Swansea talk · Languages in Swansea
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Languages in Swansea
Languages in Swansea
Although it definitely has character, Swansea dialect (especially from east-side) can be hard to understand for the uninitiated.
The following usages are peculiar to Swansea:
bye-ya = here (example: "Put it bye-ya" means "Put it here.")
ewe = you (example: "Alright, arr ewe?" means "Are you OK?")
learns = teach, (example: "Will you learns me English?" means "Will you teach me English?")
likes = like, (example: "I likes it" means "I like it")
now = often used as an affirmative, not be taken literally (example: "I'll come over now later" just means "I'll come over later.")
fair dues = to give someone credit (example: "He is not rich, but fair dues he's always happy to lend money to his friends." means "He is not rich, but give him credit. He's always happy to lend money to his friends.")
there's = that's, how or what (example: "There's lovely" means "That's beautiful" or "How nice", whereas "There's a mess!" would in more standard English be expressed as "What a mess!")
butt/butty = friend/buddy. (example: "How're you doing, butt?" means "How are you doing, mate/friend?")
mun = used at the end of a statement for emphasis purposes (example: "Hurry up, mun, or we'll be late").
Evening Po = an abbreviated term for Evening Post (the Swansea evening newspaper) called out by road side vendors.
In addition, there is a tendency for those with a strong accent to speak in the third person. So if someone walks up to you and says, "eye nose ewe", don't be surprised. They are merely expressing the fact that they recognize you (i.e. "I know you")!
The Swansea accent is more noticeable in blue collar areas of the city, whereas in more affluent areas people speak with a more refined Welsh accent. However, even in these areas Wenglish phrases like "Uch a fi!" (dirty) can still be heard.
About 16% of Swansea's population can speak and read Welsh in addition to English, though the majority of these are residents of the the northern suburbs (i.e. those closest to the counties of Powys and Carmarthenshire). People from the original town of Swansea, east-side, Mumbles and South Gower were not traditionally Welsh speaking, and so there are far fewer Welsh speakers in these areas.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Swansea
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Swansea Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.