Breaking down the barriers - understanding the logic behind *some* Welsh words!

Being able to 'analyse' Welsh words makes it easier to remember them and then translate new words as you come across them.

These are just five quick examples of words which you break down into smaller words which *might* help you to keep them firmly in your brain!

• Cefnogaeth > cefn o gaeth > to have someone's back > to support

• Cyfrifiadur > cyfrif i addurn > a counting ornament > computer 
• anything beginning with cyfrif is to do with counting; cyfrifiannell is a calculator, cyfrif is to count, cyfrifydd is an accountant.

• Llyfrgell > llyfr gell > a cell of books > library
• oergell (cold cell > refrigerator) and rhewgell (ice cell > freezer) follow the same pattern, so anything with -gell is a container of something.

• Ffermwr > fferm gŵr > farm man > farmer 
• words ending in -wr are mostly someone who works somewhere; gyrrwr (gyrru gŵr) > driver, cyfreithwr (cyfraith gŵr) > solicitor, tafarnwr (tafarn gŵr) > landlord.

• Modurdy > modur tŷ > motor house > garage
• words ending in -dy/-ty are often a place where things are housed or work is done; ysbyty > hospital, gweithdy > workshop, gwesty > hotel. 

 

 

So, it makes sense to try and understand how the word is 'made', you will have a logical reminder of most words and be able to work out the unknown ones... well, some of them anyway! Of course, not all words DO follow a pattern, but it's a start!

 

Share some of your own tips below!

 

Welsh English words - a blend of two languages!

Although Welsh stands pretty strong as a language in it's own right, there are many, many borrowed words in the modern Welsh language. The spelling often looks very different to the English spelling, but when you say the word, all becomes clear!

Here are a few of my favourites!

• fan > van
• marmalâd > marmalade
• trowsus > trousers
• coffi > coffee
• cwestiwn > question
• plismon > policeman
• beic > bicycle
• sgarff > scarf
• ffrog > frock/dress

I'll be adding to this list so keep checking back for updates! Have you got any more to suggest? Let me know in the comments!



Image via http://bit.ly/Pszzlg

Language Learning - it's never too late!

Some of you may already know but for those who don't, I am learning Welsh and have been for the past 4 years or so. Now, when I look back it doesn't seem like I have achieved a lot in those 4 years... but I have! I'm confident enough to have a quick chat with Welsh speakers and can talk to the school teachers in Welsh - slightly stilted but I can do it!

So, I thought I'd write a series of blog posts to help other Welsh learners with their vocabulary, etc. This is by no means going to be a structured lesson plan(!) but just some hints and tips that I find useful.

Here's my list of 6 top tips 'dysgu Cymraeg'!

1. Enroll in a class - you can learn loads of vocab at home via online courses but you cannot practice online like you do in a group situation. Lessons can be formal or much more informal so don't be scared by the 'classroom' aspect of it! One class local to me meets in the pub, so never say never!
2. Read at least 5 minutes every day in your target language. I'm lucky that we have many Welsh books at home due to my children being educated in Welsh, but don't forget libraries will have a good selection of books available and you can request books to be ordered in if necessary.
3. Try to use a few words in 'real life' each day. Even if you only say 'diolch' (thank you) when you've paid for your items in the shop, you'll get used to hearing your voice saying the 'strange' words!
4. Talk to someone in Welsh as much as you can - the dog or cat is VERY useful for this. Again, it's just getting used to your voice sounding different (and the dog/cat will never criticise your accent!).
5. Watch S4C or listen to Radio Cymru. The children's programmes on S4C (Cyw) are very useful as the language used is simple to understand and not over-complicated.
6. It will not happen overnight! There have been some times when I've sat in a lesson and felt completely lost, but don't give up! Ask what you need to ask, as there's probably someone else wanting to ask exactly the same question as you but they aren't brave enough. So be the brave one!

Of course, these tips can be used when learning any language. So give it a go! Do you have any tips you'd like to share with us?

The BritMum's Challenge - being a #morrisonsmum!

Morrisons used to be my supermarket of choice when living in the city. Living literally a 10 minute walk or 2 minutes drive away made it really convenient and easy to do both the weekly shop and smaller top-up shops in between. Since moving to the sticks, a visit to Morrisons supermarket is quite a luxury! Our local supermarket isn't the cheapest, but for day to day shopping for bread, milk, etc. it's fine and I can't justify an hours drive each way for a small shop!

So, enough about me and my Morrisons relationship - how did we get on with the BritMum's Challenge?

The 'I'm Cheaper' campaign has been covered in the national media and on the Morrisons website itself, but it's much easier to see for yourself what exactly is cheaper and how the overall prices compare. We were pleased to see that it was not just own label items that were cheaper; branded items and marketplace produce is also included in the price promise, with clear markers showing you where the price changes had occurred.

I don't often consciously 'track' the cost of my shopping, but know the prices of regular items such as bread and milk. The Morrisons prices compared better than my usual supermarket for most general items, but there were a couple of items currently on offer in my usual supermarket that were more expensive in Morrisions, but this was purely down to the particular special offer.

Our weekly shop consists of probably half and half branded products and own label products, but we did buy a few treats for over the Bank Holiday weekend due to celebrating my youngest child's 7th birthday on Sunday!

