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BS: Welsh Road Sign . . .
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Subject: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Crane Driver Date: 01 Nov 08 - 08:28 PM . . . lost in translation! Click here Andrew |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Herga Kitty Date: 01 Nov 08 - 09:22 PM Andrew - how successful are the signs warning not to follow the satnav, though? Kitty |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Charley Noble Date: 01 Nov 08 - 11:25 PM Andrew- All too embarrassing! Lord knows, we were certainly intimidated by Welsh road signs, and could do no more than babble when we sought more specific directions. Lovely country, though! Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: katlaughing Date: 01 Nov 08 - 11:54 PM Ah, I'd love to see Wales, but I too would be baffled. This *sign* is pretty funny, though! When I figure out how to email myself from my cellphone, I will post a sign I saw, here in Colorado, in a window of a van. It said "Welsh Parking Only." (I think it refers to a certain street named "Welsh.":-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Riginslinger Date: 02 Nov 08 - 08:35 AM It's interesting to click on one of the sidebars that discusses a part of Scotland where they put up a Welsh sign by mistake. All of this makes one wonder if these languages have any long term chance of survival. There must be efforts underway to save them, but the languages themselves must be threatened. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Stu Date: 02 Nov 08 - 08:50 AM I don't think Welsh is threatened, it just needs to be free of the Anglo-centric bureaucracy it has to contend within it's own country. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Crane Driver Date: 02 Nov 08 - 09:09 AM The Swansea area of South Wales has been primarily English speaking since at least the early 18th century. It was the first major industrial centre of Wales too. The further west and north you go, the greater the influence of the Welsh language - for many people it is still their first language and they have to think sometimes to express themselves in English. The Welsh version appears first on the road signs here. Even in Swansea there is a resurgence of interest in the language, with a choice of schools that teach all subjects through the medium of Welsh. Within the folk music world, you sometimes have to remind some people that the English language tradition of Wales is equally valid. I don't think the language here is too threatened. Although I don't speak Welsh myself, I do value it as part of the heritage of this country. Swansea council, on the other hand, I don't value too highly! Andrew |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: GUEST,Bill the sound Date: 02 Nov 08 - 08:26 PM I saw a road sign in West Wales some years ago just outsisde Ceinewydd(New Quay) it read YN ARAF PLANT YN CHWARAE It was on a narrow road and there were four houses just round the bend from the sign. I thought this one should have been in English as well but it wasn't. It means slow children playing |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Ed T Date: 02 Nov 08 - 08:33 PM Pedestrian sign's forked tongue Road sign This road sign created confusion A traffic firm has apologised for a mistake on a bilingual road sign which gave conflicting advice to pedestrians. The sign was spotted by a north Wales man during a shopping trip to the centre of Cardiff. In English the sign read 'Look Right,' but underneath the translation into Welsh read 'Look Left.' |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 02 Nov 08 - 09:10 PM Welsh is not an easy language for English speakers, but nonetheless, the officials asking for the sign could have looked up a few words in a Welsh dictionary and seen that the reply had nothing to do with residences or entry. Same for all the other mistakes. As for the Welsh sign in Aberdeen, I think it's a splendid idea. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Bert Date: 02 Nov 08 - 09:38 PM Aaaah!, I love Wales and its people. We (my big sister and me) were evacuated to Wrexham during the war. It was the most traumatic period of my life, being torn away from Mum and Dad when I was only five years old. But looking back I can only think of the generosity of the family who housed us and cared for us ungrateful kids during that time. There's not a lot I remember now except that I can pronounce LLangollen (chlangochlin, with emphasis on the penultimate syllable, the ch being pronounced as in the Scottish 'loch' or the Arabic 'sheikh') and that the Welsh flag is called "The Draig Goch". A beautiful country and warm friendly people. If you go there you must visit the Elan Valley and Devils bridge. Don't bother with the Eisteddfod at LLangollen though, commercial crap. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: katlaughing Date: 03 Nov 08 - 12:18 AM Another story of a signage mishap, though the latter part of the story is really interesting for the effort by a prof. in getting Doric dialect speakers recorded before they have all passed on. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Manitas_at_home Date: 03 Nov 08 - 05:55 AM "they have to think sometimes to express themselves in English" Would that we all did! