Pet whippet inspires new book for welsh learners
AN ILLUSTRATOR was inspired by her whippet for a new book for Welsh learners.
Anne Cakebread, from Radyr, Cardiff, got the idea after she re-homed Frieda, a rescue dog.
Anne quickly realised that Frieda would only respond to Welsh commands and began overcoming her nerves about speaking Welsh aloud by talking to the dog, while improving her Welsh.
This gave her the idea of creating a book to help other would-be learners while also using her skills as an illustrator.
Teach your Dog Welsh, published by Y Lolfa, aims to help learners practise with their dog.
It is full of 1950s-style retro illustrations, with a picture and the expression it illustrates (in both Welsh and English) on every double page, as well help with the Welsh pronunciation.
There are more than 100 expressions to try, from Paid â chrafu (Don’t scratch) to Fydda i ddim yn hir (I won’t be long).
Originally from Cardiff, Anne and her partner moved to St Dogmaels, where she runs a B&B. She wanted to improve her Welsh as it was important to her to become part of the lively Welsh-speaking community in the area.
“I first had to unlearn the Welsh I’d been taught in school as it’s nothing like the Welsh people speak here,” said Anne.
“That’s why I’ve made the expressions in the book colloquial, as a large part of learning is listening to what people say around you.”
The couple have another whippet and a lurcher. Frieda can understand a few words in English and the English dogs have learnt a few sentences of Welsh – so the house is fully bilingual.
There are plans to expand the series to include Teach Your Cat Welsh, as well as translations into other minority languages including Manx, Cornish and Maori.
Teach Your Dog Welsh has been awarded WH Smith Book of the Month for November.
Comedian and writer Richard Herring said: “Anne Cakebread not only has the best name in the universe, she has also come up with a brilliantly fun book which will help humans and canines learn new languages.
“I am world-renowned for doing the best Welsh accent ever, so it’s good to now also be able to speak some actual Welsh too. And more importantly, so can my dog.”
Weatherman and Welsh learner Derek Brockway also praised the book and described it as “a really nice, fun way to start learning Welsh”.
Carolyn Hodges, head of English publishing at Y Lolfa, said: “Some people have a bad experience of learning Welsh at school and that puts them off trying again as adults.
“One of the key factors in motivating someone to start learning and using a new language is to make it enjoyable.
“Teach Your Dog Welsh really brings the language to life and makes it fun – it’s a really positive (re)i ntroduction to this wonderful language.”
■ Teach Your Dog Welsh by Anne Cakebread is available now.