THE HAFOD, CREDENHILL, SWYDD HENFFORDD

(Fersiwn Saesneg ar ôl y testun Cymraeg - English translation follows the Welsh text)

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Diddorol yw edrych ar enwau Cymraeg yn Lloegr (problem enfawr yw enwau Saesneg ar lefydd yng Nghymru, wrth gwrs, ond rhan o broses hir-dymor o drefedigaethu i bob pwrpas yw hyn, boed yn wybodol neu’n anwybodol. Nid yw i’w gymharu ag ambell enw Cymraeg diweddar yn Lloegr!)

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Y mae tirwedd dwyrain Swydd Henffordd yn frith o enwau Cymraeg. Weithiau, yn eithriadol, ceir enw Cymraeg tu faes i’r ardal Gymraeg hon. Ond enwau diweddar yw’r rhain.

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Hafod yw un o’r enwau hyn. Enw ar dŷ ger pentref Credenhill yw / oedd, ar yr heol i Stretton Sugwas a Henfford, bedair milltir o’r ddinas honno yn ôl marciwr milltiroedd haearn bwrw gerllaw.

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Fe’i gwelir ar Fap yr Arolwg Ordnans 1887 wedi ei sillafu â “v”: Havod.

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Ond enw sydd ar flin diflannu oddi ar gof trigolion y cylch erbyn hyn, mae’n debyg, am i’r tŷ gael ei ddymchwel yn lled ddiweddar.

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(Ni wn sut y mae pobl y cylch yn ynganu’r enw “Hafod” - fel yr enw Saesneg “Hayford / Heyford” efallai?)

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Mae’n bosibl i’r tŷ hwn yn Credenhill gael ei enwi ar ôl Hafod Tan-y-graig, ger Beddgelert. Bu’n n eiddo i John Pryce Hamer y mae sôn amdano y blog Saesneg hwn:

https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/tourists-by.../hamer-j-p/

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O’r hyn a welais, wedi ei eni yn Lerpwl yr oedd, ond yn sicr o deulu fu’n hanu o Gymru - y cyfenwau ganddo yn awgrymu rhyw gysylltiad â’r Canolbarth, yn benodol â Sir Drefaldwyn.

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Ganed John Pryce Hamer ar 31 Rhagfyr 1815, yn fab i Henry Hamer a Martha Anne gynt Pryce o Bootle, Lerpwl.

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Pan oedd yn byw yn Lerpwl bu'n gweithio fel brocer stoc a chyfranddaliadau, deliwr a masnachwr. Fe’i dyfarnwyd yn fethdalwr yn 1840.

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Yno symudodd i ogledd Cymru a bu’n byw mewn amryw o lefydd megis:

1/ Ynys Môn

2/ Caernarfon (bu ganddo yno swyddfa o’r enw Swyddfa’r Wyddfa (“Snowdon Office “) neu Asiantaeth Wibdeithiau a Thai’r Wyddfa (“Snowdon Excursion and House Agency”) yn Rhes Segontiwm (“Segontium Terrace”) o ryw 1856 i 1859).

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Cyhoeddodd yn 1857 ei “deithlyfr defnyddiol â gwybodaeth am agerlongau, rheilffyrdd a heolydd ar gyfer ymwelwyr i’r Wyddfa a’r cylch” (“Hamer's Practical Steamboat, Railway, and Road Guide, to Snowdon and Around. Hamer, J. P. Caernarvon. 1857”)

Wedyn bu’n byw mewn tŷ o’r enw

3/ Hafod Tan y Graig ger Beddgelert, ym mhen gorllewinol Llyn Gwynant. Yn

1865, rhoddwyd ei gartref a'r holl gynnwys ar werth.

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Gwyddir ei fod yn byw yn Havod, Credenhill, Henffordd erbyn 1873 am fod sôn am drawsgludiad eiddo ganddo yn Heol Uxbridge, Ealing, Llundain yn 1873: (London Metropolitan Archives: John Pryce Hamer of Havod Credenhill, Hereford, gent.)

Yr oedd wedi marw erbyn 1896.