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: A Wandering Minstrel Date: 03 Nov 08 - 08:13 AM As my father-in-law was wont to observe "You wont find any quick arafs in Wales" ;). The problem in the original sign lies not so much in the use of Welsh but in the inability of someone to realise they were listening to a recorded message. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: bubblyrat Date: 03 Nov 08 - 12:41 PM I love Wales and the Welsh, but my life has not been immeasurably enriched by the assimilation of the astounding revelation that the Welsh for "taxi" is " tacsi", or that "park" is,in fact,"parc" ( as far as I know). I mean, if the British government want to make it COMPULSORY for all British people to learn Welsh, then FINE !! ...I'll certainly have a go ! But if not, then why ,in God's name ,do we have to confuse millions of foreign tourists just to pander to a few xenophobic zealots ??? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: GUEST,Van Date: 03 Nov 08 - 02:40 PM Leeneia "Welsh is not an easy language for English speakers" Neither is Polish - what's your point. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Gurney Date: 03 Nov 08 - 10:53 PM I wonder about the presence-of-mind of someone who's job it is to translate English-to-Welsh, and who (or who's computer) sends eMails in Welsh back to the English-speaker! Didn't s/he understand that they didn't speak Welsh? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Splott Man Date: 04 Nov 08 - 03:50 AM Bubblyrat. All languages, particular;y English, assimilate words from other languages, sometimes through official sources, other time up from the street. So there is nothing wrong with tacsi or parc being Welsh words as well as English. We are NOT, repeat NOT xenophobic zealots, but a people proud of our culture. A little more laissez-faire would be welcome. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Gervase Date: 04 Nov 08 - 04:26 AM Xenophobic zealots? Xenophobia is in the eye of the whatever, I think. Where I live Welsh is the main language. I have friends who have to struggle to express themselves fluently in English, and my stepson is fluent in Welsh, speaking it at school, when playing with friends and playing rugby. I now find that I read the Welsh signs first and hardly notice the English. It's a living language and part of the culture and the more Welsh that is used the better. If you don't like it, you can always stay in your own country. Taxi, by the way, has Greek origins, while park is French. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: sian, west wales Date: 04 Nov 08 - 06:57 AM The 'fast check-out' tills at Tescos used to have signs which told me I could use them if I had, "10 Eitem neu Lleu" ... that is, 10 items or Lice. They also seem to sell Welsh speaking cheese (Caws Cymraeg). I found Welsh very easy to earn, actually. sian |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Paul Burke Date: 04 Nov 08 - 07:03 AM Didn't s/he understand that they didn't speak Welsh? Out of office autoresponders are seldom intelligent enough to detect the language of the sender. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: HuwG Date: 04 Nov 08 - 08:09 AM I worked briefly for one of Britain's big high street banks. With a Welsh name, I was told to produce the translations into Welsh for the messages on a new range of cash machines. One of the required phrases was, "This card has expired". My first stab at translation read, "This card has breathed out". |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Gurney Date: 05 Nov 08 - 12:42 AM Paul, it was the intelligence of the autoresponder-message leaver that I questioned. If you are expected to translate, surely you must expect messages from Anglophones? And this must surely have been an eMail anyway, as (I assume) the spelling is correct. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: GUEST,Bill the sound Date: 05 Nov 08 - 08:06 PM I saw this sign over the door of a Welsh shop. PEIDIWCH A CHADW Y'R IAITH-DEFNYDDYWCH HI. i THINK IT'S PROBABLY THE BEST SHOP SIGN I'VE SEEN. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: sian, west wales Date: 13 Nov 08 - 04:42 AM Just a post script: my sister (who lives in Montreal) rang me at the beginning of the week to say that the Swansea sign made some national Canadian current affairs programme! Fame at last, Swansea! sian |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: CarolC Date: 13 Nov 08 - 09:54 AM How is it xenophobic for people to use their own language in their own country? Wouldn't the xenophobe be the person who expects his or her language to be used in everyone else's country? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: folk1e Date: 14 Nov 08 - 03:07 AM +1 CarolC We are improving though ........ we don't cut welsh speakers lips off nowadays! Progress Eh? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Splott Man Date: 14 Nov 08 - 03:47 AM Da iawn |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Mrrzy Date: 14 Nov 08 - 01:37 PM Now THAT's funny! How do the welsh pronounce wales in welsh, I think it's spelled something like cymry? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Gervase Date: 14 Nov 08 - 02:52 PM Kumri, spelled Cymru. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Welsh Road Sign . . . From: Art Thieme Date: 14 Nov 08 - 03:12 PM Are there any warning signs there saying: WELSH RABBIT ---be careful! |
