What is cawl in English?

As a biographical researcher, studying older Welsh speakers, I have the challenge and the privilege of carrying people’s words across languages, so that English speakers can hear voices and learn of experiences that they might not otherwise witness. Transferring participants’ narratives into words that have meaning for my audience is a careful and cautious process; where assumptions pose risks and understanding cannot be taken for granted. The reward is giving people insight into another’s world and giving voice to minority language speakers.

What has cawl to do with this? Cawl serves as an example of the issues faced in interpreting minority languages for a majority audience. In answering the question of what cawl is in English we must navigate some of the inherent difficulties in translation and communicating meaning between one language and culture to another.

Through the case of cawl I will illustrate how we translation is more than mere word swops and how the speaker, the translator and the audience all play a part in moving meaning between languages.

But, back to the cawl. What is cawl?

Geiriadur.com offer four potential translations for the word cawl namely

• Soup
• Broth
• Mess
• Hotpotch

These four words have at least two meanings and demonstrate the initial need to understand context, when seeking to translate. The cawl we are looking to express in English is the soup/ broth variety, not the ‘pig’s ear’ or mess that the word is also used for.

Do we now have our answer, is cawl just a soup or a broth? Possibly, but not quite.

As Buden et al (Buden B, 2009) explain, the answer to translators’ dilemmas do not sit in dictionaries but in understanding the meaning and social context of words. As a word, cawl is similar to cwtsh or joio, in that it enjoys cultural significance, it is a Welsh word describing something that is also Welsh in its nature. This makes the process of transferring this essence of this particular bowl of soup from Welsh into English, without spilling meaning, difficult.

Let us begin with looking deeper at the cawl that we seek to describe. Firstly, we need to understand that cawl is in itself subject to different interpretation and simply put, my cawl may not be the same as your cawl.

Cawl’s recipe is thought to have originated in the 14^th Century and therefore will today have considerable regional, local and even familial variation. Cawl  to my mother is a lamb and vegetable stew type dish, cooked in a pan. Cawl to me is the same, but without the meat. Another’s cawl may have come from the same root as mine but have a different ingredient in the mix. These differences make translating cawl more difficult and before someone can say what cawl is in English, they first need to establish what is meant by cawl on the part of the speaker.

Next, we need to consider how to transport the original meaning from the speaker to create an understanding on the part of another. The role of the translator is key to this transaction.

It is tempting to view translation as a neutral act of carrying words and meaning from language to a second; this is not the case. Translation is value laden. Anyone who has played the whispering gamewhere a phrase is passed around a chain of people, will understand the risks of misinterpretation or of hearing what one thinks is being said.

In this example the translator’s understanding of cawl is as important as the speaker’s. My vegetarian stew, soup or broth might be understood differently by a translator who is used to a recipe with more or less of any of the ingredients. They may never have tasted cawl at all and therefore be lacking in any reference points to translate; how then could I trust them to know the meaning of cawl to me and to present this in a way that the audience would understand?

As we need to consider the risk of partiality on the part of the translator, so too do we need to understand the position of the audience. To successfully explain to someone what cawl is in English, we need to know how to make sense of cawl to them. Xian (Xian, 2008) describes this process as telling a story in someone else’s words. So, to know what cawl is in English, we need to know what would have meaning for the audience. What might cawl mean to them? This will depend on their experience and cultural reference points. Cawl in Merseyside might be best described as something akin to Scouse, or Blind Scouse for vegetarians, in Lancashire perhaps Hot Pot might be a closer comparison. Knowing what the audience would understand helps us to translate what cawl is.

In summary, to answer the question ‘what is cawl in English?’ we need to ask at least the following four questions?

Firstly, in what context are we referring to cawl? Context helps to give meaning to words of phrases.

Secondly, what does the speaker understand by cawl? We need to know what is being said in order to convey this to another.

Thirdly, what does the translator know by the word cawl? Indeed, translator may be the incorrect title and interpreter more fitting to describe the one who moves meaning between languages.

Finally, we need to consider how the audience would best understand cawl and how we can describe it in our audience’s words?

Without answering each of these questions, we risk obfuscation or loss of meaning. But does this matter? Majority language speakers, in particular English language speakers, may not give much thought to how their words are represented in another’s tongue. Being a majority language speaker by its very nature means that more people will understand you than those who do not and issues of representation might not feel relevant. Minority language speakers, such as Welsh speakers, on the other hand are more reliant on the filter of translation in order to be heard and therefore the lens through which they are viewed is important.

