Wales and Mexico have the right idea when it comes to flags. And pretty much anything is better than yet another series of coloured stripes. Can’t bloody tell any of those flags apart.
When my parents went to China a kid asked them where they were from (they wanted to practice their English) and they said wales expecting no one to know where it was and they all said you have dragon on your flag! They remembered it. ❤️
Yeah it's Welsh, twp=stupid & twpsyn =stupid person(kind of), you'd pronounce it like t-oo-p since the w in Welsh is basically just a 'oo'
The t in Welsh can also mutate (the rules on this are easier than you think!) Into a D to make it softer. This happens if you put a Y in front of it (normally a Y/Ye means 'the' but in this case it's a 'you')
Do you get things like
Y twpsyn Bach - you little idiot (adjectives go after nouns in Welsh, and Bach means small)
Y bastard twp - you stupid bastard
Etc. My grammar might be wrong and some of the mutations might be incorrect, but this should be roughly right
I've also noticed a difference between the pronunciation in North and South Wales. Boy, is that a hard language to learn. It's like Dutch in that I can't even make some of the sounds. There's a lot of good poetry in the tongue, though, so it's worth it.
As a Dutchie myself living in Cymru for a while it was good fun speaking Dutch with my friend and then being approached in Cymraeg.
The sounds are quite similar.
There’s also different meanings of words north and south, couole I remember from a child is ysgol means school but also means ladder down south.
Milk is also llefrith or llaeth depending north or south too
Can you phonetically spell Cymru? I'm Canadian and I listen to a lot of radio stations across the country. Whenever I'm searching the British Isles I see Cymru FM and pronounce it "Sim-Ru" which is clearly wrong.
Mate your explanation of how to pronounce the name of our country is completely wrong! It’s more like:
-Cu (pronounced the same way as the first two letters in cup)
-m
-ru (the ‘u’ isn’t pronounced like the last two letters of tea but rather is pronounced like the ‘y’ in GwYneth Paltrow)
My Grandmother was Welsh. It's a hard language. I'd make her mad and she'd going off in welsh, the only word I understood was "hooligan" lol. Good times.
The origin of ‘Cymru’ is as interesting as that of the origin of ‘Wales’. Cymru (the country) and Cymry (the people),and both pronounced the same ‘Kum- ree’, originates from insular Brittonic Celtic or the British language (not English). Cymru is a derivative of the British word Kambrogi which means fellow person or compatriot and it was from this word the Romans called Wales ‘Cambria’. The irony is that Wales means Foreigner from an English/Germanic perspective and is diametrically opposite to the meaning of the Brittonic Celtic name Cymru
I feel like Wales gets a bad rap. I've watched quite a bit of British television and they always make Wales the butt of a joke.
Being an American I don't understand the politics or societal aspects at hand, but my grandfather immigrated from Merthyr Tydfil so I've done a bit of research on Wales and it seems like a beautiful place.
As a born and bred Welshman
I used to be quite dismayed by this, we were always the silly character on the odd British sitcom or the hysterical woman in a serious drama or the down and out poor man who hasn't moved on from the 50s. We were relegated to a forgotten part of the UK by media from the rest of the world, battlefield 1 had a tank crew made up of a Scotsman, 2 Englishmen and an Irishman, not a Welsh accent in sight, call of duty normally has the typical English accent but you get a Scottish one too and a Northern Irish.
I get it though, the Welsh accent doesn't convey typical toughness like a gruff London accent or harsh Scottish one does. But that's because it's used wrong.
I love how Anthony Hopkins can turn it on just enough to have the twang but still sound however he needs to for his roles. Michael Sheen has been at the front of a bit of a resurgence of the Welsh accent not being a comedic footnote.
And imagine my absolute delight when From software put a Welsh person in dark souls, a game with hardly any dialogue and then filled Elden Ring up with Welsh accents.
I feel Wales is starting to have its cultural image changed in the media and I'm so bloody happy with it.
In saying all that though Twin Town is still the go to film to watch. Things like sharing a bath as adults is not the experience of most Welsh young adults these days but the rest of it is a good capture of what life is like outside the major metropolitan areas (despite being set in Swansea)
As a Welshman, what are your thoughts about Wrexham being bought out by Ryan Reynolds? Do you guys see it as a gimmick or has it legit been a good thing for the club?
As a Welshman, and someone who lives not too far from Wrexham, I think so far its been very positive for the club.
Not only that but the North East of Wales in general too, mainly as it is an area that is often forgotten about by even people in Wales.
That’s good to hear. I’ve been watching the show and really like the story of Wrexham. Been wanting to get some club gear too to support them. Just wanted to check that the people there don’t feel they are being taken advantage of.
Don't get me wrong, there are people who have that genuine concern, and I don't blame them, especially considering that a previous club owner basically asset stripped the club before the fans bought it, but so far what Rob and Ryan have been doing has been mostly positive.
