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Many videos about Tolkien omit to mention his fascination with the Welsh language, that developed as a child whilst living in Birmingham seeing the 'strange' named coal trains arrive from Wales. He believed understanding the development of the ancient Briton language, from which Welsh developed, was just as important as studying the Nordic roots of the English language. He was the first to give the O'Donnell Lecture covering this subject at Edinburgh University entitled "English and Welsh" in 1954. He was one of the first academics of Medieval Welsh and taught the subject for a number of years at Leeds University. Two of his Elvish languages Sindarin and Quenya are Welsh influenced.
All British school should teach that Welsh is a British language; THE British language. But most outside Wales know nothing about it, or that it even exists.
@wowalinbie absolute rubbish. Old English is a Germanic language and is close to Gothic or old Norse. Welsh is a direct descendant of Brythonic and Indo-European.
@wowalinbie old english evolved from the anglo-saxon language which is germanic in its roots also add a bit of scandinavian into the mix and you'll get english old and new
As an American who doesn't speak welsh, I cant differentiate between accents. It sounds like he said "silbo" at around :20, which is the name of one of my favorite languages.
So basically anyone that isn't natively welsh... what's the point? Try to be respectful = over pronunciation Try to be loose = poorly educated Try to be part of both words in any language = disrespectful and or uneducated!!! People like you guys make it almost impossible to assimilate and or conform in the sense of respect and or necessity.
What is the difference between the North dialect & South dialect of the Welsh Language ? I've heard that the North version is the "More or Most" CORRECT version ? I've also heard that the Southern version cannot really converse with the Northern version very well but understand most of what's being said ? Can you or anyone educate me on this ? I am wanting to learn Cymraeg . Thank you .
@@MasterSumai The main difference is pronunciation. Northern Welsh has a nasal quality to it and more of a 'sing song' meter to it. There are few vocabulary differences - most famously the word for 'now" in the North is "rwan' but is "nawr" in the South. Northerners often add small words to the ends of sentences, most commonly the word 'yeh', and will often lengthen a vowel sound. They are mostly mutually intelligible as accents/dialects. The colloquial versions can be quite different though. There is no officially standardised version of Welsh, though there may be in academic circles. You will hear both accents on quality Welsh language tv/radio programming, though due to population differences you will hear a Southern accent more commonly. If anything Welsh is continuously changing, the grammar taught in schools is slightly different from my school days. The vocabulary and accents differences between both dialects are minor among educated speakers. So it does not matter who teaches you or what course you take. You will pick up the dialect accent of your teacher, which is what happens in all languages. This is an educated Southern accent followed by educated Northern accents ( the male presenter is classic North Wales, the scientist's Welsh is especially good but still detectably Northern). watch?v=vBs7-5iIXXA&
I know what you mean, but Welsh is actually written very phonetically; individual letters are almost invariably pronounced consistently (unlike the "c" in "cable" and "face"; the "o" in "one", "tone" and "pod"; the "f" in "of" and "for"; or the "s" in "sun" and "is"), and the same applies to letters in combination (unlike "th" in "thin" and "then"; the "gh" in "light", "laugh" and "bough"; the "ch" in "chin", "cholera" and "yacht"; or the "ph" in "graph" and "aphelion"). It helps to know that "ch", "dd", "ll", "ph", "rh" and "th" appear in the Welsh alphabet as single letters with their own immutable sound (as opposed to a mere doubling-up of "L" and "D", as English does in "hello" and "eddy", or the aforementioned variants of "th", "gh", "ch" and "ph"). It's also useful to know that "w" and "y" are vowels in Welsh. Knowing these fairly straightforward rules, written Welsh transpires to be much less of an alphabet soup than English, and you basically say what you see.
Well I'm from Seattle, but my family comes from Wales, thus, I have a knowledge of the language, so it's your lucky day haha Here you go: Prynhawn da Liza, dw i'n Sammy, sut dych chi? Dw i'n hapus, ond wedi blino. Which translates to: Good afternoon Liza, I'm Sammy, how are you? I'm happy, but tired. I could tell you more words if you want, just let me know 😂👍🏻
His Welsh is crystal clear. As someone else has said, his accent is from the north but it's very light. As a southerner, I sometimes struggle with really thick northern accents but his is delightful to listen to.
@@ThepPixel Dwi'n dod o'r ardal o gwmpas Llangefni - 'run peth a Hywel yn y fideo :). Mae fy acen I'n reit gry hefyd, ond mae o'n diflanu pryd dwi'n siarad Saesneg
as a british person i would love to learn welsh just to feel more i guess connected? historically to this island, plus i think that welsh is a really cool language
I get what you mean! I'm English, so I'm really used to hearing Welsh accents speaking English, but I don't speak a word of Welsh. The accent is so familiar that I feel like I'm meant to understand it
Same! I live in Wales, and it sometimes takes me a moment to realise that someone has switched from English to Welsh because I’m so used to hearing the accent.
We have a welsh dialect in Argentina, in the southern province of Chubut. There are several cities with welsh names like Port Madryn, Trelew, Dolavon, Gaiman and Trevelin. The welsh people arrived to Argentina in the XIX century and their grand sons and relatives keep welsh culture alive here in the southern hemisphere 😉🇦🇷🏴
I heard they sailed to Argentina in 1865 on the 'Mimosa' to escape oppression at home. I'm so glad they still speak Welsh as well as Spanish. Marianne Hancock
It would be interesting if those Welsh Argentinians would return to visit their homeland I wonder how they would feel Iam sure how they would feel free to speak their language freely and connect with that culture.
God I haven't heard this language since my father past away God bless him he would sing in Welsh when listen to radio Wales I havnt spoke it for over 4 yrs since my father past away it was the only time I spoke it was to my father he was a Swansea boy his last couple of days he would speak Welsh then say it in English so my boy could understand him now my boy is learning Welsh again God bless you da r.i.p xxxxxx
Bear in mind while listening to this, that one is hearing a language that is around 4000 years old. It has bore witness to many advancements in humankind in its long and illustrious existence; and has outlived all of the great Empires of antiquity, and the modern ones too. As a Scotsman, I truly love these magical isles we call Prydain/Britain. So much ancient history resides here from such accomplished peoples; and a tangible electricity is constantly looming within the air. The weather leaves much to answered for but, after it is all said and done, I love the land where I was born, and honoured to have been raised in. I thank the gods, each and everyday, that I share these green and glorious isles with my fellow countrymen and women. I love this land, and much goodwill to you all from a proud Briton and Scotsman 👍 Good health and fortune to everyone.
as someone who speaks fluent welsh, after i moved from wales i knew NOBODY who spoke welsh, still don't. this video is pretty cool, he speaks really clearly
The Welsh people and language are one of the remnants of Celtic Britain, long before the Germanic peoples arrived. Such a fascinating and beautiful language!