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Ar fap yr Arolwg Ordnans 1877 “Havod” fu’r enw; rywbryd Cymreigiwyd y sillafiad, ac hyd ei ddymchwel “The Hafod” fu’r enw ar arwydd y glwyd ac ar fapiau Adran Cynllunio Cyngor Swydd Henffordd.

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Yn ôl Cofnodion Cyfarfod Cyffredin Cyngor Plwyf Credenhill yn 2011 cwynodd cynghorydd am dwll mawr yn yr heol: “he also complained about a large pothole by the “Hafod.” “

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Cyn ei ddymchwel bu’n Ganolfan “Blas ar Antur” (y "Taste for Adventure Centre" oedd. Wedyn fe’i prynwyd gan y Weinyddiaeth Amddiffyn (2016?) a’i ddymchwel yn fuan wedyn.

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(Yn od o beth, erys enw Cymraeg arall ar dŷ cyfagos – un o’r enw “Vron House”).

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Y mae yn ninas Henffordd heol o’r enw “Hafod Road”, ond nid at yr “Hafod” hon y mae’n cyfeirio.

 

THE HAVOD, CREDENHILL, SYDD HENFORD

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It is interesting to look at Welsh names in England (the use of English names is a huge problem for places in Wales, of course, but this is part of a long-term process of colonization to all intents and purposes, whether consciously or unconsciously. It is not to be compared to the use of some recent Welsh names in England!)

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The landscape of east Herefordshire is full of Welsh names. Sometimes, exceptionally, there is a Welsh name outside the area of this Welsh-speaking area. But these are recent names.

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Hafod is one of these names. It is / was the name of a house near the village of Credenhill on the road to Stretton Sugwas and Hereford, four miles from that city according to a nearby cast iron mile marker.

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It can be seen on the 1887 Ordnance Survey Map spelled with a "v": Havod.

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But it is a name that is most likely now on the point of disappearing from the memory of the residents of the area because the house was demolished quite recently.

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(I don't know how the people of the area pronounce the name "Hafod" - like the English name "Hayford / Heyford" perhaps?)

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It is possible that this house in Credenhill was named after Hafod Tan-y-graig, near Beddgelert. It was owned by John Pryce Hamer who is mentioned in this English blog:

https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/tourists-by.../hamer-j-p/

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From what I saw, he was born in Liverpool, but he certainly came from a family from Wales - his surnames suggest some connection with Mid-Wales, specifically Montgomeryshire.

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John Pryce Hamer was born on 31 December 1815, the son of Henry Hamer and Martha Anne nee Pryce of Bootle, Liverpool.

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When living in Liverpool he worked as a stock and share broker, dealer and trader. He was declared bankrupt in 1840.

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There he moved to north Wales and lived in various places such as:

1/ Ynys Môn / Anglesey

2/ Caernarfon (he had an office there called the Snowdon Office or Snowdon Excursion and House Agencyin Rhes Segontiwm ("Segontium Terrace") from about 1856 to 1859).

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In 1857 he published his “Hamer's Practical Steamboat, Railway, and Road Guide, to Snowdon and Around”. (Hamer, J. P. Caernarvon. 1857)

He then lived in a house called

3/ Hafod Tan y Graig near Beddgelert, at the western end of Llyn Gwynant. In 1865, his home and all itscontents were put up for sale.

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It is known that he was living in Havod, Credenhill, Hereford by 1873 because there is tmention of a property conveyance by him in Uxbridge Road, Ealing, London in 1873: (London Metropolitan Archives: John Pryce Hamer of Havod Credenhill, Hereford, gent.)

By 1896 he had died.

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On the 1877 Ordnance Survey map “Havod” was the name; at some point the spelling was Cymricsed, and until its demolition "The Hafod" was the name on the sign on the gate and on Herefordshire Council's Planning Department maps.

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According to the Minutes of the General Meeting of Credenhill Parish Council in 2011 a councilor complained about a large hole in the road: "he also complained about a large pothole by the "Hafod." “

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Before it was demolished it was a "Taste for Adventure Centre". It was then bought by the Ministry of Defense (2016?) and demolished shortly afterwards.

