Doctor Cymraeg draws crowds at National Eisteddfod

It’s almost as difficult to arrange a consultation with a linguistic ‘doctor’ as a medical one.

People were queuing up to see the Doctor Cymraeg on the National Eisteddfod Maes for “prescriptions” on how to deal with any difficulties they may have encountered in learning Welsh.

Doctor Cymraeg, aka Stephen Rule, from Leeswood near Mold is passionate about helping people at all levels, shed their inhibitions about speaking it.

“They ask if I have said something correctly, in the right manner, or should they just not even try?” he said “and I try to help and encourage them.”

Resources

Stephen offers a variety of resources for Welsh learners. On social media websites as Doctor Cymraeg, he has almost 75,000 followers from all over the world, with more discovering his entertaining style every day.

His TikTok and Instagram reels offer fun, bite-sized insights into the Welsh language and its use. They talk about some of the more interesting aspects of Welsh and offer helpful day-to-day tips.

His insight into difficulties in learning Welsh stem from his own experiences because Stephen didn’t grow up in a Welsh speaking household.

He said: “The only Welsh I was exposed to outside of school was my grandfather, who would say a few phrases. After he passed away I did my family tree, and on the census he was down as a child as a Welsh speaker, and I’d never really had the opportunity to express that, falling in love with Welsh after we lost him.

“I often think about it, how if he was still with us just how wonderful that would have been to bring Welsh back into my family.”

Sharing the gift of bilingualism

Stephen started learning Welsh in school and learned it to a high standard.

He said: “It was a long journey, it was tough. Some embarrassing bits, some frustrating, some anxious but I’m so, so glad I did it. I’m so proud of it and I just want to share it.

“I’ve tutored adults, written books and speak Welsh at home so why can’t I be the person to answer some of the questions?”

And the Doctor Welsh title? Stephen was quick to point out he has no medical qualifications and is a keen ‘Doctor Who’ fan.

“I have a white coat and a stethoscope because I don’t have a Tardis and a sonic screwdriver,” he said.

Stephen is delighted that the profile of Wales and Welsh is increasingly in the spotlight internationally, and closer to home, via two famous Hollywood actors who bought Wrexham AFC. Ryan Reynolds and Robert McElhenney have embraced Wales, including the language, even dabbling in it for their documentary series, Welcome to Wrexham.

A lifelong Reds fan himself, Stephen said: “To see them do that, to see them take it along with them, to bring it on the ride and really make it a prominent thing, they’ve done something wonderful.”

Buy Doctor Cymraeg’s resources from Amazon, or directly from Doctor Cymraeg’s Instagram account.

Follow Doctor Cymraeg on X and Instagram