Gwenhwyseg (also called "Gwentian") is a
Welsh dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
of
South East Wales
South East Wales is a loosely defined region of Wales generally corresponding to the preserved counties of Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and Gwent. Highly urbanised, it includes the cities of Cardiff and Newport as well as large towns in th ...
. The name derives from an old term for the inhabitants of the area, ''y Gwennwys''.
One of Gwenhwyseg's characteristics is the change in the long
a vowel sound of the
diphthong ''äë'' (
IPA ¦ÊŒ e.g. "y 'Ted' a'r Meb' a'r Ysbryd 'Glên'" instead of "y Tad a'r Mab a'r Ysbryd Glân" ("the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit"). The diphthong 'ae' is changed in the same way:
This is a diphthong which varies slightly over the Gwenhwyseg territory and not the same sound; it is also found in words like 'pen', 'pren', 'pert' etc. This does not occur in short monosyllabic words like 'mam' and 'naw' as happens in some of the dialects of
Montgomeryshire
, HQ= Montgomery
, Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996)
, Origin=
, Status=
, Start=
, End= ...
. Gwenhwyseg has influenced the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
spoken in the area with English speakers using Welsh words and syntax (see
Welsh English
Welsh English ( cy, Saesneg Gymreig) comprises the dialects of English spoken by Welsh people. The dialects are significantly influenced by Welsh grammar and often include words derived from Welsh. In addition to the distinctive words and gr ...
), e.g. ''
'What is on her?''' (Beth sydd arni?); ''
'You can count on 'er wen there's taro.''
BBC – De Ddwyrain – Geirfa'r Wenhwyseg
/ref>
References
External links
BBC – De Ddwyrain – Geirfa'r Wenhwyseg
{Dead link, date=January 2020 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Welsh dialects