I think it's important to preface my answer with this being my opinion only and I appreciate everyone not feeling the way I do.
I do see it as a bit of a gimmick overall. I can see how it's been amazingly positive for the club and the area along with it and that I'm really happy with. However, to me, it has the same vibe as rich Hollywood types going to a deprived country to build a school or something and i don't like that Wales is considered like that. Mine you, that might be me being blinkered to how things really are here.
Ideally, I would like Wrexham FC to do well without having to rely on it becoming a pet project for Hollywood stars who can then leverage what they have done into things like Netflix series about Americans being whacky in a culture they don't understand. It makes it feel a bit cheap for me.
But despite it having dubious reasoning and intention it's been positive for alot of people so can't argue with it being a good thing.
The real answer to your question however is that as a Valleys boy from South Wales I couldnt give a shit what the Gogs get up to as long as they don't come down here.
(Obviously a joke at the end there just in case anyone thought it was serious)
Just to add on the end, I saw the other guys reply and he is right, North Wales is forgotten about by the Senedd who focus so much on Cardiff and the M4 corridor. Even the valleys, which is forgotten about quite a bit too, doesn't compare to the neglect north and west Wales have. I think that the country is so divided both culturally, in terms of accent and physically by a series of mountains that requires driving into England to get around quick, doesn't help matters at all. If getting a boost from RR and RM buying Wrexham makes up for how shit Welsh government has been then I'm even more for it despite my cynicism.
I appreciate your answer, as somebody living in California and my only exposure to Wrexham being through the show, I just wanted honest opinions on how Rob and Ryan’s influence is seen there from people on the ground.
Hey, Merthyr Tydfil is the next Valley over from me, I visit Merthyt quite a lot... The industrial history of Merthyr from the 1800s onwards is a very sad story https://footsteps.bangor.ac.uk/en/location/merthyr-tydfil perhaps this is why why your Grandfather left?
Having lived in Wales 7 years now, I can tell you that the Welsh do so much the same for the English. It's the nature of national rivalries. The French are the butt of the joke often in British comedy. It's just what we do.
Qatar is an incredibly depressing/suffocating/oppressive place since you ask. Wales however (including Merthyr) is an incredibly beautiful country with a great attitude. I know where I’d rather live.
Can confirm: I do research in Wales, and it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Okay, not Holyhead by the ferry--I'm talking more about places like the Gower Peninsula near Swansea. (I'm also an American of Welsh heritage and have one of the four major Welsh last names, so I have taken some guff from English people here in the States who jokingly say things to me like "Down in the mine!"). I also hear English people slagging off Wales each time I take the train from London to the principality. Also, when I land at Heathrow and the customs agent asks where I'm going and I say "Wales," he will often ask satirically "Why?" It gets old, and I don't even live there.
Just an FYI, Wales is a country not a principality. A lot of us don't like it when people refer to wales as "the principality "
Unless you were talking about travelling to the principality stadium specifically and not Wales at a whole. In which case it is will always be called the millennium stadium.
I think it's great that you travel here and have a connection with the place though. You're right it is beautiful.
Holyhead itself is horrible but the rest of Anglesey and most of North Wales is beautiful. The Llyn Peninsula, Snowdonia, Anglesey, and Pembrokeshire are all stunning. The Gower is lovely but it's a tiny area in comparison to the other amazing places! (Just in case you've avoided all of North Wales just because of Holyhead hah)
You would be ignorant to the prejudice if you don't live in it. It runs all the way through from what our country has been named, politics and the royals, the flag, to media and society. We are just the weird cousins from the west. Or portrayed that way at least
Dunno what the downvotes are for. Merthyr is a shithole that my only visits to are when I have to unfortunately pass through it to get to the beautiful Brecon Beacons.
I get it might be better now, but in terms of the amazing places around it it just isn’t a nice place at all. I didn’t mean to offend anyone I’m just speaking from my point of view
Abergavenny is a decent shout, and while Usk is nice if I could move back to Wales and not need to be in a specific place for work i'd probably take Merthyr over Usk just for it's closeness the to beacons. I'd definitely pass on Aberdare though. That said it's been a while since I've been to Merthyr or Aberdare.
Spent 28 years of my life from birth in Merthyr and still go back once a week to see family.
Merthyr used to be a major shithole in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s. It deserved its reputation then, every single one of my friends had been jumped by randoms, the town centre was dying, there was nothing else to do. It had that "it's a shit town but it's our shit town charm"
But I think in recent years they have done a great job with it, the pedestrianised town centre has opened it up for food festivals and the like, the new cafes and bars have made it nicer, the bike park has helped out massively with tourism. Its easy to forget too that although it's a former industrial town left to rot after the 80s it is surrounded by some of the most beautiful landscapes, the Brecon beacons on the doorstep north, the heads of the valleys heading east, the dramatic landscapes around Hirwaun west and a easy river (now far cleaner than it used to be when I was a kid, far less cars in it) heading off to Cardiff and the sea south.
