'Y Gogleddwynt a'r Haul': early transcriptions of Welsh in Le Maître Phonétique. (1st December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Awbery, G. M.
• Is Part Of: Studia Celtica. Volume 54:Number 1(2020)
• Page Start: 115
• Page End: 146
• Publication Date: 2020-12-01
• Subjects: Celtic philology -- Periodicals; Philologie celtique -- Périodiques; Celtic philology; Celtic literature -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; Civilization, Celtic -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 491.605
• DOI: 10.16922/SC.54.8
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0081-6353

Abstract

A traditional fable 'The North Wind and the Sun' was used for many years in the journal Le Maître Phonétique as a short sample text to illustrate the phonetic characteristics of a range of different languages, and as part of this activity several different Welsh versions of the fable were published. One, which reflects a speaker with a northern accent speaking in a formal register, appeared as early as 1911 and then again, slightly modified, in 1912 and 1949. Two further versions, reflecting informal, dialect usage in the Bala district and in Aber- porth in Cardiganshire, appeared in 1926. This paper explores what light these transcriptions shed on the spoken language, and asks how the phoneticians who made them came to be involved.