Last time I taught a class on “Wales and the Welsh” one student admitted he’d signed up thinking it was about marine mammals. And just the other day, I read a blog about someone who’d met “The Prince of Whales” - a relative of Neptune, perhaps?

Whether this says more about the state of American spelling than the visibility of Wales I don’t know, but for sure, Wales does seem the least well known of all the countries in the UK, at least in the USA.

So, what a pleasure it is, to put Wales on the map!

• Welsh alphabet:– a b c ch d dd e f ff g ng h i l ll m n o p ph r rh s t th u w y
• Some sounds – such as ‘ch’ ( like clearing your throat) and ‘ll’ ( like whistling through your back teeth) are not easy to make if you’re not Welsh.
• Welsh words mutate, meaning they change depending on what words they are next to. Very often, the first letter changes which makes it hard to look up words in a dictionary!

RED DRAGON. The oldest emblem ( 9th century) and on the Welsh flag.

LEEK and DAFFODIL: Emblems of Wales. They are the same word in Welsh.

COSTUME: Tall black hat, woolen shawl and long skirt, mainly in red and black.

EISTEDDFOD: Arts festival and competition rolled into one. The word means “ to be seated” referring the ancient tradition of chairing the winning poet or bard. Welsh poetry has its origins in the 6th century.

RUGBY: Known as a "second religion" in Wales. The home ground is Cardiff Arms Park.

ST DAVID is the patron saint of Wales. St David’s Day is March 1st.