Gwenhwyseg facts for kids
Gwenhwyseg or Y Wenhwyseg (also called "Gwentian" in English) is a special way of speaking Welsh. It's a dialect found in South East Wales. The name comes from an old word, y Gwennwys, which was used for the people who lived in that area long ago.
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How Gwenhwyseg Sounds Different
One interesting thing about Gwenhwyseg is how some vowel sounds change. For example, the long 'a' sound often turns into a long 'e'.
- Instead of the standard Welsh y Tad, y Mab a'r Ysbryd Glân ("the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit"), in Gwenhwyseg you might hear y Ted a'r Meb a'r Ysbryd Glên.
Changes to the 'ae' Sound
Another sound that changes in a similar way is the 'ae' sound. Here are some examples:
| Standard Welsh | Gwenhwyseg |
|---|---|
| Cymraeg | Cymrêg |
| Traed | Trêd |
| Cae | Cê |
It's important to know that this 'ae' sound can be pronounced a little differently depending on where you are in the Gwenhwyseg area. This change doesn't happen in short words with a single 'a' sound, like mam (mother) or naw (nine).
Gwenhwyseg's Influence on English
Gwenhwyseg has even affected the English spoken in South East Wales! Sometimes, English speakers in the area use Welsh words or sentence structures. This is part of what's known as Welsh English. For example, if someone says "What is on her?", it's a direct translation of the Welsh phrase Beth sy' arni hi?.
Different Words in Gwenhwyseg
Besides sound changes, Gwenhwyseg also uses different words for some common things compared to standard Welsh. Take a look at these examples:
| English | Standard Welsh | Gwenhwyseg (Gwent Welsh) |
|---|---|---|
| to walk | cerdded | cered |
| to play | chwarae | wara |
| canal | camlas | cnel |
| window | ffenest(r) | ffenast |
| shoes | esgidiau | sgitsha |
| to do | gwneud | nithir |
| aunt | modryb | bopa |
| to speak | siarad | wilia |
| chair | cadair | catar |
