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Customer Reviews (1)

where's the other half
This is an outstanding academic work and the definitive dictionary for English-Welsh translation ... but where is the other half. I am still looking for an advanced Welsh-English dictionary to complement this one. Although I can understand the job needs to be undertaken in two stages, it is now six years since the first part was published. ... Read more

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From the quarrelling captains in Henry V, to the linguistically challenged lovers in I Henry IV, to the monoglot vocalist Lady Mortimer, to the proud Sir Hugh Evans, Shakespeare offers Welsh characters whose voices, language use, and presence help reflect a sometimes marginalized aspect of British identity. Speak It in Welsh: Wales and the Welsh Language in Shakespeare seeks to understand why Shakespeare included the Welsh voice in his plays. ... Read more

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With more than 16,000 definitions, including everyday idioms and expressions, this dictionary helps you understand what the Welsh are really saying

Don’t be intimidated by Welsh! Essential Welsh Dictionary contains the most frequently used Welsh words and reflects contemporary usage of the language. Inside you’ll find the words you need for work, school, and your lifestyle; the vocabulary comes from a wide variety of contexts--including the media and information technology.

Features:

• One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started
• Author insights for lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author’s many years of experience
• Useful vocabulary, easy to find and learn, to build a solid foundation for speaking
• Extra online articles at teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of the culture and history of Wales

Product Description
This dictionary gives a unique and invaluable description of today's Welsh, illustrated by examples drawn from a wide range of contemporary sources. It will be of interest and help to native Welsh speakers and to English speakers studying or working in Welsh. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Fabulous Resource
I love this dictionary.The examples given are excellent and spot on 99% of the time.Information for South and North Walian dialectual differences are also provided.I've recommended it to my friends who are also learning the language and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a excellent dictionary.The only complaint I have is the binding (paperback edition) doesn't hold up well and the pages will begin to fall out after a bit.

Brilliant resource!
I've just started teaching myself Welsh, and this book has been so, so useful. It's clear and easy to understand, with mini-sections on mutations, pronounciation, the numbers, the common pronouns, how to say yes and no, a brief but helpful guide to Welsh grammar (for a more thorough guide see www.bbc.co.uk/wales/learnwelsh/grammar, an extremely helpful webside), how to say placenames in Welsh, etc etc etc.
The only thing it's missing are some verb tables!

A Great Resource
I am very pleased with this dictionary!This dictionary goes beyond just listing vocabulary.It goes on to explain the syntax of many words which have numerous functions (eg, 'yn').It is a cross between a dictionary and a reference grammar.This dictionary is undoubtedly for the beginning Welsh student.

This is a near-perfect companion to nearly any beginner's Welsh course.
Let me begin by stating that I write here as a student of Celtic languages, history, and culture.

This dictionary presents itself in a very comprehensive manner. It gives the word, whether it is a noun/verb/adjective/etc., the gender of the nouns, and throughout the course of the text there is a large quantity of grammatical reference material that is very helpful. It also places many entries within the bounds of an example sentence, so you can see how many words are actually used, which is especially helpful in understanding idioms, metaphors, and the like. My only complaint with this text is that, like most dictionaries, it does *not* include a phonetic transcription, either in syllables or phonetic notation. This sort of thing is enormously useful, and especially so when learning a language like Welsh, which is a very intimidating language initially to an English-speaker. I recommend acquiring this dictionary along with the 'Hugo Three-Month Language Course' offered by Phylip Brake, as it is the best I have seen in Welsh language aids. It *does* include the words in English syllables!

Excellent learner's dictionary
The prolific Gareth King has contributed yet another opus to his set of aids for Welsh learners, to go along with his grammar, books of exercises, and introductory textbook (Colloquial Welsh), all published by Routledge.For the learner grappling with spoken Welsh, this is by far the best dictionary I have seen to date, and its price is very reasonable.The usage notes are tremendously helpful, and have illuminated some problems I have long wondered about. Be warned, though, that King's dictionary is a guide to spoken, not literary Welsh--the two are practically different languages, with many differences in grammar and vocabulary.If you plan to learn Welsh only for reading purposes, this book will be of limited use. As the previous reviewer noted, it is not comprehensive, but it doesn't aim to be. However,if you know all that's in this book, you are probably ready to move on to other dictionaries anyway.Spoken Welsh is a fluid entity, and King has made some decisions that other native speakers may not agree with.It would be nice to see some native speakers, especially teachers, review this book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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COLLOQUIAL WELSH is easy to use and completely up to date!

