Welsh Language country names explained!

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  • Опубліковано 31 жов 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 88

  • @yannschonfeld5847
    @yannschonfeld5847 2 роки тому +5

    As for Cornwall, it was after the Roman departure likely named after the Keltic tribe the " Cornvoi" (roughly in the Midlands) who moved down to where the "Dumnonii" (Devon) (to escape Saxon raids) tribe covered these lands and shortly after that some of the Cornovi sailed across the Channel and created another Kernow in present day Brittany. Further east including the region around St. Brieuc was created an older kingdom of Dumnonia. According to legend, there was at least one British king "Caradoc"who had kingdoms on both side of the Channel. Caradec is a common surname in Brittany.

  • @magneticbrian
    @magneticbrian 2 роки тому +4

    Fascinating as always, Ben.
    Diolch! Brian

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому +2

      Diolch. I shall have to get over to Ireland!

  • @newg4515
    @newg4515 2 роки тому +1

    thanks for doing the suggestion! was looking foward to this.

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому

      Croeso / welcome.
      It was a decent suggestion.

  • @bbpsicologia
    @bbpsicologia 2 роки тому +3

    Hi! Parabéns!
    Um abraço!

  • @fredericosampaio6457
    @fredericosampaio6457 2 роки тому +3

    Ben, I once read in one of Bernand Cornwell's book ( a fiction book) that Lloegyr ( now Lloegr) meant "lost lands". By the way, as always, Excelent Video 👏👏👏👏👏

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому +1

      Lost lands.... very apt!

    • @alunrees313
      @alunrees313 2 роки тому +1

      Lloegr means the moon worshipers

  • @Argenbiz
    @Argenbiz 2 роки тому +1

    Congratulations from Y Wladfa, Yr Ariannin! I am Argentine with no Welsh background learning Welsh!

  • @DoctorCymraeg
    @DoctorCymraeg 2 роки тому +1

    Another awesome video. Da iawn, Ben.
    Mae dy fideos yn gwella trwy’r amser. Wedi mwynhau’n fawr.
    I think yr Aifft is simply from the word Egypt (or similar word in another language) but with a Brythonic spelling. E>AI, G>x, P>PH/FF, T>T/D 👍
    PALESTEINA 🇵🇸

    • @DoctorCymraeg
      @DoctorCymraeg 2 роки тому

      Also liked Vietnam. I think I’d have gone for GWYEDNÂF, or something like that 🤷‍♂️😂

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому

      Diolch SteCymru. Gwyednâf 😂 Nice.

  • @adrianjones8060
    @adrianjones8060 2 роки тому +4

    Cymraeg needs It’s own name for every country, instead of using the English, so your suggestions are constructive and relevant. It’s ironic that you filmed it in the ‘land of the Cofis ‘ie. Caernarfon where there’s a plethora of words unique to the town. ‘Giaman’ for cat, fodan for young girl, miglo for running away and so on!! Thanks for the video, it reminded me of the walks my Taid took me around the the castle many years ago. I’d forgotten how stunning the views were👍

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому

      Glannau Menai a Chaernarfon are wonderful on a sunny day. Diolch.

  • @VIEW-ut3bu
    @VIEW-ut3bu 2 роки тому

    Truly a delight watching your videos!

  • @paulthomas8262
    @paulthomas8262 2 роки тому +1

    great explanations

  • @andrewjennings7306
    @andrewjennings7306 2 роки тому +3

    You should do a video on Argentine Welsh and maybe Cape Breton Gaelic

  • @jacobparry177
    @jacobparry177 2 роки тому +2

    For Nigeria, I'd maybe use a name like Nisierwy (Neesherwee). Niger being a river, and wy meaning a river. As a little nod to the fact that the native name for the Niger river means something like, 'river of rivers'.

  • @garmit61
    @garmit61 Рік тому

    For some reason I cannot explain I thought the Cymraeg for Greece is Gwlad Groeg rather than Y Groeg. Great explanation of these countries.

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  Рік тому

      In Welsh we often have formal and information variations. For some reason the informal is usually longer.

