Newsletters
Newsletter Summer 2011 (pdf)
Welcome to the Summer 2011 newsletter of the School of Welsh and Bilingual Studies, University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Responding to the needs of contemporary Wales, our mission includes the promotion of the Welsh language along with an understanding and appreciation of our culture and history, through teaching, research and training.
Let us help you learn Welsh!
New language - New opportunities
Would you like to learn a new skill, so as to improve your job opportunities?
Would you like to help your children with their Welsh?
Would you like to make new friends and enhance your understanding of Welsh culture?
We can assist you in achieving these goals by bringing your studies to life with our on-line Welsh lessons which are supported by an experienced, professional tutor. Study at your own pace, in the comfort of your own home.
Next Course - Spring 2012
For further information please contact:
Gwen Davies
Tel: (01570) 424898
E-mail: g.j.davies@trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk
You’ll just live, think and speak the Welsh language!
Courses
Lampeter Intensive Welsh Courses
Carmarthenshire Welsh for Adults Courses
The Foundation for Endangered Languages International Conference
The conference has been held annually in locations all over the world including South Africa, Tajikistan, the United States and various European countries and, in 2011, will be held in Ecuador.
This year the conference took place on the Carmarthen campus of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David during September, the organiser being Dr Hywel Glyn Lewis of the School of Welsh and Bilingual Studies.
It was attended by experts in the field of socio-linguistics from all parts of the world, including Australia, China and the United States. The theme of the conference was Reversing Language Shift and papers were presented by academics representing situations throughout the world where there is currently a danger that a language could die unless there is deliberate planning on its behalf.
The keynote speakers were Professors Jane Simpson and Glyn Williams from Australia and Wales respectively, and Dr Conchur O Giollagain from Ireland. Visits to local Welsh-medium schools were also arranged, namely, Ysgol y Dderwen and Ysgol Bro Myrddin where delegates experienced the success of Welsh-medium education and also proved to be an inspiration for them to achieve the same level of success in their respective linguistic contexts.
There was great praise for the academic and linguistic success of the Welsh-medium education system and also for the extra-curricular activities which it provides, as experienced in concerts specially performed by pupils of two Welsh-medium secondary schools, Ysgol Gyfun y Strade and Ysgol Gyfun Bro Myrddin.
The conference was also given wide publicity by the media, such as its inclusion on the BBC News website and interviews with representatives on Radio Cymru, Radio Wales, PM in London and a radio station in Australia.
The event was generally considered to be one of the most successful, not only due to the warm welcome extended to visitors by the university, but also as a result of the leadership and inspiration which the Welsh-medium education system offers to other countries in the process of language planning.
Essential Welsh Grammar / Complete Welsh
October saw the launch of Essential Welsh Grammar and The Complete Welsh Course, two books for Welsh learners written by Dr Christine Jones. Both books were published by Hodder Education.
An understanding and mastery of the whole range of Welsh forms is vital for anyone who wishes to use the language in a professional context. This is the only volume in English which provides such an insight into the literary forms alongside the oral forms which Welsh learners such as myself are more familiar with. I ordered Teach Yourself Essential Welsh Grammar at once for the office - R.N. Smith, Intexta (www.intexta.com)
MA Bilingualism and Multilingualism
Have you considered studying for a postgraduate MA qualification when you have finished your BA? The MA is designed primarily for distance-learning students who wish to study at their own pace, whenever is convenient for them. The courses are prepared by specialists who work in these particular fields (e.g. The Celts: origins to the modern era, the Mabinogi, the Celtic Arthur, Women in the Middle Ages: sources from the Celtic regions, Welsh Language (for beginners or advanced-level students), Beginners’ Irish, the Sociolinguistics of the Welsh Language, Welsh Folk Life, Gerald of Wales, Dead Virgins: the female saints of Wales etc.).
Having completed six taught courses, students progress to Part Two and have the opportunity to write a dissertation on a suitable topic of their choice. This is an excellent introduction to research. There are currently thirty students (from various parts of England, Wales, Ireland, Australia and America) studying for an MA in Celtic Studies at Lampeter.
For further details contact Dr Jane Cartwright. (j.cartwright@trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk)
Obituary
Dr Meirion Pennar, 1944-2010
Poet and academic Dr Meirion Pennar has died at the age of 65 at his home in Swansea.
One of five children, he was the eldest son of the eminent theologian and writer, Dr Pennar Davies.
He leaves one son, Gwri Pennar, who was brought up in Llandysul and Swansea and is now living in London.
A lecturer for 18 years as the Welsh Department at the University of Wales Lampeter, his specialist fields included medieval Welsh poetry and the Welsh novel in the 19th century.
Born in Cardiff, he was brought up in Bangor, Brecon and Swansea. He graduated with an honours degree in Welsh from Swansea University and was a research student at Jesus College, Oxford.
He was a lecturer in Welsh in Dublin until he was appointed lecturer in the Welsh Department, Lampeter in 1975.
He lived in Ceredigion for many years, including Llandysul and Adpar, Newcastle Emlyn before moving to Swansea to care for his ageing mother and younger brother, Geraint, in the last decade or so.
Dr Meirion Pennar was known for his rather avant-garde vers libre poetry and published two volumes of poetry, Syndod y Sêr a Pair Dadeni and two long poems Saga and Y Gadwyn.
He published a number of articles in periodicals and magazines about a wide range of topics relating to Welsh literature.
His English translations of two great works of Welsh literature were well received. Taliesin Poems and The Black Book of Carmarthen, published by Llanerch Press, are still available and very much in demand.
He was a language and political campaigner with Cymdeithas yr Iaith in the 1970s, a political columnist with Y Ddraig Goch magazine and a parliamentary candidate for Plaid Cymru in the Swansea West constituency.
