Hello from Indiana: An Introduction

Hello, my name is Anthony and I live in Evansville, Indiana, USA. Seven years ago, after an unwanted divorce, I realized that life was too short and that I needed to begin seeing the world. That was when I started travelling. I promised myself that I would visit a different country every year. I also became fascinated with languages and as part of my travels have decided to spend the year building up to that year’s trip learning as much as I could about their language. So far I have been to Vietnam, England, Thailand, Japan, Quebec, French Polynesia, and France and yes, I still understand a little French, Thai, Japanese, and Vietnamese. I realize I will never be fluent in any one second language because I can’t focus on just one…the world is large and I refuse to focus on just one place for ever.

The decision has been made to go to Wales in 2018 and I am so thankful that I found this site. Without it there would be no chance of me finding adequate training to learn even the most basic aspects of the language. I was scared for a little bit after finding that Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone didn’t offer anything in Welsh but a quick Google search and my life was complete. Again, THANK YOU!

I have just started but I believe I have found an error or maybe I am just misunderstanding something already. One the examples listed at the bottom of the Challenge 01 vocabulary list is…
Dw i’n trio ymarfer siarad Cymraeg – I am trying to speak Welsh
Shouldn’t that say, “I am trying to practice speaking Welsh.”?

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Shwmae, a chroeso!

Firstly, compliments on your name!

Secondly, great plan! How long are you planning to stay in Wales? The Eisteddfod (national cultural event, entirely in Welsh) is in Cardiff next August. I would say, if you’re planning to see Cardiff and ymarfer (practice, yes you are right :slight_smile:) that would be the time to come.

Again, welcome! I hope you enjoy your journey :smile:

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Indeed, you are right! Well spotted! @aran? @Iestyn? Can anything be done?
To Anthony in Indiana, Croeso! Welcome to the Forum and I am sure you will get a great Welcome to Wales! (I am in exile in Scotland, so cannot be part of it!). If you want a taster, this year’s Eisteddfod Genedlaethol is August 4th-12th. On line, you should be able to find S4C International (the International website of the only Welsh language TV channel) and there is usually good coverage of the Eisteddfod! You should find subtitles in English as well as Welsh! You will see some of the strangest customs, mainly revamped by an eccentric in the eighteenth & nineteenth century.
On the Forum the ‘Really useful ‘How to’ stuff…’ thread is worth looking at, or try hitting Q at the top and typing key words for any query you have. Folk are always keen to help!

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Oh, good catch - thank you - fixed now… :slight_smile:

And a warm welcome to the forum… :slight_smile:

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Hehe … you see, we’re obviously too obediant to even look at the vocabulary. :slight_smile:

Great job @anthonylanders!

Further on, Croeso mawr to Anthony from Indiana! Me to be English 2nd language speaker who’s eager to learn who knows which language in the row, happening to be Welsh, I’d say you’ve come more than to the right place. If you’r plan is to learn as much language of the country to which you travel next year, then I bet you’d be very good Welsh speaker by that time so you’ll be able to fully enjoy the visit. It might be you won’t be able to stop afterwards to learn and know more no matter how much you’re not willing to stick with only one language in your life. :slight_smile:

Oh, by the way: did you visit Slovenia already? If you at least fly across when flying to Wales (what is a bit unlikely, but anyway) wave a bit so I can wave back to you. :slight_smile:

Now siriously: Warm welcome to the SSiW and to the forum. If there’s a problem or error you’ve just spotted, we’re eager to hear about that. If you’re in the mood to celebrate some acheavement or milestone in your learning, we’re eager to hear about it even more. All the rest is on here - from friends all the way to resources and help on your learning path you might need.

Hwyl!
Tatjana :slight_smile:

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I believe my trip will be in June/July of 2018. It will only be 2 weeks long minus two “day trips”, one to Stonehenge and one to Port Isaac.

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Shame. Eisteddfod is usually August. But I’m sure you’ll be able to fix meetings with Forum members!

Hello, Anthony! Croeso i SSiW. (Welcome to SSiW.) Since you included where you live, I have added you to our “rest of the world” map (the link goes to the page with all the maps). If you would like your marker moved any, just let me know!

You picked a good time to travel to Wales - it is usually cooler there than here in the American midwest at this time of year. Be sure to let us know if you have any questions about places to visit or people to see.

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Welcome Anthony! Best of luck in your effort to learn Welsh.

In which case, closer to your travelling date, you should ask this Forum for suggestions on where to go in order to hear the native tongue - in many parts of Wales it’s not easy. If my experience is typical, you will get a lot of helpful tips from people.
Pob lwc! (I think that’s how to say Good Luck)

Baruch

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@anthonylanders If you find S4C and find it useful and even, maybe, enjoyable, perhaps you would consider signing an online petition to safeguard its Budget? I think the wording makes the reason for the petition clear. click here to go there, The top right arrow will bring you back!

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Croeso Anthony - welcome to the site, and to Welsh.

Aran and I are both serial language dabblers, so we understand your “inability to concentrate” on one language.

I hope you’ll find this course whets your appetite in a way that most language courses don’t, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll fall as madly in love with Welsh as so many other people have over the years!

But it’s not compulsory, and as you rightly say, there are so many more places out there with fascinating languages and cultures. Hopefully we can help you with more languages once you’ve got your Welsh into shape.

Enjoy!

Iestyn

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Thanks for the info. I signed the petition.

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wow…I typed this back in July. I was trying hard for about a month and life pulled me away from my studies. I can’t believe I have missed that much time. All I remember was the very first lesson. :frowning: Anyway, my tickets will have me landing in Manchester on Monday, July 16. At which point I will try to get to Wales as soon as the plane lands that morning. Then I only have five full days to see what I can in the north and work my way down because on Sunday, July 22nd, I will be in the south west for Drysuit Scuba training. After that I have until the following Sunday to fly out of London. So obviously I will be finishing up in Cardiff and that will be my homebase when I do the day trip to Port Issac for my wife (She is obsessed with Doc Martin.) So, I only have 5.5 months to start drilling Welsh into my head and I better start today and do solemnly swear to study everyday until my plane takes off.

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That’s great Anthony. Look around on this forum for places to plan to visit, and feel free to post perhaps on this thread, if you have any language-related or other questions.

I had a similar pace before my visit to Wales last March! I think I finished the (at the time) last challenge on the evening before I left.

There are about 70 challenges out so far, so if you do one challenge a day, without repeating any or missing a day, you would have finished the entire course after a bit more than 2 months. So you can do the whole thing twice over :slight_smile:

Seriously, though – I think that doing exactly that might not be such a bad idea – blaze through the course from beginning to end, one challenge a day, using the new “Levels” (whether you pick North or South Welsh is up to you), without repeating.

It will seem difficult and you will feel as if you’re never going to remember some words or expressions or pieces of grammar, but if you keep pressing on and later go back, you will almost certainly be surprised at how easy an earlier lesson now feels. Trust in the spaced repetition.

Do the listening exercises in level one as well, and try speaking as much as you can – first to yourself, most likely, then once you have a level or two under your belt, you should be ready to speak to other friendly Welsh speakers.

Once you’re there, speak as much as you can. Join in our Skype conversation if the time works out for you, find an Internet tutor who will do just conversation classes, or ask in the forum who would like to have one-on-one conversations with a learner: perhaps five minutes at first, building up to ten… or sixty!

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