Blogs
Check out our selection of St Dwynwen's Day ecards here .
You can customize the cards with your own message and your text will appear on the reverse of the image just like a postcard ( see below ) .
Front
Back
More card selections to come soon!
More Here - dysgwr2014
After chatting with Brett on AmeriCymru the other night the above question occurred to me. We were talking about fish'n'chips ( pysgod a sglodion ) when I realised that my Welsh vocabulary for common dishes and menu items is woefully deficient. Bangers'n'mash is a well known British culinary masterpiece and gastronomic delight. I occasionally cook it and here is my recipe ( please note the mystery ingredient ):- Bangers'n'Mash
The problem is, of course that the term bangers'n'mash is highly idiomatic and would not translate literally other than as literal nonsense. So I'm wondering if there is a Welsh name for this dish? If anyone knows please feel free to comment below.
On a more serious note I have recently discovered that there are a number of novels and short story collections available for Welsh learners. Most of these have vocabularies either on the page or at the back of the book and they are all easy to read.
It seems to me that reading through a few of these, mentally translating them at first but eventually grasping the meaning directly from the Welsh language text, would be a good way to speed up the learning process. Has anyone tried this and if so with what result?
Here are a few Welsh learners titles from our Dysgwyr Cymraeg page:- Eistedd Ar Groen Ieti , O Law I Law (Welsh Edition) , Nofelau Nawr: Tri Chynnig I Blodwen Jones , 4 Stories for Welsh Learners (Welsh Edition) , Bywyd Blodwen Jones (Nofelau Nawr)
I am keen to be able to read the popular Welsh language novels of Lloyd Jones - Y Dwr and Y Daith True, one of them will be published in English language translation later this year but thats not really the point is it.
N.B. It's still not too late to join the AmeriCymraeg 2014 online Welsh class on the site. Just click the text link or image below for instructions on how to enrol. We only covered basic pronunciation last week so it shouldn't be difficult to catch up. 
Click here or below to for the 'How To Enrol For AmeriCymraeg 'page
More Here - dysgwr2014
I'm looking forward to my second class in the AmeriCymraeg term on Wednesday night. I am also looking forward to ridding myself of one particularly stale and irritating habit that I picked up years ago.
At a lunchtime Welsh course I attended in Caerdydd back in the 90's we students were tasked to respond to the question "Y dych chi'n siarad Cymraeg? " ( Do you speak Welsh? ) with an original Welsh sentence of our own device.
I was horrified! This involved a combination of grammar and creativity. The former was beyond me and I was in no mood for the latter on a wet Wednesday afternoon. So ... I resorted to ellipsis .
I wrote my 'sentence' as follows and enunciated accordingly:-
"Dwi'n dysgu Cymraeg nawr...ond yn araf....mae'n waith caled." ("I am learning Welsh now....but slowly....it's hard work")
To my shame I have been answering the same question with the same phrase, or phrases, ever since. BUT I am determined that 2014 will be the year when I finally abandon the three dots and learn to speak ( and write ) Welsh in whole joined up sentences.
Sound file:- dysgucymraeg.wav
N.B. It's still not too late to join the AmeriCymraeg 2014 online Welsh class on the site. Just click the text link or image below for instructions on how to enrol. We only covered basic pronunciation last week so it shouldn't be difficult to catch up.
Click here or below to for the 'How To Enrol For AmeriCymraeg 'page
Buy Dylan Thomas: The Pubs here
.....
.....
A recent article about the current Dylan Thomas centenary in the UK Guardian announces that Wales is preparing to resurrect the poet''s reputation . But is there really much work to be done? A recent book published by Y Lolfa looks at Dylan''s ''alcoholism'' from a new angle.
This meticulously researched and beautifully illustrated book seeks to put the record straight on Dylan Thomas''s lifelong love affair with the pub. Was the poet more interested in people than pints? Did he crave fellowship and social interaction more than alcohol?
