Guides and resources for learning the Celtic languages.
And the open-source framework we extracted from it. The architecture behind blas., why Irish and Welsh need their own approach, and introducing Toberwine.
Read on Substack→How the new blas. dictionary works: one search box for Irish, Welsh, Scots Gaelic, Breton, Cornish and Manx, mutated and conjugated forms traced back to the word you need, a "backed by real text" check on meanings, and the same lookups inside ChatGPT and Claude.
October 2, 2026
How the new blas. grammar tables work: every prepositional pronoun in one chart, each irregular verb across all its tenses, and a mutation chart with a word mutator, for Irish, Welsh, Scots Gaelic, Breton, Cornish and Manx.
October 2, 2026
How the blas. browser extension reads what you are typing, why Irish and Welsh need their own rules, what runs on your device, and where the checker is still wrong.
October 1, 2026
The third blas. monthly roundup, sent 30 September 2026 and covering August and September together because we skipped the August edition: friends and weekly leaderboards, blas dictation on iPhone and Mac with Android coming in October, a 0 to 3,000 fluency rating, and what is coming in October - blas writing for all six languages and speaking lessons for Welsh and Scots Gaelic.
September 30, 2026
The second blas. monthly roundup: speaking lessons on the Irish course rebuilt around voice messages and our own Irish speech recogniser, blas joining 1% for the Planet, and two things coming in August, Blas dictation and Blas writing.
August 1, 2026
A roundup of what we shipped in June 2026: the Contribute studio, our Irish dictation model, the blas archive, and new practice modes, plus Cornish and Manx joining the app.
June 30, 2026
Pimsleur teaches you to speak Irish by ear. blas. teaches you why Irish works the way it does. Side-by-side comparison of method, coverage, pricing, and who each is for.
April 1, 2026
Duolingo dropped Welsh in 2023. Here are the 6 best alternatives that actually work — SSiW, blas., Dysgu Cymraeg, Glossika, Clozemaster, and more.
April 1, 2026
Practical tables for spoken Welsh: periphrastic present, imperfect past, future, and conditional, plus the preterite, gwneud construction, commands, and common irregular verbs.
March 8, 2026
You don't need to live in Wales to learn Welsh. Tools, communities, and a practical plan for diaspora learners in England, Patagonia, and worldwide.
March 8, 2026
Irish spelling isn't random. Broad vs slender consonants, the caol le caol rule, lenited sounds, and vowel pronunciation. Once you see the system, it clicks.
March 6, 2026
Welsh spelling is almost perfectly phonetic. Learn the 28-letter alphabet, ll and dd sounds, digraphs, and the penultimate stress rule.
March 6, 2026
Irish, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Breton, Cornish, and Manx: speaker numbers, the Goidelic and Brythonic split, mutual intelligibility, and what sets each apart.
March 6, 2026
Complete Irish conjugation tables for every tense: present, past, future, conditional, and habitual past. All 11 irregular verbs, with verbal nouns.
March 6, 2026
Learn the core spoken forms of bod in the present, imperfect past, future, and conditional, with practical tables for statements, questions, and negatives.
March 6, 2026
You don't need to live in Ireland to learn Irish. Tools, communities, and a practical plan for Irish Americans, Australians, Canadians, and diaspora learners.
March 6, 2026
Side-by-side comparison of blas. and Duolingo for learning Irish. Grammar, mutations, reading, conversation, pricing, and who each app is best for.
February 26, 2026
Comparing blas. and SaySomethingInWelsh (SSiW) for learning Welsh. Grammar vs speaking focus, methods, pricing, and which to choose, or why you might want both.
February 26, 2026
An honest review of blas., the Celtic language app for Irish, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Breton, Cornish, and Manx. What it covers, what it doesn't, who it's built for, and whether it's worth your time.
February 26, 2026
The FSI says 1,100 hours, but how long to actually hold a conversation? Realistic A1 to B2 timelines, what slows you down, and how to cut months off.
February 26, 2026
Welsh looks intimidating but it's more regular than English. What's actually hard, what's surprisingly easy, and realistic timelines for learners.
February 26, 2026
Same roots, different languages. Side-by-side spelling, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary comparison. Plus: can speakers understand each other?
February 26, 2026
The Irish phrases real learners use most. Greetings, thanks, opinions, and daily social situations. Each phrase comes with a pronunciation guide.
February 26, 2026
The phrases real learners use most: greetings, thanks, opinions, and social situations in Welsh. Every phrase has a pronunciation guide so you can say it right.
February 26, 2026
Where to start, what to learn first, the best tools, and realistic timelines. A practical roadmap for adult learners, from zero to confident speaker.
February 26, 2026
Where to start, what to learn first, the best tools, and realistic timelines. A practical roadmap for adult learners, from zero to confident speaker.
February 26, 2026
A source-linked comparison of major Welsh learning options: SSiW, blas., Dysgu Cymraeg, Glossika, and Duolingo's frozen course, with pros, cons, access, and learning focus.
February 25, 2026
A practical roadmap for Welsh grammar. Bod (to be), soft mutation, word order, gender, and plurals in the order that actually matters.
February 25, 2026
A practical roadmap for Irish grammar: VSO word order, tá vs is, séimhiú, urú, and prepositional pronouns, in the order that actually matters.
February 20, 2026
A source-linked comparison of major Irish learning apps: Duolingo, Pimsleur, Drops, Anki, blas., and more, with pros, cons, access, and grammar coverage.
February 19, 2026
Duolingo won't teach you grammar rules, mutation patterns, or how to read Irish. Here's where most learners plateau and what to use next.
February 18, 2026
Duolingo mothballed Welsh in 2023, stranding 675,000 learners. The course is frozen and full of errors. Here's what actually works now.
February 15, 2026
How Irish initial mutations work: when to use séimhiú (lenition) vs urú (eclipsis), which numbers and words trigger each, and how to pronounce them.
February 13, 2026
The three Welsh mutations explained: treiglad meddal (soft), trwynol (nasal), and llaes (aspirate). Every trigger rule, full tables, and clear examples.
February 13, 2026