Beginner's Welsh, Welsh with English Translations

[gwenynen]

PhD yn Gymraeg!!!

Dw i ddim yn credu y mod i'n dysgu iaith arall. Dw i'n dysgu Cymraeg achos mod i'n lyfio Cymru. Hoffwn i dim ond wella hi. Ac hoffwn i fynd i Gymru un ddiwrnod. --- I don't think I'll learn another language. I'm learning Welsh because I love Wales. I just want to improve it. And I want to go to Wales one day.

[Siarls]

Wel, fi'n croesawu ti ar unrhyw adeg!
Well, I welcome you anytime!

[gwenynen]

Diolch, Siarls.

[Siarls]

Fi newydd fod yn gwylio'r rhaglen ar BBC 2W (teledu digidol dros Gymru) o enw Star Spangled Dragon. Roedd yn ddiddorol iawn achos ei bod hi'n sôn am hanes Cymry yn yr Unol Daleithiau. Os ti'n gallu ffeindio'r siawns... rhaid ei gwylio hi! Allet ti'n gwylio rhaglenni Prydeinig ar y we? Shwd oeddet ti'n gallu gwylio The Big Welsh Challenge yn America?

I was just watching a programme on BBC 2W (digital television for Wales) called Star Spangled Dragon. It was absolutely fascinating because it was about the history of the Welsh in the United States. If you can find the chance... you have to watch it! Can you watch British programmes on the internet? How did you manage to watch The Big Welsh Challenge in America?

[gwenynen]

Alla i ddim, yn anffodus. Gwelais i The Big Welsh Challenge ar BBC Learn Welsh. Roedd y sgrin mor fach! --- I can't, unfortunately. I watched The Big Welsh Challenge on BBC Learn Welsh. The screen was so small!

O'n nhw wedi sôn am Fadog yn y raglen oeddet ti'n gwilio? --- Did they mention Madog in the program you watched?

[Siarls]

ARGH I JUST TYPED SOMETHING FOR HERE AND DELETED BY MISTAKE!!!!!! ARRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH
Stupid computers.

Here are the main points of what I said:

1. Roedd y rhaglen yn sôn am Gymry cyfoes a'u cyndadau.
2. Roedd cwpl o frawddegau am Madog.
3. Yn ôl y rhaglen, roedd y Saeson yn meddwl bod yr Americanwyr Brodorol yn impiau'r Cymry. Mae rhai o eiriau Cymraeg mewn yr ieithoedd Americanaidd brodorol hefyd, cofia.

1. The programme was about the contemporary Welsh and their ancestors.
2. There were a couple of sentences about Madog.
3. According to the programme, the English though that the native Americans were descendents of the Welsh. There are even some Welsh words in the native American languages.

[gwenynen]

Wnes i hnny o'r blaen hefyd. --- I've done that before too.

Mae'r rhaglen (isn't it 'raglen' after the definite article as rhaglen is a feminin singular noun?) yn sw^n yn ddiddorol iawn. Dw i ddim yn siw^r os alla i ddweud y holl bethau yn Gymraeg. Bydda i'n ceisio! --- The program sounds very interesting. I'm not sure if I can say everything in Welsh. I'll try!

Darllenais i lyfr am Fadog sy' wedi dod o Gymru i Alabama. Clawais i am Lwyth Mandan yn yr Americanwyr Brodorol sy' wedi siarad Cymraeg ers talwm hefyd. Mae rhai yn dweud bod Llwyth Cherokee yn defnyddio rhai geiriau Cymraeg o hyd. --- I read a book about Madog who came to Alabama from Wales (in either 11th or 6th century depending on the different historians.) I also heard about Mandan American Indian Tribe who spoke Welsh a long time ago. Some say Cherokee Tribe still uses some Welsh words.

Wel, fel mae'n digwydd, dw i'n byw yn y Brifddinas Genedl Cherokee. Es i i'r llyfrgell heddiw i weld os alla i ffeindio rywbeth diddorol am yr iaith. (Does dim llawer o bobl sy'n ei siarad hi.) --- Well, as it happens, I live in the Capital of Cherokee Nation. I went to the library today to see if I can find something interesting about the language. (There are not too many people who speak it.)

Dyma fe:

Me-li da-wa-to-a (I'm Mary.)
o-s-da (good)
ka-no-gi-s-di (a song)
a-yv ni-ga-da (all of us)

Note the style of conjugation, not individual words:
a-qua-dv (I know)
u-na-dv (he/she knows, they know)
i-ga-dv (we know)

"In Cherokee, personal pronouns are attached to the verb and change according to sounds found in the verb."

Wel, beth wyt ti'n meddwl am hyn? --- Well, what do you think of this?

I'm not a linguist so I can't say much. But these things sound rather familiar... Some say the story of Madog is treated as a legend in USA because the officials don't want to re-write the history. But if you look at the facts including the remains of Welsh style forts, I say Madog came to America long before Columbus.

[Siarls]

'Na ni - 'na diddorol! Fi'n shwr taw Cymry wedi cyrraedd yn America cyn Columbus, ond sai'n shwr os fi'n gallu deall be ti'n dweud am y Cherokee.
There we are - how interesting! I'm sure that Welshmen did arrive in America before Columbus, but I'm not sure I understand what you're saying about the Cherokee.

Gyda llaw, sai'n shwr bod ti'n gallu dweud fel mae'n digwydd. Does dim camgymeriad, ond dydy e ddim yn naturiol. Dyma'r mynegiant newydd iti, Gwenynen.
a dweud y gwir
Hwwna'n dda iawn achos bod e'n mynegu cysyniadau ffaith.

