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(delwedd D7530) (tudalen 002)
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Y WENHWYSEG. 2.
______
A KEY TO THE PHONOLOGY OF THE GWENTIAN DIALECT
______
FOR THE USE OF TEACHERS OF WELSH IN GLAMORGAN AND MONMOUTH SCHOOLS
______
BY JOHN GRIFFITH .
______
NEWPORT, MON.:
J.E. SOUTHALL, PRINTER AND PUBLISHER.
LONDON:
W.H. ROBERTS, CECIL COURT, CHARING CROSS ROAD.
______
1902
______
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(delwedd D7531) (tudalen 003)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
3.
INTRODUCTION
______
I have put together a few notes on the phonology of the speech of some half a
million of Welshmen, and a dialect which influences largely the speech of
another half million. Scrappy and incomplete as I know the notes are, I have
been moved to print them as a small measure of relief to some teachers in our
schools, who, when they undertake to teach what is passing as literary Welsh,
are confronted in the schools of Gwent and Morgannwg with a dialect of
over-whelming strength, which presents regular features like any civilised
speech, but which, to the novice, appears to differ as much from common
Welsh, as, say, the Breton language. Knowledge of the local dialect is
indispensable to the proper teaching of Welsh. The Gwentian dialect,
moreover, deserves study on its own account. Of the three leading dialects of
Wales, it has now the largest sphere of influence.
A large portion of ancient Welsh literature is in Y Wenhwyseg or Gwentian.
Its influence in forming the literary Welsh of the future will doubtless br very
great. While, at present, all the dialects of Wales, and possibly of England
too, contribute their share towards forming a new, or modifying an old speech
in Gwent and Morgannwg, the product eventually will be overwhelmingly
Gwentian. The children
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(delwedd D7532) (tudalen 004)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
4.
INTRODUCTION
of English or
Irish settlers acquire a Gwentian accent, even when they have not learnt much
of Gwentian. In the Monmouthshire valleys, the linguist finds no difficulty
in recognising, in an English guise, the sounds which struck terror into the
hearts of the Roman soldiers, when for years they sought a place in the land
of the Silures to plant their eagles.
All the peculiarties of Gwentian I have noted may not be found in one
locality, and all Gwentians may not be prepared to recognise them all. Many
of them may be found outside Gwent and Morgannwg. Neither is it strictly
proper to regard the speech of that large dialect as one dialect. There are
commot {NODIAD: = cwmwd.
NOTE: Englished form of the Welsh word “cwmwd” – a medieval territorial
division} and parochial peculiarities of speech forming, if not
distinct dialects, useful linguistic boundaries. No small object will be
attained by publishing these notes if a more general interest will be created
in dialect studies, if teachers of Welsh will be induced to record any
peculiarities of speech that may come under their notice, and if the
materials and the demand for a more elaborate and scholarly work on the
subject by abler hands will be forthcoming.
JOHN GRIFFITH.
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(delwedd D7533) (tudalen 005)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
5.
Y WENHWYSEG.
______
(The examples from the Gwentian are printed in italics. In a few cases,
examples from printed works only, chiefly those of Iolo Morganwg, are known
to the writer.)
______
1. â > eâ.
In words of one syllable, long â is pronounced as if an e preceded it,
though the e is not pronounced as fully as in deall, ‘understanding’.
Tâd - teâd, ‘father’.
Bâch - beâch, ‘little’.
2. a > o.
(a) Final. Gwrando - grondo, ‘to listen’
(b) Final. Angladd - anglodd, ‘funeral’
Arnaf fi - arno i, ‘on me’
(c) Prep. A llaw - o law, (No. 61), ‘with, or by hand’. (This o is the
efo of North Cardiganshire and other parts).
(d) Adv. and conj. Na, nag - no, nog, (Iolo M), ‘nor, than’.
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(delwedd D7534) (tudalen 006)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
6.
3. ae > â.
(a) Monosyllables. Aeth - âth, ‘he went’
(b) Words of two syllables contracted into one.
Daear - dâr, (through an intermediate daer) ‘earth’.
