Sa, so, smo, and Southern Welsh

[peredur_glyn]

Having admittedly been away from Livejournal (at least, not posting) for about two months, and this without any particularly good reason, I return with a vaguely dull (to anyone who isn't gripped by Welsh linguistics) academic quandary. I'd be grateful if anybody who considers themselves either speakers of, or otherwise world experts on, a South

Comments

[dyddgu]

I always thought it was a contraction of the end of "does" (itself a contraction, of course) More obvious in "smo" does dim mo &c.

[peredur_glyn]

This what I surmise, but it doesn't work (from my pov) if you try and formulate something like:

*does mo fi 'n mynd

etc. But I don't know much about the 'mo' particle. Should check up on that, really.

Thnx.

[dyddgu]

Well, it doesn't, but I always thought it was just an extension of use, beyond the original logic of the thing, iyswim?

[dyddgu]

Oh, hold on, it can also be short for Basa, can it not? (as in baswn i &c)

[peredur_glyn]

Yes, but not with a negative sense--"'sa fe'n mynd" "if he went". I don't think the negative sense can come from here ...?

[peredur_glyn]

Sounds plausible--it would explain why the particle exists, but has been (in certain contexts) reanalysed. Thanks.

[volvo340]

Isn't 'mo' just a shortening of 'modd', so it is 'does modd fi'n mynd'?

In fact, one could almost extrapolate the meaning of 'smo fi'n mynd' as 'does dim modd fy mod am fynd' ('there's no way I am going') - it seems to me to be a strong denial, stronger than 'sa fi'n mynd' (which is simply (I'm not going').

I learned all my south Welsh from Pobol y Cwm, so I might be totally wrong. North Welsh is so much more proper anyway (who the hell has a 'dishgled o de'?)!