Welsh as She is Spelled/Spelt

We've come across quite a few different spellings of words or names that we're already familiar with since moving to Wales. When they're explained to me and I read them out in Welsh, I realize that "hmm, that spelling works!" It's just not what I'm used to.

Gilhespy is a surname that we would write as Gillespie

Ifans is another family name, pronounced as Evans (Welsh f has a v sound)

Huw is another way of spelling the man's name Hugh

Sion can be a spelling of the boy's name Sean

Mail box in our town with King George VI cypher, dating it between 1936 and 1952

Welsh has between 8 and 13 dipthongs (vowel combinations) depending on the region, and they harvest them from 7 vowels - A, E, I, O, U, W, and Y - not 5, as in English. This obviously generates more variations.

So, our street name Coed Llan Lane, is actually said as Coyd (as in boy) Hlan Lane.

It's fun learning new things, but it's hard making them stick!