Dâr is used in the Rhondda Valley in the restricted sense of
‘earth-hole’, the hiding-place of the fox. The plural is daerau, and
the custom of watching the haunts of foxes is called gwylied daerau,
‘watching the earth-holes’. The same use of dâr is retained in an
English part of Pembrokeshire, in the expression, when a fox eludes the
hounds, ‘he is gone to the dâr’. Compare the expression ‘run to earth’. (See
No. 9 [d]).
For further remarks on dâr, see Appendix at the end of the book.
Baraen (old form) - Brân, name of brook.
Cair (old
form), caer - câr, ‘an encampment’.
4. ae >
a
Haearn - harn, (through an intermediate haern) ‘iron’
5. ae > a final.
Athrawiaeth - athrawiath, ‘doctrine’.
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(delwedd D7535) (tudalen 007)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
7.
6. ae >
ai initial.
Traethawd - traithawd, ‘an essay’
7. ae > i.
Gwaeddu - gwîddu, (through the Dimetian gweiddu) ‘to shout’
Ffaelu - ffîli, (through the Dimetian ffeilu) ‘to fail’.
8. ai > a final.
Boneddigaidd - boneddicadd, ‘gentlemanly’
Ugain - ucan, ‘twenty’.
9. ai > i.
(a) Initial. ae, ai (No. 6), i.
Traethodau - trithota, ‘essays’
(b) Final. Cywain - cŵin, (No. 97 [a]) and cwîn, ‘to
gather crops’.
Tonyrefail – Tonyrefil.
Tamaid - tamid, and tamad (No. 31 [b]), ‘a morsel’.
(c) The plural form - aid, from the singular -ad, is id.
Llygaid - llycid,
and llicid, (No. 92) ‘eyes’.
Defaid - defid, ‘sheep’.
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(delwedd D7536) (tudalen 008)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
8.
(d) The spelling daiar for daear, through the Demetian deair, becomes dîar,
‘earth; and haiarn for haearn, through the Dimetian heiarn becomes hîarn,
‘iron’ (Nos. 3, 4, 32 [b]). The latter form hîarn, is hardly ever
used, though dîar is common.
10. au > a plural.
Tadau (Dimetian tadeu = tade) - tada, ‘fathers’.
11. au > ach plural.
Pethau (Dimetian petheu = pethe) - pethach, ‘things’.
12. au > ou in monosyllables.
Dau - dou, ‘two’.
Cnau - cnou, ‘nuts’.
13. aw > o
Awdurdod - odirdod, ‘authority’.
14. aw > ow
Awdwr - owdwr, ‘an author’.
Awdl - owdwl, ‘an ode’.
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(delwedd D7537) (tudalen 009)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
9.
15. b > f
Hyd byth - Hyd fyth (Iolo M.), ‘for ever’.
16. b > p
Accented b is always p. Y bobl - y bopol, ‘the people’.
Abl - apal, ‘able’.
17. b > th
O bobtu - o bothtu, ‘on every side, about’.
18. c >
g
Ac - ag, ‘and’. ‘Anghof ag anneall’ (Iolo M.)
19. c > ci initial.
Cant - ciant, ‘hundred’.
This peculiarity is not so marked as No. 1, and it occurs with a short ă.
20. ch > hw or wh, ch > w.
Chwiban - hwipan, and wipan, ‘to whistle’.
Chwech - hwech, and wech, ‘six’.
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(delwedd D7538) (tudalen 010)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
10.
21. cr
> cyr
Crynhoi - cyrnhoi, ‘to gather together’.
Crychell, a brook near Cwm Hir, Radnorshire, is written Cyrchell in the
Gwentian code of Howel Dda’s Laws.
22. d dropped.
Tadcu - tacű, (or î) ‘grandfather’.
23. d > dd final.
Gormod - gormodd, ‘too much’.
Gorfod - gorfodd, ‘to be compelled’.
24. d > dz or j, when followed by i.
Diofal - dziofal, jďofal, jimofal, and dimofal, ‘careless,
jocular’.
