A Welsh Course

<HEAD> <LINK rel="STYLESHEET" href="./main.css" type="text/css"> <TITLE>A Welsh Course</TITLE>  </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR=white> <P> <IMG ALIGN=left SRC="gifs/flag.gif"> <A HREF="http://www.mckinley.com/"><IMG ALIGN=right SRC="gifs/3star44pix.gif"></A> <H1><A NAME="A Welsh Course">A Welsh Course</A></H1> <DIV CLASS=TOC><B>Contents:</B><UL> <LI><A HREF="#Introduction">Introduction</A> <LI><A HREF="#Contents of the Course">Contents of the Course</A> <LI><A HREF="#Other Network Resources for Welsh Learners">Other Network Resources for Welsh Learners</A><UL> <LI><A HREF="#Cultural Resources">Cultural Resources</A> <LI><A HREF="#Language Resources">Language Resources</A> <LI><A HREF="#Sources about Middle Welsh">Sources about Middle Welsh</A></UL> <LI><A HREF="#What's New">What's New</A></UL> </DIV><HR> <CENTER>by <A TARGET=_top HREF="AboutAuthor.html">Mark Nodine</A> <A HREF="mailto:Mark.Nodine@mot.com"><Mark.Nodine@mot.com></A>. </CENTER> <DIV CLASS="revision"><CENTER><FONT SIZE=-1><A HREF="ChangeLogFiles.html#A Welsh Course">Revision 1.43</A> of this page, last updated on <A HREF="ChangeLogDate.html#2003/06/15">2003/06/15</A>. <BR> (C)opyright 1994-2003 Mark H. Nodine </FONT></CENTER></DIV><P> <H2><A NAME="Introduction">Introduction</A></H2> <P> This course is one suitable for beginners. The main emphasis of the course is in developing conversational skills in Welsh as it is currently spoken (as contrasted with teaching the forms needed for understanding literary Welsh). The material is an indirect descendent of the <EM>Cymraeg Byw</EM> movement of the 1960s and 1970s. This course does not assume a general proficiency in learning languages, nor any previous background in Welsh. The course is also developed in such a way that it can be distributed either through an ASCII medium wrapped as a setext, or made available in HTML on the <A HREF="http://www.w3.org/">World Wide Web</A>. <P> Geraint Jones (Rhydychen) has written answers for <A TARGET=_top HREF="http://www.comlab.ox.ac.uk/oucl/users/geraint.jones/cwrs-cymraeg/welsh.html">common questions about Welsh and Wales</A>. <P> This course is still under construction. Please report any problems to me via e-mail. <P> <H2><A NAME="Contents of the Course">Contents of the Course</A></H2> <UL> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="Lesson06.html">Lesson 6</A> is the latest released lesson. <LI> A partial version of <A TARGET=_top HREF="Lesson07.html">Lesson 7</A> is available (use at your own risk). <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="TOC.html">Full Table of Contents</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="ChangeLogDate.html">Revision History (by date)</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="ChangeLogFiles.html">Revision History (by files)</A> <LI> Chapters: <UL> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="Welsh.html"><A1>A Welsh Course</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="AboutAuthor.html"><A2>About the Author, Mark Nodine</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="Acknowledgements.html"><A3>Acknowledgements</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="Lesson01.html"><A4>Lesson 1. Pronunciation</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="Lesson02.html"><A5>Lesson 2. To Be or Not to Be</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="Lesson03.html"><A6>Lesson 3. Simple Sentences</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="Lesson04.html"><A7>Lesson 4. The Soft Mutation</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="Lesson05.html"><A8>Lesson 5. There are Many Things in this