I came here to hear what welsh sounds like after being told about a time a friend watched someone tell a welsh person to speak English not muslim (yes they said muslim). I was curious if Welsh sounded like Arabic and now I have confirmation that the woman wasn’t just xenophobic she was stupid.
Yes it sounds absolutely nothing like Arabic. Nothing whatsoever. That is a shock to me that anyone can think that it sounds anything like that. This language is melodic. Arabic, while it has really cool consonants, and interesting construction of words and verbs and things derived from a three letter route, but melodic, it just is not. If you try to gag hawk and spit while reciting verse simultaneously, then you have Arabic.
I think Arabic is very melodic. Welsh sounds nice but it's a bit 'lispy' and soft sounding. I'd like to hear a tough guy speaking it. Would he still sound menacing? 🤔
@@KeithR2002 Everyone has their opinion. I don't think I've ever heard the Azerbaijani language. I'll check it out. I'm talking about standard, classical Arabic and it's very poetic. You might get an idea of what I mean if you watch link below showing the difference between the Lebanese Arabic dialect and the standard Arabic dialect: ruclips.net/video/GPkHmQB_LX0/видео.html
It’s incredible to think that if it weren’t for the Germanic invaders in Britain (Saxons, Angles, Jutes, etc.) we would still speak a Brythonic tongue. My ancestors come from the ancient Briton kingdom of Strathclyde (now southwest Scotland) which was also said to be at some point Gaelic speaking as well, in the long defunct Galwegian dialect theorized to resemble dialects found in East Ulster and Mann. The linguistic history of this ancient land is truly fascinating.
The linguistuc beauty of Welsh is what makes me want to learn it, I love to visit Wales when I can and I think that even learning the basics can go a long way.
What a pleasant-sounding language! Thanks for this demonstration. I’d never heard Welsh spoken before. I’ve seen Welsh place names, and they are a little daunting to an English speaker! I’m glad this is still a living language. Wish I could speak it...
I have watched a few of these Wikitongue videos by now and this is far and away the best of them, which is no surprise considering he is a veteran broadcaster as he says. It must be difficult speaking directly to camera but he makes it look easy and this in rich, melodic language that, besides what he is talking about, makes you want to listen just for the sound of it. Siarad pymtheg y dwsin - in English it's talking ten to the dozen but the Welsh version makes more sense when you think about it. I thought I had got it all on the first listen but the second time round I noticed one or two things I didn't quite get. I have seen a couple of good Scots Gaelic ones and 'Rozenn Clips' (Rozenn Mintin, I think), although it comes under Endangered Languages Alliance rather than Wikiongues, is excellent. I have ssen good versions for Letzebuergesch and Basque too, although I can't follow them too well (particularly the Basque). Hywel is from Anglesey and I have just re-read one of my favourite books in Welsh, Gwr o Baradwys by Ifan Gruffudd, a memoir which gives a fascinating insight into the life of a young farm labourer before WW1. What always strikes me in reading it is how big a role poetry, and song, played in ordinary people's life. Sadly it all seems a thousand years away now.
Sean Coleman Rozenn Clips is, as I should have said, in Breton, and Gruffudd was from Anglesey too. When he joined the army at the start of WW1 he spent a week walking around the training camp not knowing what on earth was going on. He hadn't realized they had been calling his name from the roll call all the time as he didn't know what anyone was saying
This guy is the Welsh Terry Wogan. He's been on Welsh TV and radio since the early 1960s. He does lightweight chat style presenting rather than heavy stuff like politics. He's native Welsh from Llangefni.
I translated the beginning of the video if any of you are interested in the sort of thing he is talking about: My name is Hywel Gwynfryn and I work as a newsreader for the BBC - BBC wales. I live and work in Cardiff, but the journey begins in 1942 when I was born in Llangefni, Anglesey. Anglesey is a small island off the coast of Wales. I went to primary school there when I was 6 years old, where I had to learn English, because Welsh is the first language, Welsh was my family's language and the language of the community for years. Back then when I went to school in Llangefni, 95% of the school spoke Welsh, although that figure will have dropped by now.
@@cazman182 The Amara link would be great because it allows us to archive the captions as an .srt file on the backend :) Let us know if you need any help with this!
The real MVP (other than Hywel)! Where I live in Pennsylvania, USA, there are several towns with Welsh names, very interesting languages to see and hear 😊
one of the greatest sorrows in my life is that my Nain never taught my mother or me and my sister how to speak her native language. I'm desperately trying to learn it now but it breaks my heart that she never thought her language was as valuable as the English that got pushed onto her
Born and raised in Wales but was never pushed to learn the language, I know how you feel, but congrats on trying to learn now! I'm doing the same and I'm going to keep it alive for my children to learn as well. Can't let this wonderful language die!
I was born in Bangor and lived in Snowdonia as a baby. I would have gone to a Welsh-medium village school but my parents moved us to England. It's my biggest regret. I also know a native Welsh speaker who used to be extremely pro-Welsh but now hasn't passed it on to her children. It's so, so sad.
@@icturner23 It's not really. If you were born or raised in England you should be speaking English as a first language because that's the language we speak. Also English is a far more valuable language than Welsh. Welsh is nice and unique but it's useless unless you live in only the most Welsh speaking parts of North Wales
"she never thought her language was as valuable as the English that got pushed onto her" that's not heart breaking. That's the truth. English is far more important. Why not just learn Welsh as a 2nd language
The English captions read like some Shakespearean style shade thrown at some unbearable royals &/or nobles: "I'm Chang, heavenly Silvan, and this reality? Stillborn. Or they are...are what, dear God? Welcome rain within me, Shira skull. Conrado! No panel media! Who a hide? I will hide me thus. Kiss a snake? Or with Kumar? I, a teary eyes, can't come raggedy ice at Ely either. A wiggly board as Glen? Avoid? I can. We're polonium in your skull. And Langevin II, we will now take a fin! Accounts of bobble ironies and Sharad chimeric under Martha Coe, who nudie costume dip-in had been hidden. So I thought..."
"I welcome rain within me" could be a beautiful way of saying you're crying tears of joy; "I, a teary eye, can't come raggedy ice at Ely either" really does sound like a Shakespearean rhyme or medieval tongue twister; and "We're polonium in your skull" can be a cool metaphor or a mean threat xD
This video is excellent for people using Duolingo to learn Welsh. I just started some months ago, and although I know little about sentence construction so far, I am pleased to say that many of the vocabulary words I have been learning (teacher, boy, actor, silver/money, Welsh, school, today, etc.) have popped up in this conversation, giving me a chance to recognize words in a much faster and natural context. Thank you for posting.
