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AN ELEMENTARY WELSH GRAMMAR
BY
Sir J. MORRIS-JONES, M.A., LL.D.
Professor of Welsh at the University College of North Wales, Bangor.
Late Research Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford
PART I
PHONOLOGY AND ACCIDENCE
OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1921
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OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
London / Edinburgh / Glasgow / Copenhagen / New York / Toronto / Melbourne /
Cape Town / Bombay / Calcutta / Madras / Shanghai
HUMPHREY MILFORD
Publisher to the University
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PREFACE
This grammar deals with Modern Literary Welsh only. It follows the lines of
my Welsh Grammar Historical and Comparative, 1913, so far as that
treats of the modern language; but the matter has been largely re-written,
and is in some respects more detailed. The history of the Welsh language is
divided into periods thus:
1. Early Welsh,. from the 6th to the 8th
century;
2. Old Welsh, from the 8th to the 11th ;
3. Medieval Welsh, from the 12th to the 14th ;
4. Early Modern Welsh, from the 14th to the 16th ;
5. Late Modern Welsh, from the 16th to the present time.
The Modern period begins in the 14th century with the cywyddau of
Dafydd ap Gwilym, which constituted a new departure in Welsh poetry. Instead
of the laboured and artificially archaic style which continued to be affected
by the bards, Dafydd ap Gwilym adopted a comparatively simple and natural
diction; and instead of the somewhat awkward awdl metres of the
earlier period he used the cywydd metre almost exclusively. The cywydd
sprang into immediate popularity, and thrust the older metres into the
background. Though awdlau continued to be written, the bulk of the
poetry of the period from Dafydd ap Gwilym to Edmwnd Prys (say 1350-1600) was
composed in the cywydd metre. The language of this body of poetry is
called Early
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Modern Welsh. Its forms were fixed by the cynghanedd,
and especially by the rhymes of the cywydd. In every cywydd
couplet an accented rhymes with an unaccented syllable; and the sounds of
unaccented finals, by being continually compared with the more stable sounds
of accented monosyllables, were preserved in their fullness and purity. Thus
Early Modern Welsh is a highly cultivated literary language, remarkably
uniform and self-consistent owing to strict adherence to a sound tradition.
Late Modern Welsh begins with Dr. Morgan’s translation of the Bible published
in 1588. Wm. Salesbury had translated the New Testament into a language of
his own invention in which the words were written according to his idea of
their etymology; it was a travesty of Welsh, which M. Kyffin stated in 1595
to be “intolerable to a good Welshman’s ear”. Dr. Morgan adopted the standard
literary form which was still written in great purity by the bards. But he,
too, was influenced by etymological theories; he adopted some of Salesbury’s
inventions, and altered many traditional forms to make them appear more
“regular”. The result. generally was to make the new literary language more
artificial and further removed from the spoken language. Dr. Davies, who is
responsible for the language of the 1620 revision, had studied the works of
the bards, as his grammar (1621) shows; he corrected many of the debased forms
used by Morgan, but allowed his neologisms to stand. In the early 19th
century Pughe’s etymological theories tended to make the written language
still more artificial and unreal, but their effects
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have now passed away. But in cynghanedd
the literary tradition persisted, though not unmixed; and many traditional
forms are quoted in the following pages from the bards of the 18th and early
19th centuries. The written language has been corrupted not only under the
influence of false etymological theories, but in the opposite direction by
the substitution of dialectal for literary forms. In these cases (with some
exceptions, e.g. Section ::65) the tradition has reasserted itself,
and a fair approximation to the standard has been maintained.
The value of the tradition is that it represents the language in a form which
was everywhere recognized as pure, and of which the various dialects
represent different corruptions. In this little book ‘have attempted to give
a fairly complete, but concise, and ‘hope clear, account of the tradition in
the modern period. ‘have quoted medieval forms only when they throw light on
later usage. The examples generally are from the Early Modern bards and Late
Modern writers. To save space ‘have usually left biblical quotations
untranslated, as the meanings of the words can easily be discovered by
reference to the English Bible.
JOHN MORRIS-JONES.
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CONTENTS
PHONOLOGY
(1) THE ALPHABET..........
Section ::1
(2) THE SOUNDS OF THE LETTERS
The Vowels.......... Section ::2
The Consonants.......... Section ::14
(3) SOUNDS IN COMBINATION
Syllabic Division......... Section ::30
Diphthongs: Definition......... Section ::32
Diphthongs: Falling Diphthongs......... Section
::33
Diphthongs: Rising Diphthongs......... Section
::38
Diphthongs: Ambiguous Groups......... Section
::45
Diphthongs: Reduction and Confusion of Diphthongs......... Section ::63
Accentuation: Definitions......... Section ::68
Accentuation: Position of the Accent......... Section
::73
Accentuation: Compounds......... Section ::78
Accentuation: Loss of Unaccented Syllables......... Section ::84
Accentuation, Aspiration and Gemination......... Section
::88
Quantity......... Section ::93
(4) VOWEL CHANGES
Definitions ......... Section ::113
Vowel Mutation......... Section ::114
Vowel Affection: Ultimate a-Affection......... Section ::120
Vowel Affection: Ultimate i-Affection......... Section ::121
Vowel Affection: Penultimate Affection......... Section
::122
(5) CONSONANT CHANGES
Initial Mutation......... Section ::123
Medial and Final Mutation......... Section ::124
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ACCIDENCE:
(6) THE ARTICLE......... Section ::128
(7) NOUNS......... Section ::129
Number......... Section ::130
Number: The Seven Ways
of Forming the Plural......... Section ::131
Number: The Plural Endings......... Section ::141
Number: Plural formed from Derivatives......... Section ::159
Number: Double Plurals......... Section ::160
Number: Plural Doublets......... Section ::162
Number: Singular Doublets......... Section ::164
Number: Anomalous Plurals......... Section ::167
Number: Nouns with no Plural......... Section ::168
Number: Nouns with no Singular......... Section ::169
Gender......... Section ::170
(8) ADJECTIVES......... Section ::187
Number......... Section ::188
Plural Adjectives used as Nouns......... Section ::195
Gender......... Section ::199
Comparison......... Section ::206
(9) NUMERALS......... Section ::218
(10) COMPOUND NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES......... Section
::224
(11) PRONOUNS
Personal Pronouns......... Section ::231
Possessive Adjectives......... Section ::238
The Relative Pronoun......... Section ::239
Interrogative Pronouns and Adjectives......... Section ::243
Demonstrative Pronouns and Adjectives......... Section ::247
Pronominalia......... Section ::250
(12) VERBS......... Section ::267
The Regular Verb......... Section ::277
The Regular Verb: Notes on the Conjugation......... Section ::278
The Regular Verb: Contracted Forms......... Section ::291
Irregular Verbs: The Verb ‘To Be’......... Section ::302
Irregular Verbs: Compounds of the Verb ‘To Be’......... Section ::314
Irregular Verbs: Af, Gwnaf, and Deuaf......... Section ::320
Irregular Verbs: Verbs with old Perfects......... Section ::325
Irregular Verbs: Verbs with t-Aorists......... Section ::330
Defective Verbs......... Section ::332
Verbal Nouns......... Section ::339
Verbal Adjectives......... Section ::349
Compound Verbs......... Section ::351
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(13)
PREPOSITIONS
Conjugated Prepositions......... Section ::353
Uninflected Prepositions......... Section ::375
Nominal Prepositions......... Section ::376
Compound Prepositions......... Section ::382
(14) ADVERBS
Negative Particles......... Section ::385
Interrogative Particles......... Section ::386
Affirmative Particles......... Section ::390
Adverbs of Time, Place, Manner, and Measure......... Section ::393
(15) CONJUNCTIONS......... Section ::401
(16) INTERJECTIONS........ Section ::415
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ABBREVIATIONS:
AUTHORS AND BOOKS
Capital initials represent authors; small
capital initials represent books. {Note: here we
use italics instead of small capitals}. The reference is to pages
except where otherwise stated below. A number immediately following an
author’s name refers to the page of the edition of his works indicated in the
list; where the quotation is taken from an anthology or other printed book,
the reference is given after the author’s initials; thus T.A. G. 035
means that the couplet (p.12 below) is by Tudur Aled and appears in Gorchestion
Beirdd Cymru 1773, Page 235. A bracketed reference, such as D.N. (F.N.
90) means that the words are quoted from a manuscript, and appear less
correctly in the anthology referred to. But bracketed figures after D.G.
refer to the smaller but more authentic and better edited collection of cywyddau
in D.G.G.; see D. G. below.
The ordinary abbreviations are used in referring to the Welsh Bible. (Where
the reading given differs from that of modern editions it is to be taken as
that of the Authorised edition of 1620.)
No references are given to MSS.
A.L. i. ·:· Ancient Laws and Institutes
of Wales.... vol. i. 1841.
B.A. ·:· The Book of Aneirin, 13th
century; editor J. Gwenogvryn Evans, Pwllheli 1908.
B.B. ·:· The Black Book of Carmarthen,
end of 12th century; editor J. Gwenogvryn Evans, Pwllheli 1906.
B. Br. ·:· Bedo Brwynllys (Breconshire), circa 1460.
B.CW. ·:· Gweledigaethau y Bardd Cwsc
[by Ellis Wynne], 1703; reprint, editor J. Morris Jones, Bangor 1898.
BL. ·:· Blodeu-gerdd Cymry...;
editor D. Jones, Amwythig (Shrewsbury), 1779.
BR. ·:· Y Brython; 5 vols.,
Tremadoc 1858-63.
B.T. ·:· The Book of Taliesin, 13th
century, editor J. Gwenogvryn Evans, Pwllheli 1905 (issued 1916).
c. i and c. ii ·:· Ceinion Llenyddiaeth
Gymreig.... editor Owen Jones; 2 vols., London 1876.
C.C. ·:· The Cefn Coch MSS. . . .,
editor J. Fisher; Liverpool 1899.
C.F. ·:· Cymru Fu . . . . [editor
I. Foulkes, 1862-4]; second edition, Wrexham, no date.
C.LL. ·:· Cynfeirdd Lleyn... editor
J. Jones (Myrddin Fardd); Pwllheli 1905.
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C.M. ·:· Ystorya de Carolo Magno,
from the Red Book of Hergest, editor Thomas Powell; Cymmrodorion Society
1883.
Ceiriog C.G. ·:· Cant o Ganeuon,
gan John Ceiriog Hughes, Wrexham [1863]
D. ·:· Dr. John Davies, of Mallwyd; reference to Antiquae Lingvae Britannicae... Rudimenta, London 1621.
D. ·:· quoted in Dr. Davies’s grammar, as above.
D.E. ·:· Dafydd ab Edmwnd (Flintshire), floruit 1450-80; reference to Gwaith Dafydd ab Edmwnd, editor T.
Roberts, Bangor 1914.
D.FF. ·:· Deffyniad Ffydd Eglwys Loegr,
by Maurice Kyffin, 1595; reprint, editor W. P. Williams, Bangor 1908.
D.G. ·:· Dafydd ap Gwilym (North Cardiganshire.), floruit 1350-80; reference
to Barddoniaeth Dafydd ab Gwilym....
Llundain, 1789; bracketed numbers refer to Cywyddau Dafydd ap Gwilym a’i Gyfoeswyr . . ., editor Ifor
Williams a T. Roberts, Bangor 1914; thus D.G. 70 (66) means that the words
will be found in p. 70 of the former, and p. 66 of the latter.
D.G. ·:· quoted from Barddoniaeth Dafydd ap Gwilym but not
by Dafydd ap Gwilym; these quotations are either from poems printed as the
work of others, e.g. G.Gr. { Gruffydd Gryg
(Anglesey), circa 1370.}; or from old poems wrongly attributed to
Dafydd ap Gwilym; in these cases the author’s name is given; where no author
is mentioned the lines are from late imitations by Iolo Morganwg.
D.G.G. ·:· Cywyddau Dafydd ap Gwilym
a’i Gyfoeswyr as above; quotations from poems by the other authors (Cyfoeswyr). References to Dafydd’s
poems are given thus: D.G. (66), see above.
D.H. ·:· Dewi Havhesp = David Roberts, Llandderfel, 1831-84; reference to Oriau’r Awen, 2nd edition, Bala 1897.
D.I. ·:· Dafydd Ionawr = David Richards, Dolgelley, 1751-1827; reference to Gwaith Dafydd Ionawr, editor Morris
Williams, Dolgellau 1851.
D.I.D. ·:· Deio ab leuan Du (Cardiganshire), circa 1480.
D.LL. ·:· Dafydd Llwyd ap Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, circa 1480.
D.N. ·:· Dafydd Nanmor (Beddgelert), circa 1460.
D.P.O. ·:· Drych y Prif Oesoedd. . by
Theophilus Evans (Breconshire), 1740; reprint, editor S. J. Evans, Bangor
1902.
Dr.M. ·:· Dr. William Morgan (Caernarvonshire), 1541-1604; translator of the
Bible, 1588.
D.T. ·:· Diddanwch Teuluaidd: neu Waith
Beirdd Môn 2nd edition Caernarfon 1817
D.W. ·:· Dewi Wyn o Eifion = Dafydd Owen (Llanystumdwy), 1784- 1841;
reference to Blodau Arfon,
Caerlleon, 1842.
E.F. ·:· Eben Fardd = Ebenezer Thomas (South Caernarvonshire), 1802-63;
reference to Gweithiau Barddonol Eben
Fardd [Bangor, no date].
E.P. ·:· Edmwnd Prys, Archdeacon of Merioneth, 1541-1623; reference to Edmwnd Prys ... gan T. R. Roberts
(Asaph), Caernarfon 1899. PS. refers to his metrical version of the Psalms.
F. ·:· Flores Poetarum Britannivorum
Collected by J. D. [Dr. John Davies]. Mwythig (Shrewsbury) 1710.
F.N. ·:· Y Flodeugerdd Newydd...,
editor W. J. Gruffydd; Cardiff 1909.
G. ·:· Gorchestion Beirdd Cymru...,
editor Rhys Jones. Amwythig (Shrewsbury) 1773.
G.C. ·:· The History of Gruffydd ap
Cynan..., [13th century] editor Arthur Jones. Manchester 1910.
G. Gl. ·:· Guto’r Glyn (Denbighshire.), floruit 1450-80.
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G.Gr. ·:· Gruffydd Gryg (Anglesey), circa 1370.
G.I.H. ·:· Gwilym ab Ieuan Hen, circa 1460.
G.J. ·:· Griffith Jones, Rector of Llanddowror, 1684-1761; reference to Hyfforddiad Gynnwys i Wybodaeth jachusol o
Egwyddorjon a Dyledswyddau Crefydd...., London 1749 (remarkable as an
attempt to restore the correct representation of vowels, e.g. u miswritten y,. etc.).
Gm.P. ·:· Gwilym Peris = William Williams, 1769-1847; reference to Awengerdd Peris Llanrwst [1813].
G. Ph. ·:· Gruffudd Phylip, son of Siôn Phylip {Ardudwy,
Merionethshire}, circa 1640.
G.R. ·:· Dr. Griffith Roberts; reference to Dosparth Byrr ar y rhann gyntaf i ramadeg cymraeg [Milan] 1567;
reprint, Paris 1870-83 as supplement to Revue
Celtique under the title A Welsh
Grammar and other Tracts.
G. R. ·:· quoted from Dr..Griffith
Robert’s Grammar, as above.
Gr.O. ·:· Goronwy Owen (Anglesey), 1723-69; reference to Gwaith y Parch. Goronwy Owen..., Llanrwst 1860.
G.T. ·:· Gwilym Tew (Glamorganshire), circa 1450
Gu.P. ·:· Gutyn Peris = Griffith Williams 1769-1838; reference to Ffrwyth Awen, Trefriw 1816.
H.A. ·:· Huw Arwystl, circa 1550.
H.C.LL. ·:· Huw (or Hywel) Cae Llwyd (Breconshire), circa 1480.
H.H. ·:· Hugh Hughes, y Bardd Coch (Anglesey), died 1770.
H.M. ·:· Hugh Maurice (Denbighshire), 1622 -1709; reference to Eos Ceiriog .... 2 volumes, Wrexham
1823.
H.S. ·:· Hywel Swrdwal (Montgomeryshire), circa 1450; reference to Gwaith Barddonol Hywel Swrdwal a’i fab
Ieuan, editor J. C. Morrice, Bangor 1908.
I.B.H. ·:· Ieuan Brydydd Hir (Merionethshire), circa 1450.
I. B.H. ieu. ·:· Ieuan Brydydd Hir ieuaf, properly Ieuan Fardd (cf. p.155
below) = Evan Evans (Cardiganshire) 1731-89; reference to Gwaith y Parchedig Evan Evans (Ieuan
Brydydd Hir), editor D. Silvan Evans, Caernarfon 1876.
I.D. ·:· Ieuan Deulwyn (Carmarthenshire), floruit 1460-80; refrence to Gwaith Ieuan Deulwyn editor Ifor
Williams, Bangor 1909.
I. F. ·:· Iorwerth Fynglwyd (Glam.), circa 1490.
I.G. ·:· Iolo Goch (Denbighshire), floruit 1370-1405; reference to Gweithiau Iolo Goch ... editor Charles
Ashton, Cymmrodorion Society 1896.
I.G.G. ·:· Ieuan Glan Geirionydd = Evan Evans (Trefriw), 1795-1855; reference
to to Geirionydd, editor W. J.
Roberts; Rhuthyn [1862].
I.H.S. ·:· Ieuan ap Hywel Swrdwal, circa 1470; reference as for H.S., q.v.
(=Hywel Swrdwal (Montgomeryshire), circa 1450; reference to Gwaith Barddonol Hywel Swrdwal a’i fab
Ieuan, editor J. C. Morrice, Bangor 1908.)
I. MSS. ·:· Iolo Manuscripts ..... Llandovery 1840.
L.G.C. ·:· Lewis Glyn Cothi, floruit 1440-80; reference to Gwaith Lewis Glyn Cothi .... Oxford
1837.
L.M. ·:· Lewis Morris, Llywelyn Ddu o Fôn, 1701-65.
L.Men. ·:· Lewis Menai, circa 1570.
LL. ·:· Llawdden (Machynlleth), circa 1460.
LL.A. ·:· Llyfr yr Ancr, 1346 = The
Elucidatrium and other tracts in Welsh...., editor J. Morris Jones and J.
Rhys, Oxford 1894.
LL.G. ·:· Llywelyn Goch Amheurig Hen, circa 1380.
LL.M. ·:· Lloches Mwyneidd-dra...
gan Absalom Roberts; Llanrwst 1845. Contains collection of penillion telyn {= verses for singing accompanied by the harp}.
M.A. i ·:· The Myvyrian Archaiology of
Wales... vol. i; London 1801. Collection of Medieval poetry
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M.E. ·:· Mil o Englynion = Pigion Englynion fy Ngwlad Vol. i, 2nd edition., Liverpool 1882.
M.LL. ·:· Morgan Llwyd o Wynedd, 1619- 1659; reference to Gweithiau Morgan Llwyd o Wynedd, vol.
i, editor T. E. Ellis, Bangor 1899.
M.R. ·:· Maredudd ap Rhys, circa 1440.
N.T. ·:· New Testament.
P.G.G. ·:· Pattrwm y Gwir-Gristion...
Chester 1723; reprint edited by H. Elvet Lewis, Bangor 1908.
P.LL. ·:· Pump Llyfr Kerddwriaeth by Simwnt Vychan 1567, Jesus College
Manuscript 9; reference to the ediiton printed from a late copy in Dosparth Edeyrn Davod Aur...
Llandovery 1856, pp. xlii-cxxviii.
P.M. ·:· Llywarch ap Llywelyn, Prydydd y Moch (North Denbighshire);
floruit 1160-1220.
P.T. ·:· Penillion Telyn, editor W.
Jenkyn Thomas, Caernarfon, 1894.
R.B.B ·:· Red Book Bruts = The Text of
the Bruts from the Red Book of Hergest, editor J. Rhys and J. Gwenogvryn
Evans, Oxford 1887.
R.G.D. ·:· Robert ab Gwilym Ddu = Robert Williams (Llanystumdwy), 1767-1850;
reference to Gardd Eifion. . . .
Dolgellau 1841.
R.J. ·:· Rhys Jones o’r Blaenau (Merionethshire.) 1713-1801 (editor of Gorchestion Beirdd Cymru..., editor
Rhys Jones. Amwythig (Shrewsbury) 1773); reference to Gwaith Prydyddawl y diweddar Rice Jones o’r Blaenau.... Dolgelleu
1818.
R.M. ·:· Richard Morris (brother of Lewis Morris), 1703-79; editor of Bible
1746, 1752.
R.M. ·:· Red Book Mabinogion = The
Text of the Mabinogion... from the Red Book of Hergest, editor J. Rhys and J. Gwenogvryn Evans, Oxford 1887.
R.P. ·:· Red Book Poetry = The Poetry in the Red Book of Hergest, editor
J. Gwenogvryn Evans, Llanbedrog 1911 (issued 1921). Reference to columns.
S.C. ·:· Siôn Cent (Kentchurch), circa 1420.
S.G. ·:· Y Seint Greal, being vol.
i of Selections from the Hengwrt
MSS.... editor Robert Williams; London 1876.
S.Ph. ·:· Siôn Phylip (Ardudwy, Merionethshire), 1543-1620.
S.T. ·:· Siôn Tudur (Wigwer, St. Asaph), died 1602.
T. ·:· Talhaiarn = John Jones, Llanfair Talhaearn, 1810-69; reference to Gwaith Talhaiarn; i, London 1853; ii,
London 1862.
T.A. ·:· Tudur Aled (North Denbighshire.), floruit 1480-1520.
T.P. ·:· Tudur Penllyn (Merionethshire.), circa 1460.
W. LL. ·:· Wiliam Llŷn (?Llŷn; resided in Oswestry), 1535-80;
reference to Barddoniaeth Wiliam Llŷn...’
editor J. C. Morrice, Bangor 1908.
W.M. ·:· The White Book Mabinogion Editor J. Gwenogvryn Evans, Pwllheli
1907 (issued later, preface dated 1909). Reference to columns.
Wms. ·:· William Williams, Pant y Celyn (Carmarthenshire), hymn-writer,
1717-91; reference to Gwaith Prydyddawl
. . . William Williams . . . Caerfyrddin 1811; Wms. refers to Gweithiau Williams Pant-y-celyn editor
N. C. Jones, Vol. i, Treffynnon (Holywell) 1887.
W.S. ·:· Wyllyam Salesbury (Llanrwst), translator of bulk of New Testament
1567.
Y. LL. H. ·:· Yn y llyvyr hwnn y
traethir Gwyddor kymraec... by Sir John Price, 1546; reprint edited by J.
H. Davies, Bangor 1902.
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ABBREVIATIONS: TERMS, ETC.
acc. accusative
adj. adjective
adv. adverb
aff. affixed
aor. aorist
cent.century
cf. compare
compos. composite
coin. conjunc-tive, -tion
cpv. comparative
def. definite
demonst. demonstrative
dial. dialect, -al
do. same book or author
E., Eng. English
edn. edition
e.g. for example
eqtv. equative
ex. example
exc. except, -ion
feminine, fem. feminine
foll. followed
Fr. French
gen. genitive
ib. same book and page
id. same meaning
i.e. that is
impers. impersonal
impf. imperfect
impv. imperative
ind. indicative
indef. indefinite
inf. infixed
interj. interjection
interr. interrogative
lang. language
Lat. Latin
l.c. in place cited
lit. literary, -al, -ally
m., mas. masculine
m. (in references) marwnad
Mab. Mabinogion
MI. Medieval
MI.W. Medieval Welsh
Mn. Modern
Mn.W. Modern Welsh
nas. nasal
neg. negative
nom. nominative
N.W. North Wales
obj. object
obl. oblique
p. page
perf. perfect
pers. person, -al
plural plural
plup. pluperfect
pos. positive
pref. prefixed
prep. preposition
pres. present
pron. pronoun
q.v. which see
rad. radical
reduplural reduplicated
rel. relative
sg. singular
spir. spirant
spv. superlative
subj. subjunctive
s.v. under the word
S.W. South Wales
syll. syllable
v.a. verbal adjective
vb. verb
v.n. verbal noun
W. Welsh
wr. written.
SIGNS.
> becomes'
• thus ai p. 39 means becomes ai'.
E sounded or pronounced ; thus tecaf (e leceuf) p. 35 means ' teccd
(sounded !eccaf)
2722
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PHONOLOGY
(1) THE ALPHABET
::1 The Modern Welsh alphabet consists of twenty simple
letters and seven digraphs. The following table shows the
signs in their traditional order, with the name of each in Welsh spelling:
a â
b bî
c ĕc
ch ĕch
d dî
dd ĕdd
e ê
f ĕf
ff ĕff
g ĕg
ng ĕng
h âets
i î
l ĕl
ll ĕll
m ĕm
n ĕn
o ô
p pî
ph ỳff or ffî
r ĕr
s ĕs
t tî
th ĕth
u û
w ŵ
y ŷ
(2) THE SOUNDS OF THE LETTERS
(a) THE VOWELS.
::2. The letters a e i have their continental values; they
are not sounded ay ee ai as in English, but ah ek ee.
::3. a, as in tad, has nearly the sound of the English a
in father. When short, as in brat, it has the same sound, and not the
more forward sound of the English short a in fat, mat
::4. i, as
in gwin, is sounded like the Northern English i in machine.
It is closer than in the Southern English pronunciation.
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When
short, as in dim, it has the same sound, and not the wider i in
English dim
::5.
w, as in brwd, has the sound of the Northern English oo
in food. It is closer than in the Southern English, pronunciation. It
has the same sound when short, as in trwm .
::6. e, when long or medium, as in gwên,
gwenau, has the sound of the middle e of English let. When
short, as in pen pennau, it is slightly more open, tending towards the
English e in there.
::7. o, when long or medium, as in tôn tonau, has a
sound midway between the close o of English note and the open o
of English not. When short, as in ton tonnau, it is more open,
tending towards the o of not.
::8.
u was formerly sounded like French u,
but now its sound is the same as the clear sound of y { [i], [ii] }; thus hun ‘self’ and hŷn ‘older’, formerly distinct, have now the same sound.
::9.
y has two sounds, the clear and the
obscure. The clear sound, as in bys
{ [biis] }‘finger’, is somewhat similar to
the first y in English mystery, but is a thicker sound. To
produce it the mouth-passage is narrowed by raising the middle part of the
tongue, its point touching the lower teeth inside. The obscure sound of y, as in byrrach, is the sound of the English y in myrtle. In this
grammar the character y is used, as
in ordinary writing and printing, to denote both sounds; but where it is
necessary to distinguish them the clear sound is denoted by ÿ, and the obscure by ỳ. From what has been said above
it is seen that u and ÿ denote the same sound. In South Wales dialects this sound has now become i.
::10. The difference in Modern Welsh
between uand y is that u has the same sound in all
positions, thus the u of hun ‘self ‘remains unchanged in
quality in hunan ‘self ‘; but the
sound of y varies according to position, thus the
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(delwedd 2725)
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clear
sound in hŷn ‘older’ becomes
the obscure in hynaf ‘oldest’,
Section ::117.
The spelling in general use in the recent period preserves the old
distinction between u and ÿ correctly in monosyllables, except
in crud ‘cradle’, which is wrongly
spelt crÿd. In the final unaccented
syllable u is wrongly written for y in melÿs {= sweet}, although it
becomes melysu {= to sweeten}; and Cymry ‘Wales’
is written Cymru, to distinguish it
from Cymry ‘Welshmen’. y is wrongly written for u in
credadun {=
believer},
anoddun {=
deep}
arofun {=
intend}
munud {=
minute}.
u has come to be treated as ÿ in ysgrythyr {= scripture} {plural:} (ysgrythyrau), etc., Section ::
119.
::11. The following diagram shows the relative positions at which,
and heights to which, the tongue is raised in pronouncing the Welsh vowels.
Vowels pronounced with rounded lips are enclosed in brackets.
{Diagram to be added}
::12. The descriptions given above show that there is a close
parallelism between the front and back vowels: the high front i and high back w are both sounded close; the mid front e and mid back o are
both slightly more open when short than when long or medium.
::13. i and w also
represent consonant sounds; see Section ::29.
THE CONSONANTS
::14. p and b are sounded
as in English.
::15. t and d are sounded as in English; but the Welsh
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dentals are normally somewhat more forward than
the English.
::16. c and g are sounded
respectively like English k and
hard g; they are not pronounced as v and j in Welsh. But each has really two sounds; the front sound,
heard before i and e, as in ci {= dog}, geneth {= girl}; and the back
sound heard before other vowels, as in cath
{= cat}, gof
{= smith}. The difference is not practically
important, and most speakers are unaware of it.
::17. ff and ph have the
same sound, that of the English f.
The character ph is used as a
conscious mutation of p, as in chwe phunt or chwephunt {= six pounds}; ff is used where the sound is
immutable, as in cyff {= tree stump}, corff {= body}, ffon {=
stick}.
::18. th has the sound of the
English k in thick, breath.
::19. ch is sounded like the
Scotch ch in loch, or German ch in nach.