Lesson</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="Lesson06.html"><A9>Lesson 6. How to Be *Emphatic* and Possessive</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="Lesson07.html"><A10>Lesson 7. My Perfect Thing to Have: Imperatives</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="AppendixA.html"><A11>Appendix A. Mutations</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="AppendixB.html"><A12>Appendix B. Summary of When to Mutate</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="AppendixC.html"><A13>Appendix C. Conjugational Endings and Irregular Forms</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="AppendixD.html"><A14>Appendix D. Using Welsh-English Dictionaries</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="AppendixE.html"><A15>Appendix E. Results of Linguistic Research</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="AppendixF.html"><A16>Appendix F: A Welsh-English Meta-Dictionary</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="Glossary.html"><A17>Glossary of Grammatical Terms</A> <LI> <A TARGET=_top HREF="Bibliography.html"><A18>Bibliography</A> </UL> </UL> One of the recommendations I always make to people who are trying to learn Welsh on their own is to get Welsh folk music (especially children's music since it tends to be more simple and repetitious) on either tapes or CDs and listen to them. Following this recommendation will have the following benefits: <OL> <LI>You will learn the correct pronunciation for the Welsh sounds by listening to them (and singing along). <LI>You will enjoy the music, so it won't seem like you're in the language laboratory. <LI>The music is readily available from <A HREF="http://www.sain.wales.com">Sain Records</A>. <LI>You'll also be learning a bit about the Welsh culture in the process by seeing the kinds of things the Welsh put to music. </OL> <H2><A NAME="Other Network Resources for Welsh Learners">Other Network Resources for Welsh Learners</A></H2> <H3><A NAME="Cultural Resources">Cultural Resources</A></H3> <UL> <LI> <A HREF="http://www.walesontheweb.org">Wales on the web</A> has a plethora of information about Wales and Welsh. <LI> Maps and a place name index of Wales are available at <A HREF="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/geogdata/ngw/home.htm">The National Gazetteer of Wales</A>. <LI> The <A HREF="news:soc.culture.welsh">soc.culture.welsh</A> newsgroup contains articles pertaining to Wales or Welsh. <LI> The following mailing lists are dedicated to the Welsh language. You can subscribe to them by sending the listed message to the listed address. <DL><DD><TABLE BORDER> <TR><TD ALIGN=LEFT> List<TD ALIGN=LEFT> Message to send<TD ALIGN=LEFT> Address <TR><TD ALIGN=LEFT> WELSH-L<BR> CYMRAEG-L<BR> WEL-L<TD ALIGN=LEFT> SUBSCRIBE WELSH-L <Your Name><BR> SUBSCRIBE CYMRAEG-L <Your Name><BR> SUBSCRIBE WEL-L <Your Name><TD ALIGN=LEFT> LISTSERV@IRLEARN.UCD.IE<BR> listproc@lists.missouri.edu<BR> listproc@hawaii.edu </TABLE></DL> <LI> There is a <A HREF="gopher://irlearn.ucd.ie/1List/WELSH-L">WELSH-L gopher</A> server that contains archives of all the traffic on the mailing list WELSH-L. <LI> A <A HREF="gopher://calypso.oit.unc.edu/11/sunsite.d/welsh.d">Welsh Culture and Language archive</A> at UNC that contains a searchable index of the WELSH-L archives. However, it does not retain header information on the messages, so you cannot know exactly when the messages were sent or by whom. <LI> <A HREF="http://www.bwrdd-yr-iaith.com">Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg</A> (The Welsh Language Board) has a web site with information about the Welsh language, including its history. <LI> <A