Chinese linguist teaching Welsh online in Mandarin
WHEN she heard Welsh spoken for the first time, YuQi Tang thought it was the most “exotic, sexy” language she’d ever heard.
Three years on, the Welsh learner from Shanghai is so fluent in the language she teaches Welsh through the medium of Mandarin Chinese to hundreds of followers in China – as well as Mandarin through the medium of Welsh.
Teaching Welsh on the channel BiliBili – the equivalent of YouTube in China – YuQi goes by the name “Miss Morwenna” and also explains Welsh culture to her more than 300 followers.
She said this is a “hobby”, while her day job is teaching Mandarin and developing Mandarin courses through the medium of Welsh and English at the University of Wales Trinity St David.
When YuQi moved to Wales three years ago with husband Scott Griffiths she said she had not realised how widely Welsh was spoken here.
The Welsh Government wants to expand the number of Welsh-speakers to one million by 2050.
“The first time I heard Welsh, I thought it sounds so exotic.
“It sounds really sexy to my ears. Some of the sounds don’t exist in other languages I have learned. I think it was the pronunciation that got my attention,” YuQi, 31, said.
“It’s not an easy language. I would not say it’s harder than Chinese, but definitely harder than learning French.”
YuQi, who also goes by her chosen Welsh name, Morwenna, met Scott while he was working in Shanghai.
The couple married in 2015 and moved to Cardiff in 2019 before settling in Newquay, Ceredigion.
After starting to learn Welsh on the Duolingo app, YuQi began a course with Learn Welsh Gwent during lockdowns and practised the language speaking Welsh on the phone to Scott’s 80-year-old aunt, Mair, when she was shielding in 2020.
“It’s been really nice to be able to speak Welsh over the phone with Mair, my husband’s great-aunt.
“We’ve been reading T Llew Jones’ novel, Un Noson Dywyll, together, and have now moved on to the Mabinogi in old Welsh, which is very interesting.”
YuQi is often asked why she learned Welsh and has answers ready in three languages.
“It’s pretty easy to anticipate questions Welsh-speakers will ask you – why learn Welsh, why move to Wales and so on. . .
“But learners need to put themselves in other situations in order to extend their vocabulary, and themselves.
“And the most important thing is not to be afraid of making mistakes and to enjoy the challenge of trying to speak a new language.”
As well as teaching Welsh to followers in China on BiliBili, YuQi is a Chinese tutor at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, where she is developing learning materials in English, Welsh and Chinese.