Hi, I was born and raised in South Wales until I was 7, studied English Lit at Cardiff University and have a Welsh grandmother (Nain, at that!). Unfortunately, I don't remember anything apart from some numbers, colours, and a handful of words.
I'd really appreciate some help from a native speaker - my request for help can be found here:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6068200&posted=1#post6068200. It doesn't have to be strictly accurate, perfect Welsh, but it'd be good if a Welsh person wouldn't sit there and laugh their arse off at my feeble attempts. The one thing I do need in accurate, Modern Welsh is 'my husband' - my character is a half-Welsh polyglot thrown into a fantastical world that uses a language almost identical to Welsh in the north as the nobility's and law's tongue, and then an almost identical to English language in the south, but also across the country as a trading tongue.
Just as the Welsh doesn't need to be completely perfectly accurate, the English includes using 'beseech' and 'beg of' as alternatives to 'pray/pray to', 'brookening' for 'celebration', and plenty of old-fashioned words and phrases that aren't used much anymore. But I can't use Latin-derived words in English, which means I have to be equally careful with Welsh. This is even more difficult than English, because at least I can read English and find etymological dictionaries online and at home.
Help appreciated!
I miss Wales...
