I like Thursdays! They are stress free and filled with something I really
enjoy doing – learning Welsh. This is something I never thought I would
say or write but it has become very special to me and is connected with the
musical side of my life as well. There is also that strong link with that
time I had almost forgotten because I was torn away from it at the age of
five to attend Boarding school. That time in my early childhood in
Glynneath where I felt happy and secure growing up in a bi-lingual family
with an English-speaking Father and a Welsh-speaking Mother and
Grandparents. It was inevitable I suppose that I would soak up all these
sounds and words of this old language and so many of the words I obviously
heard during that time are coming back to me during the Welsh lessons.
My singing teacher, who has been and continues to be an inspiration to me
and to many others, can switch from Welsh to English so quickly during the
lessons of some students who require to be taught in this way and I find
this fascinating. I did it at the age of five but somehow over the years
have lost this ability. Now I hope that will come back to me as I re-learn
this old language.
When I am sitting at home pondering over the homework which we get each
week, I get the feeling of the age of the language that I am studying and I
like it very much.
My next challenge is to find a good on-line Welsh dictionary so I can
improve my vocabulary so any suggestions would be gratefully received.
I am sure that my pronunciation of Welsh will improve in my singing, too and
that can only be a plus.
Several years ago, when I won the Lieder Competition at the National
Eisteddfod in Newport, a very helpful Welsh translator offered to instantly
translate the adjudicators’ comments for me as they were being given. I
hope that the next time I am on the national Eisteddfod stage (I must be
positive of course and say when not if), I will understand much more of what
is being said and will also be able to answer positively when asked if I
speak Welsh. So now after talking about it, I’d better get on with my
homework and will come back to you later.
Anne.