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Book Review: Gramadeg Cymraeg Cyfoes

© Sarah Stevenson

If you eavesdrop on any Welsh language mailing list long enough, you'll be sure to hear some arguments take place about "Cymraeg Byw." Cymraeg Byw, or Living Welsh, is a somewhat controversial academic version of Welsh created in the 1960s and 1970s as a standard for textbooks. Of course, nobody who aims to be a fluent Welsh speaker would really want to speak textbook Welsh-just as someone who speaks textbook English is looked at a bit askance, speaking Cymraeg Byw marks the speaker as an obvious learner.

Nevertheless, it's can be a useful way for a beginner to get started with Welsh; for this reason I occasionally advocate beginning texts which still use Cymraeg Byw verb forms. For learners who already know their regional colloquialisms, a Cymraeg Byw grammar text can still be a helpful general reference. Gramadeg Cymraeg Cyfoes - Contemporary Welsh Grammar, now published by Gomer Press, is one of these general grammar texts.

I started using this book in my very first Welsh class, and it's still coming in handy even though I'm at a more advanced level. As a quick reference for parts of speech, numerals, verb tenses, sentence structure, and clause structure-one which won't weigh down your book bag-this slim volume is a must-have. In conjunction with a more comprehensive and conversational Welsh text such as Gareth King's Colloquial Welsh, you'd be all set in terms of basic grammar reference.

So what will you find in Gramadeg Cymraeg Cyfoes? Just about every niggling grammar point that tends to plague the learner's ailing memory, that's what. If you have trouble remembering how to conjugate prepositions, which verbs take which prepositions, what the modern vs. traditional numbers are, how to form superlatives, how to write a letter, or how to create every possible type and tense of clause and sentence, then flip through this book and you'll find a quick answer and a few examples. You won't find a lengthy, complete explanation, but if all you really need is a reminder of how something works, then this is an excellent resource.

There are also several treats-at least, for those who enjoy idiomatic expressions-at the end of the book. There is a list of useful commands, such as "come inside," "go away," and "turn the page." There is an alphabetical list of very common expressions, such as "I wonder," "step by step," "zig-zag," "it's obvious," and so on. And-possibly my favorite part of the book-there is a list of comparative expressions: light as a feather, as heavy as lead, etc. It's like the cherry on top (though I'm not sure you can really compare grammar to a hot fudge sundae...).