Welsh, called Cymraeg or Cymric (from Cymru, Wales) by its speakers, is the
native language of Wales and the most flourishing of the Celtic languages.
It is spoken in Wales (where the majority of its users also speak English)
and in some communities in the United States and Argentina. Organizations
such as the Society for the Welsh Language (Cymdeuthas Yr Iath Cymraeg)
have saved the language from dying out and are working to assure its
official status along with English. Many schools in Wales now use Welsh as
the medium of instruction, and television and radio broadcasts are made in
the language.
Like Breton, Welsh has discarded case endings for nouns; verbs, however, are elaborately inflected. The alternation of consonants, called mutation, plays a role, as in all Celtic languages. Welsh spelling is phonemic, representing unambiguously the pertinent sounds. In most cases Welsh speakers will know how to pronounce a word they have never seen before. The letter w can represent either a consonant or a vowel, however, and y stands for two vowel sounds. The consonant f has the sound of English v; ff of f; dd of th, as in then; and th of th, as in thin. Popular attempts to describe pronunciation of double l (ll) all fail. It is a voiceless lateral fricative, and facile comparison to English thl is invalid. Welsh words are accented on the next to last syllable and have a characteristic intonation.
Scholars recognize three periods of Welsh:
"Celtic Languages,"
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Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.
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