Modern Welsh: A Comprehensive Grammar

by Gareth King

An accessible and comp guide to the Welsh language as it is spoken today. The book is organised to enable a thorough understanding of Welsh grammar and is an ideal reference source for both the user and learner of Welsh.

Genres: Nonfiction

348 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Floppy]

Read up to section 250 (partway through the chapter on verbs, which is very long, comprising around a third of the grammar) and stopped, since I felt like I had already learned all I needed from the book. Solid reference grammar with a lot of detail. I occasionally felt like the book was giving me dialect-specific information without specifying it was dialect-specific (for example, the section on possessives claimed the 3rd person possessive was "ei [noun] e/fe", e/fe being the southern variant for the third person singular pronoun, yet the grammar didn't specify if "ei ... e/fe" was a general construction or also exclusive to the South).

Very occasionally, important pieces of information would be tucked away in hard-to-find places (the colloquial feature wherein soft mutation is universally applied to preterite verbs was explained in a single paragraph in the section "Questions with inflected past tense", along with an excursus on mutation in the negative. A most inappropriate section to explain either of these grammar points, in my opinion).

The section on pronunciation was also a bit underwhelming. Some variations in pronunciation were not explained (for example, the fact that the pronoun "ae" doesn't exist in pre-final position, and is therefore replaced with "ei" in words like "saesneg"), and I had to check alternative resources, such as Hannahs' The Phonology of Welsh.

These are ultimately minor nitpicks, and they don't detract from the quality of the grammar. One of the most pleasant Routledge grammars to learn from.

[I Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential for all dedicated Welsh learners.

Another fantastic book from Gareth. It's particularly useful that he always explains the variations used - literary, colloquial speech and forms promoted by schools - so that even if you don't feel one is required for your language needs, you will at least recognise, understand and be able work out the meaning if you come across them.

An encyclopaedia of knowledge, though probably not for beginners.

[Siôn Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deserves its classic status. Genuinely enjoyable to read for fun. Bought the previous edition second hand and it still cost £20+, but can’t imagine that whatever were the additions are worth the extra £50. Shame such a great book isn’t cheaper. But it is a great book, for sure.

[Mabon Finch · Rating 5 out of 5]

The absolute best book on Welsh Grammar, in my opinion.