Gorfod - gorfodd, ‘to be compelled’.
25. d >
t
Accented d is always t
Cadw - catw, ‘to keep’.
Cawodydd - cawotydd, ‘showers’.
Adgof - atgof, ‘remembrance’.
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(delwedd D7539) (tudalen 011)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
11.
26. dchr
> drch.
Dychrynllyd - drychynllyd, ‘fearful’.
This epithet is often applied, as da drychynllyd, ‘fearfully or
horribly good’, like da ofnatw, ‘awfully good’.
Dechreuoddf - drychďws, ‘he began’.
“Pwy ôdd y bachan iefangc ‘na ddrychďws y cwrdd?”
27. dd.
(a) Final, retained in -
Rhoi fyny - rhoi fynydd, ‘to give up’.
I fyny - i fynydd, ‘up’.
(b) Inserted.
Ydyw, y mae hi - otii, maedd (h)i, ‘yes, she is’.
28. dd hardened into th.
Ganddynt - genthyn, ‘with or by them’.
29. dn > ndd.
Cadno - canddo, also catno, ‘a fox’.
There seems to be the plural cendi also in use.
“Chwareu’r ieir a’r cendi” (A triban quoted by “Cadrawd”).
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(delwedd D7540) (tudalen 012)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
12.
30. ddn
> ndd.
‘Rotheni’ (1202, ‘Rodne’ (RED BOOK OF HERGEST), representing Rhoddni,
Rhoddnei, or Rhoddne, has become Rhondda, (No. 31 [b]).
31. e > a.
(a) Initial. Erioed - ariôd, (No. 67), ‘ever, from the beginning’.
(b) Final.
Teisen - tishan, (No. 32 [b]), ‘cake’.
Chweugen - whîgan, (No. 20), ‘ten shillings’.
(c) Fel - fal, ‘as, like’.
Fal and mal are common in Welsh literature, especially poetry.
32.
(a) ei > ai.
Dei, Deio (Dafydd) - Dai, ‘David’.
(b) ei > î.
Gweithio - gwîtho, ‘to work’.
Ei - î, ‘his’.
33. eu > a.
The plural form -eu, as well as -au, is a in Gwentian.
Esgidieu - scitsha, (No. 90), ‘shoes’.
Eisiau - îsha, (No. 74), ‘want, need’.
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(delwedd D7541) (tudalen 013)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
13.
34. eu
> î.
Gwneuthur - gnîthur, ‘to make’.
Creulon - crîlon, ‘cruel’.
35. ew > w and iw.
Mewn - mwn, ‘in’, and, as in Dimetian, miwn, ‘into,
within’.
36. f final dropped.
Cynhwrf - cynnwr, ‘commotion’.
37. fe > ef.
Fe a - ef. “Ef a ddigwyddws coll ar lawer o wybodaeth” (Iolo M.)
38. fe > fa.
Onide fe? - ontefa? ‘is it not?’
Do fe? - dofa? ‘did it? was it?’
“Enclitic fe becomes fa in the Eastern Gwentian dialects” (Dr. Max Nettlau).
39. f >
m.
Mi a wnaf - fi’ na ‘I will do or make’
A fi âf i a fe i fyw i Fro Fiscin (and he and I will go to live to Bro
Fiscin = Miskin).
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(delwedd D7542) (tudalen 014)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
14.
40. f > w.
Fel yna - wel’na, ‘in that way’.
(Wel for fel is very common. No. 31 [c]).
41. fh > ff.
Cryfhâu - crýffa, (No. 48 [b] 2), ‘to become strong’.
42. fn > nf. (See No. 29).
Trefnu - trenfu, ‘to arrange’.
Cefnu - cenfu, ‘to turn one’s back to’.
Llyfni - Llynfi and Llwyni,a tributary of the Ogwr river.
43. fy > ym.
Poss. pron., ‘my’ (No. 48 [a])
Fy hunan - ym (h) unan, ‘myself’.
Fy stori - ym stori, ‘my story’.
44. g dropped..
Arglwydd - arlwydd, ‘lord’.
