Powyseg (or ''Powysian''; or ) is a dialect of the Welsh language spoken in the central areas of

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It is one of the four major dialects of Welsh spoken in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Its usage is most predominantly found within northern

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

county in Wales and the former Kingdom of Powys city Wroxeter (formerly in Welsh) in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The dialect follows neighbouring Welsh in its writing and speaking. Northern Welsh variants are known to have vocabulary and literary differences from Standard Welsh, for example ''llefrith'' (Ddefedeg and Powyseg) and ''llaeth'' (

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 ...

and Gwyndodeg), both meaning "milk" in English, with one being more standard in the north, and the other in the south. meaning hedge is another word unique to Powyseg, compared to the northern (), western (), Pembrokeshire () and Gwenhwyseg () terms for hedge. Powyseg and Gwyndodeg also use the term for fox compared to the southern word . John Morris-Jones stated in 1913, that Powyseg was one of the four dialectal areas in Wales, with the dialect covering Northern Mid Wales and North East Wales. While in the 1900 book "The Welsh People", John Rhŷs and David Brynmor-Jones stated the dialect was one of the three dialects of Wales (Gwenhwyseg and Ddefedeg, were grouped together as the "Southwalian dialect"), and Powyseg was centred on Montgomeryshire but had since expanded to the Merionethshire coast from the River Dyfi (Dovey) to Dolgellau and Harlech. The dialect was claimed by the two to have been spread by Cunedda Wledig.

References

{{Languages of Wales Welsh dialects Powys