WELSH
ENGLISH
Welsh English, Anglo-Welsh, or Wenglish
refers to the dialects of English spoken in
Wales by Welsh people. The dialects are
significantly influenced by Welsh grammar
and often include words derived from
Welsh. In addition to the distinctive words
and grammar, there is a variety of accents
found across Wales from the Cardiff dialect
to that of the South Wales Valleys and to
West Wales.
The Welsh alphabet
Aa Bb
Cc
Ch ch D d Dd ddE e
a
bi
ec
èch
di
èdd
Ff
Ff ff G g Ng ng
Hh
Ii
Ll
èf
èff
èg èng
aets i
èl
Nn
Oo
P p Ph ph R r
em
èn o
pi
ffi/yff
èr
Rh rh S s T t Th th U u
W Yy
rhi
ès
ti
èth
u
w
y
e
Ll
èll M m
Pronunciation




 Vowels
 Short monophthongs
The vowel of cat /æ/ is pronounced as a more central
near-open front unrounded vowel [æ̈]. In Cardiff, bag is
pronounced with a long vowel [a:].
The vowel of end /ɛ/ is a more open vowel and thus
closer to cardinal vowel [ɜ] than R.P.
The vowel of "kit" /ɪ/ often sounds closer to the schwa
sound of above, an advanced close-mid central
unrounded vowel [ɘ̟]
The vowel of hot /ɒ/ is raised towards /ɔ/ and can thus be
transcribed as [ɒ̝] or [ɔ̞]
 The schwa of better may be different from that of above
in some accents; the former may be pronounced as [ɜ],
the same vowel as that of bus.
 The vowel of "bus" /ʌ/ is pronounced as [ɜ], which is a
shortened version of the vowel in R.P. bird and is
encountered as a hypercorrection in northern areas for
foot. It is sometimes manifested in border areas of north
and mid Wales as an open front unrounded vowel /a/ or
as a near-close near-back vowel /ʊ/ in northeast Wales.
 The schwi tends to be supplanted by an /ɛ/ in final closed
syllables, e.g. brightest /ˈbɾəi.tɛst/. The uncertainty over
which vowel to use often leads to 'hypercorrections'
involving the schwa, e.g. programme is often
pronounced /ˈproːɡ.rəm/
Long monophthongs
 The vowel of car is often pronounced as a more central
open back unrounded vowel [ɑ̈][8] and more often as a long
open front unrounded vowel /aː/
 In broader varieties, particularly in Cardiff, the vowel of
bird is similar to South African and New Zealand, i.e. a
lowered close-mid front rounded vowel [ø̞]
 Most other long monophthongs are similar to that of
Received Pronunciation, but words with the RP /əʊ/ are
sometimes pronounced as [oː] and the RP /eɪ/ as [eː]. An
example that illustrates this tendency is the Abercrave
pronunciation of play-place [ˈpleɪpˌleːs]
 In northern varieties, coat and caught/court are often
merged into /kɔːt/
Diphthongs
 Fronting diphthongs tend to resemble Received
Pronunciation, apart from the vowel of bite that has a
more centralised onset [æ̈ɪ]
Backing diphthongs are more varied:
 The vowel of low in R.P., other than being rendered as a
monophthong, like described above, is often pronounced
as [oʊ̝]
 The word town is pronounced similarly to the New
Zealand pronunciation of tone, i.e. with a near-open
central onset [ɐʊ̝]
 The /juː/ of R.P. in the word due is usually pronounced as
a true diphthong [ëʊ̝]
Consonants
 A strong tendency towards using an alveolar tap [ɾ] (a
'tapped r') in place of an approximant [ɹ] (the r used in
most accents in England).
 Some gemination between vowels is often encountered,
e.g. money is pronounced [ˈmɜ.nːiː]
 In northern varieties influenced by Welsh, pens and
pence merge into /pɛns/ and chin and gin into /dʒɪn/
 In the north-east, under influence of such accents as
Scouse, ng-coalescence does not take place, so sing is
pronounced /sɪŋɡ/
 Also in northern accents, /l/ is frequently strongly
velarised [ɫː]. In much of the south-east, clear and dark L
alternate much like they do in R.P.
Grammar
Working-class users of English in Wales tend to use the
following constructions, also found elsewhere in the UK:
 multiple negation (l’aven’t done nothin’ to nobody, see?);
 them as a demonstrative adjective {them things);
 as as a relative pronoun (the one as played for Cardiff);
 non-standard verb forms (She catched it, The coat was all
tore);
 ‘isself for himself and theirselves for themselves (‘E done
it ‘isself and they saw it for theirselves);
Non-standard forms reflecting an
influence from Welsh include:
 do/did + verb, to indicate a regularly performed action (He do
go to the rugby all the time; He did go regular-like);
 foregrounding for emphasis (Money they’re not short of They
aren’t short of money);
 there and not how in exclamations (There’s lovely you are!);
 untransformed embedded sentences, especially after verbs of
saying and thinking (fm not sure is ‘e in I’m not sure if he’s in);
 the overgeneralization of the question tag isn’t it? (We’re goin’
out now, isn’t it?); occasional yes replacing a positive question
tag (You’re a teacher, yes?);
 will and not will be (I’m not quite ready, but I will soon); and
too for either (I don’t like it.—I don’t like it too)..
Vocabulary
 Words drawn from Welsh generally relate to culture and
behaviour: carreg a stone, clennig a gift of money, eisteddfod
(plural eisteddfodau) a cultural festival, glaster a drink of milk
and water.
 Words that are shared by Welsh English and dialects of
England include: askel a newt, dap to bounce, lumper a young
person, pilm dust, sally willow, steam a bread-bin.
 General English words with local extensions of meaning
include: delight a keen interest, as in She’s get tin’ a delight in
boys; lose to miss, as in ‘Urry or we’ll lose the train; tidy good,
attractive, as in Tidy ‘ouse you’ve got, bach.
 The form boyo, from boy, is common as both a term of address
and reference, and is sometimes negative in tone: Listen, boyo,
I’ve somethin’ to tell you; That boyo is not to be trusted.