Is it true that a beginner can learn to pronounce Welsh easily?
The answer to this is ‘yes’: ‘received’ Welsh is spelt as it sounds once it is realized that the Welsh alphabet represents some sounds differently, e.g. ‘f’ on its own sounds like an English ‘v’, ‘dd’ sounds like ‘th’ in ‘them’, ‘ff’ like ‘f’ in ‘funnel’, ‘ch’ as in Scottish ‘loch’, and ‘ll’ is a unique sound produced by trying to say ‘sh’ with the tip of the tongue pressed behind the upper front of the mouth, allowing air to escape between the tongue and upper teeth on one side of the mouth. The rhythm and intonation can only be acquired by listening to spoken Welsh and by spending time with a program such as Linguata Welsh which allows you to play common words and phrases repeatedly and, most important, enables you to listen to and monitor your own pronunciation.
