Posted by RichardG on July 18, 2002 at 09:14:54 from 213.120.127.30 user RichardG.
In Reply to: Re: Margaret and Peggy posted by Robert Hill on July 17, 2002 at 17:53:32:
Welsh letters at the beginning of words mutate depending on what word comes before them. In general, this was because the spoken Welsh language flowed smoothly, and jarring consonants were mutated into softer ones to help the flow. As an example, the town of Machynlleth mutates into Fachynlleth when preceded by "Croeso i'r" ie. "Welcome to". Croeso i'r Machynlleth has a slightly jarring sound with the "M", and by mutating to "F" (pronounced as the English "V") it smoothes the flow of the phrase. In the same phrase, "Tywyn" would mutate into "Dywyn".
However, to understand the full rules of Welsh mutations requires rather more study of the language - then you might discover how "Corris" can mutate into "Nghorris" !!