Cymraeg: Talking about Languages (Part 1)
Are these correct? I had so much trouble finding the grammar and vocabulary online. Ugh.
Chinese : What did she say? / "Say that in Chinese!"
= Tsieineg, f. : Beth ddywedodd hi? / "Dyweda hynny yn Tsieineg!"
Cornish : Does he speak Cornish? / I don't know if he speaks Cornish.
= Cernyweg, f. : Ydy o'n siarad Cernyweg? / Dw i ddim yn gwybod os mae o'n siarad Cernyweg.
Croatian : Is Croatian his first language? / No, Croatian isn't his first language. His first language is English.
= Croateg, f. : Ydy Croateg ei iaith gyntag o? / Nac ydy, dydy Croateg ddim ei iaith gyntag. Mae ei iaith gyntag Saesneg.
Danish : What's the Danish for "food"? / "Mad" is the Danish for "food".
= Daneg, f. : Beth ydy'r Ddaneg am "fwyd"? / Mae "med" y Daneg am "fwyd".
Dutch : Who speaks Dutch? / My friend Roger speaks fluent Dutch.
= Iseldireg, f. : Pwy sy'n siarad Iseldireg? / Mae fy ffrind i Roger yn siarad Iseldireg rhugl.
English : Doesn't she speak English? / Well, she says that she speaks English.
= Saesneg, f. : Ydy hi ddim siarad Saesneg? / Wel, mae hi'n dweud y bod hi'n siarad Saesneg.
Faroese : Does he speak English? / No, he only speaks Faroese.
= Fferaidd, f. : Ydy o'n siarad Saesneg? / Nac ydy, mae o'n siarad Fferaidd yn unig.
Finnish : Has the book been translated into Finnish? / Yes, the book was translated from English into Finnish in 1987.
= Ffineg, f. : A yw'r llyfr wedi'i gyfieithu i'r Ffineg? / Ydy, cyfieithwyd y llyfr o'r Seasneg i'r Ffineg yn 1987.
German : What language are they speaking? / They're speaking German.
= Almaeneg, f. : Pa iaith y maen nhw'n ei siarad? / Maen nhw'n siarad Almaeneg.
Indonesian : Does his son speak Indonesian? / Well, he speaks passable Indonesian.
= Indoneseg, f. : Ydy ei fam o'n siarad Indoneseg? / Wel, mae o'n siarad Indoneseg ???passable???.
* I wasn't sure what the word for "passable" was.
Irish : Do you speak Irish? / No, I don't speak Irish.
= Gwyddeleg, f. : Wyt ti'n siarad Gwyddeleg? / Nac ydw, dw i ddim siarad Gwyddeleg.
Photo: One of the bike trails in Hadley, Massachusetts USA
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Cymraeg: Talking about Languages (Part 1)
Are these correct? I had so much trouble finding the grammar and vocabulary online. Ugh.Chinese : What did she say? / "Say that in Chinese!"
= Tsieineg, f. : Beth ddywedodd hi? / "Dyweda hynny yn Tsieineg!"
Cornish : Does he speak Cornish? / I don't know if he speaks Cornish.
= Cernyweg, f. : Ydy o'n siarad Cernyweg? / Dw i ddim yn gwybod os mae o'n siarad Cernyweg.
Croatian : Is Croatian his first language? / No, Croatian isn't his first language. His first language is English.
= Croateg, f. : A yw Ydy Croateg ei yn iaith gyntag iddo? / Nac ydy, dydy nid Croateg ddim yw ei iaith gyntaf. Mae Ei iaith gyntaf yw Saesneg.
Danish : What's the Danish for "food"? / "Mad" is the Danish for "food".
= Daneg, f. : Beth ydy'r Ddaneg am "fwyd"? / Mae "Mad" yw'r Daneg am "fwyd".
Dutch : Who speaks Dutch? / My friend Roger speaks fluent Dutch.
= Iseldireg, f. : Pwy sy'n siarad Iseldireg? / Mae fy ffrind i Roger yn siarad Iseldireg rhugl.
English : Doesn't she speak English? / Well, she says that she speaks English.
= Saesneg, f. : Ydy hi ddim yn siarad Saesneg? / Wel, mae hi'n dweud y bod hi'n siarad Saesneg.
Faroese : Does he speak English? / No, he only speaks Faroese.
= Fferaidd, f. : Ydy o'n siarad Saesneg? / Nac ydy, mae o'n siarad Fferaidd yn unig.
Finnish : Has the book been translated into Finnish? / Yes, the book was translated from English into Finnish in 1987.
= Ffineg, f. : A yw'r llyfr wedi'i gyfieithu i'r Ffineg? / Ydy, cyfieithwyd y llyfr o'r Seasneg i'r Ffineg yn 1987.
German : What language are they speaking? / They're speaking German.
= Almaeneg, f. : Pa iaith y maen nhw'n ei siarad? / Maen nhw'n siarad Almaeneg.
Indonesian : Does his son speak Indonesian? / Well, he speaks passable Indonesian.
= Indoneseg, f. : Ydy ei fam o'n siarad Indoneseg? / Wel, mae o'n siarad rhywfaint o Indoneseg ???passable???.
* I wasn't sure what the word for "passable" was.
I can't think of a good translation for "passable" so I've used the word "some" which is what I'd use here.
Irish : Do you speak Irish? / No, I don't speak Irish.
