A village on the island of Anglesey in North Wales is famous for having the longest place name in the British Isles. Reciting the full name was the favourite party trick of a boy who was in my class in the first year of secondary school. Name and history This is the name: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllandysiliogogogoch English…… Continue reading That Welsh place with the long name
Tag: Welsh
Confusing name for Chester
In a recent short break in Chester, I learnt that it is easy to confuse the Welsh names of Chester and of another town 130 miles away in Wales. It can be hard to decipher medieval texts when it is not clear which of these two important sites is under discussion. Chester Chester stands at…… Continue reading Confusing name for Chester
Consonant mutation in Manx
I was intrigued to read recently that the bus company in the Isle of Man is called Bus Vannin (in English), Barroose Vannin (in Manx Gaelic). Vannin is a form of Mannin, the Manx name for the Island. The change from Mannin to Vannin is evidently an instance of a process called initial consonant mutation,…… Continue reading Consonant mutation in Manx
How do you say Llantwit Major?
A son of one of my ancestors was born in Axbridge (Somerset) but later settled in the village of Llantwit Major in Glamorgan (Wales). According to Wells (2014), Llantwit Major is an English-speaking area and its name is actually English, though that name begins with the characteristic Welsh syllable llan-, meaning church. Wells states that the…… Continue reading How do you say Llantwit Major?