I first came to the Cwrs Cymraeg as a 16-year-old student interested in both language in general and my specific family history, since my dad's family immigrated from Wales. That year the course was in Alberta, Canada and to be honest, I was extremely nervous that I would be an outsider amongst old friends and fluent Welsh speakers. It turned out that I absolutely started as an outsider amongst long-time Cwrs Cymraeg attendees but I left, after just one short...
Dyma draethawd gan Glenson T. Jones, myfyriwr Cwrs Cymraeg Y Mileniwm yng Nghaerfyrddin. Ar y pryd, yn lefel 1 oedd o. Ond mae'n amlwg ei fod o wedi bod yn gweithio'n galed ar y Gymraeg. Dyma ei stori. Beth sydd yn ysgogi rhywun i chwilio am eu gwreiddiau? Rhyw deimlad bod rhywbeth wedi cael ei golli? Trio gweld os basa bywyd wedi bod yn wahanol petasai hyn a hyn wedi digwydd, neu ddim wedi digwydd? Neu efallai i'r rhai ohonon...
Many people with Welsh roots have attended a Gymanfa Ganu (a Welsh hymn singing festival). In this article, Alun Hughes, one of Cymdeithas Madog's longest serving teachers and frequent contributer on grammatical matters, has a look at gymanfas, cymanfaoedd and all sorts of other strange animals. The Origin Of The Species "Gymanfa Ganu" And Its Variants "You say tomayto, and I say tomahto, you say potayto and I say potahto." You know the problem. We Welsh have our own version,...
Besides being a frequent teacher on Cymdeithas Madog Welsh language weeks, Alun Hughes is also our resident grammarian. In this article, Alun explains how to perform the seemingly impossible: how to look up a word in a Welsh - English dictionary. It's a little like playing with fire. But if you follow Alun's tricks, you'll locate that word in next to no time. How to find words in a Welsh dictionary? Why, what could be easier? You just look them...
"Have" is one of the most difficult words to translate into Welsh. Here's some helpful advice by Alun Hughes, a frequent teacher on Cymdeithas Madog's Welsh language weeks. I remember once being teased by an English girl about the fact that certain Welsh words have more than one meaning. Glas was one she picked on, for amongst other things glas can mean blue, green or grey. 'Are you Taffies colour-blind?' she asked, her eyes of glas (being a Taffy I...
Diana Gehman has attended a countless number of Cymdeithas Madog Welsh courses over the years, and thus is very familiar with the dangers of mutations. Therefore, heed her warning! Mutations are one of the terrors of learning Welsh. Many of us have dealt with them for a number of years. Those of you who are beginning to study Welsh may have only touched lightly on the subject of mutations. What the teachers don't want you to know is that you...
Add some colour to your Welsh with some top-notch turns of phrases in this helpful article by Alun Hughes, a frequent teacher on Cymdeithas Madog's Welsh language weeks. Priod-dulliau / Idioms Don't be put off by the title, which I guess does sound rather dull, for in reality idioms are anything but dull. Indeed, idioms are fascinating, so read on. Idioms are those peculiarities of expression or phraseology, full of meaning (yet often meaningless when taken literally and commonly untranslateable...
Dyma stori fer am y detecif byd enwog Herciwl Pwaro. Cafodd y stori hon ei hysgrifennu yn enwedig i ddysgwyr gan Marta Weingartner Diaz. Mae Marta'n athrawes Gymraeg brofiadol ac mae hi wedi dysgu ar lawer o Gyrsiau Cymraeg Cymdeithas Madog dros y blynyddoedd. Wrth lwc roedd Hercule Poirot, y ditectif Belgaid enwog, yn aros yng Ngogledd Cymru pan ddigwyddodd y trasiedi yno. Onibai am hyn, basai'r dirgelwch hwn yn dal heb ei esbonio hyd heddiw. Ond gadewch if fynd...
Ellis Jones was in the beginner's class at Cwrs Cymraeg Iowa, 1997, when he penned the following verses (set to the tune "The Battle Hymn of the Republic") about the experience of learning Welsh. Give it a go. Verse 1: Mine eyes have seen the words of Cymru printed on the board They have been pronounced and spelled and sung with such accord We've learned the way to greet each other with a helping list of sentences and songs including...
Dyma stori enwog Hans Christian Anderson am y tywysoges a'r bysen. Cafodd y stori hon ei chyfieithu gan Marta Weingartner Diaz. Roedd unwaith, yn yr hen ddyddiau, dywysog hardd; roedd e eisiau priodi tywysoges, ond roedd rhaid iddi fod yn dywysoges go iawn. Teithiodd y tywysog felly trwy'r byd i gyd, yn chwilio am dywysoges wir, ond heb lwc. Roedd digon o dywysogesau i'w cael yn y byd, wrth gwrs, ond ai tywysogesau go iawn oedden nhw? Doedd y tywysog...
