I say "tomah-to", you say "tomay-to".

Or, if you're in Wales, I say "nawr", you say "rwan".

More than 800,000 people in Wales speak Welsh - 874,700 to be precise, according to a survey published last week by the Office of National Statistics.

Not everyone speaks the same Welsh, though. There are many different forms, styles and, yes, words that people use throughout the country.

You can be speaking to a relative or a friend in a neighbouring county and they might use a totally different word to the one you would use.

"Sut ma’r hogyn bach?" I've been asked. And I thought I could speak Welsh.

For "hogyn" in the north (it means "boy") read "bachgen" in the south. For "hogan" (girl) up north, read "merch" down south.

But why is there such a difference?

The app aims to teach you the Welsh language
There are now almost 900,000 people speaking different forms of Welsh

Welsh: a brief history of a language

It’s believed that the Welsh language was born around 1,500 years ago.

Primitive Welsh was around as far back as 550AD. After that, what’s become known as "old Welsh" was used mainly between 700AD and 1100AD.

Then, a period known as "middle Welsh" was spoken until the 15th century, before what’s known as "modern Welsh" became the norm.

In fact, according to James Fife’s The Semantics of the Welsh Verb, written in 1990, the Welsh bible, which was translated in 1558, is seen as the “bulwark of the standard language during the intervening centuries and even today is held up as a model of proper Welsh”.

But what is now considered to be "proper Welsh", and how much of a division is there?

Fife goes on to say that "it is fairly entrenched in Welsh spoken minds that the main division is between the gog (north Walian) and the hwntw (south Walian)", before adding that "Welsh as a first language exists in a number of fairly inter-intelligible dialects... it is traditional to make a major dialect break between the Welsh of north Wales and that of the south at an axis running roughly from the mouth of the Dyfi River eastwards towards Shrewsbury".

But it doesn’t seem to be that simple. There are clearly divides in spoken Welsh within both north and south Wales - splitting up the different dialects into a more complicated and fractured picture.

Dr Iwan Wyn Rees from Cardiff University says that although different versions of the language have traditionally been represented by isoglosses - lines on a map marking an area with a distinct linguistic feature – his work has shown that Welsh dialects are very much on a continuum and that transition zones are found between the main varieties of Welsh.

“Welsh is not unique in this sense,” says Dr Rees.

“In England, geography has always played an important role in the difference between dialects, and it’s the same in other countries as well.

“But, in England, very often linguistic variation has a social dimension to it as well. In Welsh I think the geography is more obvious; when you hear a news presenter speak, for example, you can tell if they are from the north or the south of the country.”

It’s nothing new that people from different parts of the country speak in a different way. In fact, the differences in Welsh dialects and their areas of origin were broken down more than 100 years ago.

In 1913, J. Morris-Jones divided Wales into four distinct dialect areas.

They are categorised as follows:

Gwyndodeg - north-west Wales

Powyseg - northern mid Wales and north-east Wales

Dyfedeg - south-west Wales

Gwenhwyseg - south-east Wales

Further to this, part of Dyfedeg is also known as ‘Iaith Sir Benfro’ which has been categorised because, according to author Ceri Jones, "it contains a sufficient number of unique, distinctive features to justify inclusion here as a separate dialect in its own right”.

So what is the major differences between these five areas of Wales?

In the north of Wales, in the Gwyndodeg area, if you spotted a fox in your back garden, you’d probably call it a "llwynog".

This would also be the case further south, in the Powyseg area.

However, in the other three regions that cover south, south-west and south-east Wales, a Welsh speaker would refer to the animal as "cadno".

This table gives further examples (sourced from Dweud Eich Dweud by Ceri Jones).

It’s clear that, despite there being differences within different parts of Wales, the biggest change does come between north and south.

But it also shows it's possible to have five different Welsh words for the same thing, and the use of each is fully dependant on where you live or where you learnt the language.

Take the pretty innocuous English word "hedge". In Welsh, there are five different ways to describe the fairly mundane object, depending on where you are.

In north Wales, the word "gwrych" is used (which can be lengthened to "gwrychyn" in Anglesey). Further south, in the Powyseg region, the word "shetin" is used. To the west in the Dyfedeg area, the word for hedge is "clawdd", and in Sir Benfro that is shortened to "claw". In the south-east, in the Gwenhwyseg area, it's "perth".

Here's another example: in north-west Wales, you'd use the word "hogyn" for boy (or lad). But in north-east Wales and a little further south that might change to "côg". Across south Wales, that would be "bachgen" (or, less formally, "crwt") but in Iaith Sir Benfro that would be "rhocyn".

The Welsh Government wants to attract one million new Welsh speakers

Dr Rees believes dialect areas are actually becoming less rigid, due to modern patterns like relocating for work or family reasons.

“Recent socio-linguistic studies have shown that the concept of social networks can play an important role in the dialect that we use,” he said.

“In the past you had Welsh speakers that tended to stay in their area for most of their lives. However, what we see now is that we have more Welsh speakers who will leave their local area so their networks are more likely to include speakers from other parts of the country.

“The main dialect borders between north and south are still very strong but you can still find more local dialects too - a recent pilot study on Pembrokeshire Welsh found that pupils in schools are still embracing some of the most well-known dialect features of this area, but that other local characteristics are being replaced by features found over a wider region.”

'Regional dialects have been neglected'

Would a language be stronger if it only had one strand? What if everyone spoke "the same Welsh"?

Nearly 900,000 people speaking in total unison could solidify their spoken words so that they become even more prevalent in modern life. If you hear something over and over again, you tend to learn it and use it. Is it possible that the variation in the Welsh language prohibits, or at least dissuades, some people from learning Welsh?

Dr Rees says the opposite is true, and that variation and a sense of tribal belonging can only harness the power of the Welsh language and breathe more fire into it.

After all, the Welsh Government has set a target of having one million Welsh speakers in 32 years time. The strength of dialects will play a key role in whether or not that milestone is reached, according to Dr Rees.

“I find that people who are genuinely proud of their dialect are more likely to speak Welsh and be passionate about it," he said.

“The main problem in Wales, I think, is that a lot of speakers are not confident in their language.

"I think schools and the national curriculum could do more to raise awareness of the fascinating diversity that we have in Welsh - to make young people realise that their dialects are completely valid, and that the standard language is just one variety of Welsh which is useful for some contexts, but not essential for every conversation.

"I would also like to see more use of the different dialects in the teaching of grammar and literature. If people became more aware of dialect differences in Welsh, including the new varieties emerging in Welsh-medium schools, it could definitely increase their confidence. Of course, increasing speakers’ confidence in Welsh is essential if the Welsh Government wants to achieve their target of one million speakers by 2050.

“I think it’s fair to say that regional dialects have been neglected by the education system in Wales. If there was more emphasis on this then pupils would be more interested in their own dialects and how they differ from other varieties.

“Having different forms of Welsh is certainly a positive thing for the future of the Welsh language, and more needs be done to celebrate this diversity.”

In his 2001 book, Dweud Eich Dweud, Ceri Jones argues “it is important that dialect differences are not overstressed”.

He goes on to say: “All spoken varieties of Welsh are variations of the same basic core, and the difference between the spoken Welsh of north and south Wales is generally akin, for example, to the difference between the spoken English of England and the United States.

“Certain forms of pronunciation, words, phrases and sayings may differ but they are still part of the same language.”

I say "nawr", you say "rwan". I say "llaeth", you say "llefrith". Ond, yn y diwedd, ry'n ni gyd yn siarad Cymraeg.