Finally, we need to consider what motivates our desire to translate, as opposed to accepting cawl for what it is- a Welsh word for something Welsh. It is tempting to think that everything, including a 600-year-old Welsh stew, can be put in an English format and that the vagaries and subtleties of minority languages can be flattened and posted through the letter box of the majority language. This is not the case. Cawl is cawl and if we want to refer to it, then perhaps we should call it by its name and in so doing help to challenge the audience’s world view. Perhaps by knowing that we cannot say precisely what cawl is in English, we begin to understand and respect that Welsh is not just English in another language.

Fel ymchwilydd bywgraffyddol, sy’n astudio siaradwyr Cymraeg hŷn, mae gen i’r her a’r fraint o gario geiriau pobl ar draws ieithoedd, fel bod siaradwyr Saesneg yn gallu clywed lleisiau a dysgu am brofiadau na fyddent o bosibl yn dyst iddyn nhw fel arall. Mae trosglwyddo naratifau cyfranogwyr i eiriau sydd ag ystyr i’m cynulleidfa yn broses ofalus; lle mae rhagdybiaethau yn peri risgiau ac nid oes modd cymryd dealltwriaeth yn ganiataol. Y wobr yw rhoi cipolwg i bobl ar fyd rhywun arall a rhoi llais i siaradwyr ieithoedd lleiafrifol.

Ond beth sydd â ‘chawl’ i wneud â hyn? Mae Cawl yn enghraifft o’r problemau a wynebir wrth ddehongli ieithoedd lleiafrifol ar gyfer cynulleidfa fwyafrifol. Wrth ateb y cwestiwn beth yw cawl yn Saesneg rhaid llywio rhai o’r anawsterau cynhenid wrth gyfieithu a chyfleu ystyr rhwng un iaith a diwylliant i’r llall.

Trwy achos o gawl byddaf yn dangos sut mae cyfieithu yn fwy na dim ond yn gyfnewid o eiriau a sut mae’r siaradwr, y cyfieithydd a’r gynulleidfa oll yn chwarae rhan wrth symud ystyr rhwng ieithoedd.

Ond, yn ôl at gawl. Beth yw cawl?

Mae Geiriadur.com yn cynnig pedwar cyfieithiad posib ar gyfer y gair cawl sef

• Sŵp
• Potes
• Llanast
• Hotpotch

Mae gan y pedwar gair hwn o leiaf ddau ystyr ac maent yn dangos yr angen cychwynnol i ddeall cyd-destun, wrth geisio cyfieithu. Y cawl rydyn ni am ei fynegi yn Saesneg yw’r math o sŵp / potes, nid ‘cawlach’ neu lanast y defnyddir y gair ar ei gyfer hefyd.

• A oes gennym ein hateb yn awr, ai cawl yn unig yw sŵp neu botes? O bosibl, ond nid yn hollol.

Fel mae Buden et al (Buden B, 2009) yn esbonio, nid mewn geiriaduron y mae’r ateb i gyfyng-gyngor cyfieithwyr ond wrth ddeall ystyr a chyd-destun cymdeithasol geiriau. Fel gair, mae cawl yn debyg i gwtsh neu joio, yn yr ystyr ei fod yn mwynhau arwyddocâd diwylliannol, mae’n air Cymraeg sy’n disgrifio rhywbeth sydd hefyd yn Gymreig ei natur. Mae hyn yn gwneud y broses o drosglwyddo hanfod y bowlen arbennig hon o gawl o’r Gymraeg i’r Saesneg, heb sarnu ystyr, yn anodd.

Gadewch i ni ddechrau gan edrych yn ddyfnach i’r cawl yr ydym yn ceisio ei ddisgrifio. Yn gyntaf, mae angen i ni ddeall bod cawl yn ei hunan yn bwnc sy’n ddehongliad gwahanol ac yn syml, efallai na fydd fy nghawl innau’r un peth â’ch cawl chithau.

Credir bod rysáit Cawl wedi tarddu o’r 14eg Ganrif ac felly heddiw bydd ganddi amrywiaeth sylweddol yn rhanbarthol, yn lleol a hyd yn oed teuluol. Mae Cawl i fy mam yn ddysgl debyg i stiw cig oen a llysiau, wedi’i goginio mewn padell. Mae Cawl yn golygu’r un peth i mi, ond heb y cig. Efallai bod cawl un arall wedi dod o’r un gwraidd â fy un innau ond bod ganddo gynhwysyn gwahanol yn y cymysgedd. Mae’r gwahaniaethau yma’n gwneud cyfieithu cawl yn fwy anodd a chyn i rywun ddweud beth yw cawl yn Saesneg, yn gyntaf mae angen iddynt sefydlu beth a olygu’r gan gawl ar ran y siaradwr.