::20. f has the sound of English v and dd has the sound of the
English th in this, breathe but these sounds are very soft in Welsh, and tend
to drop finally, as tre for tref {=
home, farmstead, town}, sy
for sydd {=
which is}. For dd the symbol δ is often used in writing. and may be adopted for phonetic
transcription.
::21. m and n are sounded as in
English.
::22. ng has the sound of the English ng in longing. For phonetic transcription the symbol v may be used; thus llong, llongau {ship, ships} are pronounced llong, llongngau. But in a few words ng stands for n + g,
sounded ngg as in the English finger; this occurs where the g is a mutation of c, as in Bangor,
from ban ‘high’ and côr ‘enclosure’.
::23. Welsh has also the voiceless nasals mh,
nh, ngh. The nasals can only be made voiceless by a strong emission of
breath, which is heard as an aspirate after the nasal; the sounds are
therefore not strictly simple, and so their symbols have not been included in
the alphabet.
::24. l has the sound of English l.
::25. ll is a voiceless unilateral. It is
produced by
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putting
the tongue in the l position,
raising it so as to close the passage on one side, and blowing between it and
the upper teeth on the other. About three out,of every four Welsh speakers
pronounce it on the right side.
::26. r is trilled, like the strong
Scotch r, or the Italian r. Initially when not mutated, and
often medially, it is made voiceless by a strong emission of breath, which is
heard as an aspirate after it, as in rhaw {= spade}; the symbol of this sound, rh is not included in the alphabet for
the reason given above for the omission of the voiceless nasals.
::27. s has the sound of the English ss in toss. It is never sounded z;
Welsh rhosyn ‘rose’ is pronounced rhossÿn.
::28. h has the sound of English
aspirate h. When initial, the mouth
is shaped for the following vowel before the emission of the breath which
forms the h.
::29. i and w are often
consonants, sounded like English y
and w respectively. When it is
necessary to point out that they are consonantal they are written i {in fact, i with an inverted breve below which
we cannot reproduce here}, and w
{in fact, i
with an inverted breve below} in this grammar; iach {= [yaakh] healthy}, caniad {=
[KAN yad] poem, cockcrow}, y
wennol {= [WE nol] the swallow}, y wlad {=
[wlaad] the country}, galwad
{= [GAL wad] call}
::30. A single consonant between vowels
belong normally to the second syllable; thus ca|rut ‘to love’, caredig
‘kind’;
where there are two or more consonants the first belongs to the first
syllable, as
car|dod ‘charity’,
car|iad ‘love’,
ar|wain ‘to lead’,
car|tref ‘home’.
A double consonant belongs to both; thus in can|nu ‘to whiten’ the first
syllable ends after the stoppage of the mouth passage for the formation of
the n, and the second begins before
or with the opening of the passage which completes the consonant.
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Thus a
double consonant implies not two distinct consonants, but a consonant in
which the opening and closing of the passage are slightly separated so that
both are heard.
::31. In some cases two adjacent syllables have
no intervening consonant; as
dî|olch {
[DII-olkh] }, ‘thanks’,
dê|all {=
[DEE-alh] } ‘understanding’
bwy|tâ|o {=
[bui-TAA-o] } ‘may eat’.
DIPHTHONGS.
Definition.
::32.
A diphthong consists of the combination in the same syllable of a sonantal
with a consonantal vowel. When the sonantal element comes first the
combination is a falling diphthong. When the consonantal element comes first
it is a rising diphthong. “Diphthong” without modification will be understood
to mean falling diphthong.
Falling Diphthongs.
::33. The Modern Welsh falling diphthongs may be classified as
follows:
(1)
Diphthongs ending in i, ÿ, or e:
ai ei oi
wy, ey
ae, oe
Examples:
bai {=
blame, fault},
deil {=
he / she / it holds},
troi {=
to turn};
mwÿn {=
gentle},
teyrn {=
ruler, king};
cae {=
field},
coed {=
wood}
(2)
Diphthongs ending in u:
au eu on
Examples:
dau {=
two},
deunaw {=
eighteen, ‘two nines’},
ymarhóus {=
slow, tardy}
(3)
Diphthongs ending in w:
aw ew iw uw ÿw yw ow
Examples:
aw {=
nine},
lliw {=
colour},
duw {= god},
bÿw {= to live; alive},
bywÿd {=
life},
dowch {=
come! (imperative)}.
::34. The diphthongs of the first class originally ended
in i, of which ÿ e are later
modifications. In North Wales the e sound did not develop, but ae and oe are sounded aÿ and oÿ; thus
cae {=
field} and coed {= wood} are câÿ,
côÿd .
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::35. In
the diphthongs ei, ey, eu the e has not its normal sound, but
an obscure sound like y. The o in the diphthong ow is
also obscure, and ow has the same sound as yw.
::36. Since u and ÿ now represent one sound, eu has
the same value as eÿ, and uw as ÿw; and in North Wales
there is only a partial difference of quantity between ae, oe and au,
on; see paragraphs 102, 103.
::37. Some falling diphthongs are the result of the contraction at
a comparatively late period of two syllables without an intervening
consonant, paragraph 31. The diphthongs oi, ou and ow are
always late contractions; thus rhoi is for rhó|i for an earlier
rhoddi, ymarhóus is for ymarhó|us, and rhowch is for
rhó|wch. The diphthong ey is usually a late contraction; thus teyrn is
for an older té|ÿrn. A late contraction may have the same form as one of the
old diphthongs; thus rhoes ‘he gave’ for rhó|es, and Cym|ráeg
for Cym|rá|eg. In some cases contraction results in a simple
vowel, as in gwnaf [aa] ‘I do’ for gwná|af, or rhôf ‘I
give’ [oo] for rhó|af; the vowel is long except in the penult.
Rising Diphthongs.
::38. The consonantal first element of a rising
diphthong must be either i or w. The following are the
combinations which occur:
(1) ia ie io iw iy
Examples:
initial,
iach, {= health}
iechyd, {= healthy }
iâr, {= hen }
iwrch, iyrchod; {= stag, stags}
medial,
caniad, {= song }
rhodied, {= may he walk}
dynion, {= men}
gweithiwir, {= worker}
myrddiynau. {= innumerable quantities}
(2) wa we wi wo wu wÿ wy
These occur initially only when g- has been mutated away; thus,
cod wag, {= empty bag}
y wennol, {= the swallow}
dy wisg, {= your dress}
y wobr, {= the prize}
dy wull ‘thy flowers’ (Dafÿdd ap Gwilym 525),
yn wyn, {= (is) white}
yn wynnach; {= (is) whiter}
medially,
ceidwad, {= keeper}
gorwedd, {= to lie}
cedwir, {= it is kept}
marwor, {= embers}
galwaf ‘thou calledst’,
penwyn, {= grey-haired}
penwynni. {= to go grey}
39:: When i or w comes before a rising diphthong the
RHANNAU HEB EU HYCHWANEGU ETO:
::39 ::40 ::41 ::42 ::43 ::44
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(delwedd 2730)
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8
PHONOLOGY
40—45
combination forms a triphthong ; as in iaith, iau in
teithiau ; paw in ; meddyli@d was thought •
40. In a few cases a rising diphthong is formed by con-
traction, as in di61ddeffor di161ddef to suffer'.
41. The rising diphthongs pa and 220 are often inter-
changed, as in gwatpar and cavad and cawod.
42. The reason why ii, iu, Q, are not included in the
list of rising diphthongs in 38 is that these combinations
have been simplified in the normal Welsh pronunciation.
Thus the stem of gweithiaf I work' is greithi- as in
qwei"iant gweithiwch, etc. ; but gweithiir has become
gweithir is worked Similarly galarwn has become gahon
we call'. & becomes V, as in gaceiryn hay-stalk', for
gweirivn, cf. gweiriau. becomes u, as in rheidug needy '
for rheidiu8, cf. rheidiol necessary and udd lord ' for an
old iudd. But initially in polysyllables becomes i, as in
[/.hel for [udd-haet, and Iddeæ Jew for [uddew.
43. Consonantal i drops after u, as in (l?ton for ;
and generally after consonant + r and consonant, + p, as
in budron for budrion, geirvon for geirpiou.
44. Consonantal p sometimes drops before o, as in the
prefix go- for gpo-, in golehi for gpolchi, and in penuog for
penvoo for penvag, cf. pl. penvaig.
Ambiguous Group.
45. As i and w may be either vowels or consonants the
combinations iw my may be either falling•or rising diph-
thongs. In ordinary writing these different values are not
distinguished ; in this grammar we distinguish them,
where necessary, thus : the falling diphthongs are written
; the rising diphthongs are indicated by marking the
i and w as consonants, thus W. The latter has itself
two values, which may be distinguished thus :
2730
::45. As i and w may be either vowels or
consonants the combinations iw wy
may be either falling or rising diphthongs. In ordinary writing these
different values are not distinguished; in this grammar we distinguish them,
where necessary, thus: the falling diphthongs are written iw {iu}
wy {ui};
the rising diphthongs are indicated by marking the i and w as consonants,
thus <iw> {yu} <wy>
{wi / wø}. The latter has itself two values,
which may be distinguished thus: wÿ
{wi}, wỳ
{wø}.
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(delwedd 2731)
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::46. <iw> in
the ultima followed by a consonant is iw {yu},
as
iwrch {
[yurkh] } {= roe deer}
rhodiwch {
[hródyukh] } {= you stroll}
cofiwn {
[kóvyun] } {= we remember, let us remember}
gweithiwr, {
[gwéithyur] } {= worker}
myrddiwn {
[mǿrdhyun] } {= myriad}
The only exceptions are iwch {iukh}‘to you’ and niwl {niul} ‘fog’.
RHANNAU HEB EU HYCHWANEGU ETO:
::47 ::48 ::49 ::50 ::51 ::52 ::53 ::54 ::55 ::56 ::57 ::58 ::59 ::60 ::61
::62 ::63 ::64 ::65 ::66 ::67 ::68 ::69 ::70 ::71 ::72 ::73 ::74 ::75
S SOUNDS IN COMBINATION
47. In all other cases is the falling diphthong i7ö.
(sounded R), phi}), brim, ed/,äö.
Thus (I) finally 121.' 'to his
(2) In the penult or ante-penult, as in llncgar, cibdod,
cnododau. Exceptions are the borrowed words 8ii;r,
and diibrnod when contracted for di16rinod, 40.
48. But iw is disyllabic when it is formed by adding a
syllable beginning with w to one ending in vocalic i ; thus
:pveddi, gu:eddflzer, 31.
49. has four sounds : (1) the triphthong as in
meddyli@d, 39.
(2) as in gweddilvy/' ' I may pray .
(3) in as in Iliuwdd painter
(4) as in /liuyddion painters '.
These can generally be distinguished by analysis of the
formation.
50. The falling diphthong and the rising are to
some extent confused in the dialects ; and it is importuni
to observe the distinction between them.
51. In monosyllables my is always except when Tre-
ceded by g or eh ; thus dFjn, br@n, el@d, rhi@g, llFjbr.
52. Words beginning radically with g or ch have usually
the rising diphthong, as white ', gapp•dd green
gejdd ' trees chvqrn ' swift chrjt/t blows The excep-
lions are GO' the Wye ' , giFjd(l' goose ' presence
gp@dd uncultivated ', vigil, holiday ' modest
' goblin ', 'knows , .qwyr ' bent, a bend ',
pledge ' anger ', eh@dd swelling '.
53. In ordinary writing the falling diphthong when long
is written by ; but this is only necessary after g or ch (or
where g is mutated away), and in ziyn, aiyr, ?öyl, see below.
The rising diphthong when long is written which only
2731
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(delwedd 2732)
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occurs
after or eh (or where is n way).
the ibllowing contrasts of sound with the same spelling :
göydd goose, g"ydd presence,
tir giyd,d wild land
holiday, gØyl modest
gziyu goblin
göyr knows, bent, bend,
dy gØyr thy wax (rad.
cwyr)
dy göyn thy complaint (rad.
euyn)
lambs
grandson, a ziyr knows
weeps
gwfjd,d trees, wood, plough
gu.'jl sees (old form of gwé()
darkness
men
gwyn white, passion
Dewi (rad. gzoyn), dy
wjn thy passion
dy avjr thy men (rad. gwjr)
a (rad. guil sees)
54. When a word has wy in its simple form this remains
wy in all derivatives ; thus mvvn, m@nach, m@nhau; czvyn,
cono; c/l@dd, ch@ddo. In North Wales is mispro-
nounced after c, g or in the penult ; thus cuno for
ozt,yno, chuddo for cln@ddo; but ezöyn and eh/öydd are
sougded correctly.
55. When a word bas in its simple form this becomes
in the penult, as {J?2Pt, gwunach, ; chkPh.,
chwthu. In the dialects is generally sounded tv, thus
ehwthu for ehwthu.
56. When a wold in its radical form begins with
the diphthong is ; thus ' egg 739th ' eight', FjUnos
' week ', wyr ' grandson tog/n• ' sky , wylo 'to weep',
' lambs ', wyneb ' face '. The word toy is pi
in Pembrokeshire ; Fjbr, Fjneb are mispronounced
with in North Wales, and g is wrongly prefixed to wyneb
except in a few old phrases, as ar y wyueb. But in the
Bible and other standard literature ?tyneb is •neb, as in
2732
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(delwedd 2733)
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Gen.
xliii 3, Ex. xxxiii 20, In:v. 10, etc.,
hüneåau Gen. xlii 6. 'l'he sound is shown in the rhyme
of' the eyngbanedd lusg in the following couplet :
fydd tön ar :
Afraid i ni nodi neb.—E.P. 212.
Plain is nose on a face; we need not mention any one.'
57. Hnal my is always the falling diphthong; as IF)'
who artö f a spread ' , dirö a fine ' , Cona Myfanö.
Os mare,' hon yn 18 Conwy,
Si ddyly Mai ddeilio mwy.—D.N. (P.N. 90).
If this [maiden] is dead in Is Conwy, May ought no longer to
leaf.'
58. When a word has in the last syllable and a in
the penult, the toy is Q; thus ar@dd, eannt@ll, ywanmyn,
cadFjn. But this rule does not apply to compounds like
/dn-uwdd ' fire-wood påbn-prdd palm-trees
Dal genedt aur yan-nwyll
bennau tai'n erbyn t€Y11.—D.W. 116.
Holding to the nation a golden candle ori housetops against
deceit.'
Dechreu 'ng/uin jydd y gtoan@n,
Yr adeg i eni Tyn.—E.F. 36.
The beginning of my song will be the spring, the time for
lambs to be born.'
Aur a gad ddwy gadwyæ,
Ri roddi'nfaich ddynfwyn.—D.G. 64.
' Gold was had in two chains, and laid as a burden on the
gentle maiden.'
59. is when it is derived from Ltin F, ig or i, as
in rhöd from rue, from eéra, egl@8 from ecclé8ia,
egöddor from äbéeédürium, gu•enön from renénuii/, cadV'Yi'
from catena, eanuüll from (108 fron•i ;
from 8ignum ; from *entire, from
It is when derived from Latin vi, as in gwjd vice '
from vitium, miracle ' from vir/?t8. The same prin-
2733
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(delwedd 2734)
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12
PHONOLOGY
60-63
ciples apply to native words when compared with the
original forms, which may be deduced from Irish cognates.
Cn ai anop neu
Fu, neu Dduw fynnai 'i ddfin.—T.A. G. 235.
'It was either a mishap or poison [that caused his death],
or God wished to fake him.'
Y doeth 'n; ddgwaid a wyr ;
Nid o son y daw synnwyr.—G.1.H. G. 144.
The wise does not say what he knows; it is not from talk
that sense comes.
60. is wy in the substantival terminations
as in kindness ' ,
' -lans
-ness ,
Gwenn@8 Gwentians' ; and in the verbal endings
-08, -01. But it is in -pyr, pl. of -wr, as in prege/,lunp•
preachers '.
61. No rule can be formulated to cover all cases ; but
the following wolds may be noted as those most commonly
mispronounced: eeg•poya vat ', disg@l ' expect (Fynedd
Venedotia', mor•fijit maid /,erztyu fervent '
' lie cychpvn. to start ', ded721dd happy bed-
side oherwrdd because of'.
Y g6r marqo, e gar mo•n
Ddaear dy fedd em dy fØn.—T.A. G. 229.
Dead man, a maiden loves the dust Of thy grave for thy
sake. '
62. wy after a vowel has generally become py ; thus
dark' and app• ' air' were formgrly and
all@r, and these forms survived in tho rhymes of the bards
down to the Modern period.
Reduction and Confusion of Diphthongs.
63. Unaccented ae in the final syllable was often reduccd
to e as early as the Medieval period, especially in verbul
forms and proper names ; as in adwen ' I know ' for admaen,
2734
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(delwedd 2735)
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64-66
SOUNDS IN COMBINATION
13
chwa•re or gware to play for ehavarae or guarae, carel to
get ' for eaffael, for 42.
Un awen a adwen i.—Gr.O. 78.
It is one Inuse [only] that I know.'
Y bum yn gware gynt
Mqe dynio•n na 'm hadwaenynt.—Gr.O. 58.
[In] the place where I formerly played there are men who
knew me not.'
64. In the same position oe and wy were liable to be
simplified to o and w respectively; as in leno ' to-night '
for an old ,4enoe/h (cf. trannoeth, which being less used shows
less wear), and in neith;xv»•• last, night ' for neithi@r.
65. In the dialects ai and au are reduced to e in the
same position ; but this reduction has not been general
(e.g. in Gwynedd ai remains), and reduced forms such as
defed, pet/te were avoided by the Early Modern bards,
and have not supplanted the standard forms llffaiu, defaid,
pethau in the literary language. In a few cases, however,
dialectal forms have come to be written these are aden for
adain, ar gyfer for ar gyfair, dywed says' for dywaid, and
the verbal noun ending -ied for -iaid, as in t,ybied for tybiaid.
66. Owing to the dialectal reduction of ai and au to e,
and the old reduction of ae to e, uncertainty arose as to the
correct form in some cases, and the diphthongs have been
written in a few words in which the sound has always been e,
and which are written with e in the early periods. Thus
bore ' morning so written in the oldest manuscripts, is
later often misspelt boreu or borau. The forms camröu,
godreu, tylau are misspellings of canwe 'journey , godre
' bottom edge', Ole hill'; 'Chain is a misspelling of
'Chen, see 145 ; and toraet,4 appears to be a misspelling
of toreth ' abundance .
Ser bore a ddu•yrelynt
Yn i gyd-ganu gynt.—Gr.O. 79.
The stars Of morning rose in a host to Sing together Of old.'
2735
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(delwedd 2736)
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14
PHONOLOGY
Ni adewais lednais le
Y,ng ar fy nghamre.—I.G. 201.
567
'I left, no noble place in Wales on my journey.'
Ltuu;ch ar fre a godre gaut,
A brig dwyn baruguallt.—D.G. 508.
' Snowdrift on hill and foot of slope, and branch bearing hair
of hoarfrost.'
Fat, y ddau ychen hen hy.—D.G. 223.
' Like the two oxen old [and] bold.'
Lle difeth, toreth hyd daeerydd.LT.A.
' A place unfailing, luxuriance over lands.'
Pob peth gn y toreth iau.—Gr.O. 16.
Everything in thy abundance.'
67. The difference in the unaccented ultima between ai
and ae was well preserved in the literary language until
the last century when ae was substituted for ai in many
words; in ajaith delight araith c speech talaith crown,
realm under the influence of false etymological theories ;
in cyffaith confection ', goddaith ' conflagration '9 gweniaith.
flattery i'//:yddiaith prose ', by careless confusion with
the abstract ending -aeth ; in digglair the substitution was
made earlier, and is due to the false notion that the word is
a, compound of claer; and soma examples occur early of
diffaeth newly con1M)unded from ffaeth instead of the
t/.;jaith. The correctness of the ai in most of these words
is proved by their derivatives, areithio, disgleirdeb, etc.
Dan nefoedd, dau un ajaith,
Dirion wedd, dau O'r un iaith.—H.H. I).T. 265.
Under heaven two [who have] the game delight, of gentle
mien, two of the same tongue.'
Dadwrdd a dechreu duedyd
Araith heb iaith yn y byd.—L.M. D.T. 198.
' Prattling and beginning to utter speech which is no language
at all.'
2736
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(delwedd 2737)
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68, 69
SOUNDS IN COMBINATION
Teilwng lyuwdd ein talaith
15
O FO•n hyd ym Mynaoy faith.—H.H. D.T. 282.
' The rightful prince of our realm from Mon to wide Mynwy.
Duw twdd ei dir a'i zoaith
A'i Len eiddo yn oddaith.—D.W. 90.
God will set his land and work and his Old property on
fire.'
Diamatø y daze imi,
Y Disglair, yn 01 d' air di.—D.I. 122.
Doubtless it will happen to me, Thou Bright One, according
to thy word.'
Dffaith a fu 'ch gwaith i gyd.—Gr.O. 96.
' All your work has been ev'l.'
The examples show the persistence of the traditional
forms in the 18th and early 19th cent,
The difference between a; and au in monosyllables is
preserved in all dialects ; the spelling of crau eye ' (of a
needle) as crai in the Bibles of the B.F.B.S. is due the
erroneous assumption that the word is connected with
cruidd.
ACCENTUATION.
Dejnitiona
68. In a polysyllabic word one syllable is always pro-
nounced with more emphasis than the others this is called
the accented syllable, and the emphasis which it bears is
called the principal accent, or simply the accent.
In Welsh, as in English, the accent, is produced by stress,
or a more forcible utterance of the syllable. In some
languages it is produced by raising the pitch Of the syllable.
The syllable bearing the principal accent is denoted in
this grammar by ' placed above its vowel.
69. The remaining syllables of the word are also pro-
nöunced with varying emphasis, but this may generally be
disregarded, and they may all be considered as unaccented
syllebles. In some cases, however, one of them may attain
2737
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(delwedd 2738)
|
n
eonjparison witli the ot hers ; such
said to bear u secondary accent.
A syllable bearing a secondary accent. is denoted in this
grammar where necessary by placed above its vowel.
70. Most monosyllables are stressed, but many frequently
recurring monosyllables bear no stress, but are pronounced
in conjunction with another word. These are proclitics,
which precede the accented word, and enclitics, which
follow it.
71. The Welsh proclitics are (I) the article 3', yr, and the
1)1Tfixed pronounsfy, d', etc. These are always unstressed ;
thus y pronounced jid/ln ; mien, pronounced film,æu.
(2) The relatives a, y, yr; as b'd the world to
come' 272. (3) Negative, interrogative and affirmative
particles. (4) Most conjunctions, as the a in bara a
(5) Prepositions sometimes, as rhag in riag oft 'for fear
The forms in (2) to (5) may be accented for emphasis.
72. The Welsh enclitics are the affixed pronouns i, di,
etc. ; thus dy ben di, pronounced dylbén'di ; but these may
be accented for emphasis as dy (If THY head
Position the Accent.
73. In polysyllables in Welsh the accent falls with
great regularity on the penult ; as gvélled, gee!leldig,
gvelleldi'gåe!/hau. The exceptions mentioned
below form only a small proportion of the total vocabulary.
74. In the following words the accent KLIls on the
ultima :
(1) A few disyllables in which the first syllable is 38 or
Yin; as Y8trö/d street ywréch screech ysår store ,
ysgriu coffin ' ; do thou visit ymåd do thou leave
But most words with these initial syllables are accented
regularly, as figol school '8bryd spirit "8bvyd to
shake
'mdaüh journey jmd,reeh ' effort'. In some
2738
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(delwedd 2739)
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sovxns
COMBINATION
17
thus besides
neeent,11nftonN oc•eur ;
.vmwel ; oceusionnlly with diilörent, meanings, us 'mddwyn
' to behave ', ymddi!//' ' to benr' ; 'mladd to fight ymlådtl
'to tire one's self', the last pair being different
words.
(2) The reduplicated pronouns mgjY, tyrli, etc. ; see 233.
(3) Some adverbs, such as yrhåv;g 'for a long time
achldn wholly ; see also 83
(4) A few disyllables in which h stands between two
vowels, as eyh/ld„ gwahåu, gaoahårdd ; but these are also
necented legnlarly, e'h7/d, gvMhan, gw6hardd. The former
accentuation may have been deduced from contractions like
; but, as gwan. gwårdd not heard, it may be u survival
of the old accentuation like the words in (2),
(5) Words in which the last syllable bas a late con-
traction, 37 ; as palrait6i for palraVdli ; for ;
Cymlråeg for ; Gwrlthéyrn for Gwdth4yrn ; palrhåd
iör palrhå!ad ; Y81qollhåig for an older Y81colihéic for Y81c04h4ic ;
pelnåig chieftain for penlnelic. In these it is seen that the
neeentuation was regular before the contraction.
(6) A few words borrowed from English as aptl appeal
75. In most words ending in -w the zo was formerly
a. consonant ; thug medd•Z' and marm were monosyllables.
The w remains a consonant when a syllable beginning with
a vowel is added ; thus meddlpou, marlpol. This was also
the case when the added syllable began with a consonant ;
and meddvdod, mårvnad welT disyllables accented regularly
on the penult. As it is diffcnlt to pronounce consonantal
22 before d, the former became medd-dod in Medieval Welsh •
but mutpnad remained longer because pn is easier, and
occurs in other words, as gpudf. In the late period the
etymological spelling meddudod prevails ; and this is
commonly misread with w as a vowel, making a word of
three syllables with the accent on the first, contrary to the
2739
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(delwedd 2740)
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18
PHONOLOGY
76—79
Welsh rule. The word should be pronounced (and spelt)
medd-dod. Similarly gvedd-dod for gaoeddvdod„ chwerder for
ehwervder.
Gyr chwérwder o garchårdai ;
Newyn y ueidr a wna'n llai.—D.W. r 12.
' [Charity] drives bitterness from prisons; it makes less the
hunger of the thief.' Read chwérder to correspond to -chärdai
in the second part of the line.
::76. No Welsh word, or word fully naturalized in Welsh is accented on the ante-penult. Such forms as Sáesoneg, Sáesones are misspellings of Saesneg {= Englishwoman}, Saesneg {= English language}; the o was lost before the period of penultimate accentuation, and it is as incorrect to write Sáesoneg for Saesneg as it would be to write pateria for patria in Latin. The following words are accented regularly, though sometimes pronounced with the accent wrongly placed on the ante-penult:
cathólig {= Catholic}
omega {= omega}
penígamp ‘masterly’,
períglor ‘parson’,
lladmédrydd ‘interpreter’,
ysgelerder ‘atrocity’,
oléwydd ‘olives’.
::77. A few words recently borrowed from English are accented on the ante-penult, as
mélodi {= melody}
philósophi {= philosophy};
but derivative forms of even these are accented regularly, as
melódaidd {= melodic}
philosóphydd {= philosophic}
::78. Compound words are accented regularly; thus
gwín-llan ‘vineyard’;
gwág-law or lláw-wag ‘empty-handed’;
canhwyll-bren {ka NHUILH bren}‘candle-stick’;
án-noeth ‘unwise’;
cýf-nos ‘evening’.
A compound thus accented is called a strict compound.
::79. But the two elements of a compound may be separately accented: thus
gáu bróffwyd ‘false prophet’;
cám fárn ‘false judgement’;
cýn {kin} fáer ‘ex-mayor’.
A compound thus accented is called a loose compound.
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(delwedd 2741)
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80-82 SOUNDS IN COMBINATION
The elements of a loose compound are often hyphened, thus cyn-faer; but as any positive adjective
put before a noun forms with it a loose compound, the majority of such
compounds are written as separate words.
::80. Compounds formed with the prefixes
an- {negative}
di- {privative}
cyd- {‘together’}
go- {‘fairly,
quite’}
gwrth- {‘contra’}
rhy- {‘excessively’}
tra- {‘extremeley’}
may be either strict or loose; thus
án háwdd or ánawdd ‘difficult’;
dí fái {
[DII VAI] } or dífai { [DI vai] } ‘faultless’;
cýd wéled {
[KIID WE led] } ‘to concur’;
cydwybod {
[kød UI bod] } ‘conscience’;
trá dóeth {
[TRAA DOITH] } or trádoeth { [TRA doith] } ‘very wise’.
::81. An expression consisting of two or more words in
syntactical relation is sometimes accented as one word. Such a combination is
called an improper compound.
RHANNAU HEB EU HYCHWANEGU ETO:
::82 ::83 ::84 ::85 ::86 ::87 ::88 ::89 ::90 ::91 ::92 ::93 ::94 ::95 ::96 ::97 ::98 ::99 ::100 ::101 ::102 ::103 ::104 ::105 ::106 ::107 ::108 ::109 ::110 ::111 ::112 ::113
82. Improper compounds accented on the penult consist
(1) Nouns with qualifying adjectives, as gzér-da good-
man gap•éig-dda goodwife htn-dda fair weather '
lid-ma-eth, foster father', måmaeth (for mam-faeth), bråwd-
maeth, chvMer-faeth ; héul.-weu bright sun
eoel-certh
' bonfire' (lit. 'certain sign ' ) ; Tré-fawr, later Tréfor,
Bryn-gmyil, etc.
(2) Nouns with dependent genitives,as trff-tad ' heritage',
pén-cerdd chief of song , péu-f,an hob ' ; Aåér-maw,
,ffordd, Pén-tir; Diac-sud sometimes for l)yw Sul or Dydd
SVC; Dijau for Dyv, lav.
