Patagonian Welsh
Patagonian Welsh is a variety of the Welsh language spoken in the Patagonia region's Y Wladfa, Welsh settlements located in Chubut Province, Argentina. Though Patagonian Welsh is distinct from the several dialects used in Wales itself, the dialects have a high degree of mutual intelligibility, and speakers from Wales and Patagonia are able to communicate readily. Numerous toponyms throughout the Chubut Valley are of Welsh origin.
Teachers are sent from Wales to teach the language and to train local tutors in the Welsh language. There is some prestige in knowing the language, even among those not of Welsh descent. Welsh education and projects are mainly funded by the Welsh Government, British Council, Cardiff University and the Welsh–Argentine Association. In 2005, there were 62 Welsh classes in the area and Welsh was taught as a subject in two primary schools and two colleges in the region of Gaiman. There is also a bilingual Welsh–Spanish language school called Ysgol yr Hendre situated in Trelew, and a college located in Esquel. In 2016, there were three bilingual Welsh–Spanish primary schools in Patagonia.
In 2024–25, the number of registered learners—encompassing students in schools and adult programs—reached 1106, a significant increase from 623 in 2020.
The formal Eisteddfod poetry competitions have been revived, and are now bilingual in Welsh and Spanish.
Language uses
Language education
Around 2005, sixty-two Welsh classes were taught in Chubut and language was also on the curriculum of a kindergarten, two primary schools and two schools in the area of Gaiman, as well as a bilingual Welsh–Spanish school located in Trelew and a school in Esquel. Welsh classes in the Andes region have been held since 1996. The Welsh Institute of Trevelin and Esquel was born from a joint project of the National Assembly of Wales, the British Council and the Government of the Province of Chubut.Since the late 1990s, the Wales–Argentina Association has run a program to increase the teaching and use of the Welsh language in Chubut. For 15 years, the plan succeeded in creating a new type of Welsh-speakers in Patagonia. By 1997, most of the students were adults and there was only one school for children. Four years later, there were 263 hours of Welsh classes per week and 846 students, of whom 87% were children and young people.
One of the functions of the Wales–Argentina Association is also to organise teacher and student exchange trips between Wales and Argentina: it has a representative on the British Council's Welsh Teaching Project Commission which has sent Welsh teachers to Chubut and financially supports a student attending an intensive Welsh language course held annually. It also has links with colleges and schools in both Wales and Chubut, where it subsidises and provides support to students.
In May 2015, the local government of Trelew announced free intensive Welsh language classes for the city's inhabitants under the name of Cwrs Blasu. Ann-Marie Lewis, a Welsh teacher, travelled to Patagonia exclusively to teach the language.
Welsh–Spanish bilingual schools
For the 150th anniversary of the colony, an association was created in Trevelin to form the first Spanish–Welsh bilingual school in the 16 de Octubre Valley under the name of Ysgol Gymraeg yr Andes, which will be public, but privately managed. The intention of the school was to bring back Welsh as a spoken language into the community. Fifteen families initially showed an interest in the project.Literature and journalism
Poetry and literature books have been published since the early years of the colony, while the first newspapers, such as the Y Drafod, published bilingually in Welsh and Spanish, date from the 1890s.In September the Eisteddfod for young people is held in Gaiman and in October for adults. Also, they are held in Trevelin, Dolavon and Puerto Madryn. Competitions are conducted in both Welsh and Spanish.Vocabulary
The dialect contains local adoptions from Spanish or borrowings from English, not present in the Welsh spoken in Wales.| Patagonian Welsh | Welsh | English | Rioplatense Spanish |
| Singlet | Fest | vest, singlet | chaleco |
| Poncin | Pwmpen | pumpkin | zapallo |
| Mynd i baseando | Mynd am dro | to go for a walk | ir de paseo / ir paseando |
| Corral | Corlan | sheepfold, corral | corral |
| Pasiwch | Dewch i mewn | enter! / come in! | ¡pase! |
| Costio | N/a | accost | costar |
Welsh toponymy of Patagonian sites
When the Welsh settlers arrived in Patagonia, they did not have immediate contact with the Tehuelche or Mapuche natives, who already had their own toponymy for the region. Because of this, they needed to name the landscapes of their new home.Puerto Madryn was the first Welsh toponym. The name of the city commemorates Love Jones Parry, Baron of Madryn in Wales. The place name originated towards the end of 1862, when Love Jones Parry, accompanied by Lewis Jones, travelled to Patagonia aboard the Candelaria ship to decide whether that region was suitable for a Welsh colony.
