Eisteddfod will give a hearing to declining dialects ofWales
A LEADING linguist will examine the origins of traditional Welsh dialects that are dying out in the area hosting this year’s National Eisteddfod.
With the help of two respected experts Dr Iwan Wyn Rees, of Cardiff University’s School of Welsh, will also look at how traditional Welsh dialects recorded around Abergavenny differ from other parts of the country.
Dr Rees will present his findings in a panel discussion with former Cardiff academic Professor Glyn Jones and Mary Wiliam, former curator and researcher of dialects at St Fagans National History Museum, at the National Eisteddfod in Abergavenny, which starts next week.
Dr Rees said: “Due to the popularity of last year’s panel discussion on the Welsh dialects of Montgomeryshire this year’s session will concentrate on dialects recorded in areas around Abergavenny.
“Contrary to the situation in Montgomeryshire, however, the traditional Welsh dialects of these areas are extremely rare or have died out completely, due to the decline of the Welsh language. Consequently studies carried out in the second half of the 20th century by Professor Glyn Jones and Mary Wiliam, among others, are invaluable to our understanding of Welsh varieties in areas which are commonly described as ‘anglicised’ parts of Wales.”
Dr Rees is giving another talk on August 5 at the Literature Wales pavilion about TJ Morgan, who was professor of Welsh at Swansea University and father of former First Minister Rhodri Morgan, and his recordings of the “last Welsh speakers” in the Abergavenny area.
This year’s National Eisteddfod is held at Castle Meadows, Abergavenny, from July 29 to August 6.