But the g is always pronounced in the Scriptural Arglwydd, LORD.
Bachgen - bachan, ‘boy’.
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(delwedd D7543) (tudalen 015)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
15.
45. g >
c
Accented g is always c.
Magu - macu, ‘to nurse’.
“Cas gwr na charo’r wlad a’i maco.’
46. gl > cl
Casglu - clascu, ‘to collect’.
47. gyf > godd
Gyferbyn - godderbyn, and godderab, (goddereb in N. Pemb),
from gwydderbyn, ‘over against’
48. h
Use very uncertain and capricious.
Anhap - anap ‘an accident’
Anrhaith - anraith (Iolo M.), ‘pillage’
Hysbysywydd - ysbysrwydd (Iolo M.), ‘information’
The liberty taken with the aspirate in Gwent and Morgannwg may be due to the
long prevalence in the district of the English of Tennyson’s ‘Churchwarden’.
‘An’ saw by the Graäce o’ the Lord, Mr. Harry, I ham wot I ham’.
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(delwedd D7544) (tudalen 016)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
16.
The line
quoted supplies the key to one pretty regular use of the aspirate in
Gwentian. It is inserted as a welcome relief between two weak vocables. How
otherwise could the ‘churchwarden’ express emphatically his intense
satisfaction with himself, by the weak vocables, I am?
(a) h is inserted between the poss. pron. ym, ‘my’, and a noun
beginning with a vowel
Fy eglwys - ym (h) eglwys ‘my church’.
Fy arian - ym (h) arian ‘my money’.
Fy achos - ym (h) achos ‘my cause’.
(b) There are two ways of disposing of the aspirate in the -hau verbs.
1. Mwynhau - mwynäu ‘to enjoy’.
“Islwyn”, the great Gwentian bard, adopted this way.
2. With some -hau verbs, that syllable is shortened, and the preceding
syllable is strengthened or hardened, to which the accent also is
transferred.
Cwblhau - cwpla ‘to finish’.
Cryfhau - crýffa ‘to become strong’.
(c) There is a hybrid verb in which the aspirate is retained.
Ffreshâu ‘freshening’, usually applied to the weather.
(d) h > g.
Ar eu hôl - ar i gôl, ‘after them’.
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(delwedd D7545) (tudalen 017)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
17.
49. i
1st, 2nd and 3rd pers. plur. pres.
tense, indic. mood of the verb bod, ‘to be’.
Yr ydym ni - i ni, ‘we are’.
Ydych chwi? - i chi? ‘are you?’
Ydynt hwy? - i nhw? ‘are they?’
50. i final dropped in -
Geiriau - gîra, ‘words’.
51. i > idd, prep ‘to’.
I’w (i) (ei) dâd - idd i dâd, ‘to his father’.
52. i > ie.
Ifan - Iefan, also Ifan, ‘Evan’.
Ieuanc - iefangc, also ifangc, ‘young’.
53. i > io.
(a) Verbs.
Peidio - pîdo or pîto, ‘to refuse, cease’.
(b) Adjectives.
Boliog - bolog, ‘protruberant’.
(c) Nouns.
Bywoliaeth - bywoliath, ‘livelihood’.
Exception: - digio - dicio, ‘to give offence’.
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(delwedd D7546) (tudalen 018)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
18.
54. ldd
> ddl.
Gilydd - giddyl, ‘together’.
Cywilydd - cwiddyl, ‘shame’.
55. ll > cl.
Llethrddu - Cledrddu, now the name of a cemetery in the Rhondda
Valley.
56. ll > l.
‘Fe gafwyd lonyddwch’ (llonyddwch) [Iolo M.]
57. llall > nâll.
Llall, ‘the other’, is hardly ever used, but nâll for naill, ‘the
one’, is used for llall.
Instead of saying y naill neu y llall, ‘the one or the other’, the expression
is nace (for nid) hwn (hwna or hwnw), y nâll,
‘not this (or that one), the one’ (for ‘the other’)
‘Mae i’n och, un am y naill (llall)’ [Dafydd Benwyn]
58. ll > th final.
