English review follows Nid yw'r geiriadur hwn wedi'i anelu'n benodol at ddysgwyr. Ei bwyslais yw ar dermau 'modern' a thechnegol sydd wedi'u cynnwys ynddo er mwyn ateb yr her y mae datblygiadau'r ugain mlynedd diwethaf wedi eu gosod i'r Gymraeg. Yn ogystal a'r adrannau geiriadurol eu hunain, mae'r geiriadur yn cynnwys toreth o atodiadau gan gynnwys rhagarweiniad i hanes y Gymraeg, arweiniad i ynganiad, a thabl syml o'r treigladau ynghyd a chrynodeb o'r rheolau. Ar ben hynny, ceir esboniad o ystyr a gramadeg rhagddodiaid ac ol-ddodiaid yr iaith, tabl o dermau estron (termau mewn ieithoedd heblaw'r Gymraeg a'r Saesneg gyda chyfystyron Cymraeg), enwau personol Cymraeg a'u ffurfiau cyfatebol yn Saesneg, enwau lleoedd Cymraeg a'u ffurfiau cyfatebol Saesneg, enwau anifeiliaid, pysgod, adar, planhigion a ffrwythau yn Gymraeg gyda'u henwau cyfatebol Saesneg. Ceir y rhestri enwau hyn o Saesneg i Gymraeg ar ddiwedd y gyfrol. Ac fel petai'n wrthbwys i wyddoniaeth yr oes fodern, mae doethineb yr hen oesoedd wedi'i chroniclo yn y rhestr o ddiarhebion Cymraeg. Yn anffodus, mae'r geiriadur yn methu'r prawf 'row'. Hynny yw, os ydw i eisiau dweud 'I had a terrific row with my boss yesterday', yr unig enwau a gofnodir ar gyfer 'row' yw 'rhes' a 'gwanaf'. Rhaid edrych 'rhes' a 'gwanaf' yn yr adran Gymraeg-Saesneg i ganfod nad yw'r naill neu'r llall yn addas. Ac mewn cyd-destun mwy arbenigol, yr unig air a roddir yn gyfystyr i 'consideration' yw 'ystyriaeth' nad yw'n addas i'r ystyr arbenigol sydd i'r term o fewn cyfraith contractau. Nid yw 'CD' na 'compact disk' yn ymddangos ynddo, felly rhaid troi yn ol at 'cassettes', ond er bod 'caset' yn ymddangos, yr unig ffordd i ganfod beth yw cenedl 'caset' a'i luosog yw chwilio o dan y gair hwnnw yn yr adran Gymraeg-Saesneg a hyd yn oed wedyn gellid maddau i ddysgwr am feddwl mai 'casetiau' yw'r lluosog. Felly, i'r sawl sydd am wybod sut mae dweud 'tortfeasor', 'toxaemia' neu 'tracker-dog' yn Gymraeg, neu i'r sawl sydd am wybod beth yw 'nemonigau', 'nenffyrch' neu 'nerob' yn Saesneg, dyma'r geiriadur. Ond braidd yn ffurfiol fydd eich 'gwbeis' gan mai 'da bo chi' 'yn iach' neu 'ffarwel' a gynigir am 'good-bye'. Richard Crowe * * * This dictionary is not aimed specifically at learners. Its emphasis is on the 'modern' and technical terms included in it to enable the Welsh language to meet the challenge which the developments of the past twenty years have posed it. As well as the vocabulary sections themselves, the dictionary contains a wealth of extra material including an introduction to the history of the Welsh language, guidance on pronunciation and a simple table of the mutations along with summary of the rules. In addition, there is an explanation of the meaning and grammar of the prefixes and suffixes of the language, a table of foreign terms (terms in languages other than Welsh or English with Welsh equivalents), Welsh personal names with their corresponding English forms, Welsh place-names with their corresponding English forms, and names of animals, fish, birds, plants and fruit in Welsh with their corresponding English forms. These name lists are to be found in English to Welsh format at the end of the dictionary. And as a sort of counterpoint to the science of the modern age, the wisdom of past times is chronicled in the list of Welsh proverbs. Unfortunately, the dictionary fails the 'row' test. That is to say, if I want to say 'I had a terrific row with my boss yesterday', the only nouns offered for 'row' are 'rhes' and 'gwanaf'. I have to look up 'rhes' and 'gwanaf' in the Welsh-English section to see which one, if any, are the ones I need, only to find that neither of them are suitable as 'gwanaf' means 'layer' or 'swath' and 'rhes' means 'line, stripe, rank'. 'Row' as in 'quarrel' is not to be found. In a more specialized context, the only Welsh word offered for 'consideration' is 'ystyriaeth'. The specialist legal meaning given to the word in contract law, and usually covered by 'cydnabyddiaeth', is not accounted for. Neither 'CD' nor 'compact disk' make an appearance, and so we have to go back to 'cassettes', but although 'caset' is given for 'cassette', the only way to find the gender of 'caset' and its plural form, is by looking up 'caset' in the Welsh-English section, and even then a learner may be forgiven for thinking that the plural is 'casetiau' (rather than 'casetiau'). So, if you wish to know how to say 'tortfeasor', 'toxaemia' or 'tracker-dog' in Welsh, or wonder what 'nemonigau', 'nenffyrch' or 'nerob' would be in English, this is the dictionary for you. But your 'ta-ta!' will be more of a 'farewell!' as 'da bo chi' 'yn iach' or 'ffarwel' are what's offered under 'good-bye'. -- Richard Crowe @ www.gwales.com