It is so cool how much the cadence of Welsh sounds like Irish. I know they’re Celtic languages, but they split from each other a couple of thousand years ago, so it’s really interesting. Some people said that it had some sounds of Icelandic, and I can definitely hear that too!
Same. Feels like I evolved to speak this language, but modern English was just shoehorned into my brain instead - the uncomfortable fit never quite settling into the grooves I'm feeling be scratched now.
Being of no Welsh descent whatsoever and despite not living anywhere near Wales, I am currently learning this fascinating and beautiful language. There are many resources nowadays online...
Da iawn ti :) Is your surname Yiddish? I am Jewish and was raised in North Wales, I speak it fluently and was raised listening to people speaking like Hywel
@@donglebonk iwastoolazytochooseaname Black Speech has been argued to be based on the ancient Hurrian and Urartian languages, but Larzz os completely wrong. Finnish along with Greek and Latin were the inspirations for Quenya Elvish.
That's beautiful. I literally caught one word. 😂 Cymru. But boy. I could listen to this all day. No wonder so much poetry comes out of Wales, the accent just sort of sings.
This and Irish Gaelic are my two favorite Celtic languages. They're just beautiful and, much like Tamil in India, they sound so natural, like the birds in the trees or a babbling brook.
Where do you think the Scots accent, the Irish, the Cornish, the South African accent comes from? Scots, Irish, Cornish, Afrikaans. Where else did you think the Welsh accent came from? Space?
In WWII I was sorta raised in Wales...evacuated I was...I would translate for my mother..I could speak as a 4-5 year old ..but now I hear a wonderful language
Greek guy learning Welsh here, while the language has been quite easy as of now to understand I only understood a fraction of the words he said there. I need to learn better Spoken Welsh.
/CyrClack\ as said above, this is quite formal Welsh, so it’s not exactly the spoken Welsh you’ll hear most of the time. It’s a bit more sophisticated.
I don't quite agree with Max Owen, the Welsh spoken here has a somewhat northern dialect and accent, which is what probably makes it more difficult for you, it's not that formal. BTW, delighted to hear you are learning Welsh but I have to ask the question: for what reason would a Greek person learn Welsh?
@@cyrclack5616 Interesting. I spoke only in Welsh unto I was around 5 yo. If you want to have some conversation in Welsh I'd be happy to hear from you. I now live in Australia and don't speak or hear much Welsh these day so I am losing some of it.
So interesting to hear Welsh, Irish and Breton spoken, they all seem to frequently make a guttural sound that they share with the Spain's Celtic region Galicia's language. In the past 30 years there was a movement to take all the variations of Galician and create an "official" language. Since it's taught in school here many people speak this invention now, but those of us who speak our grandparents' Galician don't pronounce the hard "g" the new Galician uses, but a guttural "h" or Spanish "j" sound.
I read the other day that Welsh is good for a magic language in a fantasy settings. And after hearing this I agree. Both the written and spoken language has that vibe.
I don't know how to explain this but I'll try. I don't understand a bloomin word said. However. I feel like I should be able to. I'm a Musick from Southern West Virginia in the USA. We're Welsh waaaaay back. This just sounds SO much like so many people in our hollers. We had such a unique blend. Welsh, Scott's Irish, some Russian, some polish, the unwanted in the cities.
Listening I seem to understand, I know I understand, though some words uttered sound fresh, they resonate like old friends voices, at once of another land, yet close as kin.
Sounds like a nordic language at first. Then if you listen closely sounds like a very old language, from ancient times to be quite honest. I'm Portuguese and that's what it sounds to me. Completely diferent from a Arab language. Which was a different ring to it. Or melody if you will.
@@johnnydangerfield8154 I'm sure it's undergone its fair share of phonetic and semantic shifts just like any other language that's had a community of living speakers during the last 2000 years.
Interesting language . Started learning about celt culture as my people have some Celt blood in them 😀 so would like to know more about it . Very beautiful language
Diolch o'r galon Hywel. Hanes diddorol dros ben. I had the full conversion from 'Setlar' (in-comer from England) to Cymro starting age 9 in Mrs James' class in Ysgol Gynradd y Bala. Learning and speaking Cymraeg for 50 years since has been a joy and a gateway to other languages. It was a big surprise to use the Welsh phonetic alphabet to make all the sounds in Danish! Hywel and other great presenters can be heard worldwide on Radio Cymru through the BBC Sounds app.
indeed, the same thing happened with Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Breton, Basque, various native American and Australian languages, etc (not the English but the French and Spanish for some of those). it's very sad. fuck them
* I'm an American of Welsh/Cornish and Native American lineage... my last name is Pennock... it's been awesome learning the Welsh language and its culture.
J.R.R. Tolkien based the phonetics of the Elven languages almost entirely off of Welsh. If you look at the sound of Quenya in the Lord of the Rings, it has near the same sounds!
As Dave said, Tolkien based the sound of Elvish off of Welsh. And since LoTR is /the/ fantasy series plus most authors are not linguists like Tolkien and won't homebrew entire languages for their novels, a lot of others pulled inspo from LoTR-Elvish. So by now it's largely canonical fantasy elves speak some variant of Welsh-inspired pidgin :D
Sorry to disappoint you, but English has more familial connections (i.e. more shared common descent) with both 'Icelandic and other Norse languages', whereas Welsh has more familial connection with other Cymric / Brythonic languages (in particular: Cornish [Kernewek], Breton [Brezhoneg], and Cumbric) which are now either extinct or largely confined to the western fringes of Europe, including Wales. However, in terms of phonology (i.e. sound system of the languages), maybe there is some (probably coincidental) similarity, for example, with sounds like the (so-called) 'trilled' r, and velar fricatives such as the 'kh-' sound (NOT found at all in present-day English), but heard in many Welsh words (e.g. 'bachgen' ['boy' in English]); then again there is the highly unusual phoneme represented in Welsh by the digraph 'll' as in many place names, including Llangollen, Llanelli, and the (in)famous 'Llanfairpwllgwyngyll...(etc.)'. Icelandic has a very similar phoneme, also represented as a -ll-; a few years ago we came to know the impossible sounding name of the erupting Icelandic volcano 'Eyjafjallajökull' (which features this digraphic phoneme twice!!). So, not dismissing your comparison, but adjusting it. Must end by stating that Welsh definitely doesn't stand 'by itself and unique'...in recent years (and with much help from the internet!), the Cornish language, which had (almost?) died out as a spoken language, is being strongly revived - it now boasts several thousand speakers with some degree of (even) partial fluency in the language; Breton, spoken mostly in the extreme northwest of France, although continuing to decline in numbers of speakers, is still alive. Please don't think I'm trying to disrespect your comments: I only wish to give a perspective on the subject. Cymru am byth! Cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon (Wales for ever! A nation without a language is a nation without a heart).
