Book Review – 'Llan fair pwll gwyn gyll go ger y chwyrn drobwll llan tysilio gogo goch'

A beginner's guide to understanding Welsh (Cymraeg) through the longest place name in Europe

I have a theory about understanding the Welsh language. Actually, two theories. One stems from not being Welsh. The other stems from consonants.

Which is why a small illustrated book is a step in the right direction. Gaining traction on social media and with the help of crowdfunding, Sketchy Welsh aka Joshua Morgan, put together Llanfairpwll (I’m using the localized short version), a delightfully enchanting book that utilizes the longest place name in Europe by separating its translated definitions into easy-to-understand sentences.

Credit: Joshua Morgan/Sketchy Welsh

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As a ‘cambrophile’ (a lover of Wales or Welsh culture), embracing the pronunciation of the language is quite frankly, a challenge. Yet, Morgan demonstrates with humor how one can grasp the meanings and associations of Llanfairpwll and not feel disconcerted by the explanation.

Each spread breaks into nine parts the 58-character, 18-syllable town with illustrations that stand on their own, accompanied by a sentence depicting the translation. Morgan utilizes gentle humor to guide the reader and helpfully underlines where a word switch occurs. Due to grammatical differences and vocabulary compared to English, these adjustments are part of the unique structure of Welsh.

Credit: ©Joshua Morgan/Sketchy Welsh

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The naming of the town is slightly mired in folklore, because of course. Located on the Isle of Anglesey in northwest Wales, it’s five miles from Bangor, and is home to approximately 2,900 residents of whom 71 percent speak Welsh. The village hosts about 200,000 tourists per year and the most popular destination is by far the local train station that features a sign with the full name.

In the 19th century, a local tailor added to the original ‘Llanfairpwllgwyngyll’ in a joking attempt to bring in tourists (which has proved itself successful). The translation, as shown by Morgan in its current incarnation: “[The] church of [St.] Mary (Llanfair) [of the] pool (pwll) of the white hazels (gwyn gyll) near to [lit. "over against"] (go ger) the fierce whirlpool (y chwyrn drobwll) [and] the church of [St.] Tysilio (Llantysilio) of the red cave (-ogo[f] goch).”

Morgan, in addition to the panel stories, has included extra illustrations and a vocabulary list of all the words used for the reader to try out on their own.

And I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t include someone saying the town name, so I bring back by popular demand, a Welshman throwing down the gauntlet to a Scottish native:

David Tennant amazes Michael Sheen by saying unpronounceable Welsh town name/©So Television Ltd./BBC One/The Graham Norton Show/YouTube

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Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is available at the Sketchy Welsh site here, where you can pledge in several tiers. There are also prints and cards, a notebook, and Morgan’s first book, 31 Ways to Hoffi Coffi.

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