'I want to be a Welsh speaker because...'

I want to be fluent so I can broaden my horizons within my own country x

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I hope it will deepen my understanding of, and enrich my connection with a country I have lived in and loved all my life. My hope is that if I am successful I may encourage at least one other person to do the same!

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For some unknown reason Welsh had been tugging at my heart strings for more than 50 years. Then I discovered a distant Welsh ancestor and felt I had no more excuses for not having a go at the language. I also said that I hoped to surprise an old school friend when I eventually meet up with her because I know she learned Welsh so she could raise her children bilingual. Now, half way through Level 1, Iā€™m doing it because I LOVE it. Having studied other languages and wasted hours in dusty classrooms learning vocabulary Iā€™m never going to use, I have to say that the SSiW method knocks all others into a cocked hat. Iā€™m just thrilled and over-bowled by how much Welsh I can already say.

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As part of Challenge 8 & 9 of SSiW - I want to be a Welsh speaker because, I left the language behind after doing A level in the 80ā€™s and regret so much doing that :frowning:(
We (hubby and I and 6 dogs) holiday a lot in Carmarthenshire and I would dearly love to be able to converse in Cymraeg whilst Iā€™m there.
It feels so right, to be learning it now, and I have been looking for a course for a long time, when I saw the advert on FB for SSiW I was very tempted, but the current offer made it a no brainer, and here I am. Ready willing, and giving it all Iā€™ve got! Bring it on!!! lol Loving it! <3

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I want to move to the Machynthleth / Dolgellau area one day, and it would be rude to not try! (plus was born in Cardigan but moved to germany aged 6 and lost my Welsh!)

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Because I want to sing in Welsh and speak with my Grandad in Welsh :smile:

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Iā€™ve learned a lot about the Welsh culture through my partner and Iā€™ve always wanted to understand and speak another language. So I want to be able to watch Welsh TV and understand it and have conversations in Welsh with people and my partner!

Iā€™ll be able to think in Welsh.

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Iā€™d like friends and colleagues to start conversations with me in their first language because they think of me as a Welsh speaker (and for me to be able to understand them of course!).

Oh, and to prove the teacher at my school who said it would be best if I gave up, as I was no good at languages, wrong!

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Iā€™m not Welsh but Iā€™ve got a Welsh 9 month old who Iā€™d like to be able to speak Welsh. So I want to be a Welsh speaker so I can speak it with her.

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Welcome aboard! Good motivation, that; my 3rd form teacher laughed at me in front of the class and so I passed the subject (Mathematics) passed it the next year and then went pure Arts. Ended up working in Payroll for (too) many years-so proved him wrong even if he has no idea!:smirk:

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Because whenever we go camping we sing sospan fach really loudly and it would be nice to be able to sing other welsh songs, because iā€™d Like to go to the eisteddfod and be able to follow everything, because I love languages, because my kids want to be able to speak Welsh but donā€™t because us parents canā€™t ā€¦ so many reasonsā€¦

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Because Iā€™ve lived in North Wales for nearly 20 years and think itā€™s about time I learn the language. It will make my life better because Iā€™ll be able to have conversations with first language Welsh speakers in their mother tongue so that they donā€™t feel like they have to adapt to me.

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I want to be a Welsh speaker because I sense the power of a proud people and I wish to connect in their language.

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Because I live in Wales. Because my grandad was a first language speaker but not around long enough for me to hear him speaking it. Because I enjoy language learning and itā€™s my ā€œme timeā€ thing to do. Because language and vocabulary and idiom reveals so much world. Because I want my children to see the language as a real vibrant language in use, and not as a school subject. Because itā€™s the language of my staff room. Because I donā€™t want to be adapted for. Because it feels like something missing. Because of poetry and music. Because of beauty and joy.

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That is absolutely beautiful, Claire! :sparkling_heart:

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what a beautiful way to express things - if I could steal your prose and rethink my ā€œwhyā€ it would now be very simply - ā€œbecause it simply means so muchā€.

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Hahā€¦even I know what that is :sunglasses:

Croeso - a wise choice!

I wish Iā€™d written that sentence, as thatā€™s what it all really boils down to for me.

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because, as a Breton, rediscovering welsh is like, in genealogy, zooming on a cousin that you knew he existed, but you suddently realise that he is much closer to you than you thought : Iā€™m so moved when I recognize similar words between our tow tongues (they are numerous, so as ypu guess Iā€™m very often moved !!!), and when I think that our two tongues are probably dying (still leaiving, sure, but sick) I want to care, and speak is a vay of taking careā€¦

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