Croeso i Gymru

In college I took half a semester of Medieval Welsh. Half a semester because I had to drop it to avoid failing. I try to be a good student, but this class was really legitimately too difficult for me. It was cross posted as an English class and a Linguistics class and I think by midpoint there were only Linguistics students left. We were translating a Welsh folktale by using a dictionary and grammar guide to parse every word with intermittent grammar and vocabulary lessons. It. Was. Hard.

Despite the fact that I was not able to pass or complete the class I really did learn some things. One thing I learned was that Welsh has this cool letter that we don't have. LL. (Linguistic geek out.) My professor said that it is pronounced by blowing air out of the sides of your tongue.

Virginia is in a stage with her language development in which she tries out consonant sounds. (Babies begin with vowels and move to consonants.) She experiments with Mmmm, Dddd, Tttt, Gggg, Shhhh, Bbbb, and a little Wwww. Recently she has also been using LL (accompanied by bubbles of spit). Perhaps she thinks she is Welsh.

Of course, Virginia spent several days in Wales in utero. John and I found out we were pregnant the day we left on our spring road trip across the UK (scroll down to early April).

Maybe one day I will read her Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys in English. She can read it to me in Welsh.