Anyone who spends a fair amount of time browsing the internet knows that there has been an ongoing explosion of weblogs-online journals, news trackers, collections of links, organized by date and updated regularly. The purpose of any individual weblog varies widely, but there seems to be something out there to pique the interest of just about anyone. This is true for speakers and learners of Welsh, too: Just type "Welsh" or "Cymraeg" in the search box of a blog aggregator such as Bloglines and you'll find no shortage of blogs in Welsh.
What can Welsh-language blogs offer? That depends on whether you're a reader or a would-be blogger. For would-be bloggers, you have a forum to practice writing in Welsh, not to mention a chance to appeal to an audience of Welsh speakers or learners. As for readers, what will you find on Welsh-language blogs? That, of course, varies; you can find anything from music news to political commentary to the tribulations of a Welsh learner-all in Welsh. Learners in particular have a lot to gain from perusing Welsh-language weblogs. Just find a blog that focuses on topics that interest you and you'll find that it's a great opportunity to pick up new vocabulary, as well as practice reading more informal, colloquial Welsh. This is in addition to the usual perks of reading a blog-getting clued into new and interesting links, and being entertained by the personality of the blogger.
This ongoing series of articles will look at a few new Welsh-language blogs in each installment, giving a quick review and blurb of each one. My hope in posting these sites is to encourage and promote interconnections within the Welsh-speaking (and Welsh-learning) world. Particularly for learners, the more contact with other Welsh speakers you have, and the more reading practice you get, the more your Welsh will improve.
If you're still doubting that there can that many blogs in Welsh, just take a look at the huge list of blogiau Cymraeg in the sidebar of Morfablog. This blog is the handiwork of Welsh tutor Nic Dafis, who also runs a number of other sites on various topics. One that is especially useful for learners is http://morfablog.com/dysgu/ , which rates each post in terms of difficulty of the language used-from "pawb" (everyone) to "rhugl" (fluent). Morfablog is his personal blog, with a strong focus on topics of Welsh and linguistic interest, but he also includes a variety of posts related to current events, interesting links and articles, new blogs, etc. There is only a bit of English here and there, mainly when he's quoting somebody who wrote in English-so beginners might want to start with his "dysgu" page (above).
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