Yn y Castell... | If SSIW is helping you, why not help us? Get DAILY lessons: Become an SSIW Member!

[leiafee]

Was doing my volunteer shift down Oystermouth today...

Little girl of maybe 7 or 8 marches in five minutes after her mum has bought their tickets.

"Ble mae un a dau?" (There are number round the castle that tie up with the guidebook explanations)

Almost immediately she repeated herself in English but it was so beautifully natural for her to start in Welsh, pity she's obvious become used to not being uderstood that way.

I'd like to report back that I confidently replied with "Mae isio i ti fynd mas a gweld a y porth." (Something I'd already said in English already to about two dozen people in answer to the same question!

Unfortunately I was so blown away that what I actually managed was, "Ohh, ummm Mas... Allan... Yma..." while jabbing helplessly at the map.

Oh well, at least my "Diolch" when she gave me "hanner cant ceiniog" for the guidebook was confident enough.

;-)

[leiafee]

Incidentally, also intereting was the fact that practically every single foreign visitor, asked me if I spoke Welsh, so I did a certain amount of evangelising. There's a keen interest in the language out there.

(Perhaps my playing Radio Cymru in the background in an attempt to achieve some sort of elarning through osmosis gave people a false impression of my potential fluency!)

[Dee]

Unfortunately I was so blown away that what I actually managed was, "Ohh, ummm Mas... Allan... Yma..." while jabbing helplessly at the map.

I bet you'll be ready for next time!!

[Aran]

(Perhaps my playing Radio Cymru in the background in an attempt to achieve some sort of elarning through osmosis gave people a false impression of my potential fluency!)

Superb...

[leiafee]

I bet you'll be ready for next time!!

Hopefully!

The place is shut from the end of the month so today was my last shift -- maybe by next summer I'll feel daring enough to put one of those "working Welsh" signs out on the counter ;-)

[chambo]

I think like anything, once you've said a phrase a load of times, you'll just say it instantly without even thinking about it.

[Owain]

maybe by next summer I'll feel daring enough to put one of those "working Welsh" signs out on the counter ;-)

I hadn't seen those 'working Welsh' signs before so thanks for the link, and in a moment of inspiration I have just copied this image
into my email program as a signature. Hopefully, I will get more emails in Welsh now, which though I may not understand all of them will definitely aid my learning.