# Difficulty of Welsh



## avalon2004

Hi all,

I have just returned from Wales and was wondering if anyone could tell me how hard Welsh would be to learn. I do not posess any knowledge of the language at all but I noticed simply from looking at translations/signs that it seems to have very little in common with English, perhaps even less so than Greek and Russian (other than English words adapted into the language). Also, is Welsh pronounced as it is read or do sounds change? I know that it also sounds very different to English, especially "ll" and "ch" phonemes I believe. I would be grateful for any information at all on the language and how it may be considered "easy" or "difficult"..

Thanks in advance


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## Outsider

The Welsh "ch" is the same as in "Loch", if you pronounce it the Scottish way. As for "ll", that one is tough, though it's not the hardest sound of Welsh, from what I've read. Wikipedia has excellent pages on Welsh. Check them out. They have also links to good websites on Welsh, at the bottom of their main article on the Welsh language.
See also this previous thread.


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## judkinsc

Welsh and Gaelic both derive from the Celtic family of languages, rather than the Germanic, like English.

Think of it this way: An entire nation of people has it as their cultural heritage and it hasn't yet died out as a popular language.  It must not be utterly impossible to learn.


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## bb3ca201

Tips for pronouncing the Welsh consonant "ll" -- form the letter "L" in your mouth, and then just blow out (but keep that shape), and you'll have it perfectly.

Be warned, though...it IS a separate letter in Welsh, and so occurs very frequently!  Practice a lot!


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## bb3ca201

Sorry, one more tip

if you want to pronounce a vowel after the "ll" (as in "Llanfair"), take care not to sound a "l"; it should NOT sound like "LL-lanva-eer".  It's a sound on its own


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