I'm a Cajun. However, I have a great great great grandfather (a Jenkins) who came to the USA in the early 1800's, made his way to Western Tennessee, married a Cherokee woman and eventually settled in South Louisiana. Ever since I was a little kid, I've been intrigued by the Welsh culture & language. I always wanted to travel to Wales. Alas, I do not believe it will ever happen.
heard a lady on the train speaking like this and was trying to find out what accent it was for the whole ride until i realised she was speaking another language. thought she was scouse at first then considered the possibility she may be a Sim and the stimulation was glitching.
Scouse gets its sound from Welsh and Irish Immigrants that moved there in the late 19th and early 20th century. Scouse is a modern accent compared to the rest around Britain.
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Why did- you bounce my- damn input morons? He mixes- languages morons! Mainly Afghan-
Kael- deutschland- Saudi!
"Welsh is of this soil, this island, the senior language of the men of Britain; and Welsh is beautiful." ― J.R.R. Tolkien
Many videos about Tolkien omit to mention his fascination with the Welsh language, that developed as a child whilst living in Birmingham seeing the 'strange' named coal trains arrive from Wales.
He believed understanding the development of the ancient Briton language, from which Welsh developed, was just as important as studying the Nordic roots of the English language.
He was the first to give the O'Donnell Lecture covering this subject at Edinburgh University entitled "English and Welsh" in 1954.
He was one of the first academics of Medieval Welsh and taught the subject for a number of years at Leeds University.
Two of his Elvish languages Sindarin and Quenya are Welsh influenced.
All British school should teach that Welsh is a British language; THE British language. But most outside Wales know nothing about it, or that it even exists.
@wowalinbie absolute rubbish. Old English is a Germanic language and is close to Gothic or old Norse. Welsh is a direct descendant of Brythonic and Indo-European.
@wowalinbie old english evolved from the anglo-saxon language which is germanic in its roots also add a bit of scandinavian into the mix and you'll get english old and new
@@nigelsheppard625 English and Welsh are both Indo-European languages my dude. Also, Old English is closer to Dutch and German than Nordic languages.
I have a welsh corgi and I asked him if he understood this.
Well did he?
Did he?
Hahaha
and what did he say?
Probably barks in Welsh accent too
He speaks with an educated northern dialect, but also of someone who has lived in the south for a while. His Welsh is very clear.
As an American who doesn't speak welsh, I cant differentiate between accents. It sounds like he said "silbo" at around :20, which is the name of one of my favorite languages.
I don’t understand what sounds German about it to you.
So basically anyone that isn't natively welsh... what's the point? Try to be respectful = over pronunciation
Try to be loose = poorly educated
Try to be part of both words in any language = disrespectful and or uneducated!!!
People like you guys make it almost impossible to assimilate and or conform in the sense of respect and or necessity.
What is the difference between the North dialect & South dialect of the Welsh Language ?
I've heard that the North version is the "More or Most" CORRECT version ?
I've also heard that the Southern version cannot really converse with the Northern version very well but understand most of what's being said ?
Can you or anyone educate me on this ?
I am wanting to learn Cymraeg . Thank you .
@@MasterSumai The main difference is pronunciation. Northern Welsh has a nasal quality to it and more of a 'sing song' meter to it. There are few vocabulary differences - most famously the word for 'now" in the North is "rwan' but is "nawr" in the South. Northerners often add small words to the ends of sentences, most commonly the word 'yeh', and will often lengthen a vowel sound. They are mostly mutually intelligible as accents/dialects. The colloquial versions can be quite different though.
There is no officially standardised version of Welsh, though there may be in academic circles. You will hear both accents on quality Welsh language tv/radio programming, though due to population differences you will hear a Southern accent more commonly. If anything Welsh is continuously changing, the grammar taught in schools is slightly different from my school days.
The vocabulary and accents differences between both dialects are minor among educated speakers. So it does not matter who teaches you or what course you take. You will pick up the dialect accent of your teacher, which is what happens in all languages.
This is an educated Southern accent followed by educated Northern accents ( the male presenter is classic North Wales, the scientist's Welsh is especially good but still detectably Northern).
watch?v=vBs7-5iIXXA&
When spoken, it falls easily on the ear
When written, it looks like spilled alphabet soup
I know what you mean, but Welsh is actually written very phonetically; individual letters are almost invariably pronounced consistently (unlike the "c" in "cable" and "face"; the "o" in "one", "tone" and "pod"; the "f" in "of" and "for"; or the "s" in "sun" and "is"), and the same applies to letters in combination (unlike "th" in "thin" and "then"; the "gh" in "light", "laugh" and "bough"; the "ch" in "chin", "cholera" and "yacht"; or the "ph" in "graph" and "aphelion").
It helps to know that "ch", "dd", "ll", "ph", "rh" and "th" appear in the Welsh alphabet as single letters with their own immutable sound (as opposed to a mere doubling-up of "L" and "D", as English does in "hello" and "eddy", or the aforementioned variants of "th", "gh", "ch" and "ph"). It's also useful to know that "w" and "y" are vowels in Welsh.
Knowing these fairly straightforward rules, written Welsh transpires to be much less of an alphabet soup than English, and you basically say what you see.
@@ftumschk interesting
SquarePush it does sound like it's written to some degree...it's like if you typed random letters into a text to voice synthesizer
American here, please write a sentence in Welsh?! That would be wonderful, I’m fascinated with this language and accent - never seen it written!!
Well I'm from Seattle, but my family comes from Wales, thus, I have a knowledge of the language, so it's your lucky day haha
Here you go:
Prynhawn da Liza, dw i'n Sammy, sut dych chi? Dw i'n hapus, ond wedi blino.
Which translates to:
Good afternoon Liza, I'm Sammy, how are you? I'm happy, but tired.
I could tell you more words if you want, just let me know 😂👍🏻
His Welsh is crystal clear. As someone else has said, his accent is from the north but it's very light. As a southerner, I sometimes struggle with really thick northern accents but his is delightful to listen to.
Fysa chdin cael sialens yn gwrando arna i de ma gen I acen gogledd reit cryf
So interesting that just a short journey north or south the accent varies so much!
