Welsh English

Welsh English (sometimes known as Wenglish, a term invented in the mid-1980s) is the dialect of English spoken in Wales by Welsh people. The dialect is significantly modified by Welsh grammar and nouns, and contains a number of unique words.

Some of the features of Welsh English are

• Use of /X/ (the voiceless uvular fricative) in loch, Bach, technology etc.
• Dropping of h in some varieties, making house sound like ouse. See h-dropping.
• Distinction of /w/ and /W/ in wine and whine. See Glide cluster reduction.
• Distinction of ck and k i.e. /x/ vs. /k/ in yack and yak.
• Use of the Welsh ll sound /K/ (a voiceless 'l') in Llwyd, llaw etc.
• Distinctive pitch differences giving a "sing-song" effect
• Overpronunciation of vowels is common in strong "valleys" accents
• Light rolling of r's
• Distinction of /e/, /{I/ and /eI/ in vane, vain and vein.

South Walian accents can be heard from the actors Richard Burton and (to a lesser extent) Anthony Hopkins, or on recordings of Dylan Thomas or in the music of Catatonia, Tom Jones or Shirley Bassey.

The accents of North Wales are markedly different with "Scouse"-like Liverpool accents in Queensferry and Flint to the very distinctive accent of North West Wales. Here the R is rolled extensively and the vowels are pressed to the back of the throat, especially the letter U which is pronounced as a guttural ee. The accents of some individuals from some of the more rural communities have been likened to German accents by visitors from England.

The accents of mid-Wales, especially North Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, are more gentle in nature than either the "valleys" or the Northern welsh accents and are, by repute, one of the more beautiful British accents to listen to.

External link

• http://www.talktidy.com – a guide by John Edwards, the inventor of the term 'Wenglish' who wrote two books about it.