The Linguist

MULTILINGUAL TV geographically, politically, procedurally and socially, so all those factors play into the decision-making process." In the second series of Hidden there are several scenes in a secondary school in Gwynedd, and although many of the young people speak English to each other, the teachers speak only in Welsh, reflecting the Welsh-first policy of schools in this part of Northwest Wales. Interestingly, where scenes are shot in both languages, there can be a different dramatic tension in each version. This was particularly evident in Richard Harrington's performance as DCI Tom Mathias in Y Gwyll/Hinterland, which Williams worked on as a producer. "I know that Rich Harrington has said the emotional charge of the languages could be really different in Welsh and in English, and some of the actors commented that his performance did change. Some words will give you a different dynamic drive, especially in Welsh where the consonants are harder. At times it's easier to be in somebody's face in a language that is consonantly hard." For Reese-Williams, who was raised bilingually in Mid Wales, "there is a different vibe in the Welsh – it feels more authentic in a way. This is probably because in real life these characters are Welsh speakers and would be speaking Welsh to each other naturally." Where a scene works particularly well in one language, the producers may decide to use it for both versions. "Always with these thought processes it's about the dramatic input of the language," explains Williams. How filming works These dramatic differences can cause unexpected challenges. "You have to play around with – and be aware of – your performances in relation to where you want to be at the end of the scene. Because shooting out of sequence, as they do, the language could have taken you somewhere in a scene, but you have to make sure you're in the right place for the story," he adds. Filming back to back extends the shoot by about a third, according to Craith/Hidden Producer Hannah Thomas, so it takes 16 weeks to shoot six episodes in both versions. "The actors are very adept at switching between languages, so we will do it shot by shot: we'll do the wide in English and then in Welsh, then we'll move in to get the close- up." It helps to start each scene in the language that was used last for the previous scene (e.g. English, Welsh; Welsh, English). Although most actors and crew members are bilingual, filming instructions are given in English to make sure everyone understands. "There's a kind of nod to make sure that everybody understood the dynamics of the scene in one language before moving on to the other," explains Williams. For the same reason, Hidden is written in English first, even though the writer, Carol Lewis, is a prolific Welsh-language writer. "Some of our financiers don't speak Welsh, so she will write in English first and then adapt her own script into Welsh," says Thomas. "For the purpose of getting everyone on board we have to go English first." With the exception of S4C's most recent co-production, Yr Amgueddfa/The Museum, titles rarely have the same meaning in both languages. Keeping Faith clearly wouldn't work in Welsh (un bore mercher means 'one Wednesday morning'), while craith ('scar')

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