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Getting Started with Welsh: Pronunciation

© Sarah Stevenson

One of my former Welsh teachers from the annual Cymdeithas Madog course, Heini Gruffudd, wrote an instructional book called Welsh Is Fun. And it most definitely is, but many English speakers are daunted by its apparent lack of consonants and its unfamiliar sounds. But this is an unfortunate misconception, because once you get the hang of it, pronouncing Welsh words is really quite simple--unless, of course, you're trying to pronounce Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch! (Click here for a sound file)

Another misconception some people have about the Welsh language is that it is guttural, and therefore causes spit to fly freely! Though it's certainly true that the Welsh learner may find it hard to pronounce some sounds without spitting, it's also true that spoken Welsh is far from guttural-sounding--I personally find it to be melodious and lovely. Read on for some tips on how to read the Welsh alphabet and sound out words.

Though there are some dialectal differences in the way sounds are pronounced--primarily between North and South Wales--the alphabet is easy to learn because each consonant has only one sound. Compare that to English, and you'll find learning the Welsh alphabet to be a piece of cake!

Consonants

b as in English boy
c always as in cake or cat (never soft as in ace)
ch as in Scottish loch or German bach. This is considered a single letter, and it does not occur in English.
d as in dog
dd is also a single letter, pronounced "th" as in the or this (never soft as in thin)
f sounds like "v" as in of; meanwhile
ff sounds like "f" as in off.
g as in go, never soft as in giraffe
ng as in song
h as in hat
j as in jam; occurs in borrowed words
l as in lazy
ll is not found in English, but is very common in Welsh. Put your tongue in position as though you were going to make an "l" sound, but blow out instead. I highly recommend listening to BBC Catchphrase's pronunciation lesson for an audio lesson on how to pronounce this and other sounds!
m as in man
n as in now
p as in pet
ph is pronounced as "ff", and only appears at the beginning of a word as a mutation of "p" (more on mutations later)
r is trilled, like in Spanish
rh is an aspirated "r--try saying perhaps while trilling the "r"
s as in stop, never as in nose. The combination "si," however, is always pronounced "sh."
t as in town

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