I only live up the road now but I love going back and seeing how much improvement the town centre has made and going off for walks and bike rides around the same routes I've done for decades.
I've been fortunate enough to live abroad and in many different areas of the UK and I still love that little spot in the valleys. Its also telling that both of my English girlfriends were flabbergasted by the landscape when they first started visiting my parents when we first started dating. We can take it for granted sometimes but having someone visit who's not been there can sometimes show what your missing.
Honestly as Englishman I have no problem with wales or welsh people at all, but when I see Welsh people hating on me for being English or shit talking England it’s hard to just ignore. Then you have Englishmen shitting on the Welsh as well which just leads to more friction on both sides with both of them shitting on each other. It’s like a situation of ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg’.
It’s not just the Welsh though, the Scots do it, the Irish do it, they all just hate England and English people and as someone who likes their people and countries but is made enemy because of where I was born it’s a tough situation. You see in every World Cup you’ll have Scottish or Welsh people supporting every team that England is facing, hoping for our downfall yet I don’t see the reverse. I sit there hoping for big success for Scotland and wales in football and rugby unless we’re playing them but it’s sad to see with the roles reversed the phrase “anyone but England” is like a motto to other countries in the UK
Do they teach the history of the British isles in English schools at all? Like do they tell you what happened in Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
Speaking specifically for wales, there was a serious attempt to eradicate welsh culture that only really ended in the second half of the twentieth century (if then, certain right wing figures still like to deny its existence and many guidebooks and travel companies still take it upon themselves to try and rename our landmarks to make them more english sounding)
So from a Welsh point of view, knowing that my Nain got physical abuse from teachers in school for speaking cymraeg, and then less than a generation later, regularly hearing English people being like "Haha, welsh is so stupid! Where are the vowels? Only like 25% of you speak it anyway let it die!", has a completely different feel to someone saying "I hope England lose their rugby match against France today." If you're being honest its not the same. We are on different ends of a power dynamic that has seen a lot of misery and loss caused here. The effects of which are still seen today.
People in this very thread are talking about how awful places like merthyr are, and yes there are many very deprived places here, the reason for that is largely the historical relationship between Wales and England.
I hope this in some way answers your question about which came first.
I don't think many welsh people hate the English by the way, not very many at all. But it would certainly be better if more English people spent 5 minutes learning about their neighbours before blurting out certain jokes which are, at best, very overplayed.
Very well put! As a Scot we get this from English people too, as if we’re both equally to blame.
They then try the “well, it’s just history” tack which is also not true. Things are done to Scotland, Wales and NI all the time NOW against our will and we are constantly disparaged in our “national” (as in, UK) media. Boris Johnson called us “verminous” in a newspaper column, and that’s just one of thousands of examples. The English “left” isn’t any better. Even English Labour politicians like Starmer and Phillips say the best thing to do to Scotland is simply ignore us.
It’s not just historical, not by a long shot.
Think that’s maybe a *tad* worse than “Boo hoo rUK hopes we lose at football”.
This reminds me of the Ali G episode when he goes to Wales.
First things he says:- "Not only is Wales the fish with the biggest dick in the sea, bit it is also a country 100 miles away from Britain"
It's absolutely not pronounced Coom-ree. That would be spelt 'Cwmru'. Were I OP, I would simply not post stuff online that I don't actually know anything about for nebulous karma points.
No, I wasn't confusing "wales" with "barbarus".
I was speaking of info I got from [Wales.com](https://Wales.com) . it's about Welsh history and language.
My surname is Walsh(my grandad came from Ireland)and having done a little research it turns out that we originated in Wales and it seems that our name means exactly this “foreign “ or “slave” sort of wish I hadn’t done the research now…
It shares the etymology with Wallonia in Belgium and Wallachia in Romania. Also the "wall" bit in Cornwall - Corn being the Welsh/Cornish/Brythonic word for horn - the shape of Cornwall.
The English county of Cumbria shares the same etymology as the Welsh word for Wales - Cymru. The area around Cumbria is called "Yr hen ogledd" in Welsh - the old North, people here spoke cumbric a relation of Welsh, it may have just been a form of old Welsh.
it's not coom, cum, or come. the SOUND is the same as the vowel sound in english tim/sim: phonetically 'kuh'. the emphasis is on the first syllable, and both syllables are SHORT: KUHm-ri, with the ri vowel being closest to a VERY short 'be' vowel sound.
cool..
why slave? because they took so many welsh as slaves?
i know the slavic countries got their name because so many of them were captured as slaves.
