| lesson_7_nwales.mp3 |
Words and phrases taught in Lesson 7
Treiglad Trwynol - Nasal Mutation
Treiglad Meddal - Soft Mutation
Treiglad Llaes- Aspirate Mutation
Mae hi - She is
(Ry)dan ni - We are
Bryste - Bristol
Biwmares - Beaumaris
Beddgelert
Brechfa
Bangor
Caerdydd - Cardiff
Caergybi - Holyhead
Casnewydd - Newport
Caerfyrddin - Carmarthen
Treiglad Trwynol - Nasal Mutation
Treiglad Meddal - Soft Mutation
Treiglad Llaes- Aspirate Mutation
Mae hi - She is
(Ry)dan ni - We are
Bryste - Bristol
Biwmares - Beaumaris
Beddgelert
Brechfa
Bangor
Caerdydd - Cardiff
Caergybi - Holyhead
Casnewydd - Newport
Caerfyrddin - Carmarthen
What are Mutations and why do I need to learn them?
When I first started learning the Welsh language, back in the mid to late 1990s, I tried to translate a page of text from a Welsh novel, using a Welsh to English dictionary. It worked well, until I started coming across words in the novel that weren't in the Welsh dictionary. I found it perplexing and a little bit frustrating. It was just a few months later, when I joined a beginners Welsh Language Course, that I found out why I couldn't find those words in the dictionary. They were there but under different first letters. That was the first time I learnt about Mutations.
So what is a mutation you ask?
A mutation happens when certain words trigger the word after them to change their first letter. A Mutation only happens in certain conditions and thankfully only affects nine Letters of the Welsh Alphabet. To complicate matters slightly, there are three distinct types of Mutations:
Treiglad Meddal (Try-glad May-thal) Soft Mutation
Treiglad Trwynol (Try-glad Troy-nal) Nasal Mutation
Treiglad Llaes (Try-glad Llies) Aspirate Mutation
When I started learning Welsh it was hard enough getting used to all the new words I was being introduced to, without also having to get to grips with letters at the beginning of words changing, for what I thought at the time, was for no apparent reason.
As I learnt more and more Welsh, I realised that mutations actually make a lot of sense. They make Welsh words flow together better when spoken out loud and it didn’t take me long to get used to using them automatically. You'll soon become so used to using mutations that they'll become like friends to you. As with all friendships it might take you a little while to like and trust them but once you do, you’ll be friends forever. Be prepared to fall out with them constantly at the start though.
When I first started learning the Welsh language, back in the mid to late 1990s, I tried to translate a page of text from a Welsh novel, using a Welsh to English dictionary. It worked well, until I started coming across words in the novel that weren't in the Welsh dictionary. I found it perplexing and a little bit frustrating. It was just a few months later, when I joined a beginners Welsh Language Course, that I found out why I couldn't find those words in the dictionary. They were there but under different first letters. That was the first time I learnt about Mutations.
So what is a mutation you ask?
A mutation happens when certain words trigger the word after them to change their first letter. A Mutation only happens in certain conditions and thankfully only affects nine Letters of the Welsh Alphabet. To complicate matters slightly, there are three distinct types of Mutations:
Treiglad Meddal (Try-glad May-thal) Soft Mutation
Treiglad Trwynol (Try-glad Troy-nal) Nasal Mutation
Treiglad Llaes (Try-glad Llies) Aspirate Mutation
When I started learning Welsh it was hard enough getting used to all the new words I was being introduced to, without also having to get to grips with letters at the beginning of words changing, for what I thought at the time, was for no apparent reason.
As I learnt more and more Welsh, I realised that mutations actually make a lot of sense. They make Welsh words flow together better when spoken out loud and it didn’t take me long to get used to using them automatically. You'll soon become so used to using mutations that they'll become like friends to you. As with all friendships it might take you a little while to like and trust them but once you do, you’ll be friends forever. Be prepared to fall out with them constantly at the start though.
