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Post by samwiseg on Mar 21, 2021 11:56:15 GMT
Makes you wonder criswell why teachers thought that physical abuse was the right way to deal with discipline?! I just don't know! We used to have a teacher throw a board rubber at us if we were misbehaving...luckily I was never near to the culprit when it was thrown but apparently it really hurt. Was not long after when teachers were told not to use that sort of behaviour as they would be repored. I too think that sounded fun jellybean having earphones and speaking French! I would have loved it!!! We always had to go into Ms Porti's office individually to be given our French oral exam...we used to call her Ms Pork Pie much to her annoyance lol!!!
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Post by criswell on Mar 19, 2022 13:25:26 GMT
It's just over a year since I started this thread and I'm still learning Welsh. I can't say that I can speak it very well, and I still can't understand welsh spoken quickly but I can pick up parts of the conversation when the neighbours are talking in the garden. My Welsh reading and writing are a bit better than speaking but there are still so many words that I don't know. According to Duolingo I've learn 1810 Welsh words but I don't think I can even remember half of them. I can't say everything I want to as I don't know the word for it.
I had a nice message of encouragement when I started the latest section of the Duolingo course which congratulated me for completing the equivalent of both entry level and foundation level welsh courses. I don't feel like I remember very much of it but I expect it is in there somewhere.
Dw i'n mwynhau dysgu Cymraeg! ( I like learning Welsh)
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Post by ariella on Mar 19, 2022 21:48:52 GMT
Well done for persevering criswell. I hated learning languages at school but I taught myself some rudimentary Italian in my mid-teens and used it in letters to two Italian pen-pals. It was the only language that I was interested in and having studied French and Spanish at school, I found it pretty easy to pick up and still remember the odd word and phrase here and there. I think it’s so nice that Welsh is still taught and spoken as is Gaelic in Ireland and Scotland. I don’t like the thought of native languages dying out. I think Cornish has some similarities to Welsh - not that I speak it! I’m fascinated by ancient Briton languages still existing.
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Post by criswell on Mar 19, 2022 23:54:08 GMT
Thanks ariella . I didn't like languages at school either as I didn't like speaking in class even in English, but I didn't mind the reading and writing parts and I did manage to pass GCSE french. Are you Cornish? I've heard other people say that Welsh and Cornish are similar. I just did a quick google search and there definitely are similarities. Welsh for cat is cath and Cornish is Kath. There is no K in Welsh as all Cs are prounced hard. Duolingo doesn't have Cornish as one of it's languages yet. I find the different letters in Welsh interesting. There is no k, q, v, x or z but despite these missing ones the welsh alphabet has 29 letter. J is only used for welsh spellings of english words like garej and jiraff. The extra letters are ch, dd, ff, ll, ng, ph, rh, and th. The v sound in welsh is the letter f. k and q are replaced by c, x by cs and z usually by s. Si is used instead of j in words like Japan - Siapan. Also u is pronouced like i, y is pronouned u and w is a vowel pronounced like u A lot of Welsh is totally strange, especially the letters that mutate to other ones. The welsh word for Cardiff is Caerdydd but if you say in Cardiff it changes to yng nghaerdydd. It is a very curious language.
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Post by Hezz on Mar 20, 2022 1:07:10 GMT
Fascinating, criswell. I’ve been watching a crime/police show called Hinterland and interesting to see all signs with both the Welsh and English versions. The combination of letters in the Welsh language, I couldn’t even begin to understand how they are pronounced.
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Oct 6, 2011 7:41:27 GMT
Marianne Marlow
Administrator
George, Daisy, Iris, Billy, Peter, Chipper, Dinku, Barney, Ayla and Rocky
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Post by Marianne Marlow on Mar 20, 2022 9:44:08 GMT
criswell is there no K,Q,X or Z in the Welsh language? Sorry if that is a silly question
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Post by ariella on Mar 20, 2022 14:53:06 GMT
That’s really interesting criswell. I’ve read a bit about The Mabinogion as I love anything medieval and I’m drawn to pre-Christian Celtic Mythology, so I’m aware a little of some pronunciations. I have a few ‘ Green Men’ and Goddess garden plaques that I love to get from a shop in Tintern and I always make sure I can pronounce their names properly such as Taliesin and Bedwyr. I’m not Cornish but am in the Westcountry and on the local news the Cornish desire to become independent again crops up at least once a year. I prefer the legend of King Mark, Tristan and Isolde over the links of King Arthur with Cornwall. I link King Arthur much more with Glastonbury and Wales/Anglesey. I find it so interesting that there are still a few who can speak the Cornish language when it is not taught in schools. I hated speaking up in school too; even if I knew answers I didn’t put my hand up and would be horrified if asked to read aloud or give a presentation. I’m not worried in the least about talking in front of people now and teaching has been a joy to me as I am sure to you also, but that was a key reason for hating languages in school.