Jesus the way y’all use vowels blows my mind. Y=oo? And u=ee? y’all realize there are easier ways to punk English ppl right?
What does Cymru mean in your language?
Foreskins were called, Robin Hoods.
When Vlad was a young boy in Bulgaria..
Wasn't expecting to see this here but I'm glad I did. 🤣
Seriously how did this spill over? 🤣
Because we're everywhere 👀
Same
Probably got the coolest national flag though.
Wales and Mexico have the right idea when it comes to flags. And pretty much anything is better than yet another series of coloured stripes. Can’t bloody tell any of those flags apart.
Big fan of Nepals 🇳🇵
I like Lebanon’s flag. It has a nice little tree. 🇱🇧
They should add a tree as that tree looks lonely and everyone needs a friend.
And Bhutan, they got a cool dragon too
When my parents went to China a kid asked them where they were from (they wanted to practice their English) and they said wales expecting no one to know where it was and they all said you have dragon on your flag! They remembered it. ❤️
So they do. Nice colours as well
Nepal do triangles
And Elvis for a king
Kyrgyzstan uses the Xbox logo! 🇰🇬
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Plus amazing beaches, beautiful friendly people and awesome food 😞
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Oh yes it is.
Check out Tibet’s 😎
🇭🇷
"coom-ree" ? Nah, "Cum-rhee", twp.
Seeing someone call someone else "Twp" on reddit is as rare as rocking horse shit,
Is it a Welsh insult? What does it mean and how do we pronounce it?
Yeah, "Twp" is slang for "Stupid / Dull" [How its pronounced](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0jB0x4s_3A)
Hah! Well that was wholesome! Thank you
Its bit of an odd one, as its not meant as a really harsh "Stupid", its more a "Daft/silly" way of using it. But you are most welcome!
It's not slang it's welsh.
Yeah it's Welsh, twp=stupid & twpsyn =stupid person(kind of), you'd pronounce it like t-oo-p since the w in Welsh is basically just a 'oo' The t in Welsh can also mutate (the rules on this are easier than you think!) Into a D to make it softer. This happens if you put a Y in front of it (normally a Y/Ye means 'the' but in this case it's a 'you') Do you get things like Y twpsyn Bach - you little idiot (adjectives go after nouns in Welsh, and Bach means small) Y bastard twp - you stupid bastard Etc. My grammar might be wrong and some of the mutations might be incorrect, but this should be roughly right
Twpsyn is masculine so its 'Y twpsyn bach', feminine form is 'y dwpsen' Never heard anyone say 'y dwp', 'Mae o'n dwp' - yes - 'He's thick/stupid'
ah, dwi'n barod i roi'r ffidil yn y tô. Wyt ti'n gywir 😅
Paid a gwneud hynny! Falch bo chdi 'di gywiro fo. Pob cefnogaeth i'r Gymraeg yn wych. Diolch i ti.
I learned something today! Though I can never get the hang of those consonant changes.
Always used to think me granda were calling me a twit untill I got to about 14. Nice to see the Welsh are representing, cymru am byth!
That's what I thought.
That isn't how it's pronounced. Do you speak Welsh?
No only Cymraeg
Or as OP would say, "coom-reig"
Cuum rag
Mae Gymraeg yn ofnadwy Edit: ironic my Welsh really is terrible.. Forgot to add 'fy' and some other wierd shizz Mae fy Nghymraeg yn ofnadwy
Cymru is rad as fuck, but that’s definitely not how you pronounce it.
I've also noticed a difference between the pronunciation in North and South Wales. Boy, is that a hard language to learn. It's like Dutch in that I can't even make some of the sounds. There's a lot of good poetry in the tongue, though, so it's worth it.
As a Dutchie myself living in Cymru for a while it was good fun speaking Dutch with my friend and then being approached in Cymraeg. The sounds are quite similar.
Gotta love the "ll" pronounced as the Dutch pronounce a G (except the southerners).
It's the spelling that whoops my ass in Welsh. Lots of "w" in unexpected places.
Because w can be used as a vowel, sounding a bit like the oo in book. Or it can just be a consonant same as English.
It's not that W can be used as a vowel in Welsh, its because W IS a vowel in Welsh, H on the other hand can be a constant or a vowel.
There’s also different meanings of words north and south, couole I remember from a child is ysgol means school but also means ladder down south. Milk is also llefrith or llaeth depending north or south too
Can you phonetically spell Cymru? I'm Canadian and I listen to a lot of radio stations across the country. Whenever I'm searching the British Isles I see Cymru FM and pronounce it "Sim-Ru" which is clearly wrong.
It’s would be said correctly cum-ree Or cumrry like curry but with an m in there
Sim-Ru! I fucking love it!
ˈkəmri in South Wales, or ‘kəmrɨ̞ in North Wales. It has a small regional variation.