In the Chubut river valley, some of the toponyms of villages and rural areas arose from the peculiarities of the terrain, from the names of the farms donated by the Argentine government, or by a chapel erected in the area.
There are also tributes to people, such as Trelew, where "Lew" is an abbreviation for Lewis Jones; or compound names derived from geographical features or even from buildings.
Some toponyms created by the Welsh survive, but others have been lost. In 2015 a project called Gorsedd y Cwmwl emerged, aimed at restoring the original name of the Trono de las Nubes hill given by the first Welsh people who inhabited the 16 de Octubre valley and forgotten by the population, since the mountain is also called La Monja.
| Spanish | Welsh | English |
| Argentina | Yr Ariannin | Argentina / The Argentine |
| Arroyo Carbón | Nant y Glo | |
| Arroyo de los Saltos | Nant y Fall | Stream of the Fall; nant "stream", north-western Welsh ffôl = rockfall from Eng. fall; English spelling used in the name. Possibly "cascade, waterfall" as a local meaning. |
| Arroyo Lepá | Afon Eira | Snow River |
| Arroyo Pescado | Nant y Pysgod | Stream of the Fishes |
| Arroyo Perdido | Afon Hafesp | |
| Bajo de los Huesos | Pant yr Esgyrn | Hollow of the Bones |
| Banau Beiddio | ||
| Cabeza de Buey | Pen yr Ych | |
| Cajón de Ginebra | Bocs Gin | Crate of Gin |
| Caer Wydyr | ||
| Cañada Carbon | Hafn y Glo | |
| Cañada Negra | Glyn Du | Black Glen |
| Cerro Cóndor | Craig yr Eryr | Eagle Hill |
| Cerro Langley | Carreg Langley | Langley Rock |
| Cerro Morgan/Cerro Montesino | Mynydd Morgan | Morgan Mountain |
| Cerro Nahuel Pan | Mynydd Llwyd | Grey Mountain |
| Cerro Ojo Negro | Trofa Llygad Du < trofa'r llygad du | River-bend of the Black Eye |
| Cerro Trono de las Nubes | Gorsedd y Cwmwl | Throne of the Cloud |
| Coedwig Fochno | ||
| Cors Fochno | ||
| Cordón Kaquel | Craig Cŵts | |
| Dique Florentino Ameghino / El Dique | Yr Argae | The Dam / Florentino Ameghino Dam |
| Cerro Cuche | Mynydd Edwin | Edwin's Mountain |
| El Saltiral | Llyn Halen Mawr | Large Salt Lake |
| Estepa patagónica | Y Paith | Patagonian steppe |
| Ffrwd Y Gaseg | ||
| Fuerte Aventura | Caer Antur < caer yr antur | Fort of the Venture / Endeavour |
| La Angostura | Lle Cul | Narrow Place |
| Lago Carlos Pelligrini/Lago Mosquito | Llyn Tegid | |
| Lago Cholila | Llyn Peris | |
| Lago Lezama | Llyn Tsolile | |
| Lago Ogwen | Llyn Ogwen | Ogwen Lake |
| Lago Palena/Lago General Vintter | Llyn Winter | |
| Lago Rivadavia | Llyn Padarn | |
| Lago Rosario | Llyn y Fall | |
| Lago Situacion | Llyn y Morwynion | Lake of the Maidens |
| Laguna Aleusco | Llyn Halen | Salt Lake |
| Laguna de Aaron | Llyn Aaron | Aaron Lagoon |
| Laguna del Condór | Llyn y Tarw | Bull Lake |
