Today I hit a milestone: a 365 day Welsh study streak on Duolingo.
Duolingo (www.duolingo.com) is a popular language learning app that, as of this writing, serves over 300 million people around the world. According to a BBC News article from October 2023: “A 2021 report by the company said there were 1.62 million people learning Welsh on the app, with more 400,000 doing so actively. There are currently 658,000 people learning Welsh on Duolingo, with over two million now having used the course since it was launched.”
I am learning Welsh for several reasons: I see it as an act of service and an offering to the Gods to whom I am devoted; it is the next step in deepening my study and understanding of Welsh lore and literature; and it is a way of honoring Welsh culture through participation in, and support of, its beautiful language.
My greatest regret when I did my Master’s in Celtic Studies at the University of Wales is that I was unable to participate in their in-person language immersion component because of the health issues that required me to pause my studies for a year and a half.
I’ve tried to learn Welsh for years, and have purchased several audio programs, workbooks, and other kinds of learning materials. I’ve watched videos on YouTube, and took a group class for a few months with Rhiannon Taylor, a wonderful Welsh language teacher… and I hope to return to lessons with her in the future.
Many of my friends and Welsh-inspired co-religionists are either actively engaging in the study of the Welsh language, or are seriously considering starting. Since Duolingo is a fairly popular and accessible way to begin this study, I thought I’d give my thoughts on where I’ve come to after a year of consistent practice.
PROS:
- I found Duolingo’s short-session, community-connected, gamified learning process was perfect for my ADHD brain: It kept my attention, and motivated me through both its rewards system and personal accountability component by being connected with friends who are also studying languages. I’ve also used Duolingo to brush up on languages I’ve studied in the past — French, Italian, and Latin — but far and away, I’ve focused primarily on Welsh.
- According to the app, I’ve learned over 2000 words in Welsh (I’m hoping they’ll send me a detailed accounting and overview of the year). That’s a heck of a lot more than I had when I started. I. love that I’m beginning to see how many of the words are compound words, which is giving me a lot of insight into the cultural mind. I’m also very interested in those words that are similar to English, and wonder which of these are English loan words and which are words that have a common Latin (or other) root. I’m sure I’ll go down that rabbit hole at some point, because I’m a bit of a linguistics nerd.
- Another good thing for my ADHD brain is that the program teaches in such a way that one is just thrown into the work; there’s no rote (read: boring) study of grammar, you just kind of pick it up along the way… the same way we learn to speak as children.
CONS:
- At the same time, because sentence structure in Welsh is SO different than English, I feel like I would have benefited from some explicit grammar lessons. I do love a good conjugation chart (and a mutation chart — or six!!).
- Since I did tip my toe in Duolingo’s programs for other languages I’ve studied so I could brush up, I realized very quickly that their Welsh program is under-developed in comparison. This is especially true when it comes to speaking exercises and conversational learning. Considering the recent announcement that Duolingo was going to stop developing their Welsh course (it will still be on offer, but will not be expanding) this is somewhat disheartening — especially since Welsh is one of their most popular languages. (Visit here for more: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-67197462).
REFLECTIONS
So, where am I with Welsh after this year of consistent study?
In sum: I’m strongest at understanding what I’m reading, fairly good at being able to write down what I’m hearing, but really crap at speaking — both when it comes to correct pronunciation and engaging in conversation.
First the good: I am pleased with how many Welsh words I’ve learned, and am amazed at how I’ve picked up some of the patterns of Welsh grammar without having explicitly studied them. I’m in a place now where I am starting to be able to read simple Welsh stories. I can more easily follow along with sources that are side by side in Welsh and English, and I can get a general idea of what’s being discussed when reading scholarly resources in Welsh.
To my delight, I’m also getting better at understanding the meaning of proper names, as well as recognizing the components of compound words. For example, the word for restaurant in Welsh is bwyty. In Welsh, bwyta means “eat”; bwyd is “food”, and tŷ is “house”. So… the literal meaning of the word “restaurant” is an “eating house” or a “food house”.
Now, the not-so-good: Given what I’ve written above about the limitations of the Welsh program, it’s not a mystery why I’m having the greatest challenges with spoken Welsh. I really wish there was a speaking component to the coursework. It’s really important to me that I work to improve my pronunciation since I do a lot of teaching about aspects of Welsh culture, and I feel keenly aware of my responsibility do my best to share the names and places that appear in Welsh lore and history as accurately as possible. When I teach, I try to listen to pronunciations of challenging words beforehand (when I can find them), and write the words out phonetically to help me remember when teaching, but I am not always successful. To make up for this, I find it helpful to share resources like the pronunciation guides that native Welsh speakers like Kristoffer Hughes and Mhara Starling have made for the Welsh magical community.
