Ask anyone in Britain for one Welsh word and there is a fair chance they will say popty ping. It means "ping oven", and it is supposedly the Welsh for microwave. The internet loves it. But is it real?
The verdict
Yes, with a wink. The online Welsh-English dictionary developed at the University of Wales, Lampeter, now hosted by University of Wales Trinity Saint David, lists popty ping with the meaning "microwave oven". So it is no invention.
However, it is not the standard term. The learning site We Learn Welsh points out that the widely accepted word is popty microdon, or simply microdon, where popty means oven. Popty ping is the playful, informal option, the sort of thing you say at home rather than print on a product manual. Think of it as the Welsh cousin of calling a remote control the doofer. The site even notes that microwave is among the most searched-for Welsh words online.
Every language does this
Formal and informal words live side by side everywhere. French has ordinateur for computer but plenty of people say l'ordi. Spanish speakers say la compu or el móvil. Students love these because they sound like what real teenagers say.
So the myth is really a lesson in register. Teach the exam word, then teach the kitchen word. Your class will remember both, and they will never forget the Welsh microwave.
