0815e Gwefan Cymru-
http://www.theuniversityofjoandeserrallonga.com/kimro/amryw/1_enwau/enwau_lleoedd_llyfr_2_0815e.htm
0001z Yr Hafan / Home Page
..........1864e Y Fynedfa yn Gatalaneg / English
Gateway
....................0010e Y Gwegynllun / Siteplan
.............................1447e Enwau Cymru (tudalen cyfeiriol) / Welsh Names (Orientation Page)
.......................................0442e Enwau Lleoedd Cymru (tudalen
cyfeiriol) / Welsh Place Names (Orientation Page)
.................................................y tudalen hwn / aquesta pàgina
xxxx (ddim ar gael) Y tudalen hwn yn Gymraeg
xxxxx (no disponible) Aquesta pàgina en
català.
|
|
Gwefan Cymru-Catalonia |
|
These
are notes for a book on place names which was accepted for publication but will
now probably appear in another format. Some sections are complete, others are
very incomplete. But we'll get round to tidying it up eventually.
SECTION
ONE 0964e Previous Page (Index)
SECTION TWO This page
SECTION THREE 0965e
SECTION FOUR 0966e
8b Place names made up of the definite article
and a masculine noun (Y Brÿn = the hill)
Some place names are simply the definite article with a noun, as in English
names such as The Grove, The Pool, etc
On maps, the definite article is usually omitted.
Y Pant > Pant
Y Brÿn > Brÿn
In speaking Welsh, it reappears -
'Yn y Brÿn mae e'n bÿw nawr' -
He lives in (the village of / the house called) Brÿn now.
This is the rule, at least. As with all good rules, there are exceptions.
In 1883, the Ordnance Survey produced a slim handbook (in English) for the use
of its 'field examiners' who collected the place names to be used on the maps -
"Instructions to Field Examiners on the Orthography of Welsh Names with
Rules for Compounding, Initialing and Accenting under Various Conditions."
The two authors were Thomas Rowland (the Vicar of Rhuddlan), and
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Owen Jones of the Royal Engineers.
Why should it be there in some names, and not in others?
"It has been decided to omit the article (y or yr) at the
beginning of place-names on the Ordnance Survey plans; but although not written
it is understood as preceding certain names... The definite article should
however be inserted where there is no name beyond the descriptive name, when
applied to the feature described by such name, thus:-
Y Llÿn, when applied to the lake, but not when applied to a house. "
Here are some place names of this simple type:
(INSERT MAP)
Pant (SJ 2722) - (= hollow) a village in a formerly Welsh-speaking part
of Shropshire, England, 7km south of Croesoswallt / Oswestry
Dyffrÿn (ST 0971) - (= broad valley) a village 2km north of Maes-teg in
south-east Wales
Pandÿ (SO 3322) - (= fulling mill) a village in south-east Wales, near Y
Fenni
Pandÿ (SJ 1935) - 7km south of Llangollen
Pandÿ (SH 6203) - 5km north-east of Tywÿn
Pandÿ (SH 8729) - Llanuwchlÿn
Pandÿ (SH 9004) - 1km north of Llan-brÿn-mair
Brÿn (SN 5400) - (= hill) a village east of Llanelli in south-west Wales
Cymer (ST 0290) (= confluence)Rhondda
Cymer (SS 8696) (= confluence) Glyncorrwg
Pwll (SN 4801) - (= pool) a village east of Llanelli, on the road to
Pen-bre
Cwm (SJ 0677) - (= valley) a hamlet 5km south of Prestatÿn in north-east
Wales
Cwrt (SH 6800) (= court) 6km west of Machynlleth
Parc (SH 8733) (= field??) 6km west of Bala
Y Bala (SH 9236) (= outlet from a lake)
Exercise:
What do these words mean -
1 y cae [ø KAI]
2 y mynÿdd [ø MØ-nidh]
3 y tÿ [ø TII]
4 y maen [ø MAIN]
5 y castell [ø KA-stelh]
Answers:
1 y cae [ø KAI] = the field (more specifically, an enclosed field, one
with a hedge or wall around it);
2 y mynÿdd [ø MØ-nidh] = the mountain (though it also means a long hill
with a valley on either side; or common land on a hill)
3 y tÿ [ø TII] = the house. The circumflex was introduce to indicate
that this 'y' is to be pronounced as a long 'ii'. This is to distinguish it
from another word - also present in place names - 'ty' (pronounced with a
schwa, that is, the indistinct vowel [tø], as in English 'tonight', 'together',
'tobacco'.
4 y maen [ø
5 y castell [ø KA-stelh] = the castle
In the case of street names, the article is usually
included. Examples are Y Cilgant (= the crescent) in Caerffili, Y
Cilgant (= the close, the farmyard) in Cwmllynfell, Y Garth (= the
hill) in Aber-dâr, Y Glÿn (= the valley) one in Maesycwmer, another in Abertawe,
Y Parc (= the field) in Llantrisant.
9 y brÿn mawr : article + masculine noun +
adjective
Adjectives after masculine nouns
In Welsh, the adjective generally comes after the noun it describes, unlike
English.