Mate your explanation of how to pronounce the name of our country is completely wrong! It’s more like: -Cu (pronounced the same way as the first two letters in cup) -m -ru (the ‘u’ isn’t pronounced like the last two letters of tea but rather is pronounced like the ‘y’ in GwYneth Paltrow)
>-Cu (pronounced the same way as the first two letters in cup) >-m Kudos for avoiding a sticky situation with the foul language
>sticky situation I see what you did there.
Cum Reee, got it.
Legit that's how it's said haha, don't forget to roll your R though!
Rolling your R's isn't required to be fair, I grew up going to only Welsh schools and not many people rolled their R's, think it's regional.
So like this? https://youtu.be/BgVfNFHC4ek
It’s almost perfect but I’d still say that in this video the ‘u’ is pronounced too much like ‘ea’ in tea. Very close though
I’m hearing Camry- as in the car
Yep, perfect. Come-ree.
10 years of living in the UK and I never knew how to pronounce Cymru... I kinda still don't 😂
In Pennsylvania they pronounce it coom-rue
Or in simpler terms. Come-ree.
It’s pronounced cumree
My Grandmother was Welsh. It's a hard language. I'd make her mad and she'd going off in welsh, the only word I understood was "hooligan" lol. Good times.
Did she every hit you with an Ych a fi?
YES!! Its big in my family we use it and teach it to our kids.
The origin of ‘Cymru’ is as interesting as that of the origin of ‘Wales’. Cymru (the country) and Cymry (the people),and both pronounced the same ‘Kum- ree’, originates from insular Brittonic Celtic or the British language (not English). Cymru is a derivative of the British word Kambrogi which means fellow person or compatriot and it was from this word the Romans called Wales ‘Cambria’. The irony is that Wales means Foreigner from an English/Germanic perspective and is diametrically opposite to the meaning of the Brittonic Celtic name Cymru
Coom-Ree? What the fuck? I'm English and know it's not pronounced like that.
I feel like Wales gets a bad rap. I've watched quite a bit of British television and they always make Wales the butt of a joke. Being an American I don't understand the politics or societal aspects at hand, but my grandfather immigrated from Merthyr Tydfil so I've done a bit of research on Wales and it seems like a beautiful place.
As a born and bred Welshman I used to be quite dismayed by this, we were always the silly character on the odd British sitcom or the hysterical woman in a serious drama or the down and out poor man who hasn't moved on from the 50s. We were relegated to a forgotten part of the UK by media from the rest of the world, battlefield 1 had a tank crew made up of a Scotsman, 2 Englishmen and an Irishman, not a Welsh accent in sight, call of duty normally has the typical English accent but you get a Scottish one too and a Northern Irish. I get it though, the Welsh accent doesn't convey typical toughness like a gruff London accent or harsh Scottish one does. But that's because it's used wrong. I love how Anthony Hopkins can turn it on just enough to have the twang but still sound however he needs to for his roles. Michael Sheen has been at the front of a bit of a resurgence of the Welsh accent not being a comedic footnote. And imagine my absolute delight when From software put a Welsh person in dark souls, a game with hardly any dialogue and then filled Elden Ring up with Welsh accents. I feel Wales is starting to have its cultural image changed in the media and I'm so bloody happy with it. In saying all that though Twin Town is still the go to film to watch. Things like sharing a bath as adults is not the experience of most Welsh young adults these days but the rest of it is a good capture of what life is like outside the major metropolitan areas (despite being set in Swansea)
"Ambition *is* Critical"
There's no fucking in it!
Dylan Thomas called Swansea "an ugly, lovely town".
Aye, well Dylan Thomas didn't do as much fucking cocaine as you did he!
That film has so many wonderful quotes, even if it makes us look like fucking idiots in places :D
I'd call it... a pretty shitty city.
>the Welsh accent doesn't convey typical toughness Battery Sergeant Major Williams would like a word.
Buy your own fkin glue!
As a Welshman, what are your thoughts about Wrexham being bought out by Ryan Reynolds? Do you guys see it as a gimmick or has it legit been a good thing for the club?
As a Welshman, and someone who lives not too far from Wrexham, I think so far its been very positive for the club. Not only that but the North East of Wales in general too, mainly as it is an area that is often forgotten about by even people in Wales.
That’s good to hear. I’ve been watching the show and really like the story of Wrexham. Been wanting to get some club gear too to support them. Just wanted to check that the people there don’t feel they are being taken advantage of.
Don't get me wrong, there are people who have that genuine concern, and I don't blame them, especially considering that a previous club owner basically asset stripped the club before the fans bought it, but so far what Rob and Ryan have been doing has been mostly positive.