Nesaf, mae angen i ni ystyried sut i drosglwyddo’r ystyr gwreiddiol o’r siaradwr i greu dealltwriaeth ar ran un arall. Mae rôl y cyfieithydd yn allweddol i’r trafodion yma.

Temtasiwn yw edrych ar gyfieithiad fel gweithred ddiduedd o gario geiriau ac ystyr o iaith i iaith arall; nid dyma’r achos. Mae cyfieithiad yn llawn gwerth. Bydd unrhyw un sydd wedi chwarae’r gêm sibrwd lle mae ymadrodd yn cael ei drosglwyddo o un person i’r llall mewn cadwyn, yn deall y risgiau o gamddehongli neu o glywed yr hyn y mae rhywun yn ei feddwl sy’n cael ei ddweud.

Yn yr enghraifft hon mae dealltwriaeth y cyfieithydd o gawl yr un mor bwysig â dealltwriaeth y siaradwr. Efallai y bydd cyfieithydd sydd wedi arfer â rysáit gyda mwy neu lai o unrhyw gynhwysion yn deall fy nghymysgedd stiw, cawl neu botes llysieuol yn wahanol. Efallai nad ydyn nhw erioed wedi blasu cawl ac felly’n brin o unrhyw gyfeiriadau i’w cyfieithu; sut felly y gallwn ymddiried ynddynt i wybod ystyr cawl i mi ac i gyflwyno hyn mewn ffordd y byddai’r gynulleidfa yn ei ddeall?

Gan fod angen i ni ystyried y risg o bleidgarwch ar ran y cyfieithydd, felly hefyd mae angen i ni ddeall sefyllfa’r gynulleidfa. Er mwyn llwyddo i egluro i rywun beth yw cawl yn Saesneg, mae angen i ni wybod sut i wneud synnwyr o gawl iddyn nhw. Mae Xian (Xian, 2008) yn disgrifio’r broses hon fel adrodd stori yng ngeiriau rhywun arall. Felly, i wybod beth yw cawl yn Saesneg, mae angen i ni wybod beth a olyga hyn i’r gynulleidfa. Beth a allai cawl ei olygu iddyn nhw? Bydd hyn yn dibynnu ar eu profiad a’u pwyntiau cyfeirio diwylliannol. Gallai Cawl yn Merseyside efallai ei ddisgrifio orau fel rhywbeth tebyg i Scouse, neu Blind Scouse ar gyfer llysieuwyr, yng Nghaerhirfryn efallai y gallai Hot Pot fod yn gymhariaeth agosach. Mae gwybod beth fyddai’r gynulleidfa yn ei ddeall yn ein helpu ni i gyfieithu beth yw cawl.

I grynhoi, i ateb y cwestiwn ‘beth yw cawl yn Saesneg?’ mae angen i ni ofyn o leiaf y pedwar cwestiwn canlynol?

Yn gyntaf, ym mha gyd-destun yr ydym yn cyfeirio at gawl? Mae cyd-destun yn helpu i roi ystyr i eiriau o ymadroddion.

Yn ail, beth a olyga’r gair cawl i’r siaradwr? Mae angen i ni wybod beth sy’n cael ei ddweud er mwyn cyfleu hyn i un arall.

Why the Welsh Language can’t be overlooked in a health emergency.

Over the past few months, Welsh hospitals have raced to create additional capacity on their wards to cope with the anticipated surge of patients with Covid-19. Patients have been discharged at a faster pace than before.

To support this faster flow out of hospitals for patients who were well enough, on April 7^th 2020 Welsh Government published their Hospital Discharge Service Requirements  guidance https://gov.wales/hospital-discharge-service-requirements-covid-19. This guidance introduced a suspension in the Choice of Accommodation protocol, meaning that once patients no longer need to be in hospital, they are discharged. Those who cannot be cared for at home are placed in a care home, with no requirement for this to be one of the patient or family’s choosing. This change has been effective in enabling Welsh hospitals to create the space to deal with patients suffering from Covid-19, but have they managed to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of those patients discharged into care homes?