HREF="http://www.cymdeithas.com">Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg</A> (The Welsh Language Society) has a page with information about the language society, its history, and events, with some stuff in <A HREF="http://www.cymdeithas.com/gwybodaeth/en/">English</A>. <LI> The <A HREF="http://www.eisteddfod.org.uk/english">Welsh National Eisteddfod</A> has a page describing their annual events, which are great places for learners to go. <LI> A large (2094070 bytes) <A HREF="ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/archives/welsh-l/wales.gif">color map of Wales</A> is available for anonymous ftp. <LI> You can get information about <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/welsh/static/default.stm">BBC Welsh broadcasts</A>. The BBC also has a <A HREF="http://www.bbc.co.uk/learnwelsh">Learn Welsh</A> web site and a detailed <A HREF="http://www.bbc.co.uk/storyofwelsh">history of the Welsh language</A>. <LI> <A HREF="http://www.midwalesonline.co.uk">Mid Wales Online</A> has much information about the middle portion of Wales. <LI> The <A TARGET=_top HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Lane/2715/pasds.html">Poultney Area St. David's Society</A> has links to many Welsh cultural, genealogical, and language sites. <LI> <A HREF="http://www.valleyconnection.co.uk">The Valley Connection</A> has links to over 3000 Welsh sites. <LI> A list of <A HREF="http://www.kabalarians.com/male/welsh-m.htm">Welsh baby names</A>. <LI> A clearing house for <A HREF="http://www.welshtraditionalmusic.com">Welsh traditional music</A>. <LI> Material pertaining to Wales is available in English at <A HREF="http://www.walesontheweb.org">Wales on the Web</A> or in Welsh at <A HREF="http://www.cymruarywe.org">Cymru ar y We</A>. <LI> You can do a search for Welsh movies at <A HREF="http://www.worldwidewales.tv/index2.php">World Wide Wales</A>. </UL> <H3><A NAME="Language Resources">Language Resources</A></H3> <UL> <LI> Harry Campbell's excellent resource page, <A HREF="http://www.gwybodiadur.co.uk">Y Gwybodiadur</A> is <B>a must visit</B>. <LI> Hazel Davey also has a list of links at <A TARGET=_top HREF="http://pcfcij.dbs.aber.ac.uk/cymraeg/welsh.html">The Welsh Learners Links</A>. <LI> <A HREF="http://www.madog.org">Cymdeithas Madog</A>, the Welsh Studies Institute of North America, has a home page that includes pictures of Wales and information about their annual Cwrs Cymraeg, a week-long intensive Welsh course that is traditionally held in early August. <LI> The BBC has a series of Welsh language lessons called <A HREF="http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/catchphrase/catchphrase">Catchphrase</A>. <LI> <A HREF="http://www.aber.ac.uk/~welwww/">CYD</A> is a society to bring Welsh learners and speakers together. <LI> Information about where Welsh languages courses are taught can be gotten from the <A TARGET=_top HREF="http://carla.acad.umn.edu/lctl/lctl.html">Less Commonly Taught Languages</A> project. <LI> The <A HREF="http://welsh.lamp.ac.uk/camu">University of Wales Lampeter</A> has distance education available in Welsh. <LI> Information about <A HREF="http://www.aber.ac.uk/~gpcwww/">Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru</A>, the authoritative dictionary of the Welsh language analagous the the Oxford English Dictionary, can be gotten from their website. <LI> You can buy Welsh books, videos, and music on-line at <A HREF="http://www.ylolfa.com">Y Lolfa</A> and <A HREF="http://www.preseli.com">Gwe Preseli</A>. <LI> Welsh computer terms are listed at the <A TARGET=_top HREF="http://www.fydd.org/d/gweirfa.html">Rhestr Termau Cymraeg</A> <LI> Information about Welsh distance learning is available at <A