Tywyn

Tywyn (Welsh: ˈtəu.ɨn; in English often ˈtaʊ.ɪn), formerly spelled Towyn, is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales. It was previously in the historic county of Merionethshire. It is famous as the location of the Cadfan Stone, a stone cross with the earliest known example of written Welsh, and the home of the Talyllyn Railway. The name derives from the Welsh tywyn ('beach, seashore, sand-dune'). The place-name element tywyn is found in many other parts of Wales, most notably Towyn near Abergele and Porth Tywyn (Burry Port). In Middle Welsh, the spelling was generally Tywyn. In the Early Modern period, however, the spelling Towyn became common in Welsh in order to reflect a slight variation in pronunciation. That also came to be the usual spelling in English up to the latter part of the twentieth century. With the standardisation of the orthography of the Welsh language in the first part of the 20th century, the spelling Tywyn came to dominate. A referendum was held in 1968, with residents being asked to decide between Tywyn or Towyn. In the 1970s Tywyn was accepted as the official name of the town in both languages. The spelling Tywyn better reflects the name's pronunciation in modern Welsh as spoken in north Wales. Writing in 1974, Melville Richards, the noted toponymist and professor of Welsh at the University College of North Wales, Bangor explained: 'Mae'r holl ymrafael ynglŷn â sillebu'r enw wedi codi am fod cryn ansicrwydd ac amrywio yn Gymraeg gynt rhwng y seiniau ow ac yw. Ond yn ddiddadl, Tywyn yw'r ffurf gywir' ('All of the disagreement about spelling the name arises from the historic uncertainty and variation in Welsh between the sounds ow ac yw. But, without doubt, Tywyn is the correct form'). In Welsh, the town is sometimes referred to as Tywyn Meirionnydd. In origin, this usage probably refers to the cantref of Meirionnydd, but is now generally understood as referring to the historical county of the same name.