Sitting on my language shelf is a rather strange book, for someone who doesn’t have a cat: a copy of Teach Your Cat Irish that I picked up on a trip to Dublin a while ago. Whether it was the new angle on Irish or the cute cat pics, I don’t know – I couldn’t resist it. 

It turns out that the book belongs to a wonderfully charming series by Welsh artist and illustrator Anne Cakebread – and the story behind it is every bit as sweet as the books themselves.

Cakebread began learning Welsh after adopting a dog who understood commands in Welsh. Talking to her new companion gave her a friendly, judgement-free way to practise, and eventually inspired 2018’s Teach Your Dog Welsh. You can hear Anne recount the story in this lovely BBC Wales News video.

The original became a bestseller, and the family has since expanded to include such delights as Teach Your Cat Welsh, Teach Your Dog Gaelic, Teach Your Cat Manx and even Teach Your Dog Korean. Publisher Y Lolfa says that the series has now sold more than 143,000 copies.

For Humans, Too!

They may look like novelty gift books, but they’re genuinely handy little resources for human learners too. Each one contains more than 60 everyday words and phrases, accompanied by pronunciation help and Cakebread’s affectionate retro-style illustrations. Much of the language – greetings, encouragement, instructions and useful expressions such as “wait”, “come here” and “well done” – works perfectly well away from the pet basket.

More importantly, talking to an animal removes one of the biggest obstacles in language learning: embarrassment. Your dog is unlikely to correct your mutations, and your cat was probably going to look disdainful whatever language you used. That makes them excellent audiences for repeating unfamiliar sounds and building the habit of speaking aloud.

The books also attach new language to small, memorable routines. Saying the same phrase whenever it is time for food, a walk or an unsuccessful attempt to remove the cat from the kitchen counter gives vocabulary a real context – and plenty of repetition without it feeling like revision. Add to that the fact that you’re weaving the language into everyday life at home, and they’re just gold, really.

So, will Teach Your Cat Irish produce a fully bilingual feline? Almost certainly not (and I don’t have a cat, bilingual or otherwise, so it’s a moot point). But it might help its human become a slightly more confident speaker.

And that seems a very good result indeed.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you, and it all helps keep Polyglossic running!