Specially written by experienced teachers for self-study or class use, the course offers you a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Welsh. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

What makes COLLOQUIAL WELSH your best choice in personal language learning?

• Interactive – lots of exercises for regular practice
• Clear – concise grammar notes
• Practical – useful vocabulary and pronunciation guide
• Complete - including answer key and reference section

By the end of this rewarding course you will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in Welsh in a broad range of everyday situations.

This pack contains the paperback and 120 minutes of audio material, recorded on CDs. These complement the book and will help you with your pronunciation and listening skills.

Customer Reviews (7)

Much better than "Teach Yourself Welsh", and here's why:
I would say that this is the best package on the market, but I have only tried this one and Teach Yourself; I found this one to be far superior.I first started learning Welsh with the Teach Yourself progam, and I was very happy with it, bu then I reached a point in my learning where I needed to have a larger amount of (more advanced) resources at my disposal. I had heard many good things about this program, so I decided to buy it.It has proved to be an invaluable resource to me.

This program goes far more in depth that Teach Yourself did.It gives you a much greater vocabulary, more phrases and idiomatic expressions (I learned how to say "Shut up" in Welsh today), and explains many more grammar points (I'd say twice as many) as T.Y. did.The dialogues are also far more entertaining (Gareth King has a very good sense of humor) and the speaker's voices are far more engaging (dare I say the male voices are pretty sexy). The speakers in Colloquial Welsh have a variety of accents from all over Wales, where those in T.Y.W. have the same accent.Also, the Northern and Southern ways of speaking are introduced and practiced simultaneously in Colloquial Welsh, giving you greater versatility in the language.T.Y.W. uses (pretty much wholly) the Southern way of speaking; I remember it glossing over the Northern way of forming the posessive (gen i, gynnoch chi, etc.) in the beginning of the book but preceding to use the Southern construction (gyda fi/ 'da fi, etc.) in all of the dialouges. I got accustomed to this so I'm kind of uncomfortable with the N. way. [but then again I haven't really bothered to learn it because that would confuse me right now])Also, this program offers interactive audio excercises, something that I have found very useful.

One major difference between C.W. and T.Y.W. is that the former introduces both colloquial and literary forms of speaking, where the latter gives you only the literary forms.Among other things, I would have never known that "roeddwn" and "roedden" are abbreviated to "o'n" is speech (well, I've never been to Wales so I'll have to take their word for it).

I came back to my T.Y.W. tapes tonight after about a month or two, and I didn't realise it until after I used the Colloquial program - the speakers in T.Y.W. slow down their speech for ease of comprehension, which doesn't help in the long run if you want to be able to speak and comprehend at a level of complete fluency (which I'd like to get as close to as possible).After listeneing to the normal cadence and speed of spoken Welsh with the Colloquial program, I realised that, if I were to get into a conversation with a Welshman/Welshwoman and the Teach Yourself CDs were the only Welsh audio I had ever heard, I would be very ill-prepared for conversation for several reasons - those being speed and the variations in accent, grammar, and vocabulary.The book is a little better-constructed too; my Teach Yourself book started falling apart after three weeks of (albeit pretty heavy) use.I'm pretty sure Colloquial Welsh is printed on acid-free paper, and it's a bound a bit better.