Arall - arath, ‘other, another’.
Eraill or ereill - erith, ‘others’.
Cyllell - cillath, ‘knife’.
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(delwedd D7547) (tudalen 019)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
19.
59. llt > tll
Cawsellti (au) - cawstelli, ‘cheese-vats’.
59a. n > m final.
Morwyn - morwm, ‘maid-servant’.
Morgan, Morgan (old forms) - Margam.
?Glan Torfaen - Llantarnam.
{NODYN: Nid hwn yw
tarddiad yr enw mewn gwirionedd. NOTE: In fact, “Glan Torfaen” is not a
correct explanation of this place name}
60. ng > ngt.
Rhwng y ddau - r(h)wngt and r(h)ingt y ddou, ‘between the
two’.
61. o
‘Is used in the dialect of Glamorgan to denote the instrument’ (Prof. T.
Powel). It is the o of efo,
‘Codi glo o’r rhaw (â’r rhaw)’, ‘throwing up coal with a shovel’.
62. o, prep. ‘of’, dropped.
‘Cymaint son’ (“Cadrawd”) for cymaint o son, ‘so much talk about’.
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(delwedd D7548) (tudalen 020)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
20.
63. o initial
dropped.
Offeiriad - ffirad, ‘a priest’.
Offeiriaid - ffiraton, (from another plural form offeiriadon),
‘priests’.
64. o > a.
(a) Initial. Ofnadwy - afnatw, ‘fearful’.
(b) Final. Briwo - briwa, ‘to crumble, to wound’
65. o > w final.
Cadog or Catog - Catwg.
66. oe > i.
Boed (bydded) - bid, ‘let it be’.
67. oe > ô.
oes - ôs, ‘age; there is’.
68. oe > oi.
Coesau - coisa, ‘legs’.
When a
Gwentian native reads Welsh in public, he is very apt to say ois for
oes.
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(delwedd D7549) (tudalen 021)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
21.
69. oe
> w final.
Eisoes - îsws, ‘already’.
“Isws a chynt”, ‘already and
before’, is a common expression.
70. o’i > oddi, prep. ‘from his’.
O’i gartref - odd i gartra, ‘from his home’.
71. ow > ŵ.
Dowlais - Dŵlish.
Howel - Hŵal.
72. par > pyr initial.
Paratoi - pyrtói, ‘to prepare’.
73. pr > pyr initial.
Prynu - pyrnu, ‘to buy’.
Pregethu - pyrgethu, ‘to preach’.
74. s >
sh.
S before i becomes sh, the i becoming more or less indistinct.
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(delwedd D7550) (tudalen 022)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
22.
(a) Initial.
Siaradwr - sharatwr, ‘a speaker’.
Prisio - prisho, ‘to value, to prize, also to heed’.
Eisieu - îsha, ‘to want’.
(b) Medial. Isaf - isha, ‘lowest’.
(c) Final. Mis - mish, ‘month’.
75. sg > shc.
(a) Medial. Gwisgo - gwishco, ‘to dress’.
Disgwyl - dishcwl, ‘to look at’, but not in the sense of ‘to
expect’, which is erfyn in Gwentian, a word which in common Welsh,
means ‘to pray or beg’.
(b) Final. Y Pasg - Y Pashc, ‘Easter’.
Y Wasg - Y Washc, ‘the Press’
76. t, followed by u becomes tsh, initial.
Tua thref - tsha thre, ‘homewards’.
77. t, final, dropped in verb endings.
Ydynt - otyn, ‘they are’.
78. thg > cd.
Ateb - apad, ‘to answer’. (N. Pemb. aped)
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(delwedd D7551) (tudalen 023)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
23.
79. thg
> cd.
Benthyg, menthyg - bengcyd, mengcyd, also mentyc, ‘a loan’.
80. tl > cl.
Tlawd - clawd, ‘poor’.
81. u > i, long as in Engl. deep, short as in thin..
The Venedotian u can only be acquired by a Gwentian with hard practice.
82. w initial dropped.
(a) Between g and n.
