I suspect that about 50% of the Welsh population have heard me name them by now, glad there’s still more people I can tell it to!
My first and for quite some time only source of Welsh has been…Datblygu songs.
About the sound, it’s hard to describe, but I can try: it has at the same time the charm of an ancient language of magic, a pleasant musicality (which to an Italian ear, Northern languages usually lack), and something modern and cool like songs in English I grew up listening to.
Oh, that’s nice.
Although maybe it’s good for my Welsh to think I need an excuse.
Hey you know one side effect of having listened to those songs so much and before anything else?
It was the same for English, and it’s that when I hear some combinations of words, I’ve got a verse or a song pop up in my mind right away.
Sdim eisiau esgus… i gael amser da!
p.s. One task I think can be motivating at any level is… speaking at BBC or S4C radio or video, or on social media!
I’m really enjoying reading the different answers people have to this question. For me, as a Welsh woman living in England since i was 18, i always regretted not speaking Welsh, but thought it was an impossibility as I live in English and there aren’t any classes. So discovering ssiw at the start of lockdown when I suddenly had time on my hands was perfect. I just absolutely cannot believe how much I’ve learned in such a short amount of time, which is what pushes me on. Every single day I learn more and more words/patterns which is so exciting! I can’t imagine not doing any Welsh every day now, I’m just loving it!
Yes, I join in with some of the slack hangouts, and there’s a lovely group that meets on zoom on a Saturday from the Leeds area. I also had a lot of fun when I went home to Merthyr a few weeks ago meeting Welsh speakers. Its one of the brilliant things about ssiw that you can talk to other people so quickly.
The death of my father was also a big part of my starting (finally) to learn Welsh. He was English, but his death made me realise that this really was my last chance to speak to mum in her first language before it was too late.
I’m lucky enough to be part of an extended family of Welsh speakers but my bit of it moved to London in the 1880s and lost the ability to speak Welsh. I suppose my grandparents just thought it wasn’t necessary. I’ve just finished the six months course and feel like I’ve joined an exclusive club! Thanks to the lockdown I haven’t been able to visit Wales since I started learning, but I can’t wait to give it a go in the wild as soon as I can. I want to get on with the Deep End, as soon as I can sort out my subscription question.
With me it’s just my love of the Welsh language. I’m casually dipping into some other (sort of connected) languages at the same time as learning Welsh and really enjoying that. If anything, that has helped me to realise how comfortable(ish) I am with Welsh, in comparison, anyway. It’s great that I can now hold a basic conversation, so my motivation is to build on that in any way that I can.
Practical reason - it makes me better equipped to do my job (I work in a library). I have held conversations over the phone and in person in Welsh.
Not bad for a “dead language” that has no practical applications.
Emotional reasons - I now chat in Welsh to my mum, who is in her 80s. Good for both our brains!
Also, I’ve always loved walking and exploring Wales (I live in Pembs, but head to Mid and Orth Wales a lot). I wouldn’t say I feel “more Welsh” - that’s always a tricky area. However, I do feel a extra level of connection and understanding to the world around me.
Hi, it was the very sudden death of my partner of 20 years at the end of January and then the lockdown that made me realise it was time I put a long held wish into fruition. Also, finding Ssiw and the free lessons spurred me on to sign up plus the support of natural Welsh speakers in my rural village in Carmarthenshire. They have been so supportive of me through all this mayhem, with me shielding as well that I thought it would be great to hold conversations with them. Pwb Lwc pawb!
So sorry to hear about your partner, and so important to keep busy and to keep your mind active after a loss like that … doubly so during this lockdown period.
Interesting point about the free lessons drawing you in and spurred you on to sign up. There’s a recent thread where this was discussed.
Bore da
I am a new learner and would find it really helpful to have handy phrases etc as above ( which is a great idea) sent through with a recording of their pronunciation as struggling with this. I have not attended any fly on the wall ones yet. However, it is my mission to attend very soon and push on as been on the site about a month.