@@ThepPixel Dwi'n dod o'r ardal o gwmpas Llangefni - 'run peth a Hywel yn y fideo :). Mae fy acen I'n reit gry hefyd, ond mae o'n diflanu pryd dwi'n siarad Saesneg
Sound a lot like german
@@KrlsOtc With lisp sound!
It sounds distinctively ancient Britain. Glad Wales protects her native language.
The rest of Britain should protect it too.
Hope they’d speak irish in ireland
as a british person i would love to learn welsh just to feel more i guess connected? historically to this island, plus i think that welsh is a really cool language
Should have protected Latin in Britain.
Diolch cariad
I feel like I should understand what he’s saying but I don’t.
Why not? Lol.
I get what you mean! I'm English, so I'm really used to hearing Welsh accents speaking English, but I don't speak a word of Welsh. The accent is so familiar that I feel like I'm meant to understand it
Same! I live in Wales, and it sometimes takes me a moment to realise that someone has switched from English to Welsh because I’m so used to hearing the accent.
My midwest US Hoosier ear understood the letters BBC and the word school. Very interesting 🌾
@@annedavis6090 the word school isnt the same in welsh
It's a very soft-sounding language, and flows like musical phrases.
“Land of poets and singers” is the second line of their anthem.
language of song
i think it sounds so harsh
@@WillHedley it does sound pleasant unlike say Russian.
@@gazibizi9504 russian is gorgeous unlike say english
We have a welsh dialect in Argentina, in the southern province of Chubut. There are several cities with welsh names like Port Madryn, Trelew, Dolavon, Gaiman and Trevelin.
The welsh people arrived to Argentina in the XIX century and their grand sons and relatives keep welsh culture alive here in the southern hemisphere 😉🇦🇷🏴
I heard they sailed to Argentina in 1865 on the 'Mimosa' to escape oppression at home. I'm so glad they still speak Welsh as well as Spanish.
Marianne Hancock
It would be interesting if those Welsh Argentinians would return to visit their homeland I wonder how they would feel Iam sure how they would feel free to speak their language freely and connect with that culture.
They went to patagonia and other cities nearby
I actually heard about this from a 2cat video, its super interesting. It's be super interesting to hear the accent.
Viva Gales 🏴
God I haven't heard this language since my father past away God bless him he would sing in Welsh when listen to radio Wales I havnt spoke it for over 4 yrs since my father past away it was the only time I spoke it was to my father he was a Swansea boy his last couple of days he would speak Welsh then say it in English so my boy could understand him now my boy is learning Welsh again God bless you da r.i.p xxxxxx
Magnificent language for singing.
Alayne Perrott Definitely. All my favourite music is welsh.
You should have brought up your son speaking Welsh.
Rip to your papa, terry xx
Why didn't you raise your son in your own language?
Bear in mind while listening to this, that one is hearing a language that is around 4000 years old. It has bore witness to many advancements in humankind in its long and illustrious existence; and has outlived all of the great Empires of antiquity, and the modern ones too.
As a Scotsman, I truly love these magical isles we call Prydain/Britain. So much ancient history resides here from such accomplished peoples; and a tangible electricity is constantly looming within the air. The weather leaves much to answered for but, after it is all said and done, I love the land where I was born, and honoured to have been raised in. I thank the gods, each and everyday, that I share these green and glorious isles with my fellow countrymen and women. I love this land, and much goodwill to you all from a proud Briton and Scotsman 👍
Good health and fortune to everyone.
The first para of your comment is what every language claims about itself :)
@@TheKomentor haha true
TheKomentor not English
Iechyd da a pob hwyl I chi fy ffrind.
Welsh is definitely not 4000 years old.
as someone who speaks fluent welsh, after i moved from wales i knew NOBODY who spoke welsh, still don't. this video is pretty cool, he speaks really clearly
This is an undoubtebly beautiful language.
bullshit
Tru
@@Jennifer-nq4yw thank you
@@dannytran7075 do you think they were replying to you hahahahahhahaha
@@gplastic i did talk to him….. u fool
I understand all of this 😃 proud to be Welsh and speak Welsh 🏴
If you don't mind me asking, whats he saying.
@@Crookcowboy I know, it says Florida, America, Beijing and China
The Welsh people and language are one of the remnants of Celtic Britain, long before the Germanic peoples arrived. Such a fascinating and beautiful language!
His Welsh is so clear! I've been learning the language for five months and I could understand so many words, language goals! 🏴
I came here to hear what welsh sounds like after being told about a time a friend watched someone tell a welsh person to speak English not muslim (yes they said muslim). I was curious if Welsh sounded like Arabic and now I have confirmation that the woman wasn’t just xenophobic she was stupid.
Yes it sounds absolutely nothing like Arabic. Nothing whatsoever. That is a shock to me that anyone can think that it sounds anything like that. This language is melodic. Arabic, while it has really cool consonants, and interesting construction of words and verbs and things derived from a three letter route, but melodic, it just is not. If you try to gag hawk and spit while reciting verse simultaneously, then you have Arabic.
Maybe the way they pronounce the 'th' sound. Doesnt Arabic have that 'th' sound where its something in between 's' and 'th'
I think Arabic is very melodic. Welsh sounds nice but it's a bit 'lispy' and soft sounding. I'd like to hear a tough guy speaking it. Would he still sound menacing? 🤔
@@noonoofulable arabic isnt melodic at all. I think turkish is very very melodic especially Azerbaijani
@@KeithR2002 Everyone has their opinion. I don't think I've ever heard the Azerbaijani language. I'll check it out. I'm talking about standard, classical Arabic and it's very poetic. You might get an idea of what I mean if you watch link below showing the difference between the Lebanese Arabic dialect and the standard Arabic dialect:
ruclips.net/video/GPkHmQB_LX0/видео.html
It’s incredible to think that if it weren’t for the Germanic invaders in Britain (Saxons, Angles, Jutes, etc.) we would still speak a Brythonic tongue. My ancestors come from the ancient Briton kingdom of Strathclyde (now southwest Scotland) which was also said to be at some point Gaelic speaking as well, in the long defunct Galwegian dialect theorized to resemble dialects found in East Ulster and Mann. The linguistic history of this ancient land is truly fascinating.
The linguistuc beauty of Welsh is what makes me want to learn it, I love to visit Wales when I can and I think that even learning the basics can go a long way.
I agree! Diolch yn fawr iawn, croeso!!
What a pleasant-sounding language! Thanks for this demonstration. I’d never heard Welsh spoken before. I’ve seen Welsh place names, and they are a little daunting to an English speaker! I’m glad this is still a living language. Wish I could speak it...
