Powyseg

Map of themodern countyofPowys.The dialect may be spoken in other areas of Wales and not necessarily throughout Powys.

Powyseg(orPowysian;Welsh:Powysegory Bowyseg) is a dialect of theWelshlanguage spoken in thecentral areasofWales.It is one of the four major dialects of Welsh spoken in theUnited Kingdom.Its usage is most predominantly found within northernPowyscounty in Walesand the formerKingdom of PowyscityWroxeter(formerlyCaer Guriconin Welsh) inEngland.

The dialect follows neighbouringDyfedegWelsh in its writing and speaking. Northern Welsh variants are known to have vocabulary and literary differences from Standard Welsh, for examplellefrith(Ddefedeg and Powyseg) andllaeth(GwenhwysegandGwyndodeg), both meaning "milk" in English, with one being more standard in the north, and the other in the south.Shetinmeaninghedgeis another word unique to Powyseg, compared to the northern (gwrych), western (clawdd), Pembrokeshire (claw) and Gwenhwyseg (perth) terms for hedge. Powyseg and Gwyndodeg also use the termllwynogforfoxcompared to the southern wordcadno.

John Morris-Jonesstated in 1913, that Powyseg was one of the four dialectal areas in Wales, with the dialect covering NorthernMid WalesandNorth East Wales.While in the 1900 book "The Welsh People",John RhŷsandDavid Brynmor-Jonesstated the dialect was one of the three dialects of Wales (Gwenhwyseg and Ddefedeg, were grouped together as the "Southwalian dialect" ), and Powyseg was centred onMontgomeryshirebut had since expanded to theMerionethshirecoast from theRiver Dyfi(Dovey) toDolgellauandHarlech.The dialect was claimed by the two to have been spread byCunedda Wledig.