I'm not knocking T.Y.W. at all; it's a good program and I did learn a great deal from it - I'm just heavily praising this one.If you're looking to spend money on only one teach-yourself Welsh audio program, let this be it.If you're going to buy both anyway, I would get T.Y.W. first, and then get this one later on, as T.Y.W. does a bit of a better job introsucing and easing you into the language.I can see how one might get a bit confused with the way Gareth King introduces you to Welsh.I'm currently also studying fromthe grammar workbooks "Basic Welsh" and "Intermediate Welsh" by Gareth King - these have helped me out immensly and I do highly reccommend them to anyone who wants to build a solid foundation in Welsh.The only thing I lack is firsthand practice of the language (I live in the U.S.), but I'm planning on going to Wales in the next few years to see the country and practice Welsh, and I'd like to get as fluent as I can before I go.Even if I don't go, I'm still having fun learning all the same.

One more thing: Welsh is a confusing language, at first.You're going to start off (with both of the aforementioned programs) learning some canned phrases, and you're just going to have to trust them because, as a complete beginner, it would launch you into overload if they threw all the literal interpretations and grammatical reasoning at you in the beginning.If Gareth King tells you that "Mae'n dda gen i gwrdd a chi" means "Nice to meet you" in the first chapter then just roll with it because it'll all make sense to you soon enough.Persistence is key.

Pob hwyl!

The best guide to Welsh
Welsh is the traditional language of all Britain (south of the Highlands) before the coming of the "German" Saxons. It is also the language of King Arthur, Merlin and many other tales. This lends Welsh a quite mystic and emotional feel, further enhanced by being spoken in the mountain regions of Welsh. Thus, Welsh is a very ancient cultural language. However, it is also a very healthy modern language, being used in all spheres of modern life in Wales.

I first started to learn Welsh using some other books, but as soon as I began with this book I realised that it was superior to the others. True, the first two or three chapters could be a bit more organised, but apart from that the book has got it all. The grammar is very well explained and the learner really gets to know every aspect of the grammar of spoken Welsh. All lessons have got some dialouges with extensive word-lists and a lot of excersises. As the icing on the cake, you also get an introduction to different aspects of Wales and Welsh in every chapter, with short introductions about dialects, eisteddfodau, Welsh politics etc.

I have visited Welsh a number of times, and I have found that this book has helped me a lot. I have been able to communicate extensively with Welsh speakers, I have taken part in cultural activities in Welsh, I have been able to read the Welsh epics.

Of course, to really learn a language you have to speak it with its native speakers, but this book is the best tutor you could get and I do not doubt the Finnish reader below who says that he went to Wales and communicated in Welsh after completing this excellent course.

Emphasis on the spoken word
Welsh is a confusing language.Period. I speak almost fluentFrench, some German and Spanish but I must admit that Welsh is the "major league" of languages.I'm heading over to Wales for a few weeks in about a month and I wanted to brush up on the language in case I got lost and needed directions.

At about the beginning of the tape, the orator mentions that he wants you to listen closely to the Welsh language and that confusion at first is normal until after many listening experiences.Immediately following there are several conversations on the tape with people speaking Welsh very quickly.I think the idea was that you should pretend you are sitting in a cafe in Wales and listening to all these different conversations.Deciphering what they are saying is like apuzzle left to the reader.

Unfortunately, Mr. King neglects to give you much grammar or vocabulary at the beginning.For example, after many repetitions I learned to say "Maen dda gen i gwrd a chi" which means "Pleased to meet you".Thanks to the tape I learned how to pronounce it perfectly.However, ask me what any of those words mean and I haven't a clue (except maybe 'chi' which I deduced meant 'you').Even the brief dictionary in the back didn't help.In the same chapter he then describes the names of all the different occupations.How about simple conjugations of the verb 'to be'? I'll learn the occupations after I know how to say, "Where is the supermarket?"

All in all, this is an important book however since the pronounciation of the Welsh language is so difficult and counter intuitive.It is important to learn how to pronounce a foreign language correctly the first time around because once it becomes ingrained it's very hard to unlearn it.I recommend you buy a more fundamental book however to complement this one, especially if you've had no exposure to the language before.

I gave this book 4 stars because of the authors emphasis on correct pronounciation and modern-day dialects.

