It took me a while to get my tongue around the pronunciation of this lovely old fashioned seaside town in Wales. Aberystwyth. I’m still not sure that I’ve got the rhythm right. With each new road sign announcing a town, river or place, we tried to pronounce Welsh, and ended up tongue-tied and in awe of this Celtic language that has survived so well in this corner of English speaking Britain. Do the Welsh play scrabble and how much are the vowels worth?
ALMOST ITALIAN 
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/sep/24/scrabble-yn-gymraeg-the-board-game-no-one-wants-to-buy
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great link….
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Great link Simon, many thanks for this.
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The vowels are worth 1 point each , as in other languages. It’s popular with Welsh learners, but perhaps it hasn’t really caught on with 1st language speakers. Siop y Pethe might have a set on sale
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Oh only 1 point each and yet so rare? I thought I noticed an A with a bigger number on it- it was in a guardian picture of the set. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/sep/24/scrabble-yn-gymraeg-the-board-game-no-one-wants-to-buy
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1 point letters are not rare ones and vowels are not rare in Welsh! Welsh has 7 vowels, aeiouw&y. The ‘A’ in the Guardians picture has a diaeresis, so it’s not a Welsh scrabble letter
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Thanks for the explanation.
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I remember Siop Y pethe – used to sell CDs of welsh bands too
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Welsh bands- bring them on.
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do you remember bob delyn a’r ebillion?
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Can’t say I do.
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did a great version of that lovely song dacw nhgariad
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Are you English-speaking or Italian speaking? The ssounds are slightly easier from English
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I speak English and Italian. The sounds don’t make any sense at all to me. Love it though.
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They are not that bad. Not compared with Georgian anyway! Just remember that W is not W, it’s a vowel
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I only know the basics but I can help pronounce things etc and say basic phrases. se preferisci possiamo parlare anche in italiano. The Welsh people love their language even though for most of them it is a second language.
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I love this. Very creative. Scrabble? That’s something to ponder. I think I might supplest a stroll to that beautiful seaside to a Welch friend. Enjoy your day, Francesca.
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It’s a fine place for a stroll along a cool promenade.
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Scrabble, indeed! I tried so hard to pronounce Welsh words properly, out of respect, but it was certainly challenging! And I thought German was tough!
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Makes German look like a piece of cake.
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Sorry – Youtube link isn’t working
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Well, I received it fine on a Sat morning in Australia. Hugely enjoyable – the funny thing to my ear is that in spite of how words are spelled I can hear plenty of vowel sounds: a musical language for certain 🙂 !!
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Ha, ha! I only spent one day in Cardiff about 30 years ago and the unpronounceable words on the street signs are the thing I remember the most.
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No wonder the Welsh have been able to stay fairly separate, the language is a natural barrier. It is taught in schools, alongside English. Love that this language always comes first.
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Funny, everyone is chasing me back to Wales today and reviving memories of our only visit. Loved it.
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Thanks Colonialist. it’s a fine place.
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Welsh scrabble points – 10 points for I & 0 for Y
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using K in modern welsh practically impossible. don’t know if you can use Mediaeval orthography
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Interesting point Simon. I think a Scottish Gaelic version of scrabble would have plenty of use for a K.
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I don’t think it is in their alphabet? I tried learning that once – ended up giving the course to a friend!
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Plenty of l and y’s in the language- maybe they’re only worth 1. A few people have posted Welsh scrabble links, bless them.
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I love the singsong intonation of the language and the accent Welsh speakers carry into English, but the language is tongue tying for the likes of me. It’s a beautiful part of the world
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It is stunning Sandra: I know I must return.
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These are really striking photos. I particularly like the second one.
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Thank you kindly.
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Sadly have never made it to Wales tho’ everything about it is so attractive to me . . . especially the talents of the natives for choral singing. Have looked up the pronunciation a few times and laughed reading the scrabble link! Must try again . . . Welsh is the language of consonants and my native Estonian one of vowels . . . no x, y, z, q, c, w and a few others but lots of extra vowels with dots and wavy lines above which people in the rest of Europe also find difficult . . . so for me this is a huge ‘giggle’. Any more Welsh photos, Francesca ?
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Wales is more rural and wild than England, and I Ioved our three days here, just a taster for the future. I’ve had a few people comment that Welsh scrabble exists, and the letter ‘a’ is worth about 6 points. We had fun making up pronunciation along the way. Mouthfuls of sound. Yes, more welsh photos coming Eha.
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I live just down the road from Aberystwyth and yes, the Welsh do play Scrabble. Indeed, a friend of mine won the Welsh learners’ Scrabble Tournament a few years ago! There’s a bit about the letters and their values here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4308262.stm
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Thanks for that fascinating link. I’ll share it on my next Welsh post.
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Ask a good question, and someone will give a wonderful reply. I’m all ready for a game of Welsh Scrabble now, except maybe in ten years, when I’ve learnt a few words of Welsh.
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Wonderful post.. my dad spent his early years in Wales in a town called Pandy.
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