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WELSH I COURSE SAMPLE
 
This is a sample from unit 11 in the course, with a chart from unit 5 added. Not all aspects are shown here. There is one quiz per unit, a message board and live chatroom to meet other students and interact in Welsh, links, resources, grammar tables, and much more. Each unit will prepare you for "interaction" online, and a live conversation in Welsh over the phone and/or internet with the professor. Both the language in each unit and the professor's conversation are graded [suited to the student's current level]. Not all of the vocabulary of each unit is new. Some of it is overlapped, and this acts as a review. The idea is to get you using your vocabulary as much as possible, rather than just developing a large passive vocabulary and not using it. You will be guided as much as possible into active and interactive learning, rather than passive. Each unit is carefully meshed into the next one. Much like building a house, we start from the foundation and build up.

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neithiwr last night
echnos two nights ago, the night before last
ddoe yesterday
echddoe two days ago, the day before yesterday

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Y GORFFENNOL :: THE PAST
 

MYND  [go]
es i aethon ni
est ti

aethoch chi
aeth e/hi

aethon nhw

 
Es i adre. I went home.
Est ti i'r coleg. You went to the office.
Aeth hi i'r llyfrgell ddoe. She went to the library yesterday.
Aethoch chi heb y car. You went without the car.
Aethon nhw i'r theatr neithiwr. They went to the theatre yesterday.
 
Ble est ti? Where did you go?
Ble aeth e echddoe? Where did he go the other day?
   
Pryd est ti'r bore 'ma? When did you go this morning?
Pryd aeth hi adre? When did she go home?
   
Pam est ti echnos? Why did you go the other night?
Pam aeth Menna heddiw? Why did Menna go today?
   
Sut est ti i Gaerdydd neithiwr? How did you go to Cardiff last night?
Sut aeth Menna i Baris? How did Menna go to Paris?
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Before vowels, Â turns into AG, so MYND AG [= taking], DOD AG [= bringing].
   
Wyt ti'n mynd ag arian i'r banc heddiw? Are you taking money to the bank today?
Est ti ag Ifan i'r parti ddoe? Did you take Ifan to the party yesterday?
Ydyn nhw'n dod ag Aled i'r dre fory? Are they brining Aled to [the] town tomorrow?
Aethon nhw ag Aled yr wythnos diwetha? Did they take Aled last week?
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SGWRS :: A CONVERSATION
   

 

RWYT TI'N HWYR!
 

YOU'RE LATE!
 
 
Ted: Bore da. Good morning.
     
Pedr: Na! Prynhawn da! Rwyt ti'n hwyr! No! Good afternoon! You're late!
     
Ted: Ydw.  Mae'n ddrwg gyda fi. Yeah. Sorry.
     
Pedr: Pam dest ti i mewn yn hwyr? Why did you come in late?
     
Ted: Es i allan neithiwr. I went out last night.
     
Pedr: Ble est ti? Where did you go?
     
Ted: Es i i'r dafarn. I went to the pub.
     
Pedr: Sut est ti? Does dim car gyda ti. How did you go? You don't have a car.
     
Ted: Es i mewn tacsi. I went by taxi.  [I went in a taxi.]
  Est ti allan neithiwr? Did you go out last night?
     
Pedr: Naddo. No, I didn't.
  Daeth fy nghariad i'r tŷ. My girlfriend came to the house.
     
Ted: Ddaeth hi yn ei char hi? Did she come in her car?
     
Pedr: Do. Yes, she did.
  Est ti allan gyda Rhiannon eto? Did you go out with Rhiannon again?
     
Ted: Do. Yes, I did.
     
Pedr: Ble aethoch chi? Where did you go?
     
Ted: Aethon ni i dafarn newydd. We went to a new pub.
     
Pedr: Est ti ddim â hi allan i fwyty crand? You didn't take her to a fancy restaurant?
     
Ted: Naddo. Does dim arian gyda fi No. I don't have any money
  am fwyty crand. for a fancy restaurant.
     
