or is one of the four traditional
dialect
A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...
s of the
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...
. Spoken in south-west Wales, the language takes its name from the
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
tribe the
Demetae, who would also give their name to the post-Roman
Kingdom of Dyfed
The Kingdom of Dyfed (), one of several Welsh petty kingdoms that emerged in 5th-century sub-Roman Britain in southwest Wales, was based on the former territory of the Demetae (modern Welsh ''Dyfed''). The royal line was founded by Irish ...
.
Writing in 1900,
John Rhŷs and
David Brynmor Jones referred to the dialect as "Demetian" and noted it was "closely connected" to the neighboring
Gwenhwyseg
or (also called " Gwentian" in English) is a Welsh dialect
A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well ...
, or "
Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...
Welsh". The writers also give a boundary for the dialect as "northwards, as far as the stream of Wyrai at
Llanrhystud".
Today, many of the communities with the highest numbers of Welsh speakers are found in the traditional area for Ddyfedeg. As such, it is one of the most common forms of Welsh spoken today. The dialect (along with Gwenhwyseg and
Powyseg) also forms a major constituent part of the wider "Southwalian dialect".
Bibliography
*W. Meredith Morris, ''A Glossary of the Demetian Dialect of North Pembrokeshire (with Special Reference to the Gwaun Valley)'' (Tonypandy, 1910)
*Alan R. Thomas, ''The Linguistic Geography of Wales'' (Cardiff, 1973)
See also
*
Landsker Line
References
Welsh dialects
Dyfed
{{Languages of Wales