Courses

Breton progress update

/ TIDE and CANUTE / Leave a comment

In my work as a QA proofreader, I have to be comfortable with words and content that aren’t immediately familiar to me. I find that learning languages in my spare time exercises the mental muscles I use when proofreading.

I’ve been working through the Breton course on the Desketa website and comparing it to my experience of learning Welsh. They’re both Brittonic languages, descended from languages spoken in Britain during the Roman era and before.

I’m a weak A2 (CEFR scale) in Welsh and only 14 units into the A1 section of the Desketa course. I’ve also been comparing Welsh and Breton on the uTalk app.

It’s still early days, but so far I’m finding Breton a bit easier than Welsh. Knowing some Welsh means that quite a bit of Breton vocabulary is immediately familiar to me. The two languages have a lot of words in common.

I took GCSE French at school. This has helped me recognise a few instances where French and Breton have similarities (which can occur for all kinds of reasons).

Here’s a phrase that illustrates the similarities between French and Breton: N’eo ket gwir = C’est pas vrai. In both languages, the verb “be” is surrounded by other words to make the negative.

The phrase means “it’s not true.” In Welsh, we can say: Nid yw’n wir. (The “g” has dropped off “wir” because of a grammatical feature called a mutation.) In Welsh, the word for true is “gwir,” just like in Breton.

I’m enjoying the Desketa Breton course. The grammatical explanations are in French, which is rather challenging for me. They often focus on explaining the many grammatical differences between French and Breton. I need to understand the differences between English and Breton, so I tend to ignore these points.

The French explanations and translations are helpful on a cultural level. Breton is a language of France. The course content therefore focuses on aspects of lifestyle and behaviour that are relevant to Bretons and other French people alike. A Breton course focusing on a UK lifestyle might be far less useful.

In a funny way, Desketa reminds me of the Dysgu Cymraeg Welsh course, which draws on typical British scenarios for its course content.

Learning Breton has encouraged me to keep going with Welsh. Together, they’re part of a larger northwestern European language story – one that includes Cornish, Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic. When we add all those languages together, it reveals a very significant aspect of Europe’s history.

Exploring Welsh

/ TIDE and CANUTE / Leave a comment

Welsh is one of the most popular languages on Duolingo. I’ve been learning it there for several years. Duolingo has taught me a lot of vocabulary and basic sentence structures. I enjoy the gamified approach, even though it’s not the novelty it once was.

I added other learning methods when I realised that Duolingo wasn’t likely to get me speaking. I tried:

This is how I got on with each method.

Dysgu Cymraeg classes

Following this course took me back to my school days. Lessons were group classes alongside other learners. The teacher was very good, and the grammar-heavy textbook was clearly laid out.

I felt that the textbook made Welsh grammar look overwhelming. In formal Welsh, sentences begin with verbs. These vary depending on tense (e.g. past, present, future), person (e.g. you, they, she), sentence type (e.g. question, negative, affirmative), and the region of Wales. The language is richly diverse, so there are always several ways to say something.

I remember looking at one page and thinking that I’d have to learn 30 versions of one verb. It was pretty intimidating. I was relieved when the course came to an end.

Doctor Cymraeg’s online course

Doctor Cymraeg’s online video course was just what I needed after Dysgu Cymraeg. It’s taught by Welsh teacher Stephen Rule (aka Doctor Cymraeg). He’s also a lifelong learner of Welsh, and I think that’s why his teaching feels so accessible.

The course is built around a slideshow presentation of Welsh grammar. Doctor Cymraeg shows how the verbs follow patterns. This means you don’t have to learn 30 versions of one verb. Instead, you just need to understand the pattern that unites the diversity.

I dip in and out of the course and will probably need to watch each video several times. Doctor Cymraeg demystifies Welsh grammar, but there’s still a lot of it.

Say Something in Welsh

Next to Duolingo, this is my favourite Welsh-learning method. It follows a very simple listen-and-repeat format. As you learn more words and phrases, the complexity of what you can say increases. With this approach, there’s no need to learn any formal grammar. Your brain will pick it up instinctively.

Say Something in Welsh places quite a heavy demand on the listener’s attention and short-term memory. Fortunately, you can see the words written on the screen in Welsh and English.

In my work as a proofreader, I have to be very aware of the whole document. I also have to be comfortable with remembering non-English words. I’m convinced that using Say Something in Welsh exercises the mental muscles that I need to do this.

I dip in and out of this course. I’ve not finished Say Something in Welsh yet!

Amdani

The Amdani story books are written with grammar and vocabulary that learners can understand. I bought books in the entry-level series (called mynediad in Welsh).

I was also able to buy a couple on Audible, so that I could listen and read at the same time. I found I much preferred the books that I could listen to, and I wish all the Amdani books were available as audiobooks.

My favourite book, Gorau Glas, is about a police officer’s adventures in a small Welsh town.

After all this, can I speak Welsh?

I wish I could say that I’m now fluent in Welsh. I’m still very much a beginner, but a confident one. It’s frustrating that I’m not more advanced. However, I do appreciate the mental exercise that comes with learning any language.