I try to plan at least half of our meals for the week so with each shop I do, I have some sort of shopping list to work to. The rest of the meals are more flexible as we would see what special offers were in store at the time! To help us plan this week, we decided to look at the recipes on the Morrisions website. There's a great recipe tool where you can search by meal, ingredient and even whether the recipe is 'kid-friendly'.

Here are the links to the recipes that we chose to make throughout the week:

Perfect Pizza served with salad and crusty bread

Chilli Con Carne served with rice and a dollop of natural yoghurt

Cheesy Chicken Nuggets served with potato wedges and carrots/sweet corn

Tuna Pasta Bake, again, served with salad and crusty bread

And a couple of treats and puddings!

Raspberry Ripple Fluff

Yoghurt Lollies

Pancakes - I know it's not Shrove Tuesday, hey it's not even Tuesday, but we love pancakes!

All of these have a good value, price per serving - who can beat the pancakes at literally pence per serving.... but it all depends on how many you eat! The pizza is less than £1 a serving, of course, you can add more toppings which can alter the price but even then, a great mid-week meal for the family.

The chilli con carne (our favourite!) works out at under £1.30 per portion - rice included! Both the chicken nuggets and tuna pasta bake come in at about £1 a portion, so again, great value!

The pizza, chilli con carne and tuna pasta bake all use the same basic tomato sauce base, so we made this in one batch and used it through the week (it will keep for up to 3 days).


Raspberry Ripple Fluff - with extra birthday decoration! 

On top of our weekly shop, we bought picnic items for our day out to Fairbourne Railway on Monday and other items to use for meals throughout the week, for example a seafood mix for making paella one day, treats for the dog, drinks and after school snacks for the kids! We spent around £100 in total, so with the treats thrown in, we feel that this was very reasonable.
Overall, Morrisons provided good value for money, with sensible offers and 'I'm Cheaper' prices on things that you would buy in a normal weekly shop.

The only thing that stops me from shopping here more regularly is purely the distance! So, if you've a Morrisons local to you and you're not a regular customer, give it a try!

Sometimes, you just have to take a risk! #wednesdaywords

Two seeds lay side by side in the fertile spring soil.

The first seed said, "I want to grow! I want to send my roots deep into the soil beneath me and thrust my sprouts through the earth's crust above me... I want to unfurl my tender buds like banners to announce the arrival of spring... I want to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the blessing of the morning dew on my petals!"

And so she grew.

The second seed said, "I am afraid. If I send my roots into the ground below, I don't know what I will encounter in the dark. If I push my way through the hard soil above me I may damage my delicate sprouts... what if I let my buds open and a snail tries to eat them? And if I were to open my blossoms, a small child may pull me from the ground. No, it is much better for me to wait until it is safe."

And so she waited.

A yard hen scratching around in the early spring ground for food found the waiting seed and promptly ate it.

The moral of the story... Those of us who refuse to risk and grow get swallowed up by life.

Patty Hansen

 

 

 



The Logo Board Game review and competition - great family fun!

Logo is a great and really popular game from Drumond Park. We were sent a copy of this family game to review and so here we are... we loved it! The game is suitable for ages 12 and up; both of my children are younger than this but being from a family who love board games, we played with my children being on the 'team' of their choice! Needless to say, I lost out on an extra team member and Nanny and Grandad both gained a bit of extra help!

So, the principle of the game is simple - answer brand-related questions with either pictoral clues, themed clues or just pot luck whilst racing your way to the Winning Zone at centre of the board. The first player (or team, in our case!) to answer their question correctly whilst in the Winning Zone wins! The no die aspect of the game confused my children at first as they LOVE to roll the die(!) but they loved it just as much when they were able to jump their counter a huge way to the next appropriate coloured space!

Overall, we loved the game. To be honest, we're not huge TV watchers and the last time we saw an advertising bill board was probably before Christmas when we took a trip to a large city for some shopping and family-visiting so I had a slight worry that I wouldn't know any of the answers! But, we were fine.... many of the subjects are classic brands and the trivia questions great! Often the answer is on the tip of your tongue and you just can't remember what it is!

The King of Board Games (my Dad) won... of course! Along with his side kick of my daughter... who strategically seemed to swap teams throughout the game, depending on who was winning at the time! It didn't take too long to play and as the questions are varied, the game is fun right to the end!

Logo is available at all major toy retailers (online and instore) and retails at £32.99 but if you can't wait to have a go, why not download the official Logo board game app from the App Store (iPhone and iPad only)? It's free and is published with approval from all the contributing companies. You could even brush up our knowledge ahead of the family challenge... then everyone will be begging to be on YOUR team!

You can keep up with new game releases from Drumond Park on their Facebook page here and join in with the board game conversation at Twitter here.

So, for your chance to win a copy of this game to play yourselves, just complete the Rafflecopter entry below! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be prepared! #wednesdaywords

I've sneaked two quotes into this week's update! The classic 'Be Prepared' motto of the Scout Association long sticks in everyone's minds... but I'd like to add the following two quotes to go along with it!

'It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.'

 

Whitney Young, Jr.

 

And the old classic...

 

'Fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.'

 

Anon.