(3) A numeral and its noun, as déu-bv;ys for dåu
2 lbs.', dig-bunt for (1b! bint Cloo
hands ', déu-droed two feet ', etc.
(4) A noun and demonstrative, as yr åuw-Oiå for
Iou, 248.
(5) A few names of places of the form Pen-//-berth
(a farm near Pwllheli) for the usual Pén bérth, Moel-/J-ei
(a, hill near Bangor) for Mbel y ct. The article sometimes
becomes e as in Pen-É-berth, (near Aberysfwyth) for Péii
Öérth.
2741
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(delwedd 2742)
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20
PHONOLOGY
S 83, 84
P. (6) A few expressions consisting of A noun repeated after
a preposition, as 01-+1-01 in succession ' , for track
in track ' ; Len-drå-phen for ben dra phen ' head over heels
so sometimes laze-in-llam for llau; hand in hand .
83. Some improper compounds are accented on the
ultima. These are—
(1) A few nouns with dependent genitives, as
(so in Medieval Welsh also) for .prö/t nåwn time of noon '
ruler ', for pth/, r//åi/,/t chief of law ' ; pen-mid
' full measure ' ; Pen-årth, place-name.
(2) Compound prepositions, as oddiår for 6ddi odiu
usually written o dam.
(3) Prepositional and adverbial expressions formed of
a preposltion and a noun, as ' above dra-chéU}L
'back, again ', ger-bröt ' in front Of', umeh-tålt' above '
ymtåen forward' for m/aen, yug,4//d together i-g//d
' together' written i gyd, eribed ' ever ' for er i oed ' during
his time
(4) pahcim, often contracted co pam why ? ' 245.
1,088 of Unaccented Syllables.
84. In a regularly accented word of three syllables the
first syllable is the least stressed; thus in eanlidldau the
stress on can is lighter than that on dau, both being un-
accented when compared with ia. Hence the vowel of the
first syllable is liable to drop when the resulting combination
of consonants is easy to pronounce initially ; as in pladui•
scyt,he' for Medieval Welsh patad•n•, gap•ando to listen '
for Medieval gwarandaae, for Medieval Ke/.ynnaace.
Many such forms as dpeedyd for dywedyd and' clonuatg for
are used in poetry ; and even appear in prose, as
twysog in the Bardd Cwsc for tyrysoc.
In some cases an nnaccent,cd initial vowel has disappeared,
as in machlvd for an older ym-åelludd to set' (of the sun)
2742
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(delwedd 2743)
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S 85-87
SOUNDS IN COMBINATION
21
and dameg parable ' for adameg; and in poetry many such
forms as 'wydlY& for 'rioed for erioed, etc., are found.
85. In words of four or more syllables, when pronounced
deliberately, the first syllable has a secondary accent, as
guDlleldilgåel/,hau ; so also in trisyllables with
the accent on thes ultimo, as pölralt6i. The least stressed
syllable here is the second ; and this is often elided, in
which case the secondary accent disappears ; as gore/zlfigu
for Medieval Welsh görlchy ßlgu, and in verse tralgzfrylddol
for V,ythlrénlnau for t/)lthylréulnau, parlMi for
p&lralt6i, etc. But derivatives Of words in which the first
syllable drops follow the si"ple forms, thus pladu•rwyj• from
ptadur, and ttcygoges in the Bardd Cwsc from tuygog.
86. In a few disyllables the vowel of the final unaccented
syllable is sometimes elided ; thus Lid but' appears as
Ond in Modern Welsh. Other examples found in verse,
and sometimes in prose, are mund for m'ned to go ' ; turd
for Vred come' ; gweld for gwéled to see' ; Iloud for
116naid 'a (vessel-)full ' ; cans for c6nqs ' because
aamn
for nåmqn but'. Similarly erg for YS ' since '.
It is unnecessary to use an apostrophe to mark the
med i a I elisions in 84—86; write Clynnog, partoi,
mynd, /,yrd, etc.
87. The vowel of a proclitic is often elided. Thus—
(1) After a vowel is elided in the article yr, in the pre-
fixed pronouns yn, ych (now written ein eic,4, 235), in the
oblique relative y or yr, and in the proposition pt.
(2) Before an initial vowel 7 is often elided in poetry in
'my', 'thy', 235, Note I.
(3) The relative a sometimes disappears, 239 (3).
(4) The vowel of pa (or py) ' what ' sometimes disappears
even before consonants, as in ple for pa le where ? '
(5) pa ryzv sometimes becomes pa r? and then pa r'
(written pa 'r).
2743
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(delwedd 2744)
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22
PHONOLOGY
Accentuation, Aspiration and Gemination.
88-92
88. The aspirate h is regularly dropped after the accent ;
thus "Inhes warm' is pronounced and written fines ;
so brélnin king' for an older bréluhin•, tånlnau 'harp-strings'
for taulnheu from tant (ni being the mutation of t); élang
for an older a-ang ; 6traul for 6r-/eaæd; ålnodcl or dlnawdd
for du-hawdd.
The h is however retained between vowels in a few
words; as éhud foolish d}hau and déau 'right, south '
and in the combinations nrh, nhr, nghr, /rh, as ånrha;th,
•dnhrefu, Ænghred, 61rhaiu.
89. The aspirate is also dropped after a secondary accent,
as in brilninlidelthau, ålangidélrau; except in the combinations
named above, as anlrheitåliéldic, ö/lrheinliå81aut, and after
the prefix an-, as angharédig unkind After cym-, eyn-,
cyng- it is usually written, as e)nghanéddu, generally pro-
nounced e)nganéddu.
90. The aspirate is preserved immediately before the
accented vowel, as brelnhtuliaeth, eyln,4é61u, el,4ångW, delhéuldir.
Such pairs as iréniu, brenh[niaet/i have given rise to others
such as cénedl, ceuhédloedd ; diane, dihångol; ejnna/,
eynhåliwyd ; b6uedd, bonhéddig. The intrusive h seems to
occur chiefly when the accented syllable is closed ; but in
bonhéddig, cenhådau, it is due to some other cause.
Note the word dihåreb, pl. dilarhé/)iou ; it had originally
two h's, thus di-,4aer-heb, but only that which Comes before
the accent is preserved.
91. The aspimte is preserved initially even before un-
accented syllables, as in haeddiånnol deserving fy
nghyféillion ' my friends ' ; hence in semi-initial positions,
as after an- cyn-, 89.
92. A consonant originally double remains double only
after an accented vowel; as in r,4dnnif, eÆrreg, åtteb (now
2744
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(delwedd 2745)
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93, 94
SOUNDS IN COMBINATION
23
written ateb), dimmai (now written dimai). After an un-
accented vowel it is always simplified ; as in rhanédig,
carégog, atébodd, diméiau. The unaccented -on of cålon has
exactly the same sound as that of åfon ; but when a syllable
is added so that the o bears the accent the first becomes the
-6nn- of ca16nnau, and the second the -6n- of af6uydd. The
prefix au- has often strong secondary accent which pre-
serves n. after it, as an-nfdvydd ' unhappy ; and though
the prefix may be unaccented and the simple, it is
inconvenient to have two spellings, and it is better to write
the word in its fullest form.
From u comparison of this section with 88, 90 it is seen
that an aspirated double consonant (anh, "h) becomes an
unaspirated double consonant (nn, n) after the accent, and
an aspirated single consonant (nh, 9',4) before the accent ;
thus d6nnedd, daniéddog ; cyrraedd, cyrhåeddant.
QUANTITY.
93. All vowels in unaccented syllables are A
vowel in a syllable bearing a secondary accent is also short,
though it may be long before another vowel, as in
{R\at/ltirliaeth.
94. Vowels in accented syllables are either (1) long, as
thea in song'; (2) medium, as the a• in canu ' to
sing'; or (3) short, as the a in cann white ' , cannu 'to
whiten '.
In ordinary writing a long vowel is marked by a circum-
flex, see 53, 96, 98, 103, and a short vowel sometimes
by x, as cilon. In this grammar the circumflex is used
where it, is used in ordinary writing; but is not used
to mark quantity, as it is required for another purpose,
69. Long vowels not usuully marked are distinguished
here by - , and short vowels by
2745
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(delwedd 2746)
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24
PHONOLOGY
95-98
95. If a vowel in a monosyllable is simple its quantity
is determined by the final consonant or consonants.
96. The vowel is short in a monosyllable before two or
more consonants or before p, t, c, m, ng ; as Cint hundred
törj• crowd ' , pört,4 'portal birdd bard ', llüe slack ecim
' crooked llöng ship '
Exceptions to this rule are the following :
(1) A vowel is long when it is a late contraction, 37,
even before the sounds named above ; thus cdnt they shall
have' for ca-ant; runt they give' for rlto-ant;
I have been ' for bu-um ; rh6n we may give ' for rho-om.
In these cases the vowel is circumflexed.
(2) In North Wales a vowel is long before 8 or u and
another consonant ; as t,ri$t, sad ' cösb ' punishment gwällt
hair méllt lightning But, in South Wales such words
as these conform to the rule.
(3) In North Wales cö/., grit, gröt from English coat,
grate, groat retain the original long •vowel ; but in South
Wales they are brought under the rule.
(4) In North Wales déng preserves the long e of deg.
97. A vowel in a monosyllable is long if it is final, or
followed by b, d, g, f, dd, f, th, cm, s; as t' ' house ', Zlé
place m.äb, tad, gväg, dbf c tame ', rhödd gift clöff, llü/,h,
glä8.
Exceptions are (1) prepositions, etc., see 100.
(2) Words borrowed from English, as 'steady ' ; tib ;
Bach 'flash ; läch lash ' ; &üd, also written gut, sort
from tuit.
(3) Some interjections åch,pT, chtcäff, The last is
long in the bards, rhyming with cöc,å. The word cyff
stem ' is sometimes incorrectly shortened.
98. If the vowel be followed by l, n or r, it may be long
or short; thus Idl pay', dal 'hold' ; song', eän
white ; Cdr 'kinsman eär ' car'.
2746
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(delwedd 2747)
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S
99-102 SOUNDS IN COMBINATION
05
A long vowel followed by t, or •r in a monosyllable is
circumflexed; thus Cdn 'song', idl pay d6r 'door', dél
may come ' , ,4ju ' older'. But i and u need not be cir-
cumflexed, since they are always long before these conso-
nants, except in scarce in c to us', and a few words
The common words d,Fpt, //én., d
from English, as pin, mt.
are seldom circumflexed.
Short vowels are ordinarily left unmarked ; but where it
is desired to avoid ambiguity n and may be doubled, as
cann ' white carr ear and the mark used before l, as
'tall
The word t,dl end, forehead' has a long a ; but it
became short in names like Ta(-y-bont because the accent is
on the last syllable; this has led to its being mispro-
nounced täl in other connexions.
99. When the word ends in the quantity varies. In
North Wales the vowel is short in all such words except
öll, ; in South Wales it is long except in can '
düll manner mill sultry ejll loses and possibly
some others.
100. Many prepositions, adverbs and conj unctions, which
are long by the above rules, by being often used as procli-
tics, have become short even when accented, more especially
in North Wales; as rhäg, h", nid, näd, din (which has
a single n as shown in danaf), ag (written ac) and ' ; but,
ag with is long when accented.
101. If the vowel in a monosyllable is the first element
of a diphthong its quantity depends chiefly upon the form
of the diphthong.
102. The vowel is long in ae, oe, my ; thus cäer, müe8,
tried, öer, Den, pöen, tried, etöyr, lhöyr, /böyd, biyd, eüe,
döej mtöy, haöynt, r/lüyw, mient, rhöent.
But is often short before two consonants or m, as
paöyut, eiymp, rhöystr, •rhiynt and rhüym, thym and t,iöym.
2747
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(delwedd 2748)
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26
PHONOLOGY
103-106
IOS. The vowel is short. in all other diphthongs,
as Lai, l/äi, /ü•,
i"r, d&r, lär•d, ete.
Exeeptions: (1) In North Wales am em me long When
final, as 'be silent ' , 'fat'; bat short as above if
a consonant, follows. In South Wales they are short in
both cases.
(2) is long in wear ' peacock guuiudd
daughter-in-law Miu den ' , country rennet ',
moor The last is misglK•lt gwaen.
Gwyncdd an old form is used, With short. S 35.
(3) The vowel is long in au when contracted for a-au, as
in plagues' for pm-a" ; it is short in eau
shut for Me-ff. It is long in ai a-eti nnd in o;
when final, as 3rd impf. ; but shore. in Oi
When not final as in I turned' for fro-a". On
account Of the long vowel 9Wndi, are generally sounded
and Often written O•we. Long as the result,
Of eon traction should circumflexed as above.
104. When the accent in a polysyllable falls on the
above rules apply as if the ultimn were a mono-
syllable; thus
Short: palån' why ? 74, 9ördrbi ' to
diet-ort
Long : 83, Cymräeg, variant for they
continue gordr6i for $ördrå-ai he distorted 3.
105. In the accented penult a simple vowel is short
before two or more consonants or a double eongonunt.
medium before a single consonants long before a vowel or
Thus the a is short in eåülnoedd ; medium in
ritdeg, eåluu; long in
IOU. Where there are more than one eonsonunt the first
the syllable, 30 ; and every medial syllable
is short. in Welsh. Note Che difference in q nantity between
2748
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(delwedd 2749)
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107,
SOUNDS IN COMBINATION
27
the o in Welsh and the o in English Otp,4aN. In
ädlwaeu, rhödlio and all such forms the consonantal Or
thrusts t,hc preceding consonant into the first gylluble,
thereby closing It and shortening its vowel.
107. The consonants p, I, e, m, ug/, Il, are double, and
shorten a preceding accented vowel. Thus is in full
fitlteå, sce 127. A single t is impossible medially, since
original single have become d's in Welsh, as in gramadeg
from ; •modial t is therefore normally
double in origin. Simila remarke apply to the other con-
sonantB named. For this reason it is now usual to write
these eon&onunts singly, ns the letter itself denotes a sound
must he double in origin, and remains double after an
accented vowel 02. It would of course be in any ease
inconvenient to double the digraphs and
The vowel iB short because the double consonant invades
the first syllable, and closes it; thus epil=éplpil; e/.oæ
tectu• amad ; atlan
; rh08yn In some words learnt from
books m is Often mispronounced as a single as
in tramor, which is properly and gomedd, which
is eömlwedd, and is so sounded where it has survived in the
dialect. In pure W words there is no exception to the
rule ; but in a late borrowing like drama the is sounded
single.
10B. The consonants b, d, u,
mally single between vowels ; the preceding syllable
open, and vowel if accented is medium; thus 61Öert,4,
gåldaet, 8élgur, gueiddi, e; Jai", Æitho/,
Exceptions : (1) In a few words the syllable is closed nnd
the vowel short before l, ; these are ealon co/"i—
4ttach taller ' 10/0 (Often mispro-
nounced 16110), and one or two otheÆs.
(2) In North Wales the vowel is sometimes shortened
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28
PHONOLOGY
S 109-111
before f, [h, ch ; this occurs chiefly when the vowel is y,
as in sychu, cyffwrdd.
(3) Before i for ii and u,' for any of the sounds named
may close the syllable ; as delir= dél'lir for délkir
is held '
eedwch cädldweh for cädlpceh keep ye
109. The consonants n and r are single in some words,
double in others. These are the only sounds that vary
thus in Welsh, every other consonant being inherently
either the one or the other ; and r are therefore the only
consonants that normally require to be distinguished as
single or double in writing. The accented vowel is medium
or short, according to the rule, 105. Thus cdlnu to sing
cänlnu 'to whiten '; t6@au ' tones ', tönlnau ' waves '; cdlrai
he loved cär!rai (shoe-)lace
110. When u monosyllable ends in or r, if its vowel is
short the consonant is doubled when a syllable is added •
if its vowel is long the consonant remains single when
a syllable is added. Thus pen, pennau ; ton, tonnau, tonni ;
Ilon Ilonnaeh ; hum, hwnnw ; byr, byrrach; tor, torn; cor,
corrach; but .qwén, gwenatt ; t.dn, tonau ; cdn, eanu
moroedd ; Cdr, ceraint ; cö•, corau ; etc.
Exceptions : (1) dän, dang/ ; 'n, ynoj; 100.
(2) If the added syllable begins with a consonant, in-
cluding i and p, the consonant is not doubled ; thus pen,
pentwr ; Ilon, Ilonder ; tor, toriad ; pen, penpiag ; "Ian, glanio.
The reason is that a consonant is not sounded double before
another. The added consonant causes the other to close
the syllable even when it is originally single ; thus täniio
from tdn forms a perfect double rhyme with .q/ät(io from
glän. As the syllable is thus closed in 8öniiaf, 8önliant
from 86n it remains closed in 8önlnir for 8ö211iir, forming an
apparent exception to the above rule.
111. When a regularly accented polysyllable ends in u
or r there is nothing to indicate whether the consonant is
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S 112,
113 SOUNDS IN COMBINATION
29
to be doubled when a syllable is added, the distinction
having been lost, in unaccented syllables, 92. The
sound generally follows the original formation ; thus t,erfyn
from term;n- gives terfynu, but dibyn from dépend- gives
dibynnu. But such tests can be applied only in a few
cases ; the spelling of most, words has to be learnt from
the records ; the best guides are the early editions of the
Bible—in late editions korne words, such as ysgrifennu,
disgynnqf, are consistently misspelt.
112. The vowel in the accented penult is short in all
falling diphthongs whether followed by a vowel or by
a consonant ; thus nu7?/Pf, llül(tf, nüuiadd, däclar, bjwlyd ;
rhi7/ldau, ,4öuliIog, (holdu,•»•.
Exceptions : In North Wales the vowel is medium in
um, cm, before a vowel, the w being taken over to the
final syllable ; thus /å@el, t,éluyi, ililved. In South Wales
the rule is followed.
A monophthong before a vowel is long : élog, dilog, dilolch,
diach ; also before h : (hud, dbl)eu, etc. ; 105.
VOWEL CHANGES
DEFINITIONS.
113. The vowel changes that occur in inflexion in Welsh
are of two kinds : vowel mutation and vowel affection.
Vowel Mutation is a change which a diphthong or
vowel undergoes by a change of position in the word.
Vowel Affection is a change in a vowel or diphthong
due to a sound which follows, or once followed, it in t,he
word.
There are three kinds of vowel affection: (1) ultimate
a-affection ; (2) ultimate i-affection ; (3) penultimate affec-
tion.
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....
::114. Certain sounds occurring in the ultima and in monosyllables are
regularly modified in other positions. The following is a table of these mutations,
numbered for reference.
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RHANNAU HEB EU HYCHWANEGU ETO:
::115 ::116 ::117 ::118
*117
VOWEL CHANGES
31
as deit holds ' (dbl to hold '), ceil' cars ' (cö' 'a car ; by
It sometimes as Ileill, buty naill„ ereill or eraill ; in poly-
syllables rarely before other sounds, as myneich monks ',
dyc/deim 'leaps up '. But ai appears before nc, nt, 89, fft,
Ill, as cainc, maint, braisg, Aifft, enghraifft, aillt.
ei also occurs as a contraction of e-i, as in ceir, gpneir ;
but these were formerly often written cair, gwnair.
(2) eu is written when final in polysyllables, except
when it is a plural or pronominal ending as pethau, m,innau ;
thus gorau, go(au, dechrau are commonly written goreu,
goleu, dechreu, this being the Medieval spelling.
When contracted for e-m and a-u the diphthongs eu and
au arc not interchangeable, but, have always been quite
distinct, as in diléu, parhåzt.
(3) Mutation 3 is not of general application. aw occurs
in the penult in many words, as in awdur from Lat.
am(c) tör-em, in athrawon, hawsqf, mazcr;on, etc. In the
unaccented ultima original aw has now generally become
o, as in pechod for an older pechawd ; and as it is o in the
penult there is now no interchange. In a few cases aw
which remains in the penult becomes o in the ultima, as
georandawaf, gwrando, thus reversing the rule of mutation.
(4) w occurs in the penult before tv in the ultima, both
becoming y when a syllable is added ; thus czomwl, pl.
cymylau. Penultimate w occurs in a few other words, as
gwthio to push ', bwthyn cottage ', gwrol manly ', bwriaf,
bwriwn, etc. ; wrthyf, -yt, etc.
(5) Mutation 6 only occurs before ch as in the examples
given ; so uwch, uchel, uchaf (not uwchaf) ; cenoch frown '
pl. cuchiau ; Ituwch drift ', lluchio to hurl but in the new
formation Ituevchio ' to drive (snow or dust) the mutation
is neglected. It does not occur where ch does not follow ;
e.g. Duw, duwdod.
117. It is seen from the Coble in 114 that the use of
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32
PHONOLOGY
{118
the two sounds of y is regulated by the law of vowel muta-
tion. The rule is implied in the table ; and may be stated
in words thus :
y has the r sound in monosyllables and final syllables,
and the y sound in all syllables not final. Examples : brrn,
bryniau•, din, djnion ; edrvch, edryclaf; mynqdd, m,ynydd-
oedd ; cyfvng, cyfyngder ; pröld, prjdlon, prjdferth.
118. The exceptions to the rule are the following :
(1) A few proclitics, which, though monosyllabic, have
the y sound. These are yr, y the' ; gn ' in' (in all its
uses), pre-verbal ydd, yr, y; the pronouns fy 'my', dy
'thy', and gn 'our ych your' now written ein, eich ;
ym 'by (in oaths) ; us it is as in gwir.
(2) The old forms 71Di?1, pni, etc. for imi, etc. ; and gtlda,
which is for g?ld a.
(3) Non-ultimate y before a vowel is generally sounded
//, as Iletia to lodge diall, a variant of Wall to under-
stand
(4) yw follows the rule, as bpv, b'W?1d, bytciog; llrw,
Ilywvdd, etc. But in many words it is sounded rw or
in the penult, as in amrywio, distrywio.
(5) follows the rule : cpp•dd, gpyrddion. But W
generally becomes w in the dialects, 55. In gwyvo to
wither' the y is sounded r.
(6) The rule does not apply to 0, in which the y is con-
sonantal, and is always sounded V, as anon, me@nach,
mwynion. When mis-pronounced as a rising diphthong
the remains, as in the Nort,h-walian cpp-to for cavyno,
Gvpudd for GFjmedd, 54.
(7) In the word syltv the final av was once non-syllabic,
75, and the 9' of the old monosyllabic form remains in
the present, pronunciation 8?1hc ; but it becomes y regu-
larly in sylvi. For a similar reason gtvyry ' virgin' is
sounded gvp•tl.
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S
119-121
VOWEL CHANGES
33
::119. With the
exceptions mentioned in the above section, the sound which is now common to ÿ
and u, if it occurs in the penult, is to be written u. Thus munud
has two u’s because in the standard pronunciation the sound is u
in both syllables in the penult:
munud, {= minute} munudau.
So
papur {=
paper}, papurau.
In a few cases u in the ultima has come to be mistaken for ÿ { [i] }and mutated to y { [ø] } in the penult; as in
ysgrythyrau plural of ysgrythur {=
scripture}, treated as ysgrythyr on the analogy of llythyr.
So
testynau, plural of testun, treated as testyn;
corynau plural of corun {= crown of
the head}, treated as coryn.
VOWEL AFFECTION.
Ultimate a-affection.
120. Ultimate a-affection is a change caused in the
ultima by a in the lost ending. Only two sounds, and
tv, undergo this affection. In inflexion the change takes
place only in the formation of feminine adjectives. The
following table gives the changes with examples :
No. Unaffected. Affected.
e
2
Examples.
f. cwün ; crjf, f. cry
tröm, f. tröm ; tl?ö8, f. t,lös
The change is occasionally found in the penult in com-
pounds, as in cromlech (crwm arched and in f. superla-
tives gtoennaf, tromqf, 209. Also e for in bechan f. of
bychun.
Ultimate i-affection.
121. The ultimate i-affection is a change caused in the
ultima by an i or i sound in the lost ending. It takes
1667
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RHANNAU HEB EU HYCHWANEGU ETO:
::120 ::121 ::122 ::123
PHONOLOGY
121
place in the formation of the plural of nouns and adjec-
tives, and of the 3rd sg. pres. ind. of verbs.
The changes are shown in the following table :
No.
Affected.
affected.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
a
ae
o
oe
aw
ai or ei
ai
WY
au or eu
Examples.
brdn, brain ; bardd, öeirdd ; dad, deil
tafarn, tefeirn or
draen, drain ; cyrraedd, cyrraidd
angel, engrl; ateb, etui)
porth, pp•th ; acor, egp•
asgwrn, egg-pu ; swrth,
oen, ; eroen, cröyu
law, tau ; taraw, MI. tereu
taraw, Mn. terr
When one of the above changes takes place in the
ultima, a in the penult becomes e, as da/ad, defaid ; the
table contains several examples. The two a's are affected
in maharen 'ram pl. meheryn. More rarely o in the
penult becomes e, as gosod„ gesyd.
Final tv, being originally consonantal, 75, does not
count as a syllable for the purposes of affection ; marv
dead ' , pl. meirto with ultimate i-affection.
For the use of ei of No. 1 in the ultima, see 116 (1).
The form V of the affection of a occurs only in the un-
accented ultima, chiefly before groups containing r, or
before eh, as bustach, bus/,ych.
The form of No. 7 is not, a phonetic development of
eu, but, was formed by analogy. When taraw had become
taro, 116 (3), tery was made from this on the model of
agor, egyr.
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S 122, 123
VOWEL CHANGES
Penultimate Affection.
35
122. Penultimate affection is a change caused in the
penult by a sound which is usually preserved in the ultima.
The following are the changes which occur :
before
No.
affected
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
a
e
a
ae
ae
aw
i
i or
u
is affect-
ed to
ei
ei
Examples.
mab, meibion,
gorwedd, gorweiddiog
truan, trueni ; plant, plentyn
gwaedd, gzveiddi ; draen, dreiniog
caery ceyrydd
aeth, euthun
law, tetvi, tewvch
The affecting sound has disappeared in centvch ' ye sing
which is for an old cenywch, and in ceidvad which is for
ceidviad, 43, and similar formations.
No. I occurs in old formations, as in eeiniad singer
not in new, as caniad song No. 2 occurs in a few
adjectival formations : toreth, toreithiog ; niwed, niweidiol.
Nos. 3 and 7 are common in inflexion ; the others occur
only in a few forms.
CONSONANT CHANGES
INITIAL MUTATION.
123. In Welsh initial consonants undergo certain regu-
lar changes when words are formed into sentences. There
are nine mutable consonants and three mutations. The
unchanged form of the consonants is called. the radical.
The three mutations are the soft, the nasal, and the
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36
PHONOLOGY
spirant. The following table shows the
consonants with all their possible mutations :
Radical P
Soft
Nasal
mh
Spirant ph
t
nh
th
c
ngh
ch
f dd
m n ng
No change
124, 125
nine mutable
m Il rh
f
1
No change
No change
The words " No change
in the table mean that the
radical consonants under which f,hey are placed retain their
forms in those positions in which the others undergo the
respective mutations. Thus after yn, while t becomes nh,
as in Nhywya, U retains its radical form as in gn Llan-
fair. The blank space under radical g is intended to denote
that the soft mutation of means its disappearance ; thus
gardd garden ' , dy urdd ' thy garden '.
MEDIAL AND FINAL
MUTATION.
::124. All
the above mutations occur medially in the formation of compounds; thus the
initial of the second element of an ordinary noun compound undergoes the soft
mutation, as in
haf-ddydd {=
summer’s day} from haf + dydd
{haf =
summer, dydd = dya};
the negative prefix an- causes the
nasal mutation, as in
án-noeth {annoeth = unwise} from an + doeth.{an = negative prefix, doeth
= wise}; the intensive prefix a-
causes the spirant, as in athrist {= sad, pensive, sorrowful} from a + trist {a = intensifying prefix, trist
= sad}.
::125. The nasal ending of the prefixes an-, cym-, and of the preposition yn, is assimilated in position to an explosive which it mutates;
thus
an
+ parod {an negative prefix, parod = ready}gives àm-mhárod, written amharod {=
unready, unprepared} because mm
is written Section ::107;
an
+ caredig {an negative prefix, caredig = kind} gives àng-ngharedig, written angharedig {=
unkind};
yn
+ Bangor gives ym Mangor {= in Bangor},
yn
+ Caer gives yng Nghaer {in Chester}Section
::Section ::126,127
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::126. The nasal
mutation of the tenues occurs medially, in inflexion; but as it comes after
the accent the h of the mutation is
lost; thus
the plural of tant {= harp string} is tannau for an older tannheu;
the plural of crafanc {claw} is crafangau
for an old crafangngheu;
the ordinal pump {= five} is pumed
for pummhed; see Section ::88.
It occurs finally in pump and cant {=
hundred} which become pum
and can before a noun (for pummh, cannh); also in deg
which becomes deng before a nasal,
as deng mlynedd {= ten years}
pm is mutated to mh in patronymics, as Amhadog for Ap Madog; and tn to nh in prynháwn for an old pryt nawn.
