Well can you say it ?

This is a really quick post inspired by our discussion about Wales.

For those of you who want to try saying something Welsh here is the name of one of its villages:
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch It really just trips of the tongue doesn't it ?
The English translation is "The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio's of the red cave".


At one time a local government official of the town suggested that English people wanting to reside in Wales should be tested on their pronunciation of the town.
Rattling off the name would be an excellent way of overcoming Welsh fear of cultural domination by the English, according to a local government official in the Anglesey town.

"I am certainly not anti-English," said Alan Jones, the clerk to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrob-
wllllantysiliogogogoch community council. "But there needs to be some effort by newcomers to mix in, and learning how to say the word properly would show a real willingness."

How to say it 101

LLAN - FAIR - PWLL - GWYN - GYLL - GO - GER - YCH - WYRN - DROB - WLL - LLAN - TY - SILIO - GO - GO - GOCH

• LLAN - To start off with, pronounce this section as you would do the Scottish word "clan".Then listen to the sound recording above taking particular notice of how the "ll" is pronounced. It is difficult to explain in words and is more easily learnt by oral example, but we will have a go here anyway. Lie your tongue flat in your mouth so that the tip is firmly touching the bridge behind your front teeth. Keeping the tip of your tongue in place, try and touch your back teeth with the sides of your tongue - now breathe out forcing the air to run strongly over the back of your tongue. This will cause a vibrating noise near your back teeth. Again, keeping the tongue in position, gently change the shape of your tongue until the sound becomes more controlled. This is the "ll" sound you are looking for.
  

• FAIR - Simply pronounce this section as you would the english word "fire", (not like you would expect to pronounce the word "fair" in english!) and change the "f" for a "v".
  

• PWLL - Now you have been practising your "ll" sound this will be a little easier to explain. The "pw" section is pronounced like the "pu" in the english word "put". Now add the "ll" on the end as described above. Now listen to the sound file again!
  

• GWYN - You may have heard the Welsh name "Gwyn", well this is pronounced in exactly the same way. Just say the english word "win" and put a "g" in front of it. (pronounce the "g" as you would in the word "gone"). Easy.
  

• GYLL - This is a bit more tricky. First say the english word "gil" (as associated with fish!"). Then change the "l" (as in "let") to "ll" as explained above. Listen to the sound file again.
  

• GO - Looks easy doesn't it - it is! Pronounce it as you would the "go" in "gone"
  

• GER - Simply say the word "care" but change the "c" for a "g".
  

• YCH - Like the pronunciation of "ll", this is another tricky section to explain. Think of something you don't like and say "yuck". Now take the "y" from the beginning to leave "uck". Now change the "ck" to "ch" as pronounced in the Scottish word "loch".
  

• WYRN - This looks more complicated that it is. Just say the english word "win".
  

• DROB - First say the english word "draw" and then add a "b" on the end. Easy.
  

• WLL - You've learnt this already. It's pronounced the same as "pwll" above but without the "p".
  

• LLAN - Again, this is exactly the same as the "llan" at the beginning of this section.
  

• TY - Simply pronounce this section as you would the "t" in "twig".
  

• SILIO - Just say "silly - o". The "o" is pronounced as in "cot".
  

• GO - As above.

• GO - As above.

• GOCH - We're almost there. Simply say "go" as above, put the "ch" after it and that's it! Put it all together and keep on practising.

Phew!!
They do provide a sound file here.

Good luck ;) and have a great weekend.