  • @SionTJobbins
    @SionTJobbins 2 роки тому +3

    Very interesting Ben, there were theories that 'Llydaw' (Britanny) was from the same root as 'Latvia' but that seems to have been discounted,, wiki dictionary says its from IE root meaning continent/broad, related to ''llydan' (broad): en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Llydaw . I think Yr Aifft come from Greek 'Aígyptos'. Never heard of Yr Arafia, interesting, diolch! Agree with Siapan, nice sound and consistent with Welsh norms. And interesting comment on Unol Daleithiau - you're right, I hadn't thought of it like that.

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому +1

      I suppose Llydaw is quite broad. Probably what it is. As for Siapan, love that we SH the J.

    • @AerachEile
      @AerachEile 2 роки тому +2

      The similarity to “aiff” is a great memory aid for “Yr Aifft”, but they’re not related. The similarity to Scottish Gaelic “An Èipheit” is interesting, compared to Irish “An Éigipt” (>Égept).
      “Llychlyn” is a mysterious word, borrowed from Middle Irish “Lochlann” which looks like it means ‘places of lakes’, but the earliest form is “Lothlind” and no one knows what “loth” meant. “Lochlann” means Scandinavia in Modern Irish and forms the surnames Ó/Mac Lochlainn (Loughlin).

    • @yannschonfeld5847
      @yannschonfeld5847 2 роки тому +1

      Yes,the Llydan root seems much more likely. Before the Britons/Bretons settled here it was called "Armorica" in Roman times. The recently renamed département (1991) Côtes d'Armor or in Bret'n Aodou an Arvor. (The Arvor Coast) Arvor just meaning "martitime."

  • @GARYINLEEDS
    @GARYINLEEDS 2 роки тому

    Thanks for sharing, shared.

  • @mawkernewek
    @mawkernewek 2 роки тому +6

    I wonder why Ysbaen has been simplified to Sbaen in modern usage, even though there are lots of Welsh words that have ys- like ysbyty, ysgol etc.

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому +5

      Good question!
      By the way, Ysgawen in Welsh is Skawen in Cornish and Elder in English.

  • @zulkiflijamil4033
    @zulkiflijamil4033 2 роки тому

    Bore da, Ben. I am interested to learn Welsh..and your excellent channel will help me. Diolch yn fawr.
    🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому +1

      I am glad I can help you. Diolch.

  • @KPP365
    @KPP365 Рік тому

    Starting Galic this September 😮

  • @mtmabon643
    @mtmabon643 2 роки тому +5

    The Meaning of Vietnam
    As a matter of fact, “Vietnam” is a combination of two Vietnamese words, “Viet” in ancient Vietnamese language meaning preeminent or descendants of a dragon soaring to the sun, “Nam” means of the southern territory.
    Beth am De Heulddraig am Vietnam 😁

    • @mtmabon643
      @mtmabon643 2 роки тому +1

      Ne efallai De Yr Heulddraig

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому +2

      Deheulddraig fits with Deheubarth.

    • @mtmabon643
      @mtmabon643 2 роки тому +1

      @@BenLlywelyn da rwan, bendant mwy swynol

  • @lionelgrenelle
    @lionelgrenelle Рік тому

    Diolch ! Great video and explanations, very interesting.
    As a Frenchman, I would suggest : of course, Allemagne and Almaen are linked, and surely the Welsh name comes from French, as you say ; but it's not a latin root : it's Germanic : "all the men" ("Alle Männer" in modern German). The Alamanni were a big confederation of Germanic tribes who settled mainly in the Rhine region, in Alsace (that's why the traditional language there is Germanic, not because of German invasions by modern Germany in the 2nd and 3rd Reich), around the 5th century AD, end of Western Roman Empire.

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  Рік тому

      I would hope no one is silly enough to think Alsace is Germanic because of Nazis? Or is this a trope some Jacobins use against Alsatian?

