Pronouncing Welsh Place
Names
Welsh 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 is small mountain (Mynydd = mountain, Bach = small).
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.
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