Welsh (Cymraeg or y Gymraeg, pronounced [kəmˈraiɡ, ə ɡəmˈraiɡ]) is a member of the Brittonic branch of the Celtic languages. It is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina).[8] Historically it has also been known in English as "the British tongue",[9] "Cambrian",[10] "Cambric"[11] and "Cymric".[12]
The United Kingdom Census 2011 counted 3.1 million residents of Wales, 27% (837,000) of whom had been born outside Wales,[13] and 73% (2.2 million) of whom reported having no Welsh language skills. Of residents of Wales aged three and over, 19% (562,000) reported being able to speak Welsh, and 77% of these were able to speak, read and write the language (making 431,000 – 15% of the total population).[14] This can be compared with the 2001 Census, in which 20.8% of the population (582,000) reported being able to speak Welsh.[15] 787,854 (26.7%) of residents in Wales aged three and over had one or more skills in Welsh.[16] In surveys carried out between 2004 and 2006, 57% (315,000) of Welsh speakers described themselves as fluent in the written language.[17] An estimated 110,000 to 150,000 people speak Welsh in England.[1][18]
The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave the Welsh language official status in Wales,[19] making it the only language that is de jure official in any part of the United Kingdom, English being de facto official.
Orthography[edit | edit source]
Welsh uses an alphabet based on Latin. It consists of 29 letters and includes eight digraphs and the letters of the English alphabet except k, q, v, x and z.
| Letter | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| a | /a/ or /aː/ |
| b | /b/ |
| c | /k/ |
| ch | /x/ |
| d | /d/ |
| dd | /ð/ |
| e | /ɛ/ or /e:/ |
| f | /v/ |
| ff | /f/ |
| g | /g/ |
| ng | /ŋ/ |
| h | /h/ |
| i | /ɪ/ or /iː/ |
| j | /dʒ/ |
| l | /l/ |
| ll | /ɬ/ |
| m | /m/ |
| n | /n/ |
| o | /ɔ/ or /oː/ |
| p | /p/ |
| ph | /f/ |
| r | /r/ |
| rh | /r̥/ |
| s | /s/ |
| t | /t/ |
| th | /θ/ |
| u | /ɪ/ or /iː/ |
| w | /ʊ/ or /uː/ |
| y | /ɪ/ or /iː/ |
In addition, Welsh uses diacritics to mark some vowels. The circumflex (ˆ) is used to indicate a long vowel, but not all long vowels are marked with a circumflex.
Resources[edit | edit source]
- Welsh Course on Duolingo
- Teach Yourself Welsh by T.J. Rhys Jones
- Contemporary Welsh Grammar by D. Brown
- Online Dictionary
| Celtic |
|---|
| Breton Cornish Irish Manx Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) Welsh |
