#welsh lit

[soracities]

Dylan Thomas, from "Poem in October", Selected Poems: 1934-1952

[lets-get-lit]

By definition, you have to live until you die. Better to make that life as complete and enjoyable an experience as possible, in case death is shite, which I suspect it will be.

- Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting

[grail-lifesupport]

Love the Welsh Triads where Sir Kay, the buffoon is casually mentioned to have slain 9 witches and several lions only to be slightly slowed down by a Kaiju world ending cat….

Bonus!!

Happy Halloween!

[gingersnaptaff]

Leaving these here for the Gwalchmai/Gawain gang to chew over!!! Alas, I just want u to know there is also a Rhos in North Wales which tripped me up cuz I was like 'Hey that's where I live!' Alas, we do not bear Gawain's grave here.

(Also, I did giggle at the 'Three Well-Endowed Men of Britain' triad even though in that context it does not mean the blatant innuendo it suggests. As if that's not enough, some scholars suggest that Gwalchmai's name doesn't mean 'hawk of May,' but it defo fuckin does. His brother Gwalhafed also gets a mention if anybody wants that but, like, he's a bit player, all things considered.)

[desirableendings]

Found a new Tumblr holiday

[contremineur]

By a flat rock on the shore of the sea my dearest spoke to me. Now beside it shelter wild thyme and rosemary.

anonymous medieval Welsh poet, Penillion

another one transcribed (and possibly adapted) in the shadowy stacks of Cambridge University Library thirty years ago – thoughts on a more detailed source would be much appreciated

a penillion is a traditional vernacular song, accompanied by a triple harp

[theglasschild]

I'm not running away, I'm moving on.

Irvine Welsh

[bellshazes]

incidentally I unearthed my two copies of candide the other day when I rearranged all my books and il faut cultiver notre jardin remains one of the endings of all times bc a) I always misremember it as not being "our" garden but mine or your and b) in the context of rebutting pangloss after the earthquakes, crimes, horrors, butt cannibalism etc of the book's events and the refutation of the "best of all possible worlds" i think the closest modern analogies is potentially something like "we all must leave social media" since it's in part anti-rumination. I think my prof who taught this for French lit would find touch grass joke comparisons really funny even if he would not get it

[the-busy-ghost]

Keep thinking I ought to buy more books about Welsh history and then realise that it might be difficult to locate what I want if I have half a shelf of books, 90% of which are written by authors whose surnames are Williams, Davies, Jones, Jenkins, Evans, e.t.c.

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

can't even have naps these days without having lockdown cannibalism school nightmares

[liminalpsych]

2. the careless sunlight in her eyes

She was wild and proud when he first saw her. Even clad in gown and jewels, her hair bound, there was a fierceness in her stare and a challenge in the supple strength of her spine.

Men called her lovely, and she was, but not in the wilting-lily way of ballads. She was beautiful like the hunting hawk, beautiful more in spirit than in form. Other women were fairer, with softer skin and finer features. Yet in jewels and gown she was a falcon in golden hood, a creature of the hills with the surest seat on a horse he’d ever seen.

Lancelot loved her from the first. Truly, Arthur was slower to warm. She charmed them both with truth and fire, wit and challenge, a keen eye and a quick tongue. Gwenhwyfar missed little at court or in private conversation, and knew the intricate steps of diplomacy better than the two of them combined.

He bowed as she alighted onto the pier, a smile dawning bright as the morning upon his face. “My lady Gwenhwyfar,” Lancelot said, admiration in his gaze, “King Arthur said you were lovely. He did not convey the half of your beauty.”

Her appraisal was more brazen than his, taking in each detail of his bearing and manner. One russet brow arched as if to mimic the graceful prow of the birlinn ship behind her. “You flatter, sir…?”

“Lancelot,” and he bowed again, this time over her hand. “My liege sends his regrets that he cannot be here himself, and lends my own self to you in his stead.”

“Sir Lancelot.” She tried his name on her tongue, her coastal accent turning it musical. “He should take more care in his messengers; I might change my heart about whom to marry with such handsome flatterers about.”

There was a dryness to her tone and a merry twist to her mouth that belied her words. Lancelot’s grin only broadened. “I praise you on my king’s behalf, my lady. Consider it all from his lips, not mine.”

“Of course. Such a loyal vassal of my future husband you are.” She smiled fully at last, and the brilliance of it unbalanced Lancelot for a long moment. “It speaks well of him. Shall we, sir?”

They said she's lovely as the spring;

Imagine my surprise to find that they were right

And hadn't said the half.

The careless sunlight in her eyes and petals in her hair;

I saw how he could love her, the May Queen standing there.

And in that moment I understood how he could love her

And what they shared would never be for me

I understood, but yet I've never really conquered

That part inside that wishes it had been me

[writers-potion]

Writing Character Accents in Fiction

Hey there, thanks for the question! I speak English as a second language; most English speakers I encounter aren’t native (yes, including fictional people); thus, this is a concern I’ve explored personally when I write. 

I think the core principle regarding accent writing is this: it shouldn’t be distracting. 

For the same reasons why Stephen King prescribes the basic dialogue tag “said” rather than fancier alternatives like “whispered”, “shouted” or “screeched”, dialogue must be first and foremost easy to read. It must flow like a real conversation – the pace and tone are a lot more important than how specific words are being pronounced by the character. 

