Wikitongues

By Simon

I came across a very useful channel on YouTube this week: Wikitongues, which is a collection of videos of people speaking many different languages, including many lesser-studied/known languages and dialects such as Gullah, Luxembourgish and K’iche’ Mayan. The videos I’ve seen so far mostly seem to involve people talking about their native languages and cultures. There are no subtitles on the videos, which would be very useful.

Their aim is to build a collection of videos in as many languages as possible. To find out how to take part I think you can contact them via their website Wikitongues.org.

Dydd tawel

By Simon

Fel arfer mi wnes i gweithio yn y bore ddoe, ac mi wnes i canu cerddoriaeth yn y prynhawn. Mi es i i Morrisons am ginio oherwydd doedd dim digon o bethau i fwyta yn y tŷ, a phan ro’n i’n barod am ginio roedd hi’n dipyn rhy hwyr i fynd yr holl ffordd i Morrisons, i brynu pethau, i ddod yn ôl ac i eu coginio. Mi wnes i bwyta coesgyn efo pîn-afal, sglods a phys, ac roedd y coesgyn wedi ei orgoginio tipyn. Mi wnes i aros gartref neithiwr.

As usual I worked in the morning yesterday, and played music in the afternoon. I went to Morrisons for lunch as there weren’t enough things to eat in the house, and when I was ready for lunch it was a bit to late to go all the way to Morrisons, to buy things, to come back and to cook them. I had gammon with pineapple, chips and peas, and the gammon was a bit over-cooked. I stayed in last night.

Yn ôl ym Mangor

By Simon

Mi wnes i gadael Leeds tua deg o’r gloch bore ddoe ac mi ddes i yn ôl i Fangor ar y trên trwy Manceinion a Crewe. Roedd rhaid i mi aros am fron awr yn Manceinion, ac yn ffodus ro’n i’n medru dod â cysylltiad wifi rhydd ac mi wnes i tipyn bach o waith. Mi wnes i cyrraedd ym Mangor tua dau o’r gloch ac roedd hi’n wyntog ac oer. Mi wnes i aros gatref neithiwr yn darllen ac yn gwylio rhagleni teledu ar y we.

I left Leeds at about 10am yesterday morning and came back to Bangor on the train via Manchester and Crewe. I had to wait for nearly an hour in Manchester, and fortunately I was able to find a free wifi connection and did a bit of work. I arrived in Bangor at about 2pm and it was windy and cold. I stayed in last night reading and watching TV programmes online.

Caneuon, dawns a bwyd

By Simon

Bore ddoe mi wnes i tipyn bach o waith ar Omniglot – wi wnes i ateb e-byst yn bennaf, fel arfer. Tua hanner dydd mi es i i’r prifysgol i weld perfformiadau gan myfyrwyr presennol yr adran Astudiaethau Asia Dwyrain. Mi wnaethon nhw perfformio tipyn bach o opera Beijing yn Mandarineg a Saesneg, ac mi wnaethon nhw adrodd sonedau Shakespeare yn Saesneg a Thai, ac mi wnaeth ferch yn canu cân pop yn Siapaneg. Mi wnaeth athrawes Thai dawns Thai traddodiadol hefyd. Mi wnes i crwydro o gwmpas Leeds am sbel yn y prynhawn, a gyda’r nos roedd pryd o fwyd yn nhŷ bwyta Tsieineaidd efo cynfyfyrwyr ac athrawon. Ro’n i ar fwrdd efo cynfyfyrwyr o 1995. Roedd y bwyd yn flasu iawn, ac mi wnes i mwynhau’r noson yn fawr.

Yesterday morning I did a bit of work on Omniglot – I mainly answered emails, as usual. At about midday I went to the university to see performances by current students in the East Asian Studies department. They performed bits of Beijing opera in Mandarin and English, and they recited some of Shakespeare’s sonnets in English and Thai, and one lass sang a Japanese pop song. A Thai lecturer also did a traditional Thai dance. I had a wander around Leeds in the afternoon for a while, and in the evening there was a meal in a Chinese restaurant with alumni and staff. I was on a table with alumni from 1995. The food was delicious, and I really enjoyed the evening.

