Welsh is the oldest language in Britain, dating back 4,000 years. It is a Celtic language spoken by around 750,000 people in Wales (about a quarter of the population). There are another 130,000 Welsh speakers around England, Scotland and Ireland, including about 50,000 in London. There are also a few hundred Welsh speakers in Patagonia, Argentina. There are two dialects, northern and southern, but fortunately the differences are fairly minor.
There's a good history of the language on the BBC Wales website. More information about the Welsh Language can be found at:
Since you seem to have an affinity to the language you may like to learn a bit more! There are a number of fantastic online resources for learning Welsh for example from SSiW, the BBC and S4C:
| English | Welsh | Rough Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| thanks | diolch | dee-ock |
| thanks very much | diolch yn fawr | dee-ock unn vowr |
| please | plis | please |
| OK | iawn | yown (rhymes with gown) |
| good morning | bore da | bor-er dah |
| good afternoon | prynhawn da | prin-hown dah |
| good evening | noswaith dda | noss-wythe-ah |
| good night | nos da | noss dah |
| hello | helo | hello |
| goodbye | hwyl | hoy-ill |