Country and language

The Welsh name for their own country is Cymru, which means "fellow countrymen". The name Wales originally meant "stranger" or "foreigner». The name was given to the country by the Anglo-Saxons because the people living there (Celts¹) spoke a different language and had a different way of life from them.

The Welsh Language

Welsh is a Celtic language, closely related to Cornish² and Breton³. The Welsh spoken now is directly descended from the language of the sixth century, and is one of Europe’s oldest living languages.

Welsh is spoken widely throughout the country (Wales) and is the first language in many parts of the north and west. National TV and radio stations are broadcast in Welsh, road signs are written in Welsh and English. The Welsh language is used in medium schools. It is the chief language of books, magazines, newspapers and websites.

It’s called Cymraeg [kəmˈrɑ ɨɡ] in Welsh, and it’s a language with entirely regular and phonetic spelling. Although you wouldn’t necessarily know it to look at a word like:

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

(means St. Mary's (Church) by the white aspen over the whirlpool, and St Tysilio's (Church) by the red cave). But most other Welsh words are a lot shorter, and once you know the rules, you can learn to read and pronounce Welsh fairly easily.

Basic Welsh Phrases

Here are some simple words and phrases to get you started:

• Bore da (Pronounced: Boh-reh dah): Good morning

• Prynhawn da (Prin-houn dah): Good afternoon

• Nos da (nohs dah): Good night

• Croeso i Gymru (Croesoh ee Gum-reeh): Welcome to Wales

• Iechyd da! (Yeh-chid dah): Cheers!

• Tafarn (Tav-arn): Pub

• Diolch (Dee-olch): Thanks

____________________

¹ Celt [kelt / selt] - a member of a division of the early Indo-European peoples distributed from the British Isles and Spain to Asia Minor.

Celtic [`kel-tik / `sel- tik] - of, relating to, or characteristic of the Celts or their languages.

² Cornish [ INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/39.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/107.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/79.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/58.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/110.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/73.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/83.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET ] - of, relating to, or characteristic of Cornwall, Cornishmen, or Cornish.

³ Breton INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/[.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/39.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/98.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/114.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/101.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/116.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/110.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.multitran.ru/gif/].gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET - a) a native or inhabitant of Brittany, b) the Celtic language of the Breton people.

Maps of Wales: