The Welsh Language

The Welsh Language
Author: Janet Davies
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2014-01-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1783160209

The existence of the Welsh-language can come as a surprise to those who assume that English is the foundation language of Britain. However, J. R. R. Tolkien described Welsh as the 'senior language of the men of Britain'. Visitors from outside Wales may be intrigued by the existence of Welsh and will want to find out how a language which has, for at least fifteen hundred years, been the closest neighbour of English, enjoys such vibrancy, bearing in mind that English has obliterated languages thousands of miles from the coasts of England. This book offers a broad historical survey of Welsh-language culture from sixth-century heroic poetry to television and pop culture in the early twenty-first century. The public status of the language is considered and the role of Welsh is compared with the roles of other of the non-state languages of Europe. This new edition of The Welsh Language offers a full assessment of the implications of the linguistic statistics produced by the 2011 Census. The volume contains maps and plans showing the demographic and geographic spread of Welsh over the ages, charts examining the links between words in Welsh and those in other Indo-European languages, and illustrations of key publications and figures in the history of the language. It concludes with brief guides to the pronunciation, the dialects and the grammar of Welsh.

Etymological Glossary of Old Welsh

Etymological Glossary of Old Welsh
Author: Alexander Falileyev
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2011-08-25
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 3110952645

The present »Etymological Glossary of Old Welsh« is intended to offer an alphabetically arranged list of words which are found in the manuscripts transcribed before the beginning of the Middle Welsh period, and to provide them with the most important published references. Only the records written down during the Old Welsh period have been used is the compilation of the glossary. The only text which was not used is the »Book of Llan Dav«, which still requires to be comprehensively discussed, and is a subject for research on its own right. The data of this very important document is used throughout as comparanda for the research. The focus has been laid on the collection of the published analysis of the rudiments of Old Welsh; thus the glossary could be viewed as an extended bibliography for Old Welsh studies. The entries are arranged alphabetically according to the Welsh standard. The glosses which contain more than one word are segmented; in those cases where the segmentation could be problematic (and this applies to several particular fragments of Old Welsh versification), the components of the phrases are explicitly cross-referenced; when the segmentation is unclear, or the reading is variable, the components of the phrase are given as a complete entry. Homographic/homophonic lexemes are treated under the different headings. Similar or identical instances which were analysed differently are normally considered separately. Parts of compounds as well as morphemes from nouns are not treated separately; their discussion can be found in the entries which contain the first element of the composite word.

Agents in Early Welsh and Early Irish

Agents in Early Welsh and Early Irish
Author: Nicole Müller
Publisher:
Total Pages: 280
Release: 1999
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 9780198235873

This book is the first in-depth investigation of the expression of agency in verbal noun and impersonal/passive constructions in medieval Welsh and Irish, drawing on a database of texts from different genres: narrative, legal, and annalistic. The analysis is primarily data-oriented, rather than theory-oriented, although it draws on methods and concepts from functional grammar approaches and cognitive linguistics.

Essential Welsh Grammar: A Teach Yourself Guide

Essential Welsh Grammar: A Teach Yourself Guide
Author: Christine Jones
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2011-01-11
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 9780071759939

Understand and use Welsh grammar with confidence Don't worry if you don't know a lot about Welsh grammar! Essential Welsh Grammar is an up-to-date introduction to Welsh grammar, with lots of examples to illustrate each point. Unlike more traditional grammars, Essential Welsh Grammar is structured so that you can look up language forms according to what you want to say, even if you don't know the grammatical term for them. Each of the 22 units contains exercises for you to practice what you have learned, with an answer key for instant feedback.

The Medieval Welsh 'Englynion Y Beddau'

The Medieval Welsh 'Englynion Y Beddau'
Author: Patrick Sims-Williams
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 395
Release: 2023-09-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 184384706X