When I was in Wales this past summer I didn’t dare try to hold a conversation in Welsh, but I did my best to use basic phrases for greetings, partings, and expressing gratitude. I listened intently to the Welsh speakers around me to see what I was able to understand, and found that watching a few programs on the Welsh language channel S4C with the captions on in Welsh was very helpful (and a good activity while recovering from covid). I did have some Welsh speaking friends try to help me with pronunciations, with much good-natured laughter, but this is definitely something I will be working on between now and my trip next summer.
OTHER RESOURCES
So, what’s next?
Well, I still have at least a few more months of new lessons in Duolingo, and I’ll probably go back to the beginning again when I’m done. The repetition will be helpful, and there were some sections that I found more difficult than others so revisiting them is a good idea.
I have a few other Welsh-learning apps as well. Say Something In Welsh is one that most Welsh speakers will recommend to those who are seeking fluency; if you prefer, it is also browser-based so you can do it on a computer. I’ve done a few Say Something In Welsh lessons here and there, but it’s a bit harder for me to stay consistent with it for several reasons: the sessions require a bigger time commitment than Duolingo, the speaking component is excellent but less flexible (can’t do a lesson at 3am when I’ve got insomnia the way I can with Duolingo), and it doesn’t have the gamification structure that has helped me stay on track with Duolingo.
You can find out more here: Say Something In Welsh: https://en.saysomethingin.com/welsh/level1
When I was taking group lessons with Rhiannon, we were using the language learning program created by the Welsh government that many people in Wales use to obtain fluency. There’s a lot of supportive audio materials online, and there are live classes that one can join, both online and in person. There are leveled workbooks and online resources. More information can be found here:
https://learnwelsh.cymru/
https://dysgucymraeg.cymru/
I also recently picked up these resources to meet my all of my “I love a good chart” needs. They came highly recommended in one of the Welsh learning communities on Facebook, and I’m really pleased with the layout and organization of the books. These are all written by Tony Ellis:
- Y Cyfeiriadur: A Resource Book for Welsh Learners
- Getting to Grips with Welsh Mutations
- Useful Welsh Words, Phrases & Idioms
IN SUMMARY
Overall, I am very happy with what I’ve been able to get out of a year of daily Welsh practice with Duolingo, and am looking forward to the next milestone of completing the course. While I still have a lot of work to do in order to obtain fluency, I feel like the program has given me a really good foundation for engaging in more intensive study of Welsh (ideally, I’d love to do an in-person language learning immersion). I now have a good working vocabulary, can feel into the patterns of sentence construction, and am miles away from where I was when it comes to understanding spoken Welsh. My pronunciation has improved, for sure, but I still have far to go.
I hope this (longer than I expected it to be!) sharing has been helpful if you’ve been thinking about studying Welsh, and have been on the fence about trying Duolingo. When it comes to choosing an approach, I think it all comes down to what your goals are when it comes to learning Welsh. If you are not looking to engage in daily conversational Welsh, but are looking to build vocabulary and get into the flow and music of the language for devotional reasons, I think Duolingo is a low-stress, accessible way to achieve these goals. If you are looking for fluency, you likely will not obtain it with Duolingo alone, but it’s a great place to begin your journey. A year will pass whether you use Duolingo or not; why not give it a shot and see where you are with your language learning a year from now? All it takes is a small daily commitment of 10 minutes a day.
Whatever you choose, if you feel drawn to begin your own Welsh studies I highly encourage you to start! Not only is it a wonderful way to participate in an aspect of Welsh culture — which can be an important part of a Welsh-centered spiritual practice — but it is also a way to support the continued growth of the Welsh language, which has been negatively impacted by centuries of colonization and oppression. Here are a few links to help you learn more about the history of Welsh language repression and the politics of language in modern Wales:
Equal Wales: The Welsh Language
The top 10 most important moments in the history of the Welsh language
History and Status of the Welsh Language
Welsh Not
Why the revival of Welsh became a model for minority languages across the globe
Welsh Language Preservation: Our Obligation to Transmit Our Cultural Heritage to Our Children
I hope you enjoy learning Welsh! Gobeithio eich bod yn mwynhau dysgu Cymraeg!
