never too soon. If you fancy just swapping a few tiny sentences, like what is your name where do you live…its like jumping in a cold pool…so much better when youve done it. And everyone here is LOVELY! Really encouraging
Go for it!

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Just finished level one and have been looking out for opportunities to use what i can. It helps that i know people to speak to and have the advantage of many Welsh-speaking friends and work colleagues. So much easier than trying to speak to strangers. The main thing is to forget anxiety and just do it. Really happy if I understand anything and can process some sort of relevant response. Had my first dream in Welsh last night!!!

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Is there a thread about the swapping sentences you did?

I’m not sure actually. Im a bit useless keeping track of forum posts…hopefully a bit better at speaking welsh! If youd like to do a 2 minute really quick swap of a couple of sentences please do…no pressure

Wow!

I just sang Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau in Welsh off by heart at the start of the Wales v Georgia rugby world cup match. That was one of my learning aims this year as I remember my grandparents doing it.

Many Japanese fans have learnt it too. :heart_eyes:

https://youtu.be/M-eyTr0njmo

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It would appear that this link is only open to those who have reached the appropriate stage.

I’ve been listening to Stephen Fry read Harry Potter again and as I reached the end of a chapter and he fell silent, I found I had been translating the story into Welsh in my head. It wasn’t “perfect” because I haven’t been exposed to the exact wording for “what had happened” yet, so I ended up with “what was happening…” but Harry Potter was rushing up to Gryffindor Tower to find Ron and Hermione so he could dweud wrthyn nhw beth oeth yn digwydd. :nerd_face::mage:

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I’ve been following the Facebook page of Coedwigoedd Glaw Celtaidd Cymru - Celtic Rainforests Wales for a while, making the occasional comment. Their page is good to follow, because they post in both languages. They had a competition to win a framed print by Ffion Gwyn. I wrote a sentence in Welsh about my favourite Welsh forest area - and won!

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Llongyfarchiadau! That’s great! :stars::deciduous_tree:

I have a friend from the London Welsh Chorale who’s a native speaker, and he and I’ve been texting each other in Welsh (with some English thrown in to clarify what I was trying to say or from him to correct me). We spent ten minutes on some back and forth last night before I realized I hadn’t needed to pull up Google Translate once so far!

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I received an early birthday present in the mail the other day from a local Welsh-speaking friend who lives in a nearby city here in Northern California. I recognized the word “coed” in the title immediately because I’m always talking to my cat about the trees on our walks :wink::paw_prints:, but the word “uchaf” stirred only the vaguest recognition in me.

It wasn’t until a day or two later, walking under the trees with little Moon, that I remembered learning “faint mor uchel” for “how high” in Lefel 3 a couple days earlier. The wheels started turning in my mind, words like “mwyaf” and “hynaf” for “most” and “oldest” flashed before me, and I wondered if it was adding - af to the end of uchel, which ought to mean that “uchaf” is “highest…” I checked Ap Geiriaduron on my phone right away, and score! Oh, it feels so good when that happens!

P. S. When I was watching a show @siaronjames worked on called Garddio a Mwy today, there was a part about trees where someone said “i fynd am dro,” and my cat tensed up in my arms with anticipation, thinking it was time for a walk. :joy::paw_prints:

https://www.s4c.cymru/clic/programme/802695361

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Cymraeg has completely taken over simple English words and phrases. I was talking to my mom on the phone when she asked me a question and I rattled off “dwi ddim yn siwr” like I was on autopilot. I’ll say something in English and immediately think “in Welsh it would be…”

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I’ve almost said “i fod yn onest” in three separate English conversations in the last week. Gwych! :laughing:

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