A Welsh language business at heart
As a small business that uses Welsh everyday in their soy wax candles the Welsh language is really important to Little Bit Different. Being based in Swansea, an area that is not known for its large numbers of Welsh speakers, it had been increasingly noticeable that most Welsh products in shops did not feature Welsh. We wanted to do something about that so in 2017 we started adding Welsh to our labels. Years later we look around shops all over Wales and smile knowing that we were one of the first businesses to start the change. Welsh language gifts, cards, homeware are all over high streets in Wales. It makes us so proud. We want to share our Funniest Welsh words and phrases with you.
Vicky’s Welsh roots
I was in born in Swansea and have lived here all my life apart from my time in University in London. My dad is Welsh, he even happens to be called Anthony Hopkins. My Mum has lived here since she was 21, she sounds more Welsh than many Welsh people but still struggles with some words and place names like Llanelli. Her best friend when we were children lived on LLanllienwen Road, it gave us hours of amusement!
A Level Welsh is not easy
Welsh is very important to me, I struggled through and passed A level Welsh which I always felt was like learning three languages. There are so many differences between everyday day Welsh, formal Welsh and written Welsh. Add in that often there are differences between North and South Welsh and it meant many a late night revising and watching Pobl Y Cwm, the Welsh language soap opera, to improve.
Welsh is a lovely lyrical language but it can be really tricky and sometimes funny when it gets mixed up into Wenglish, pysgod wibli wobli for jelly fish and popty ping for microwave are well known examples.
Our family’s funniest and favourite Welsh words and phrases
As a Welsh business we feature lots of Welsh in our labelling but there is so much more we want to share with you so between us we have come up with some useful, funny, odd and family favourites.
Bwrw Glaw The much used word for rain. It does rain a lot in Wales, although I’m not sure if it really rains more than anywhere else. Either way it makes for a gorgeous green country on those precious sun filled days.
Diolch Thank you Even people who don’t speak any Welsh at all will often use this.
Sut wyt ti? How are you? You might hear this as a friendly greeting. You can answer with “iawn diolch” which means “good thankyou”
Hwyl You might see this as you leave supermarkets etc, often accompanied by fawr. In this context it is a goodbye, thank you type statement. It can also take on the same kind of meaning as “craic” in Irish. My memory of it being used that has always stuck with me is the teacher chairing our school Eisteddfods shouting at the crowds to “give it some hwyl” meaning to put enthusiasm into our performances or cheering for our house team.
I should explain Eisteddfod too after that!
Eisteddfod means a sitting, this is probably due to the customary carved wooden chair that is always used in the ceremony ‘The Crowning of the Bard’. This is awarded to the winner of the poetry competition at the end of the Eisteddfod. Before this there are musical, dance, recitation competitions and others depending on the event. There is a national Eisteddfod but they are also held in schools all over the country on St David’s day on March the 1st.
Now for a few family favourite funniest Welsh words and phrases
Ling di long. My Nana and her sisters used to say they were going for a ling di long when they were going for a wander around the city centre shops. It kind of translates as lackadaisical.
Ych a fi. This was used so much during my childhood at home, school, anywhere really, that I didn’t even realise it was Welsh until I was about eight. I just thought it was what you said when something wasn’t very nice.
Dw’in hoffi coffi. My mum has always had a go at picking up Welsh words and phrases, most she picked up in work so this phrase meaning “I like coffee” being her most used makes a lot of sense.
Gwasanaeth. This means services. It is one of my favourite words and is an odd choice but it is because of my Aunt. It always make me grin. She travelled the 200 miles to visit us when we were children and got lost. She rang my mum for directions. My mum sensibly asked what was on the last road sign she had seen, cue my aunt badly mispronouncing Gwasanaeth and my mum calling me to help, despite her even worse attempt at prounouncing it! Luckily by this point I was 16 and doing GCSE Welsh so knew what it meant. We were able to send my dad out to find her at the nearest service station!!
Ar ben y byd. On top of the world. This is such a joyful phrase. I picked my son up from school when he was about six, we started chatting. He announced as we were walking out of the yard that he was “ar ben y byd”. I had never heard him say more than one word in Welsh at that point and was very impressed and also very pleased that he was so happy.
I hope you enjoyed our funniest Welsh words and phrases. It is such a wonderful and complicated language that we love to see and hear more and more with each passing year.
Hwyl fawr
Vicky