You will find plenty of support if you'd like to learn, Alistair! Say Something in Welsh is excellent, as far as I've heard.
I have watched a few of these Wikitongue videos by now and this is far and away the best of them, which is no surprise considering he is a veteran broadcaster as he says. It must be difficult speaking directly to camera but he makes it look easy and this in rich, melodic language that, besides what he is talking about, makes you want to listen just for the sound of it. Siarad pymtheg y dwsin - in English it's talking ten to the dozen but the Welsh version makes more sense when you think about it. I thought I had got it all on the first listen but the second time round I noticed one or two things I didn't quite get.
I have seen a couple of good Scots Gaelic ones and 'Rozenn Clips' (Rozenn Mintin, I think), although it comes under Endangered Languages Alliance rather than Wikiongues, is excellent. I have ssen good versions for Letzebuergesch and Basque too, although I can't follow them too well (particularly the Basque).
Hywel is from Anglesey and I have just re-read one of my favourite books in Welsh, Gwr o Baradwys by Ifan Gruffudd, a memoir which gives a fascinating insight into the life of a young farm labourer before WW1. What always strikes me in reading it is how big a role poetry, and song, played in ordinary people's life. Sadly it all seems a thousand years away now.
Sean Coleman Rozenn Clips is, as I should have said, in Breton, and Gruffudd was from Anglesey too. When he joined the army at the start of WW1 he spent a week walking around the training camp not knowing what on earth was going on. He hadn't realized they had been calling his name from the roll call all the time as he didn't know what anyone was saying
+Sean Coleman My father was Welsh. I have met young Welsh people in england who are still learning English in their 20s. A most beautiful language.
Poetry and song can still come back. It's not too late!
This guy is the Welsh Terry Wogan. He's been on Welsh TV and radio since the early 1960s. He does lightweight chat style presenting rather than heavy stuff like politics. He's native Welsh from Llangefni.
Yes, he says all that in the video.
I translated the beginning of the video if any of you are interested in the sort of thing he is talking about:
My name is Hywel Gwynfryn and I work as a newsreader for the BBC - BBC wales.
I live and work in Cardiff, but the journey begins in 1942 when I was born in
Llangefni, Anglesey. Anglesey is a small island off the coast of Wales.
I went to primary school there when I was 6 years old, where I had to learn English,
because Welsh is the first language, Welsh was my family's language and the language
of the community for years.
Back then when I went to school in Llangefni, 95% of the school spoke Welsh, although
that figure will have dropped by now.
Lovely! Thank you for your time in doing this :)
@@Wikitongues If you enable the video for community contributions I can do the entire video, or would you like me to do it via that amara link?
@@cazman182 The Amara link would be great because it allows us to archive the captions as an .srt file on the backend :) Let us know if you need any help with this!
The real MVP (other than Hywel)! Where I live in Pennsylvania, USA, there are several towns with Welsh names, very interesting languages to see and hear 😊
Just so you know, you can turn on the Closed Captions and set them to English.
I had to. lol
one of the greatest sorrows in my life is that my Nain never taught my mother or me and my sister how to speak her native language. I'm desperately trying to learn it now but it breaks my heart that she never thought her language was as valuable as the English that got pushed onto her
Born and raised in Wales but was never pushed to learn the language, I know how you feel, but congrats on trying to learn now! I'm doing the same and I'm going to keep it alive for my children to learn as well. Can't let this wonderful language die!
Need any help? :) Feel free to ask any questions at all. I’ll answer any you want.
I was born in Bangor and lived in Snowdonia as a baby. I would have gone to a Welsh-medium village school but my parents moved us to England. It's my biggest regret. I also know a native Welsh speaker who used to be extremely pro-Welsh but now hasn't passed it on to her children. It's so, so sad.
@@icturner23 It's not really. If you were born or raised in England you should be speaking English as a first language because that's the language we speak. Also English is a far more valuable language than Welsh. Welsh is nice and unique but it's useless unless you live in only the most Welsh speaking parts of North Wales
"she never thought her language was as valuable as the English that got pushed onto her" that's not heart breaking. That's the truth. English is far more important. Why not just learn Welsh as a 2nd language
Majestic, beautiful language!
I'm italian mothertongue, welsh to me sounds like the language of the elves. It's beautiful
Now you'll never be able to get the fact that LotR elves sound like shepherds from Wales off your mind.
Toilken based elvish on welsh
The sound of he speaking reminds me of Tolkien
Yea, Tolkien created the Elvish languge from Welsh and Finnish :)
I know that :P
acanpc333 Wait really? That's so cool! I'm learning welsh, I can speak a bit but I didn't know he based it off welsh. That's so cool.....
Tiera Danheux Yea Tolkien was also a linguistic scholar, and really interested in Finnish too. So Elvish is like Finnish and Welsh mixed together.
+Tiera Danheux How's the Welsh coming? :D
I have not taken a welsh lesson for over fifteen years. I now live in Thailand, but this makes me want to try again. Thanks Hywel.
The English captions read like some Shakespearean style shade thrown at some unbearable royals &/or nobles:
"I'm Chang, heavenly Silvan, and this reality? Stillborn. Or they are...are what, dear God?
Welcome rain within me, Shira skull. Conrado! No panel media!
Who a hide? I will hide me thus.
Kiss a snake? Or with Kumar?
I, a teary eyes, can't come raggedy ice at Ely either. A wiggly board as Glen? Avoid? I can.
We're polonium in your skull.
And Langevin II, we will now take a fin!
Accounts of bobble ironies and Sharad chimeric under Martha Coe, who nudie costume dip-in had been hidden.
So I thought..."
it’s amazing 😀
"I welcome rain within me" could be a beautiful way of saying you're crying tears of joy;
"I, a teary eye, can't come raggedy ice at Ely either" really does sound like a Shakespearean rhyme or medieval tongue twister;
and "We're polonium in your skull" can be a cool metaphor or a mean threat xD
😂
Oh my godddddds😂😂😂
Kiss a snake? Or with Kumar?
Diolch yn fawr am siarad yn Gymraeg! I surprised myself by how much of your video I could actually understand!
It’s fascinating to think that the Welsh are one of Britain’s indigenous peoples
Not really, its straight forward
They also came from somewhere else/other places, at one time.
Twist: He only said one word!
Hanner gair actually
Ha ha ha ha good one
And he is still there to this day finishing a sentence...
😂🤣
😂😂😂 wonderful!
This video is excellent for people using Duolingo to learn Welsh. I just started some months ago, and although I know little about sentence construction so far, I am pleased to say that many of the vocabulary words I have been learning (teacher, boy, actor, silver/money, Welsh, school, today, etc.) have popped up in this conversation, giving me a chance to recognize words in a much faster and natural context. Thank you for posting.