= Gwyddeleg, f. : Wyt ti'n siarad Gwyddeleg? / Nac ydw, dw i ddim yn siarad Gwyddeleg.
Photo: One of the bike trails in Hadley, Massachusetts USA
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Faroese : Does he speak English? / No, he only speaks Faroese.
= Fferaidd Ffaröeg, f. : Ydy o'n siarad Saesneg? / Nac ydy, mae o'n siarad Fferaidd Ffaröeg yn unig [Ffaroaidd = "Faroese" (adjective); Ffaröeg = "Faroese language"; Ffaroad = "a Faroese person"].
Finnish : Has the book been translated into Finnish? / Yes, the book was translated from English into Finnish in 1987.
= Ffinneg, f. : A yw'r [as a question of style, it's better to stick to one dialect or another, so far you've been using ydy rather than yw] llyfr wedi'i gyfieithu i'r Ffinneg? / Ydy, cyfieithwyd y llyfr o'r Saesneg i'r Ffinneg yn 1987.
German : What language are they speaking? / They're speaking German.
= Almaeneg, f. : Pa iaith y maen ydyn nhw'n ei siarad? / Maen nhw'n siarad Almaeneg.
Indonesian : Does his son speak Indonesian? / Well, he speaks passable Indonesian.
= Indoneseg, f. : Ydy ei fab o'n siarad Indoneseg? / Wel, mae o'n siarad Indoneseg weddol dda [= "fairly good"].
Irish : Do you speak Irish? / No, I don't speak Irish.
= Gwyddeleg, f. : Wyt ti'n siarad Gwyddeleg? / Nac ydw, dw i ddim yn siarad Gwyddeleg.
= Fferaidd Ffaröeg, f. : Ydy o'n siarad Saesneg? / Nac ydy, mae o'n siarad Fferaidd Ffaröeg yn unig [Ffaroaidd = "Faroese" (adjective); Ffaröeg = "Faroese language"; Ffaroad = "a Faroese person"].
Finnish : Has the book been translated into Finnish? / Yes, the book was translated from English into Finnish in 1987.
= Ffinneg, f. : A yw'r [as a question of style, it's better to stick to one dialect or another, so far you've been using ydy rather than yw] llyfr wedi'i gyfieithu i'r Ffinneg? / Ydy, cyfieithwyd y llyfr o'r Saesneg i'r Ffinneg yn 1987.
German : What language are they speaking? / They're speaking German.
= Almaeneg, f. : Pa iaith y maen ydyn nhw'n ei siarad? / Maen nhw'n siarad Almaeneg.
Indonesian : Does his son speak Indonesian? / Well, he speaks passable Indonesian.
= Indoneseg, f. : Ydy ei fab o'n siarad Indoneseg? / Wel, mae o'n siarad Indoneseg weddol dda [= "fairly good"].
Irish : Do you speak Irish? / No, I don't speak Irish.
= Gwyddeleg, f. : Wyt ti'n siarad Gwyddeleg? / Nac ydw, dw i ddim yn siarad Gwyddeleg.
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Cornish : Does he speak Cornish? / I don't know if he speaksCornish.
= Daneg, f. : Beth ydy'r Ddaneg am "fwyd"? / Mae "med" ydy'r Ddaneg am "fwyd".
Dutch : Who speaks Dutch? / My friend Roger speaks fluent Dutch.
= Iseldireg, f. : Pwy sy'n siarad Iseldireg? / Mae fy ffrind i Roger yn siarad Iseldireg rhugl. [here you could also front the subject for emphasis: Fy ffrind Roger sy'n siarad Iseldireg rugl]
English : Doesn't she speak English? / Well, she says that she speaks English.
= Saesneg, f. : Ydy hi ddim yn siarad Saesneg? / Wel, mae hi'n dweud y bod hi'n siarad Saesneg.
= Cernyweg, f. : Ydy o'n siarad Cernyweg? / Dw i ddim yn gwybod os mae a ydyo'n siarad Cernyweg [in English we sometimes use"if" to ask an indirect question, but this isn't translated as"if" in Welsh as it doesn't involve any kind of condition].
Croatian : Is Croatian his first language? / No, Croatian isn't his firstlanguage. His first language is English.
= Croateg, f. : Ydy (Ai) [this interrogative particle ai can be left out in colloquial Welsh] Croateg ydyei famiaith gyntag o [mamiaith = "mother tongue", I'm not sure that iaith gynta is used]?/ Nac ydy Nage [when the question begins with something other than a verb, the answer will be ie “yes” or nage “no”], dydy Dim [or Nid in more formal/literary Welsh] Croateg ddim ydy ei famiaithgyntag. Saesneg Mae ydy ei famiaith gyntag Saesneg [identification clauses usethe so-called abnormal word order, with the verb bod in second place].
= Daneg, f. : Beth ydy'r Ddaneg am "fwyd"? / Mae "med" ydy'r Ddaneg am "fwyd".
Dutch : Who speaks Dutch? / My friend Roger speaks fluent Dutch.
= Iseldireg, f. : Pwy sy'n siarad Iseldireg? / Mae fy ffrind i Roger yn siarad Iseldireg rhugl. [here you could also front the subject for emphasis: Fy ffrind Roger sy'n siarad Iseldireg rugl]
English : Doesn't she speak English? / Well, she says that she speaks English.
= Saesneg, f. : Ydy hi ddim yn siarad Saesneg? / Wel, mae hi'n dweud y bod hi'n siarad Saesneg.
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