Flag of Wales.English - Welsh
Hello - Helo
Helo is not a mis-spelling. It is Welsh for hello.
You have a choice of at least four ways you can pick up a few Welsh words during or before our next real or wishlist trip to Wales.
Duolingo Basic
1 Learn Welsh on Duolingo which is the free internet learning system. Every now and then you see a sign that others have asked a question on the forum. You can also look at the forums ask a question in the forum of learners. You don't have to wait for somebody else to ask or answer a question. Just type in your question. Be the first, and wait for an answer.
Duolingo Mentors
2 Join the Welsh mentors system. On Welsh I saw nine different people. Some had photos. Others had abstract pictures or none. One has a video of himself or somebody else.
Some said in English that they were fluent. Others wrote something in Welsh.
I am only dabbling in Welsh, but if I had the time and inclination I could translate a whole paragraph in Google translate (type into google, translate google). An alternative is to type into facebook and click on translate if offered that option. See if the two translations match.
Ask A Pub Group
3 If you are on holiday in Wales and want to learn a few words, ask everybody you meet, "Do you understand any Welsh?"
In a group of four or ten in a group, at a conference or restaurant or bar, you are likely to find one who speaks some Welsh - or knows somebody nearby who speaks Welsh.
I went to Writers Holiday in Wales every year. it used to be in Caerleon, just across the border in Caerleon at the university, near Newport.
One year in Fishguard, sitting in the bar with a group of six people, I asked, 'Who speaks Welsh?'
Somebody I had been acquainted with for years told me,"I do. I learned it as a child. I grew up in Wales."
Everybody was surprised. She always spoke English to us.
She said, 'Of course I speak English to you because the rest of us all speak English. I didn't know anybody was interested in learning Welsh.'
I learned several words in Welsh from her, and learned about pronunciation and grammar. And about the history and geography of Wales from her. In addition I made a new firm friend.
Supermarket Books
4 Look in your local bookshop. But you don't need to despair if your little Welsh village or foreign city has no bookshop nearby. In Wales even a supermarket at your destination, or at a motorway stop, will be likely to have a map with Welsh words or books on Welsh.
I looked in the museum shops in Fishguard, and the supermarket. In the supermarket I found a book on local history. Another year I bought a book on Welsh placenames. Another year I bought a book on Welsh names.
5 Old holiday brochures and books
Did I remember to hunt through my bookshelf for my books on Wales before my last trip? Alas, no. I looked for maps and brochures. Often the place names are a help. I decided to throw away the old brochures and pick up new ones on holiday with the latest correct phone numbers.
6 Videos on Welsh
Back to where we started with the mentors.
They were suggesting videos you could watch which have subtitles.
Bye-bye. I am off to look at Welsh videos with English subtitles, and simple children's videos. And also Welsh translations of English language videos.
How do we say goodbye and thank you in Welsh?
Ten easy, or useful, words in Welsh
English - Welsh
hello - helo
goodbye
thank you
Hello
Goodbye
bye
goodbye
thanks
Thank you
please
water
wine
beer
business park
slow down
port
bay
and
the
my
your
our
their
ticket
toilet
where
where is
who
what
why
yes
no
welcome
one
two
three
Welsh
Helo
Hwyl fawr
bye
Hwyl fawr
diolch
Diolch
os gwelwch yn dda
dwr
gwin
cwrw
parc busnes
arafwch
porthladd
bae
a
y
fy
eich
ein
eu
tocyn
toiled
lle
lle mae
pwy
beth
pam
ie
na
croeso
un
dau
tri
What if you would rather go it alone, in a hurry, or your first language is not English?
You could learn between one word and ten words (or a hundred!) every day. Better still, learn one sentence, or ten (or a hundred!) every day. Translate or your mentor. Create sentences you actually want to use according to your daily needs. For example:
Where is the toilet?
I would like a glass of water.
Please.
Thank you.
I would like to buy a sandwich. Do you have anything cheaper?
What time is breakfast?
How do I get the internet?
Where is the restaurant?
Where is the bar?
Where can I park?
Lle mae'r toiled?
Hoffwn gael gwydraid o ddŵr.
Os gwelwch yn dda.
Diolch.
Hoffwn brynu brechdan. Oes gennych chi unrhyw beth rhatach?
Faint o'r gloch yw brecwast?
Sut mae cael y rhyngrwyd?
Ble mae'r bwyty?
Ble mae'r bar?
Ble alla i barcio?
Hotel/cheap hotel
bar/bar which is open
restaurant
bridge
mountain
estuary
bay
beach
a walk
Google translate gives me
Gwesty / gwesty rhad
bar / bar sydd ar agor
bwyty
bont
mynydd
aber
bae
traeth
taith gerdded
I can see the reminder that bay is bae. A Hotel is like a guest house, gwesty.
Back to my search for a mentor. I shall update you later.
It is immediately obvious to me that the only word which is exactly the same and easy to remember is bar. So I shall ask for the bar and hope it is a restaurant, or in a restaurant, or next to a restaurant.
I might be able to remember that the word for breakfast is almost the same.
If you can find a bookshop, a phrase book will do this for you.
Useful Websites
duolingo.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/584098458391447/mentorship_application/
About The Author and Teacher of English and Other Languages
Angela Lansbury is British and lives in both London, England, and Singapore.
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