The best foundation for learning Welsh
So, where do you start to learn an ancient language?We acquired our own language by listening, and we began a second language in school by study of the written word.The second language never takes full seed until we have the opportunity to hear it and use it.This book and cassette combination is an ideal way begin learning a second language to the same degree that we each speak our native tongue.Gareth King has nailed the foundation beautifully.Admittedly, he makes few allowances for the slow, but in fact he plunges the student into a listening situation, through the cassettes, that would be similar to immersion in Wales itself.When backed up by the analytical approach in the book, this is a sure-fire course for the serious student.

Poorly organized, too confusing
OK, one thing I must concede is that Welsh is a difficult language to try to teach and learn.However, I feel this program could be better, needs to be better.I haven't finished the program, I'm not even halfway through.Already I have been confused by the incongruence between the recordings and the book, answers in the back of the book that seem to contradict the lessons, and poor organization of the information on the page, especially for visual types like me, the book is a mess!Also, there are apparently two different Welshes - northern Welsh and southern Welsh.The two Welshes use different common expressions and words.This book throws it all at you at once, and it's too confusing to try to separate whether you are speaking northern or southern.It would have been much better to concentrate on one at a time.

I think this could be a good program with better editing - perhaps they will update. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Pretty OK
This book covers only the vowels and consonants that tend to be most problematic for ESL students. It employs a well-rounded approach to pronunciation by including word stress, rhythm and intonation exercises inevery lesson. I don't use it as my primary text, however, it is a good textto use as a supplement with other, more comprehensive materials. Can beused easily without the cassette tape. ... Read more

Product Description
This guide, with its bilingual dictionary and practical-minded phrasebook, is an excellent companion for those looking to experience the region and know its people firsthand.

• More than 6,000 total dictionary entries
• Comprehensive phrasebook
• Concise grammar
• Easy-to-use pronunciation guide
• Includes travel tips and useful cultural information
• Perfect for students, travelers, and businesspeople

Customer Reviews (2)

excellent!
The other reviewer says that there was not enough about the grammar, but then, this book does not claim to be a grammar. Considering this, the grammar section is very nice: concise but easy to understand, and giving a good basic introduction to how the language works.

As for what the book does claim to be, a travel-sized dictionary and phrasebook, it accomplishes this in spades. There is both a Welsh-to-English section and an English-to-Welsh lexicon, with each entry including information on part-of-speech, gender, and plural forms. The phrasebook section is packed full of useful phrases in categories like "Eating out" and "Shopping", with extra information on what to expect and how to go about things. Of course, it is true that in the kinds of places that tourists usually visit, such as hotels, restaurants and shopping centers, the locals will often be more comfortable speaking with you in English.

Serious students of Welsh will of course want to move on to bigger dictionaries and proper grammars with workbooks and CDs for practice, but as an introductory volume or a travel companion, this is a truly well done and useful book.

just not enough
Okay, this is a nice little dictionary if you want to be a tourist in Wales.It has handy pronounciation guideds and easy quick find phrases.The problem is most people in Wales speak English and so this book is really no use to a serious learner of Welsh.Its vocabulary is limited, the selection poor, and it does not explain enough of the grammer.It would be much better to spend more and get a really good, complete dictionary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A well-written, repetitive, and succinct exploration of Tolkien's essential themes
Verlyn Flieger's "Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World"(1983) is an short and insightful commentary on the biographical and philosophic themes in the fiction of J.r.r. Tolkien. Flieger's comprehensive thesis is that the cosmogony, cosmology, and metaphysics of Middle-Earth are revealed in its emanationist creation in the Great Music of the Ainur imbued with the Secret Fire of Ilúvatar. Both the Great Music and the Secret Fire represent the illuminationist and emanationist potentiality of the Divine Logos, or God's plan, in the unfolding universal history of Tolkien's fiction. However Creation is marred by continual rebellions against the Divine Logos of Ilúvatar, from which thereafter arise all discord, strife, and evil in the Universe which nonetheless dramatically enriches Tolkien's setting and fiction. Flieger writes: "This extended image of light diminished from its primal brilliance, yet still faintly illuminating the world, is paralleled by Tolkien's presentation of the peoples of that world and their language. More and more, as the story progresses, we are shown through character, deed and word that elves and men are, in different ways, drawn to the light and yet separated from it. The work is permeated by an air of deepening sorrow, of loss and estrangement and ever-widening distance from the light and all that it means. Tolkien has invented a world and its people through which to explore the meaning and consequences of the Fall-- that long separation of mankind from the light of God."(p.58). Flieger discusses the historical and biographical importance of these themes to Tolkien, as a conservative Christian philologist, novelist, and WWI Veteran attempting to re-enchant the modern world: "For all the sub-creators who move through `The Silmarillion', who work with light and splinter and diffuse it, it is Beren who rescues the light from the darkness and brings it back into the world. Without him, although the light would still exist, no one would see it, no one would be guided by it. To indentify himself with Beren, Tolkien must have known that however flawed he was, however dark his vision of the world, he too had been allowed to bring a splinter of the light to Middle-Earth."(p.158). Flieger succeeds in exploring the thematic subtleties of Tolkien's cosmology and metaphysic with exceptional clarity and perspicuity. Yet this exploration of the recurrent themes in Tolkien's Mythopoeia invariably leads Flieger to often repeat himself. Many of the most memorable and essential themes of Tolkien's fiction are explored by Flieger with ease and insight, complimented with careful research. As "Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World" is fairly well-written, somewhat repetitive, and altogether illuminating and succinct, I would recommend it to Tolkien's readers who are interested in the essential philosophic themes of his fiction.

