Hanes dysgwraig.... A learners tale....

I watched a fascinating programme on S4C this week, one of the 'O Flaen Dy Lygaid' (before your eyes) series which looked at the life of 'Stef Farrar', a remarkable woman who moved from Nottingham to Snowdonia after finishing her university course at Bangor. Stef decided to learn Welsh soon after moving full time to Wales and became fluent in a couple of years. In 1989 she won the prestigious Dysgwr y Flwyddyn competition at the National Eisteddfod and went on to work as a tutor. Perhaps what is most remarkable is how she changed the language of her 'aelwyd' (hearth - meaning home) when her first child was small, in order to give him the best chance to fit into the community. Today her five children are all fluent and enthusiastic Welsh speakers though her determination to use the Welsh language in the home may have contributed to her seperation from her husband, who though not unsympathetic to the language was not interested in learning. In her words he was a little 'pissed off'! As well as continuing to teach the language to adults and raise her family, Stef has been setting new British records in swimming for her age group (she's just turned 50), a childhood interest she's recently rekindled. The backdrop of the programme sadly though was her mothers illness which meant much traveling back and forth between Snowdonia and Nottingham, though things had improved a little by the end of filming. All in all a fascinating programme, well worth catching on S4Clic. (I also write about the programme on Clecs Cilgwri, though this is not a translation of it!)

Y dyfodol - the future

We were looking at the future tonight in blwyddyn 2,   here's a paragraph using the future of 'bod' (to be) - bydd:

Mi fydd ein hogan ni'n mynd i Fetws y Coed dydd mercher ar drip ysgol efo'r adran daearyddiaeth (geography dept.).  Dwi ddim yn gwybod be' fydden nhw yn wneud yna, ond mae'n rhaid iddyn nhw mynd á sgidiau cerdded, dillad cynnes, cot sy'n dal dwr (waterproof) - well it is Wales - a pecyn bwyd.  Mi fydden nhw'n dod yn ól i'r ysgol tua pedwar o'r gloch yn y p'nawn.  Mae'r athrawon wedi dysgu'r plant sut i ddweud 'Betws y Coed' (chwarae teg iddyn nhw!),  wnaeth Miriam dweud wrtha i 'The English call it 'betsy co-ed'...! 

Mi fydd hi'n ddiwrnod braf yn ól y rhagolwg tywydd, ond mi fydda i'n gweithio yn y gweithdy trwy'r dydd yfory yn anffodus.

Gwleidyddiaeth / Politics... if you've not had enough....

With all the politics in the news this week, you will have heard many words relating to the election and all its associated fallout on any Welsh news reports you've heard. Here are a few of the common ones:

Etholiad cyffredinol - general election
Etholaeth - constituency
Pleidleisio - to vote
Bwrw pleidlais - to cast a vote
pledlais - a vote
y pleidleiswyr - the voters
Y Toriaid/Ceidwadwyr - The Tories/Conservatives
Y Blaid Lafur - The Labour Party
Y Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol - Lib Dems (many just say lib dems, though it's great once you master it!)
Dadl - argument/debate
Prif Weinidog - Prime Minister
Y Senedd - Parliament
Senedd Grog - Hung Parliament
San Steffan - Westminster
Trafodaeth(au) - discussion(s)
Clymblaid - Coalition
y gwrthblaid - the opposition
Llanast - mess!

Adroddiad a Chanlyniadau o Wersyllt...

Mae adroddiad  am 'Eisteddfod y Dysgwyr 2010' ar wefan  'LearnCymraeg', efo rhestr o'r canlyniadau. Mae'n ar gael yn Gymraeg a Saesneg cofiwch!

adroddiad - report
(g)wefan - website
rhestr - list
Canlyniadau - results
ar gael - available
cofiwch - remember (command form)

Wrecsam..

I was over in Wrexham/Wrecsam on Thursday and thought I'd pop into 'Siop y Siswrn' to look for a present for my dads birthday as well as a Welsh language card.  My first proplem was finding the 'Masnach y Bobl/Peoples Market' which I remembered was the location of the Wrecsam branch of the chain of two...! 

It's many years since I was in the centre of the town and it's changed a lot, but I eventually came accross the Market on 'Stryd Caer'.   After a few minutes wandering round the indoor market I came across Siop y Siswrn in the far corner, and was presently suprised to find what looks like a 'proper shop' among the market stalls, with a fair selection of Welsh books, cards and inevitable Welsh souveniers.  After finding a suitable present and cards I picked up a copy of the 'Cwrs Sylfaen (foundation)' book, which follows on from Mynediad.  The first few units are really revision and extension of 'Cwrs Mynediad', so I'm looking forward to starting using this book as it seems a good transition, and hopefully will convince you of how much you already know!!  Buying the book sparked a conversation with the assistant who was interested to hear about the classes in Cilgwri.

Anyway if your in Wrecsam it's worth popping into this hidden corner of Cymreictod (Welshness) for a browse and chat (remember they're closed on Wednesdays, the Yr Wyddgrug/Mold branch being closed on Thurs).

Eisteddfod y Dysgwyr 2010

'Parti Cilgwri' yn mynd trwy eu pethau (Parti Cilgwri doing their stuff)

It was good to see so many from Cilgwri at the 'Eisteddfod y Dysgwyr' on Friday, I'll find out the reactions of those I didn't get a chance to talk to next week!  I would have to say it wasn't the ideal venue, partly because of the location of the bar and lack of seats towards the stage area.  This made it difficult for the performers and audience alike, and was made worse by the lack of effective PA.   Sion Aled made a good job of presenting the evening, keeping things going at a decent pace, and meaning most people stayed till the end.

Mike, Anne, Nigel (from 'Blwyddyn 2') and myself stepped up to the stage 'early doors' to perform 'Cofiwch am Dysgwyr Cilgwri' in the 'Cyd-adrodd' (group recitation) competition, being rewarded with 'equal' third for our efforts (where there 4 or 5 in the competition... can't remember!!).

After that I fumbled my way through the chords of 'Suo Gán' as accompaniment to Jill (my wife), who had bravely 'agreed' to perform the song - one she'd never heard of just a couple of days earlier. Despite a 'false start' and the odd wrong chord we got to the end and Jill came in third place.

Gwynne from 'blwyddyn 1' was rewarded with a second prize for her efforts in one of the 'gwaith cartref' competitions, so all in all Cilgwri was well represented!

Normally the 'sketch' competition' is a highlight of the Eisteddfod, but this year with only one entry it was a bit dissapointing, and we didn't get a repeat of last year where one of the participants ended up more or less dancing round our table, for reasons I can't remember!

Hopefully some more of 'Blwyddyn 1' may have been inspired to take part next year when it returns to Flintshire, We'll find out next week!

Nos yfory....

Rhag ofn bod unrhywun wedi anghofio, mi fydd Eisteddfod y Dysgwyr yn digwydd nos yfory (Ebrill 23ain).   Dwi'n edrych ymlaen at glywed perfformiad gan dysgwyr Cilgwri wrth rheswm, felly pob lwc i bawb!

In case anyone has forgotten,   the Learners Eisteddfod is happening tomorrow evening (April 23rd).  I'm looking forward to hearing a performance by learners from the Wirral -  naturally,  best of luck to everyone!