Aphrodite

History

The Breton one is a Celtic Langue brittonic branch, in that near to the Welsh and more still of the Cornique.

Antiquity and Early middle ages

See also: brittonic Language, Armorique with the Early middle ages, History of Bretagne#Les migrations of the Britto-Romans, Breton continental

The Brittonique from which the Breton one is resulting was spoken in Great Britain during antiquity. One distinguishes today various periods in the evolution from the Breton one:

With the Decline of the Roman Empire of Occident, whole communities of Britto-Romans emigrate in part of the Armorique since the areas of the west of the Great Britain (qualified in this context of insular Brittany), especially since the Devon and the Cornouailles). These emigrants bring with them them culture, their organization and their language.

At the time of the fall of the Roman Empire, the Breton one was spoken about the estuary of the Loire to that of the Clyde (river of Glasgow). It is in this Breton which write the poets Aneurin and Taliesin in the Breton kingdoms of the south of the current Scotland. At the 19th century in France, one starts to call this language the brittonic to distinguish it from Breton Armorican. This term indicates also the Breton language before the 7th century.

Certain historians, like Leon Fleuriot in his work the Origins of Brittany , being based on Tacit César and , presented it like also near to the Gallic disappeared in the middle of the 7th century: several people lived on the two sides of the English Channel, and the exchanges were current. Moreover the concept de Gaulle and Gaulois, inherited César, is perhaps not adapted to the linguistic political situation of the people and Celtic languages of the time. One can admit that the Gallic coasts of the Manche was rather close to Breton opposed coasts, and more than it was not Gallic edges of the Mediterranean. But it is generally admitted that one knows little the state of Breton in Armorique at the time where Breton islanders migrated there, and even less the state of the Gallic Langue at the time, which makes hazardous any comparison.

In the years 1950, the Chanoine Falc' hun advanced that the Breton one would have profited from a contribution of the Gallic (being presupposed that the Gallic one would have remained long-lived in Armorique as it was it still in certain parts of the Gaulle). For him, this explained thus the principal difference of vannetais, namely its accent about the final of the words and not the penult. It was based only on the state of the Breton language at the 20th century to put forth its assumptions. It was based especially on what the Gallo-Roman authors reported on the persistence of Gallic at Avernes, supposing that it was to be the same about it in Armorique. This assumption was refuted scientifically by Kenneth Jackson in its work on the history of the Breton language in 1969.

It in addition used the Linguistic atlas of low-Brittany, of Pierre the Russet-red one, in order to highlight the role of the roads in the diffusion of the influences from center-Brittany.

It is known today that:

KLT (see the lower article or explanations) as the Welsh are accentuated on the penult,
old the Irish was accentuated on the first syllable,
the Gallic was accentuated on the antepenultimate, the initial one or the final.

This diversity of the position of the tonic accent in the Celtic Langues prohibits any assumption on the place of the accent as Celtic old man and does not allow to explain by a Gallic substrate specificities of vannetais.

On the other hand, the romanisation seems to be advanced much in vannetais where the Gallo-Roman vestiges are much more numerous than in the remainder of Brittany. Moreover, the Palatalization of /k/ and /g/ are a phenomenon inherent in low-Latin of, therefore before the first Breton immigrations. Lastly, vannetais it and bas-cornouaillais it carried out more loans with the novel than the other dialects especially along the Valve-Quimper road. It is advisable all the same to note that the stressing of vannetais was that of old man-Breton as a whole. Its maintenance cannot be due in all to the Romance influence since the Romance languages privilege the paroxytones, i.e. the words accentuated on the penultimate syllable.

The Middle Ages

Contemporary time

The territory of Breton marks a retreat towards the west. Today, he is spoken and written in the west of a line connecting, roughly speaking , Plouha and Vannes. To still note that groups of Breton-speaking exist in all the big cities of France, like with the the United Kingdom and in North America.

One speaks about:

Breton the prémoderne, of the end of the 16th century in the middle of the 17th century.
the Breton modern one, of the medium of the 17th century at our days.