Edition and translation of this important genre of Old Welsh poetry.The "Stanzas of the Graves" or "Graves of the Warriors of the Island of Britain", attributed to the legendary poet Taliesin, describe ancient heroes' burial places. Like the "Triads of the Island of Britain", they are an indispensable key to the narrative literature of medieval Wales. The heroes come from the whole of Britain, including Mercia and present-day Scotland, as well as many from Wales and a few from Ireland. Many characters known from the Mabinogion appear, often with additional information, as do some from romance and early Welsh saga, such as Arthur, Bedwyr, Gawain, Owain son of Urien, Merlin, and Vortigern. The seventh-century grave of Penda of Mercia, beneath the river Winwæd in Yorkshire, is the latest grave to be included. The poems testify to the interest aroused by megaliths, tumuli, and other apparently man-made monuments, some of which can be identified with known prehistoric remains.This volume offers a full edition and translation of the poems, mapped with reference to all the manuscripts, starting with the Black Book of Carmarthen, the oldest extant book of Welsh poetry. There is also a detailed commentary on their linguistic, literary, historical, and archaeological aspects. translation of the poems, mapped with reference to all the manuscripts, starting with the Black Book of Carmarthen, the oldest extant book of Welsh poetry. There is also a detailed commentary on their linguistic, literary, historical, and archaeological aspects. translation of the poems, mapped with reference to all the manuscripts, starting with the Black Book of Carmarthen, the oldest extant book of Welsh poetry. There is also a detailed commentary on their linguistic, literary, historical, and archaeological aspects. translation of the poems, mapped with reference to all the manuscripts, starting with the Black Book of Carmarthen, the oldest extant book of Welsh poetry. There is also a detailed commentary on their linguistic, literary, historical, and archaeological aspects.

Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue

Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue
Author: John McWhorter
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2009-10-27
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1592404944

A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar Why do we say “I am reading a catalog” instead of “I read a catalog”? Why do we say “do” at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, Our Magnificent Bastard Language distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history. Covering such turning points as the little-known Celtic and Welsh influences on English, the impact of the Viking raids and the Norman Conquest, and the Germanic invasions that started it all during the fifth century ad, John McWhorter narrates this colorful evolution with vigor. Drawing on revolutionary genetic and linguistic research as well as a cache of remarkable trivia about the origins of English words and syntax patterns, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue ultimately demonstrates the arbitrary, maddening nature of English— and its ironic simplicity due to its role as a streamlined lingua franca during the early formation of Britain. This is the book that language aficionados worldwide have been waiting for (and no, it’s not a sin to end a sentence with a preposition).

Arthur in Early Welsh Poetry

Arthur in Early Welsh Poetry
Author: Nerys Ann Jones
Publisher: MHRA
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2019-07-12
Genre:
ISBN: 1781889082

For over a thousand years, Arthur has had widespread appeal and influence like no other literary character or historical figure. Yet, despite the efforts of modern scholars, the earliest references to Arthurian characters are still shrouded in uncertainty. They are mostly found in poetic texts scattered throughout the four great compilations of early and medieval Welsh literature produced between 1250 and 1350. Whilst some are thought to predate their manuscript sources by several centuries, many of these poems are notoriously difficult to date. None of them are narrative in nature and very few focus solely on Arthurian material but they are characterised by an allusiveness which would have been appreciated by their intended audiences in the courts of princes and noblemen the length and breadth of Wales. They portray Arthur in a variety of roles: as a great leader of armies, a warrior with extraordinary powers, slayer of magical creatures, rescuer of prisoners from the Otherworld, a poet and the subject of prophecy. They also testify to the possibility of lost tales about him, his father, Uthr, his son, Llachau, his wife, Gwenhwyfar, and one of his companions, Cai, and associate him with a wide array of both legendary and historical figures. Arthur in Early Welsh Poetry, the fourth volume in the MHRA Library of Medieval Welsh Literature series, provides discussion of each of the references to Arthurian characters in early Welsh poetic sources together with an image from the earliest manuscript, a transliteration, a comprehensive edition, a translation (where possible) and a word-list. The nine most significant texts are interpreted in more detail with commentary on metrical, linguistic and stylistic features.

Medieval Welsh Medical Texts

Medieval Welsh Medical Texts
Author: Diana Luft
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 625
Release: 2020-06-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1786835495

Introduction giving full explanation of the nature of the corpus and the historical context. This will allow readers to understand the nature of the texts, and to make inferences about how the medical texts which follow might have been used. Notes giving sources and analogues for the recipes in other contemporary European languages (Latin, Middle English, Anglo-Norman). These will allow readers to understand the common theories underlying the recipes and to make judgements about the place of this material within the larger European medical tradition of the time. Comprehensive glossaries. These will allow readers to find any recipe based on the ingredients used in it, or the condition treated, allowing them to compare with recipes in other sources themselves, from other time periods, or investigate the corpus of the way different ingredients were used. Comprehensive plant-name glossary giving evidence for the interpretation of the plant names in the corpus from a series of previously unstudied pre-modern plant-name glossaries. This will allow readers to evaluate the evidence for the interpretation of the plant names and hopefully spur on further research on this neglected topic.