I think it's important to preface my answer with this being my opinion only and I appreciate everyone not feeling the way I do. I do see it as a bit of a gimmick overall. I can see how it's been amazingly positive for the club and the area along with it and that I'm really happy with. However, to me, it has the same vibe as rich Hollywood types going to a deprived country to build a school or something and i don't like that Wales is considered like that. Mine you, that might be me being blinkered to how things really are here. Ideally, I would like Wrexham FC to do well without having to rely on it becoming a pet project for Hollywood stars who can then leverage what they have done into things like Netflix series about Americans being whacky in a culture they don't understand. It makes it feel a bit cheap for me. But despite it having dubious reasoning and intention it's been positive for alot of people so can't argue with it being a good thing. The real answer to your question however is that as a Valleys boy from South Wales I couldnt give a shit what the Gogs get up to as long as they don't come down here. (Obviously a joke at the end there just in case anyone thought it was serious) Just to add on the end, I saw the other guys reply and he is right, North Wales is forgotten about by the Senedd who focus so much on Cardiff and the M4 corridor. Even the valleys, which is forgotten about quite a bit too, doesn't compare to the neglect north and west Wales have. I think that the country is so divided both culturally, in terms of accent and physically by a series of mountains that requires driving into England to get around quick, doesn't help matters at all. If getting a boost from RR and RM buying Wrexham makes up for how shit Welsh government has been then I'm even more for it despite my cynicism.
I appreciate your answer, as somebody living in California and my only exposure to Wrexham being through the show, I just wanted honest opinions on how Rob and Ryan’s influence is seen there from people on the ground.
Hey, Merthyr Tydfil is the next Valley over from me, I visit Merthyt quite a lot... The industrial history of Merthyr from the 1800s onwards is a very sad story https://footsteps.bangor.ac.uk/en/location/merthyr-tydfil perhaps this is why why your Grandfather left?
England dumps on others to make themselves feel better.
Having lived in Wales 7 years now, I can tell you that the Welsh do so much the same for the English. It's the nature of national rivalries. The French are the butt of the joke often in British comedy. It's just what we do.
I'm from Merthyr Tydfil, born and raised there. Currently living in Qatar right now. If you want to ask any questions, please feel free to
Is it a rather sad place ?
Qatar is an incredibly depressing/suffocating/oppressive place since you ask. Wales however (including Merthyr) is an incredibly beautiful country with a great attitude. I know where I’d rather live.
Can confirm: I do research in Wales, and it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Okay, not Holyhead by the ferry--I'm talking more about places like the Gower Peninsula near Swansea. (I'm also an American of Welsh heritage and have one of the four major Welsh last names, so I have taken some guff from English people here in the States who jokingly say things to me like "Down in the mine!"). I also hear English people slagging off Wales each time I take the train from London to the principality. Also, when I land at Heathrow and the customs agent asks where I'm going and I say "Wales," he will often ask satirically "Why?" It gets old, and I don't even live there.
Just an FYI, Wales is a country not a principality. A lot of us don't like it when people refer to wales as "the principality " Unless you were talking about travelling to the principality stadium specifically and not Wales at a whole. In which case it is will always be called the millennium stadium. I think it's great that you travel here and have a connection with the place though. You're right it is beautiful.
Interested to know what you think the four major Welsh surnames are. Let me guess…Jones, Davies, Edwards, Williams?
Wales is a country, not a principality. You should probably know that.
Holyhead itself is horrible but the rest of Anglesey and most of North Wales is beautiful. The Llyn Peninsula, Snowdonia, Anglesey, and Pembrokeshire are all stunning. The Gower is lovely but it's a tiny area in comparison to the other amazing places! (Just in case you've avoided all of North Wales just because of Holyhead hah)
It's not a principality.
I’m English and have never seen wales be the butt of a joke. My dad’s Welsh so I’m qualified to say that /s
Never heard a sheep shagger comment then has he? Go and ask him
You would be ignorant to the prejudice if you don't live in it. It runs all the way through from what our country has been named, politics and the royals, the flag, to media and society. We are just the weird cousins from the west. Or portrayed that way at least
My dad actually is welsh though, I’m not prejudiced towards welsh people. I don’t really watch TV though so I probably haven’t seen it.
Apologies. I didn't mean to imply you specifically think that. More society in the UK as a whole.
Sorry bud but Wales has been the butt end of jokes since before the pope was born.
Lol, Merthyr is not a beautiful place. It’s a slum. However there are some very lovely places in wales. They have some of the best beaches in the uk.
Dunno what the downvotes are for. Merthyr is a shithole that my only visits to are when I have to unfortunately pass through it to get to the beautiful Brecon Beacons.
This guy gets it.
Seconded, Merthyr is the arsehole of South Wales. Just down the road you have beautiful Abergavenny and usk which are gorgeous.
