When abroad, speaking someone’s native tongue will usually get you into their good books. This is even the case for English speaking visitors to the UK as, even though it is the predominant language across the British Isles, as well as in most of Ireland, there are other dialects still in use. These tend to be Celtic in origin, and include Cornish and Scottish Gaelic. There is also, of course, Welsh.
American YouTuber Xiaomanyc travelled to north west Wales and ended up getting stuff for free from locals because they were so impressed with his ability to converse with them. The video creator has created many videos of him visiting countries around the world and shocking people who live there by speaking their language fluently. About his UK adventure, Xiaomanyc wrote: “There’s nothing more British than tea, crumpets, and the English language. Well, unless you count the Welsh language, which has been spoken in Britain for thousands of years, long before the Anglo-Saxons ever brought English to England.
“So I went to the last town in the world where Welsh is spoken more than English to try to speak this ancient tongue.”
He added: “I got to test out my Welsh on a rugby team, a rowing team, and even a crazy farmer who literally talks to sheep.
“And I found that even though this language is extremely difficult to pronounce, it’s well worth the effort.”
Things get off to a fairly inauspicious start when the content creator accidentally swears at his guide.
But they soon improved, as Xiaomanyc was chased down the street and offered a free cup of coffee by a woman who said she had messaged him on Instagram.
Later, he was given free stuff from a bakery, including Welsh Cakes.
“Everything is free in Wales, when I speak Welsh,” the YouTuber exclaimed.
At the end of the video, he tried to pay for food but was told it was on the house and part of “Welsh hospitality”.
“No one lets me pay for food in Wales,” Xiaomanyc said.
In a separate video, he visits Scotland and orders whisky in an ancient Scots dialect, and the pub “goes crazy”.
Xiaomanyc wrote: “I went around the countryside learning and speaking the ancient and increasingly rare dialect known as Doric, heavily influenced by the Vikings and their Old Norse language, and it was unlike anything I’d ever heard.”
He ends up in the Balaclava Bar in Fraserburgh, where he orders a whisky.
A gentleman next to him then points out that a glass of the Famous Grouse is cheaper.
Xiaomanyc didn’t catch every word that was said to him.
“I like how the people speak here,” he said. “But it’s hard to understand, if you’re not from here.”