Truely... Is A Beauitiful Langrage...
We hav a lot of Welsh place names in the suburban Philadelphia, PA area.. even an area named north wales
Bryn Mawr, Mifflin in PA also
It is so cool how much the cadence of Welsh sounds like Irish. I know they’re Celtic languages, but they split from each other a couple of thousand years ago, so it’s really interesting.
Some people said that it had some sounds of Icelandic, and I can definitely hear that too!
Cymro 65 idk about that. I was talking about welsh having the same “ll” sound as icelandic, not the cadence and influence of Irish on icelandic
Cymro 65 it’s an interesting theory ). See if you can find out if it’s true
Language of warrior poets ..
His North Wales accent has been made more musical by living in the South
when I spent time in Iceland, I thought Icelandic sounded like a combination of Welsh and Polish
I feel like I can understand it, it sounds so familiar but of course I don’t understand; just like with Old English. I find that fascinating!
Same. Feels like I evolved to speak this language, but modern English was just shoehorned into my brain instead - the uncomfortable fit never quite settling into the grooves I'm feeling be scratched now.
Being of Welsh descent, i wanna learn Welsh
Being of no Welsh descent whatsoever and despite not living anywhere near Wales, I am currently learning this fascinating and beautiful language. There are many resources nowadays online...
The Duolingo app has the Welsh language course on it for free
Da iawn ti :) Is your surname Yiddish? I am Jewish and was raised in North Wales, I speak it fluently and was raised listening to people speaking like Hywel
BrStFr that’s wonderful to hear! How’s it going? Still learning? Rydw i’n gobeithio ni wnes di rhoi fyny.
I'm not even reading the captions, I just enjoy the sound
Practically the language of the elves (those from Tolkien books). And I know Tolkien took Welsh as basis for Sindarin (one of the Elvish dialect)
for black speech, not sindarin
The elven language was inspired by Finnish. Tolkien was obsessed with Kalevala.
@@larzadamsson3585 in fact, it was Sindarin which was mostly inspired by Welsh. I don't know about black speech though.
@@mr.strugglesnuggle6668 as well as Beowulf.
@@donglebonk
iwastoolazytochooseaname
Black Speech has been argued to be based on the ancient Hurrian and Urartian languages, but Larzz os completely wrong. Finnish along with Greek and Latin were the inspirations for Quenya Elvish.
That's beautiful. I literally caught one word. 😂 Cymru. But boy. I could listen to this all day. No wonder so much poetry comes out of Wales, the accent just sort of sings.
I recall watching this gentleman read the news on S4C when I grew up in Cymru
This and Irish Gaelic are my two favorite Celtic languages. They're just beautiful and, much like Tamil in India, they sound so natural, like the birds in the trees or a babbling brook.
My family is from wales, and I'm 4th generation American. This sounds comfortable to pick up.
Absolutely beautifully spoken! Thank you for sharing.
I understood America, Florida, Charlton Heston, and thank you for listening.
I can see how the Welsh accent of English could come from this language
Yuri Ivanov Similar to a Scottish one. Think T2 Trainspotting.
Mr. Allmighty Cornholio Shut up.
Yuri Ivanov Just like white south Africans have an afrikaans accent despite often not even speaking the language
Where do you think the Scots accent, the Irish, the Cornish, the South African accent comes from? Scots, Irish, Cornish, Afrikaans. Where else did you think the Welsh accent came from? Space?
I wonder if this is just how celtic accents sound.
TBH, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh accents sound similar.
Welsh sounds so elegant and beautiful, I'm very happy that the number of Welsh speakers is growing. Sending love from Italy 🇮🇹💚❤️🤍🏴
Diolch I chi
In WWII I was sorta raised in Wales...evacuated I was...I would translate for my mother..I could speak as a 4-5 year old ..but now I hear a wonderful language
good video! very good and clear sound quality.
Mae Hywel wedi bod yn arwr i mi ers degawdau. Hywel has been my hero for decades.
Greek guy learning Welsh here, while the language has been quite easy as of now to understand
I only understood a fraction of the words he said there. I need to learn better Spoken Welsh.
/CyrClack\ as said above, this is quite formal Welsh, so it’s not exactly the spoken Welsh you’ll hear most of the time. It’s a bit more sophisticated.
I don't quite agree with Max Owen, the Welsh spoken here has a somewhat northern dialect and accent, which is what probably makes it more difficult for you, it's not that formal. BTW, delighted to hear you are learning Welsh but I have to ask the question: for what reason would a Greek person learn Welsh?
@@aussiesam01 I find it highly intriguing and, frankly, a very nice language that I'd like to be able to speak
That's pretty much it
@@cyrclack5616 Interesting. I spoke only in Welsh unto I was around 5 yo. If you want to have some conversation in Welsh I'd be happy to hear from you. I now live in Australia and don't speak or hear much Welsh these day so I am losing some of it.
I love this language. It sounds beautiful. I'm part Welsh myself but I'm from England
Love these complex/unusual consonants
Sounds magical and like a dutch person trying to speak icelandic-ish
Welsh is not a Germanic language
A few vowels do sound vaguely Scandinavian, yes!
he's speaking English but faster
I'm Dutch, but it's far from Dutch! 😂
Geographically, that would make sense.
Sounds very nice.
I loved this, thank you. We don’t get content like this easily in the U.S. ❤
So interesting to hear Welsh, Irish and Breton spoken, they all seem to frequently make a guttural sound that they share with the Spain's Celtic region Galicia's language. In the past 30 years there was a movement to take all the variations of Galician and create an "official" language. Since it's taught in school here many people speak this invention now, but those of us who speak our grandparents' Galician don't pronounce the hard "g" the new Galician uses, but a guttural "h" or Spanish "j" sound.
Welsh is one of the coolest languages ever
I read the other day that Welsh is good for a magic language in a fantasy settings. And after hearing this I agree. Both the written and spoken language has that vibe.
a language i would love to learn it’s so unique and beautiful
Download the app “say something in welsh” it’ll teach you the basics.
I don't know how to explain this but I'll try. I don't understand a bloomin word said. However. I feel like I should be able to. I'm a Musick from Southern West Virginia in the USA. We're Welsh waaaaay back. This just sounds SO much like so many people in our hollers. We had such a unique blend. Welsh, Scott's Irish, some Russian, some polish, the unwanted in the cities.
It sounded Finish to me but soon after sounded Icelandic and then I knew :)! Fascinating Welsh language!
