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Welsh English is the variety of English used in Wales, where it is the majority language, coexisting with Welsh, the surviving Celtic language with the largest number of speakers but a minority language in its homeland. Welsh English has three main influences: the Welsh language (mainly in the northern counties, often referred to as "Welsh Wales"; dialects in neighboring counties of England; and school and the media. The Welsh are often said to have a singsong accent, perhaps because of their use of a rising-and-falling tone at the end of sentences (rather than a simple fall), and because of their full vowels and stress on usually weak syllables such as the "den" in garden. Welsh English tends not to pronounce r in words such as art, door, and worker. Two sounds from Welsh are common, especially in names: the "ll" of Llangollen, pronounced as /hl/, and the "ch" in bach (dear), pronounced as /kh/. Native speakers of English in South Wales, like some dialect speakers in England, generally do not pronounce an initial "h" (as in hat and home), whereas residents of North Wales do, because it occurs in Welsh. A general influence from Welsh is notable in such usages as Coming back soon she is for She's coming back soon and there in exclamations such as There's kind he is! for How kind he is! The catchall question tag isn't it? has long been common, as in They'll be here soon, isn't it? (as opposed to standard won't they?). Some words of Welsh origin are bugaboo, corgi, crag, flannel, and flummery.
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