  • @israellai
    @israellai 2 роки тому

    Awww when you said you'd rename Vietnam, i was lowkey expecting De Gwyet

  • @bernardmolloy4463
    @bernardmolloy4463 2 роки тому

    Very interesting. I would like to add:-
    The Historia Regum Britanniae speaks of the following waves of peoples coming to Britain over the centuries in ancient times:-
    - Coming of “the First Britains” from “Greater Armenia”.
    - Coming of Brutus
    - Coming of His Eldest son Locrinus
    - Coming of His Middle son Camber
    - Coming of His Youngest son Albanactus
    The Irish Annals speaks of these peoples coming to Ireland over the centuries from ancient times:-
    - Coming of Partholón
    - Coming of the Nemed
    - Coming of the Fir Bolg
    - Coming of the Tuatha Dé Danann
    - Coming of the Milesians
    I believe these peoples listed above in both the Historia Regum Britanniae and The Irish Annals can be matched to the following peoples whom I believe did arrive in Britain and Ireland in ancient times:-
    - The Neolithic Peoples
    - The First “Indo-Europeans” of the Copper Age.
    - The First “Proto-Celtic” peoples of the Early to Mid Bronze Age
    - A wave of Nordic peoples who arrived in the the Mid to Late Bronze Age
    (This in controversial but I believe it to be true)
    - A wave of Late Bronze Age “Celtic” peoples from Anatolia
    (became the “Gaels” of Ireland and the “Picts” of Scotland)
    So the “Fir Bolg” of Ireland is “Locrinus” of Britain. And in the south of England, there certainly were several “Belgic Celtic” tribes. Now note the much older name of Winchester:- “Venta Bolgarum”, meeting place of the “Bol’gari” peoples. This to me speaks volumes.
    The original “Proto-Celtic” peoples of Europe of the early to mid Bronze Age I believe were called the “Bol’gari”. And there are several and numerous placenames throughout Ireland, Britain and Europe with “Bol’gari” or similar in its title.
    And I believe, in Britain, “Bol’gari” became “Logari”, later becoming “Loegr” or similar spellings in Welsh. This is what I believe is the origin of “Loegr (Lloegr)”. Irish tradition speaks of the “Bolg” peoples are being “men of bags”. I believe it comes from numerous “mound structures” they built across Europe, formed from “bags of soil” carried to create them.
    And therefore “Loegr (Lloegr)” is of pre-Anglo-Saxon origin. Referring to the much older “Celtic” peoples of whats now England.
    For Camber, later becoming Cumbria and Cymru, note the “Cimbri” peoples of Scandinavia who are said to have had “Celtic” heritage. In Scandinavia too are the “Teutons, said also to have had “Celtic” heritage and whom can be equated to the “Tuatha Dé Danann” of Ireland.
    For “Iwerddon”, the Welsh for Ireland. Note that the name for Ireland in the Irish and other Gaelic languages is “Éire / Éirinn”. This was originally “Iuéire / Iuéirinn” or similar. I believe this much older spelling to be equivalent to “Iwerddon”.
    For “Alba”, the Scots-Gaelic for Scotland, which has a similar name in the Irish, Welsh and other Celtic languages, this means “white land” and I believe it to be very ancient. It originally was the name for the entire island of Britain, which today is spelt as “Albion”.

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому +1

      There is certainly a lot of ancient history to look at. My opinion is that the Brythonic people landed on the west in Cornwall, Wales Cymbria and expanded eastward centuries before Rome came, so what we have is them holding on where their culture was strongest and oldest.

  • @alunrees313
    @alunrees313 2 роки тому

    Another great video, what better way of keeping a secret than to put it in a language, and Cymraeg is that language, meany people have hinted at it over the years, and there are some of us that know the secret, Reg Stuart wrote about it in the eighties his book named, ysgrifennu the Welsh pharaohs, Wilson and Blackett translated it in their books, and Ross Broadstock published two books, Cymraeg is the key to translating the Egyptian hieroglyphs ,it sounds crazy but it works, we left a script there, example, the cartouche for the lord in hieroglyphs is the sun , RHA and a goose , Welsh, yR HAul and Gwydd yrArglwydd ,

  • @peterrichards6485
    @peterrichards6485 Рік тому

    Manaw is the sea god that protects the Isle of Mann, he can summon a fog to protect the Isle which is meteorologically correct the island is often enshrouded with fog and impossible to fly or sail to and from.

