A children’s book has sparked a surprising journey into language and identity.
Joanna Człapa, an academic researcher from Poland in the Celtic Studies Research Unit at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, was inspired to investigate Welsh vocabulary and expressions – including swear words – after reading the Welsh translation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda.
Ms Człapa said: “I loved the vocabulary in Matilda, and as I’m a curious person, I decided to carry out further research.”
She encountered phrases such as ‘car diawl’ (devil car), ‘nefoedd wen’ (good heavens), and ‘y cythraul bach diflas’ (the miserable little devil), which fuelled her interest in colloquial and taboo language.
Noticing a lack of academic studies in this area, she travelled to Caernarfon in July 2025 to conduct fieldwork, interviewing Welsh speakers about their use and perceptions of swear words.
Ms Człapa, who is also studying for an MA in sociolinguistics, said this was her first experience of fieldwork and she was excited to conduct interviews through the medium of Welsh.
She said many of the research participants were unaware of Welsh swear words.
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