The truism goes: “Most Welshmen are fluent in street sign.” Only about 18% of the population speaks fluent Welsh, but all the museum plaques and street signs are bilingual.
After four months here, the only Welsh words I know are:
Araf, slow (probably pronounced AR-av, though I’ve never heard it aloud)—because whenever the word “SLOW” is painted on the road, “ARAF” is painted under it.
Cwtch, hug or cuddle (pronounced cootch)—because every tourist shop sells mugs that say “Keep Calm and Cwtch” with a picture of cartoon Welshmen hugging.
Caerdydd, Cardiff (probably cair-DITH, though again, I’ve never heard it)—Caer is house or town and -dydd is probably the river Taff.
Prifysgol, university (priv-US-gol), because anything labeled “Cardiff University” is also labeled “Prifysgol Caerdydd.”
I live in fear of Welsh place names with a double-L, because English speakers who attempt it sound like they’re lisping and English speakers who don’t attempt it get an evil look. Many Welshmen aren’t great fans of England for perfectly understandable reasons. Luckily, Americans seem to get a free pass. It’s refreshing not to be the least-liked accent in the room.
Then, of course, there’s this famous street sign in Swansea:
(The Welsh part reads: “I am not in the office now. Send any work to translate.”)