Having answered Ifor’s advertisement, which was placed in the local papers, nine curious disciples met up at the Orangery in Aberystwyth. Ifor gave each volunteer an individual task, but how did they fare?
I had to go into a pet shop and ask for a ‘potel ddŵr i gwnigen’ (a water bottle for a rabbit). The owner of the shop didn’t speak Welsh apparently (although he said this in Welsh!!) and to be honest, it was such an unusual thing to ask for that I didn’t think I’d have much of a chance, but with a little push he obviously understood a lot more than he’d let on, and I got the bottle quite easily.
I had to walk around the streets of Aber asking for directions to the swimming pool in Welsh only. I was very nervous to start off with, since it was impossible to guess what kind of reaction I was going to get, but I was pleasantly surprised. The people I met were incredibly polite, and more importantly they managed to understand what I was trying to say.
The only thing is was really afraid of was that a shopkeeper would get angry with me for not turning to English! [However] when I went into a sandwich shop…luckily she was very friendly and made every effort to use the little Welsh she had to listen to me – even though I had to do the chicken dance!
We soon noticed that even those with very little Welsh could pick out the odd word, and could understand the question/sentence in the end, even if we had to use gestures once or twice.
After the group discussion we were told that we’d be filmed going round Aberystwyth asking for directions, for example how to get to the town clock. That was my challenge, and in the beginning it proved quite difficult to get people to stop and speak in front of the camera, and to understand what I was asking.
I went to Siop John Evans, a men’s clothes shop in the centre of Aberystwyth. My task was to buy a white handkerchief and blue socks! As I walked into the shop, I asked in Welsh, for a white handkerchief and blue socks, and he replied (in Welsh!) that he didn’t speak Welsh! I persisted to speak Welsh, and he replied in Welsh, even though he’d told me at the beginning that he couldn’t. He didn’t have a white handkerchief, so I asked for a black one. After paying for the purchases we left.
I was very nervous at the beginning, but the preparations and the discussions made me more confident. The entire crew were friendly and very willing to answer any questions that I had. I had fun completing the task set to me by Ifor, and the experience has given me more confidence to speak Welsh with strangers.
The experience has definitely encouraged me to persevere with speaking Welsh, especially with strangers. The team prepared me for the task, so I felt quite confident by the time I ventured onto the street, even though I was still quire nervous.
My task was to purchase a red pencil, a pad of A5 paper and a sharpener from a stationers. It was surprisingly easy as a matter of fact. I’ve been going to that shop for many years, and I never realized that he was able to understand as much Welsh as he could. Who knows how many other places in Aberystwyth are the same.
31 year old fitness fanatic Rhodri originally hails from Pontypridd, but is currently living in Aberystwyth and working as a Language Officer for Ceredigion. His spare time is spent following Swansea Football Club.