Welsh in a week

[Francis Hult]

Wales Online

 

'I can learn Welsh in a week'

 

An Autistic man who picked up Welsh from road signs and children's books during a two-week holiday has boasted: "I could learn it in a week."

 

Genius Daniel Tammet hopes one day to speak at the Eisteddfod and perhaps even win the coveted learner's prize.

 

The linguist and writer, who lives in Avignon, in the south of France, discovered the tongue when he visited Blaenau Ffestiniog for a break in Snowdonia.

 

Mr Tammet, 29, a Londoner, also has synaesthesia, which can affect language learning.

 

He said: "I saw the road signs in Welsh and saw all the public conveniences were in Welsh and it struck me as a beautiful language. I was told that was where Welsh was spoken widely, where it really thrived. So I got a dictionary and bought some children's books in Welsh and read them, and enjoyed them."

 

Mr Tammet has also taught himself French, Finnish, German, Spanish, Lithuanian, Romanian, Estonian, Icelandic and Esperanto. He has also invented his own language called Mänti.

 

He said it took him "not very long" to pick up Welsh during his visit.

 

Full story:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/01/25/welsh-in-a-week-ok-91466-22770786/

 

 

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