Here is how the vowels are pronounced:
a
As in UK English "can" (short) or UK "father", USA "gone" (long). Examples: "nghap" (short) and "gwlad" (long).
e
As in "let" (short) or Yorkshire/Scottish accent "late" (long) - i.e., like "late" but with no "eee" sound at the end of the vowel. Examples: "phen" (short) and "hen" (long).
i
As in "pit" (short) or "lean" (long). Examples: "mhin" (short) and "llid" (long).
o
As in UK "lot" (short) or Yorkshire/Scottish accent "coat" (long) - i.e., like "coat" but with no "ooo" sound at the end of the vowel. Examples: "siop" (short) and "ffos" (long).
u
A matter of discussion; in the south, it is completely equivalent to "i" (long or short), even in diphthongs; in the north, it's halfway between the vowels in "lick" and "look" (short) or "leap" and "loop" (long) with the lips not rounded but slack. The sound also seems to have a similar sound to the Russian yeri, but not centered so far back in the throat. Examples: "sut" (short) and "thus" (long).
w
As in "put" (short) or "soon" (long). Actually, "w" can represent either a vowel or a consonant in Welsh spelling. Examples: "twp" (short) and "rhwd" (long).
y
Has two sounds:
like the vowel written "u", with the same geographical variants; can be long or short. This sound is referred to as clear y.
the unstressed obscure vowel in the first syllable of "aside" (though in Welsh it can be stressed). It is always short. Examples: "llyfr" (clear, short), "gwy+dd" (clear, long), "bychan" (obscure).
"y" almost always takes sound 1 in word-final syllables, except for a few "small" words like y, yr, yn, yng, ym, fy, dy (sound 2). "y" takes sound 2 in non-final syllables, and in the above exceptions.

Note
All of the vowel sounds in Welsh are pure vowels. One of the most difficult things for English speakers to overcome in pronouncing Welsh is the tendency in English to "diphthongize" vowels. For example, if you listen to yourself very closely when you pronounce the word "toe" (long o sound), you will find yourself putting an "oo" sound at the end. The trick is to clip the sound off before you get to the "oo" part. The same thing problem occurs with long a as in "bay": it tends toward having an "ee" at the end.

以下是这些元音的发音法:

a

如同英国英语 "can" (短音) 或英国英语"father", 和美国英语中 "gone" (长音)的发音. 例如: "nghap" (短音) 以及"gwlad" (长音).

e

如同 "let" (短音) 或约克郡/苏格兰口音的 "late" (长音)的发音 - 也就是说, 就像"late"那样发音,但结尾的元音不发"eee" 的音. 如: "phen" (短音)以及 "hen" (长音).

i

如同"pit" (短音) 或"lean" (长音)的发音. 例如: "mhin" (短音) 以及"llid" (长音).

o

如同英国英语 "lot" (短音) 或约克郡/苏格兰口音的"coat" (长音)的发音 -也就是说 , 像"coat" 那样发音,但元音结尾处不发"ooo" 的音. 例如: "siop" (短音) 以及"ffos" (长音).

u

有几种表述方式;在南方,它的发音完全与"i" (长音或短音)的发音一致, 甚至在双元音中也如此; 而在北方, 它的发音介乎于"lick" 和 "look" (短音), 或是"leap" 和"loop" (长音)的发音方法之间, 嘴唇不是绷圆了,而是松弛的.这种发音也有点类似俄语中 yeri的发音, 不过,音不是从喉咙的紧后部发出的. 例如: "sut" (短音) 以及"thus" (长音).

w

如同 "put" (短音) 或"soon" (长音)那样发音. 实际上, "w" 在威尔士语的拼法中,既是元音,又是辅音. 例如: "twp" (短音) 以及"rhwd" (长音).

y

有两种发音法:

就像被写做"u"的元音一样,不同地方有不同的发音;既可以是长音,也可以是短音.这种发音可参照清晰的 "y"的发音.

如同"aside" 的第一个音节处非加重发的模糊音(尽管在威尔士语中可以发重音)一样.在第一个音节处始终发短音. 例如: "llyfr" (清晰,短音), "gwy+dd" (清晰,长音), "bychan" (模糊的音).

除了几个小词诸如y, yr, yn, yng, ym, fy, dy (按第二种方法发音)之外,在单词最后音节的"y"几乎总是按照第一种发音法发音.在非最后音节上的"y",则按第二种发音法发音.


备注

在威尔士语中,所有的元音都是纯元音.对于说英语的人而言,要发威尔士音所需克服的最大困难之一,就是英语的元音复合化趋势.例如,当你在很近的距离内听自己发出的"toe"(长o)这个音时,你会发现自己最后加上了"oo"的音.这里的窍门在于:在发音转向"oo"部分前,你夹掉了开始发的"o"音.同样的问题也见于长音a 的情形,例如"bay":这个词的发音趋向于最后加上了"ee"的音.