*Me, a non Welse speaker*
I like your funny words magic man!
sounds perfect to me. like music💙
Turn on the captions, it's delightful
Sounds quite a bit like Gaelic. Love it.
I'd like to come to a teary eyed cantata as well. But really, welsh is a beautiful language!
Listening I seem to understand, I know I understand, though some words uttered sound fresh, they resonate like old friends voices, at once of another land, yet close as kin.
Love to see his passion for his own language
What a beautifully sounding language! So peaceful!
Sounds like a nordic language at first. Then if you listen closely sounds like a very old language, from ancient times to be quite honest. I'm Portuguese and that's what it sounds to me. Completely diferent from a Arab language. Which was a different ring to it. Or melody if you will.
Welsh is pretty much the original language of ancient Britain but then the Anglo-Saxons took over and English became the dominant language.
@@johnnydangerfield8154 I'm sure it's undergone its fair share of phonetic and semantic shifts just like any other language that's had a community of living speakers during the last 2000 years.
Interesting language . Started learning about celt culture as my people have some Celt blood in them 😀 so would like to know more about it . Very beautiful language
Diolch o'r galon Hywel. Hanes diddorol dros ben.
I had the full conversion from 'Setlar' (in-comer from England) to Cymro starting age 9 in Mrs James' class in Ysgol Gynradd y Bala. Learning and speaking Cymraeg for 50 years since has been a joy and a gateway to other languages. It was a big surprise to use the Welsh phonetic alphabet to make all the sounds in Danish! Hywel and other great presenters can be heard worldwide on Radio Cymru through the BBC Sounds app.
The dragon born
This looks like Dragonspeak (cue Overly Sarcastic Productions fans)
blue is right
Yooo
Yeet
Haha! I just came from there😂😂😂
Oh man thank you for that! I can only pick a few words! Beautiful!!
Surprisingly beautiful. I'd heard some bad things about Welsh, but really meets the beauty of its cousins!
What bad things have you heard about Welsh?
amazing language
And to think our ancestors were punished for speaking welsh by the English, it was actually beaten out of most families so it was forgotten.
indeed, the same thing happened with Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Breton, Basque, various native American and Australian languages, etc (not the English but the French and Spanish for some of those). it's very sad. fuck them
It sounds very fascinating and so medieval.
My maternal grandpas family is from wales and his family speak the language to keep it alive.
I’m just a midwesterner, but I am learning Welsh. I am pleasantly surprised that I’m picking out words understand!
I used to live in Illinois! Am back home in NY and have been learning Cymraeg for 2 years now. If you would like to practice, hit me up. -Jen
I’ve been trying to learn Cymraeg while I’ve been stuck at home during the pandemic, and I actually understood a lot of this! Diolch!
* I'm an American of Welsh/Cornish and Native American lineage... my last name is Pennock... it's been awesome learning the Welsh language and its culture.
Wow, thats pretty groovy stuff man. 👍
It sounds like when they do elven or faerie languages in fiction/fantasy books
J.R.R. Tolkien based the phonetics of the Elven languages almost entirely off of Welsh. If you look at the sound of Quenya in the Lord of the Rings, it has near the same sounds!
As Dave said, Tolkien based the sound of Elvish off of Welsh. And since LoTR is /the/ fantasy series plus most authors are not linguists like Tolkien and won't homebrew entire languages for their novels, a lot of others pulled inspo from LoTR-Elvish. So by now it's largely canonical fantasy elves speak some variant of Welsh-inspired pidgin :D
Elves in the witcher just speak welsh lmao
@@tubos362 which incarnation of Witcher franchise is that?
@@msai257 You could say that modern fantasy fiction as a whole is just thinly disguised LoTR fanfiction.
From just the accent now I understand why Tolkien loved this language.
Beautiful
That guy is AMAZING on the welsh radio, so glad that i'm a welsh speaker. Cymru a'm byth. 🏴
Such a strange, unique sound. I can feel the similarity to Icelandic and other Norse languages. But still, it stands by itself and unique.
Sorry to disappoint you, but English has more familial connections (i.e. more shared common descent) with both 'Icelandic and other Norse languages', whereas Welsh has more familial connection with other Cymric / Brythonic languages (in particular: Cornish [Kernewek], Breton [Brezhoneg], and Cumbric) which are now either extinct or largely confined to the western fringes of Europe, including Wales. However, in terms of phonology (i.e. sound system of the languages), maybe there is some (probably coincidental) similarity, for example, with sounds like the (so-called) 'trilled' r, and velar fricatives such as the 'kh-' sound (NOT found at all in present-day English), but heard in many Welsh words (e.g. 'bachgen' ['boy' in English]); then again there is the highly unusual phoneme represented in Welsh by the digraph 'll' as in many place names, including Llangollen, Llanelli, and the (in)famous 'Llanfairpwllgwyngyll...(etc.)'. Icelandic has a very similar phoneme, also represented as a -ll-; a few years ago we came to know the impossible sounding name of the erupting Icelandic volcano 'Eyjafjallajökull' (which features this digraphic phoneme twice!!). So, not dismissing your comparison, but adjusting it. Must end by stating that Welsh definitely doesn't stand 'by itself and unique'...in recent years (and with much help from the internet!), the Cornish language, which had (almost?) died out as a spoken language, is being strongly revived - it now boasts several thousand speakers with some degree of (even) partial fluency in the language; Breton, spoken mostly in the extreme northwest of France, although continuing to decline in numbers of speakers, is still alive. Please don't think I'm trying to disrespect your comments: I only wish to give a perspective on the subject. Cymru am byth! Cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon (Wales for ever! A nation without a language is a nation without a heart).
I'm here because Tolkien based Sindarin on Welsh. So basically for me he is talking Elvish.
SUPER! diolch yn fawr, mae'n edrych mor rhyfeddol!
I'm a Cajun. However, I have a great great great grandfather (a Jenkins) who came to the USA in the early 1800's, made his way to Western Tennessee, married a Cherokee woman and eventually settled in South Louisiana. Ever since I was a little kid, I've been intrigued by the Welsh culture & language. I always wanted to travel to Wales. Alas, I do not believe it will ever happen.
I am learning Scottish Gaelic and I heard here some words, that I learned in Gaelic
the subtitles are heccin perfect
Sounds beautiful to me.
What an amazing language.
heard a lady on the train speaking like this and was trying to find out what accent it was for the whole ride until i realised she was speaking another language. thought she was scouse at first then considered the possibility she may be a Sim and the stimulation was glitching.
Scouse gets its sound from Welsh and Irish Immigrants that moved there in the late 19th and early 20th century. Scouse is a modern accent compared to the rest around Britain.