Are you WELSH?

[geardaddy]

[DevonRex]

1. Hell yeah.

I'm a Lloyd.

[geardaddy]

2. Tidy.

My mom's mother was an Evans.

:toast:

[DevonRex]

6. We have an Evans about 3 generations back.

And the Lloyd was changed to Floyd when they got to Virginia for some reason.

[geardaddy]

11. You know what Lloyd (Llwyd) means?

Gray.

[DevonRex]

22. Yeah, I knew that. And my first name means white wave. :)

[skooooo]

17. We're from family of Evans from Wales too!

What up, cuz?

[geardaddy]

19. S'mae!

Hello!

:hi:

[skooooo]

24. coalminers??

I think we were back there.

[geardaddy]

26. Absolutely

My great grandfather and great great grandfather went to PA to mine coal.

[skooooo]

34. I'll PM you..

...we could be related some how..

[geardaddy]

35. Cool!

[no name no slogan]

57. So is The Edge (aka Dave Evans), the guitarist from U2

His parents moved to Ireland when he was a lad.

[Deep13]

3. Yes, but at least 400 years removed from the old country.

New England Yankee is probably the more accurate label.

[geardaddy]

4. Yeah

There were a lot in those days. My grandma's parents came in the 1870s.

[foxfeet]

5. My paternal great-grandmother used to speak Welsh to us

when I was a kid. I now deeply regret that I didn't learn any of the language.

[geardaddy]

7. Teach yourself!

here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/learnwelsh/

[foxfeet]

16. Many thanks! I've been meaning to ask you about your suggestions for resources.

I speak German (once fluent, now rusty), some French, a little Spanish, and have studied Swedish and Irish. At some point I'd like to try a non-Indo-European language, maybe a Native American language or Japanese.

[geardaddy]

18. You're quite welcome!

Welsh is a little different to start with, but if you've studied Irish, you know about the verb-subject-object order and mutation thingies nature of the Celtic languages.

[motely36]

8. 1/4

:bounce:

[geardaddy]

12. Yep, me too.

1/4 on my mom's side. 3rd generation

[motely36]

14. Yeah, on my mom's side also

Immigrated to Indiana

[Lyric]

9. A little bit on my Mom's side, yes.

The surname of my Welsh ancestors was Lewis.

:hi:

[soleiri]

10. +1

A tiny bit on my mom's side. Also Lewis.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

13. No but, I want a Welsh pony. For Real!

[geardaddy]

15. Who wouldn't?

:D

[GreenPartyVoter]

20. My nana's grandparents were from the Cwmafan area.

[geardaddy]

21. Wow!

My grandma's parents were from Port Talbot (or around there). Cool!

[GreenPartyVoter]

23. Very cool! I heard there were cousins in Swansea as well, but it's been a very long time since they

and my nana kept in touch.

[geardaddy]

28. We visited my grandma's cousins in Port Talbot

in 1979. They've since died and had no children. So if we have any other relatives, we don't know about them.

[GreenPartyVoter]

29. Yeah. I can only imagine how many relatives are out there that I don't know about. Heck, I married

one without knowing it. LOL (That's life on a Maine island for ya.)

[geardaddy]

30. I remember visiting those cousins

I was 14 and they talked about knowing Richard Burton (Jenkins). Essentially he was somehow distantly related to them.

[GreenPartyVoter]

32. Now that is wicked cool!

[bikebloke]

25. Does watching Torchwood make me Welsh?

Or having a mild crush on Eve Myles?

[geardaddy]

27. You bet.

:D

[DevonRex]

31. Only if you can also carry a tune. :)

[geardaddy]

33. lol

Bois bach, let's have a sing-song. Tidy!

[XNASA]

36. I can trace my paternal ancestry to 13th century Llanishan.

Williams they were. My branch worked it's way east into England... eventually sailing from Great Yarmouth to Salem in 1637.

[geardaddy]

37. Cool!

That's some awesome detective work!

[Deja Q]

38. After watching what comes out of BBC Wales(tm), I rescinded my Welshness!

:(

Mind you, now all those Welsh jokes from "Red Dwarf" make sense...