::127. Medially
in inflexion another mutation, which may be called the hard.mtitation,
occurs. When certain suffixes are added, b,
d, g become double p, t, c
respectively, and more rarely f, dd
become ff, th; thus
teg ‘fair’, tecaf (pronunced as teccaf)
‘fairest’;
bwyd ‘food’, bwyta ‘to eat’;
cof ‘memory’, coffa ‘to remember’.
This is generally caused by h in
the suffix. It occurs in composition also; as in drycin (pronounced as dryccin)
{= storm, bad weather} from drwg {= bad}
+ hin {=
weather};
ateb {=
answer}; from ad + heb, cf. go-heb-u {gohebu = correspond}.
In composition
b + b becomes pp,
d + d becomes tt,
g + g becomes cc;
as in Catéyrn for Catteyrn from Cad-deyrn {= battle-king, teyrn = king};
wynepryd {=
countenance} from wyneb-bryd {= face-appearance, pryd = appearance};
The above changes take place finally and initially when -b h- or -b b-, etc.,
come together in different words. The change is not in this case represented
in writing; but it is recognized in cynghanedd, in which
-b h- corresponds to p
-b b- to p,
-d h- to t, etc.
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ACCIDENCE
(6) THE ARTICLE
::128. The definite article is yr, ‘r or
y. Welsh has no indefinite article.
The full form of the article is yr; after a vowel this was reduced
very early to ’r, Section ::87; thus o yr tŷ ‘from
the house’ became o’r tŷ. Subsequently the r was lost
before a consonant, except where the y was already lost; thus yr tŷ
became y tŷ; but o’r tŷ remained.
For the use of the forms, initial mutation of noun, etc., see Syntax.
NOUNS
::129. The noun in
Welsh has two numbers, singular and plural; and two genders, masculine and
feminine. Traces of the dual number are seen in dwyfron ‘breasts’, dwylo
‘hands’, the latter having become the ordinary plural of llaw. Traces
of the old neuter are seen in nouns of vacillating gender, Section ::186;
and in the non-mutation of certain nouns after dau, as dau cant
‘two hundred’.
NUMBER.
::130. The plural of a noun is
formed from the singular by vowel change, or the addition of a termination,
or both. But Welsh has singular terminations also; and when the singular has
been formed by adding one of these to the stem, the plural is usually formed
from the bare stem with or without vowel change or a plural termination.
There
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are
thus seven ways of deducing the plural from the singular:
I. by vowel change;
II. by adding a termination;
III. by adding a termination with vowel change
IV. by dropping a singular termination;
V. by dropping a singular termination with vowel change;
VI. by substituting a plural for a singular termination;
VII. by substituting a plural for a singular termination with vowel change.
The Seven Ways
of Forming the Plural.
::131.
1. The vowel change by which the plural of some nouns is formed without a
termination is ultimate i-affection,
Section ::121. Examples:
1a. a > ai
brân crow, plural = brain
sant saint, plural = saint
dafad sheep, plural = defaid
llygad eye, plural = llygaid
1b. a > ei
bardd bard, plural = beirdd
gafr goat, plural = geifr
arth bear, plural = eirth
sarff serpent, plural = seirff
tarw bull, plural = teirw
carw stag, plural = ceirw
iâr hen, plural = ieir
car car, plural = ceir
1c. a > ÿ
butstach bullock, plural = bustÿch
tafarn tavern, plural = tefÿrn
aradr plough, plural = erÿdr
alarch swan, plural = elÿrch
paladr ray, plural = pelÿdr
::2. ae > ei
draen thorn, plural = drain
maen stone, plural = main
::3. e > ÿ
cyllell knife, plural = cyllÿll
gwden withe, plural = gwdÿn
asgell wing, plural = esgÿll
castell castle, plural = cestÿll
angel angel, plural = engÿl
aberth sacrifice, plural = ebÿrth
bachgen boy, plural = bechgÿn
llawes sleeve, plural = llewÿs
maharen ram, plural = meherÿn
::4. o > ÿ
ffon stick, plural = ffÿn
ffordd way, plural = ffÿrdd
corff body, plural = cÿrff
Cymro Welshman, plural = Cymrÿ
esgob bishop, plural = esgÿb
::6. w > ÿ
asgwrn bone, plural = esgÿrn
arddwrn wrist, plural = erddÿrn
::6. oe > wy {-ui-}
oen lamb, plural = w^yn
croen skin, plural = crwyn
croes cross, plural = crwys
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Crwys and esgyb
are obsolete, but were used in the 18th century;
croesau and esgobion are the forms now used.
Tafarnau and aberthau are in common use for tefyrn and ebyrth;
and meini has replaced main.
::132.
Before or after g unaccented ÿ is pronounced i, and the
old spelling with survives in a few words, as
cerrig for cerryg, plural of carreg ‘stone’,
cregin for cregyn, plural of cragen ‘shell’
menig for menyg, plural of maneg ‘glove’.
The following formations should be noted:
haearn iron’, plural heyrn;
rhaeadr ‘cataract’, plural rhëydr or rhyeidr;
pennog ‘herring’, plural penwaig (the singular being for an old
penwag { [PEN-wag] }
gw^r ‘man’, plural gwŷr (the singular being for an old gww^r
{ [gwuur] }.
The old plural of iwrch { [yurkh] } ‘roebuck’
was ÿrch (for iyrch { [yirkh] },
Section ::42),
but this is now generally replaced by iyrchod.
There is no example of the change of aw toeu in a plural noun,
but another affection aw > yw occurs in elyw old
plural of alaw ‘water-lily’.
::133.
Anomalous vowel changes occur in
troed ‘foot’, plural = traed;
tŷ ‘house’, plural = tai.
The compounds of the latter have both -dai and -dyau; as
beudai (beudái) ‘cowhouses’,
gweithdai (gweithdai) ‘workshops’,
elusendai ‘almshouses’
lletýau ‘lodgings’
hundýau ‘dormitories’.
The plural of llo ‘calf’ is lloi, which is contracted for llo-ï.
::134.
II. In many cases the addition to the singular of a plural termination causes
no vowel change; e.g.
tad ‘father’, plural = tadau;
llong ‘ship’, plural = llongau;
môr ‘sea’, plural = moroedd;
grudd ‘cheek’, plural = gruddiau;
afon ‘river’, plural = afonydd;
llestr ‘vessel’, plural = llestri;
brenin ‘king’, plural = brenhinoedd
w^yr ‘grandson’, plural = wyrion {-ui-}
gofal ‘care’, plural = gofalon.
A list of, plural = terminations is given in Section ::141.
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::135. The
medial consonant mutation of nt to nn and nc to ng,
Section ::126, occurs in some words when a plural termination is
added; as tant ‘harpstring’, plural = tannau;
meddiant ‘possession’, plural = meddiannau;
crafanc ‘talon’, plural = crafaingau.
In new formations the mutation is neglected; and mp is not mutated:
camp ‘feat’, plural = campau.
::136.
III. The vowel changes which take place in the singular when a plural
termination is added are the following:
(1) Mutation, Section ::114. Examples:
1. aí > ei
gair word, plural = geiriau
caib pickaxe, plural = ceibiau
saig mess, meal, plural = seigiau
taid grandfather, plural = teidiau
iaith language, plural = ieithoedd
gobaith hope, plural = gobeithion
2. au > eu
ffau den, plural = ffeuau
haul sun, plural = heuliau
traul expense, plural = treuliau
gwaun moor, plural = gweunydd
genau mouth, plural = geneuau
3. aw > o
awr hour, plural = oriau
llawr floor, plural = lloriau
blawd flour, plural = blodau
brawd brother, plural = brodyr
brawd judgement, plural = brodiau
traethawd treatise, plural = traethodau
3. w > y
bwrdd table, plural = byrddau
blwch box, plural = blychau
cwch boat, plural = cychod
ffrwd stream, plural = ffrydiau
sibrwd whisper, plural = sibrydion
cwmwl cloud, plural = cymylau
swmbwl stimulus, plural = symbylau
4. ÿ > y
dyn man, plural = dynion
bryn hill, plural = bryniau
mynydd mountain, plural = mynyddoedd
crydd shoemaker, plural = cryddion
telyn harp, plural = telynau
terfyn end, plural = terfynau
offeryn instrument, plural = offerynnau
dyffryn valley, plural = dyffrynnoedd
5. uw > u
buwch cow, plural = buchod
cuwch frown, plural = cuchiau
Note
rhaw ‘spade’, plural = rhofiau
daw ‘son-in-law’, plural = dofion, in which an f lost in
the singular remains in the plural;
praw ‘proof’, plural = profion is similar, but in this the f
is generally restored in the singular in writing
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(2)
Penultimate affection, Section 122. The endings which cause affection
are -i, -ÿdd, -iaid, -ion, -iau
(rarely).
Examples:
1. a > ei
mab soil, plural = meibion
gwas servant, plural = gweision
cymar mate, plural = cymheiriaid
2. e > ei
niwed harm, plural = niweidiau
gefell twin, plural = gefeilliaid
3. a > ei
gardd garden, plural = gerddi
dâr oak, plural = deri
gwlad country, plural = gwledydd
4. ae > ei
saer craftsman, plural = seiri
maen stone, plural = meini
maer mayor, plural = meiri
5. ae > eÿ
caer fort, plural = ceyrydd
maes field, plural = meysydd
cawr giant, plural =, plural = cewri
(3) Reversion. In some nouns the vowel is affected in the singular, but
remains unaffected in the, plural =. In deducing the, plural = from the
singular we have to substitute the unaffected for the affected vowel. The
change from the affected to the unaffected sound is called reversion. The
affection in the singular is the ultimate i-affection, Section ::121.
Examples:
1a. ai > a
gwraig wife, plural = gwragedd
deigr tear, plural = dagrau
celain corpse, plural = celanedd
rhiain maiden, plural = rhianedd
elain fawn, plural = elanedd
adain wing, plural = adanedd
cainc branch, plural = cangen
1b. ei > a
lleidr thief, plural = lladron
neidr snake, plural = nadredd, nadroedd
deigr tear, plural = dagrau
2. ei > a
Sais
English, plural = Saeson
3. au > aw or af
cenau whelp, plural = cenawon, cynafon
edau thread, plural = edafedd
For adanedd the form adenydd, Section 160 (3), is now
used, and adain is generally misspelt aden, Section 65. Beside dant
‘tooth’ a singular daint is also used, which with plural dannedd
falls under this
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rule;
but daint is also used as a plural One form of the affection of aw
is o, and athro, athrawon falls under the rule; but for the
singular athro a new form athraw has been substituted in late
Bibles, and is used instead of the correct form in the recent period. Cadnaw
is a similar perversion of the true form cadno ‘reynard’, and cenaw
of the genuine and living cenau, as in Y cenau tenau, taw.
BL. 142.
{= thin whelp, be silent }
{= Blodeu-gerdd Cymry...; editor D. Jones,
Amwythig (Shrewsbury),
1779.}
Deigr is sometimes used as a plural, Gr.O.50.
{= Goronwy Owen (Anglesey),
1723-69; reference to Gwaith y Parch. Goronwy Owen..., Llanrwst 1860.}
Rhaid bod yr enwog rywiog rïain
O ddeunaw oed i un ar hugain.-
Gm.P. 125.
{= Gwilym Peris = William Williams, 1769-1847;
reference to Awengerdd Peris Llanrwst
[1813].}
‘The renowned gentle maiden must be from eighteen [years] old to twenty-one.’
At dair geneth o dir Gwynedd
O glod rhïanedd glân.-
Gu.P. 145.
{= Gutyn Peris = Griffith Williams 1769-1838; ref. to
Ffrwyth Awen, Trefriw 1816.}
‘[I send greetings] to three girls of the land of Gwynedd,
of the praise of fair maidens.’
Fair wennaf o rianedd,
Ddwyfach waed, ddiafiach wedd.
- D.W. 251.
{= Dewi Wyn o Eifion = Dafydd Owen (Llanystumdwy),
1784- 1841; reference to Blodau Arfon,
Caerlleon, 1842.}
‘Mary, fairest of maidens, of the blood of Dwyfach, of hale aspect.’
Mae mor falch a’r fwyalch fain
A’i hyder ar ei hadain. -
R.J. 280.
‘She is as proud as the slender blackbird trusting to its wing.’
{= Rhys Jones o’r Blaenau (Merionethshire.)
1713-1801 (editor of Gorchestion Beirdd Cymru..., editor Rhys Jones.
Amwythig (Shrewsbury)
1773); reference to Gwaith Prydyddawl y diweddar Rice Jones o’r
Blaenau.... Dolgelleu 1818.}
(4) Anomalous vowel changes occur in
chwaer (1 syllable) ‘sister’, plural = chwiorydd (3 syllables);
mnorwyn ‘maid’, plural = morynion (for which morwynion
was used in the Bible, and is usual in late literary Welsh);
qwayw (or gwaew) ‘spear;’ pain’, plural = gwewyr;
pared ‘partition’, plural = parwydydd.
::137. IV. In some cases the loss of the singular
ending -yn or -en causes no vowel change.
Examples:
mochyn ‘pig’, plural = moch;
pluen ‘feather’, plural = plu;
blewyn ‘a hair’, plural = blew;
llygoden ‘mouse’, plural = llygod;
derwen ‘oak-tree’, plural = derw
seren ‘star’, plural = sêr; etc.
::138. V. The vowel changes which take
place when the ending is dropped are the following:
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(1)
Mutation, Section ::114. Examples:
1.. ei > ai
meipen turnip, plural = maip
deilen leaf, plural = dail
2. eu > au
cneuen nut, plural =, plural = cnau
blodeuyn flower, plural = blodau
3. o > aw
conyn stalk, plural = cawn
4. y > w
gwenynen bee, plural = gwenÿn
(2). Ultimate affection, Section ::121. Examples:
1a. a > ai
chwannen flea, plural = chwain
dalen leaf, plural = dail
gwïalen, plural = gwiail
1b. a > ai or ÿ
tywarchen sod, plural = tyweirch or tywÿrch
2. ae > ai
draenen hawthorn, plural = drain
3. e > ÿ
seren star old, plural = sÿr
4. o > ÿ
collen hazel, plural = cÿll
onnen ash, plural = ÿnn
(3) Reversion. As -yn causes penultimate affection,
when it drops the vowel reverts to its original sound; thus
e > a in
plemtÿn ‘child’, plural = plant;
aderyn ‘bird’, plural = adar
dilledyn ‘garment’, plural = dillad.
(4) Exchange of penultimate for ultimate affection
In gïewyn ‘sinew ‘(contracted to giewyn { [GYEU in] }, written gewyn) the ew is the
penultimate affection of aw
(Section ::122, No. 7);
the ultimate affection of this is air (Section ::121, No. 7),
hence the, plural = gïau. { [GI ai] }.
Another example is llysewyn ‘herb’, plural = llysau, though for
these the new formations llysieuyn, llysiau are mostly used in the
late period.
::139. VI.
A plural ending is sometimes substituted for the singular ending -yn
or -en.
Examples:
difer-yn ‘drop’, plural = difer-ion;
crwydr-yn ‘vagrant’, plural = crwydr-aid;
meddw-yn ‘drunkard’, plural = meddw-on;
cwning-en ‘rabbit’, plural = cwning-od;
planhig-yn ‘plant’, plural = planhig-ion.
::140.
VII. The following vowel changes occur when a, plural = ending replaces a
singular ending as above:
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(1)
Affection; thus a>e in mïar-en
‘bramble’, plural = mïer-i.
(2) Reversion; thus e > a in
cerp-yn ‘rag’, plural = carp-iau
gelyn ‘enemy’, old, plural = galon, sometimes used in poetry
(ordinary plural = gelynion).
The plural Endings
::141. The endings used to form the plural of nouns
are
-au, -iau;
-ion, -on, -en;
-i, -ydd, -edd, -oedd;
-ed, -od,
-iaid, -aint, old -awt;
-er, -yr, old -awr.
Diminutive -ach (-iach); -os.
::142.
-au or -iau is added to
(1) most names of common objects. Examples:
pen head, plural = pennau
trwyn nose, plural = trwynau
ceg mouth, plural = cegau
arf weapon, plural = arfau
pin pin, plural = pinnau
llyfr book, plural = llyfrau
bwrdd table, plural = byrddau
cadair chair,, plural = cadeiriau
drws door, plural = drysau
dôr door, plural = dorau
tw^r tower, plural = tyrau
twr heap, plural = tyrrau
llong ship, plural = llongau
bad boat, plural = badau
ton wave, plural = tonnau
cleddyf sword, plural = cleddyfau
llafn blade, plural = llafnau
tlws jewel, plural = tlysau
safn mouth, plural = safnau
cae field, plural = caeau
clawdd hedge, plural = cwtau
pwll pool, plural = pyllau
llan church, plural = llannau
teml temple, plural = temlau
(2) Some nouns denoting persons; as
tad ‘father’, plural = tadau;
mam ‘mother’, plural = mamau;
duw ‘a god’, plural = duwiau;
mach ‘a surety’, plural = meichiau;
feminine nouns in -es, as
brenhines ‘queen’, plural = breninesau.
(3) A few names of animals; as
ceffyl ‘horse’, plural = ceffylau;
hebog ‘hawk’, plural = hebogau;
blaid ‘wolf’, plural = bleiddiau and bleiddiaid, Section
::156 (4).
(4) Many abstract nouns; as
drwg ‘evil’, plural = drygau;
barn ‘judgement’, plural = barnau;
brawd ‘judgement’, plural = brodiau;
poen ‘pain’, plural = poenau;
gofid ‘sorrow’, plural = gofidiau;
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meddwl
‘thought’, plural = meddyliau;
including abstract derivatives in -ad or -iad, -aeth, -as,
-der, -did, -dod, -edd, -yd, as
bwriadau ‘intentions’,
gweledigaethau ‘visions’,
prïodasau ‘weddings’,
mwynderau ‘delights’,
gwendidau ‘weaknesses’,
pererindodau ‘pilgrimages’,
troseddau ‘transgressions’,
clefydau ‘fevers’.
(5) Most names of times, seasons, etc.; as
dydd ‘day’, plural = dyddiau (old diau in trídiau),
awr ‘hour’, plural = oriau;
munud ‘minute’, plural = munudau;
bore ‘morning’, plural = boréau or borÿau (generally
corrupted to boreuau);
nos ‘night’, plural = nosau;
wythnos ‘week’, plural = wythnosau;
haf ‘summer’, plural = hafau;
gaeaf ‘winter’, plural = gaeafau;
tymor ‘season’, plural = tymhorau.
Exceptions:
mis, plural = misoedd;
blwyddyn, plural = blynyddoedd;
oes, amser Section ::152
(6) A few nouns in -yn or -eu, as
offerynnau ‘instruments’,
defnynnau ‘drops’,
dalennau ‘leaves’.
::143. -iau occurs after forms having ai in the ultima, as
cadeiriau {= chairs}, bleiddiau
{= wolves} above,
sail ‘foundation’, plural = seiliau, etc;
after many forms having i, as gofidiau {=
worries, cares} above,
gliniau ‘knees’,
esgidiau ‘shoes’,
cyffiniau ‘confines’,
ciliau ‘recesses’,
cistiau ‘chests’
(but gwendidau {= weaknesses} above,
tidau ‘chains’,
cribau ‘combs’,
cigau ‘meats’, etc.);
after many forms with u, as
gruddiau ‘cheeks’,
cystuddiau ‘afflictions’,
cluniau ‘thighs’,
Suliau ‘Sundays’,
pladuriau ‘scythes ‘
(but munudau {= minutes} above, ysbardunau
‘spurs’, crudau ‘cradles’, etc.);
after monosyllables with aw, as
cloddiau {= ditches, hedges}, brodiau
{= judgements} above,
lloriau ‘floors’,
bodiau ‘thumbs’, etc.
(and cawgiau {= bowls}, hawliau
{= rights}).
It also occurs after some forms which take i {consonantal
‘i’} before other endings, as meddyliau {= thoughts} above, cf. meddyliaf ‘I think’,
bryniau ‘hills’, cf. bryniog ‘hilly’;
and is used to form new plurals, especially of borrowed words, as
hetiau ‘hats’,
capiau ‘caps’,
bratiau ‘aprons’,
carpiau ‘rags’,
llanciau ‘lads’,
troliau ‘carts ‘(singular trol),
tyniau ‘tins’, etc.
(clo {= lock}, tro {= turn}Section ::144).
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144. -ion is added to
(1) many nouns denoting persons, as
dyn ‘man’, plural dynion;
mab ‘son’, plural meibion;
gwas ‘servant’, plural ‘gweision’;
w^yr ‘grandson’, plural wyrion; { [ui] }
esgob ‘bishop’, plural esgobion
(old plural esgyb, Section ::131, 4).
These include derivatives in -(h)ai, -ydd, -og, -or, -ig, -awdr, as
gwesteion ‘guests’, singular gwestai;
gwehyddion ‘weavers’;
marchogion ‘knights’;
cantorion ‘singers’;
pendefigion ‘nobles’;
and adjectives used as nouns Section ::195.
In a few cases the ending is -on; as
meddygon ‘physicians’,
Iddewon ‘Jews’;
Saeson {= English people},
athrawon {= teachers}, Section ::136 (3);
after a consonant + r, (Section
::43), as
lladron Section ::136 (3),
dysgodron, singular dysgawdr ‘teacher’, usually corrupted to dysgawdwr
with a false plural dysgawdwyr.
(2) Some names of implements:
cŷn ‘chisel’, plural cynion;
ebill ‘auger’, plural ebillion;
trosol ‘crow-bar’;
pawl ‘pole’, plural polion;
ysgol ‘ladder’, plural ysgolion;
ysgol ‘school’, a different word, forms its plural similarly.
(3) Some abstract nouns:
rhybuddion ‘warnings’,
esgusiuon ‘excuses’,
trafferthion ‘troubles’;
with -on:
gofalon ‘cares’,
cysuron ‘comforts’,
arogleuon ‘smells’.
But most of these take -au, Section ::142 (4).
(4) ebol ‘colt’, plural ebolion; { [yon] }
cenau, {= cub}Section ::136 (3);
planhig-yn ‘plant’, plural planhig-ion{ [yon] }
.
i after o and a formed
the diphthongs oe and ae early, Section ::34; hence
tro ‘turn’, plural troeon or troeau (written
mechanically, not phonetically, troion, troiau);
so
clo ‘lock’, cloeau (cloiau G. 145, 147); {G. = Gorchestion Beirdd Cymru..., editor
Rhys Jones. Amwythig (Shrewsbury)
1773.}
to ‘roof’, toeau.
Similarly
gwasgfa {= pang; pressure}, gwasgfaeon (written gwasgfeuon);
so oedfa {= chapel service}.
::145.
-en survives only in ychen
‘oxen’, singular ych.
The plural is often misspelt ychain by late writers; but always
appears as ychen in Medieval and Early Modern Welsh.
The -en is the same as that in English oxen, and both come
directly from Primitive Aryan *-enes, as shown by the Sanskrit
cognate.
Ystig fydd beunydd i ben
Ystryd iach is traed ychen.-
I.G. 638.
‘Strenuous is he always [plodding] to the end of a healthy track under oxen’s
feet.’ - To the ploughman.
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Criai wŷr
cau ar i wên;
Crïwyd uwch caer Rhydychen.-
S.Ph. c.c. 189.
{= Siôn Phylip (Ardudwy, Merionethshire), 1543-1620.
The Cefn Coch MSS. . . ., editor J. Fisher; Liverpool
1899.}
‘Men wept that his smile should be enshrouded [in the grave]; they wept above
the wall of Oxford.’
::146. -i is added to
(1) some names of persons:
saer {= craftsman},
maer {= steward, mayor},
cawr {= giant}, Section ::136 (2);
merthyr ‘martyr’, plural merthyri;
proffwyd {= prophet},
plural proffwydi;
arglwydd {= lord}, plural arglwyddi.
(2) Many names of things having in the ultima e, more rarely a
(affected to e by the -i) o’r wy; as
llestri ‘vessels’)
ffenestri ‘windows’,
llenni ‘veils’
perthi ‘bushes’,
cethri ‘spikes’,
cerddi ‘songs’,
pibelli ‘pipes’
(but
cyllyll {= knives},
esgyll {= wings},
cestyll {= castles},
pedyll {= pans}, Section ::131, 3),
hwylbrenni ‘yards’ {= masts},
canhwyllbrenni ‘candlesticks’ (also with -au),
gwlanneni ‘flannels’,
fflagenni B.CW. 24 ‘flagons',
{B.CW. = Gweledigaethau y Bardd
Cwsc [by Ellis Wynne], 1703; reprint, editor J. Morris Jones, Bangor 1898.}
beddi ditto. 59 (more commonly beddau) ‘graves’;
gerddi ‘gardens¡ (singular. gardd),
deri ‘oaks’ (singular dâr),
peri ‘spears’ (singular pâr);
llwyni D.G. 504, I.MSS. 92, 241
(earlier llwynau D.G. 60) ‘bushes’,
{D.G. = Dafydd ap
Gwilym (North Cardiganshire.), floruit
1350-80; reference to Barddoniaeth
Dafydd ab Gwilym.... Llundain, 1789; bracketed numbers refer to Cywyddau Dafydd ap Gwilym a’i Gyfoeswyr .
. ., editor Ifor Williams a T. Roberts, Bangor 1914; thus D.G. 70 (66)
means that the words will be found in p. 70 of the former, and p. 66 of the
latter.}
{I. MSS. = Iolo Manuscripts ..... Llandovery 1840.}
twyni (also -au) ‘tumps’,
rhwydi (usually rhwydau) nets
meini ‘stones’ is a late formation for main, singular maen.
lloi {= calves}, Section ::133.
::147.
-i and -ydd are added to
tref ‘town’, plural trefi or trefydd;
cantref ‘cantred’,
cartref ‘home’,
eglwys ‘church’,
plwyf ‘parish’,
fforest ‘forest’.
Nac undydd drefydd drwg
Nac unnos o Forgannwg.-D.G. 3.
‘[I will not go] one day to bad towns, or one night from Glamorgan.’
{D.G. = Dafydd ap Gwilym (North Cardiganshire.),
floruit 1350-80; reference to Barddoniaeth
Dafydd ab Gwilym.... Llundain, 1789; bracketed numbers refer to Cywyddau Dafydd ap Gwilym a’i Gyfoeswyr .
. ., editor Ifor Williams a T. Roberts, Bangor 1914; thus D.G. 70 (66)
means that the words will be found in p. 70 of the former, and p. 66 of the
latter.}
Ni cheisiwn nef na’i threfi
Be gwypwn nas cai hwn hi. - H.S.
’I would not seek heaven and its abodes if knew that he would not attain it.’
{H.S. = Hywel Swrdwal (Montgomeryshire),
circa 1450; reference to Gwaith
Barddonol Hywel Swrdwal a’i fab Ieuan, editor J. C. Morrice, Bangor
1908.}
148. -ydd is added to
maes field ', pl. meysydd (wrongly
spelt meuwdd) ; gwaun 136 (1); gwlad 136 (2); bro
region ', pl. bro-ydd; (161 meadow ', hed street (fon
river', coed wood' ; "torm 'storm ; nant 'brook', pl.
2770
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RHANNAU HEB EU HYCHWANEGU ETO: ::148 ::149 ::150 ::151 ::152 ::153
::154 ::155 ::156 ::157 ::158 ::159
149-151
NOUNS
49
nentJdd ; mgntvent graveyard tomeu 'mound ', pl. tomennydd ;
, ff08 ditch' ; bwyd food ', diod drink
rhos moor
149. -au and -ydd occur in glannau, glennydd, sg. glan
bank'; bronnau, bronnydd, 163 ; caerau, ceyrydd (also older
caeroedd), sg. caer ' fort, wall ' ; ffrgvythau Ex. x 15, Lev.
ii 14, ffrwythydd 2 Sam. xvi 1, Can. vi 11, D.G. 525, sg.
ffpwyth ' fruit '.
Dyfiynnoedd, glynnoedd, glannau,
Pob peth yn y toreth tau.—Gr.O. 16.
Valleys, glens, banks, everything in thy store.'
Y gtör a chön ta gyrch hydd
Drwy'r detn• i'r glennydd.—L.
' The man with hounds will chase a stag through the glen from
the water to the banks.'
Caerau Eduart goncwerwr,—
Tyrau oedd ar gaerau'r gDr.—G.Gl.
The castles of Edward the conqueror—towers were on his
castles.'
Milwyr, cwncwerwyr ceyrydd,
Ni oedwyd un wedi 'i dydd.—W.n,. 64.
Warriors, conquerors of castles, none was spared after their
day.'
150. -ydd, -oedd, and -au are added to nouns in -la, as
poreydd, porfaoedd, sg. poma pasture ', tyrfaoedd ' multi-
t,udes ', cynutleidføoedd congregations ', preswylfeydd, pres-
habitations ', eisteddfdu ' seats (also -ion 144).
