Cymraeg. If not me, then who? If not now, then when? It may not be for everyone but I think it's great that Wales has its own unique language, complete with regional dialects, and if asked to fill in a survey about the language: is it important? useful? enjoyable? good for the economy? I'd be ticking all the boxes. But converting that into action has not always been so easy.
St David's Day was a great opportunity to revitalise and recharge the batteries at a Welsh learners event in Dolgellau organised by the BBC in conjunction with the Mid Wales Language Centre. Along with more than a hundred other would-be-speakers I took the plunge. After coffee and an overview of the day, we were streamed into different levels and split off to the classrooms.
The first task was a great ice-breaker; to chat with the person next to you and then introduce them to the rest of the group. This got the grey cells and the adrenaline going, everyone was so involved they didn't realise they were learning as they went. All sorts of strange occupations and vocabulary came to the surface, one member of our class was making "tan gwyllt", fireworks.
Our tutor took us through a summary of best practice in replying "yes" and "no", a minefield of options that generally confounds learners into a mute nod of the head. Best practice might not be easy to remember, but equipped with a dozen responses, such as "perhaps", "sometimes", "of course" etc. we had a coping strategy in place.
During the morning class we were introduced to Newydd Lingo, the Welsh language magazine for learners. It's published every two months with interesting and useful content. Each article is laid out in three colours indicating language proficiency. Starting with the blue for novices we were quickly able to get the gist of the article about Dewi Sant, son of Mr and Mrs Sant! There were a couple of unfamiliar words but these were covered in a brief vocabulary beneath. Armed with the outline story we had a go at the intermediate section and finally the full article - it was amazing how much easier it was.
All too often us learners are reading or listening to something which is a bit complex and we lose the plot early on, eyes gloss over, and we give up to await rescue. But this helps you build on a simple base, to walk before you run or at least crawl before you walk.
Over lunch we were introduced to Pigion, a Radio Cymru news programme covering highlights of the past week with easy to understand introductions i.e. getting you on board with the basics before steaming off in turbo Welsh. Another good thing about Pigion is that it is available as a podcast so you can enjoy it when you want, as often as you want whatever your FM reception.
Refreshed, we went in groups to a series of talks with sympathetic and engaging speakers who took you along with them. Gillian Elisa, who plays Sabrina in Pobol y Cwm, introduced us to the delights of opera sebon (soap opera) and the need for dilyniant (continuity).
Bethan Gwanas, the local authoress, had a brief sgwrs (chat) about her writing career thus far with an impressive stack of books in just eleven years. Amongst her many titles there are a few about Blodwen Jones, a spoof on Bridget Jones with the most recent edition on its way towards becoming a Welsh language bestseller.
Rebecca Jones, amongst other things the Radio Cymru presenter of Pigion, described the pros and cons of hosting a radio programme at 05:00 every morning and the consequent early commutes compensated with being off duty by lunchtime. Joyo!
They were all inspiring in their own way but I was most impressed with the man from the beeb who explained what's available for Welsh learners on the web, and in particular the Big Welsh Challenge. A couple of years ago I gave up on a clunky online course from the University of Wales but this is in a different league altogether. Broadband enables the delivery of high quality education and entertainment based on soap opera. Speech bubbles convert unrepeatable words into dialogue you can remember. There's a north and a south version and a whole host of tools and initiatives to help people engage.
My respect for this man grew even more as he performed on the grand piano, accompanying Gillian Elisa and the impromptu choir of a hundred Welsh learners. Sospan Bach was sung with gusto, having learnt the translation it makes me chuckle at what the average English person might think it all means. As for the national anthem, it felt as though the roof was going to lift.
If not now, then when? I can't think of any more excuses for not getting on with it.
