The Welshabet

Whilst visiting the Pontcysyllte aqueduct last week, I saw a sign for Wrecsam/Wrexham, which got me thinking, 'does Welsh use an X?'

I then fell down the another rabbit hole (no surprise), discovering that Welsh has 29 letters in its alphabet, and that doesn't include K, Q, V, X, Z. Instead, it uses ll, dd, ff and so on, as additional, separate letters (digraphs, the combination of which alters the sound). For example, 'ff' makes the sound of an f while f on its own makes the same sound as a v. How exciting, and extraordinary! It starts to make some kind of sense after a while!

So, here is what I call the Welshabet, without the j which has been more recently approved as an addition (1987).

Welsh alphabet

To complicate matters a little, the location of some letters in a word changes how that letter is said - English speakers shouldn't complain! The word for hospital (ysbyty) contains all 3 different ways y is pronounced, all in one word. (Remember y is a useful vowel)

To say hospital, ysbyty, try this: usbuhttee