A note on Welsh English pronunciations

This update includes the addition of more than a hundred Welsh English pronunciations for words borrowed from Welsh into English, such as cwtch, cariad, pennill, and pryddest. This represents an extension of our coverage of varieties of English from around the world which began in 2016.

As with the other ten Englishes included so far, we looked at current sociolinguistic research and created a model to transcribe the pronunciations. Our Welsh English model is largely based on R. J. Penhallurick’s phonology which is in turn based on the findings of the Survey of Anglo-Welsh Dialects, although as in our other models we have gravitated more towards an intermediate urban variety, avoiding very distinctive or localized rural features. The details of our Welsh English model are discussed at greater length here.

The pronunciation of Welsh English differs somewhat between speakers from different parts of Wales, and we have tried to acknowledge this in our model and in our use of not one but two native Welsh English speakers to create the pronunciation recordings. To hear each recording, simply click the blue play icon next to the transcription.

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