Snowdon or Yr Wyddfa, Welsh learners have a mountain to climb

Photograph: Alamy

I am with Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett all the way on the proper name of Wales’ highest mountain (‘Snowdon’ may have its own beauty, but Yr Wyddfa is the name I’ll be using, 30 April), and I thought it was helpful of her to include both a synopsis of the folktale behind the name and a guide to pronunciation for non-Welsh speakers.

However, she perhaps doesn’t realise the importance of explaining the stressed syllable to us Welsh learners. One of the things that makes it such a musical language is the stress pattern of words, and getting the emphasis on the right syllable is a huge aid to correct pronunciation. When helping others, I explain the (almost invariable) rule, which is that the stress goes on the penultimate syllable of the word. So don’t say Err-with-VA. Say Err-WITH-va
Fiona Collins
Welsh learner of the year 2019

• Is there any reason why it shouldn’t have names in use in both English and Welsh? This is, after all, well established on road signs in Wales, some similar (Cardiff/Caerdydd), some not (Swansea/Abertawe). We call various countries by names they don’t use themselves (Germany, India, Japan, etc), though by some unspoken process some countries’ names, even very ancient ones, change in English when their governments do (for example, Ceylon to Sri Lanka; Burma to Myanmar) when others do not. This process, especially when applied to towns, lakes, etc can cause serious confusion in locating places in historical studies.

Let us celebrate both languages, and keep Welsh and English names in circulation.
Dr Anthony Cheke
Oxford

• Whatever the outcome of Snowdon v Yr Wyddfa, as a modest suggestion, might we not make a better effort to learn correct Welsh, Scottish and Irish pronunciation? It could be taught under the “citizenship” school syllabus.

I regard it as a personal failing, and a cause of discourtesy, that I cannot confidently pronounce the names of many of the most prominent geographical features of my own country. Were we, particularly the English, to improve in this way, I feel sure that it would be a small step towards fostering greater respect and understanding across our national cultures.
Michael Lyon
London

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