151. -oedd is added to m6r ' sea ', pl. moroedd (also in
poetry mfr) ; tir ' land ' ; daofr wat,er ', pl. dyfroedd ; mynydd
mountain' ; d,yffryn, glyn, 149, ex. 1 ; teyrnas ' king-
dom ' ; dinas• ' city ; cenedl ' nation ', pl. cenhedloedd ; iaith
ardal district' ,
' language pl. ieithoedd; Il'S court '
Ile ' place' ; 3/8trjd ' street' ; byd ' world ; gwynt ' wind '
tymestl tempest ', pl. tymhestloedd; ffridd plantation
gwint(an vineyard ', pl. gwinllannoedd (also gwinllannau
1657
2771
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50
ACCIDENCE
152, 153
like perllannau, cordannau) ; ' dress ' ; gav;n wine
'host ', torr ' crowd ', nifer number
cant 100 ', pl.
cannoedd; mil 1000
brenin ' king pl. brenhinoedd ;
nit,h niece' ; cefnder m. , cyfnither f. cousin ', cyfyrder
second cousin ' (also pl. cefndyr, cyfnith,yr,
Cwyn cefndyr, oreugwyr, oedd
Cofni thyr cyfnitheroedd.—W.IL. c.iL. 132.
It wag the lament of cousins, noble men—a memory that their
sisters can never efface.'—cefnderoedd L.G.C. 167.
NOTE. In Medieval Welsh some of the above words have
-edd for -oedd, as brenhineb, dyfreö, tireb, mynybeb. By loss of
-B (as in eiste for eisteb), the last became mynydde in S. Wales ;
latterly this has been wrongly standardized as mynyddau, but
the S.W. dial
. -e is for -eö, not -au. The form mynyddau is
a bungle like cartrau for cartre, lit. cartref; the literary and
biblical pl. of mynydd is mynyddoedd. (Loss of b, 20.)
152. -oedd and -au occur in oesoedd, oesagt. ' ages ', sg.
oes ; achoedd, achau lineage , sg. ach ' pedigree' ; gwtedd-
oedd D.G. 524, gwleddau D.G. 8 'feasts '
l/,ynnoedd D.C.
523, Es. xlii 15, llynnau Ps. Ixxxiv 6 'lakes '
amseroedd
Est. vi r, amegerau Est. i 13 ; cgntedd-oedd Ps. Ixv 4, -au
Es. i 12; and are added to some nouns in -der, as d,yfn-
deroedd Zech. x 11, dyfnderau, Ps. cxlviii 7 depths
Achau y tad, o chaid dydd ;
Achoedd Efa ferch Ddafydd.—L.G.C. 213.
The ancestry of the father, if one had a day Can appointment
(to trace them ; the ancestry of Eve, daughter of Da,vid.'
153. -edd is added to teyrn king pl. teyrned,d ; ezvy/,hr
uncle pl. ewythredd, later ewythrydd; cystlum family
pl. cyst/,ynedd; btwyddyn year ', pl. btynedd used only after
numerals, see 167 (1); modryb, pl. modrabedd c.c. 282, mod-
rybedd ; gwraig, Thia;n, adain, edau, etc.,
136 (3) ; chwaer,
pl. chwi6redd, later chtvi6rydd.
Cyntedd tö#rnedd yv3r tau.—T.A..
' A portal of kings is thine,'
2772
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154,
155
NOUNS
Oer weithred i'r ewythredd
O lid fawr weled i fedd.—L.Men.
51
A dismal event to the uncles in great wrath [was] to see his
grave.'—ewythrydd W.IL. 227.
Cystlynedd Cwynedd i gyd,
Cynafo•n Hwtcyn hefyd.—G.Gl.
All the families of Gwynedd, and the scions of Hwlcyn too.'
154. -ed survives only in merched daughters 9, pryfed
worms.
D.G. has hued 30, 9.3 ' hounds ', the -ed proved in both cases
by the rhyme (though printed -aid). A sg. huad is found
later, w.1L. 166.
155. -od is added to (1) most names of animals, birds,
etc. ; as llygod mice ', sg. old 1119, now Ilygoden; Ilewod
cathod ' cats thvynogod foxes '
' lions hyddod stags ',
gwiberod vipers ednod birds ' (also ednaint, 157), eryrod
eagles , cotomennod doves ', drytvod Gr.(). 18 wrens .
iyrchod, ewigod Can. ii 7 ; etc.
(2) Some names of persons : meudwyod hermits
.qgviddonod witches ', eurychod tinkers • twrne;od B.CW. 62
attorneys ', sg. twrnai ; clarcod ib. clerks ; Gtvyddelod for
gvräch ' hag pl. gzvrachiod (cf.
Gwyddyl Irishmen
gwrachiaidd chtcedlau 1 Tim. iv 7 old wives' fables ;
genethod girls ', babanod 'babies ', Ilebanod 'clowns', bwöachod
corachod dwarfs ', sg. corrach ; mynachod
' bugbears ',
for myneich monks ' ; Iliprynnod weaklings ', mursennod
prudes d,yhirod knaves ', sg. ; angheuod B.CW. 65
'death-sprites '.
Er Qiwn a gvtan aru,uin glod
A chéwydd i wrachiod.—I.B.H.
' For lambs and wool he brings praise and song to old women.'
(3) Some names of things : cwch ' boat ', pl. eychod ,
(noth hut pl. bythod ; nyth nest ', pl. n.yt,hod; tenngu
halter ', pl. tenynnod; bwthyn cottage ', pl. bythynnod ;
2773
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52
ACCIDENCE
156
tydd,yn small farm ', pl. tyddynnod ; btvl"'t vessel of straw '
pl. bwtanod ; ffyrlingod ' farthings ', floringod florins
hatlingod half-farthings ' ;
eilunod ' idols ', eråhylod ' abor-
tions.'
NOTE 1.—The ending -od came early to be associated with
diminutives, and like these was used to express contempt or
endearment. It became a feature of child-language, from which
comes its use instead of another ending in names of relatives, as
tadmaethod Es. xlix 23 for tadmaethau, ewyth,rod for ewythredd,
cyfnitherod for cyfnitheroedd.
.—ln Ml. W. the ending is -ot. An ending -awt
NOTE 2
occurs in two or three words, of which only pyscawt ' fish '
survived. This has now become pysgod regularly, so that
the difference between the formation and that of other plurals
in -od is lost.
156. -iaid is the pl. formed by affection of the ending
-'lad; thus offeiriad priest ', pl. offeiriaid. All names of
living things in -iad (except cariad) form their pl. so ; thus
Ileiddiaid murderers gleisiaid salmon'. But abstract
nouns in -iad have -iadau, 142 (4) ; cariad lover ' is the
same as cariad love and has pl. cariadau Hos. ii 5,
7, 10.
But -iaid is also added to form the pl. of names of
living things whose sg. does not end in -iad :
(1) Names of classes and descriptions of persons ; as
personiaid parsons
, sg. person ; barwniai,d barons
gväériaid squires
meistraid masters ' (S 43 ) ; estroniaid
strangers ' ; gefeilliaid twins sg. gefeu 136 (2) ; cyth-
reutiaid devils sg. cythraul; rhaglojaid deputies sg.
rhaglaw (cf. rhaw 136 (1)); Protestaniaid, Methodistiaid ;
Toriaid, Whigiaid, T. ii 123, etc.
(2) Tribal and national names: Rhufeiniaid Romans '
Albaniaid Scotchmen ', Groegiaid Greeks ', etc. ; the sg.
forms are Rhufeiniwr, Albanwr, etc., which may have
regular pl. Rhufeinwyr, Albanvyr, etc.—Also family and
personal names, y Ltwydiaid ' the Lloyds ', etc.
2774
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S 157-159
NOUNS
53
(3) All names in -Qtr of living things: pechaduriaid
sinners creaduriaid creatures joaduriaid fugitives ',
etc. The old pl. awduriaid has been replaced by a new
awdztrøn introduced by the gorseddic writers.
Other nouns in -ur take either -fau as guyn'iaduriau 'thimbles',
pladuriau ' scythes or -au as papurau papers mesurau
measures', or -on as murmuron ' murmurs cysuron ' com-
forts '.
(4) Some names of animals and birds : anife;tiaid
animals ysgrubliaid Gen. xlv 17 beasts
Mat. vii 15 (beside bleiddiau T.A. G. 233)
wolves
.qwenoliaid D.G. 20, sg. gwennol swallow '.
157. -aint occurs in ceraint (old carant), sg. Cdr
kins-
man ' ; neiaint P.N. 35 nephews ', sg. nai ; gofaint black-
smiths sg. 90f; ednuint Gr.O. 10 birds (beside ednod),
sg. edu ; ysgyfaint lungs ', no singular.
158. -er survived in Early Modern Welsh in broder
brothers sg. brawd. But it was already affected to -yr,
and brodyr alone is now used.
-yr also occurs in gzcewyr, 136 (4).
An old ending -awr occurs in medieval verse, as gwaewazor
spears cleÖyfatcr swords ', etc.
Plural formed from Derivatives.
159. The plural of a few nouns is formed by adding
a plural ending to a derivative in -09, -iad, -fa or -ai.
(1) O'i8tion Christian ', pl. or (mostly in
verse) Cristnoci0i1 ; gtaw rain ', pl. clawogydd; flood
pl. Uifowdd.
(2) serch affection ' , pl. serchiadau; at/dutw adornment ',
pl. addurniadazt ; cruydr wandering
pl. crwydradau
(S 43) ; gu,'ich, squeak pl. terror '
pl. dychryniadau.
2775
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54
ACCIDENCE
160
(3) dychryn, pl. dychrynfeydd ; rhea curse ', pl. rhegfgdd.
(4) cas Deut. vii 10 hater, foe ', pl. caseion Gen. xxiv
60 ; also pl. (or collective) cas, as neb o'th gag W. IL. 5
any of thy foes '.
Double Plurals.
::160. Double plurals are not uncommon; they are formed
in the following ways:
(1) A second plural ending is added to the first; thus
Singular (Plural / Double Plural)
celain
corpse (celanedd / celaneddau)
neges
errand (negesau / negeseuau)
peth
thing (pethau / petheuau)
esgid
shoe (esgidiau / esgid(i)euau)
mach
surety (meichiau meichiafon)
câr
kinsman (carant / carennydd)
(2) A plural ending is added to a plural formed by affection; thus
Singular (Plural / Double Plural)
cloch
bell ( elych / clychau )
sant
saint ( saint / seintiau )
angel
angel ( engyl / old engylion, now angylion
paladr
ray ( pelydr / pelydrau )
tŷ
house ( tai / teiau )
Lle
rhyfedd i falchedd.fod,
Yw teiau yn y tywod. - I.B.H. ieu. 52.
{= Ieuan
Brydydd Hir ieuaf, properly Ieuan Fardd (cf. p.155 below) = Evan Evans
(Cardiganshire) 1731-89; reference to Gwaith
y Parchedig Evan Evans (Ieuan Brydydd Hir), editor D. Silvan Evans, Caernarfon
1876. }
‘A strange place for pride to be is houses in the sand.’
(3) A noun with a plural ending has its vowels affected as an additional sign
of the plural
Singular – {English Translation} - Plural -
Double Plural
câr
kinsman ( carant / ceraint )
brawd
brother ( broder / brodyr )
adain
wing ( adanedd / adenydd )
In these the simple plural is now obsolete, so that the double plural has
become the ordinary plural.2776
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(delwedd 2777)
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::161. The
diminutive plural endings -ach and
-os are generally added to plural
nouns, thus forming double plurals. -ach
expresses contempt, -os either
contempt or endearment.
Thus:
Singular - {English
Translation} - Plural -
Diminutive Double Plural
dyn man ( dynion / dynionach )
crydd shoemaker ( cryddion / cryddionach )
draen thorn ( drain / dreiniach )
plentyn child ( plant / plantos )
gwraig wife ( gwragedd / gwrageddos )
dilledyn garment ( dillad / dillados )
ci dog ( cw^n / cynos )
tŷ house ( tai / teios )
pryf worm ( pryfed / pryfetach )
merch daughter ( merched / merchetos )
As in the last two examples a final media is sometimes hardened, Section
::127.
As in dreiniach -ach becomes -iach after ei.
In rare cases the ending is added to the singular; thus
carreg ‘stone’, diminutive plural caregos;
dernyn ‘fragment’, diminutive plural dernynnach.
RHANNAU HEB EU HYCHWANEGU ETO: ::162 ::163
Plural Doublets.
162. In addition to nouns having a •simple and a double
pl. as above, there are many nouns with more than one pl.
form.
(1) Some nouns take two endings ; as -i and -au 146
(2) ; -i and-ydd 147; -au, 149; -ydd, 150
-iaid, -iau 156 (4) ;
-oedd, 152 ;
-edd, 153 ;
(2) Ä noun may have the same ending with different
vowel changes, as caine, pl. cangau, ceineiau.
(3) Some nouns not ending in -yu or -en adopt more
than one of the first three ways of forming the plural
130. Thus:
2777
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(delwedd 2778)
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56
Singulax
mar sea
arf weapon
esgob bishop
cefnder cousin
bardd bard
ACCIDENCE
163
Pl. 111
old mor
eirf
old esgyb
cefndyr
beirdd
Pl. 11.
moroedd
arfau
esgobion
cefnderoedd
beirddion
NOTE. In the late. period new and inelegant weak forms are
sometimes found, as ca8teUi, alarchod for cestyu, elyrch 131.
On the other hand spurious and impossible strong forms have
obtained some currency, as edyn for adenydd, emrynt for
amrannau (amrantau), brieill for briaUu, creig for creigiau.
(4) Nouns ending in -gn or -en may have two plurals as
follows : (a) IV. and V„ 137, 138 ; as gwialen 'twig'
pl. IV. gwial, V. ; similarly seren has an old pl.
as well as 8ér, and cou and onn were used beside cvll and
ynn 138.—(b) IV. and VI. ; as cwningen, pl. IV. cevning
G. 226, now obsolete, VI. V. and Il. ; as
'leaf' pl. V. dad, 11. ; rib ' pl. V. ais,
Il. asennau, formerly also VI. asagt.
Ji thatoaf, od q/ heb dål,
Mwy nog eos meum gwia1.—D.G. 418.
'I will not be silent, though I go without pay, more than
a nightingale in the branches.'
D gaeodd Mai a gwiail
Y llwybrau gn dyrrau dail.—D.G. 44 2.
May has blocked up with twigs the paths into masses of
leaves.'
163. In some cases where a noun has two meanings
a plural doublet is assigned to each. In the following
table the two meanings of the singular are omitted :
Singular
bron
person
canon
cyngor
Plural
bronnau breasts
personau persons
canonau rules
cynghorau councils
Plural
bronnydd hills
personiaid parsons
canoniaid canons
(men)
cynghorion counsels
2778
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5 164-167
Singular
pryd
pwys
llwyth
ysbryd
an rhaith
NOUNS
Plural
prydiau times
pwysgu weights
Uwythau tribes
ysbrydion ghosts
anrheithiau spoils
Singular Doublets.
::164.
Two forms of the singular occur in some words, as cleddyf and cleddau
‘sword’, plural cleddau, so neddyf and nedda ‘adze’; dwfr
and dw^r ‘water’, plural dyfroedd;
dant and daint, plural dannedd
Section ::136 (3);
dydd ‘day’ and dyw in dyw
Sul ‘Sunday’;
gwryw, gwyryf, gwerydd
‘virgin’, plural gweryddon, also late gwyryfon, an artificial
form.
::165.
A few nouns have a singular form with, and one without, a singular ending; as
deigryn and deigr ‘tear’, plural dagrau;
erfyn and arf ‘weapon’,
plural arfau;
edefyn and edau
‘thread’, plural edafedd.
::166.
Nouns ending in -yn or -en may have two singulars as follows:
(1) one with each ending, as ysgallen or ysgellyn ‘thistle’,
plural ysgall;
conyn ‘stalk’,
cawnen ‘rush’, plural cawn
(2) with different vowel changes: dalen or deilen ‘leaf’,
plural dail. Anomalous Plurals.
167. The following nouns have plurals formed anoma-
lously :
(1) ci dog pl. ctØn ; btwyddyn year pl. blynedd after
numerals only, elsewhere blynyddoedd ; dydd day ', ordinary
pl. dyddiau, old pl. diau, which survives in tridia?!, three
days ; llaw hand ', pl. dwylaw 129.
NOTE.—bZynyddau is a false form like mynyddau, see 151
Note; btwyddau and biwyddi are purely artificial forms, never
used in the spoken language ; btwydd is an adj. year old '
and its pl. is bl,wyddiaid, S 195.
2779
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RHANNAU HEB EU HYCHWANEGU ETO: ::167 ::168 ::169 ::170 ::171 ::172 ::173 ::174 ::175 ::176
58
ACCIDENCE
168
(2) Nouns with anomalous vowel changes, 132, 133,
136 (4).
(3) Nouns with irregular plurals due to loss of syllables :
cydymaith companion pl. cymdeithion for cydyndeit)ion,
old sg. cydymdaÜh ; credaduu believer ', pl. credinwyr
properly credunwyr for credadunwyr, old pl. credadunion.
NOTE.—The form camrau, a late misspelling of camre 66,
is sometimes wrongly used as a pl. of cam ' step' ; the pl. of
cam is camau.
Nouns with no Plural.
168. The following nouns are used in the singular only :
(1) Many abstract nouns, as gzoanc voracity ', llzcnc
cred belief', troydd weather ',
gulp Ilafuø• labour
syched 'thirst ', tristwch sadness ', ffyddtondeb fidelity
glendid cleanliness'. But a large number of abstract
nouns have pl. forms, as chwantau desires
coelion
beliefs drygau etc. 142 (4), gofalou etc. 144 (3),
Ofnder-oedd, -au, etc. 152.
(2) Nouns denoting material or substance, as ma ' honey
glo coal ', ymenyn butter ', gwaed blood ', baw dirt ', Ilaeth
milk', etc. There are many exceptions, as d,gfroedd
waters ', 164 ; cigau meats ' ; "dau varieties of corn
bwydydd, diodydd, 148.
sg. yd corn ' ; gwinoedd wines '
arian is both sg. and pl.; as a sg. noun it means silver '
yr apian hum this silver ', arian byw 'quicksilver'
as a pl.
noun it means 'money': yr arian Lyn 'this money , arian
gwynicn white money ' i. e. silver coins.
(3) Diminutive nouns in -an, -W, -cya, -cen; as dynan
'a little person oenig 'a little Iamb ', bryncynv' hillock',
Ilecyn place ffolcen foolish girl Exceptions are babanod,
etc. 155 (2), (3), ewigod hinds' (older ewigedd), crymanau
sickles ', crochanau cauldrons hosanau hose ', cloriannau
scales ' (for weighing).
2780
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(delwedd 2781)
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169-171
NOUNS
59
(4) Archaic and poetical words such as bun maid ', i6r,
idn lord cun 'lord ', huan 'sun ', etc.
(5) Proper names of places, months, days, feasts ; as
Cymru, Bbrill, Calan, Nadolig. Except Suliau Sundays ',
Sadyrnau Saturdays Other days thus : dyddiau Llun
Mondays .
Nouns with no Singular.
169. A few nouns are used in the pl. only .
(1) bonedd gentlefolk rhieni parents ', nouns in -wys,
60, as Monwys men of Mön The form rhiant and its
pl. rhiaint are both spuriouy.
(2) aeron ' fruits ', gwar)heg ' cattle ', creifion parings
glafoenon 'drivel ymysgadoedd 'bowels' ; names of certain
bresych cabbages chpyn weeds bridllu
vegetables :
primroses
I borthi'r buchod blithion
Ymysg briallu a meiUion.—H.M. ii 162.
To feed the milch kine amid primroses and clover.'
For pl. names of vegetables a sg. is sometimes formed by
adding -era, as hesgen ' a rush ', meiüionen ' clover-flower or
-yn, as blodeuyn ; flower', rhosyn rose The forms briallen,
brieiU are recent fabrications (not in Pughe 1832) based on
the absurd supposition that the -u of brianu is a pl. ending.
(a) persons : fforddo/äon
(3) Adjectives used as nouns :
tlodion paupers
trigol@n inhabitants ' ,
wayfarers '
(b) qualities : prydferthion beauties '.
GENDER.
170. The gender of a noun denoting an animate object
agrees in general with the sex of the object ; thus the
nouns gör man, husband ', ceffyl horse brawd brother '
gwgs servant, youth are m. , and gwraig 'woman, wife
Caeeg ' mare ', chwaer sister merwgu maid ' are f.
171. When the same noun is used for both sexes it, is
2781
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(delwedd 2782)
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60
ACCIDENCE
172
generally epicene, that is, it has its own gender which-
ever sex it denotes.
The following are mas. epicenes : plentyn child baban
babe barcut kite ', eryr eagle
The following are fem. epicenes : cennad messenger ,
cath cat colomen dove ', brdn ' crow ', ysgyfarnog hare '.
Thus we say y gennad (not y cennad) even when we mean
a man ; so y fall the evil one' Gr.O. 92.
Felly y gennad a aeth, ac a ddaeth, ac a fynegodd i Ddafydd
yr hyn ou yr anfonasai Ioab&'i blegid.—2 Sam. xi 22.
These nouns do not change their gender by the addition of
gwryw or benyw. In eryr benyw the radical b- of benyw shows
that eryr remains mas. In fact the gender of a noun must be
ascertained before gwryw or benyw can be added to it.
172. There ore, however, several nouns of com mon
gender in Welsh, that is, nouns whose gender varies $
according to the sex of the individual meant. Such are o
dun ' man' or woman , dynan
little person ', cyfgrder
second cousin ', "yr ' grandchild ', tyst ' witness mudan
deaf-mute perthynas relation ', gefell ' twin ', cymar
mate ', nouns in -ai as V,atai love-messenger 110 calf'
Thus y mudan or fudan D.I. 58 ; y tyst or y dyst ;
110
gwryzv or 110 fenyw.
Fy nghred it, fry nghariad öyl,
Fy n9n wen,fy Nonn annwyl.—D.W. 249.
[I pledge] my troth to thee, my modest love, my fair woman,
my beloved Nonn.'
Wyr Cadwgon honno ;
üyr i fab Meilir ywfo.—L.G.C. 367.
She is the granddaughter of Cadwgon; he is the grandson of
Meilir's son.'
In literary Welsh dyn f. survives in poetry chiefly, but old
speakers still use it occasionally in S. Wales. In N. Wales
dialects a new f. dynes has been evolved; and some late writers
have used this inelegant provincialism. The ordinary term
2782
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(delwedd 2783)
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173,
174
NOUNS
61
for woman' in standard lit. Welsh is gwraig.—For "yr f.
and cymar f. (ei gymar fad D.l. 52), the new forms wyres and
cymhares are employed in the late period.
N0TE.—The term " common gender " applies to a word
generally; it means that in one sentence the word may be m.,
in another f. In any particular sentence it must be one or the
other; and in parsing the gender should be given. Thus in
fy nün wen above, nin (rad. dun) is f., the adj. wen agreeing
with it.
173. (1) Some mas. nouns used as terms of endearment,
etc., become f. when applied to females ; as pet,h thing ',
bud life ' (old meaning), cariad love ', enaid soul Thus
y beth dlawd poor thing 'S. ; . fy nghariad Wyl (rad. gzöyd)
172, ex. 1.
' Y myd wen, mi yw dy '10r
A'th was i'th burlas barlwr.—D.G. 156.
My fair life, I am thy husband and thy servant in thy leafy
parlour.'
F'enaid dlos/ ni ddaw nosi
1 haf y hi.—D.G. 321.
' My beautiful soul! there comes no nightfall to the summer-
house to which she comes.'
(2) Similarly a mas. abstract noun, when personified, is
occasionally treated as fem., as doethineb in Diar. i 20, ix
1—4.
174. Some mas. narpes of living objects are made fem.
by the addition of -es, or by changing -yn to -en. Thus
brenift king ', brenhines queen ' ; bachgen boy ', bachgennes
ym,hérawdr ' emperor ',
Joel iii 3 'girl '
asyn ass ' f. agen ;
• Item,' hon ', Iteweg ' lioness
empress
coegyn fop ', f. coegen 13.cw. 14 ; arglwyddes lady ', march-
oges horsewoman ', iarlles ' countess ', mei8tres mistress
cares kinswoman ', tywysoges princess santes saint ' f.
In early formations the -es is added to an older stem :
Ileidr ' t,hief', f. lladrones B.CW. 21, cf. Itadronllyd t,hievish '
Sais, f. Saesnes, cf. Saesneg ; Cymro, f. Cymraes, cf. Cynraeg.
2783
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(delwedd 2784)
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62
ACCIDENCE
175-179
175. In the following cases the distinction of gender is
irregular : nai ' nephew ', nilh 'niece
cefnder ' cousin ', f,
cyfnither; chwegrwn ' father-in-law ', f. chevegr ; hesbwrn, f.
• ff61 ' fool ', f. ffolog ; gör ' husband ', gwraig
ewe
wife
176, As in other languages, near relations and familiar
animals have names of different origin for males and
females : tad, mam ; brawd„ chwaer ; ewylhr, modryb ; ceff3d,
caseg ; etc.
::177. Names of birds are epicenes, mostly feminine,
as
y fwyalch or y fwyalchen
‘the blackbird’,
y fronfraith ‘the thrush’,
yr w^ydd ‘the goose’,
y gog ‘the cuckoo’,
y frân ‘the crow’;
but almost an equal number are masculine, as
eryr ‘eagle’,
dryw ‘wren’,
barcut ‘kite’
hedydd ‘lark’
alarch ‘swan’.
The male bird is in a few cases distinguished by prefixing ceiliog to
the name, as
ceiliog mwyalch {= male blackbird}
ceiliog bronfraith {= male thrush};
the two are compounded in
ceiliágwydd {wy = [ui] }‘gander’ (with -a- as in pechádur
{= sinner} beside pechod {= sin}).
The names of one or two male animals are formed in a similar manner:
bwch gafr ‘he-goat’,
gwrcath ‘tom-cat’.
Naw mwy frag na cheiliagwydd,
Naw gwell synnwyr na gw^ydd. -S.T.
{= Siôn
Tudur (Wigwer, St. Asaph), died 1602.}
‘Nine times more boastful [literally: his boast] than a gander;
nine times more sensible than a goose.’
::178.
The gender of nouns denoting inanimate objects or abstractions can only to a
very limited extent be determined by the meaning.
::179.
The following nouns are masculine:
(1) tymor ‘season’, and names of seasons: gwanwyn {= spring}, haf {=
summer}, hydref {= autumn}, gaeaf
{= winter}; G(a)rawys {= Lent}, cynhaeaf {=
harvest, harvest-time}.
(2) mis ‘month’, and the names of the months.
(3) dydd ‘day’ and names of days:
Dydd Llun {= Monday},
Dydd Iau or Difiau {= Thursday},
Nadolig {= Christmas},
Pasg {=
Easter},
Calan {=
New Year’s Day},
Sulgwyn {= Whit Sunday}.
But gwyl is feminine, so that
Gwyl Fair ‘Lady Day’, etc. are
feminine.
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(4) gwynt
‘wind’, and the names of points of the compass:
gogledd {= north},
dwyrain {= east},
dehau {= south},
gorllewin {= west}.
(5) Nouns denoting material or substance, as
aur {= gold},
arian {= silver},
haearn {= iron},
efydd {= brass},
pren {= wood},
derw {= oak wood},
ffawydd {= beech wood},
glo {= coal},
maen {= stone},
pridd {= earth, soil},
calch {= lime, chalk},
clai {= clay},
tail {= dung},
gwair {= grass, hay},
gwellt {= straw},
yd {= corn},
bwyd {= food},
bara {= bread},
cig {= meat},
gwaed {= blood},
gwin {= wine},
cwrw {= beer},
dwfr {= water},
gwydr {= glass},
lledr {= leather},
lliain {= cloth},
sidan {= silk},
glaw {= rain},
eira {= snow},
etc.
(6) Verbal nouns, Section ::276 (2).
180. The following nouns are fem..
(1) cwlad ' counh•y
teyrnas ' kingdom ', ynyeY ' island ',
and names of countries, etc. : Cymru, Prydain, Mdn, yr Aifft.
But tir ' land ' is m. ; hence. tir Groeg m, ' Greece
(2) tr€f• ' town ', llan ' chyrch ', and names of towns and
parishes : Bangor Fawr Arron, Llanbadarn Fawr.
(3) anon ' river ', and names of rivers : D?/ji, I)yfrdwy, etc.
(4) Names of mountains and hills : yr Wyddfa„ Carnedd
I)dafydd, Mod Eilio. But mynydd ' mountain ' and /n•pc
hill ' are me, and so are names formed from them, as
Mynjddm,awr.
(5) iaith ' language ', and names of languages, as y Gym-
raeg. But when the name denotes a particular specimen,
written or spoken, it is m. as Cymraeg da ' good Welsh '
113/thyren ' letter ' is f., and so are names of letters.
6) Names of trees, derwen ' oak ', ddr ' oak
(7) Collective nouns denoting communities, etc., y genedl,
y werin, g bobl, y bendejgaeth, g gymanfa, 3.' g16r ' the bards '
g dorf, y durra, 3/ cynhadledd ; with some late exceptions as
y cyngor, 3/ bwrdd.
181. The gender of a derivative noun not denoting an
animate object is determined by the ending :
(1) The following endings form m. nouns
: -aint, -awd,
-deb (or -dab)
, -der, -did, -dod, -dra, -dwr, -edd, -hdd, -i, -ni,
-ioni, -iant, -id, -ineb (or -inab), -rwydd, -wch (or -wc), -tvs
(dimin.), -yd.
