Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
St Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St Tysilio of the red cave
Why Is It Hard?
This 58-letter name contains almost every difficult sound in Welsh: the double-l (Ll) which is a voiceless lateral fricative with no English equivalent, the ch sound made at the back of the throat, the rh sound which is a voiceless r, and multiple w and y vowels. For non-Welsh speakers the Llan opening alone is a barrier – it requires the tongue to produce a sound that English has never needed.
History
The village in Anglesey, North Wales, was given its extended name in the 1860s as a publicity stunt by a local tailor named John Thomas to attract tourists to the new railway station. The original name was simply Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll. The longer version was constructed to create the longest railway station name in Britain. It worked – the station became famous and the name is now printed on every platform sign. Welsh speakers use it casually in everyday speech.
Tips for Saying It
- Break it into six parts: Llan-fair / pwll-gwyn-gyll / goger / y-chwyrn / drobwll / llan-tysilio-gogo-goch.
- Llan: press your tongue behind your teeth and breathe out through the sides – like a breathed L.
- Ch is a guttural sound from the back of the throat, like Scottish loch.
- The -goch at the end means red and is the easiest part – end strong.
More Welsh Tongue Twisters
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