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(Oddly enough, another Welsh name remains for a nearby house - one called "Vron House").

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There is a road in the city of Hereford called "Hafod Road", but it does not refer to this "Hafod".

YR IAITH GATALANEG AR DRAI

(Fersiwn Saesneg ar ôl y testun Cymraeg - English translation follows the Welsh text)

Tudalen blaen papur newydd “El Punt – Avui”, un o bapurau Catalonia yn iaith y wlad, y bore ’ma (31 Ionawr 2024):

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Emergència pel català. L'ús social del català baixa i se situa en el 36,1%, un descens que és molt més acusat entre els joves. Els experts aposten per una major conscienciació lingüística i perquè no es canvïi automaticament al castellà.

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Argyfwng ar yr iaith Gatalaneg. Mae defnydd cymdeithasol o’r Gatalaneg yn gostwng i 36.1% [o’r boblogaeth], gostyngiad sy'n llawer mwy difrifol ymhlith y bobl ifanc. Mae arbenigwyr wedi ymrwymo i gynyddu ‘ymwybyddiaeth ieithyddol’ [hynny yw, pwysleisio mor bwysig yw siarad Catalaneg] ac i annog i bobl beidio â newid i siarad Castileg (‘Sbaeneg’) yn ddiangen.

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Ar ôl byw yma am flynyddoedd maith, gallaf gynnig pedwar reswm dros y sefyllfa dorcalonus hon:

1/ Agwedd Gwladwriaeth Sbaen, sydd yn edmygu’r sefyllfa ieithyddol yn Ffrainc, ac sydd yn ceisio o dipyn i beth gael gwared o ieithoedd cynhenid eraill y wladwriaeth. (Gwaharddiadau cyson ar ddefnydd y Gatalaneg mewn rhai cyd-destunau - â chyrff gwladwriaethol, er enghraifft).

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2/ Diffyg gweithredu Llywodraeth Ranbarthol Catalonia. Er ei bod yn nwylo pleidiau Catalanaidd ers 1980 (ar wahân i 2003-2010, pan fu clymblaid o blaid Gatalanaidd a ddwy is-blaid Sbaenaidd), nid yw wedi llunio polisi iaith synhwyrol erioed; mae heb weithredu deddfau ieithyddol sydd yn bodoli yn ystatud y Llywodraeth Ranbarthol (y gyntaf yn 1979, yr ail yn 2006), neu eu gweithredu yn rhannol ac yn aneffeithiol. Hynny yw, esgeulustod cywilyddus y Llywodraeth Ranbarthol.

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3/ Dwyieithrwydd cyffredinol. Mae’n orfodol, yn ôl deddfau Sbaen, i bob Catalaniad fod yn hyddysg yn yr iaith Gastileg (‘Sbaeneg’). Nid oes yr un angen i’r di-Gatalaneg yng Nghatalonia ddysgu Catalaneg. Teimlad cynyddol ymhlith y Cataloniaid bod iaith ddefnyddiol - y Gastileg ('Sbaeneg') a iaith ddi-bwys (eu hiaith eu hun).

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4/ Mewnlifiad enfawr di-baid ers rhyw 1960, a chanran y Catalaniaid yn mysg trigolion Gwlad Catalonia wedi gostwng o ryw 90% i ryw 30% - 40% yn 2024. Heb bolisi iaith weithredol nid oes modd ‘Catalaneiddio’ yr holl estroniaid sydd wedi dod i fyw i Gatalonia.

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A gwaeth fyth - yn ôl arolwg ym mis Rhagfyr 2023 mae cyfran y bobl ifanc sy’n siarad Catalaneg yn rheolaidd (“dim ond Catalaneg” neu “fwy o Gatalaneg nag o Gastileg (Sbaeneg)”) wedi gollwng o 43.1% yn 2007 i 25.1% yn 2022. (Yn rhannol am fod canran y Catalaniaid o’r boblogaeth yn llai; ond hefyd am fod llawer o feibion a merched teuluoedd Catalaneg eu hiaith yn cefnu ar yr iaith).