Examples: henaint, traethawd, undeb (undab), blinder,
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RHANNAU HEB EU HYCHWANEGU ETO ::181 ::182 64
ACCIDENCE
9
gwendid, cryndod, ffeidd-dra, cryfdwr, amynedd, glanhdd,
tlodi, noethni, drygioni, mwyniant, cadernid, doethin-eb (-ab),
enbydrwydd, tywyn-wch (-wg), deintws, minws, iech?/d,
Exceptions : awdurdod, trindod ; buchedd, trugaredd, cyng-
hanedd ; cenadwri ; addewid.
(2) The following endings form f. nouns : -aeth, -iaeth,
1 eau.' o
-i,gaeth etc., -as, -ed, -fa. GU
Examples : tyuwsogaeth, athrawcaeth cosbedi aeth, teyrnas,
coned, porfa.
50
Exceptions: there are many in -aeth, as
darfodedigaeth, qwasanaeth., hiraeth, amrywiaeth, gwahaniaeth,
• Uuniaeth; others are Uudded, caethiwed, niwed, syched, pared.
182. Many endings form names of both animate and
inanimate objects. These, with the gender of nouns formed
by them, are as follows :
-ach dim. sg., m, as corrach, bwbach ;
-ach abstract, as
cuf.eilQ:—
-an com. 183 ; inanim., m., cusan, cwpan.
-cyn anim., m. ffwlcyn ; inanim., m. , bryncyn, necyn.
-ell anim., f. , as iyrchell ; inanim., f. , as asgeu; exc., casteU,
cawell.
-es inanimate, f., as Uoches; exc. hanes,
-esf.s 174;
m. in N. Wales.
-en f., as coegen 174 ; exc. maharen; -en inanimate, f., as
serene
-iad or -ad abstr., m. , as cariad, teinüad, caniad ' singing ;
exc. qdeilad f. ' building ', caniad f. ' song ', galpad f. calling '
exc. cennad 171.
agent, m. , ceiniad ' singer , ceidwad ' saviour
-ig in titles, m. , as pendejg; -ig dim., f. , as oenig, inanim„ f.'
as afonig.
-in anim., m., as brenin, dewin; inanim„ f., as byddin, cegin,
cribin, melin ; exc. ewin, gorllewin, buetin,
-ur anim., m. , as penadur ; inanim., f. , as natur, pladv,r ;
exc. gwniadur m. in N. Wales.
-wr m. usually agent, as pregethwr ' preacher ' ;
sometimes
instrument, as crafuyr, scraper
-yn anime, m., as coegyn; exc. entrewyn; inanim., m., as
offeryn; exc, blwyddyn, odyn, tAyn, twymyn.
2786
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5
183-186
NOUNS
65
::183. The following endings form derivatives having
the same gender as the noun to which they are affixed:
-an diminutive, as
maban {=
infant, from mab = son}masculine,
gwreigan {= little old woman, from gwraig = woman}
feminine,
dynan {little
man or little woman, from dyn = person} common gender
-aid ‘-ful’, as
crochanaid {= cauldronful, from crochan = cauldron}masculine,
llwyaid {= spoonful, from llwy = spoon} feminine.
-od ‘blow’ (earlier -awd),
as
dyrnod {= a blow with the fist, from dwrn = fist} masculine,
ffonnod {= a blow with a stick, from ffon = stick}
feminine.
184. (1) Nouns in which the last (or only) syllable has
simple w or are mostly m. ; and those with o or e are
mostly f, ; thus codwm, dwrn, 14th'? , are m. , and colofn,
tonn, awed, Ilen are f. But exceptions are so numerous that
the rule is of no great practical value, e.g. ffrwd f, , gnus f.,
mfr m., pen m. etc,
(2) A few doublets occur Gith w in the m, and o in the
f. ; as cwd m. bag ', cod f. 'purse
ffwrch ' the fork,
haunches ', torch a fork' ; tu;rf ' tumult ', torf ' crowd e'
also with m. -yn, f. -em, as gsceltyn,gsgallen ' thorn ' ; coon,
coegen 174 ; ffwlcyn, ffotcenq
185. (1) The gefider of a compound noun is generally
that of its subordinating element; thus etuséndy ' alms-
house ' m, like (g, this being the subordinating and etusen
the subordinate element. So gwin(lan ' vineyard' f, like
llan, canh'iyllbren ' candlestick' m. like pren. There are
a few exceptions, as cartø•ej' m. ' home' (tref f.), peudro f.
vertigo ' (tro m.), canriff. century ' ("'10/
(2) The above rule also holds for improper compounds,
82, in which the subordinating element comes first ; thus
tréf-tad f, ' heritage ; d'dd-brawd m. ' day of jndgement '
p6ut-bren f. ' wooden bridge ' ; pén-cerdd m. ' chief of song
186. There are many nouns of vacillating or uncertain
gender ;
some of these are old neuters, like braich • from
Lat, bracchium,
(1) The gender of some nouns varies according to meaning
or use: golwg eyesight' m. , as golwg byr short sight ', gotuyg
appearance' f, as golwg druenus 'a wretched sight ' ;—bath,
noath 'kind' dau fath ' two kinds'; with the art., f., as
16bZ
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ACCIDENCE
187-189
y fath ;—man ' spot' me, as man gcvan weak spot'; man
place' generally f. as in Matt. xxviii 6, but m. also as in
Jer. vii 3 ; gn y man by and by ', yn y fane' immediately '
to 'roof' m. ; to ' generation' m. and f. ' leo'
f, ; coes
' stalk, handle' m. —The following pails are distinct words :
gwaith m. ' work ', gwaith f. 'occasion '; Ilij' m. ' flood ', Uif
mil m. ' animal '
f. ' saw'; 16th m. 'mash', Ilith f. 'lesson
mil f. ' thousand
(2) Some nouns have different genders in Medieval and
Modern Welsh. The following are ma in Ml. W. , now f. :
damwain, braint, dina.% nef, chwedl, grudd, gweithred, crefydd.
The following are f..in Ml. W, , now m. : tangnefedd, gwirionedd,
cynghrair, rhyddid, person person ', l,tyn, llys.
(3) The gender of some nouns fluctuated early: braich
m. and f. in Ml. W „ m. in Bible, now mostly f. ; clod m. in Mab.,
f. in Bible and bards, now m. ; haul formerly chiefly f, (and
still in héul-wen), now m.
(4) The variation of gender is in some cases dialectal : cinio,
troed, cyflog, hanes, garr, gvn•jadur, uyn, pwys, munud, clorian
are m. in N. Wales (and mostly in lit. W.), and f. in S, Wales ;
crib ' comb' n). in N. Wales, f. in S, Wales, crib ' ridge' f. ;
sach m. in Gwynedd, f. in Powys; clust m. in S. Wales, f. in
N. Wales. The use in N. NV ales of cusan, cwpan, penniU,
tafod, canhwyübren as f. is a late colloquialism,
ADJECTIVES
::187.
Adjectives are inflected for number, gender and comparison.
NUMBER
::188.
The plural of adjectives is formed like that of nouns, except that only the
first three ways, Section ::130, are applicable. It is always formed
from the masculine singular
.
::189.
I. By vowel change.
The change is ultimate i- affection, Section ::121; cf. Section
::131. The only vowel which is affected in plural adjectives is a;
thus:
a > ai
bychan little, plural = bychain
llydan broad, plural = llydain
buan quick, plural = buain
truan wretched, plural = truain
ieuanc young, plural = ieuainc
byddar deaf, plural = byddair
a > ei
hardd handsome, plural = heirdd
marw dead, plural = meirw
garw rough, plural = geirw
a > ÿ
cadarn strong, plural = cedyrn, old cedeirn
Celyd, in which the e of caled is affected, appears to
be
artificial, and comparatively late (F.55,87, early 18th century);
{= Flores Poetarum Britannivorum Collected
by J. D. [Dr. John Davies]. Mwythig (Shrewsbury)
1710.}
the old plural is caled like the singular, later caledion also.
Similarly Cymraeg {= Welsh as regards
language}is plural as well as singular; e.g. llyfrau Cymraeg {= Welsh-language books, books in Welsh}
RHANNAU
HEB EU HYCHWANEGU ETO ::189 ::190
::191 ::192 ::193
::194 ::195
189, I. By vowel change, The change is ultimate i-
121; cf. 131. The only vowel which is
affection,
affected in pl. adjectives is a; thus:
2788
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190-192
bychan little
Il?/dan broad
buan quick
ADJECTIVES
> ai
pl.
truan wretched
ieuanc young
byddar deaf
bychain
Uydain
buain
truain
ieuainc
byddair
a > ei
hardd handsome pl.
marw dead
garw rough
cadarn strong
pl.
old
67
heirdd
meirw
geirw
cedurn
cedeirn
caud, in which the e of caled is affected, appears to be
artificäal, and comparatively late (F. 55, 87, early 18th cent.) ; the
old pl. is caled like the sg., later caledion also. Similarly
Cymraeg is pl. as well as sg. ; e. g. llyfrau Cymraeg.
190. I L By adding the pnding -ion, Thus e:
mud mute
coch red
glew bold
pl. mudicn
cochion
glewion
dewr brave
cut narrow
llwgd grey
pl. dewrion
culion
„ Uwydion
191, Ill. By adding -ion with vowel change. The
vowel changes that occur are—
(I) Mutation, 114; cf. 136. Thus:
ai > ei
melqn yellow
pl. meinion gwvn white
main Slender
hull ugly
aw > o
dawd poor
pl. tlodion
1.1 > Y
uwm bare
Zlurn keen
pl. llymion trwm heavy
pl. melynion
gwynion
„ hyllion
pl. Uymion
„ trymion
aw is not mutated in mawrion, llawnion, trawsion.
(2) Penultimate affection,
12.2, cf. 136. The only
vowel which is affected is a, Thus :
glas blue
claf sick
pl. blind
cteifion gwag empty
pl. deiUion
gweigion
192. After the sounds mentioned in 43 the i drops,
and the ending appears os -on. Thus (1) after u : duon,
2789
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68
ACCIDENCE
193, 194
teneuon; (2) after cohsonant+r: budron, pydron Gr.O. 93
sg, pwdr, Ileithron sg. llathr ' bright ' , (3) after consonant +
V : gwelvon, gweddpon, chwerpon, ceil pon sg. gartv, meirpon
sg. marw. The second element of a diphthong counts
here as a consonant, hence hogvon, gloypon (as opposed to
glewion, tewion, in which the w follows a simple vowel).
193, Some adjectives have two plurals, one formed by
affection and one by adding -ion : hardd, pl. heirdd, heirdd-
ion ; carw, pl. geirw, geirtøon ; marw, pl. meirw, meirwon,
194, The following adjectives have no distinctive pl.
forms in use :
(1) The simple adjectives bach, ban, bZwng, call, cas, certh,
ci, cun, chweg, da, dig, drwc, flwch, gau, gudr, gwir,
cra
gevymp, hafal, hagr, hawdd, hen, hoff, h', llawen, Ilesg, (Ion,
llwgr, nuzd, mdn, mwll, pair, Thad, 80111, sert,h, sobr, swrth,
evn, tea,
bychain is the pl. of bychan, not of bach, which is sg, and ple
like the othos in the above list. drwg is also a noun, pl. drygau
142 (4). man bas the substantival pl. manion ' trifles,
minutiae
Yr adar baeh a rwydud
Ä'th iaijh dwytlodrus a'th hud.—D.G. 313.
' Thou wouldst snare the little birds with thy deceiving words
and thy wile,'
(2) Adjectives of the equative or comparative degree.
But superlative adjectives have substantival plurals.
(3) Derivative adjectives in -adwy, -aid, -aidd, -ar, -gar,
-in, -lyd. But adjectives in -ig, -09, -01, -us have plurals in
-ion, which commonly precede their nouns, as nefolion leoedd
Eph. i 3, cf. Phil, ii 10, but may follow as cwjr
boneddigion, sg. gör bonheddig ' gentleman
(4) Most compound adjectives, as hy-glyw, Icy-clod, e-ang,
ffrwyth-lon, melys-lais, etc. But when the second element
is an adj. which may take -ion, the ending is sometimes
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ADJECTIVES
69
affixed to the compound, as tal-cryfion Ezek, iii 7 " of an
hard forehead " ; glas-fe;nion D.G. 87 ' green and slender '
glogw-öuon, claer-wgnion, etc,
Plural *Adjectives used as Nouns.
195. Many adjéctives have substantival plurals. Some
of them are used as abstract nouns, as achel@n Gr.O. 120
' heights ' ; but most denote classes of persons, as y tlodion
The sg. is also in some cases substantival, as
the poor .
truan ' a wretch The pl. is formed either by affection or
by adding -ion or -iaid; the latter is used for persons only,
and causes the same penultlmate affection as -ion except in
late formations, Examples :
batch proud
truan wretch
dau blind
gwan weak
byddar deaf
caeth slave
pl. beach, beilchion, beilchiaid
truain, trueinion, trueiniaid
deiUion, deiUiaid
gweinion, gweiniaid
byddair, byddariaid
caith, caethion.
A 'i Jun gwrol yn gorwedd
Efa wna i'r bench ofni'r bedd,—T.A,
' Since his manly form lies [in it] he makes the proud fear the
grave.'
Be chwdid pob ach atiwn,
Bylchau'n ach beilchion a wn.—T.A.
If every alien pedigree were examined, I know gaps in the
pedigree of proud ones.'
Agor o'i thrysor wrth raid,
A'i rannu i drueiniaid.—D.W. 79,
[Charity] distributing out of her treasure in need, and dis-
pensing it to wretches.'
gweiniaid is often used as an adj., as rhai gweiniaid, 1 Cor.
ix 22 ; on the other hand gweinion was formerly used as a
noun, c.c. 338. blwyddiaid is the only pl. of the adj. blwydd
year old ', and is used as an adj., as saith oen blwyddiaid
Lev. xxiii 18 ; see 167 (1) Note,
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::196. Many
superlatives have plural forms which are substantival only; one, hynaif ‘ancestors’ is formed by
affection, this is now replaced by hynafiaid.
The others are formed by adding -ion
or -iaid, as goreuon ‘best’ (of persons or things), cyfneseifiaid, singular cyfnesaf ‘next of kin’. Two, eithafoed pellafoedd, both meaning ‘uttermost parts’ are peculiar in having
-oedd; for the former eithafion is found; this is now used
for ‘extremes’ abstract also.
::197.
The plurals of derivatives in -ig, -og,
-ol, -us, Section ::194 (3), are used as nouns; as boneddigion Salmau. cvii 40,
{Efe a
dywallt dirmyg ar foneddigion, ac a wna iddo deuluoedd fel praidd
Psalm
107:40 He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the
wilderness, [where there is] no way.}
y dysgedigion ‘the learned’
y cyfoethogion ‘the
wealthy’,
marwolion ‘mortals’,
rheidusion ‘needy ones’.
::198.
Many compounds have plurals used as nouns only, as
cyfoedion ‘contemporaries’,
anwariaid ‘savages’,
y ffyddloniad ‘the faithful’,
pengyniaid and pengrynion ‘round-heads’,
prydferthion ‘beauties’ abstract.
GENDER.
::199.
Many adjectives containing w or y have feminine forms in which these
vowels are affected to o or e respectively, Section ::120.
The change takes place chiefly in monosyllables. The quantity of the affected
vowel is the same
as that of the unaffected.
There is no distinctive form for the feminine plural.
::200. In the following adjectives the vowel is affected as above
when they are feminine:
blwng {=
dismal}
brwnt {=
dirty, cruel}
crwm {=
crooked, stooped}
crwn {=
round}
dwfn {= deep}
llwfr {=
cowardly}
llwm {=
bare, desolate}
mwll {=
sultry, muggy, close}
mws { [muus]
} {= stinking, mouldy}
pwl {=
dull, not sharp}
tlws {=
pretty}
trwm {=
heavy}
trwsgl {=
clumsy}
brych {=
spotted, brindled}
byr {=
short}
cryf {=
strong}
cryg {=
hoarse}
ffyrf {=
thick, stout}
gwlyb {=
wet}
gwyn {=
white}
gwyrdd {=
green}
sych {=
dry}
syth {=
straight}
tyn {=
tight}
and some old participial forms, such as
bwlch ‘battered, cut’,
trwch ‘cut’,
twll ‘perforated’,
twnn ‘broken’.
A golyth yw y galon
Erddi, ac am dani’n donn. - Gr.O. 30.
{= Goronwy Owen (Anglesey),
1723-69; reference to Gwaith y Parch.
Goronwy Owen..., Llanrwst 1860.}
‘And the [= my] heart is weary for her, and broken on her account.’
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::201. In
the following the unaffected as well as the
affected form is used as feminine:
fflwch {=
generous, abundant}
pwdr {=
rotten, lazy}
rhwth {=
gaping}
swrth; {=
lethargic, listless}
clyd {= cosy}
crych {= wrinkled, curly, rippled}
chwyrn {=
rapid, violent}
gwydn {=
tough}
gwymp {=
splendid, fair}
hyll {=
ugly}
Perhaps the affection of these is artificial; thus while the bards use clêd, the
spoken feminine is clyd { [kliid] }, which is found as feminine in Early
Medieval verse (B.B. 62).
{= The Black
Book of Carmarthen, end of 12th century; editor J. Gwenogvryn Evans,
Pwllheli 1906.}
Dos nesnes i’r cynhesrwydd,
I’r adail gled rhed yn
rhwydd. - L.M.; D.T. 147.
{= Lewis Morris, Llywelyn Ddu o Fôn, 1701-65; Diddanwch Teuluaidd: neu Waith Beirdd Môn
2nd edition Caernarfon 1817}
’Go nearer and nearer to the warmth, to the snug building run freely.’
::202. In the following the vowel is never affected, but the
unaffected form is both masculine and feminine:
brwd {=
hot, fervent}
drwg {=
bad}
glwth {=
gluttonous, greedy}
gwrdd {=
brave, valiant}
gwrm {=
brown, dark-brown}
llwgr {=
corrupt}
dygn {=
severe, hard}
grym (= grymus) {= powerful}
gwych {=
splendid}
gwyllt {=
wild}
hy {=
bold, daring }
hydr {=
strong}
myg {
[miig] }, {=
glorious}
rhydd {= free}
rhyn {=
stiff; shivery}
syn {=
surprised, dumbfounded}
Hed drosof hyd dir Esyllt
O berfedd gwlad Wynedd wyllt. - D.G. 523.
{= Dafydd ap Gwilym (North
Cardiganshire.), floruit 1350-80; reference to Barddoniaeth Dafydd ab Gwilym....
Llundain, 1789; bracketed numbers refer to Cywyddau Dafydd ap Gwilym a’i Gyfoeswyr . . ., editor Ifor
Williams a T. Roberts, Bangor 1914; thus D.G. 70 (66) means that the words
will be found in p. 70 of the former, and p. 66 of the latter.}
‘Fly for my sake as far as the land
of Esyllt from the
heart of the wild region of Gwynedd.’
::203. (i) The affection takes place rarely in uncompounded
polysyllables.
melyn ‘yellow’ has feminine melen always.
The form manol occurs beside manwl, but the latter is used as
feminine For tywyll a purely
artificial feminine form tywell is
used by the bards, apparently in imitation of the well-known couplet given
below. The fact that the adjectival was originally tywyll { [Section ::] }
proves that tywell (never heard in
the spoken language) is a mere affectation.
Nos da i’r Ynys Dywell;
Ni wn oes un ynys well.- L.G.C.
F.N. 100.
{= Lewis Glyn Cothi, floruit 1440-80; reference to Gwaith Lewis Glyn Cothi .... Oxford 1837; Y Flodeugerdd Newydd..., editor W. J.
Gruffydd; Cardiff
1909.}
‘Good night to the Dark
Island; ‘know not if a
better island be.’
(The Dark Island is Anglesey;
the traditional form of the name is Yr
Ynys Dywyll.)
(2) In Medieval Welsh and the Early Modern bards derivative adjectives in -lyd have feminine forms in -led, as creulyd ‘bloody’, feminine creuled;
tanllyd ‘fiery’, feminine tanlled,etc.
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(delwedd 2794)
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(3) But
the bulk of polysyllabic adjectives with w
or y in the ultima, which are not
conscious compounds, have no distinctive feminine form; e.g
amlwg {=
evident}
chwimwth {=
nimble, quick}
teilwng {=
worthy}
melys {=
sweet }
dyrys {=
tangled, complicated}
newydd {=
new}
pybyr {=
staunch, valiant, loyal}
etc.
::204. The affection takes place in compounds.
(1) In the second element when it is an adjectival, as in
claerwyn feminine claerwen {=
brilliantly white, pure white}
bronwyn feminine bronwen {=
white-breasted}etc.;
gwallt-felyn feminine gwallt-felen {=
yellow-haired},
pendwll feminine pendoll ‘with perforated head’,
as in gêl bendoll ‘leech’.
(2) In the first element, as tlos-deg
D.G. 518.
{= Dafydd ap Gwilym (North
Cardiganshire.), floruit 1350-80; reference to Barddoniaeth
Dafydd ab Gwilym.... Llundain, 1789; bracketed numbers refer to Cywyddau
Dafydd ap Gwilym a’i Gyfoeswyr . . ., editor Ifor Williams a T. Roberts,
Bangor 1914; thus D.G. 70 (66) means that the words will be found in p. 70 of
the former, and p. 66 of the latter.}
(3) Rarely in both, as cron-ferf
D.G. 38 ‘round and firm’.
{= Dafydd ap Gwilym (North
Cardiganshire.), floruit 1350-80; reference to Barddoniaeth
Dafydd ab Gwilym.... Llundain, 1789; bracketed numbers refer to Cywyddau
Dafydd ap Gwilym a’i Gyfoeswyr . . ., editor Ifor Williams a T. Roberts,
Bangor 1914; thus D.G. 70 (66) means that the words will be found in p. 70 of
the former, and p. 66 of the latter.}
But old compounds consisting of prefix + adjective, and others not
consciously felt to be compounds, retain their vowel unaffected, as
hy-dyn {=
very tight},
cyn-dyn
cymysg {=
mixed},
edlym {=
sharp, keen},
cyffelyb {=
similar},
etc.
::205. The following formations are irregular.
(1) The affection takes place in the penult in
bychan feminine bechan,
cwta feminine sometimes cota,
and sometimes in compared adjectives, Secrion ::209.
(2) brith ‘speckled’ has feminine braith.
Brith yw’r heddwch trwch, nid
rhwydd;
Braith yw’r gyfraith, ac
afrwydd. - M.R.
‘Motley is the broken peace, not smooth; motley is the law, and arduous.’
{ Maredudd ap Rhys, c. 1440.}
COMPARISON
::206. The adjectival in Welsh has four degrees of comparison, the
positive, the equative, the comparative, and the superlative.
::207. The derived degrees are formed from the positive by the
addition of -ed, -ach, -af
respectively. Before these endings the hard mutation of b, d, g takes place, Section ::127, even when the positive
ends in one of these consonants with
a liquid or nasal, as in budr
‘dirty’, butraf ‘dirtiest’.
Final -f of the superlative is
sometimes dropped in poetry, Section ::20. All mutable vowels are
mutated, Section ::114. Thus the regular comparison is as follows:
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Positive (Equative / Comparative / Superlative)
glân
clean ( glaned / glanach / glanaf)
teg
fair ( teced / tecach / tecaf)
gwlyb
wet ( gwlyped / gwlypach / gwlypaf)
tlawd
poor ( tloted / tlotach / tlotaf )
budr
dirty ( butred / butrach / butraf)
gwydn
tough ( gwytned / gwytnach / gwytnaf)
hyfryd
pleasant ( hyfryted / hyfrytach /
hyfrytaf)
huawdl
eloquent ( huotled / huotlach / huotlaf)
::208. In Medieval Welsh and the Early Modern bards the consonant
was not hardened in the comparative; thus the comparison was
teg,
teced, tegach, tecaf
tlawd,
tloted, tlodach, tlotaf
Cloi
dy dda, caledu’dd wyd,
Caledach na’r clo ydwyd.- G.Gl. c. i. 195.
‘Thou art locking up thy wealth, [and] hardening; thou art harder than the
lock.’
{= Guto’r
Glyn (Denbighshire.), floruit 1450-80; Ceinion
Llenyddiaeth Gymreig.... editor Owen Jones; 2 vols., London 1876.}
The hard mutation was extended to the comparative from the equative and
superlative, and is due to an -h-
which originally formed part of the endings of the latter, Section ::127;
the -h- is sometimes found written
in Medieval Welsh., as in
ky
vawhet R.M. 149 ‘as vile’, mwyhaf
{= greatest} ditto 83
{Richard
Morris (brother of Lewis Morris), 1703-79; editor of Bible 1746, 1752.}
::209. The derived degrees are the same for masculine and
feminine. But in Medieval Welsh and later the endings were sometimes added to
the feminine positive, as
gwenned {= as white},
tromaf
{= heaviest}, D.G. 402
{= Dafydd
ap Gwilym (North Cardiganshire.), floruit
1350-80; reference to Barddoniaeth Dafydd ab Gwilym.... Llundain,
1789; bracketed numbers refer to Cywyddau Dafydd ap Gwilym a’i Gyfoeswyr .
. ., editor Ifor Williams a T. Roberts, Bangor 1914; thus D.G. 70 (66)
means that the words will be found in p. 70 of the former, and p. 66 of the
latter.},
berraf
F. 17,
{ = Flores Poetarum Britannivorum
Collected by J. D. [Dr. John Davies]. Mwythig (Shrewsbury) 1710.}
wennaf
Wen (in the song “Mentra Gwen”).
These are apparently new formations, which never became general.
210, The following adjectives are compared irregularly.
Equative forms marked (n) can only be used as nouns.
Notes and examples follow the table,
2795
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74
I.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
ACCIDENCE
Positive.
ago* near
bychan small
cynnar early
Juan quick
da good
drwg bad
hawdd easy-
dn-hdwdd
difficult
dnodd
hen old
hir long
ieuanc
iefanc young
ifanc
isd low
llydan wide
mawr large
trenn strong
uchel high
Eqtv.
nesed
Ueied
bychaned
cynted
cystal
daed
cØ1ddrwg
dryced
hawsed
anhawsed
hgned
cyhyd
hyd (n)
ieuanged
ranged
iæd
qvfled
Iled (n)
cymaint
maint (n)
cyfutvch
ached
Cpv.
nee
llai
cynt
gwell
ctcaeth
haws
anos
hjn
hynach
hwy
iau
ieuangach
Ued
Iletach
mwy
trech
u wch
S 210
Spv.
. nesaf
Ileiaf
cyntaf
gorau
gwaethaf
{atU'8af
anhau:saf
hgnaf
hwyaf
ieuaf
ieuangaf
Iletaf
mtvyaf
trechaf
uehaf
NOTES.
1. In the dialects agos is often compared regularly
(agosach, agoutf), and some late writers use these forms ;
but in standard literature only the irregular forms are used.
2. bychaned is comparatively rare in the late period.
3. Both cynnar and buan are also compared regularly ;
cynharaf' earliest'; buaned D.C. 132, buanach Galar. iv 19.
2796
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ADJECTIVES
75
4. The eqtv. cystal is sometimes met with in the old form
cystadl. The less usual eqtv. daed is found in verse both
as a disyllable "-ed, and as a monosyllable rhyming with
gpaed. The spv. gorau is mostly written in the Ml. form
goreu. The last syllable has nothing to do with the spv,
ending -af, which indeed is often added to it in Ml. W. , as
goreuaf 49.
Da gwyddwn, ban oeddwn iau,
Ba dir y byd orau —H.C.L
Well I knew, [even] when I was younger, what land in the
world [is •the] best.'
g. cynddrwg as bad ' Gep. xli 19, F. 84.
6. In some dialects hau4dach, hawddaf, hawdded are used,
and these have been sometimes written in the recent period ;
but good writers use the old forms haws, hawsa.f, hawsed.—
As h drops after the accent, 88, ån-hawdd became ånawdd ;
and as unaccented aw generally becomes o, 116 (3), this
regularly became ånodd. It has been generally written
anhawdd in the recent period owing to its obvious formation ;
but this spelling properly represents the word only when it iB
accented ån-håwdd 80.
Maddau un im oedd ånodd
Na bai ynfyw neb g. 135,
It was diffcult for me to part with one whose like did not
7. In S.W. dialects henach, etc. are used; but the literary
forms are as given in the table. The traditional cpv. is hjn,
still used in N.W. ; hynach is a later formation,
8. Regular forms hirach, etc. a-re heard in dialects, but are
not used by good writers.
9. The positive form usually written is the Medieval ieuanc ;
but the modern spoken form ijånc has been used by the bards
from the early 15th cent. The comparative form iau (see
example under 4. above) is still in colloquial use; but the
longer forms of the cpv. and spv. have been employed in
writing since the 16th cent.
Ifanc, ifanc a ofvn ;
Henaint, at henaint y tyn.—S.Ph. F. 40.
The young seeks the young ; old age is drawn to old age?
2797
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76
ACCIDENCE
211-214
10, Only the forms given in the fable are used in standard
literature. Such formations as iselaf, etc. are recent solecisms,
The same remark applies to uchach, uchelach, etc.
