Sing or sign Yma o Hyd

2 August 2022

You can choose whether to sing or sign the iconic anthem Yma o Hyd, alongside Dafydd Iwan himself at this year’s Eisteddfod in Tregaron.

The legendary musician and campaign activist will be joining speech and language therapists from Hywel Dda University Health Board, on their stand at 2pm on Wednesday 3 August 2022.

The idea is to celebrate our Welsh identity and language in high spirits through song and sign language.

Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist Mererid Jones said: “We sought permission from Dayfydd Iwan to sign and play Yma o Hyd and were completely blown away when he said he would come and sing it himself.

“It will be wonderful to join together in singing and sign language in what promises to be a really inclusive and special moment at this year’s Eisteddfod.”

Signalong signing system will be used and this encompasses hand shapes, facial expressions, gestures and body language. It helps to communicate effectively with children and adults with language difficulties This system is based on BSL bit is only used to sign key words and phrases.

Speech and language therapists, along with other therapy colleagues, will be busy on the Health Board’s stand at the Eisteddfod all week. Each day at 11am there is a baby’s session ‘Babis Parablus’. Then at 12pm and 3pm there are multi-sensory sessions.

The Speech and Languages Therapies team has also partnered with the Eisteddfod to provide communication boards at the event itself – a useful visual resource to make the event more communication friendly and inclusive.

If you live in Hywel Dda University Health Board area and want to find out more about speech and language therapy, visit https://hduhb.nhs.wales/healthcare/services-and-teams/speech-and-language-therapy/(opens in new tab)