In the introduction, author Jeff Towns makes a number of telling points in support of this thesis. Firstly Dylan was, for the most part, a beer drinker. He objected to a colleagues suggestion, whilst working at the BBC, to keep a bottle of whisky in the office and only consumed spirits in any quantity on his American tours toward the end of his life. Additionally he was regarded by himself and others as an entertainer, the ''pub fool'' perhaps. He had a wide repertoire of bawdy jokes and limericks at his disposal and he craved the adulation of a receptive audience for his performances. All of this is far removed from the traditional picture of the sad and lonely alcoholic sitting at home alone pickling himself with the strongest liquor available. Perhaps there is truth in Dylan''s own observation that:- "An alcoholic is someone you don''t like who drinks as much as you do." The opinions of contemporaries should also be borne in mind, some of whom recall him as a habitual ( and occasionally excessive drinker ) but by no means a hardened alcoholic.
But however persuasive the introduction, it is the sections on individual pubs and incidents in Dylan''s life which are the real meat of this volume. Here is an incident ( quoted in the book ) that occurred in the Mermaid Inn, Oystermouth Rd, Mumbles:-
" Once after a widely reported rabies epidemic, Dylan and friend Wynford Vaughan Thomas....used this as some spontaneous horseplay. They went down on all fours and crawled around the floor of the pub, pretending to be rabid dogs, biting people''s ankles. When Dylan tried this on actress Ruby Graham, she feigned anger and shooed him out of the door. She was astonished to see him continue across the pavement to a lamp-post. "I thought he was going to pee on it.", she recalled. Instead, he bit on it, leaving him with a broken tooth for the rest of his life. ( Afterwards he used to tell her he remembered her every time he smiled.) "
This incident was later referenced in Thomas''s radio play Return Journey . Other passages from Dylan''s writing are illuminated in the same way and this is one of the many strengths of this book.
Together with the wonderful illustrations by Wyn Thomas, the wealth of incident recorded here is sure to delight Dylan Thomas afficianados and casual readers alike. An unreserved thumbs up and five star recommendation.
About The Author
Jeff Towns is a rare-book dealer based in Swansea who, for more than 40 years, from his Dylans Bookstore, has specialised in books about Wales in all its many aspects and ramifications and in particular, the life, works, manuscripts and iconography of Dylan Thomas. In 1993 he edited an unknown poem by Dylan, Letter to Loren , and is currently working on several other books and films on aspects of the poet''s life.
Wyn Thomas (Illustrator) was a design draughtsman before becoming broadcaster specialising in history and the arts for radio and television
Product Details 'Dylan Thomas: The Pubs '
A pictorial tour of some of the pubs Dylan Thomas visited in Swansea, west Wales, Oxford, London, and the USA.
Written by: Jeff Towns
Published by: Y Lolfa
Date published: 2013-24-11
Edition: 1st
ISBN: 1847716938
Available in Paperback
....
Below you will find a list of the pubs referenced in the book, together with links to as many as we know which are still open. We hope this will be useful to anyone wanting to spend some time in one of Dylan's old watering holes. If you know of any websites we''ve missed please post in comments. Photos are welcome too.
|
SWANSEA The Uplands Hotel ( now The Uplands Tavern ) The Three Lamps ( now The Office ) The No. 10 ( closed ) The Bush Inn ( closed ) MUMBLES The Mermaid ( now The Mermaid Restaurant ) The Antelope ( closed ) GOWER |
CARMARTHENSHIRE LAUGHARNE WEST WALES ENGLAND NEW YORK BOSTON LOS ANGELES |
 |
.. |
 |
From left to right:- The Worms Head Hotel, Gower - The Uplands Tavern, Swansea.
More Here - dysgwr2014
A quick post tonight, it's Saturday night, traditionally a time to raise a few cyrfau. I wanted to draw attention to an email I received on the site today about pronunciation . Here is the text:-
Just a wish sent your way for Welsh Phrase of the Day. If an idea on how to pronounce the phrase would also be included it would help.
So after due consultation with Brett we have decided to add occasional sound files to assist absolute beginners in this area. Please feel free to add a sound file whenever you post a phrase or sentence in the blog.