Gwneuthur - gnithur, ‘to do or make’.
(b) Between g and l.
Gwlad - glâd, ‘country’.
Gwlan - glân, ‘wool’.
(c) Between g and r.
Gwrando - grondo, ‘to listen’.
Gwraig - graig, ‘wife’. Merch ne’ raig.
83. w > o final.
Yn enw dyn - neno dyn! ‘in the name of man’.
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(delwedd D7552) (tudalen 024)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
24.
84. wy.
This vocable is fully pronounced only in words of one syllable like Gwy, ‘Wye’,
mwy, ‘more’. It is true we have such spellings as Ebwy and Ogwy, but the one
is always pronounced Ebbw, and the other Ogwr. The word wy, ‘an egg’, is wî,
like the English wee, and the French oui. Gwyr, ‘men’, is pronounced like
gwir, ‘true, truth’.
85. (a) wy > â.
Awyr - âr, ‘air’.
(b) wy
> ă {NODIAD: y
mae y marc byr dros y llafariad i ddangos mai llafariad fer yw. NOTE:
the a breve over the vowel is to
indicate that it is short}, final
Mynwy - Mynwa, ‘Monmouth’.
86. wy > o final.
Magor, Mon.,
is supposed to be the Welsh magwyr, ‘an enclosure or wall’.
In ancient
charters of the district, the final w in -wg, as in Morgannwg, is ok,
Morgannok. But no instance of this peculiarity, in present Gwentian speech,
is known to the writer.
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(delwedd D7553) (tudalen 025)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
25.
87. wy
> w.
(a) Initial. Gwybod - gwpod, ‘to know’.
Wyddest ti? - gwddot ti?, ‘knowest thou?’.
Hwynthwy - Hwntw(?), ‘they themselves’. {NODIAD: llysenw ar un o’r deheubarth yw hwntw. NOTE:
hwntw is a nickname for a southerner}
(b) Final. Eglwys - eclws, ‘church’.
Wyr - wrs, a plural form as in gweithwyr - gwithwrs, ‘workmen’.
The verb ending -wys, of old Gwentian literature, is now > ws, viz:
ennillwys - ennillws, ‘he, she, it earned or gained’.
88. wy > wi.
Wy - wî, ‘an egg’.
89. y.
This letter is used throughout Wales for both i and a sound akin to u in
Eng. puff. The latter sound is, like h, uncertain in Gwentian. Like the
aspirate, itis heard where least expected, as when a syllable that rhymes
with Eng. her is formed by separating intial cr, gr, pr, br, as illustrated
already (Nos. 21, 72, 73).
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(delwedd D7554) (tudalen 026)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
26
90. y initial dropped.
Y fi - fi, ‘I’
Dyna i chwi - náchi, ‘there you’,
Wedi hynny - wetyn, wetni, ‘after that’.
It should be noted that while Welshmen generally use y before initial double
consonants beginning with s, as in ysgol, ‘school’, as the French use e in
the same connection, e.g. école, ‘school’; Gwentians, by pushing the accent
on from the initial syllable, and shortening words, dispense with that aid,
as in,-
Ysgwyd - scwto, ‘shake’.
Ysgolhaig - sclaig, ‘scholar’.
Ysgolheigion - scligon, ‘scholars’.
In the following instances, a compromise has been effected, and the first of
two initial y’s is allowed.
Y dyn yna - y dyn’na, ‘that man’.
Y lle yna - y lle’na, ‘that place’.
91. y > a initial.
Ymrafaelion - amrafaelion (Iolo M.).
92. y > i initial.
Llythyr - llithir, ‘letter’.
Gyda - gita, ‘with’.
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(delwedd D7555) (tudalen 027)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
27.
93. y >
o initial.
(a) Initial.
Mynwes - monwes,’bosom’.
‘Mae monwes gynes genym’ (Islwyn)
Mynwent - monwent, (Glanffrwd) ‘graveyard’.
These,
however, are literary instances. Commonly, one hears mynwant and mynwas,
though monachlog for mynachlog, ‘monastery’, is both literary
and colloquial.