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Ac mae astudiaeth arall o’r flwyddyn 2021 o drigolion Barcelona rhwng 18 a 34 oed yn dangos bod iddynt well crap ar y Saesneg nag sydd ganddynt ar iaith Catalonia!

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At hyn, mae’r sefyllfa ieithyddol yng Ngwlad Falensia a’r Ynysoedd Balearaidd, y ddwy wlad arall lle mae’r Gatalaneg yn iaith gynhenid, yn waeth fyth o’i chymharu â sefyllfa Catalonia (am resymau tebyg).

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Rhai yn gweld bod annibyniaeth i Gatalonia yn ateb i anhawsterau’r iaith, ond ers 2017 y mae cefnogaeth i annibyniaeth wedi gostwng yn sylweddol (unwaith eto, yn rhannol am fod y Cataloniaid yn fwy a mwy yn lleiafrif yn eu gwlad ei hun); a heb yr iaith ni fydd y teimlad o fod yn genedl ar wahân I Sbaen, ac felly llai o gefnogaeth i ennill annibyniaeth I Gatalonia. Cylch cythreulig yn wir!

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ENGLISH TRANSLATION - THE CATALAN LANGUAGE EBBING AWAY

The front page of "El Punt - Avui" newspaper, one of Catalonia's national Catalan-language newspapers, this morning (31 January 2024):

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Emergència pel català. L'ús social del català baixa i se situa en el 36,1%, un descens que és és molt més accusat entre els joves. Els experts aposten per una major conscienciació linguistica i cuque no es canvïi automaticament al castella.

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Crisis for the Catalan language. The social use of Catalan drops to 36.1% [of the population], a drop that is much more serious among young people. Experts are committed to increasing 'linguistic awareness' [that is, stressing the importance of speaking Catalan] and to encourage people not to switch to speaking Castilian ('Spanish') unnecessarily.

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Having lived here for many years, I can offer four reasons for this heartbreaking situation:

1/ The attitude of the Spanish State, which admires the linguistic situation in France, and which tries little by little to get rid of the other indigenous languages of the state. (Constant prohibitions on the use of Catalan in certain contexts - with state bodies, for example).

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2/ Lack of action by the Regional Government of Catalonia. Although it has been in the hands of Catalan parties since 1980 (apart from 2003-2010, when there was a coalition of a Catalan party and two Spanish sub-parties), it has never formulated a sensible language policy; linguistic laws that exist in the Regional Government statute (the first in 1979, the second in 2006) have not been implemented, or implemented partially and ineffectively. That is, the shameful negligence of the Regional Government.

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3/ General bilingualism. It is compulsory, according to Spanish law, for all Catalans to be proficient in the Castilian language ('Spanish'). There is no need for the non-Catalan speakers in Catalonia to learn Catalan. A growing feeling among the Catalans that there is a useful language - Castilian ('Spanish') and an unimportant language (their own language).

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4/ A massive continuous influx of outsiders since around 1960, and the percentage of Catalans among the inhabitants of Catalonia has fallen from around 90% to around 30% - 40% in 2024. Without an active language policy it is not possible to 'Catalanise' all the foreigners who has come to live in Catalonia.

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And even worse - according to a survey in December 2023 the proportion of young people who speak Catalan regularly ("only Catalan" or "more Catalan than Castilian (Spanish)") has dropped from 43.1% in 2007 to 25.1% in 2022. (Partly because the percentage of Catalans in the population is smaller; but also because many sons and daughters of Catalan-speaking families abandon the language).

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And another study from the year 2021 of residents of Barcelona between the ages of 18 and 34 shows that they have a better grasp of English than they have of the Catalan language!

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Furthermore, the linguistic situation in Valencia and the Balearic Islands, the other two countries where Catalan is an indigenous language, is even worse when compared to the situation in Catalonia (for similar reasons).

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Some see that independence for Catalonia is a solution to the difficulties of the language, but since 2017 support for independence has decreased significantly (once again, partly because the Catalans are more and more a minority in their own country); and without the language there won't be the feeling of being a separate nation from Spain, and therefore less support for gaining independence for Catalonia. A vicious circle indeed!

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