The books that explains it all
Finally a book that explains the differences among the Vanyar, Sindarin, and Noldorin elves; who the Calaquendi and Moriquendi were; why the story of Maeglin was important; in short, this book really put the Silmarillion into persepctive for me.As other reviewers have noted, Dr. Flieger explains not just Tolkien's literaure, but also Tolkien's philosophy.Anyone stumped by the Silmarillion should read this book.Anyone who loves Tolkien must read this book

excellent!
It is a joy to realize that words did not die with Tolkien - that meaning did not die with Barfield. They are very much alive, though not only in their works, but in "Splintered Light."

Wonderful study!
This is another of Flieger's book that focuses on a specialized aspect of Middle-earth as the other book, A Question of Time, did. This one is more centered on The Silmarillion and on the idea of language. It speaks of Feanor's creation of the Silmarils and what happened because of that event and his inability to let go of his possession, as later Frodo will be unable to do, and of Beren and Thingol and much else in that immensely detailed tapestry of the early history of the Elves, Dwarves and Men.

It has also in the later chapters much of interest to say about Frodo and how he was "broken by a burden of fear and horror - broken down, and in the end made into something quite different," as the Professor wrote in one of his letters. "Filled with clear light" he was to become, though we see but the beginning of that transformation and can only guess that it continued after he went West. There is also an analysis of "The Sea-Bell" poem which is my favorite of mine due to its association with Frodo. Another very interesting book from Flieger and my favorite of hers.If you only read one of hers, read this one!

An essential critical study of Tolkien
The original 1983 edition, long hard to find, was one of the first books to discuss The Silmarillion in detail, and one of the most insightful: it showed Tolkien applying to his mythology Owen Barfield's principles of the deep relationship between language and the nature of reality, and using fragmented light as a metaphorical depiction of fragmented language.The revised edition is not a quick touch-up, but a massively extended rewrite that delves into much more detail and takes into account much that had not been published in 1983.Even the remainder of the old book has been re-written to improve clarity and flow.Along with Flieger's second Tolkien study, A Question of Time, which does for time and dreams what this one does for language and light, Splintered Light resumes its place as one of the half-dozen essential critical monographs on Tolkien.Her third study, Interrupted Music: Tolkien and the Making of a Mythology, is due from Kent State in the spring of 2005, and I'll await it eagerly. ... Read more

