"Medden nhw"

Translation: They said

[ajHenrot]

Where does 'medden' come from? What is the infinitive?

[rmcode]

This is an archaic verb and the only forms that remain are used for reported speech in a story or report.

eg "It was wet yesterday," she said

"Roedd hi'n wlyb ddoe," meddai hi

The full forms are:

Meddwn i - I said
Meddet ti - you said
Meddai hi - she said
Meddai fe/fo - he said
Medden ni - we said
Meddech chi - you said
Medden nhw - they said

[mizinamo]

So they use the endings that are conditional nowadays, right?

[rmcode]

Yes, these are the endings for conditional forms of other verbs.

[BruceF.]

Does reported speech in the present tense use "dweud"?

[MattJones596690]

i'd be curious to know also.

[shwmae]

Yes, it can do. Both the following are valid for ""We'd like to come," they said":

"Hoffen ni ddod," medden nhw

"Hoffen ni ddod," dwedon nhw

[ThomasoFflandrys]

So when Dafydd Iwan sings "Saesneg yn esensial meddan nhw", meddan is a form you wouldn't use in colloquial Welsh?

[rmcode]

'Meddan nhw' is a North Wales variant, where 'a' tends to replace the 'e' or the 'y' in standard Welsh.

The song is referring to the effects of 'Brad y Llyfrau Gleision' on imposing English only education on mostly Welsh speaking Wales in the 19th century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treachery_of_the_Blue_Books