dEhiN wrote:1) Should I add in the mutated forms of a noun from the get go even though I don't yet know the rules for mutation?
I would say no. The mutation rules are pretty straightforward. Of the three traditional mutations, there's only one (soft) that's widely used in the language and it's used a
lot--you basically can't read a simple sentence without knowing it--so the sooner you learn it the better. And once you do, having all the forms on a flashcard will be needless detritus
dEhiN wrote:Or should I wait until I learn the rules, and then add the mutations? If I wait, then later I could even create separate cards for the mutated forms of nouns I've already learned.
Do you just enjoy creating extra work for yourself?
dEhiN wrote:2) How should I add in the gender of a noun? Since the plural forms aren't easily determined from the singular form (in the way that English mostly uses -s or Tamil uses a plural suffix), I was thinking of adding the singular and plural forms in the same note (ex. bore -- boreau / morning [sing. -- pl.]).
Welsh plural endings are actually pretty predictable, since the analogical extensions were largely semantic. But listing them would be useful in the early stages where you're still learning the patterns.
dEhiN wrote:But the problem with Welsh seems to be that there is no case inflection, there is no indefinite article, and there are 3 forms of the definite article but they are used in different situations, not based on the gender of the noun. I guess I could just add it in brackets, like I do for Romanian and Albanian (ex. bore -- boreau / morning [m. sing. -- pl.])?
Is it helpful for memorisation to write out the full form of the plural rather than simply including the suffix?
I don't see why the varying forms of the definite article should prevent you from listing it, since it would be helpful for learning both the mutations and the gender of nouns (since feminine nouns mutate after it), as well as the rules of allomorphy. Something like:
bore / y bore / -au
geneth / yr eneth / -od
llen / y llen [f.]
/ -niThe qualifier
[f.] is necessary in the last case because
ll and
rh do not mutate after the article. The doubling of the
n in
llenni is orthographic (to show that the vowel is short; cf.
llên "lore" [no plural, but e.g.
llenor "man of letters, scholar"]); the actual plural suffix is
-i. So there's more than one convention you could follow here, including writing it out in full.
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons
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