[photo-3d] Re: Welsh: its all greek to me!

[CanterMike@xxxxxxx]

In new Digest #37, George writes, in part:

<<  This is a place in Wales called "Bettws-y-Coed".  Strange name!
 It seems that the first word is missing a few vowels but I can assure
 you I copied it correctly!  I have no idea how it sounds! >>


George, I hesitate to call you culturally insesitive, but clearly you've 
never encountered Welsh names before.  I'd suggest you look through an atlas 
sometime (when you've got an idle minute or two).  Start close to home: there 
is a suburb of Philadelphia (enough vowels for you?) Pennsylvania (USA) named 
Bala Cynwyd, another fine Welsh name (but don't ask me how to pronounce it, 
either).

Here are more for you, all in Wales itself: Penrhyncoch, Llanrhystud, 
Penmaenmawr, Llansanffraid, Llanfairtalhaiarn, Eglwysbach....I could go on 
and on.  They seem no more strange (to me) than, oh say, Rafina, Dekelia Sud, 
Aspropirgos, Nea Liosia, ...you get the picture.

Mike Canter

ps. I have a theory about languages: the vowels that we perceive to be 
"missing" from so many languages (especially those of Eastern Europe) just 
migrated around (perhaps looking for a better climate) and wound up in 
Hawaiian

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