Product Description
"Teach Yourself World Cultures: Wales" is a concise and lively overview of Wales: the country, its language and its people. If you are learning the language, in, for example, an evening class and want to know more about the country and how it works, this is the book for you. Or, if you simply have an interest in Wales for whatever reason, it will broaden your knowledge about the country and its inhabitants. The book is divided into three sections. Chapters One and Two deal with the forces - historical, geographical, geological, demographical and linguistic - that have brought about the formation of the country we know as Wales and the language we know as Welsh. Chapters Three to Seven deal with the wealth of creative aspects of Welsh culture from the beginnings to the present day. These chapters take a look at the main areas or works of literature, art and architecture, music, traditions and festivals, science and technology, fashion, and food and drink, together with the people who have created and are still creating them.Chapters Eight to Eleven deal with aspects of contemporary Welsh society and the practicalities of living in present-day Wales: the way the political structure of the country is organized, education, the environment, the workplace and how people spend their leisure time. The final chapter looks at the country's political, economic and social relations with the wider world, and takes a glance at the future. Each chapter ends with a section entitled 'Taking it Further', where you will find useful addresses, websites, suggested places to visit and things to see and do in order to develop your interest further and increase your knowledge. Each chapter also contains a list of useful words and phrases which will help you to talk or write about the subject in question. "Teach Yourself World Cultures: Wales" is your key to understanding Wales' past, present and future and contains all the information you need to participate in Welsh life and culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Brilliant insights into the ideology of a scholarly field
To many folks, the study of Old English language and literature may seem dull, moribund, rarefied, and largely irrelevant-- a subject only of concern to concern only to musty old academics in the ivory tower.Frantzen doesn't (directly) try to argue against this perception-- instead, he tries to investigate *why* this perception exists. His answer is an insightful and eye-opening investigation into the relationship among scholarship, ideology, and cultural relevance.

Frantzen begins by providing a brief history of Old English (aka Anglo-Saxon) scholarship from its origins in the 16th century to the present day.From the beginning, he observes, the study of Old English and of texts written in it has been motivated by ideological (i.e. political) concerns.It began in the 16th century as part of a conscious effort to find medieval evidence for the existence of an independent English Church prior to the Norman Conquest, as a way of finding historical grounds for justifying the English Reformation.During the 17th and 18th centuries, the study of Anglo-Saxon texts took on a slightly different political agenda, as political theoriests and speechmakers (on both sides of the Atlantic-- Thomas Jefferson was, in fact, a quite knowledgeable amateur scholar of Anglo-Saxon) sought to make claims about precedent, legitimacy, and the rights of the 'free-born Englishman' being rooted in the earliest origins of English, and by extension, Anglo-Saxon, political culture. In the 19th century, the study of Anglo-Saxon became connected to a kind of nationalism that saw the Anglo-Saxon past as a kind of childhood of the modern English nation.This nationalism was sometimes (but not always) connected to a historico-racial view of nationality and identity, which suggested that anyone of English ancestry ought to revere Anglo-Saxon and its literary monuments, as they were the creations of their great forefathers.In all these cases, a desire to discover, posit, or identify in the Anglo-Saxon past some sort of origins (religious, political, linguistic, ancestral, etc.) that were of current ideological concern provided a powerful motivating force for the study of Anglo-Saxon and made Anglo-Saxon scholarship seem relevant.

Then we turn to the 20th century.... and more particularly to its last few decades.According to Frantzen, the main reason Anglo-Saxon scholarship today is a bit musty is become detached from these big political contraversies.The reason is that it is perceived as esoteric and irrelevant, Frantzen suggests, is that in many ways, it genuinely has become so from an ideological point of view.People no longer study Anglo Saxon because they are concerned with establishing on a firm foundation, the history of the English Church, or in debating whether there is medieval precedent for radical constitutional changes in England or America, or out of a firm belief that our own origins as a people and a nation (whoever "we" actually are) can be found among the Anglo-Saxons.Nor does it seem likely that any new political contraversies are likely to come along that will suddenly re-invest Anglo-Saxon studies with ideological relevance (and given our current suspicion to ideologically-motivated knowledge, it's not clear whether this would work, even if one were to come along).