[geardaddy]

39. Why?

You mean the English version or S4C?

[geardaddy]

40. I thought you were Scottish.

[WildEyedLiberal]

41. Nope. I'm a Celtic mutt, but there is no Welsh that I know of

I am also not convinced that the Welsh language is, in fact, pronouncable. But it looks cool :D

[geardaddy]

42. C'mon

it's totally pronoucable! :D

[cwydro]

43. Yes.

[geardaddy]

44. Neis iawn!

Y ddraig goch!

Wyt ti'n golygu "crwydro?"

[REP]

45. Cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon motherfucker!

My grandmother called the Saesneg "the bloody English" - and she was born in Iowa.

[geardaddy]

46. Cynrychioli, cont bach.

:D

Ti'n siarad yr hen iaith, ia?

[REP]

47. Cymraeg cerrig calch

I'm learning, very slowly. My Welsh-born forebearers were SO proud of being new Americans that they'd go into another room to speak Welsh, so the rest of us have to learn how to pronounce the 'll' from scratch.

Have you heard of a planned Welsh community in Kansas called Arvonia? That's where my grandfather's people settled (after coming through Wisconsin, naturally).

[geardaddy]

49. Excellent that you're learning.

My grandma taught me the Lord's Prayer in Welsh and some greetings, but that was it.

I've heard of Arvonia. My grandmother's people settled in the Hyde Park section of Scranton, PA, which was VERY Welsh

[REP]

51. I have an 1865 Welsh edition of the collected works of John Bunyan

My ggrandmother, born in Bala and married in Arvonia, has her wedding info recorded in Bala.

The Bunyan isn't hers - I collect old books, and since no one knew what it was, I got it for next to nothing. It's a beautiful book that most Welsh at the time probably couldn't afford.

[geardaddy]

52. Cool!

I've never been to Bala, but I've been in the region.

I have the bi-lingual hymnal from my grandma's church in Scranton.

[IntravenousDemilo]

68. Do you know Bill from Bala?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYO5DPulDpM

[mwooldri]

48. On behalf of me and my hall-mates at University of Dundee, I apologize.

We had England (me and one other dude), Scotland (of course), Northern Ireland and Ireland represented in our group. No Welsh. Guess which nationality got ripped on. Oh and those who are French, we apologize too.

Speaking as someone from the Surrey Hills (in England)... I do like Wales, the people are great, the scenery something else. Had two very memorable holiays near Cei Newydd - first of which was when I was allowed to have a camera for the first time. Still have some of those pictures somewhere. Haverfordwest isn't too bad either.

What with Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all having their own Parliament, I think it's time England had one too in some respects but then I fear if that happens there'd be a permanent Conservative majority and the UK might end up breaking up.

Mark.

[geardaddy]

50. Thanks.

Much appreciated.

I remember having a conversation with two co-workers when I was teaching English in Taiwan; one from WI and one from England. The one from Wisconsion was of Irish descent and asked the English guy what he thought of the Irish. His reply was something along the lines of, "They're all right. No hard feelings" and then we asked him about what he thought of the French. His reply? "Scum of the earth"

Then I asked him what he thought of the Welsh (I'm only Welsh-American, so he had no idea I had any interest). His reply, "They're lower than the French. We conquered them and they should have the decency not to speak that horrid language when we're around."

I think that England should have their own Parliament, too, but I can see your concern about the break up of the UK.

[no name no slogan]

56. IMHO, it's all about the North Sea oil

...which would lie under Scotland's territorial waters if the UK were to devolve. Because of that, there's no way in hell the UK parliament will let Scotland (or Wales) leave the Union and/or join the EU as independent countries.

[geardaddy]

69. Very interesting theory.

Thanks.

[WinkyDink]

53. Yes, and Irish and English. No flippin' Scots for me!

[DevonRex]

54. Hey now. Don't diss the Scots. You bloody Englishman.

[WinkyDink]

78. A Molly Maguire, I'll have you know!

[SoxFan]

55. Mrgwybn Llwrwlblbb;;!!

[geardaddy]

71. Charming.

Twll din.

