See, Learning a Language Can be Fun!
A lot of people think that learning Welsh is all work and one sided - you learn, they teach. Nothing could be farther from the truth!
Imagine sitting in a classroom and answering a question posed to you by a university lecturer. Why it’s a golden opportunity to challenge their knowledge of pre-school Welsh!
And how about the joys of conversing with native speakers at a speed designed to help them build their concentration skills and stay awake beyond the level of actual human endurance.
But probably the best thing about learning a language is using the wrong word. To date I haven’t done too badly with this, I’ve told someone I was stew after convienently forgetting to include a verb in my sentence. I explained to another person that they looked dangerous whilst attempting to compliment their appearance and advised someone else that I had gone when I really came.
This all changed yesterday, though, when I did the best one yet. What was really awful about this was a) it was someone I greatly admire and b) I didn’t realize it until this morning when I woke up to the horrifying realization of what I had said.
Well, I went down to Ty Tawe yesterday morning for the coffee clutch and to hear the guys play Welsh folk music. One of them was busily tuning an instrument of the same make as one I have. I thought “Oh boy! This is something I can actually talk about. At a reasonable speed. In short sentences. Using the present tense (which I’m really good at)!”
So off I went to chat with him. After a short conversation I turned to go back to my table, advising him that I loved myself, and went off across the room.
Well, of course I meant I loved ‘mine’ and, obviously he knew what I meant. Still……it had to have been funny. And, I absolutely have to give him credit. He didn’t laugh. But it must have been all he could do not to because I am. In fact, I have been laughing about this all morning……