  • @yannschonfeld5847
    @yannschonfeld5847 2 роки тому +1

    The Channel Islands have a more Keltic origin (at least for two of them) and I think the more likely names. Alderney is a Germanic name (in Roman times it was called "Riduna". (Bracken, Fern ?) But Guernsey, the ending ey or sey meaning island in old Norse. "Guern" I have already heard pronoucned " Gwern" or alder. Jersey in French mouths usually shows that it was a hard "D" in Brythonic or Der "Derow' or oak. That gwern can mean either alder or mast in Kernewek, it seems to me like a more probable bet. It's just a theory but as these islands were originally British, it seems to me quite compelling.

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому

      We must remember too that 1 reason Celtic, Germanic, Latin, etc. diverged is there is a pre-Indo-European substrate from pre 5,000 bce which to very, very small degrees influenced each of these major groups as they broke off Indo-European - most noticeble in Germanic. But that when folk arrived to these islands these names may have been very old already and subtlely changed with Brythonic - Gaulish again, and then Saxon again, and then French again into English.

  • @huguesdepayens807
    @huguesdepayens807 2 роки тому

    I like how you used the old Chinese flag instead of the current one.

  • @klthx-1138
    @klthx-1138 5 місяців тому

    Very good.
    Only one uncertainty: I am not sure about your explanation of Egypt.
    You are correct that the Welsh word for Egypt is ‘Yr Aifft’.
    However, the Welsh word for ‘went’ is ‘aeth’, not “aiff”.
    (The Welsh word for ‘to go’ is ‘mynd’.)
    As far as I’m aware, the Welsh word for Egypt, ‘Yr Aifft’, derives from the middle Welsh name ‘Eifft’, which in turn derived from the Brythonic ‘égift’, and subsequently to the Latin word ‘Aegyptus’ and Greek ‘Aiguptos’.
    In that context, “aiff” sounds like a cockney saying “aeth”! 😁

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  5 місяців тому

      Cockney accented Welsh. Oh no!

  • @robertsckemp
    @robertsckemp Рік тому

    Interesting that the Welsh word for Vikings is so specific about the geographic location, that is to say the western fjords of Norway. In England, Vikings are mainly associated with Danes, although Denmark and Norway are obviously very close and they were often ruled by the same king. I also understand Norwegian settlements were more common in the west of England near the Wirral and also in Ireland and the Hebrides.
    But I'm starting to wonder whether Norwegian influence may have been greater than generally assumed. One bizarre reason - and please don't laugh - is the former Manchester United Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. I know he has lived in north-west England for many years but his vowels do sound like those from the other side of the Pennines in Yorkshire.
    Perhaps I am reading too much into it but when I heard him speak, and I'm from Yorkshire, I briefly thought 'well that sounds very local.' But it could be confirmation bias on my part, as a large chunk of my DNA shows up as Norwegian on the Ancestry website - although you can't take those markers too seriously.

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  Рік тому

      Viking influence would have been very significant at different periods in different places. Also, a lot was lost when the Normans took over. We do know as well that Strathclyde rebounded and aligned itself with the remnants of Northumbria which created (very briefly in the earl 900s) a multilingual state stretching from Glasgow to to Yorkshire which was under heavy Norse influence.

  • @emmawoodage7792
    @emmawoodage7792 3 місяці тому

    Hi Ben, please could you tell me where you got the information on Lloegr being masculine in gender thanks.

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  3 місяці тому

      geiriadur.bangor.ac.uk/#England

    • @emmawoodage7792
      @emmawoodage7792 3 місяці тому

      @BenLlywelyn wow, caused some discussion at Cofi Bore, nobody wanted to believe it! Thanks for all your work, the depth of which is fascinating!

  • @newg4515
    @newg4515 2 роки тому

    just thinking, whats the welsh name for the scilly isles of cornwall and thier meaning? couldnt find anything on it. thanks

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому

      Scilly may derive from Sulis, a Roman Goddess, and the word suli may have somsthing to do with sight or eyes, but we are not sure.

  • @alekbednarski7505
    @alekbednarski7505 Рік тому

    Diolch am fideo diddorol iawn! Dych chi wedi ystyried trafod 'Gwlad Pwyl' a'r iaith/enwau Pwyleg?

