Customer Reviews

Welsh (Teach Yourself)

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Whatever you're looking for, this is not the book for you. I see that two beginners have very high opinions about this book, and I guess that they have found it easy to use. The problem is that the form of Welsh used in the book does not exit. I am not a beginner, I've lived in Wales, I speak Welsh, I watch TV in Welsh, etc. etc. In short, I know the Welsh language quite well. Written Welsh is a very archaic language, and we can still read texts written in Welsh 800AD, while ordinary English-speakers can't read Beowulf except in translation. Spoken Welsh is however not so archaic, so the difference between written and spoken Welsh in considerable. Now, Teach Yourself Welsh uses a form invented to be a bridge between the written and spoken language, but fails utterly. If you use this book you will be unable to understand written texts in Welsh, and if you try to speak.. Well, most people will understand you, but I can assure you that you will sound funny. For example, the written Welsh for "I am" is "Yr wyf", while the spoken form is "Dw I". In this book you will learn to say "Rydw I", a form which has never been used in writing nor in speech.

Welsh is a wonderful language, and posseses some of the oldest stories in Europe, among them the tales of King Arthur, Merlin etc. It is definitely worth learning this language, which is truth is quite easy, but this is not the book to use. I strongly recommend "Colloquial Welsh" by Gareth King, which gives the beginner a good command of spoken Welsh, and also gives the outlines of the written language.

As a new Welsh Learner, I have purchased several programs. Although they are all very good, I found the layout of this book and cassette easier to get to a good basic grasp of pronunciation and phrasing. I really appreciated how the 'speed' of the recordings starts at a slower pace, and then speeds up as the course continues. This course seemed to be focused on the Southern dialects as its default.

For a beginner in studying Welsh, I found this book extremely helpful. There are clear lessons and comprehensive examples that allow you to understand the grammar and pronunciation of the language. Excercises are also included that help you practice your grasp of the language. A wonderful start for the beginner in Welsh!