I get it might be better now, but in terms of the amazing places around it it just isn’t a nice place at all. I didn’t mean to offend anyone I’m just speaking from my point of view
Abergavenny is a decent shout, and while Usk is nice if I could move back to Wales and not need to be in a specific place for work i'd probably take Merthyr over Usk just for it's closeness the to beacons. I'd definitely pass on Aberdare though. That said it's been a while since I've been to Merthyr or Aberdare.
they said *Wales* seems like a beautiful place
Spent 28 years of my life from birth in Merthyr and still go back once a week to see family. Merthyr used to be a major shithole in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s. It deserved its reputation then, every single one of my friends had been jumped by randoms, the town centre was dying, there was nothing else to do. It had that "it's a shit town but it's our shit town charm" But I think in recent years they have done a great job with it, the pedestrianised town centre has opened it up for food festivals and the like, the new cafes and bars have made it nicer, the bike park has helped out massively with tourism. Its easy to forget too that although it's a former industrial town left to rot after the 80s it is surrounded by some of the most beautiful landscapes, the Brecon beacons on the doorstep north, the heads of the valleys heading east, the dramatic landscapes around Hirwaun west and a easy river (now far cleaner than it used to be when I was a kid, far less cars in it) heading off to Cardiff and the sea south. I only live up the road now but I love going back and seeing how much improvement the town centre has made and going off for walks and bike rides around the same routes I've done for decades. I've been fortunate enough to live abroad and in many different areas of the UK and I still love that little spot in the valleys. Its also telling that both of my English girlfriends were flabbergasted by the landscape when they first started visiting my parents when we first started dating. We can take it for granted sometimes but having someone visit who's not been there can sometimes show what your missing.
Honestly as Englishman I have no problem with wales or welsh people at all, but when I see Welsh people hating on me for being English or shit talking England it’s hard to just ignore. Then you have Englishmen shitting on the Welsh as well which just leads to more friction on both sides with both of them shitting on each other. It’s like a situation of ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg’. It’s not just the Welsh though, the Scots do it, the Irish do it, they all just hate England and English people and as someone who likes their people and countries but is made enemy because of where I was born it’s a tough situation. You see in every World Cup you’ll have Scottish or Welsh people supporting every team that England is facing, hoping for our downfall yet I don’t see the reverse. I sit there hoping for big success for Scotland and wales in football and rugby unless we’re playing them but it’s sad to see with the roles reversed the phrase “anyone but England” is like a motto to other countries in the UK
Do they teach the history of the British isles in English schools at all? Like do they tell you what happened in Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Speaking specifically for wales, there was a serious attempt to eradicate welsh culture that only really ended in the second half of the twentieth century (if then, certain right wing figures still like to deny its existence and many guidebooks and travel companies still take it upon themselves to try and rename our landmarks to make them more english sounding) So from a Welsh point of view, knowing that my Nain got physical abuse from teachers in school for speaking cymraeg, and then less than a generation later, regularly hearing English people being like "Haha, welsh is so stupid! Where are the vowels? Only like 25% of you speak it anyway let it die!", has a completely different feel to someone saying "I hope England lose their rugby match against France today." If you're being honest its not the same. We are on different ends of a power dynamic that has seen a lot of misery and loss caused here. The effects of which are still seen today. People in this very thread are talking about how awful places like merthyr are, and yes there are many very deprived places here, the reason for that is largely the historical relationship between Wales and England. I hope this in some way answers your question about which came first. I don't think many welsh people hate the English by the way, not very many at all. But it would certainly be better if more English people spent 5 minutes learning about their neighbours before blurting out certain jokes which are, at best, very overplayed.
Very well put! As a Scot we get this from English people too, as if we’re both equally to blame. They then try the “well, it’s just history” tack which is also not true. Things are done to Scotland, Wales and NI all the time NOW against our will and we are constantly disparaged in our “national” (as in, UK) media. Boris Johnson called us “verminous” in a newspaper column, and that’s just one of thousands of examples. The English “left” isn’t any better. Even English Labour politicians like Starmer and Phillips say the best thing to do to Scotland is simply ignore us. It’s not just historical, not by a long shot. Think that’s maybe a *tad* worse than “Boo hoo rUK hopes we lose at football”.
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coom # reeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Coom-coom-coom-coOOM REEEEEEE *Owh*
It's from the English word Whales, meaning big fuckin fish. Dumbass
Don’t make me longbow you
> Don’t make me longbow ~~you~~ yew.
I got longbowed once, after I welshed on a bet....
Gonna hit someone in the knee and then we'll never hear the end of it
*don't make a Skyrim reference, don't make a Skyrim reference, don't make a Skyrim reference, don'tdon'tdon't*
Translated and shortened from San Diego
Wales vagina
This reminds me of the Ali G episode when he goes to Wales. First things he says:- "Not only is Wales the fish with the biggest dick in the sea, bit it is also a country 100 miles away from Britain"
Wales was my favorite of the 10 countries we visited a few years back.... wild beauty
Nice fact! Sadly not how you pronounce Cymru however.
