Preface

  All languages present difficulties to the learner but Welsh offers fewer than most others. Much of the vocabulary, especially in the early stages, can be mastered at a glance because a considerable number of words are alike in Welsh and English, sigaret (cigarette); coffi (coffee); cloc (clock); nofel (novel), etc. Compared with French or German, the Welsh verb is child's play and there are very few irregularities. Owing to its phonetic alphabet, the pronunciation of Welsh is far easier than that of most languages.

The pronounciation of Welsh
Welsh is fairly phonetically written and each individual letter, with one or two exceptions, represents one sound only.

Lesson I
Personal Pronouns and the Verb 'To Be'
(1) Personal Pronouns
I       : fi or i    |   we    : ni
thou  : ti*        |   you   : chwi*
he     : ef         |   they  : hwɥ
she    : hi

In Welsh, all nouns are either masculine or feminine, so that there is no 'it': everything is a 'he' or a 'she'.