Growing up and watching shows such as Gavin and Stacey, which include welsh phrases like ‘where to you now’ and ‘what’s occurring’, I was intrigued to come to a university in Wales. I was interested to see just how many more phrases the welsh use, that would be foreign to many other places.
Words and Phrases
Words such as butt and mush, are used the same way by Welsh people as the English use mate. ‘Buzzing’ where I come from in England is when you are excited about something. However, in Cardiff, buzzing for many welsh people means hanging or disgusting. Little phrases like that make a sentence from anywhere else very different.
Words in a Welsh Accent
The Welsh accent can definitely alter how words are said. This can be seen in words such as ‘ridiculous’. A typical four-syllable word to an English person, would be said in a Welsh accent in three syllables. Furthermore, ‘can’t’ would be changed to ‘canny’.
‘Cwtch’ is used in wales to mean cuddle or hug. This is an endearing term but can only really be carried off by a welsh accent. For example,’ someone from London saying ‘cwtch’ would be somewhat out of place. Furthermore, a scratch is translated to ‘scram’ by the welsh. So if my cat had scratched me, many welsh people would say I’d been scrammed. This slight change in certain words shows how different locations, even when speaking the same language, can create their own bubble of niche terms.
Overall welsh phrases such as ‘I canny lie to you’, ‘I’m going to be honest with you’, or ‘tidy’ (meaning good) make the Welsh sound far more conversational and friendly than other regions in the United Kingdom.
Personally, I’m a fan of a Welsh accent. I think you ‘canny’ fault it, and some of the phrases I’ve heard in four years spent in Cardiff will definitely be adopted into my life back in England.
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