Mad Maudlin,

have you ever had any foreign language classes, esp. any that require you to pronounce your consonants differently (e.g., Sanskrit)? I've never had a gaelic teacher, but I'd had German, Italian, Latin, French, and a little Sanskrit and set about teaching myself some Irish and Gàidhlig. (It was easy to understand the broads & slenders, esp. after the incredible variety of consonants you find in Sanskrit!) I totally freaked some guys from Donegal, who thought, after hearing me sing 6 or 7 songs from that area, that I was from Donegal! If you have an excellent ear and some language experience, I'd say, go ahead and teach yourself some Welsh. Be sure to start with songs you have recordings of until you are confident (around a year from now) that you have the subtleties of the consonant and vowel sounds down. All those aspirations and such are probably very tricky for the uninitiated.

ciarili