Pedr: Beth ydy enw'r dafarn newydd? What is the new pub's name?
     
Ted: Y Llew Du a Gwyn. The Black and White Lion.
     
Pedr: Ydy hi'n dda? Is it good?  [Is she good?]
     
Ted: Ydy. Mae'r cwrw yn dda. Yes, it is. The beer is good.
     
Pedr: Pryd aethoch chi adre? When did you go home?
     
Ted: Dw i ddim yn cofio! I don't remember!
  Pryd aeth Rhiannon adre? When did Rhiannon go home?
     
Pedr: Aeth hi'n hwyr. She went late.
  Mae'n amser cinio nawr. It's lunch time now.
     
Ted: Ble rwyt ti eisiau mynd? Where do you want to go?
     
Pedr: I'r "Llew Du a Gwyn"! To the "Black and White Lion"!
  Dw i eisiau gweld y lle! I want to see the place!
     
Ted: Iawn! Dim problem! Alright! No problem!
  Mae bwyd da gyda nhw. They have good food.

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GEIRFA :: VOCABULARY
 

g = gwrywaidd     b = benywaidd     ll = lluosog     ans = ansoddair     be = berf
 
i to  [causes soft mutation]
a and
ac and
o from  [causes soft mutation]
o'r from the
â with
â'r with the
yn at, in
allan out
i mewn into
do yes  [literally: did]
naddo no  [literally: didn't]
du  ans black
gwyn  ans white
yn dda  ans good  [from DA]
hwyr  ans late
cynnar  ans early
eto again
adre home  [adverb]
neithiwr last night
echnos two nights ago
ddoe yesterday
echddoe two days ago
teulu  g a family
traeth  g a beach
bwyty  g a restaurant
dinas  b a city
cyngerdd  gb a concert
gwesty  g a hotel
gwefan  b a website
maes awyr  g an airport
amgueddfa  b a museum
pentre  g a village
bore  g a morning
y bore 'ma this morning
canolfan hamdden  b leisure centre  [British English]
 
 

BERFAU :: VERBS
 
mynd â take  [literally: go with]
dod â bring  [literally: come with]
cofio remembering, to remember
 
 

EASY-TO-REMEMBER WORDS FROM THE ENGLISH OR ROMANS
 
llew  g a lion
tafarn  gb a pub
parti  g a party
banc  g a bank
parc  g a park
cloc  g a clock
theatr  b a theatre
coleg  g a college
prifysgol  b a university
llyfrgell  b a library
crand  ans fancy, grand, elegant

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SYLWADAU :: NOTES
 
a MYND Â = take  [literally: go with]
   
b DOD Â = bring  [literally: come with]
   
c Â'R = with the   /   AR = ON    [these sound the same]
   
ch ES I  [I went] is sometimes pronounced ESH I

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FROM UNIT 6
 

Welsh has TREIGLADAU [initial consonant mutations]. This is where the first letter of a word changes, depending on where the word occurs in the sentence or if the word is feminine or not. Here's the TREIGLAD TRWYNOL [nasal mutation]. There are only six letters, or initial consonants, which change due to this mutation. All other letters stay the same, for example:
YN RHUFAIN [in Rome], YN FFRAINC [in France], YN LLOEGR [in England], YN YR ALBAN [in Scotland].
 

YN [LOCATION] CAUSES MUTATION IN THESE CONSONANTS:
 

