My standard answer is dypin bach (a little) but in fact I'm afraid to say it should be dypin bach iawn iawn (very very ) little! But I've ingested the language and know and understand many words and everyday phrases from being born and bred in this part of Wales. And some phrases are part of life, like this one - "would you like a cuppa".
A friend has suggested I try some picture designs using Welsh phrases or words and here are a few I've embroidered this week. This one is a line from the lovely Welsh song Calon Lan and translates as I ask for a happy heart.
Gee Ceffyl Bach (Gee up little horse) is a nursery rhyme all Welsh mothers sing to the baby on her knee, bumping him/her up and down like a pony and at the end of the rhyme the excited baby is dropped between the knees when 'falling into the river'. Here are two ladies doing exactly what I did with my son 40-odd years ago!
These are the first two lines of a lullaby that goes like this "You are a thousand times more beautiful than the white rose; Or the red rose on the brow of the hill; Or the proud swan swimming the lake, My little baby."
And lastly the title of a very famous Welsh hymn "Ar hyd y nos", (All through the night). I didn't want to use the obvious words/phrases usually seen in Welsh gift shops and craft fairs, ie, Cwtch (which is not much used in North Wales), Croeso, Cariad, Hiraeth, etc so I'm hoping these go down well.... or am I completely off track! If you see this Gill what do you think?
