Pronouncing
Welsh Place Names
Place Names | Signs
| Useful Words and Phrases
Just a little understanding of Welsh place names could
save you from taking a wrong turn, and it will bring the map to
life, especially as most Welsh place names are largely descriptive.
Apart from a few vowels that are slightly different
from English, Welsh is a more or less a phonetic language, you pronounce
it as it looks. Don't get put off by the long list of vowels and
consonants, once you've understood the few rules it is easy.
It may help you to pronounce names if you remember
that the emphasis in Welsh is usually on the penultimate syllable. For
example, Caernarfon (kyre-nar-von), Beddgelert
(beth-gell-airt),
Llanberis (thlan-ber-ris),
Felindre (veh-lin-dray).
Welsh has a slightly different alphabet from English
– I've listed the differences below:-
C
- pronounced as a K, as in English 'kick' eg:
Caernarfon (kyre-nar-von).
CH
- pronounced as in the Scottish 'loch' and the composer Bach.
DD
- pronounced TH, as in English 'breathe' eg:
Beddgelert (beth-gell-airt).
G
- pronounced as a hard G, as in English 'get'
eg: Beddgelert (beth-gell-airt).
LL
- roughly pronounced THL eg: Llanberis
(thlan-ber-ris)
F
- pronounced as a V, as in English 'of' eg: Felindre
(veh-lin-dray).
FF
- pronounced as an F, as in English 'off' eg:
FFestiniog (fest-in-yog).
W
- pronounced as an OO, as in English 'swoon'
eg: Llanrwst (thlan-roost).
Y
- has two different pronunciations. In all but the last syllable
of a word it's pronounced as a U - as in
English 'fun'. When it is in the last syllable of a word it is
pronounced as an i - as in English 'is'.
For example, the Welsh for mountain is mynydd
(mun-ith); the Welsh for mountains is mynyddoedd
(mun-uth-oith). Because it no longer occurs in the last
syllable, the sound of the second y changes from
'i' to 'u' (also, notice the emphasis moves along to the
new penultimate syllable). In single syllable words, the Y
is unpredictable!
Welsh Place Names:-
Welsh place names are largely descriptive, eg: Mynydd
Bach - small mountain. A good example of this is the famous:-
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Which roughly translates as:-
The Church of St. Mary by the pool with the white
hazel near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio's church and the red
cave.
The actual name of the village is Llanfairpwllgwyngyll
and is locally abbreviated to Llanfair PG (well wouldn't you). A
Victorian publicity stunt landed the villagers with the long name.
If you really want to show off by learning how to pronounce it,
try this:-
thlann vyre pooth gwinn gith gogg-erra kweern
drobbooth lann tuss-ill-yo goggo gauk.
The following list of place name elements might help
make your map reading a little easier. (This list is just to start
you off, it is not comprehensive).
| Welsh
| Meaning
| Example
| Rough Pronunciation
|
| aber
| river mouth
| Aberdaron
| abb-er-darron
|
| afon
| river
| Afon Dee
| avv-on dee
|
| bach, fach
| small
| Felinfach
| velin-vach
|
| bont, pont
| bridge
| Pontnewydd
| pont-neh-with
|
| bwlch
| gap, pass
| Bwlch
| boolch
|
| carreg
| stone
| Carreg Samson
| karregg samson
|
| cefn
| ridge
| Cefn-coed
| kevenn-koid
|
| coch
| red
| Castell Coch
| kass-teth koch
|
| coed
| wood
| Cefn-coed
| kevenn-koid
|
| cwm
| valley
| Cwmfelin-fach
| koom-velin-vach
|
| dinas
| fort, city
| Dinas Emrys
| dinnass emm-riss
|
| du
| black
| Cwmdu
| koom-dee
|
| eglwys
| church
| Eglwyswrw
| egg-lewis-oorroo
|
| fawr, mawr
| big
| Fforest Fawr
| forest vowr (rhymes with hour)
|
| felin, melin
| mill
| Felinfach
| velin-vach
|
| croes, groes
| cross
| Croesgoch
| croiss-goch
|
| llan
| church lands
| Llanwrtyd
| thlan-ooer-tid
|
| llyn
| lake
| Llyn Brianne
| thlin bree-annay
|
| maes
| field
| Maesteg
| mise-teg
|
| mynydd
| mountain
| Mynydd Bach
| munnith bach
|
| pen
| top
| Pen-y-bont
| pen-a-bont
|
| pistyll
| waterfall
| Pistyll Rhaeadr
| pistith rye-adder
|
| rhyd
| ford
| Rhydfelen
| reed-vellen
|
Signs in Welsh:-
| Welsh
| Meaning
| Rough Pronunciation
|
| ARAF
| SLOW
| arav
|
| Dim mynediad
| No entry
| dim munned-yad
|
| Dim ...
| No ...
| dim ...
|
| Lôn
| lane
| lonn
|
| Ffordd
| road
| forth
|
| Llwybr Cyhoeddus
| Public Footpath
| thlooy-beer kahoy-this
|
| Cymru
| Wales
| kumm-ri
|
| Gwesty
| Hotel
| gwesty
|
| Siôp
| Shop
| shop
|
| Swyddfa'r Post
| Post Office
| sooeethva post
|
| Gorsaf
| Station
| gorsav
|
| Heddlu
| Police
| hethlee
|
| Ysbyty
| Hospital
| uss-butty
|
| Traeth
| Beach
| trye-th
|
| Toiledau
| Toilets
| toy-led-eye
|
| Merched
| Ladies
| mair-kedd
|
| Dynion
| Gentlemen
| dunny-onn
|
Useful Welsh Words &
Phrases:-
| English
| Welsh
| Rough Pronunciation
|
| thanks
| diolch
| dee-olck
|
| thanks very much
| diolch yn fawr
| dee-olck unn vowr
|
| please
| plis
| please
|
| OK
| iawn
| yown (rhymes with gown)
|
| good morning
| bore da
| bor-er dah
|
| good afternoon
| prynhawn da
| prin-hown dah
|
| good evening
| noswaith dda
| noss-wythe-ah
|
| good night
| nos da
| noss dah
|
| hello
| helo
| hello
|
| cheerio, goodbye
| hwyl
| who-ill
|
| currant bread
| bara brith
| barrah breeth
|
| leek soup
| cawl cennin
| cowl kennin
|
Foot-note:
If you think that Welsh is unpronounceable, then think on. In fact
English is one of the most unphonetic languages. For instance the
English '...ough' can be pronounced 10 different ways:- through,
though, thought, tough, cough, borough, bough, hiccough, lough (pronounced
'och' as in loch), and hough ('ock'). The last is fairly archaic,
but it does appear in the 1995 Concise Oxford Dictionary.
Apologies to Welsh speakers if I
have taken a few liberties with the pronunciations. I have tried
to keep it as simple as possible. | 