The Welsh Language Standards http://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2018/441/made  apply to all Health Boards in Wales and state that people have a statutory right to receive all of their care through the medium of Welsh if they choose. Health Boards should provide this through the ‘Active Offer’ of a Welsh language service to patients, without needing to be asked. Delivering the Active Offer and finding care for Welsh speakers that meets their language and cultural needs was a challenge pre-Covid, how much harder must it be in the midst of the pandemic?

Communicating in your first language matters. There is a global evidence base of the impact that language has, not only on people’s experience of care, but also on their health outcomes. This could have a profound impact on people, in particular those with Dementia or who have suffered Stroke and lost their use of English. https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/dementia-together-magazine/june-july-2019/losing-your-english-reverting-your-mother-tongue-dementia Language barriers impact on socialisation and place Welsh speakers in non-Welsh speaking care at risk of loneliness and isolation and the associated ill-effects on their well-being. https://hiraethcymru.com/ Friends and families are not currently able to visit, meaning that days and weeks may pass without people being able to speak in their first language.

This week, the world heard about 96 year old Ray Mc Dermott, who lives in Ohio and wanted to speak the language of her childhood once more. Welsh speakers from across the globe sent greetings and extended offers to converse with this lady. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-52700484 The fear of not being able to use your mother tongue is not unique to the other side of the Atlantic and is shared by Welsh speakers much closer to home.

As our public services reflect on the first peak of Covid-19 in Wales and try to learn lessons for any future surges in demand, the challenge is for Health Boards and Local Authorities to make sure that consideration of Welsh language needs is not seen as a ‘nice to’ element of care, but instead is recognised as both a right and intrinsic part of person-centred care planning, no less important than clinical factors. Discharge planners and care providers need to consider how they can assess and meet the needs of Welsh speakers every day, but particularly in these challenging days, so that Welsh speakers are not left alone with their language in inappropriate care settings.

Pam nad ellir anwybyddu’r iaith Gymraeg mewn argyfwng iechyd

Dros y misoedd diwethaf mae ysbytai Cymraeg wedi cwrso i greu lle ar eu wardiau i ofalu am y cynnydd arfaethedig yn y nifer o gleifion Cofid -19. Mae cleifion wedi cael eu hanfon adre yn gynt nag o’r blaen.

Ar Ebrill 7ed cyhoeddodd Llywodraeth Cymru eu canllawiau Anghenion Gwasanaeth Rhyddhau o’r Ysbyty https://gov.wales/hospital-discharge-service-requirements-covid-19 er mwyn cefnogi’r rhai hynny oedd yn digon iach i adael yr ysbyty yn gynt . Mae’r canllawiau yma yn atal y protocol Dewis Llety, sydd yn golygu bod y cleifion hynny and ydynt angen bod yn yr ysbyty yn cael mynd oddi yno.  Mae’r rhein’ny and ydynt yn medru mynd adre yn cael eu lleoli mewn cartref gofal, heb unrhyw angenrhaid i hwn fod yn ddewis y claf neu’r teulu. Mae’r newid yma wedi bod yn effeithiol mewn creu lle o fewn ysbytai i ofalu am cleifion efo Cofid-19, ond ydyn nhw wedi llwyddo i gwrdd ag anghenion diwylliannol a ieithyddol y rhai hynny wedi eu hanfon i gartrefi gofal?

Rhaid i bob Bwrdd Iechyd yng Nghymru weithredu’r Safonau Iaith http://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2018/441/made a dywed rhain bod gan bobl hawl statudol i dderbyn eu holl ofal trwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg. Dylai Byrddiau Iechyd ddarparu hwn trwy’r “Cynnig Rhagweithiol” o wasanaeth Cymraeg i cleifion, heb fod angen gofyn am un. Roedd cyflwyno’r Cynnig Rhagweithiol a dod o hyd i ofal i siaradwyr Cymraeg oedd yn cwrdd a’u hanghenion ieithyddol a diwylliannol yn ddigon anodd cyn-Cofid, faint yn anoddach ydy e yng nghanol y pandemig?

Mae cyfathrebu yn eich mamiaith yn bwysig. Mae yna dystiolaeth rhyngwlaodol o’r effaith mae iaith yn ei gael, nid yn unig ar brofiad pobol o ofal, ond hefyd ar eu canlyniadau iechyd. Mi all hwn gael effaith sylweddol ar bobl, yn enwedig y rhai hynny sydd wedi dioddef stroc neu sydd â Dementia ac sydd wedi collu eu Saesneg https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/dementia-together-magazine/june-july-2019/losing-your-english-reverting-your-mother-tongue-dementia.

