Tiny questions with quick answers - continuing thread

Could be what was happening - also could possibly have been chdi - also could be that they switch between the two (which happens) - or that there might even have been some plural stuff going on…

But all in all, I commend you for turning someone else’s marital discussion into such a useful learning tool…:wink:

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Indeed, but probably the worst time for me to say “Could you say that again a little more slowly…”

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Or, alternatively, the best ever time, as long as you got it on video…:wink:

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Reminds me in a weird way of the couple in the Builth cafe who hadn’t noticed the “Good dogs welcome/ Croeso i gwn da” sign on the door. They sat at the table immediately behind my friend and I and were discussing all sorts very loudly yn y Cymraeg, when she suddenly noticed my Cavalier curled up tidily at my feet. “Ci!” she gasped. Husband didn’t have a clue what she was going on about. “Ci!” she virtually screamed! “It means dog,” I told my friend in quiet but clear conversational tones. Not another word from the next table - for all she knew I had understood all!

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Un - (one) causes soft mutation…yet I never see ‘yr un beth’ - same thing (written down)…I only see unmutated…

Yr un peth

Also…is there any difference between …draw and drosodd for “over”…is one more time…and another more based on location

What is the nuance?

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Draw is more as in ‘over there’ - dros more sort of ‘moving above a particular thing’, so ‘dros y bont’, etc…

Does ‘un’ cause a soft mutation? Maybe it works in the same way as the definite article - you’d certainly say ‘un dyn’, not ‘un ddyn’… :slight_smile:

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I thought I’d try this on google translate as I always ‘think’ un peth - so un peth one thing un beth same thing; yr un peth likewise, yr un beth the same thing! Does this have any validity, @aran or is it a Googleism?

Not sure I understand - are you saying that you put ‘same thing’ in Google translate and it gave you ‘un beth’? That would be wrong, yes.

Diolch…to add

I say “Mae’n drosodd” to mean something is over…like “mae hi wedi dod i ben”…but I think I am being too Englishy???

No, I put them all in Welsh - English and the English is what it came up,with. Only one at a time like
un peth one thing
un beth same thing
yr un peth likewise
yr un beth the same thing.
Oh, let’s try it the other way
one thing un peth
same thing yr un peth
likewise yn yr un modd
Yes, well, no logic there!

Pa mor…

I’m assuming this can be used in many ways in addition to pa mor hen, pa mor hir etc.

Would 'pa mor annheg ydy hynny?" be ok?

Yup, that’s fine. Over is one of those words with LOTS of different senses to it, so it’s never going to map neatly.

To be fair to them, that’s basically Google doing its best to quietly correct/ignore the mistakes in the Welsh input…:slight_smile:

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So therefore shouldn’t the concept of ‘language by google’ be a touch scary as the whole point of language is evolution and changing according to the whimsy of society/social groupings, slang, and all the other things that make up the lusciously vibrant melting pot of language, rather than language by bots ignoring mistakes and facilitating algorithmic correction, surely the point of learning a language is to have face to face interaction with other humans?
I dipped into duolingo recently, took the placement test to see at what level I should be, I got everything correct but spelt it incorrectly, so the bot placed be as a beginner. Technology? Im still a semi-luddite!

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Don’t worry about duolingo. Just think of it as another tool. I use memrise too. For sure it’s no substitute for speaking to others but it’s surprising how some things stick.

The other day i said without thinking “braf ar rhai” meaning ok for some.

Remember ssiw teaches you a great conversational framework. To add to it you need to grow your vocab etc.

I’m considering organising a theme based minibwtcamp on cooking, where people who attend need to teach others a recipe. People would need to learn cooking terms and use them. Not worked out exactly how to do this but the point is to use new vocab in context.

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Maybe you could post a ‘special words for special tasks’ thread, listing words you found useful at cooking-camp and then one for, oh, I don’t know, carpentry, mathematics, being kind to old ladies… :grinning:

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Yup, I’d agree with that. :slight_smile:

but only with feminine nouns – like y (the).

Thus un dyn, y dyn “a man, the man” but un ddynes, y ddynes “a woman, the woman”.

Or un gŵr, y gŵr but un wraig, y wraig (husband, wife).

peth is masculine so un peth (no mutation) is the expected form.

(Also, if you want to get into grammar, un, y, yn do weak soft mutation: they don’t mutate rh or ll, so un rhaw, un llaw “one shovel, one hand”. But e.g. Mae gen i raw ac mae gen ti law with mutation. All to the best of my knowledge.)

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If I had a penny for every time some language learner tried to justify something with “but Google Translate accepted it and translated it into what I was trying to say”…


As for the question I came here to ask - how to say “I’ve changed my mind”?

Dw i wedi newid fy mhen / fy marn / fy meddwl / fy mryd / something else ?

Diolch am eich ymateb. :slight_smile:

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Cwestiwn cyflym / Quick question

Is their anywhere on this forum where people are encourage to speak mainly or wholly in Welsh to improve their skills? A Welsh/mixed only sub forum?

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