I added the first of these tonight:- "mae hi'n bwrw glaw heddiw". It's a .wav file so I hope it plays ok and I hope my pronunciation is not too awful. It only takes a second to make a recording and we hope more of our followers will feel inclined to contribute. Whatever you do....cael hwyl
Here is the sound file:- bwrwglaw.wav
Click here or below to for the 'How To Enrol For AmeriCymraeg 'page
Dydd Santes Dwynwen is on January 25th. The link below takes you to a free card that you can print out and give to someone special x
More Here - dysgwr2014
Back in the 90's I used occasionally to attend Welsh language courses. I never lasted long and always found an excuse to drop out, usually because of time pressure or for financial reasons.
I did, however, pick up a smattering of Welsh and imagined, because I had mastered a few phrases, that I was ready to go forth and test my vocabulary and comprehension in the real world.
It so happened that one year I set out with a companion to walk the Rhinogs , a grim but magnificent range in Snowdonia, which boasts some of the roughest hill walking country in Wales. Situated in the Harlech Dome, the Rhinogs are frequently shrouded in mist and home to little more than the occasional sheep farm.
It was on a misty day somewhere south of Maentwrog that my companion and I admitted we might be lost and sought directions from a sheep farmer we were lucky to encounter on the barren hillsides.
This was my big chance. I said, "Dyn ni'n mynd i Maentwrog. Ble mae'r Maentwrog?"
Our new found friend began talking rapidly in fluent Welsh pointing ( fortunately ) in the general direction of Maentwrog and no doubt, supplying us with a detailed account of every major obstacle and landmark we would encounter en route. All wasted! After several minutes he came to a halt and smiled. I smiled back, waved and said, "Diolch yn fawr."
After leaving our helpful guide a safe distance behind in the mist my companion turned to me and enquired smugly, "You didn't understand a ******* word of that did you?"
I hung my head and muttered, "No...not a ******* word."
And so....if there is a moral to this tale it is this. Join AmeriCymraeg now before you too get lost in the Rhinogs!
Click here or below to for the 'How To Enrol For AmeriCymraeg 'page
Welsh Phrase of the Da 
y
Welcome to the "Welsh Phrase of the Day." I have had a lot of fun providing the Welsh Word Of The Day for the past year. My vocabulary has grown because of it. I hope that yours has as well.
It is now time to take the Welsh language to a higher level here at AmeriCymru. Today we launch "Welsh Phrase Of The Day" in hopes to provide our Welsh learners with another resource in which to learn from.
Our goal is to provide a new Welsh phrase Monday-Friday. We will supply a Welsh phrase and the English translation. Our hope is that readers will reply and give a similar phrase or build upon the original phrase. This would be beneficial to us all. If you have suggestions feel free to send me a message via AmeriCymru.
Welsh Phrase Of The Day - January 10, 2014
Our inaugural phrase of the day is:
Dwi'n moyn dysgu Cymraeg [I want to learn Welsh]
wheels.jpg Any ex pats involved in the 84/85 miners strike if there is the silent wheels might bring you a few memories.A comical and true version
More Here - dysgwr2014
A short post tonight to introduce a major new feature on AmeriCymru which we hope will be an asset to Welsh learners.
Throughout 2013 AC member Brett Hull has maintained his excellent Welsh Word of the Day (Gair Cymraeg y dydd)
blog. He has listed one new Welsh word a day and we have encouraged members to come up with a sentence featuring that word. We would like to thank Brett for his contribution and commend him for his creativity in taking the idea one step further for 2014.
I dont want to steal his thunder but I know that tomorrow Brett will be announcing his new Welsh Phrase of the Day blog which will run through 2014. This will give our members and readers the chance to learn a new phrase each day and, should they choose to, post a sentence incorporating that phrase in comments on the page. Stay tuned for Brett's announcement tomorrow.
Diolch yn fawr Brett....looking forward to the new blog
Click here or below to for the 'How To Enrol For AmeriCymraeg 'page