11. The traditional forni of the cpv. is lied; but in N. W,
dialects it has been replaced by Uetaeh, which has even been
substituted for it in late editions of the Bible—Job xi 9.
Such forms as Wydanach, etc. are written only by the
illiterate.
12. The eqtv. cymaint smnetimes loses its final -t, especially
in the idiomatic expression cymain un Eph. v 33 every one '
13. The pos. trenn is obsolete in the Modern language ; but
the cpv. and spv, are in common use.
1 4, See 10. The form uwchaf, sometimes written, violates
the law of vowel mutation,
S 116
211. Equabives with the prefix cy- may have before this
the prefix go-, as gogyma;nt etc.
Nid gogyhyd esgeiriau y ctoff Dior. xxvi 7 ; gn ogyfuwch
I
a Duw Phil. ii 6.
::211.
Equatives with the prefix cy- may
have before this the prefix go-, as
gogymaint etc.
Nid gogyhyd esgeiriau y cloff Diarhebion xxvi 7;
{Nid gogyhyd esgeiriau y cloff; felly dameg yng
ngenau ffyliaid
Proverbs 26:7 The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the
mouth of fools.}
yn ogyfuwch â Duw Philipiaid ii 6
{Yr hwn, ac efe yn ffurff Duw, ni thybiodd yn drais
fod yn ogyfuwch â Duw
Philippians 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God}
::212. The following have defective comparison:
(1) Superlative eithaf ‘uttermost’=
Latin extimus; the old comparative
stem is seen in the preposition eithr
= Latin extra.
(2) Comparative amgen or amgenach ‘other, better’.
::213. Some nouns take the endings of comparison, and thereby
become adjectives of the respective degrees. Thus
pen ‘head ‘, superlative pennaf ‘chief ’;
rhaid ‘need’, cyn rheitied ‘as necessary’, rheitiach,
rheitiaf; elw ‘profit’, elwach
‘better off’;
blaen ‘point’, also adjectival
‘fore’, blaenaf ‘foremost’;
ôl ‘rear’, also adjectival ‘hind’, olaf last’;
diwedd ‘end’, superlative diwethaf or diwaethaf ‘last’, re-formed in the late period as diweddaf. Others occur in Medieval
Welsh as gwraf { [GU rav] }, ‘most manly’, amserach ‘more timely’, etc.
::214. Equative adjectives are formed from many nouns by prefixing
cyf-; as cyfwrdd ‘of the same rank’,
cyfliw ‘of the same colour’,
cyfoed ‘of the same age’,
cyfryw ‘of the same kind, such’.
Also by prefixing un, as
unlliw ‘of the same colour’,
unwedd ‘like’, Section ::210,
Note 6, example.
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215,
216
ADJECTIVES
the same colour', unwedd 'like ', un fodd 'like' 210,
Note 6, ex,
215. Most adjectives may be compared regularly, includ-
ing—(l) Many derivatives in -aidd, -W, -m, -og, -us,
as peraidd, pwysig, gerwin, cu/bethog, •grgmue9, But those
containing more, than two syllables are mostl.y compared
periphrastically.—(2) Compounds in which the second
element is an adjective., as gloyw-ddu, spv, gloywclduaf;
claerwyn spv. claerwynna/.
Dwy fron mor wynion a'r od,
Gloyw-wynnach na gwylanod.—D.G. 148,
Two breasts as white as POW, more luminously white than
seagulls.'
When the second element is an adj. compared irregularly,
the compound cannot be compared, as maleis-ddrwg, pen-
uchel, etc. A few of these may however be compared by
adding the endings to derived forms, as gwerthfawr valu-
able ', spv. gwerthfawrocaf or gwerthfawrusaf, clodfawr ' cele-
brated ', spv. cloc/forusaf,
216. (1) Adjectives which cannot take the endings of
comparison as above may be compared periphrastically by
placing before the positive mor, mwg, mwyaf respectively.
mor softens the initial of the. adj„ except when it is Il or
rh,; may and mwyaf take the radical, as mwy dyrnzmd
Ps. xix 10, Diar. xvi 16 ' more desirable '
(2) ntwy and mwyaf are thus used only when inflexional
comparison is impossible or awkward ; thus we do not write
mwy da, mwy drwg etc. for gwell, gwaeth etc. But mor has
been freely used before all adjs. at all periods, especially
where the construction is exclamative :
Truan, mor wan yw 'r einioes,
Trymed yw tor amod oes I—T.A.
Alas, how weak is life, how sad is the breaking of life's
promise ! '
2799
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78
ACCIDENCE
217, 218
(3) mor was often used before nouns in the Early Mn.
period, as mor ddihareb D.G. 440 ' so proverbial ', mor wrda
so noble ', mor resyn ' so pitiful'. The use of mor with the
cpv., in mor well Diar. xvi 16, is quite unusual.
In S.W. dialects mor is sometimes used before the eqtv.
in -ed, as mor Janed for the standard cyn laned, or mor tan.
(4) The m- of mor is never mutated under any condition
whatever.
217. (1) A positive adjective is sometimes repeated to
enhance its meaning, as da da W. IL. 40, or drwg drwc
Diar. xx 14. Sometimes the initial of the second is
softened, as da dda W. IL. 62, the two forming o loose
compound; very rarely they form a strict compound, as'
pat-bell ' far away '.
(2) A cpv, is compounded with itself to denote progres-
sive increase in the quality denoted by the adj., as gwåeth-
waeth ' worse and worse , gwéllwell better and better '
lléilai ' less and less '
the compound is oftener loose in the
spoken language, as t(ai lai; it is necessarily loose when
the cpv. is a polysyllable ; see ex. below.
Efa afon yn Myfwy
Hyd y mör, ac nid a mwg.—L.G.C. 357.
A river goes increasing to the sea, and goes no more.'
A Dafydd oedd yn myned gryfach gryfach, ond ty Saul
oedd gn myned wannach wannach 2 Sam. iii 1,
NUMERALS
::218. The
cardinal numbers in Welsh are as follows:
1 un
2 masculine dau, feminine dwy
3 masculine tri, feminine tair
4 masculine pedwar, feminine pedair
5 pump, pum
6 chwech
7 saith
8 wÿth
9 naw
10 deg, deng
11 un ar ddeg
12 deuddeg
13 masculine tri ar ddeg, feminine tair ar ddeg
14 masculine pedwar ar ddeg,
feminine pedair ar
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ddeg
15 pymtheg
16 un ar bymtheg
17 masculine dau ar bymtheg,
feminine dwy ar bymtheg
18 deunaw (in counting, tri or tair ar bymtheg)
19 masculine pedwar ar bymtheg,
feminine pedair ar bymtheg
20 ugain
21 un ar hugain
22 masculine dau ar hugain,
feminine dwy ar hugain
30 deg ar hugain
31 un ar ddeg ar hugain
32 deuddeg ar hugain
40 deugain
41 deugain ac un or un a degain
50 deg a deugain
60 trigain
80 pedwar ugain
100 cant,can
120 chwech ugain, chweugain
140 saith ugain
200 deucant or dau cant
300 trichant or tri chant
1000 mil
2000 dwyfil or dwy fil
10,000 déng mil, myrdd
100,000 can mil or canmil
1,000,000 myrddiwn { [MØRDD-yun] }, miliwn { [MIL-yun] }
::219. Some of the
cardinal numbers have plural forms:
deuoedd, deuwedd, dwyoedd ‘twos’,
trioedd ‘threes’,
chwechau ‘sixes’,
degau, ‘tens’,
ugeiniau ‘scores’,
cannoedd ‘hundreds’,
miloedd ‘thousands’,
miliynau {
[mil-YØ-ne] }, myrddiynau { [mørdh-YØ-ne] }, ‘millions’.
::220. The ordinal numbers are as follows:
1 cyntaf
2 ail
3 masculine trydydd, feminine trydedd
4 masculine pedwerydd, feminine pedwaredd
5 pumed
6 chweched
7 seithfed
8 wÿthfed
9 nawfed
10 degfed
11 unfed ar ddeg
12 deuddegfed
13 masculine trydydd ar ddeg,
feminine trydedd ar ddeg
14 masculine pedwerydd ar ddeg,
feminine pedwaredd ar ddeg
15 pymthegfed
16 unfed ar bymtheg
17 ail ar bymtheg
18 deunawfed
20 ugeinfed
30 degfed ar hugain
40 deugeinfed
41 unfed a deugain
100 canfed
1000 milfed
::221.
(1) Multiplicatives are formed by means of gwaith feminine preceded by
cardinal numbers, thus
un waith or únwaith ‘once’,
dwy waith or dwywaith ‘twice,’
tair gwaith or teirgwaith {= three times}
pedair gwaith {= four times}
pum waith {=
five times},
chwe gwaith {= six times}
séithwaith or saith waith {= seven times}
wythwaith {=
eight times},
nawwaith {=
nine times},
dengwaith {=
ten times},
unwaith ar ddeg {= eleven times},
ugeinwaith {=
twenty times},
canwaith {=
a hundred times},
milwaith {=
a thousand times}
(2) But before a comparative the masculine cardinal only is generally used,
the two sometimes compounded:
pum mwy - D.W. 146
Dewi Wyn o Eifion = Dafydd Owen (Llanystumdwy), 1784- 1841; reference to Blodau Arfon, Caerlleon, 1842.
‘five [times] more’,
saith mwy Lefiticus xxvi 18, 21,
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{Ac os er hyn ni wrandewch
arnaf, yma y chwanegaf eich cosbi chwi saith mwy am eich pechodau
Leviticus 26:18
And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you
seven times more for your sins.
Ac os rhodiwch yng ngwrthwyneb i mi, ac
ni fynnwch wrando arnaf fi; mi a chwanegwch bla saith mwy arnoch yn ôl eich
pechodau Leviticus 26:21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not
hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to
your sins.}
deuwell D.G. 157,
{= quoted from Barddoniaeth
Dafydd ap Gwilym but not by Dafydd ap Gwilym; these quotations are either
from poems printed as the work of others, e.g. G.Gr. { Gruffydd Gryg
(Anglesey), circa 1370.}; or from old poems wrongly attributed to
Dafydd ap Gwilym; in these cases the author’s name is given; where no author
is mentioned the lines are from late imitations by Iolo Morganwg}
can gwell {= a hundred times
better}
dau lanach {=
twice as fair}
canmwy or can mwy {= a hundred times more}
Moes ugeinmil, moes gánmwy,
A moes, O moes, im un mwy.- Anon.
M.E. i 140.
{Mil o Englynion = Pigion Englynion fy Ngwlad Vol. i, 2nd edition., Liverpool 1882.}
‘Give me twenty thousand, give a hundred times as many, and give, Oh give, me
one more.’
(3) A masculine cardinal is used before another cardinal, as
tri saith ‘three [times] seven’.
This method is now used to read out numbers in the Arabic notation; thus 376,
tri chant, saith deg a chwech.
::222. Distributives were formerly formed by putting bob before a cardinal, the initial of
which was softened; thus
bob ddau ‘two by two’,
bob dri ‘three by three’.
In the late period yn has been
introduced, thus bob yn ddau, bob yn dri.
::223. Fractions:
½ hanner
1/3 traean
¼ pedwaran, chwarter;
1/8 wythfed
1/100 canfed
2/3 deuparth
¾ tri chwarter
3/8 tri wythfed, etc
COMPOUND NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES
::224. Either of the elements of a compound may be a noun (n) or
an adjective (a);
thus we have four possible types
1. n-n;
2. a-n;
3. a-a;
4- n-a.
Examples:
1. háf-ddydd {= summer’s day};
2. hir-ddydd {= a long day};
3. cláer-wyn {= brilliant white};
4. pén-wyn {= white-haired}
I’W HYCHWANEGU:
::225
::226 ::227 ::228
::229 ::230
225. (1) The initial consonant of the second element of
a compound undergoes the soft mutation, as seen in the
above examples, the radical form of the second element
being dydd in 1. and 2. and guyn in 3. and
(2) But if the radical of the second element is u and the
first ends in n or r, no mutation takes place in old com-
pounds ; thus gw6n-llan (for gwin-(an) ' vineyard ', per-llan
(for per-Ian) ' orchard
Similarly we have n-7'h (for n-T)
as in pen-rhyn ' headland Note also the hardening which
ADJECTIVES
187, Adjectives are inflected for number, gender and
comparison.
NUMBER
188. The plural of adjectives is formed like that of
nouns, except that only the first three ways, 130, are
applicable, It is always formed from the mas, sg,
189, I. By vowel change, The change is ultimate i-
121; cf. 131. The only vowel which is
affection,
affected in pl. adjectives is a; thus:
2788
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226-7
COMPOUND NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES 81
occurs when a media (b, d, or g) is followed by another
media or by h, 127 ; thus became hgfotty,
written hafoty; dryg-hin became dryccin, written drycin ;
see
226. Any adjective coming before its noun and softening
its initial forms a compound with it. The following
adjectives generally precede their nouns, and so form com-
pounds, mostly loo.se 79), with them.
(1) prif 'chief' :
strict, pri/årdcl ( = prif-fardd) ' chief
bard ', pritordd ( = prif-fford(l) 'highway'; loose, prif dclinas
chief town', y prif ddyn. the chief man ', etc. It cannot
be used åfter its noun.
(2) hen ' old as hin 'dir or henwr ' old man ', IMD 'd
Jos. v 11, yr h,Cn ff0Tdd Job xxii 15, 1162, bobl, etc.
It mpy
follow its noun for emphasis.
(3) gwir ' true, genuine ', as gev•ir grefydd ' true religion
When it follows its noun it means ' true to fact ', as hanes
gwir a true story
(4) gau ' false ', as gap, brofføyd ' false prophet '
(5) cam ' unjust, wrong ', as cam farn ' false judgement '.
After its noun it means ' crooked ', as gam.
(6) unig ' only', as yr unig beth
the only thing
After its noun, lonely ', as dyn unig 'a lonely man Cf.
Fr. seal.
(7) cryn 'a good, quite a, a considerable, about a as
cryn laweø• ' a good many ', cryn amser ' a considerable time
eryn gant ' about a hundred '.
(8) Many pronominalia, such asy nail,l, Thyw, amt, etc.
227. The following words precede adjectives and form
compounds with t,hem :
(1) Iled ' half', as Iledwag 'half empty'. Now it forms
loose compounds and means ' rather '
as Ital dda 'rather
good
(2) pur very ', as pew dda ' very good '.
1657
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82
ACCIDENCE
228
228. The first, element of a compound may be a prefix.
In that ease the initial mutation of the second element is
determined by the prefix, as indicated in square brackets in
the following *list. See 124, 125. The list contains
nouns, adjectives, and verbal nouns.
ad-, at- [soft] re- ', as ad-lais ' echo ', at-gof
recollection '
intensive, as at-gas ' very hateful
add- [soft], a- [spir.] intensive, as add-fwyn, add-oer, a-thrist,
a-garw.
all- other' : all-tud exile all-fro ' foreigner'
around ', as am-gorn ferrule ', am-do
am-, ym- [soft]
shroud ' ; hence ' mutual ', as ym-ladd to flffht ' ; and reflexive,
as ym-oZchi ' to wash oneaelf'.
an-, a(m)-, a(ng)- [nas.], af- [soft] negative ; as an-nedwydd,
amharod, angharedig, an-Ilygredig, al-Ian (rad. glam), afraid
see 80.
into, to ', as ann-erch greeting ', ann-(h)edd
habitation ', an-rheg gift', 225 (2).
ar- [soft ' fore ', as ar-gae dam ' (rad. cae ' enclosure
can(h)- softl ' along with ' . can-lyniad ' consequence ', canh-
ort,hwy (now wFitten cynhorthuw) ' assistance
cyd- [soft] ' together, common ', as cud-fod concord ', cyd-
see 80.
wtadcor ' fellow-countryman
cyfr- [soft], compounded of cyf- and rhy-, intensive, as cyfr-
goll ' utter loss, perdition '
cy(m)-, cyn-, cy(ng)- [nasal]; cyf- before vowels and i, l,
com- ', as cymod ' concord ' (rad.
r, n; cy- before p, chw, h, s;
bod), cyn-nwrf ' commotion ' (rad. turf), cgf-liw ' of the same
colour ', cy-wir ' correct ' ; also intensive, as cur-dawn ' complete '.
cyn(h)- [soft] former, preceding as cynh-aeaf ' autumn,
see 80.
harvest ', cyn-ddelw ' proto-type ' ;
(1) ' outer, extrelne, off', as di-ben
di- [soft] = Latin de- ;
end, aim ', di-noethi ' de-nude '
without ', as di-boen
(2)
painless ', di-dduw ' godless ' ; hence it became a, negative prefix
with adjectives, as di-brin ' not scarce ', di-drist ' not sad ', etc.
Also dis-, as in dis-taw. See 80.
dir- soft], intensive, as dir-fawr very great ', dir-gel ' secret '.
dy- softl ' to, together ', often merely intensive, as (ly-fyn
summons ' (mynnu ' to will '), dy-gynnull ' gathering together '
dy-weddi ' fiancée Sometimes ty-, as in. tv-wallt, tv-wysog,
and tv-red beside dy-red ' come'. Also dy- [spir.] as dy-chryn.
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229
COMPOUND NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES 83
Before prefixes beginning with a vowel dy- becomes d-, thus for
dy-}- ad we hafe dad-, as in dad-lwytho; so dam-, as in dam-
wain; dan-, as in dean-fon beside an-fon ; dar-, as in dar-fod,
also with [rad.] as in dar-bod, dar.par; dos-, as in dos-barth.
From dy+ry we have (lyr- (cf. cypr-), as in dyr-chafael, also
written dry-chafael.
dy- bad ' [spir,] as in dv-chan ' lampoon ' (can ' song '), and
[soft] as in dy.bryd shapeless, ugly ' (pryd form '
e-, eh-, ech-, from Keltic *e/cs- = Latin ex- ; ech-nos ' night
before last ', ech-doe ' day before yesterday ' ; negative prefix in
e(h)-ofn ' fearless ', e(h)-ang wide' ( *ang narrow Also es-,
as in es•gor ; so Latin ex-, as es-tron from ex-träneus.
eb- ' out ' from Keltic *ek-uo- ,
as eb-wch ' ex-clamation ', epil
(for eb-hil, 127) ' progeny'* eb-rwydd swift '
eb+ry gives
ebry- or ebyr-, negative, in eb+y-gofi or ebyr-goj (late misspelling
ebargofi) ' to forget ',
ebry-fygu to despise, neglect ' (rhyfyg
pride, presumption '
go-, gwo-, gwa- soft] = Latin sub-; go-bennvdd ' bolster '
go-gan ' satire ', gwa-stad ' level ', gwa-red suc-cour ', gwo-br
prize '
also with [spir,] as go-chet, go-llwng. It is used now
to form loose compounds with adjectives, and has the force of
rather ' or ' fairly ', as go dda ' rather good ', go ddrwg ' rather
bad', 80.
gor-, gwor-, gwar- [spir. and soft] = Latin super- ; gor-ffen
' finish ' (pen ' end '), guar-chadw ' guard ' ; gor-fod overcome 'e
gwrth- [soft] contra- ', as gwrth-glawdd 'rampart' ,
see 80.
hy- [soft] ' well, -able', as hy-gar ' lovable', hy-dyn 'tractable '.
rhag- [soft] ' fore-, pre- ', as rhag-farn ' pre-judice
rhy- [soft] ' very ', as rhé-@r ' high time ' (hwyr ' late '). It
now fOrms loose compounds, and means too '
as rhy dda ' too
good ', etc., 80
tan- [soft] ' under in late compounds, as tan-ddaearol ' sub-
terranean .
tra- [spir.] 'very , as tra-chul 'very lean ' ; also ' over ' as
tra-mor ' foreign ' (mor ' sea
In loose compounds it means
very 80.
traf- [soft], as traf-lyncu ' to gulp ' (Il,yncu ' swallow '
traws-, tros- [soft] ' trans- ', as traws-feddiant usurpation '.
try- [soft] ' through, thorough' ; try-loyw ' pellucid ', try-fer
javelin '.
229. No compound has more than two elements ; but
any element may itself be a compound. Thus anhyfrgd
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84
ACCIDENCE
230-233
unpleasant ' is compounded not of three elements an-, hy-,
bryd, but of two, an- and hyfryd„ though /øu/ryd itself is
a compound,
230. Strict compounds are inflected by inflecting the
second element ; thus pl.
133; tat-
gryf, pl. tat-gryJion, 194 (4) ; glogw-ddu, spv.
But in loose a-n compounds 224) the adj. is often
made pl. as well as the noun, as neJblion leoedd, 194 (3),
For improper compounds see
S 82, 83.
PRONOUNS
PERSONAL PRONOUNS.
::231. The Welsh personal pronouns are either independent or dependent.
::232. The independent personal pronouns are the forms used when
the pronoun is not immediately dependent on a noun, a verb, or an inflected preposition.
They occur
(a) at the beginning of a Sentence;
(b) after a conjunction or uninflected preposition, including fel {= like, as}, megis {= like, as}
(c) after ys ‘it is’, ai ‘that it is’, pei, pe ‘if it were’, etc.,
and after
the uninflected ebe, ebr Section ::333.
::233.
Independent personal pronouns are either simple, reduplicated or conjunctive.
Thus:
(1) Simple:
singular 1. mi
singular 2. ti
singular 3. masculine ef, feminine hi
plural 1. ni
plural 2. chwi
plural 3. hwy {-ui-}, hwynt {-ui-}.
(2) Reduplicated:
singular 1. myfi
singular 2. tydi
singular 3. masculine efo, fo (fe, efe), feminine hyhi
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plural
1. nyni
plural 2. chwychwi
plural 3. hwynt-hwy {-ui-, -ui-}.
(3) Conjunctive:
singular 1. minnau
singular 2. tithau
singular 3. masculine yntau, feminine hithau
plural 1. ninnau
plural 2. chithau
plural 3. hwyntau {-ui-}, hwythau
{-ui-},
NOTES.-
1. The 3rd plural forms were wy, wynt, wyntwy, wynteu, with no h-,
in Middle Welsh.
2., The reduplicated forms are usually accented on the ultima:
myfí {mø-VII}, tydí myfí
{tø-DII}, efó {e-VOO}, etc. But they were formerly accented on the penult
also, mýfi, týdi, éfo, etc. This accentuation is sometimes met with in
poetry; it survives to some extent in Powys; and in the North
Wales use of éfo as a preposition {= with} When so accented the final i was often written y
formerly; thus mýfy {MØ-vi}.
3. After a {= and}, tua {= towards}, gyda {=
with}, na {= nor} the
unaccented y of myfi, tydi is sometimes elided, thus
a m’fi, a th’di, generally wrongly divided thus
a’m fi BL. 123,
{= Blodeu-gerdd Cymry...; editor D. Jones,
Amwythig (Shrewsbury), 1779}
na’m fi ditto 246
ath ti 121
{= Llyfr yr Ancr, 1346 = The Elucidatrium and
other tracts in Welsh...., editor J. Morris Jones and J. Rhys, Oxford
1894.}
ath di W.LL. 8
{= Wiliam Llŷn (?Llŷn; resided in
Oswestry), 1535-80; reference to Barddoniaeth Wiliam Llŷn...’ editor
J. C. Morrice, Bangor
1908.}
nath di ditto 5.
4. efo is probably originally an emphatic rather than a reduplicated
form. It was shortened to fo, which in South
Wales dialects became fe (with the vowel of ef);
from this a spurious reduplicated form efe was made by the translators
of the Bible.
5. The conjunctive forms generally mean ‘I too’, ‘thou too’, etc., or ‘even
1’, ‘but I’, ‘I for my part’, ‘while I’, etc.; but the added conjunctional
meaning is often too subtle to be rendered in translation.
::234. Dependent personal pronouns are either prefixed, infixed or
affixed.
::235.
(i) The forms of the prefixed pronouns are given in the following table. The
initial mutation caused by each is given in square brackets after it.
(1) Simple:
singular 1. fy [nasal mutation]
singular 2. dy [soft mutation]
singular 3. masculine i (written ei) [soft mutation]
singular 3. feminine i (written ei) [spirant mutation]
plural 1. yn (written ein) [radical]
plural 2. ych (written eich) [radical]
plural 3. eu [radical]
(2) These pronouns stand in the genitive case immediately before a noun or
verbal noun, thus fy mhen ‘my head’, cynfy nyfod ‘before my
coming’. They are always proclitics, Section ::71; when emphasis is
required an affixed auxiliary pronoun is added to receive it, as fy mhen
i ‘MY head’, Section ::72.
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NOTES.
1. fy and dy
often lose their y and appear as f’ and
d’ before a vowel, more
especially in poetry, as -
F’ eniaid, cyfod i fyny,
Agor y ddaearddor ddu. - LL.G., F.N. 28. {=
Llywelyn Goch Amheurig Hen, c. 1380; Y Flodeugerdd Newydd..., editor
W. J. Gruffydd; Cardiff
1909.}
’My soul, arise, open the black door of earth.’
Also in prose, as
yn f’ymyl {= my side}
B.CW. 6 {= Gweledigaethau y Bardd Cwsc [by
Ellis Wynne], 1703; reprint, editor J. Morris Jones, Bangor 1898.},
f’arglwydd {= my lord} ditto 8.
2. fy is sometimes reduced to ’y where the nasal mutation (or
an initial m) shows clearly that the pronoun, and not the definite article,
is meant, as ’y modryb B.CW. 13 {= Gweledigaethau
y Bardd Cwsc [by Ellis Wynne], 1703; reprint, editor J. Morris Jones, Bangor 1898.}
for fy modryb {= my aunt}.
After a. vowel even the ’y may be elided, leaving only the initial
nasal of the noun to represent the pronouns as
newydd roi ’mhen i
lawr {= having just put down my head}
B.CW. 54
{= Gweledigaethau
y Bardd Cwsc [by Ellis Wynne], 1703; reprint, editor J. Morris Jones, Bangor 1898.}
and
Mae ffrydiau ’ngorfoledd
yn tarddu
{the
streams of my jubilation are flowing forth}
in the hymn for ffrydiau fy ngorfoledd.
Mae ’mlinion hwyrion
oriau
A’m nos hir yn ymneshau. - R.G.D. 151.
{= Robert
ab Gwilym Ddu = Robert Williams (Llanystumdwy), 1767-1850; reference to Gardd
Eifion. . . . Dolgellau 1841.}
‘My weary late hours and my long night are approaching.’
3. The third singular form is i, which is now always written ei,
a misspelling introduced by William Salesbury, who thought the pronoun was
derived from the Latin ejus. The misspelling is retained because of
its convenience; but the written ei should be read i, thus ar
ei ben should be read ar i ben, etc. The forms ein and eich
are similar misspellings of yn and ych.
4. The third singular ei ‘his’ and ei ‘her’ are distinguished
by the initial mutation that follows them, thus ei ben ‘his head’, ei
phen ‘her head’.
5 The third plural eu is an old form retained in writing though it had
become i the spoken language before the Modern period. It is
distinguished from the singular i by the radical initial that follows
it.
6. ein, eich and a peculiar 3rd plural ill are used before
numerals,
thus ein dau ‘we two’, ill dau ‘they two’. 238.
(1) The infixed pronouns are used both in the
genitive case before a noun or verbal noun, and in the
accusative before a verb.
(2) In the 1st and 2nd persons, sg. and pl.,' the forms
are the same for the gen. and acc. ; thus—
Sg. 1. 'm [rad.]
[rad.]
Pl. l.
2. 'th [soft]
2. 'ch [rad.]
Examples: genitive: i'm gardd ' to my garden '
o 'th
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PRONOUNS
87
ardd from thy garden ', O'n cardd ' from our garden '.
Accusative: Ni'm gweli ' thou seest me not ', Ni'th welaf
I see [hee not ', Ni'n gwelant ' they seé us not '.
See
notes 1 and 2 below.
(3) The genitive forms of the third person are—
Sg. 3. m. 'i [soft]
f. 'i [spir.]
rl'hus, o'i dj 'from his house ', o'i t,//j ' from her house
o'i (now writtcn o'u V) from their house After the
preposition the pronoun takes the form 'w, with the
same mutations, as i'w [1/9;' to his house ', etc,
(4) The accusative fohns of the third person are as
follows, all being followed by the [rad.] :
PI 3, 'i (wre '8
As the mutation is the same for both genders and both
numbers the pronoun may be ambiguous ; but the gender
and number can be shown, if desired, by means of an
affixed auxiliary pronoun ; thus if ni's gwelai& is not clear
from the context, it may be expanded to ni's gwdai8 ef or
ni's gwetai8 hi, 237 (3).
N0TF,s
The form's 'n, 'ch can be used in the genitive after
any word ending in a vowel or diphthong, as Duw 'n Tad
D.G. 486 God our Father
But it is important to note that genitive 'm and 'th can only be
used after a ' and ', a ' with ' (and its compounds tug, gyda, etc.),
na 'nor ', na than '
i ' to ', o ' from '. The insertion of 'm and
'th after all vocalic endings is a late misuse of these forms;
codi'm pen should be codi 'mhen as spoken, or in full codi fy
mhen, and treulio'm hoes should bc treuZio f'
oes, etc. On the
other hand the use of fy, dy instead of 'm, 'th after the above
monosyllables, thus, afy, o fy, i dy instead of a'm, o'm, i'th, is
equally incorrect. Both these violations of the literary tradition
seem to appear first in the 18th cent.
