I've realised that this blog has strayed somewhat from my original aim of it being about my journey of learning Welsh, and more just my opinion on various language-related things.

So, in a return to its true purpose, this post is a review of the book "Yn Ei Gwsg" (In His Sleep) by Bethan Gwanas.

Dafydd walks in his sleep. It's part of the reason, he suspects, for the breakup of his marriage and it gets him into all sorts of odd situations with his neighbours. One morning, however, it takes a more sinister turn when he wakes up covered in blood - not his own - and sets off with his faithful dog Wmffra to follow the bloody footprints to find out to whom the blood belongs.



The book is not nearly as dark as that synopsis makes it sound. It's actually very light-hearted, humorous and a touch sad in places. Bethan Gwanas writes novels for native Welsh speakers as well as learners, and I think that helps her keep this novel simple yet clearly aimed at adults. The language used has clearly been thought about so that the level remains suitable for the target audience, yet also shows a progression from start to finish and introduces new words and phrases.

I really enjoyed reading it. Unusually for me, I found I could hardly put it down. I think this was partly because it was genuinely an enjoyable story, and partly because the level was pretty much spot-on for my ability (this is set as Lefel Sylfaen) so I found I was able to read straight through most pages without having to resort to a dictionary (the glossary of new terms at the bottom of each page, as is common for Welsh-for-adults books, helps enormously). The language used is more northern in style, but I didn't find this a hindrance at all - in fact it helped to cement some knowledge of northern dialect that I'm bound to encounter in the wild anyway.

The last book I read before this was "Ffenestri" by Lois Arnold. If you've read up to the end of the Sylfaen level in that, you shouldn't have any problems with this and I'd recommend it as not only a good book for learners, but a good read in its own right.

Christmas has been and gone and I've now got a small collection of Welsh books aimed at learners. I already had "Ffenestri" by Lois Arnold, and I now have two Bethan Gwanas books to add to my growing library: "Yn ei Gwsg" and "Bywyd Blodwen Jones".

I've started the Blodwen Jones one, but to my shame I have only made it about three pages in. It's not because it's too difficult (it's actually about right for me), it's because life, as it is wont to do, has taken over.

That's also why I haven't been updating this blog very often: I just don't find the time.

My Welsh learning is still continuing apace though. My DuoLingo tree is now almost entirely level five (nothing below a four) and I've moved onto level two on Say Something In Welsh. The range of things I can say in Welsh now far outstrips what I can say in French, and I started learning that when I was 11 at school!

What I lack is someone to speak Welsh with. No one else in the house is interested in learning, and I suspect wouldn't stick with it long if they did. It may be time to venture out and maybe go to a meet up in Bristol or Casnewydd.