Mae rhwystrau ieithyddol yn cael effaith ar gymdeithasu ac yn peryglu bod y  siaradwyr Cymraeg sydd mewn gofal ddi-Cymraeg yn dioddef o unigrwydd a’r sgil effeithiau negyddol ar eu iechyd a’u lles https://hiraethcymru.com/ Gyda ffrindiau a theulu yn methu ymweld mi fydd dyddiau ac wythnosau yn gallu mynd heibio heb fod pobl yn gallu cyfathrebu y neu mamiaith.

Wythnos yma rydyn ni wedi clywed hanes Ray Mc Dermott, sydd yn 96 sydd yn byw yn Ohio ac eisiau siarad iaith ei phlentyndod unwaith eto. Mae siaradwyr Cymraeg ledled byd

wedi anfon cyfarchion a chynnig sgyrsio efo’r ddynes yma. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-52700484   Mae nid yw’r gofid o fethu defnyddio’ch mamiaith yn unigryw i ochr draw Môr yr Iwerydd – caiff ei rannu gan siaradwyr Cymraeg yn nes at  adre.

Wrth i’n gwasanaethau cyhoeddus ystyried  pig cyntaf Cofid-19 yng Nghymru a cheisio dysgu gwersi am unrhyw gynnydd mewn galw, yr her i Fyrddai Iechyd ac Awdurdodau Lleol ydy i sicrhau bod yr Iaith Gymraeg yn cael ei ystyried, nid fel elfen ddiangen o gofal, ond yn cael ei gydnabod fel hawl a rhan cynhenid o gynllunio gofal wedi ei canoli ar y claf, yn gyfartal â ffactorau clinigol. Mae angen i gynllunwyr gofal ystyried sut y gellir asesu a chwrdd ag anghenion siaradwyr Cymraeg bob dydd, ond yn enwedig yn y dyddiau anodd yma.  A hyn er mwyn sicrhau and yw siaradwyr Cymraeg yn cael eu gadael ar eu pennau eu hunain gyda’u hiaith mewn lleolia gofal anaddas.

Y Canolfan Ymchwil Heneiddio a Dementaia/ Centre for Ageing and Dementia Research http://www.cadr.cymru

Gofalu Trwy’r Gymraeg https://galactig.com/portfolio/gofalu-trwyr-gymraeg/

Merched y Wawr http://www.merchedywawr.cymru

Trafodwyd nod a’r angen am yr ymchwil.

Edrychon ar y themau o ymchwil debyg gan gynnwys

– Iaith

– Diwylliant

– Polisi

-Gweithlu

-Dealltwriaeth o’r sistem

– Ffydd

– Rhyw

-Gwybodaeh

The purpose and need for the research was agreed.

Themes from existing research were explored including

– Language

-Culture

– Policy

-Workforce

-Knowledge of the system

-Faith

-Gender

-Information

Croeso.

Mae’r Canolfan am Heneiddio Arloesol ym Mhrifysgol Abertawe  yn ymchwilio profiadau siaradwyr Cymraeg hýn o gofal, gan gynnwys gofal yn yr ysbyty, gofal nyrsio a phreswyl. Noddwyd yr ymchwil gan Ysgol Ymchwil Gofal Cymdeithasol Cymru.

Mae ganddom diddordeb yn clywed profiadau unigolion sydd yn derbyn, neu wedi derbyn gofal, profiadau aelodau teulu a ffrindiau agos, yn ogystal a deall beth yw profiadau gweithwyr yn y maes o ddapraru gofal i siaradwyr Cymraeg.

Os hoffech clywed mwy am yr ymchwil dewch yn ôl i’r tudalen hon i darllen am gwaith diweddar, neu os hoffech fod yn rhan o bwyllgor llywio i tywysu, cynghori, cefnogi ac arolgygu’r ymchwil cysylltwch a mi trwy’r wefan hon neu ar hiraethcymru@gmail.com

Welcome.

The Centre for Innovative Ageing in Swansea University is researching the experience of older Welsh speakers of care, including hospital care, nursing care and  care. This research has been funded through the Wales School for Social Care Research.

We are interested to hear the experience of individuals who are in care, or who have been in care, the experience of family and close friends, as well as practitioners’ experience of delivering care to Welsh speakers.

If you would like to know more about this work please return to this page for updates, or if you would like to join a steering group to guide, inform, support and advise the study please contact me through this site or via hiraethcymru@gmail.com

Diolch/ thank you,

Angharad Higgins