Ydwyf - otw,’I am’.
(b) Medial. Manylaf - manola,’most exact’.
‘Manola un, mwyn ail oedd’ (Dafydd Benwyn)
94. y > w initial.
Ymladd - wmladd, ‘to fight’
Cymraeg - Cwmrâg, ‘Welsh’
Dygid (dwyn) - dwcid, ‘to take away, to steal’
95. yr > ydd.
‘Ydd ennillwys genedl y Cymry eu braint a’u coron’ (Iolo M.)
96. yw > i final.
Ydyw - oti, ‘he, she or it is’
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(delwedd D7556) (tudalen 028)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
28.
97. yw
> w.
(a) Initial. Cywilydd - cwiddyl, ‘shame’
(b) Medial. Tragywydd - tragwydd, ‘everlasting’
(c) Final. Benyw, menyw - menw, ‘woman’
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(delwedd D7557) (tudalen 029)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
29.
APPENDIX
______
DÂR (No. 3)
_____
The intermediate form daer for daear is given in a quotation from an ancient
MS., in Ysten Sioned, p. 80, where it is said of the lion - “A phan fo yn
marw, cnoi y ddaer a wna, a gollwng dagrau o’i lygaid.” The MS. quoted shows
several Gwentian peculiarities. “Glanffrwd” explains the place-name Darwyno,
near the church of Llanwonno, as Daear Wyno, “Gwynno’s Land” (Plwyf
Llanwynno, p. 6). The place names Aberdâr and Cwm Dâr are frequently written
Aberdaer and Cwm-daer in documents in the 17th century, and the name of the
place called Rhiwddar, near Taff’s Well, appeared the other day, in a list of
the appointments of the Ystrad Hounds, as Rhiwddaer. The place called Blaen
Dar, near Pontypool is written on a map Blaen-daer.
Compare:-
“Gnawd nyth Eryr yn mlaen dâr”. Blaen, in Gwent and Morgannwg, is used for
“upland”. Bro a Blaena, “the Vale and the Uplands”; Blaenau Gwent, “the
uplands of Gwent”. Dafydd Benwyn, a Glamorgan bard, uses the expression - sy’
mlaen gwlad, “which is at the head or in the upland of a district.” The line
quited (Myv. Arch., 102. 1) may,
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(delwedd D7558) (tudalen 030)
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Y WENHWYSEG.
30.
therefore, be
translated - “It is usual for the Eagle to build her nest at the very head of
the land, the highest crag in the highest part of a district.”
In Celtic Folklore, p. 259, there is a Llanfabon folktale contributed by Mr.
Craigfryn Hughes, in which occurs the expression - mesen cyn derwen, a derwen
mewn dâr. Mr. Hughes also says that clâr survˇves in the district for claear,
“lukewarm”. See further, a note by Prof. Rhys on these Gwentian survivals,
Celtic Folk, p. 691.
But “several literary natives of Glamorgan” have assured Prof. Rhys that they
do not know dâr for daear, but Prof. Rhys says, “such negative evidence,
though proving the literary form daear to prevail now, is not to be opposed
to the positive statement, sent by Mr. Hughes (p. 173) to me, as to the
persistence in his neighbourhood of Dâr”, etc. As to dâr for derwen, “oak”,
my references are confusing. In a poem (Myv. Arch. p. 98), the three
expressions blaen derw, “top of the oaks”, blaen dâr, and dail deri, “leaves
of oaks”, are used. Again, Brân a gant chwedyl o vrig dâr Man ai clywai yr
holl adar. (Ibid, p. 810) (The crow sang a tale on the top of the oak-tree,
where all the birds could hear it). Again, gorwlychyd kafod kan dar (Rep, on
Welsh MSS:, II, 106), which, I suppose, may be translated - “a shower wets a
hundred oaks”.
To conclude, dâr for daear is a Gwentian survival. I have no evidence that
dâr for derwen is used anywhere now.
JOHN GRIFFITH
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B5237: 
Statistics
for Welsh Texts Section / Ystadegau’r Adran Destunau Cymraeg