Focus on what effect the accent has:

Using adjectives to describe their voice in general. Different types of English (American, British, Australian, etc.) will give off a different vibe, also partly dependent on how your character speaks in general:

Lilting: Having a smooth rise and falling quality; sing-song like. Welsh accent is often described as singing. 

Posh: from a high social class. This is the term generally used to describe the upper-class British accent.

Nasal: this happens when the sound goes through somebody’s nose when they’re speaking. North American accents are more nasal than, say, British pronunciations. 

Brash: harsh, loud, indicative of sounding a little rude. 

Slur: speaking indistinctly; words merging into one another.

Using metaphors.

Her voice was cotton and fluffy clouds. 

When he spoke, the ‘r’s scratched the insides of his throat. 

Mentioning their accent with a brief example(s). 

“Would you like to drink some wine?” she said, though her Indian accent gave extra vibration to her ‘w’s and ‘r’s, making the words sound more like ‘vould you like to drrrink some vine’.

“I want some chocolate.” His syllables were choppy and ‘l’s rather flat, saying ‘cho-ko-lit’. 

Some Tips:

Don’t phonically spell out everything. Perhaps give a few examples in the beginning, but stick to standard English spellings. 

Pay attention to word choice, slang, and colloquialisms. 

An Australian person would say “tram”, not “trolley; “runners” instead of “sneakers”

A Canadian may refer to a “fire hall” – what Americans call a firehouse or fire station

If your character comes from a non-Enligsh background:

Use vocabulary from other languages. 

“What time was the exam, ah? Two o’clock? Jiayou!” → putting “ah” or “la” at the end of sentences + Jiayou means “break a leg” in Singlish. 

“I can’t believe that 4-year-olds have their own SNS accounts now.” → “SNS” is short for “social networking service”, a term used to refer to social media in Korea. This would a subtle difference – even though it isn’t technically Korean at all!

Transpose grammar from different languages. 

For example, in French, plural nouns take plural adjectives (whereas in English, you would speak of ‘white cars’, not ‘whites cars’).

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* . ───

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[gingersnaptaff]

Wrote again!! Everybody say, 'Hi Dylan!!!'

Owain crashing Arthur and Gwyn's wedding with Gwyn's wave god lover will have No Consequences To Speak Of. 👀

[bingqiv]

super tempted to hate-watch rw/rb as an outlet for my anti-monarchy/especially anti-prince of wales agenda

[llyfrenfys]

Cosigned (hopefully graduating with a BA in Celtic Studies and soon to be Postgraduate Celtic student)

Updates to AO3 "Mythology" Fandoms

Hi AO3 users! You may have noticed that recently, fandoms previously canonized as "Mythology" are being updated to "Religion & Lore". This renaming project is part of a wider ongoing process on AO3 about respectful treatment and naming of various religions, spiritual beliefs, faiths, and collections of folklores belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition. This includes both major and minor religions, as well as reconstructionist, ancient, and modern religions.

In the coming months, the term "Mythology" is being phased out of canonical fandom names. This is because of its potential for use as a disparaging term, and the way in which it is used primarily for religions which are already under-represented. Since "mythology" has connotations of being fictional or inferior to the religious beliefs of the speaker or writer, and is unfortunately used in this way by some, the decision has been made to replace this term with something that the Wrangling Committee believes is more inclusive and less derogatory.

After extensive discussion between individuals from varying religious backgrounds and beliefs, including wranglers representing the various fandoms which were being covered, it was felt that "Religion & Lore" was an appropriate and neutral way to describe the bodies of faith, belief, knowledge, and tradition associated with many of these religions which were ancestrally imparted and regional in nature. It is also hoped that this will decrease ambiguous or confused use, allowing people to more accurately describe their works and find works in which they are interested moving forward.

The use of "Ancient" in many of these fandoms' names reflects that these countries still exist but now have different predominant religions or spiritual beliefs. For example, Ancient Greek Religion & Lore (as Greece is now a predominantly Christian country) or Ancient Egyptian Religion (as Egypt is now a predominantly Muslim country). Because "Norse" does not refer to an extant country, region, or culture, it is not necessary to specify that it is historical or ancient in nature.

The names of these fandoms will also have the native language piped, if the English-language demonym is significantly different from the native-language demonym or if there is a culturally specific term based on consultation with individuals who speak these languages as a first language. We hope to give representation to the language of the source culture by doing so.

Each of these changes has been and will continue to be carefully researched and discussed with traditional knowledge keepers and researchers from the cultures represented in the fandoms under discussion.

Many religions face the issue of texts being written long after their events occurred. Unfortunately this is something which is shared across many religious fandoms; AO3 seeks to treat these religious fandoms equally. Care has been taken in researching characters relating to these fandoms, and character tags will be canonized or made a synonym on a case-by-case basis. Fandom tags that are currently synned to the Ancient religious fandoms have been checked as thoroughly as possible to ensure that they are not referring to modern folk tales, and where possible such relatively modern folk tales are canonized as their own fandoms.

(From time to time, ao3org posts announcements of recent or upcoming wrangling changes on behalf of the Tag Wrangling Committee.)

[hexjulia]

the way he pronounces "WHAT" at 27:45 is exactly how i hear it in my head every time i typo and write HWAT instead