What better way to celebrate Dydd Gwyl Dewi, than a little Welsh lesson of some useful phrases before your stay at Nant Awen?
So prepare to put another language down under "additional skills" on your CV because here are my "Top 5 phrases for a stay in Wales"
Introductions
May as well start off with introductions, you'll find "Helo" a grand place to start your Welsh speaking holiday, usually accompanied by a formal "Sut wyt ti?" How are you? or an informal "Ti'n ok?/Ti'n iawn?" You ok?
I'll take this moment also to point out that you have two pronoun options for "you"
"ti" is the informal option but if you were speaking to my grandmother you'd use "chi" (difficulty level 5) because you respect your elders, but most of all you respect my Nain*.
*grandmother
Desperate times
A good phrase to have at hand as you never know when you may need it: "Ble mae'r ty bach?" the direct translation being "Where is the little house?"
Which is a useful and delightful way of finding out where the toilet is.
(If this was any sort of decent Welsh lesson at all I would probably take a moment now to tell you that, "Ble mae" is your starting point for finding out directions to pretty much anywhere; "Ble mae'r car park?" "Ble mae Spar?" "Ble mae'r hot tub?")
Navigating hazards
Nant Awen is a mile out of the village of Carno, and as with most rural communities the B roads and country lanes can sometimes come with their own traffic problems.
If you do come across some rural traffic you can use this handy phrase to warn other commuters of any impending hazards
"Mae 'na dafad ar y ffordd!" There's a sheep on the road!
The important one
One of the oldest languages in Europe, and the indigenous language of Britain, Welsh carries a cultural significance with the weight of history behind it. It's a language of poetry and song, a language that has greater worth than the sum of it's speakers, and if you're going to use it for anything, it'll probably be this:
"Oes signal da ti?" Do you have any signal?
7 til late
"Pryd mae Spar yn agor?" When does Spar open?
Just answering a few FAQ while I've got you here to be honest.
Although this post is tongue in cheek, I would like to add that the Welsh language has a vibrant and positive community, and any attempt at learning or showing effort in speaking some words/phrases or even just trying to pronounce Machynlleth correctly are met with great encouragement, so don't be afraid to have a go!
Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus!
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