Have a go at Welsh!

The Welsh language is a beautiful, lyrical language. You will hear Welsh spoken widely across the Hiraethog area since it is the first language for over 75% of the community. 

Just as when you are travelling overseas, it is good to have a go at the local language – and people here will be delighted to hear and help you! We have put together a few useful phrases for you and created some links to sites where you can hear Welsh spoken.

Bore da	Good morning
Helo	Hello
Croeso	Welcome
Pnawn da	Good afternoon
Ga'i beint o lefrith?	Can I have a pint of milk?
Ga'i dalu gyda siec?	Can I pay by cheque?
Ga'i beint o gwrw plîs?	A pint of beer please?
Lechyd da!	Cheers!
Sut wyt ti?	How are you?
Tisio sws?	Fancy a kiss?
Ydi'n dal i fwrw glaw?	Is it still raining?
Hwyl fawr	Bye for now
Diolch	Thanks

The Welsh language has a different alphabet to English – for instance "ll" and "dd" – and when looking at written Welsh people sometimes feel that it is a funny word as it doesn’t have any vowels – but that is because we have 2 additional ones – "w" and "y"

Here are a couple of sites that will help you to get to grips with Welsh - the first is part of an online course run by Coleg Menai and the other is a section of a visitors guide to North Wales. The Welsh Language Board site has a wide range of downloadable lessons to help you to get to grips with Welsh - so why not put them on your MP3 player and try it out before you arrive (or when you are back at home - remembering your trip)!!

The Welsh language also helps you to understand the history of a place – a quick look at the “What’s in a name?” section will give you some ideas!

So, go on – have a go! You might go home with a new skill as well as a refreshed mind!!!