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Post by criswell on Mar 21, 2022 0:55:07 GMT
Marianne Marlow there really is no K, Q, X or Z! Hezz I think it's great that you are watching Hinterland. I've not watched it but will catch up with it one day. Until I started learning Welsh most of the words I knew were learnt from Welsh road signs. It can get a bit confusing for drivers who are new to Wales as it seems like they are different places. Pronunciation is so tricky especially for ll and ch, and I'm sure it must be easier for people who have a welsh accent. I don't think I'll ever master the pronunciation properly. One of my favourite road sign words is Archfarchnad which means supermarket. As well as bilingual road signs, all our mail from the council and the Welsh government is in both languages. My brother has a weird story of getting lost while driving in Wales. He come to Wales to pick up a car for a customer and got lost. A driver stopped to ask if he could help and said he was show my brother the way, but instead my brother ended up at the man's farm where he tried to sell him cheese! I guess that's one way to get customers. And my brother was even more lost as a result. ariella I feel I should no more celtic mythology. I've read some of the Mabinogion in English. The story I remember most is of Blodeuwedd. She was created from flowers by a magicians and to be the wife of someone who could not take a human wife. She has an affair and conspires with her lover to kill her husband. They don't succeed and one of the magicians turns her in to an Owl. Alan Garner used the story as inspiration for his novel The Owl Service which is good read. I also think it's nice that there are some Cornish speakers. I think I read somewhere that there is about 2000 of them. Welsh lessons are compulsory in schools but most students don't take it seriously and few of them become fluent Welsh speakers.
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Oct 6, 2011 7:41:27 GMT
Marianne Marlow
Administrator
George, Daisy, Iris, Billy, Peter, Chipper, Dinku, Barney, Ayla and Rocky
Posts: 28,733
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Post by Marianne Marlow on Mar 21, 2022 14:20:43 GMT
criswell I had no idea that we didn't share an alphabet with the Welsh How odd. I'm not good with languages. They taught us French in school but no one paid any attention and most people dropped the subject as soon as they could. I tried French and German in later life but I just don't pick these things up.
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Post by criswell on Mar 21, 2022 15:12:40 GMT
I'm not natural at languages either Marianne Marlow but I am enjoying the challenge! I like the fact there is no pressure on my Welsh - no exams or anything, and I get to work at my own pace. That is much better than in school. As well as the different alphabet, there are also lots of accents in welsh like in french. It makes typing in welsh a bit of a nuisance but I have now found the extended keyboard option for Welsh that has shortcuts for accents. This is definitely the most enjoyable language learning experience I've had.
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Post by Hezz on Mar 22, 2022 0:35:34 GMT
criswell, only two seasons so far, but have enjoyed them. It will probably take a while before the others are available.
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Post by criswell on Mar 22, 2022 22:59:45 GMT
Hezz I think there are 3 seasons in all.
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Post by Hezz on Mar 23, 2022 0:27:12 GMT
Hezz I think there are 3 seasons in all. And a fourth to happen, I hope! I do like a good British whodunnit. There is a Canadian Hinterland as well, not to be confused with, which does have a fourth season showing on Netflix.
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Post by criswell on Mar 25, 2022 23:42:09 GMT
Hezz we don't know if there will be a 4th season. It hasn't been cancelled but the BBC has said it's going to make another series either. I mentioned to my mum that you were watching it. She hasn't seen it either but she has Netflix so I think she is going to watch it. I don't have netflix and that's the only way to watch it in the uk at the moment so I will wait to see if there is a rerun on TV. What other British series have you watched Hezz?
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Post by Hezz on Mar 26, 2022 0:37:15 GMT
Hezz we don't know if there will be a 4th season. It hasn't been cancelled but the BBC has said it's going to make another series either. I mentioned to my mum that you were watching it. She hasn't seen it either but she has Netflix so I think she is going to watch it. I don't have netflix and that's the only way to watch it in the uk at the moment so I will wait to see if there is a rerun on TV. What other British series have you watched Hezz? Love Wire in the Blood, Silent Witness. Was a big fan of The Bill when it was on. I’ve read all the Vera and Shetland books but don’t mind watching them even so. What else?? … Manhunt, one season of Pembrokeshire Murders (there was a second but it has moved on, I think). I have a couple of others that I’ve written down to watch, can’t think of the names right now. I’m sure there have been others, but can’t think of any. Any recommendations that I could keep an eye out for?
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