It's absolutely not pronounced Coom-ree. That would be spelt 'Cwmru'. Were I OP, I would simply not post stuff online that I don't actually know anything about for nebulous karma points.
How to pronounce so I don't make welsh mad?
The Walnut is also named after the celtic "wealc" since it was a strange foreign nut
[Just leaving this here in case someone has missed seeing it.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fpV0OFC0vc)
Are u ladies from England? Wales. I'm sorry, are you whales from England?
Classic
Oof that pronunciation ain't it chief 🙈
Morocco is a great foreign name for my country. It means "the land of the Gods"
more particularly it means foreigners under Roman Rule. Neither is China called "China" in China. Nor is Japan called Japan.
I think you’re thinking of “barbarus” (barbarian) which simply meant foreigner with the connotation of uncivilized, i.e not Roman or Greek culturally
No, I wasn't confusing "wales" with "barbarus". I was speaking of info I got from [Wales.com](https://Wales.com) . it's about Welsh history and language.
For anyone wondering, that mountain is Pen Yr Ole Wen The lake is called Llyn Idwal
Wouldn’t say that’s the best way to pronounce it. More like Cum-rih
My surname is Walsh(my grandad came from Ireland)and having done a little research it turns out that we originated in Wales and it seems that our name means exactly this “foreign “ or “slave” sort of wish I hadn’t done the research now…
We say Pays de Galles in France. Sounds badass
and what does that mean?
Country of Galles
they pay the galles
This is getting torn to shreds on the Wales sub
I live there and ive only ever heard english speaks say cymru as cum-ree
Or Cambria where everyone can say it
It shares the etymology with Wallonia in Belgium and Wallachia in Romania. Also the "wall" bit in Cornwall - Corn being the Welsh/Cornish/Brythonic word for horn - the shape of Cornwall. The English county of Cumbria shares the same etymology as the Welsh word for Wales - Cymru. The area around Cumbria is called "Yr hen ogledd" in Welsh - the old North, people here spoke cumbric a relation of Welsh, it may have just been a form of old Welsh.
From now on I shall only talk about Cymru as it just sounds way cooler
My surname is welsh and means chief of the sea which is tied to a fellow we all know who pirated the Caribbean seas and loved his rum
Is it Morgan by chance? I'm Welsh myself and was looking into mine and my families names
Yup, are you a Morgan too?
This photo is magical...
Gorgeous view! Which spot is it from?
Snowdonia, Llyn Idwal.
Ah to visit Snowdonia
Cymru am byth!
That's one of the best views in the UK. Absolutely love the Ogwen Valley and Pen Yr Ole Wen.
in my country you are named "country of the gauls"
Then that is what it should be called !
It's actually come-ree and not coom-ree but yeah
Cymru is not pronounced Coom-ree. Your language is wrong.
Rwy’n dysgu Cymraeg! …. Yn araf.
Damn, that is interesting and I actually kind of prefer it’s Celtic based variant
Woow such a beautiful pic. Can only imagine how the place IRL would look
Thank you for posting! Loved visiting, will be sure to remember it as Cymru
it's not coom, cum, or come. the SOUND is the same as the vowel sound in english tim/sim: phonetically 'kuh'. the emphasis is on the first syllable, and both syllables are SHORT: KUHm-ri, with the ri vowel being closest to a VERY short 'be' vowel sound.
So the y is pronounced like u and the u like y or i
I know some Welsh from Ali G: Ali dwi yn. Which means Ali do an E. https://youtu.be/3WnFW5mgPbk
As a Welshman, you’re wrong on the pronunciation bro.
Wales is a measurement of area -eof
IE Wales is 1X the size of Wales.
🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
It's actually pronounced 'come-ree'.
Yma o hyd!!!
It’s written CYMRU but pronounced Cumry? Wow
That’s because it’s a different language
cool.. why slave? because they took so many welsh as slaves? i know the slavic countries got their name because so many of them were captured as slaves.
I never knew how to pronounce that. Thank you
You still don’t I’m afraid.
Jesus the way y’all use vowels blows my mind. Y=oo? And u=ee? y’all realize there are easier ways to punk English ppl right? What does Cymru mean in your language?
Coomer ?
Cumry
Okay but while a better name, you’re still asking English speakers to refer to Wales as “Cum reee”
Coom land
Good thing it's not Coom-ree. I'd hate to be a coomer
So the Welsh are a bunch of Coomers?
From an outsiders perspective, weirdest place in the world
Sadly Wales ain't a country it's a nation, one of 4 in the COUNTRY the United Kingdom, and also when did i ask
/ˈkəmri/ is the pronunciation, let's stop using arbitrary and made-up-on-the-spot pronunciation keys and start using IPA