Like Gaelic, spoken in Ireland and parts of Scotland, it is one of the Celtic languages, which constitute one of the many branches of the Indo-European family. B.C. The Anglo-Saxon invasions many centuries later drove the Welsh into the west, where they retained their Celtic speech and remained a distinctive people. The Welsh call their country Cymru and their language Cymraeg. The alphabet lacks the letters j, k, q, x, and z, while a number of other consonants are pronounced quite differently from the English. The latter appears at the beginning of many Welsh city names such as Llandudno, Llangollen, and Llanfyllin.
Welsh towns bear some of the most picturesque names of any in the world.
Send the healing showers To increase the vine shoots, A healing shower of the first rain And another of the latter rain. Pitch thy tent in the land of Goshen, Come thyself, Lord, to abide there, Descend from the bright heights, Make thy dwelling among men. Abide in Zion, remain there, Whither the tribes go up, Do not ever abandon thy people Even to the annihilation of the world.