Nasal Mutation after ‘Yn’/Treiglad Trwynol ar ol Yn
In lessons 8 to 11 we are going to focus on the Nasal Mutation. They are only used at specific times and even then, they only affect words beginning with the letters:
B, C, D, G, P or T
Here is one of the times you would use a Nasal mutation:
Nasal Mutations after ‘Yn’
The word Yn triggers a Nasal Mutation in any place name that follows it, if that place starts with the letter B, C, D, G, P, or T.
B
First let's look at how the Nasal mutation affects words beginning with the letter B.
Bryste is the Welsh word for 'Bristol'. If we put that place name after Yn you will see the first letter of Bryste change to an M and the Yn before it will change to Ym. I’ve underlined the changes in the example below.
Dan ni'n byw ym Mryste (Done neen bew um-wrist-eh) We live in Bristol
In lessons 8 to 11 we are going to focus on the Nasal Mutation. They are only used at specific times and even then, they only affect words beginning with the letters:
B, C, D, G, P or T
Here is one of the times you would use a Nasal mutation:
Nasal Mutations after ‘Yn’
The word Yn triggers a Nasal Mutation in any place name that follows it, if that place starts with the letter B, C, D, G, P, or T.
B
First let's look at how the Nasal mutation affects words beginning with the letter B.
Bryste is the Welsh word for 'Bristol'. If we put that place name after Yn you will see the first letter of Bryste change to an M and the Yn before it will change to Ym. I’ve underlined the changes in the example below.
Dan ni'n byw ym Mryste (Done neen bew um-wrist-eh) We live in Bristol
Grammar Tips
Dyn ni (We are) - To say ‘We are’ in Welsh we use Rydan ni in which is shortened in conversation to Dan ni. For example:
Dan ni’n byw ym Mryste (Dan neen bew um-wrist-eh) We live in Bristol
‘Dan ni’ sounds like the name Danny. Just imagine that you are going to the bathroom in a cafe at the same time as your friend Danny. We are.
Here are some other Welsh place names beginning with the letter B.
Biwmares (Bew-marr-iz) Beaumaris
Beaumaris is the former county town of the Island of Angelsey and was originally a Viking settlement known as Porth Y Wygyr (Port of the Vikings).
Beddgelert (Bathe-gel-hurt)
Beddgelert is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Wales. It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound Gelert.
Brechfa (Brech-va)
Brechfa is a village at the top of the Cothi Valley in Carmarthenshire. In the 1840s, Brechfa featured in the Rebecca Riots, when rioters destroyed tollgates on the local turnpike road.
Bangor (Bang-gore)
Bangor is a University City in North West Wales. The origins of Bangor date back to the founding of a Monastery on the site of Bangor Cathedral, in the early 6th Century by the Celtic Saint Deiniol.
Biwmares (Bew-marr-iz) Beaumaris
Beaumaris is the former county town of the Island of Angelsey and was originally a Viking settlement known as Porth Y Wygyr (Port of the Vikings).
Beddgelert (Bathe-gel-hurt)
Beddgelert is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Wales. It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound Gelert.
Brechfa (Brech-va)
Brechfa is a village at the top of the Cothi Valley in Carmarthenshire. In the 1840s, Brechfa featured in the Rebecca Riots, when rioters destroyed tollgates on the local turnpike road.
Bangor (Bang-gore)
Bangor is a University City in North West Wales. The origins of Bangor date back to the founding of a Monastery on the site of Bangor Cathedral, in the early 6th Century by the Celtic Saint Deiniol.
Q11. Make a sentence using one of the above place names.
Dw i’n byw _______ ____________________
Dw i’n byw _______ ____________________
What no mutation?