Here are some adjectives very commonly found in place names
mawr = big [maur] (au as in English cow, mouth)
bach = small [baakh]
newydd = new [NEU-idh] (eu as in the 'e' of pet + the 'u' of bull)
du = black [dii]
gwÿn = white [gwin]
llwÿd = grey [lhuid] (ui as in the 'u' of bull + 'i' of pin)
coch = red [kookh]
melÿn = yellow [ME-lin] (me as in 'men')
glas = 1 the general meaning is 'blue'; however, if it referes to
vegetation, it means 'green'. [glaas]
A place might be described according to its most characteristic feature - its
colour, its age, its size. A house might have been noteworthy because it was
whitewashed, whereas other houses in the district weren't; or that it was
smaller than other houses, or newly built.
The white house in Welsh would be literally 'the house white' - y tÿ gwÿn.
What would these be in English?
1 y tÿ mawr
2 y cae gwÿn
3 y brÿn bach
4 y mynÿdd du
5 y cae mawr
6 y pwll mawr
7 y pwll bach
8 y cae newÿdd
9 y castell coch
10 y pant bach
ANSWERS
1 y tÿ mawr - the big house
2 y cae gwÿn - the white field
3 y brÿn bach - the little hill
4 y mynÿdd du - the black mountain
5 y cae mawr - the big field
6 y pwll mawr - the big pool
7 y pwll bach - the little pool
8 y cae newÿdd - the new field
9 y castell coch - the red catrle
10 y pant bach = the little hollow
10 some spelling rules for place names
So far, we have noted two structures:
definite article + noun - y brÿn
definite article + noun + adjective - y brÿn mawr
Both are very common in place names in Wales.
An interesting distinction is made when spelling the names.
SPELLING RULE 1
Where a name describes a 'habitative' feature (such as a farmhouse, a
village or a town) the elements are run together to form a single word.
y bryn melyn > Brynmelyn [brin ME lin]
y ty newydd > Tÿnewydd [tii NEU idh]
SPELLING RULE 2
If the adjective in a habitative name has only one syllable,
a hyphen is inserted before it to indicate that it takes the stress.
y cae du > Cae-du [kai DII]
y ty llwyd > Tÿ-llwyd [tii LHUID]
y bryn glas > Brÿn-glas [brin GLAAS]
Note that the adjective is spelt with a small-case letter
Bryn-glas, not Bryn-Glas
SPELLING RULE 3
If the name is a a topographic name (not a habitative name) elements of
which a name is mad up are written as separate words. It might be
- a feature of the landform, such as a hill or a river,
or a field or a wood, a cave, etc
- a man-made feature which is not usually considered as a dwelling, such as a
bridge, or a religious building (church, chapel, abbey), or an industrial
building (mill, smithy, mine)
- a road or a street
Is the name a habitative feature
or a topographic feature? Write H or T.
1 Brÿn Du
2 Brÿn-du
3 Glÿn Coch
4 Brÿn Bach
5 Cwm
6 Maen-llwÿd
7 Mynÿdd-mawr
8 Brÿn-mawr
9 Castell Coch
10 Castellnewÿdd
ANSWERS
1 Brÿn Du = name of a hill
2 Brÿn-du = name of a house or village
3 Brÿn Coch = name of a hill
4 Brÿn Bach = name of a hill
5 Cwm = name of a house or village (a valley called this should be Y Cwm)
(according to the rules) (if such a valley exists)
6 Maen-llwÿd = name of a house or village
7 Mynÿdd-mawr = name of a house or village
8 Brÿn-mawr = name of a house or village
9 Castell Coch = name of a castle
10 Castellnewÿdd = name of a house or village
Write these names: (S = settlement, N = non-settlement)
1 the red hollow (s)
2 the green field (S)
3 the black stone (N)
4 the black hill (N)
5 the new field (N)
6 the big hollow (S)
7 the yellow hill (N)
8 the big valley (N)
9 the black pool (S)
10 the white stone (S)
These are the rules. Generally on road signs the correct forms are to be found.
In fact, though, the spelling is often a muddle.
Rules exist, but people either are unaware of them, forget them, or disregard
them because they don't agree with them.
Some of the recommendations made by the Ordnance Survey in 1883 are no longer
valid - but they survive on maps. Some minor details in Welsh orthography were
recodified in 1912??. And in 1965?? (dyddiadau i'w hedrÿch / dates to be
checked) some revised recommendations for the spelling of place names were
introduced.
On maps names with the form (definite article + noun +
adjective) are generally written without the definite article.
Cae-mawr = y cae mawr, the big field; Brÿn-coch
= y brÿn coch, the red hill; Cwm-bach = y cwm bach, the little valley.
This is the case too with street names of this type - Coed-glas = y coed
glas, the green wood (in Pen-y-waun, by Aber-dâr), Cae-crwn = y cae
crwn, the round field (in Abertawe), Maes-gwÿn= y maes gwÿn, the white
field (in Ton-mawr)
·····
Next Page: 0965 (Number Three out of Four Pages)
© HAWLFRAINT IANTO 2000
·····
Ble’r
wÿf i? Yr ÿch chi’n ymwéld ag un o dudalennau’r Gwefan
"CYMRU-CATALONIA"
On sóc? Esteu visitant una pàgina de la Web
"CYMRU-CATALONIA" (=
Gal·les-Catalunya)
Where am I? You are
visiting a page from the "CYMRU-CATALONIA" (= Wales-Catalonia) Website
Weø(r) àm ai? Yuu àa(r) vízïting ø peij fròm dhø "CYMRU-CATALONIA" (= Weilz-Katølóuniø) Wébsait
CYMRU-CATALONIA
Edrychwch
ar yr Ystadegau / Mireu les estadístiques / See Our Stats