Medieval Welsh

A Self-Instruction Course created by Heather Rose Jones

Copyright © 2003, 2004 all rights reserved. This page most recently revised on: May 31, 2004

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Unit: 2g

Vocabulary Review

 

You may have figured out by now that it is useful to keep track of the vocabulary you have been given in some sort of organized fashion. I strongly suggest that you begin building (if you have not already) a reference glossary of the material that has been presented. It should include the Welsh word, its translation, the part of speech (noun, adjective, etc.) gender (if applicable), plural (if applicable), and whatever other information you think you might want. 3x5 cards work nicely for this. An electronic equivalent (e.g., databases, spreadsheets, or sortable word-processing files) can also be useful.

Some Learning Techniques for Vocabulary

My experience, both from studying a wide variety of languages and from observing others' teaching techniques, is that one of the most useful things a language-learner can do is to bring as many senses as possible to the study of a new language. One application of this is to pronounce (and, if possible, listen to) all of the examples and exercises as you work through them. Anotherh approach is to emphasize exercises that involve producing language, not only reading and translating it. This applies even to those who are interested only in developing reading proficiency. Being able to translate into Medieval Welsh will improve your competence and fluency in translating out of it.

For similar reasons to the above, I strongly advise writing out your vocabulary and exercises in longhand, as well as working electronically. The kinesthetic experience will reinforce the patterns of the language by yet another pathway. Similarly, if you are building an electronic vocabulary index, retype the information rather than cutting and pasting so that your mind processes it one more time.

Building your reference glossary -- whether on index cards or in electronic format -- is the first part of the vocabulary review exercise. The second part is to make longhand lists grouping the vocabulary by meaning: colors, animals, sizes, body parts, etc. Grouping words by meaning -- both on paper and in your mind -- will also help you remember them better.

Add the following words to your glossary. (You will have had some of them already.) You will need them at the end of this unit.

word category plural gloss fem. if different
ael n.f -(y)eu eyebrow
aelod n.m -eu limb
barv n.f -eu beard
bys n.m -(s)edd finger, toe
cnawd n.m flesh
crwnn adj.m crynyon round f. cronn
esgeir n.f -yeu leg
grymus adj strong, powerful
gwallt n.m hair
gweddus adj suitable, seemly
gwressawg adj warm, fervent
gwynn adj.m -yon white f. gwenn
hir adj -yon long
llygad n.b llygeid eye
mawr adj -yon big, great
melyn adj yellow
mwnwgl n.m mynygleu neck
teg adj fair, pretty
troed n.b traed foot
unyawn adj straight
wyneb n.m -eu face
ymennydd n.m -yeu brain

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