HREF="http://www.aber.ac.uk/~awcwww">Y Ganolfan Geltaidd</A>. <LI> Welsh language-learning information is available at <A HREF="http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/welsh_language">Suite101</A>. <LI> <A HREF="http://llyfrgell.cymraeg.org/">Llyfrgell Owen</A> is a library of on-line Welsh texts put together by Peter Littlechild, including a <A HREF="http://llyfrgell.cymraeg.org/concord/index.htm">concordance</A>. <LI> A 1,000,000-word lexical database of Welsh is available at <A TARGET=_top HREF="http://www.bangor.ac.uk/ar/cb/ceg/ceg_eng.html">Cronfa Electroneg o Gymraeg</A>. <LI> A web site for professional Welsh translators is hosted by <A HREF="http://www.cyfieithwyrcymru.org.uk/default_cymraeg.asp">Cymdeithas Cyfieithwyr Cymru</A> (but it's in Welsh). <BR><LI> <zz>Már készül a magyar fordítása az oldalnak!:<A HREF="http://drkazmer.fw.hu">http://drkazmer.fw.hu</A> </UL> <H3><A NAME="Sources about Middle Welsh">Sources about Middle Welsh</A></H3> <UL> <LI> There is a course book on <A HREF="http://www.flash.net/~joanmorg/rmw">Reading Middle Welsh</A> by the late Gareth Morgan. <LI> There is another site on <A TARGET=_top HREF="http://www.digitalmedievalist.com/faqs/medwelsh.html">Learning Medieval Welsh</A>. <LI> There is a <A TARGET=_top HREF="http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~klausner/2050RL.html">Middle Welsh bibliography</A>. </UL> <H2><A NAME="What's New">What's New</A></H2> <DL COMPACT> <DT><I><A NAME="6/2003">6/2003</A></I><DD> </DL> <UL> <LI> Added 41 new words/expressions to the Welsh-English lexicon. <LI> Fixed alphabetization (and other) problems with English-Welsh lexicon. <LI> Made a minor correction and clarification in Lesson 1. <LI> Added the recommendation on listening to Welsh Folk music. <LI> Added the following links: <UL> <LI> <A HREF="http://www.sain.wales.com">Sain Records</A> <LI> <A HREF="http://www.bbc.co.uk/learnwelsh">Learn Welsh</A> <LI> <A HREF="http://www.bbc.co.uk/storyofwelsh">history of the Welsh language</A> <LI> <A HREF="http://www.welshtraditionalmusic.com">Welsh traditional music</A> <LI> <A HREF="http://www.walesontheweb.org">Wales on the Web</A> and <A HREF="http://www.cymruarywe.org">Cymru ar y We</A> <LI> <A HREF="http://www.worldwidewales.tv/index2.php">World Wide Wales</A> <LI> Link to the Hungarian language translation of this Web site </UL> </UL> <DL COMPACT> <DT><I><A NAME="2/2003">2/2003</A></I><DD> </DL> <UL> <LI> Got rid of dead links and added many more useful ones. <LI> Substantial additions to the lexicons (almost 3200 new entries for Welsh-English). <LI> Added "Attempt translations" option to searching lexicon. <LI> Fixed several typos and mistakes. <LI> Revised "About the Author". </UL> <HR> <DIV CLASS="buttons"><BUTTONS><FONT SIZE=-1><TABLE BGCOLOR=#aaffaa BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=2 CELLSPACING=4> <TR><TD ALIGN=CENTER> <A TARGET=_top HREF="./Welsh.html" TARGET="_top">Top</A><TD ALIGN=CENTER> <A TARGET=_top HREF="Bibliography.html" TARGET="_top">Previous</A><TD ALIGN=CENTER> <A TARGET=_top HREF="AboutAuthor.html" TARGET="_top">Next</A><TD ALIGN=CENTER> <A TARGET=_top HREF="TOC.html" TARGET="_top">Contents</A><TD ALIGN=CENTER> <A TARGET=_top HREF="LexiconForms.html" TARGET="_top">Lexicon</A><TD ALIGN=CENTER> <A TARGET=_top HREF="./Glossary.html" TARGET="_top">Glossary</A><TD ALIGN=CENTER> <A TARGET=_top HREF="./Index.html" TARGET="_top">Index</A><TD ALIGN=CENTER> <A HREF="mailto:Mark.Nodine@mot.com">Comment</A> </TABLE> </FONT></BUTTONS></DIV> </BODY> <HR><I><ADDRESS><A HREF=mailto:Mark.Nodine@mot.com>Mark.Nodine@mot.com</A> -- Mark H Nodine,visitor</ADDRESS> <ADDRESS>15 June 2003 at 4:16:59</ADDRESS></I>