[SoxFan]

75. Please donate generously to Vowels For Wales. Your gift is tax deductible.

hey, we Irish are no better:

Through the ages, through war, pestilence and sleet, the Celtic culture has survived, it's songs and dances passed from father to son, from mother to daughter, from uncle to goat. And though few still speak Gaelic, the ancient language of the Celts, all hearts are still stirred by the beautiful tones of this mellifluous tongue.

Ah ma wee hach patew mae bo clee hach maneagh
Heow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow BARK meow
Saigh hough loo loo cheow dach hagh vreigh chouach mouheaugh
Douauh meah mae couchah moo ma meagh pach hooragh

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/The-Gaelic-Song-lyrics-The-Arrogant-Worms/283A3E7A763C7C3748256B260029E355

[geardaddy]

76. All right then.

:D

[geardaddy]

79. I'll have to listen to that one when I go home.

lol

[elshiva]

58. WELSH

On EDIT: The Shirt means "I love Cardiff."

[Yavin4]

59. Where Does The Term "Welsh on a Bet" Come From

I've always wanted to know.

[skooooo]

61. You know I've forgotten exactly now, but...

...it does refer to the people in Wales, and is therefore a kind of slur. I imagine it has something to do with the poverty in Wales and the poor workers there.

[geardaddy]

77. It is absolutely a slur

I'm not sure what the origin is of it though.

[Incitatus]

60. I don't think so

[femmocrat]

62. No, but I have corgis! Does that count?

There are several wonderful breeds that come from Wales! :)

[geardaddy]

70. Corgi = Dwarf dog

cor=dwarf
ci=dog

[astonamous]

63. Denbighshire (Denbigh) Wales...

My Great Grandfather came to the US after joining the Mormon Church in the 1860's. He was a Tailor and came to the US with the family (Jones) that he had lived and worked for since he was a child as an apprentice. His mother's name was Jane Wright and his father was William Rogers or Rodgers. His church records have his name as John Prodger Wright. He went back to Wales in the mid 1890's and couldn't track down any of his immediate family.

[Ivan Sputnik]

64. Me: Welsh

in part. But I've never been to Wales. Damn. My parents have an old Welsh bible that says "Y Bibl" on the cover. Interesting language, Welsh. Very sparing of the vowels.

[geardaddy]

72. That's not true

W and Y are vowels (as they sometimes are in English)

[libodem]

65. My mother's father had quite a bit of Welsh in him

but also French, Dutch and Indian. Her mom was 100% Norwegian. My dad was English on both sides. I'm a mutt.

[BreweryYardRat]

66. Yup.

I'm 1/4 Welsh heritage.

[geardaddy]

73. me too.

:thumbsup:

[IntravenousDemilo]

67. I understand that "pwned" is actually a Welsh word, pronounced "poo-neth". n/m

[geardaddy]

74. lol

not even close.

*IF* it were a Welsh word, it would be pronounced "poo-ned"

lol

[IntravenousDemilo]

80. I thought the Welsh D was sounded like "th" in "then"...

... you know, like in "eisteddfod". Or is that just the double D?

[geardaddy]

81. Just the double D.

Eisteddfod is pronounce "Ay-STETH-vod"

[trackfan]

82. No. But I'm Jonesing for something all the time.

[IntravenousDemilo]

83. No, but my rabbit is.

As to the term "Welsh Rarebit", it's incorrect. It's "Welsh Rabbit". Yes, I know there's no rabbit in it. That's the joke. If the Welsh peasantry were caught poaching the King's rabbits, they were summarily strung up on the spot (as indeed the people who say "Welsh Rarebit" ought to be). So they concocted this lovely dish of bread, cheese, and ale, and sardonically referred to it as "Welsh Rabbit", just to stick a finger in the royal eye. In his 1926 edition of the Dictionary of Modern English Usage, the grammarian HW Fowler puts it quite plainly: "Welsh Rabbit is amusing and right. Welsh Rarebit is stupid and wrong."

[csziggy]

84. My great-grandfather came over from Wales in the 1870s

His father was a Wright, his mother a Morgan. We've got a Wright family history written entirely in Welsh that I need to try to translate someday.