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Cyfres Amdani: Trwy'r Ffenestri
Llyfr o gyfres Amdani, i ddysgwyr Lefel Uwch. Addasiad Cymraeg gan Manon Steffan Ros o Windows of the Mind gan Frank Brennan. Dyma gasgliad o straeon byrion difyr a fydd yn siwr o wneud i chi feddwl. Dewch i adnabod cymeriadau cymhleth, lleoliadau pell, a straeon fydd yn aros yn eich meddwl am amser maith. A book for Welsh learners, Advanced Level. A collection of diverse short stories, being a Welsh adaption of Windows of the Mind by Frank Brennan.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
108 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 10, 2020
Short story collection containing 5 longish stories for learners of Welsh on the mid-to-upper Uwch (B2) level.
Suitable for: Welsh learners with a solid Uwch level and an interest in international cultures: i.e. not just the UK. Warning! If you've just stumbled over the line into Uwch from Canolradd, this one isn't for you...yet.
The Cyfres Amdani series are (largely) translations from EFL readers originally published by Cambridge University. You don't notice that normally, but with Trwy'r Ffenestri it's more than obvious as the 5 stories in the book all take place in English-speaking countries, or at least in places where you could find a substantial amount of English speakers: India, Singapore, the US and the UK.
Clearly, that's good for learners of English, but it makes little sense for learners of Welsh, for whom Argentina is as international as it gets. However, it's this English-speaking world focus that oddly contributes to making Trwy'r ffenestri feel more like a "real" story collection.
The other contributing factors are the length and quality of the stories. They aren't the typical contrived easy problem - easier solution 6 page stories one normally sees in readers, but are far more complex and in-depth. Still not up to "real" short story complexity, but a fairly solid middle-point between the two.
Trwy'r Ffenestri contains:
Fel Hen Win. Topic: the wine business. England
Trwyn am Stori. . Topic: journalism & the arts. India
Rhyfel Arlo. Topic: misunderstood genius. USA
Agor Drysau. Topic: the value of handicaps. England
Cyffyrddiad Ysgafn Topic: Eastern medicine & wisdom. Singapore
My only critique of this collection is the same critique I have of all the Cyfres Amdani series: who is choosing the vocabulary at the bottom of the pages and how? If you are following the GCSE or Welsh Council vocabulary lists, then a good half of these words you should already know by the Uwch level and don't need translated. Examples: gwestai, yn enwedig, atgof, perffaith, profi, stomag wan. On the other end, words or difficult turns of phrase that should be defined are not. This makes the vocabulary 'help' dodgy at best.
If you are interested in reading novels in Welsh one day, this (seems to be) a very good primer on your way to that goal.
Suitable for: Welsh learners with a solid Uwch level and an interest in international cultures: i.e. not just the UK. Warning! If you've just stumbled over the line into Uwch from Canolradd, this one isn't for you...yet.
The Cyfres Amdani series are (largely) translations from EFL readers originally published by Cambridge University. You don't notice that normally, but with Trwy'r Ffenestri it's more than obvious as the 5 stories in the book all take place in English-speaking countries, or at least in places where you could find a substantial amount of English speakers: India, Singapore, the US and the UK.
Clearly, that's good for learners of English, but it makes little sense for learners of Welsh, for whom Argentina is as international as it gets. However, it's this English-speaking world focus that oddly contributes to making Trwy'r ffenestri feel more like a "real" story collection.
The other contributing factors are the length and quality of the stories. They aren't the typical contrived easy problem - easier solution 6 page stories one normally sees in readers, but are far more complex and in-depth. Still not up to "real" short story complexity, but a fairly solid middle-point between the two.
Trwy'r Ffenestri contains:
Fel Hen Win. Topic: the wine business. England
Trwyn am Stori. . Topic: journalism & the arts. India
Rhyfel Arlo. Topic: misunderstood genius. USA
Agor Drysau. Topic: the value of handicaps. England
Cyffyrddiad Ysgafn Topic: Eastern medicine & wisdom. Singapore
My only critique of this collection is the same critique I have of all the Cyfres Amdani series: who is choosing the vocabulary at the bottom of the pages and how? If you are following the GCSE or Welsh Council vocabulary lists, then a good half of these words you should already know by the Uwch level and don't need translated. Examples: gwestai, yn enwedig, atgof, perffaith, profi, stomag wan. On the other end, words or difficult turns of phrase that should be defined are not. This makes the vocabulary 'help' dodgy at best.
If you are interested in reading novels in Welsh one day, this (seems to be) a very good primer on your way to that goal.
July 28, 2019
A selection of short stories for Welsh learners.
More difficult than I have tackled previously but felt a bit of achievement once I finished.
More difficult than I have tackled previously but felt a bit of achievement once I finished.
December 15, 2024
Very strange, relatively long stories all situated abroad (e.g. France, Asia) and all of which contain some sudden twist after a lengthy setting of the scene. I only liked one of them. Just not my type of humour, I guess. The book ist a translation of stories previously published in English, in the stories there is no relation whatsoever to Wales. Quite boring. (Ok for those who like that type of stories. Available also as audiobook.)
June 11, 2023
i fod yn onest, da i ddysgwr, ond dim straeon da. doedd y straeon ddim yn ddiddorol.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews