SSi Forum

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

#1305

Ha, yeah: Buzzing. da iawn i ti

#1306

I heard this joke today:
Posh English man walks into a pub in Aberystwyth. ā€œJust won the lottery, chaps. Drinks on me. Oh yes, whatā€™s Welsh for CHEERS?ā€
ā€œCadeiriauā€ came the answer.
ā€œOK, Cadeiriauā€ shouted the Englishman brandishing his drink.

And I got the joke first time!!!

#1307

As a complete beginner, I have started to feel more confident using Welsh with KS2 pupils in my school.

#1308

I was surprised but very pleased to get two letters published in ā€˜Lingo Newyddā€™. Iā€™d sent them in thinking it was a good exercise to respond to the prompts on the letter page but really never thought theyā€™d make it into the magazine. :blush:

#1309

Today I successfully ranted in Welsh.

Next goal: having a sweary rant in Welsh. :rofl:

#1310

Oh Howard I wish I had your confidence! I am on week2 level 2, and still havenā€™t got the confidence to speak apart from my partner who is a Welsh Speaker as is his daughter and children. I will say the occasional sentence but I never get past there, and I am very slow! But I hope that you have inspired me, so thank you or diolch !
Jacqui

#1311

Sounds fine Jaqui. One sentence is a brilliant place to start with a stranger - even in English a sentence each is plenty to get going

#1312

Hi Jacqui, Iā€™m doing the same Week 2 Level 2 too. Iā€™m still too nervous to try speaking although I have used the cash machines in the Welsh languageā€¦not sure I understood every sentence but I got the right amount of cash out and I got a receipt. Hurray!

#1313

I spoke to my daughterā€™s Welsh school in Welsh - for the first time in the 6 years sheā€™s been there. I didnā€™t intend to (scary!) but the voice at the other end saying ā€˜Bore daā€™ flipped the Welsh speaking switch in my brain and I just carried on in Welsh.

#1314

I just conducted my first business transaction in Welsh! I found a few things I liked in the online shop at Cymdeithas Yr Iaith and wrote a brief query yn y Gymraeg to ask whether they could mail merch. to the U.S. I got a prompt and enthusiastic reply that I had to spend some time translating, but the answer was yes. So I ordered what I wanted in Welsh, checking in English only at the end to make sure Iā€™d ordered what I thought I had. :upside_down_face:

Then I wrote a note of thanks to the woman whoā€™d responded to me, yn y Gymraeg. Iā€™m sure I made mistakes, but I did it! And I felt happy I was able to support their work from afar by buying merch and making a donation.

#1315

Just been out for a meal with two Welsh speaking friends. As it turned out, we were sitting next to a an extended family who all spoke Welsh and wanted to chat to us as my friends originally came from the same valley: Cwmtwrch. It took me a few minutes to zone in, with my friends translating to Cwmtawe Welsh (About 5 miles away) :rofl:. I soon adapted though, and it went well. Goto say it was a more chilled experience than pouncing on unsuspecting shopkeepers.

#1316

Dwā€™i wedi pasio fy arholiad Cymraeg! (I have passed my Welsh exam!) Only mynediad level speaking (not full exam because of covid) very pleased with myself.

#1317

So pleased to have been able to chat in Welsh with a Welsh speaking customer in the library where I work. Although weā€™re in England serving her in Welsh felt like the most natural thing to do and it was wonderful to hear her speaking Welsh with her daughter.

#1318

I had a similar experience and you are right: it is much better than pouncing on a shopkeeper cos you end up talking about natural topics rather than the usual ā€œwhy have you learned welsh; how have you learnedā€ etc.

I had a time in the pub recently where I was with my welsh speaking mate (who i donā€™t talk to in welsh cos weā€™ve gone to long speaking English and it feels really weird changing to welsh). Anyway, a load of his mates came in and we all just used welsh to speak and had a whole evening in welsh. Man itā€™s easier after a few pints.

#1319

I always used to reckon I needed either three days in France or three pastis to start speaking French; I still have yet to work out the beer:Pernod exchange rate for Welsh.

#1320

A small success for a relative beginner and Englanderā€¦ but as my first interaction out in the real world, I popped into a Welsh supermarket on my way back from the Brecon Beacons the other day and found I was comfortably navigating the aisles via the bilingual signs like a nativeā€¦

#1321

Another one. I was idly working through a SSIW lesson on my walk to work the other day, and translated something like ā€œshe will take the breadā€ ā€¦ and out of nowhere I properly rolled the ā€œrā€ in bara.

Hasnā€™t happened before or again since, but hey for one brief moment any passer-by might have thought I was a proper fluent Welsh nutter talking randomly to himselfā€¦

#1322

Finally signed up for MHz Choice & with the help of subtitles managed to recognize ā€œBore da, iawn, beā€™ tiā€™n ddudoddā€
Progress.

#1323

It took me almost four years to unlearn the anti-mistakes perfectionism I was taught in school. Iā€™ve heard Aran say that mistakes were a way for the brain to learn, but I wasnā€™t able to implement it. Iā€™ve given up learning Welsh a million times, cursing my poor working memory. Now, I feel the grain of the SSI-method is beginning to bear fruit ā€¦

#1324

Fear of failure is crippling and constantly being corrected is unproductive, making you feel like youā€™re not good enough. Since starting to learn this beautiful language Iā€™ve had nothing but support and encouragement- from the wonderful SSiW community, from my various tutors at Dysgu Cymraeg, from people in my village and wider area and from every single person Iā€™ve attempted to speak to in Welsh. I constantly berate myself for my mistakes but the difference now is that they donā€™t stop me from trying. And that has made a difference on so many levels and itā€™s down to everyone single one of you. Diolch o galon i bawb