T changes to NH

D changes to N
C changes to NGH G changes to NG
P changes to MH B changes to M
 

Y TREIGLAD TRWYNOL [TT] :: THE NASAL MUTATION

ENGLISH

WELSH

IN + PLACE NAME

Cardiff

Caerdydd

yng  Nghaerdydd

Gwynedd

Gwynedd

yng  Ngwynedd

Talybont

Talybont

yn  Nhalybont

Dublin

Dulyn

yn  Nulyn

Paris

Paris

ym  Mharis

Bangor

Bangor

ym  Mangor

Madrid

Madrid

ym  Madrid  *

* M NEVER HAS NASAL MUTATION, BUT YN CHANGES TO YM TO MATCH THE M

OTHER CONSONANTS & SOME NON-WELSH PLACES & NAMES DON'T MUTATE

ALL VOWELS AND OTHER CONSONANTS ARE PRECEDED BY YN
 
FROM UNIT 5
 
There is another TREIGLAD [consonant mutation] called the Y TREIGLAD MEDDAL [the soft mutation]. Once again, the first letter of the word changes depending on where the word occurs in the sentence. The same 6 letters [TCPRDG] are affected as are affected by the Y TREIGLAD TRWYNOL [the nasal mutation] as well as three more Welsh letters: RH, LL, M.
 

T

 changes to  D

 

 D changes to  DD
C changes to  G   G disappears
P changes to  B   B changes to  F
M changes to  F   LL changes to  L
RH changes to  R      

 

Y TREIGLAD MEDDAL [TM] :: THE SOFT MUTATION
ENGLISH NAME WELSH NAME TO FROM MUTATIONS IN GREEN
Cardiff Caerdydd i o

Gaerdydd
Gwynedd Gwynedd i o

Wynedd  G DISAPPEARS
Talybont Talybont i o

Dalybont
Dublin Dulyn i o

Ddulyn
Paris Paris i o

Baris
Bangor Bangor i o

Fangor
Maerdy Maerdy i o

Faerdy
London Llundain i o Lundain
Rome Rhufain i o Rufain

OTHER CONSONANTS & SOME NON-WELSH PLACES & NAMES DON'T MUTATE

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BOD [TO BE]
 
AFFIRMATIVE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE [AND PRESENT HABITUAL]
Dw i. I am.
Rwyt ti. You are.
Mae e. He is.
Mae hi. She is.
Mae x. X is.
Dyn ni. We are.
Dych chi. You are.
Maen nhw. They are.
   
Mae car. There is a car.
Does dim! No, there isn't! [to contradict]
Oes. Yes, there is. [to agree]
   
Mae ceir. There are cars.
Does dim! No, there aren't! [to contradict]
Oes. Yes, there are. [to agree]
 
NEGATIVE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE [AND PRESENT HABITUAL]
Dw i ddim. I'm not.
Dwyt ti ddim. You're not.
Dydy e ddim. He's not.
Dydy hi ddim. She's not.
Dydy x ddim. X is not.
Dyn ni ddim. We're not.
Dych chi ddim. You're not.
Dyn nhw ddim. They're not.
   
Does dim car. There is no car.
Mae! Yes, there is! [to contradict]
Nac oes. No, there isn't. [to agree]
   
Does dim ceir. There are no cars.
Mae! Yes, there are! [to contradict]
Nac oes. No, there aren't. [to agree]
 
INTERROGATIVE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE [AND PRESENT HABITUAL]
Ydw i? Am I?
Wyt ti? Are you?
Ydy e? Is he?
Ydy hi? Is she?
Ydy x? Is x?
Ydyn ni? Are we?
Dych chi? Are you?
Ydyn nhw? Are they?
   
Oes car? Is there a car?
Oes. Yes, there is.
Nac oes. No, there isn't.
   
Oes ceir? Are there cars?
Oes. Yes, there are.
Nac oes. No, there aren't.
 
ANSWERS
Nac ydw. Ydw. No, I'm not. Yes, I am.
Nac wyt. Wyt. No, you aren't. Yes, you are.
Nac ydy. Ydy. No, he isn't. Yes, he is.
Nac ydy. Ydy. No, she isn't. Yes, she is.
Nac ydy. Ydy. No, x isn't. Yes, x is.
Nac ydyn. Ydyn. No, we're not. Yes, we are.
Nac ydych. Ydych. No, you're not. Yes, you are.
Nac ydyn. Ydyn. No, they aren't. Yes, they are.
 
Hawlfraint © 2005-2006:  Canolfan Madog ar gyfer Astudiaethau Cymreig a Phrifysgol Rio Grande
awduron:  William Knox a Timothy Jilg, PhD