So, this then leaves a question as to what the future of Anglo-Saxon studies is.Is it doomed to remain in its current, perceivedly marginal relevance?Or might there be some way to reinvigorate it-- to emphasize its relevance in a new, non-ideological way?Frantzen thinks so, and in the latter half of the book, he offers some of his suggestions as to how this might be done.As often happens in books that begin with an analysis/critique and then proceed to offer solutions, it turns out that his proposed solutions aren't nearly as convincing as the analysis.Put briefly, I'm not entirely convinced that the new approaches to teaching the Anglo-Saxon tradition that he suggestes will 'save' Anglo-Saxon scholarship, as it were. That's not to say that I don't think Anglo-Saxon studies half any future (or still less that I think they shouldn't).However, if Frantzen is right about the ideological importance that Old English scholarship has played since its inception (and I'm persuaded he is), and he's right about its current state being a product of decreased ideological relevance, then I'm just skeptical as to whether that can really be changed.

All in all this is an insightful book that will be of interest to those who study the middle ages, language origins, or Anglo-Saxon England-- either professionally or out of curiosity.Those who have no interest in such subjects, however, can give this a pass. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Ridiculous Book
Whatever you're looking for, this is not the book for you. I see that twobeginners have very high opinions about this book, and I guess that theyhave found it easy to use. The problem is that the form of Welsh used inthe book does not exit. I am not a beginner, I've lived in Wales, I speakWelsh, I watch TV in Welsh, etc. etc. In short, I know the Welsh languagequite well. Written Welsh is a very archaic language, and we can still readtexts written in Welsh 800AD, while ordinary English-speakers can't readBeowulf except in translation. Spoken Welsh is however not so archaic, sothe difference between written and spoken Welsh in considerable. Now, TeachYourself Welsh uses a form invented to be a bridge between the written andspoken language, but fails utterly. If you use this book you willbeunable to understand written texts in Welsh, and if you try to speak..Well, most people will understand you, but I can assure you that you willsound funny. For example, the written Welsh for "I am" is"Yr wyf", while the spoken form is "Dw I". In this bookyou will learn to say "Rydw I", a form which has never been usedin writing nor in speech.

Welsh is a wonderful language, and possesessome of the oldest stories in Europe, among them the tales of King Arthur,Merlin etc. It is definitely worth learning this language, which is truthis quite easy, but this is not the book to use. I strongly recommend"Colloquial Welsh" by Gareth King, which gives the beginner agood command of spoken Welsh, and also gives the outlines of the writtenlanguage.

Welsh Learners Start Here
As a new Welsh Learner, I have purchased several programs.Although they are all very good, I found the layout of this book and cassette easier toget to a good basic grasp of pronunciation and phrasing. I reallyappreciated how the 'speed' of the recordings starts at a slower pace, andthen speeds up as the course continues.This course seemed to be focusedon the Southern dialects as its default.

Wonderful introduction to Welsh!
For a beginner in studying Welsh, I found this book extremely helpful.There are clear lessons and comprehensive examples that allow you to understand the grammar and pronunciation of the language.Excercises arealso included that help you practice your grasp of the language.Awonderful start for the beginner in Welsh! ... Read more

Product Description
Ben Rabbit's friends find themselves in tricky situations involving strangers. They ask Ben for help. Ben squeaks once for Yes and twice for No. Delightful fun, but we have to think carefully and learn the rules. An extremely valuable aid to protect children from a well-known danger, without frightening them. ... Read more

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This wide-ranging, comprehensive anthology will be a revelation for most readers, dispelling romantic images of bards, druids and Celtic twilight mists. This poetry is full of vitality, combining old craftsmanship and daring innovation, humor and angst, the oral and the literary. ... Read more

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Intended To Suggest The Importance To Philologers, Antiquaries, Ethnographers, And Others, Of Giving Due Attention To The Celtic Branch Of The Indo-Germanic Family Of Languages. ... Read more

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Gêm i Gloi contains 20 easy-to-play photocopiable games for use either in the classroom or at home, that teach and reinforce essential Welsh vocabulary. These tried and tested games provide children with a fun way of practising speaking and listening to Welsh and help them to become more confident Welsh speakers.The instructions for each game list the objectives and the key words, together with a clear explanation of how to set up and play the game. Extensions and variations enable the games to be used over and over again in many different ways. ... Read more