Dwi'n eitha siwr fod neb wedi postio'r wybodaeth yma o'r blaen. Ymddiheuriadau os dwi'n anghywir.. Mae llyfr newydd allan nawr - 'Gwreiddiadur' (eww... 'gwreidd'iol!) sy'n rhestru rhyw 400 o eiriau craidd a'r holl 'ganghenau' sy'n deillio o rhain. Cafodd ei sgwennu gan ddysgwr a mae'r llyfr "yn cymryd agwedd flaengar tuag at yr iaith" . Dwi heb weld copi ond mae'n swnio fel ei fod wedi ei anelu yn arbennig at ddysgwyr, neu yr ymchwilgar. ("Ymchwilgar", nawr dyna chi air galle chi edrych lan yn y 'gwreiddiadur'.) Mae'n costio 18 punt, ond efo clawr caled. Fwy o wybodaeth yn y cyfieithiad isod: [ A new book out in Wales is called 'Roots & Branches'. It was written by a Welsh learner, and lists 400 root words (and their branches, surprisingly!). It is aimed at Welsh learners, and as a reference book for inquisitive minds. The blurb says it "takes a progressive attitude towards the language" (it's my translation, but 'progressive' doesn't sound like the right word to me, but this is the literal (i.e. dictionary) transl.) This little marvel costs 18 english pounds, hard-back only. It's available from "all good Welsh bookshops" (are there any?!), or by the publishers 'Tre Graig Press'.. phone: +44 874 730650 or fax: +44 874 730629 ] (And no, I'm not their publicist...!) ---------------------------- On another subject entirely: *Press cuttings of the month* : (and following on from some comments made about the attitudes towards Welsh in Wales) These gems have been culled from the South Wales Echo newspaper: [ my comments in square brackets ] ---- *Priority row on Welsh* Tory students have complained to the chairman of the Welsh Language Board that they were forced to put Welsh before English. Justin Powell-Tuck protested to Lord Elis Thomas in Cardiff at being ordered to give Welsh "obvious priority" when labelling stands at the National Union of Students in Wales conference. "It is taxpayers' money which supports this policy of prejudice," fumed Mr Powell-Tuck, national deputy chairman of Conservative students. South Wales Echo, December 5th 1994 ---- [ That kind of story is frivolous and is par for the course in Cymru, but the quotes below are more distressing, because they are from 'normal' (although very ignorant) people. ] [ Basically, the SW Echo (again) did a totally 'factual' report of the Welsh Language Board's new draft guidelines and, typically, left the opinions to their "vox pop's". It should be know that these are all people in the Caerdydd ( Cardiff ) area, and that they are not representative of people in Cymru in general (at least I hope not): ] Norma Price, 55, Shop assistant, Cardiff : "Welsh is a dead language and it would be a waste of money to try to get people to learn it now. Only people in the Valleys speak it, so it would be a better idea to use the funds to pay for something more sensible." David Moss, 28, Manager, Newport : "It's a waste of taxpayers money as more and more Welsh people speak English. We are trying to be European, so there's no point trying to breathe life into a lan guage that is dying." [ Spot the oxymoron? 'We are trying to be European, so we should all speak English'.. Haha! The inescapable logic of a fascist.. ] Kath Gray, 33, Manager, Caerphilly : "It's crazy to get companies and public to be bilingual, and I certainly don't agrree with the taxpayer forking out for it. Hardly anyone speaks Welsh anymore. There are more important things to think about." [ Anyone in tears yet? There were only two 'slight' dissidents (note their ages): ] Charles Hiskins, 74, Pensioner, Rogerstone : "There are a lot of people who still speak Welsh and it makes sense to encourage companies to be bilingual. The Welsh language is slowly dying out and anything which helps revive it has to be welcomed." Mair Humphries, 61, Retired teacher, Rhondda : "I think it will be impossible for the Welsh Language Board to achieve this dream people because haven't got the right attitude to learning it. It will probably be money thrown away which will be a shame." [ And you're attitude doesn't help either, dear. ] South Wales Echo, December 7th 1994 ---- Funny how everyone keeps worrying about their taxes when it comes to the Welsh language isn't it? If the tax wasn't spent on Cymraeg, there would _not_ be lower taxes. The tiny amount saved would probably be used to subsidise 'sensible' things like arms to third-world countries. A note to all Welsh learners (especially Americans) on the list: Most Welsh speakers (I do, anyway) have a lot of respect for anyone learning Welsh as a second language. In fact, your efforts put a lot of native speakers to shame. But the eventual aim, of course, is to get you to use your Welsh! Ironically, it may be easier to practise your Welsh on this list than it is in most of Wales. So stick with it. ;-) And remember - you can't speak Welsh worse than the Prince of Wails.... Wel, ar o+l hynna i gyd.. dwi i ffwrdd am fy ngwyliau 'dolig ddiwedd yr wythnos, felly Nadolig Llawen bawb! /\ N N AAAA DDDDD OOOO L IIIII GGGG /o \ NN N A A D D O O L I G / o\ N N N AAAAAA D D O O L I G GGG / O \ N N N A A D D O O L I G G / o o \ N NN A A DDDDD OOOO LLLLLL IIIII GGGG /_______O__\ || L L AAAA W W EEEEEE N N !! ___||___ L L A A W W E NN N !! \------/ L L AAAAAA W W EEEE N N N !! \____/ L L A A W WW W E N N N LLLLLL LLLLLL A A W W EEEEEE N NN !! oddi wrth Y Sbei Slei (Dafydd Tomos) - spx3dwt@cf.ac.uk (Weeelll..., mae hi'n 'dolig!) [ Weeellll... it is Christmas! ] O.N. I weld y neges yn well, hanner caewch eich llygaid. [ P.S. To see the festive message easier, half close your eyes. ]