| Laguna/Bajo del Diablo | Llyn y Gŵr Drwg | Devil Lagoon |
| Laguna Carao | Llyn Caradog | Caradog's Lake |
| Laguna de los Dos Ejidos | Llyn Pyrlid | |
| Laguna Grande | Llyn Mawr | Big Lagoon |
| Laguna Negra | Llyn Du | Black Lake |
| Las Plumas | Dôl y Plu | Meadow of the Feathers |
| Lago Engaño | Llyn Gwynedd | Gwynedd Lake |
| Llosgwm | ||
| Loma Blanca | Bryn Gwyn | White Hill |
| Loma María | Bryniau Meri | Mary's Hills |
| Loma Redonda | Bryn Crwn | Round Hill |
| Lomita de Alun | Boncyn Alun/Bryn Calfaria | Alun's Hillock/Calvary Hill |
| Lomita de La Leona | Boncyn Llewas | Lioness' Hillock |
| Los Pozos/Pozo Llave | Ffynnon Allwedd | |
| Cordón la Grasa | Mynyddoedd Oer | Cold Mountains |
| Pampa de Agnia y Laguna de Agnia | Llyn Ania / Pant y Ffwdan | Ania Lake / Hollow of the Commotion |
| Paso de Indios | Rhyd yr Indiaid | Ford of the Indians |
| Paso Berwyn | Rhyd Berwyn | Ford of Berwyn, Berwyn's Ford |
| Pocitos de Quichaura | Bryn y Ffynon | Hill of the well |
| Península Valdés | Gorynys Valdés | Valdés Peninsula |
| Provincia del Chubut | Talaith Chubut / Camwy | Chubut Province |
| Provincia de Río Negro | Talaith Afon Ddu | Black River Province |
| Provincia de Santa Cruz | Talaith Y Groes Wen | Holy Cross Province |
| Pueblo de Luis | Trelew | Town of Llewelyn + + = tre Lew, Trelew |
| Pueblo del Molino | Trevelin < tre'r felin | Mill Village |
| Puerto Deseado | Borthaethwy | |
| Puerto Madryn | Porth Madryn | Cove Madryn |
| Punta Cuevas | Penrhyn yr Ogofâu | Caves Point |
| Pwynt Y Byrddau | ||
| Rawson | Trerawson | Rawsontown |
| Río Chico | Afon Fach | Little River |
| Río Chubut | Afon Camwy | Sinuous River |
| Río Corintos | Aber Gyrants | Stream of the Currants. Welsh aber "estuary", but also "stream" in north Wales; north-western cyran |
| Río Encuentro | Afon y Cymer | |
| Río Futaleufú/ Río Grande | Afon Fawr | Big River |
| Río Helio | Avon Iâ | Ice River |
| Río Tecka | Afon Teca/Afon Sacmata/Afon Ioan | |
| Salina Grande y Salina Chica | Y Llynnoedd Heliaidd | The Salty/Brackish Lakes |
| Sierra Chata | Craig y Werfa | Rock at the Werfa |
| Tecka | Hafn Lâs | Blue Gorge ; Green Gorge |
| Tierra Salada / Veintiocho de Julio | Tir Halen < "tir yr halen" | Salt Land |
| Torre José | Tŵr Joseph | Joseph's Tower |
| Travesía de Edwin | Hirdaith Edwin | |
| Tres Sauces | Tair Helygen | Three Willows |
| Valle 16 de Octubre | Cwm Hyfryd / Bro Hydref | Beautiful Valley / October Valley |
| Valle de Los Altares | Dyffryn yr Allorau | Valley of the Altars |
| Valle de los Mártires | Dyffryn y Merthyron / Rhyd y Beddau | Valley of the Martyrs |
| Valle inferior del río Chubut | Dyffryn Camwy | Chubut Valley |
| Valle Frío | Dyffryn Oer | Cold Valley |
| Vuelta/Prado del río | Dolavon < dôl yr afon | Meadow by the River |