Working Welsh

A Guide to the Mechanics of the Language

Gareth King

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN:
  9780367209933
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780429559730
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Working Welsh offers a new approach to building up and consolidating learners' fluency and confidence, focusing on the mechanics – the words and phrases that build and drive sentences and make them fit together.

200 Welsh words and phrases are listed alphabetically, explained in clear and accessible language, and given ample exemplification to illustrate their meaning and use. All instances of mutation are marked with the usual typographic signs, and cross-references are given throughout to related entries. Grammatical appendices and an English index round off the manual.

Working Welsh is an innovative resource for post-beginner students wishing to explore and master the principal discourse-drivers in modern spoken and standard Welsh.

Alphabetical entries 1–200

1 a° (particle)

Unlike the word a^h and (which is so easy that it doesn’t need an entry here - te a ^h choffi tea and coffee – what more is there to say about it?) this little particle is often not even heard in normal speech, though the SM that follows it always is – so we could think of it as (a)°. At the start of a sentence, it makes the verb immediately following into a question. So for example Collodd hi She lost, but A °gollodd hi? Did she lose? – more usually just °Gollodd hi? Similarly Dôn nhw They will come, but A °ddôn nhw? Will they come? – more usually just °Ddôn nhw?

• (A) °ddylen ni °ddweud wrtho am yr hyn naethon nhw?
• Should we tell him about what they did?
• (A) °fydden nhw’n °fodlon cyfaddawdu, ti’n meddwl?
• Would they be willing to compromise, do you think?

Two other particles that can jump in front of the verb at the start of the sentence are → 58 fe° and → 112 mi° – go and have a look at them now.

A° is also used for indirect questions, in which case it corresponds to English if, and appears in the middle of the sentence.

• Rhaid inni °ofyn (a) °fydd hyn yn °ddigon
• We have to ask if this will be enough
• Cer i °ofyn iddo (a) ydy’r bwyd yn °barod
• Go and ask him if the food is ready
• Dwn ’im (a) °fasai Sioned yn teimlo’n euog am hynna
• I don’t know if Sioned would feel guilty about that

Note that, by influence of English, many speakers use → 140 os in these examples – Rhaid inni °ofyn os bydd…, Cer i °ofyn iddo os ydy’r bwyd…, Dwn ’im os basai Sioned… – but strictly speaking this is incorrect, and (a)° is, to say the least, much better style, even if it is not pronounced and leaves only the mutation.

2 a° (relative)

Like → 1 a°, this identically pronounced word precedes a verb and is often dropped in speech, leaving only the SM to indicate its presence – so we could think of this also as (a)°. But in this case, the verb is always further down the sentence, and the meaning of this a° is who or which (/that), not as a question (for that you need → 149 pwy and → 141 pa°) but as a relative – sentences like This is the idiot who hit my car, We need an option that suits everybody. Simple really, then – you put the a° in front of the verb exactly where the who/which/that goes in English.

• Ŷn ni angen rhywun (a) °fydd ar °gael trwy’r dydd yfory
• We need someone who will be available all day tomorrow
• Y °bobol (a) oedd yn y stafell aros
• The people who were in the waiting room
• Mae’r rhai (a) °gyrhaeddodd yn °gynnar wedi mynd i’w hystafe­lloedd yn °barod
• Those who arrived early have gone to their rooms already
• Llyfr (a) ysgrifennwyd mewn dicter
• A book (which was) written in anger
• Dyma’r twpsyn (a) °darodd ⁿ nghar i
• This is the idiot who hit my car
• Sefyllfa (a) °ddaw’n °fwy eglur gydag amser, gobeithio
• A situation that will hopefull...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• List of entries
• Alphabetical entries 1–200
• Appendix 1 – that-clauses
• Appendix 2 – i-clauses
• Appendix 3 – mutations
• Appendix 4 – endings
• Essential grammatical terms
• Index