Leeds

By Simon

Mi ddes i i Leeds ddoe i gymryd rhan mewn dathliad hanner can mlynedd o Astudiaethau Tsieinëeg a Dwyrain Asia ym Mhrifysgol Leeds. Mi wnes raddio o Brifysgol Leeds â gradd mewn Tsieinëeg a Siapaneg ugain mlynedd yn ôl, a dyma dim ond yr ail tro i mi mynd yn ôl i Leeds ers hynny.

Mae’r dinas a’r prifysgol yn dal i adnabyddadwy, ond mae cryn dipyn o newidiadau yma, yn cynnwys llawer o adeiladau newydd, a llawer o hen adeiladau wedi cael eu adnewyddu a dacluso, yn arbennig ar lannau’r afon, lle dw i’n aros mewn gwesty Holiday Inn.

Mi wnes i gadael Bangor bore ddoe tua deg o’r gloch, ac mi es i ar y trên i Leeds trwy Cyffordd Llandudo a Manceinion. Ro’n i’n yng nghanol grŵp o bobl o’r Almaen ar y trên i Manceinion, ac mi wnes i clustfeinio ar eu sgyrsiau wrth i mi darllen llyfr. Mi wnes deall bron popeth, pan ro’n i’n canolbwyntio arnynt.

Ar ôl i mi cyrraedd yn Leeds, mi es i i’r gwesty, ac yna mi wnes crwydro o gwmpas y dinas a champus y prifysgol am sbel. Yna mi es i dderbyniad ar gyfer myfyrwyr, athrawon, cynfyfyrwyr a chyn-athrawon yr Adran Astudiaethau Dwyrain Asia. Roedd dau cynfyfyrwr o’r un flwyddyn â fi, ac un cyn-chydweithwraig o Taiwan y ddaeth i Leeds dwy flynedd ar ôl fi. Roedd areithiau, a sgwrs, a bwyd a diod, ac mi wnes i cwrdd â phobl o bob math, yn cynnwys hogan sy’n gwneud doethuriaeth ym Mangor, ond sy’n byw yn Llundain.

Ar ôl y derbyniad mi es i i dafarn yn undeb y myfyrwyr efo rhwy bobl eraill, ac yna i dafarn arall ger y gyfnewidfa ŷd. Mi es i yn ôl i’r gwesty tua hanner wedi un-ar-ddeg.

I came to Leeds yesterday to take part in a celebration of 50 years of Chinese and East Asia Studies at Leeds University. I graduated from Leeds Uni with a degree in Chinese and Japanese 20 years ago, and this is only the second time I’ve been back since then.

The city is still recognizable, but there are quite a few changes here, including many new buildings, and many old buildings that have been renovated and done up, especially along the river, where I’m staying in a Holiday Inn.

I left Bangor yesterday morning at about 10am and went by train to Leeds via Llandudno Junction and Manchester. I was surrounded by a group of Germans on the train to Manchester, and I eavesdropped on their conversations while I was reading a book. I understood almost everything, when I concentrated on them.

After arriving in Leeds I went to the hotel, then wandered about the city and the university campus for a bit. Then I went to a reception for current and former students and staff of the Department of East Asia Studies. There were two former students from the same year as me, and a former colleague from Taiwan who come to Leeds two years after me. There were speeches, and chat, and food and drink, and I meet all sorts of people, including a lass who’s doing a PhD in Bangor but who lives in London.

After the reception I went to a bar in the student union with a few other people, and then to a pub near the corn exchange. I went back to the hotel at about half eleven.

