Dido, there were 2 children I thought. Is the other sibling still alive?

Mary,

I always thought there were 2 - but I read, today, that there were 3. Llewelyn died in 2000 and there was mention of a 3rd one, a boy, who must also be dead because they talk of Aeronwy as 'the last direct link to Dylan'.

I can't 'do' internet links, but if you go onto a search engine and type in Aeronwy Thomas, you should learn more. She had cancer, apparently and died 'peacefully in her sleep.'

Dido

I'm sorry for this loss. Dido, have you ever read any of her poetry? I don't recall ever seeing any of her published work. Do you know what her name means in Welsh? I think it's beautiful.

It is a visually beautiful name-how is it pronounced?

Mary,

No, I don't know any of her poetry. I gather she didn't push herself as a poet, although, as we know, she wrote but she wasn't published with any publisher I know - very small presses only.

She was named after the River Aeron, the valley of which her father loved. If you look on a map of Wales, halfway down, on the coast and just beneath Aberystwyth, you'll find a place called Aberaeron. That marks the mouth of the river, 'Aber' meaning an estuary (and sometimes a source, if it's inland).

Cece, a good guide to pronouncing Welsh is - what you see, you say (unlike Gaelic, I think) and if you know how the letters should sound, they're always (almost - there are exceptions to everything!) pronounced the same (unlike English). There are no diphthongs - vowels are all separately pronounced, so 'A-e' are said like that, as they look, not as in 'Caesar'. 'ron' is as it looks, and 'wy' is as 'wee'. There are 3 syllables and the stress, usually in Welsh, falls on the penultimate syllabel - 'Ae-ron-wy' - said with a lilt.

Hope that helps.

Dido

Thanks Dido. I thought the last syllable was probably "wee" and most Welsh names I have heard pronounced do stress a syllable other than the first (I once had a student named Bryony, which she pronounced bri-ON-ee)but what I always wonder is-long vowels or short? Is it A-E, A-eh, ah-E or ah-eh? All would take practice for non-Welsh speakers!

Below is a short extract from an interview given by Aeronwy Thomas to the BBC. It takes a little time to load.
Btw, she speaks RP English and has no Welsh accent.
cece, I don't think Bryony is a Welsh name (although Dido will correct me if I'm wrong). It is generally pronounced with no stress on the vowels Brion-e . . .same as the boy's name Brian with a 'y' added.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aeronwy Thomas

I just looked up the origin of the name Bryony. It comes from the Greek and means "climbig vine."

Cece,

Heck, I'm so used to this pronunciation I forget how alien these words can look.

The A is as when you say 'Ah' to the Doc; and the E is pronounced as in 'sweet'. You just then run them together. This is always so, as in 'Cymraeg' and 'maes'. (But the 'y' in Cymraeg is pronounced the way it usually is in the middle of a word - 'u' as in 'cut'. It's different from when it's at the end - as in Aeronwy.... Oh dear....). Another way of describing the pronunciation is - say the word 'Irony' and then put the 'w' in and change the stress - IrOnwy. That's clearer, isn't it. I wish I had bothered to learn phonetics

As to 'Briony', a Welsh person would naturally put the stress on the 'o', as if it were a Welsh word - which it's not, as you know. I once had a friend pronounced 'Heleena'. The rather English-looking 'MEredith' is actually the Welsh name 'MerEdydd' (dd pronounced th); Cadogan was originally 'CadWgan' (CadOOgan)

Dido

Poor Briony-she was so proud of having a Welsh name!

Make that Bryony.