By the way, I'm not sure if you can say fel mae'n digwydd. There isn't a mistake, but it's not natural. Here's a new expression for you.
a dweud y gwir (people often say a d'eud y gwir)
It's excellent because it expresses concepts of fact, e.g.
actually
in point of fact
as it happens
to tell the truth
in fact
indeed
as a matter of fact
if truth be told

[gwenynen]

O, na! A dweud y gwir, dw i newydd ddysgu "fel mae'n digwydd" yn "Modern Welsh" gan Gareth King. Ro'n i'n meddwl, "Dyma fy nghyfle i ddefnyddio'r mynegiant!"

--- Actually, I just learned "fel mae'n digwydd" in "Modern Welsh" by Gareth King. I thought, "Here is my chance to use the expression!"

[Siarls]

Wel, mae'n iawn. Ond dyn ni ddim yn dweud e fan hon yn Nyffryn Lliw. Falle bod nhw'n defnyddio e yng Nghaerdydd neu yn y Gogeledd, ond nid yma. Sut bynnag, hoffwn i ddweud bod fi'n lico dy ddefnydd A dweud y gwir!!! Da iawn ti!

It's correct, but we don't say it here in the Lliw Valley. Maybe they use it in Cardiff or in the North, but not here. However, I would like to say that I like your use of A dweud y gwir!!! Well done!

[Antwn]

Caf i ymuno yn eich sgwrs? Does neb yn manteisio ar y bwrdd arall yn Gymraeg. Mae'r drafodaeth am y Cherokee yn ddiddorol iawn. Mae sawl iaith Americanaidd brodorol yn defnyddio'r un sw^n â "ll" yn Gymraeg sef y teulu Athabascan gan gynnwys y Navajo, Tlingit ac Apache er enghraifft. Gallen nhw gynnwys geiriau Cymraeg hefyd hyd i gwn i. Hyd yn oed wrth y dechreuad yr enw Tlingit yw'r sw^n "ll" am y llythrennau "Tl". Dw i wedi clywed yr ieithoedd 'ma ar y radio, teledu ac ar ffilmiau. Mae hyn wedi bod darganfyddiad syn i mi. Ar un ffilm yr oedd rhai actwyr wedi cael eu hastudio Apache. Dywedodd eu hathrawes wrthyn nhw y byddai'r sw^n yn anodd i siaradwyr y Saesneg. Wrth wrando iddyn nhw wneud y sw^n "ll", cofiais y dyddiau gynta fy mod yn ceisio'r sw^n fy hunan. Roeddwn i wedi ymarfer o hyd ac o hyd.

May I join your conversation? No one is taking advantage of the other board in Welsh. The conversation about the Cherokee is very interesting. There are several native American languages using the same sound as "ll" in Welsh namely the Athabascan family including Navajo, Tlingit and Apache for example. They could include Welsh words too as far as I know. Even at the beginning of the name Tlingit is the sound "ll" for the letters "Tl". I have heard these on the radio, TV and on films. This has been a surprising discovery for me. On one film some actors had been studying Apache. Their teacher told them that the sound would be difficult for English speakers. While listening to them make the "ll" sound, I remembered the first days that I tried the sound myself. I had practiced over and over.

Antwn

[Antwn]

Dw i wedi ffeindio rhywbeth yn ddiddorol. Edrywch ar y wefan isod


http://www.languagegeek.com/siouan/mandan_..._not_welsh.html


Antwn

[gwenynen]

Helo Antwn. Dw i'n falch iawn dy fod di'n ymuno â ni. --- Antwn, I'm very glad you're joining us.

Gwelais i restr wahanol o eiriau Cymraeg a Mandan mewn llyfr am Madog. Yn wir, mae rhai geiriau Cymraeg yn debyg i eiriau Mandan. Dwedodd y Cymro ar y we ddim am gaerau Cymreig chwaith. --- I saw a different list of Welsh and Mandan words in a book about Madog. Really, some Welsh words are similar to Mandan words. The Welshman didn't talk about Welsh forts either.

I'm getting so sleepy that I have to say the rest in English. According to the book, there are some remains of Welsh style forts in nothern Alabama. I borrowed this book from the library a long time ago, so I can't remember the details. But it seems like the Welshman avoided mentioning them and those words.

What you wrote about other American Indian tribes was so interesting.

Rhaid i mi fynd i'r gwely nawr! Nos da. --- I have to go to bed now. Good-night.

[Siarls]

Rhaid imi dweud mod i'n sgeptig o gysylltiadau rhwng Cymraeg ac iethoedd Americanaidd brodorol.

Weithiau, fi'n ffeindio e'n anodd i gredu bod cysylltiadau rhwng Gaeleg/Gwyddeleg a Chymraeg!

[gwenynen]

Allai ddim ddweud pa farn yn iawn. Darllenais dim ond un lyfr am y pwnc. --- I can't say what opinion is right. I only read one book about the subject.

Yn ôl y llyfr, cwrddodd rhywyn (sy'n siarad Cymraeg) o Byddin Americanaidd â pennaeth Americaniaidd brodorol. Ac dechreuodd y pennaeth yn siarad Cymraeg. --- According to the book, someone (who spoke Welsh) from American Army met a native American chief. And the chief started speaking Welsh.

I can't remember if it was 18th or 19th century.

Rhaid i mi fenthyca y llyfr eto. --- I have to borrow the book again.