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon
français English Cymraeg Brezhoneg
la fête; le foraine; la foire (fun)fair ffair foar; kurioziteoù
le carême Lent Grawys koraiz
un jeu de hasard a game of chance hapchwarae; chwarae siawns c’hoari chañs
le cuivre (jaune); le laiton brass pres; efydd kouevret; laton
la fanfare brass band band pres; seindorf pres fañfar
le cuivres the brass (section) yr adran bres kouevrennoù (?)
les huiles top brass prif swyddogion; pwysigion; pobl o bwys
un self-made man;
un autodidacte		 a self-made man dyn a wnaeth ei ffortiwn ei hun desket drezañ e-hunan
les frais expenses treuliau mizoù
à court terme short-term cyfnod byr; tymor byr; byrdymor berr dermen

Leeds and neglected languages

By Simon

I’m in Leeds this weekend for an alumni reunion – it’s twenty years since I graduated from Leeds Uni with shiny new BA in Modern Chinese and Japanese Studies, and this is only the second time I’ve been back there since then. The East Asian Studies Department, where I studied, is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and there are various events to mark this.

I will be seeing old classmates and lecturers, and meeting others who studied in the same department at different times. It will be interesting to see where people have ended up and what they’re up to these days. I expect there’ll be some chat in Chinese and Japanese as well – my Mandarin is still fluent, but my Japanese is quite rusty.

On the train on the way here I was surrounded by Germans and was eavesdropping on their conversations. I could understand almost everything, when I concentrated, even though my German is perhaps even rustier than my Japanese. I did spend longer studying German, so perhaps it is more firmly embedded in my memory than Japanese.

Do you find that long neglected languages come back to you when you need them? Does it depend on what level you got to in them?

Sesiynau

By Simon

Prynhawn ddoe roedd sesiwn cerddoriaeth da yn fy nhŷ, ac ar ôl cinio mi es i i’r côr cymuned. Yr wythnos ‘ma mi wnaethon ni canu caneuon yn Saesneg, Xhosa a Georgeg. Ar ôl hyn mi es i adref, ac yna i sesiwn cerddoriaeth gwerin yn y Skerries. Dyma’r tro cyntaf i mi mynd i’r sesiwn ‘na. Roedd ffrindiau yna o’r grŵp dawns forys, a phobl eraill dw i ddim yn nabod eto – myfryrwyr ydy’r mwyafrif ohonyn nhw, dw i’n meddwl. Mi wnaeth llawer o bobl yn gadael tua hanner wedi deg, ac ro’n i yna hyd un ar ddeg. Bydda i’n ceisio cyrraedd yn gynharach yr wythnos nesaf.

Yesterday afternoon there was a good music session, and after tea I went to the community choir. This week we sang songs in English, Xhosa and Georgian. After that I went home, and then to a folk music session in the Skerries. This was the first time I’ve been to that session. Some friends from the morris dancing group were there, and other people I don’t know yet – most of them are students, I think. A lot of people left at about half ten, and I was there until eleven. I’ll try to arrive a bit earlier next week.

Cyngerdd

By Simon

Neithiwr es i i gynerdd yn y Caffi Blue Sky. Rhan o’r gŵyl barddoniaeth ydoedd, a dathliad cerddorol o waith Charles Causley, bardd o Gernyw. Yn anffodus mi fethodd un o’r perfformwr, Jim Causley o Ddyfnaint, yn dod, felly roedd dim ond dau berfformwyr – Julie Murphy a Ceri Owen Jones. Cantores o Essex yn wreddiol ydy Julie Murphy, a thelynor o Ganada yn wreddiol ydy Ceri Owen Jones, a maen nhw’n byw yng Nghymru bellach. Roedden nhw’n canu caneuon ac alawon hyfryd ar y telyn, y piano ac ar y trombôn, ac mae llais canu hyfryd gan Julie.

Last night I went to a concert at the Blue Sky Café. It was part of the poetry festival, and a musical celebration of a the work of Charles Causley, a poet from Cornwall. Unfortunately one of the performers, Jim Causley from Devon, was unable to come, so there were only two performers – Julie Murphy and Ceri Owen Jones. Julie Murphy is a singer originally from Essex, and Ceri Owen Jones is a harpist originally from Canada, and they both live in Wales now. They sang and played some beautiful songs and tunes on the harp, piano and trombone, and Julie has a lovely singing voice.