1 definition by Draig ap Dafydd

Wenglish

Can refer to one of two distinct forms of communication used within Wales. The first is the dialect of English spoken by Welsh people in the South Wales Valleys. This is a working-class dialect influenced by the Welsh language, which was the main language of the area until the twentieth century. It is famous for using long consonants, abnormal prepositions, additional verbs for emphasis, and the Aberdare Inversion which brings some of the verbs in a given clause to the start. Some common words used in Wenglish include "butti" for "mate", "tidy" for "good" and "ych a fi" for "disgusting". The second meaning of the word Wenglish is the exact opposite. It is an informal dialect of the Welsh language with influences from the English language, often used by bilingual people. The dialect is particularly prominent in northern Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, where it is often unclear whether the primary language of a given community is Welsh or English. An example of Wenglish in this sense would be as follows; the sentence "I am watching television with my family," would, in Welsh, be rendered "Dw i'n gwylio y teledu gyda fy teulu," whilst in Wenglish, one might say "Dw i'n watcho y telly gyda fy teulu."

Englishman: "I was visiting my family in the South Wales Valleys the other day."
Friend: "How was it."
Englishman: "Not bad, but I found the dialect hard to follow. They call it Wenglish."

OR

Welshman: "I didn't know you could speak Welsh."
Friend: "I'm not really very fluent; I tend to speak a kind of Wenglish."

by Draig ap Dafydd July 23, 2019