Contact the Adviser, Cher

Welsh is the widest spoken Brythonic language (the other two being Cornish and Breton). It is estimated to be spoken by around a million people worldwide with about 900,000 of those in Wales (2023 Annual Population Survey). I would have to admit it’s a somewhat quirky language which presents a lot of challenges to those learning it. But part of the charm of learning is the challenge, isn’t it.

So why would someone who hated Welsh at school so much she dropped it at the earliest opportunity volunteer to be a Welsh Subject Adviser? Wn i ddim/dim clew etc.* Well actually I do have some idea. After fifty years the memory of the Welsh mistress from hell has dimmed a little and nostalgia taken its place. I missed Wales and still regarded it as home even after living in England for fifty years. I now commute between our new home in Wales and our daughter’s home in Surrey.

Towards the end of her life my mother had dementia. She couldn’t remember her late husband and son or what she’d had or breakfast but, come March 1^st, she would belt out Hen Wlad fy Nhadau** for all she was worth. Agreed her melody didn’t quite harmonise with Bryn Terfel’s rendition but that’s neither here nor there: being Welsh stays with you. My daughter did her post grad at Cardiff on the topic of Wenglish, a language I learnt from my father and inadvertently taught to my daughter. Its idiosyncrasy is celebrated on the Taffywood website and temporary wall in Cardiff.

There are a number of Welsh conversation groups around the country but it’s quite difficult for someone with no degree of fluency to participate. So, I’m on a modest crusade to set up Zoom platforms for absolute beginners. There are also a number of existing online groups who will accept u3a members who have no access to a local group so, if this would help you, please get in touch with me.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me on the email address below and remember: Dw i ddim angel ond dw i’n siarad iaith y nefoedd***

*Dunno/not a clue (slang - S and N Wales). **Old Land of My Fathers (National Anthem), ***I’m not an angel but I speak the language of heaven (iaith y nefoedd is a common nickname for the Welsh language.)

The following groups are currently available to any u3a member at no cost. Although they are not Interest Groups Online groups, they are equally open to IGO members.

For more information about these groups or for a one to one advice session about beginning to learn Welsh, please contact Cher at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.