If the word that follows Yn doesn’t begin with one of the trigger letters then it doesn’t mutate. For example, if Aberystwyth follows Yn which is not a trigger letter, then there is no change to the word at all. For example:
Dw i’n byw yn Aberystwyth (Dween bew un Ab-er-ust -with) I live in Aberystwyth
As you can see in the sentence above both Yn and Aberystwyth have stayed the same, but if there was a mutation, the beginning of the word would change and in some cases so would the Yn.
Now let's look at each of the other Trigger Letters (B, C, D, G, P or T) one by one, to see how the Nasal mutation effects them.
C
Caerdydd is the Welsh word for Cardiff, pronounced Ky-rr-deeth. If we put that word after Yn you will see the first letter of Caerdydd change to Ngh and the Yn will also change to Yng.
Mae hi'n byw yng Nghaerdydd (My heen bew ung higher-deeth) She lives in Cardiff
If the word that follows Yn doesn’t begin with one of the trigger letters then it doesn’t mutate. For example, if Aberystwyth follows Yn which is not a trigger letter, then there is no change to the word at all. For example:
Dw i’n byw yn Aberystwyth (Dween bew un Ab-er-ust -with) I live in Aberystwyth
As you can see in the sentence above both Yn and Aberystwyth have stayed the same, but if there was a mutation, the beginning of the word would change and in some cases so would the Yn.
Now let's look at each of the other Trigger Letters (B, C, D, G, P or T) one by one, to see how the Nasal mutation effects them.
C
Caerdydd is the Welsh word for Cardiff, pronounced Ky-rr-deeth. If we put that word after Yn you will see the first letter of Caerdydd change to Ngh and the Yn will also change to Yng.
Mae hi'n byw yng Nghaerdydd (My heen bew ung higher-deeth) She lives in Cardiff
Grammar Tip/ Pronunciation Tip
Mae hi - To say ‘She is’ in Welsh, we use Mae hi, pronounced ‘My he’.
Here are some other Welsh place names beginning with the letter C.
Caergybi (Ky-rrr-gubby) Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey and is situated on Holy Island. The Island is linked to the rest of Anglesey by a large causeway known locally as ‘The Cob’. Holyhead is also a major sea port adjacent to the Irish Sea, serving Ireland.
Casnewydd (Kass-new-idd) Newport
Newport is the third largest city in Wales and is situated on the River Usk. Newport has been a port since medieval times, when a castle was built there by the Normans. It grew significantly in the 19th century, when its port became the focus of coal exports from the eastern valleys of South Wales. Newport was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Britain, the N ewport Rising of 1839, led by the Chartists.
Caerfyrddin (Ky-rrr-vurdd-in) Carmarthen
Carmarthen is the county town of Carmarthenshire, sited on the River Towy. According to some variations of the Arthurian legend, Merlin was born in a cave outside Carmarthen. Many areas surrounding Carmarthen still allude to this, such as the nearby Bryn Myrddin (Merlin's Hill).
Caergybi (Ky-rrr-gubby) Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey and is situated on Holy Island. The Island is linked to the rest of Anglesey by a large causeway known locally as ‘The Cob’. Holyhead is also a major sea port adjacent to the Irish Sea, serving Ireland.
Casnewydd (Kass-new-idd) Newport
Newport is the third largest city in Wales and is situated on the River Usk. Newport has been a port since medieval times, when a castle was built there by the Normans. It grew significantly in the 19th century, when its port became the focus of coal exports from the eastern valleys of South Wales. Newport was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Britain, the N ewport Rising of 1839, led by the Chartists.
Caerfyrddin (Ky-rrr-vurdd-in) Carmarthen
Carmarthen is the county town of Carmarthenshire, sited on the River Towy. According to some variations of the Arthurian legend, Merlin was born in a cave outside Carmarthen. Many areas surrounding Carmarthen still allude to this, such as the nearby Bryn Myrddin (Merlin's Hill).
Q12. Make a sentence saying She lives in (Mae hi’n byw yn) followed one of the above place names.
Mae hi’n byw _______ ________________
Mae hi’n byw _______ ________________