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The Welsh Language

As many as a quarter of the population speak fluent Welsh and for some thousands,
particularly in the remoter areas, it is their first language.

Mostly Celtic, it has some elements of Latin and English reflecting in many ways its long history.

For the outsider the pronunciation is a dark art. Words with no vowels, like Clwyd and Dyffd, are
intimidating to an English speaker. But with a few clues you can get passably close to saying them
correctly.

The “f” is said as a “v”, while the double “ff” is like the English “f”. A double “dd” is said like the “th”
in “then”.

Here are some of the words that make up Welsh place names: aber estuary

afon river

bach or fach small

bont bridge

bwlch pass

caer or gaer fort

capel chapel

coed wood

coch or goch red

cwm or dyffryn valley

dol meadow

fawr or mawr large

glan or lan shore

gwyn white

llan church

maen boulder

mynydd mountain

ogof cave

pen headland

pistyll waterfall

pwll pit or pool