The Dialects of Wales

Ness Davis from Ffynnongroyw was my grandfather. I can't speak Welsh but it's good to hear his voice again.

Gareth

Map braidd amheus...Bryncrug wedi symud i Harlech.

Do yourhave recordings of the distinctive dialects of english spoken in the soiuth wales vallies.. Wenglish adopted the name Wenglish and his book talk tidy and he did recordings.

Dear Marc,

I'm a student from the university of Brest (Brittany, France) looking for dialectal welsh fishing terms.

I had two questions for you :

- Is there tape-recordings of welsh dialects about fishing in the collection ? (names of the fishes, seaweed, coastal geomorphology, ...)
- Do you think it would still possible do do a field-works these days to interview dialect speakers along the coasts of Wales.

Thank you very much.

Hi Cathanfanc,

Glad you enjoyed the article! You may be looking for our webpage 'Welsh Surnames: Why are there so many Joneses in Wales?'

Best wishes,

Marc
Digital Team

diolch for this and all the other interesting articles!

someone mentioned an article on names in wales and why there are so many "jonses". that sounds interesting as well, but I am having trouble finding it. is there some way someone could send or post a link to it please?

Annwyl Syr/Fadam,
Oes 'na modd i ni gael copi o'r recordiau o'r tafodieithoedd uchod?
Maen nhw'n edrych yn debyg i'r rhai yn yr hen lyfr "Cymraeg, Cymrag, Cymreg" gan Peter Lewis. Mae'r llyfr gyda fi o hyd ond yn anffodus, mae'r caset wedi diflannu yn llwyr.

Hi there Helen

Thanks for your enquiry. You'll find the most accurate information in the census records, which will denote whether or not someone could speak Welsh. You can browse these records via services such as Ancestry or Find My Past.

Best wishes,

Sara
Digital Team

Hi
I am writing about my ancestor who was a dairy farmer in Llandyfaelog, Camarthenshire before he emigrated to Australia in 1830. I know he spoke English, but am curious if he would also have spoken Welsh as I understand his family had been farming in the area for generations. I would very much appreciate if you could give me some information, to help me have a better picture of who he was.

I also liked reading your page on why there are so many Jones in Wales - it is such a shame to have lost so many wonderful and lyrical Welsh names in the past.

Thanks so much,
Helen

Dear Mike,

Thank you for your enquiry. The archivist at St Fagans suggests the following:

First of all, you can check on the census whether your paternal grandfather and mother spoke Welsh. (The 1891 census was the first to collect information about the language spoken by the people of Wales.) The question you must then ask is how far back did their roots stretch in the Maesteg area. Were their parents and grandparents from the district? If your paternal grandfather and grandmother were born and raised in Maesteg and spoke Welsh, the likelihood is that they would have spoken a form of the 'Gwenhwyseg' dialect. An example of this dialect can be heard here https://museum.wales/articles/2011-03-29/The-Welsh-dialect-of-Llangynwyd-Mid-Glamorgan/

I hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Marc
Digital Team