2. The accusative forms 'm, 'th, 'n, 'ch are used after the
relatives a and y, and where g is lost after a vowel, as Ile for
Ile 'where ', yno for yno y 'it is there that', etc.; after the
affirmative particles fe,. e, fo, ef a, etc. ;
after the negative
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88
ACCIDENCE
237
particles ni, na; after o 'if', oni 'unless ', y 'that ', pe- ' if'.
Thus O'r rhai a'm casant . .
O'r Thai (Pm carant Ex. xx 5, 6 ;
yr amser y'th gelir Ps. xxxii 6; Il,c'th fagwyd DOG. 323, *fo'm
cafodd do. 177, onPth gaf do. 29, etc.
3. The genitive 'i, 'u may be used after any word ending in
a vowel or diphthong (except diphthongs ending in -w)
as
ynddo'i hun B.CW. 24, iro'u Il,ygaid do. 12,
4. 'I'he accusative 'i, 'u are used after the relative a and the
affrinative particles fe, e, etc.; as y neb a'i gumaeth ' the one
who made it ', fe'i cerjr people love him ' ; also after the rela-
tive g, but the original form i with 9' formed the contraction i,
which is now written ei or eu according as it is sg. or pl. ; the
combination is sometilnes written y'i or v' u to show the con-
struction, but there is no authority för this. Where y is lost
after a vowel, 'i is written, as Ite'i ywel,ais ' where I saw him '.
The accusative 's is used after ni, na, oni ' unless o 'if'
pe ' if as ceisiais ef, ac ni's cefais Can. iii 1, 2. It often refers
back to a noun or pronoun used absolutely, as ond ef ni's
gwelsant Luc xxiv 24 ' but [as for] Him, they saw Him not
Or it may anticipate an objective clause as NPs gwn i pa'r fudd
c ddaw Gr.O. 194 'I know not what benefit will come'; but
this may be merely a loose use of -s.
5. After the preverbs pan and cyd, which end in a consonant,
the accusative infixed pronouns have syllabic forms : sg. 1. ym,
2. yth formpd on the analogy of the p]. 1. vn, 2. ych ; thus pan
ym clywai clust (wrongly written i'm or v'm) Job xxix 11, yr
pan yth weleis W.M. 156 ' since I saw thee
The 3rd pers. ,gg.
and pl. is Ml. y, Early Mn. i; this is variously written as y or
ei, as pan y gwelodd hi Luc vii 13, a phan ei cafodd loan ix 35.
The construction may be avoided by the use of an amxed
substantive pron.,
6. Initial vowels are aspirated after the fbllowing prefixed
and infixed pronouns: genitive 31'd sg. f. ei, 'i, 'w; 3rd pl. eu,
'u, 'w; accusative 3rd sg. m. and f. 'i, 3rd pl. 'u. Thus ei
henaid, o'i henaid, i'w heno,id, eu heneidiau, etc.; yr hwn (Z'i
hedwyn ef, a'i hedwyn hi, a'u hedwvn hwynt. (But ei enaid
ef; etc. mas.) TIIQ initial is usually aspirated after 'm, 'n and
yn (ein), though formerly unaspirated initials were• also used
after these forms, thus o'm hanfodd or o'm anfodd. [t is never
necessary to write h- after 'ch, ych (eich).
237. (1) Affixed pronouns are either substantive or
auxiliary,
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PRONOUNS
89
(2) Substantive affxed pronouns are used in the accusa-
tive after verbs as sole objects ; they are identical with the
independent pronouns simple, reduplicated and conjunc-
tive, with the initials of the 1st and 2nd sg. softened,
They occur where there is no preverb to support an infixed
accusative pronoun, as when the verb is imperative ; where the
preverb ends in a consonant as pan, etc, ; or where {Or any
reason the infixed pronoun is omitted.
Examples: achub fi .
a gwared fl Pse vii 1, barn fi vii 8,
a cldyw xiii 3, Cadw fi xvi 1, etc. ; pan ganfuant ef Marc ix
15; Caraf di Ps. xviii 1, ceisiais ef Can. iii 1
clyw fyfy
D.C. 100,' etc.
(3) Auxiliary amxed pronouns serve as extensions of
other pronominal elements ;
{hey are appended to words
which alreadqy have either personal endings or prefixed or
infixed pronouns.
fl"he forms are—
3. m. efo,fo
Pl.
ni
2. chwj
3. hwy, hwynt
There are also conjunctive forms innau, dithau, yutuu, etc.
The 1st sg. i is now generally written fi after personal suffixes
ending in -f, as carafJi instead of carafi ; strictly/ is incorrect
here, though it serves to distinguish the pron. from the prep. i.
The 2nd sg. di is usually written ti after suffixes ending in -C.
For the 3rd sg. fo, the dialectal form o is sometimes written.
These forms are used to supplement—
(a) the personal ending of a verb, as caraf i; cerais i •
deuthum i ; ceri di ; a gaffo fo B.CW. 108 ; carwn ni, etc.
(b) the personal ending of a preposition, as wrthyfi ; wrthyt
ti ; iddo ef, etc.
(c) a prefixed or infixed pron, in the genitive, as fy Waco i ;
dy ben di; o'm i, etc.
(d) an infixed pron. in the accusative, as ni'th welais di
I have not seen thee ' ; ni's gwelais ef I have not seen him '
dya nPm cred i D.G. 173 'a woman who does not believe me
Note that in every case the expression is complete without
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90
ACCIDENCE
238
the auxiliary affxed pron., which is added either for emphasis,
cf. 235 (2), or for clearness' sake, cf. 236 (4), or merely for
rhythm or oratorical efféct. It may be freely used except where
the antecedent is the subject of the sentence, or in certain
expressions like fy nhad etc. in which it is never heard.
238. (1) The forms of the possessive
adjectives in use in Early Modern Welsh are as follows:
Singular
1. mau
2. tau
3. masculine eiddo, feminine eiddi
Plural
1. einym
2. einwch
3. eiddunt
These are the same as the Medieval forms except that the vowels of the first
three are the regular Modern developments of the Medieval meu, teu,
eiddaw. But in the 15th and
16th centuries the series was re-formed on the analogy of the 3rd person
forms, though mau and tau continued in use much later in
poetry; thus:
Singular
1. eiddof
2. eiddot
3. masculine eiddo, feminine eiddi
Plural
1. eiddom
2. eiddoch
3. eiddunt
In the late period eiddunt is generally misspelt eiddynt.
(2) Auxiliary affixed pronouns, Section ::237.(3),. are sometimes added to
the forms, thus mau i (later mau fi), tau di, eiddo
ef, eiddi hi, etc.; also mau innau (mau finnau),
etc.; and with the modern forms, eiddof fi, eiddot ti, etc.
(3) Pronominal possession is generally expressed by genitive prefixed and
infixed pronouns, so that the use of these adjectives is comparatively rare.
They are placed after their nouns, which are usually preceded by the article,
as
y tŷ tau D.G. 18 ‘thy house’ {D.G. =
Dafydd ap Gwilym (North Cardiganshire.),
floruit 1350-80; reference to Barddoniaeth
Dafydd ab Gwilym.... Llundain, 1789; bracketed numbers refer to Cywyddau Dafydd ap Gwilym a’i Gyfoeswyr .
. ., editor Ifor Williams a T. Roberts, Bangor 1914; thus D.G. 70 (66)
means that the words will be found in p. 70 of the former, and p. 66 of the
latter.}
y Fôn fau Gr.O. 6 ‘my Môn’, {Gr.O. = Goronwy Owen (Anglesey), 1723-69; reference to Gwaith y Parch. Goronwy Owen..., Llanrwst 1860.}
y llew einym L.G.C. 183 ‘our lion’.
{L.G.C. = Lewis Glyn Cothi, floruit 1440-80; reference to Gwaith Lewis Glyn Cothi .... Oxford 1837.}
Danfonwn o’r memrwn mau
Lwyth eryr o lythyrau. - D.N.
I would send [her] of my parchment an eagle-load of letters.
{D.N. = Dafydd Nanmor (Beddgelert), circa 1460.}
Sometimes a prefixed or infixed pronoun takes the place of the article, as
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f’Arglwydd mau E.P. PS. cx 1, {E.P. ·= Edmwnd
Prys, Archdeacon of Merioneth, 1541-1623; reference to Edmwnd Prys ... gan T. R. Roberts (Asaph), Caernarfon 1899. PS.
refers to his metrical version of the Psalms.}
o’th law dau T.A. G. 229. {T.A. = Tudur
Aled (North Denbighshire.), floruit
1480-1520.}
The noun may, however, be indefinite, as
Ac i wneuthur mesurau
O benillion mwynion mau.-
D.G. 289.
And to make measures out of sweet verses of mine.
{D.G. = Dafydd ap Gwilym (North Cardiganshire.),
floruit 1350-80; reference to Barddoniaeth
Dafydd ab Gwilym.... Llundain, 1789; bracketed numbers refer to Cywyddau Dafydd ap Gwilym a’i Gyfoeswyr .
. ., editor Ifor Williams a T. Roberts, Bangor 1914; thus D.G. 70 (66)
means that the words will be found in p. 70 of the former, and p. 66 of the
latter.}
The adjective is sometimes placed before its noun, forming a compound with
it, Section ::226, as
meu gerydd B.B. 108;
{B.B. = The Black Book of Carmarthen, end of
12th century; editor J. Gwenogvryn Evans, Pwllheli 1906.}
mau boen D.G. 123,
{D.G. = Dafydd ap Gwilym (North Cardiganshire.),
floruit 1350-80; reference to Barddoniaeth
Dafydd ab Gwilym.... Llundain, 1789; bracketed numbers refer to Cywyddau Dafydd ap Gwilym a’i Gyfoeswyr .
. ., editor Ifor Williams a T. Roberts, Bangor 1914; thus D.G. 70 (66)
means that the words will be found in p. 70 of the former, and p. 66 of the
latter.}
mau ofid D.G. 225,
einym adail D.G. 20.
(4) The possessive adjectivesare also used predicatively, e.g. as complements
of the verb to be, expressed or implied, as
hynny sydd fau D.G. 46 ‘that is
mine’,
sydd dau di D.G. 209;
Byddant yn eiddot ti Diarhebion
5:17 {Byddant yn eiddot
ti dy hun yn unig, ac nid yet eiddo dieithriaid gyda thi. / Let them be only
thine own, and not strangers' with thee.}
Chwilio’r celloedd oedd eiddi,
A chwilio heb ei chael hi. - R.G.D. 96.
’Searching the chambers that were hers, and searching without finding her.’
{R.G.D. = Robert ab Gwilym Ddu = Robert Williams (Llanystumdwy), 1767-1850;
reference to Gardd Eifion. . . .
Dolgellau 1841.}
They are also used as nouns with the article, as
mi biau’r tau, I.G. 318 ‘I own thine’,
{I.G. = Iolo Goch
(Denbighshire), floruit 1370-1405; reference to Gweithiau Iolo Goch ... editor Charles Ashton, Cymmrodorion
Society 1896.}
yw’r tau Section ::153,
oddiwrth yr eiddo yntau Hebreaid
4:10 ‘from his’.
{Canys yr hwn a aeth i mewn i’w orffwysfa ef, hwnnw hefyd a orffwysodd oddi
wrth ei weithredoedd ei hun, megis y gwnaeth Duw oddi wrth yr eiddo yntau. /
For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works,
as God did from his.}
The 3rd singular masculine eiddo may have a noun depending
on it in the genitive, as
eiddo’r Arglwydd Corinthiaid-1 10:26 ‘the Lords’;
{Canys eiddo’r Arglwydd y ddaear, a’i chyflawnder. / For the earth is the
Lord's, and the fulness thereof.}
eiddo thus became an ordinary noun meaning ‘property’.
THE RELATIVE PRONOUN.
239. (1) The forms of the relative pronoun are—nom.
and acc. a ; adverbial cases, before consonants y, before
vowels yr, and in poetry sometimes the older ydd; in
the genitive both a and y, yr, ydd are used. After a
the initial of the verb has the soft mutation, after y the
radical.
Examples :—Nom. : Cwvn ei fyd y dyn a wneto hyn Esa, Ivi 2
Blessed is the man THAT doeth this '.—Acc. : Ai dyma'r ympryd
ddewisais do. Iviii 5 'Is this the fast THAT I have chosen ? '
Adverbial cases: of time : yn y dydd yr ymprgdioch do. 3 ' on
the day WHEN you fast ' ;—of place: y man y dodasant efMnrc
xvi 6 ' the place WHERE they laid Him ' ;—of manner : modd y
' in the manner THAT ', fez y ' so THAT ', etc.
In the genitive the relative is always supplemented by a pref.
or inf. pron. to show the case : y neb y maddeuwyd ei drosedd
Ps. xxxii 1 'he WHOSE transgression is forgiven '
a'r gor 8
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92
ACCIDENCE
240
agorwyd ei lygaid Num. xxiv 3 ' and the man WHOSE eye is
opened Similarly a preposition governing the relative has
a personal ending, as y rhai y rhoddwyd iddynt Matt. xix 11
they TO WHOM it is given .
(2) The form yr or e?/dd may become 'r or 'dd between
vowels ;
but, unlike the article, it is always y before a
consonant, never 'r. The y may be elided after a vowel ;
in fact, Ile generally becomes Ile, as Ile bdm for Ile y bim ;
but before a vowel it is Ile 'r, as Ile 'r oedd for Ile yr oedd.
(3) The relative a, being wholly unaccented, is liable to
be elided, 87, leaving the soft initial of the verb as the
only mark of the relative, This elision is rare in the Early
Mn. poets: Yddraig coch ' ddyru cychwyu D.I.D, G. 177
[it is] the red dragon that gives a leap ' ; but common in
late verse, and general in the dialects, It. is avoided in
the Bible and most later prose, but frequently occurs
in the careless prose of recent years.
(4) Relative clauses are not merely adjectival as above,
depending upon nouns in the principal sentence, but substan-
tival also, forming subjects of noun sentences, as Dafydd a aeth
[it is David who went' or [he] who went David';
go [is] there'. The emphatic word at the beginning of the
sentence is the predicate, or the information conveyed; the
relative clause is the subject ; see Syntax.
240. (1) The pres. ind. of the verb 'to be' has a relatival
form sydd or sy. A fuller form is 01' "Y, which is
generally wrongly divided, y 8!Jdd, y 89', in Mn. W. ,
because the accent is on the second syllable, The relative
is the subject of the verb, which always means ' who is ',
who am ', who are ', etc., as Diau mai chwgchwi sy Lobl
Job xii 2 ' Doubtless it is you WHO ARE people
(2) The verb piau is also generally relative ' who owns
in Mn. W. , though the element pi- was originally interrogative, 319.
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S 241,
242
PRONOUNS
93
241. (1) The negative relative is—nom., acc., ni, nid ;
this form is also used in the genitive, in the locative after
l/e, and in cases governed by prepositions ; but, the adverbial
form generally (e.g. after pryd, modd, net, megis, braidd,
odid, etc.) is no, nod. In the recent period there is a
tendency to use na, nad everywhere.
Examples : —Nom. , Gwyn ei fyd y gwr ni rodia Ps. i 1.—
Acc. : cenedl nid adweini Esa. Iv 5.—Genitive : y pethau nid
?/dys yi eu gweled Heb. xi 1.—Locative : Ile ni byddo cyngor
Diar. xi 14.—With a prep. : yr hum nid oes iechvdwriaeth
ynddo Ps. cxlvi 3.—Adverbial : pryd na Jer. xxiii 7, fel no
loan iii 1.5, braidd na Ps. Ixkiii 2, prin na ib,
(2) ni, na are used before consonants, nid, nad before
vowels; see moréfully in 385 (1).
(3) ni and na cause th.e same mutation of ibe initial
of the verb as the ordinary negative adverb ni, see 385
242. The relative prone in Welsh is a preverb; it
must be imrnediately followed by the verb, or only
separated from it by an infixed prori. To make the
reference clear (since the rel. does not distinguish number,
gender, etc.), certain set expressions are put before it ; these
(1) demonstratives, represen ting persons and things
are :
yr hwn, yr hon, yr hgn, 3/ neb, sawl, pl. y rhai, y saw/ ;
(2) nouns in adverbial cases, pryd, Ile, used before g and yr.
See also 249.
A relative clause is normally an adjective-equivalent qualify-
ing the antecedent ; thus in pethau a welir the clause a welir is
the equivalent of the adjective gweledig. But the noun thus
qualified may be implied ; thus A umelo hgn, nid ysgogir Ps.
instead
xv 5 ; cymer a we-lych Rep. 1 256 ' take what thou seest '
of such an implied noun one of the above demonstratives may
be used as antecedent, thus yr hwn a dwng i'w niwed ei hun
Pg. xv 4 ; gofyn yr hynn a fynwwch IL. A. 26 ask what thou
wilt ' ; y meb a roddo ei oglud ar ei gufoeth a syrth Diar. xi 28 ;
y sawi a'm carant i do. viii 17. y neb and y sawl only occur
But a noun of time or place cannot
thus, as sole antecedents.
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94
ACCIDENCE
243
be implied, and pryd or Ile, etc. must always be used before the
relative if no other antecedent expresses the meaning.
But a relative clause may be in effect co-ordinate, i. e. not
a mere part of the principal sentence as above* but a new state-
ment. In that case one of [he above expressions (except g neb,
V sawl) is put in apposition to the antecedent, providing the
relative clause with a new antecedent, and so obviating its
direct dependence upon a word in the principal sentence; thus
Bendithiaf yr Arglcvydd, yr lown a'm cynghorodd Ps. xvi 7 ;
trois ngolwg tu arau i'r stryd, Ile gwel,wn .
B.CW. 15
'I turned my gaze to the other side of the street, where I saw .
(Ile for y 239 (2)). It is only in these cases that the above
expressions are properly used after an expressed antecedent ;
but up, often intrudes even when the clause is purely dependent,
thus dyna'r fan y C.F. 368 that is the place where
I shall be ' is printed dyna'rfan we byddaf in T. ii 177.
INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES.
243. The interrogative pronouns are pwy ' who ? ' used
of persons, and pa beth or simply beth ' what ? ' used of
thinos.
The interrogative adjective is pa, followed by the soft
initial of its noun.
P wy ddysg im, pa dduwies gain,
Wir araith i arwyrain 35.
Who will teach me, what fair goddess, the true strain of
eulogy '
Beth a da anwadalu
Gwedi'r •henfargen a fu 314.
' What boots it to be fickle after the old bargain that has
been 'l '
In poetry the initial p of pwy and pa is often softened to b
at the beginning of a question :
Bwy unfraint O'r hen Benfras 14.
Who go privileged as old [Dafydd] Benfras ? '
Ba rgw had bur wehelyth,
Ba rai bedch a bery byth 9—1. F. F. 25.
What generous pure stock, what proud ones will live for ever ? '
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244—248
PRONOUNS
Pa was sometimes written py in the Early period ; this is
pronounced py with obscure y (still used as a proclitic by old
speakers). We also find rarely (in the good periods only in
special constructions) puw used for the adjective pa.
244, Many interrogative expressions are formed by
combining pa with nouns or adjectives; thus :
(1) pa un which ?
pl. pa rai (followed by o ' of') ;
contracted to p'an ; rarely pwy, un Luc xx 33.
('2) pa le, p'le, b'/e, ' where ? ' o ba le, o b'le ' whence ? ' i ba
le, i b'le ' whither ? '
(3) pa bryd when ? ' Also pa awr, •pa ddy/d, pa adeg,
etc.
(4) pa ddelw, pa wedd„ pa Turf, pa fodd, late pa gut
' how?
(5) pa faint ' how much ? ' or how many ? ' followed by
o ' of', pa hyd how long?' pa saw/ [rad.] 259 (2).
maint and hyd are equative nouns, S 210. pa may be used
in the sense of ' how ? ' before any equative adj. with cyn, as pa
gyn belled ' how far ? ' or with mor as pa mor bell id.
(6) pa gyfryw [soft], pa fath [soft] ' what manner of?
(7) pa rgw [soft] ' what kind of? ' ' what ? '
pa rvw is sometimes reduced to pa ry (written pa'r V M.IL.
i 182) or pa r' (written pa'r B.C'W. 73, Gr.O. 194). pa ryw un
which particular one ? ' is reduced to pa r' un and p'r'un ; pa
ryw fath [soft] to pa r' fath, etc. ;
87
245. pa was originally a neut. prone also, and took
post-fixed prepositions. Of this one example survives in
pa/ddm ' why?' for pa am what for?' It is often con-
tracted to pam, 83.
246. The forms ptcg bynnag, beth bynnag, pa ... bynnag
have lost their interrogative meaning and are used as
universal " relatives, meaning whosoever ', ' whatsoever
what ...
soever
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96
ACCIDENCE
247
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS AND ADJECTIVES.
247. (1) The demonstratives hwn this ', hwnnw that '
are peculiar in having a neuter form in the singular. Both
are substantival and adjectival. The adjectival demonstra-
tive is placed after its noun, which is preceded by the
article ; thus 3/ gir /nvn ' this man .
The forms are—
sg. m. /nvn
neut. hyn
hwnnw
honno
hvnny
hynny
(2) hecnnw means that' person or thing out of sight,
that ' in our minds. To indicate that ' which you see,
adverbs are added to' htvn ; thus hiVT1 gna ' that, there, that,
near you ', /ucn acv 'that yonder', hwn yma this here '.
These expressions are generally substantival, but, in Ml. W.
they might be adjectival, as O'r lut hwnn yma L.A. 117
from this world '. But for this purpose the adverb alone
is generally used, y byt yma do. 102, y drwes gna that
door', y acw ' that house'. Similarly fan draw, tu
htVi1/„ etc.
(3) The neut. sg. or hynny always denotes an abstrac-
{ion; it means this' or that,' circumstance, matter,
thought, statement, action, etc. ; or ' this ' or that ' number
or quantity of anything; or ' this' or that' period or
point of time.
gwybod hyn Marc v 43 ' to know this ' ; hvn 011 0 garnlladron
B.CW. 19 all this number of robbers ' ; coedi hyn ' after this '
wedi hynny thereafter ar ' thereupon ; gan hynny,
am hyrnn?/ ' therefore ', er hynny despite that, nevertheless '
am hyn, er Lyn, etc.
Note the idiomatic expressions ar hyn o bryd ' at.the present
time, just now' ; ar hyn o dro ' on the present occasion ' ; hyn
o lythyr ' the present letter' ; hyn o lyfr ' the present book '
hyn o gan this song'; hvn o weithret L.A. r 32 'this deed '
hun o fyd Gr.O. 61, BL. 178 'the present world'; yn hynny
o beth D.FF. xi in such a thing as that
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248
PRONOUNS
97
(4) The neat. sg. hyn or h.qnng is not adjectival because
there is in Welsh no neuter noun which it may qualify.
It is, however, sometimes added in the modern language to
words expressing the above ideas, as y pet), Dan. iii 16
' this matter ', ein negeef/ Jos. ii 14 ' this our business
g pryd hyn Act. i '6, g,' "rud hynny 1 Sam. xiv 18.
(5) The pl. hyn or /vynny is both substantival and adjec-
tival, but is very rarely used in the former sense. An
example is Ni phalla un o ,7wn Esa. xxxiv 16 ' No one of
these shall be missing'. But substantival or is
thiis' or that'
liable to be taken Tor
thus a wneZo hqn
Ps. xv 5 'he that doeth these things' is understood as
' he that doeth this and beth hynny loan vi 9 what
are these' as ' what is that (among so many)?' Hence
' these ' and ' those ' substantival are generally expressed by
Thai hyn and y l'ha; hynny. These phrases are always
written in full in the Bible; but in poetry (from the
15th cent.) and less formal prose, the contracted forms
y r)ain and y rheilå?/ or y Theini are often used ; see 3' rhain
(}.GI. c. i 198, B.CW. 14, 32, 35, 'T rhain L.G.C. 175,
B.CW. 25, 28, Gr.O, 44, 50; ('r) rheini L.G.C. 101,
B.CW. 24.
Diau i'r rhain o daer hawl
Addaw maen oedd 32.
' It is true that these with insistent claim promised a stone that
Was precious.'
Mae'r henwyr ? Ai meirw 'r rheini ?
Hynaf 011 heno wyf i.—G.Gl. F.N. 81.
' Where are the elders? Are those dead? Eldest Of al] to-night
am I.'
248. Adjectival /mvn and hon. form improper compounds
with nouns of time ; thus yr awr hon became yr dwron
(S -88) and yr awran ; wait", hon became weithion or
weithian ; in Ml. W. are also found prawn W.M. 102 for
y pryd hwn
(S 127) and g werghon do. 128 for g evers hon ;
1657
2819
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98
ACCIDENCE
249, 250
all the above mean ' now'. Similarly 3/ (lydd hwn became
g (13/thwn, later // dwthwn (SS 116 (4)), and 1/ nos hon became
y noun. As ' to-day ' and ' to-night ' were expressed by
heddiw and heno, these compounds were used for ' that day
and ' that night '
and when their formation became
obscure, they were expanded to y dwthwn h,wnnw Jos. iv 14,
vi 15, etc., and y noson honno Dan. v 30, vi 18.
Colloquially yr awran became yr owan (loss of r by dissimila-
tion), and later vröan, 'röan, the N. W. dialect word for ' now '
(O'na dechreu hyd yr ban G.Ph. BL. 397 ; rwan B.CW, 13, 29).
In S.W. 'nawr (for the old yn awr) is used.
249. (1) The article yr is used before the substantival
Inna, hon and h,yn to form antecedents for relative clauses,
242.
(2) The article was often omitted in the 16th and 17th cent. ,
as Hum a unaeth E.P. ps. cxxi 2, i hwn a'th wahoddodd
Luc xiv 9 ; i hvn a weddil,ler Act. xv 17 ; also sometimes later :
hun a glybu'n Gr.O. 108 what he heard as a youth '.
(3) In the pl., y rhai is used, not vr hyn, because substantival
hyn is ambiguous, 247 (5); V Thai is strictly the pl. of vr un
which is also used for the purpose, as well as y neb, V sawl.
(4) yr hyn was used in Ml. W, to support not only relative
clauses but superlatives ;
some examples of the construction
survive in the modern language: O'r hyn Ileiaf Act. v 15 ' at
still in common use ; taled O'r hyn goreu Ex. xxii 5 let
him repay out of the 'best
(5) In Ml. W. a demonstrative ar (which was sg. and pl.) was
used in the same way as yr hwn before the relative. It occurred
mast frequently contracted to 'r after o of '
thus O'r a welsei
w. M. 1 ' of those which he had seen '. This construction survives
in MD. W, with o changed to a, thus dim a'r a unaet,hpuwd
loan i 3 literally ' anything of that which has been made 'a
PRONOMINALIA.
::250.
Pronominalia expressing alternatives are substantival and adjectival,
definite and indefinite. Thus:
Substantival definite y naill ... y
llall ‘the one . . . the other’;
plural y naill... y lleill ‘the ones
the others’.
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251,
252
PRONOUNS
Substantival indefinite un ...
arall ‘one ... another’;
plural rhai ... eraill ‘some. ... others’.
In the following list of adjectival forms gw^r, gwraig, gwŷr
show the position and mutation of the noun (see Section ::226 (8)):
Adjectival definite:
y naill w^r...y gw^r arall ‘the one man...the other man’;
y naill wraig... y wraig arall; {the one
woman... the other woman}
y naill wŷr... y gwŷr eraill; {the
one set of people... the other set of people}
RHANNAU
HEB EU HYCHWANEGU ETO ::251 ::252
::253 ::254 ::255
::256 ::257 ::258
::259 ::260 ::261
::262 ::263 ::264
::265 ::266
251, (1) The first alteßative may be a noun, as Cir gn
cyhuddo arall T. A, F.N. 159 'A kinsman accusing another '
or a personal or demonstrative pronoun, as ti ac arall ' you
and others ' (literally ' other '), hwn a'r llall ' this man and
[hat ', hgn a'? llall this and that '.
(2) The first alternative may be implied, as in other
languages : 3.' (lydd arau M.IL. i 178 ' the other day
1/ nos arau D.G, 25 ' the other night ' ; Gad i eraill gadw
apian T,A. F. 6 'let others hoard money The second
alternative may be repeated when indefinite : i un .
. ac
i arau , .. ac i arau 1 Cor. xii 8—10.
252. All the forms of the first term except y nail/ subst•
may be used without, a sequel as ordinary pronominalia
meanino• ' one
some '; thus—
(1) Adj. y naill ' one ' in g nail/ hanner one half' (now
about a half '), nail/ du or 3,' Gen. xxx 40, Barn.
vii. 5, Diar. xx 14, etc.
(2) Snbst. un one ', PI, rhai ' some ' ; often with qualify-
ing adjectives: un da 'a good one ', rhai drwg ' bad ones
Also yr up 'the one ', pl. g rhai ' the ones ' used with
qualifying adjectives, as yr (Irwg ' the evil one ', or with
a, relative clause,
242. By a curious idiom gr un is used
for un in negative sentences or clauses, ps ngt oeg yr un
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