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  Рік тому

      Diolch. Bydd angen arna i ddysgu Pwyleg. Ser = Caws 😁

  • @tonymaries1652
    @tonymaries1652 2 роки тому

    The English calling the Cymri 'Welsh', which means 'foreigner' in Anglo Saxon is not the only example of people using a different word for a country than that used by the people in that country. Ukraine calls Germany Німеччина (Nimechchyna). I don't know the origin of the word but Ni means no so I guess it is something to do with the language or the people being different. This is because as you go further west from Ukraine there are other Slavic peoples whose language is to some extent mutually comprehensible. Then you get Germany and German is a completely different language family. Incidentally I have just looked it up and the Polish word for Germany is also Nimechchyna.

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому

      Ukranian and Polish are very similar.

    • @egbront1506
      @egbront1506 Рік тому +1

      In Polish it is Niemcy, Németország in Hungarian (loaned from Slavic), Německo in Czech, Nemčija in Slovene etc. All derived from the same Slavic root word meaning "mute". Similar to how the Ancient Greeks called non-Greek speakers "barbarians".

    • @tonymaries1652
      @tonymaries1652 Рік тому

      @@egbront1506 I have just looked it up because I was curious. Russian for 'German' is also similar - немецкий
      However Russian for Germany is Германия - Germania. I have no idea why and don't speak either language.

    • @egbront1506
      @egbront1506 Рік тому +1

      @@tonymaries1652 There are other oddities in the Slavic sprachbund - the Poles call Italy Włochy - basically land of Vlachs or what the Saxons called Cymru - Wales all derived from the same word meaning foreigner.
      I think the Russian outlier for Germany might have been when Russia was importing Western European words and culture wholesale and took Germania from Latin. The old Russian word for Germany was Неметчина, very close to the current Ukrainian rendering.

    • @tonymaries1652
      @tonymaries1652 Рік тому

      @@egbront1506 Wow. Thanks for posting. I picked up on the Russian name for Germany listening to another UA-cam video and I heard a Russian talking about 'Germania'. I don't know any Russian but it jumped out at me like a pikestaff so I decided to investigate.

  • @noahtylerpritchett2682
    @noahtylerpritchett2682 2 роки тому

    2:48 Lloegr just means the lost lands.

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому

      Whilst it is true from a Welsh view England is the lost lands, we don't have any evidence Lloegr means that. Unless you have a source I have not seen?

  • @gwenkooij5460
    @gwenkooij5460 2 роки тому +2

    Diddorol. Diolch o'r Iseldiroedd.

  • @ЕгорГрид
    @ЕгорГрид Рік тому +1

    Finland=Yr Finn (juice)?

  • @jeffreyhoward6319
    @jeffreyhoward6319 6 місяців тому

    I see some Welsh words that seem to Greek based.

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  6 місяців тому

      Maybe through Latin.

    • @jeffreyhoward6319
      @jeffreyhoward6319 6 місяців тому

      @@BenLlywelyn @BenLlywelyn In the first millennium were there not monasteries and churches of Britain and Ireland that had a familiarity with Greek?

  • @evilgoose6768
    @evilgoose6768 2 роки тому

    Are we the baddies?

  • @tedi1932
    @tedi1932 Рік тому

    Diolch Ben , diddorol iawn

  • @wmffgeorge1589
    @wmffgeorge1589 2 роки тому

    Stym ti'n siarad yn plain iawn wyt ti.

    • @BenLlywelyn
      @BenLlywelyn  2 роки тому +1

      Pam byddai llais eisiau bod yn gyffredin?

    • @wmffgeorge1589
      @wmffgeorge1589 2 роки тому

      @@BenLlywelyn dym gymaint dy bod angen sharad yn hollol gyffredin, ond Mae yna rheswm yn dadcysylltu geiriau.
      Alla I deall dy bod dim yn siarad cymraeg yn aml, ond mae'n pwysyg treial a dysgu phobl ancyffredyn ar iaeth sut I sharad yn deallradwy.

  • @corneliussulla9963
    @corneliussulla9963 Місяць тому

    Why is this spam on my channel?