In the years 1950, the Breton one was spoken traditionally in a zone located at the west about a limit Plouha - Muzillac: One calls this zone Low Brittany. But today, this limit does not have great any more value because of many basic villages Brittany completely forgot the Breton one (like Mur, Quiberon, Sarzeau) and, contrary, one frequently finds theBreton-speaking ones in many towns of High-Brittany (Saint-Brieuc, Nantes, Rennes). Moreover, this limit constantly changed years by years and thus does not constitute a stable reference mark.

For example, this limit was not the same one in 1806. It is known because Napoleon had ordered an investigation into this subject which was carried out by Charles Coquebert de Montbret. The linguistic limit was then much more in the east: one spoke Breton with Saint-Caradec, Questembert, Pénestin, Férel, Péaule, Borough-of-Batz (Batz-on-Sea) and in a nondefinite part of the peninsula of Guérande starting from the " saltworks of Herbignac " , that is to say probably in the Western part of the communes of Assérac and Saint-Molf (the study did not relate to the department of Loire-Inférieure). In 1700, by the geographical study of charts, one can notice that the Breton one was spoken with Tréveneuc, Guérande, Boquého, Plélo (even more in the east). In 1600, the border started from Binic.

In short, the Breton one did nothing but move back and lose ground vis-a-vis the language of oil (speeches Gallo, then French). And then, to relativize this limit, it also should be considered that from time immemorial, of the big cities like Saint Brieuc, Nantes, Vannes, Brest or Quimper knew the two languages (for example, in 1636, the town of Brieuc Saint is indicated like bilingual by a traveller).

The monolingual Breton-speaking last

It acts Mrs Bourdonnay, commune of Langonnet (Morbihan, close to Gourin) which is deceased in 2002. It could say some sentences to be presented or to greet but could not be really expressed in French, language completely foreign for it.

Attempts at eradication of the Breton one

The catholic influence

The Church and the Breton language

A certain number of Breton Catholiques took the defense of the language and the Breton culture. The Church was not always indifferent to Breton specificity. At the very least can one say that it tried at no time, in the last centuries to make adopt the language and the official French culture with Breton which spoke their language and remained attached to their traditions.

In the S, it was published, by clergy, quantity of religious works, or even of honest entertainment, intended for the population of the campaigns into Breton.

The position at the beginning of the 20th century

At the time of the conflict between the Church and the State under the Third République (beginning of the 20th century), the clergy of évêché of Quimper, to which the authorities had prohibited to preach and make the Catéchisme into Breton, carried out during a certain time a true combat for the Breton language. In a fishing port having at that time the appearance of a small town, whereas catechism in this locality was done into Breton and French, French catechism being reserved with the middle-class families, the priests of the parish passed in the popular families to ask the parents to send their children to catechism into Breton, the tendency of the popular layers being to be integrated culturally into the dominant middle-class class; and thus to send their children to French catechism.

Movements and publications of Christian inspiration pre-war period

However, it was only one momentary reaction of the beginning of last century, following the conflict between the Church and the State. To react, it was necessary to set up a whole educational system of the Breton one. There were some initiatives towards 1900 - 1914 of which the Bleun Brug created in 1905 by the Abbé Perrot.

Many movements of Christian inspiration of defense of the Breton language, were done day in Western Brittany:

In the Trégor, for example, is appeared for a long time popular weekly magazines entirely written into Breton and inspired by the Église, more or less directly:

" rear Kroaz Vretoned " , directed by François Valley (AbHerve), born in 1860, and which was published until the end of the First World War;
Breiz , whose writers were Erwan Ar Moal (Dir-Na-Dor) and Aogust Bôcher ( Ar Yeodet ) (weekly newspaper Catholique which was printed until the beginning of the Second world war).

With the country of Vannes, évêché, although there were Christian publications into Breton published by the bookstore Wales Lafolye (of which the review Brediah er Fe ), had not intervened to create or support a Breton-speaking movement of catholic inspiration at the beginning of last century, the Breton demonstrations in this area being organized under the responsibility of the " Bleun-Brug " diocese of Quimper.

However, the monthly review entirely written in Breton vannetais, " Dihunamb ", founded at the beginning of the century by Loeiz Herrieu and Andre Mellac, which appeared until in 1944, although being perfectly independent, can be regarded as a review Catholique

It is necessary to also quote the works catholic in Breton language and intended for the faithful ones. Thus many books of canticles and Missal S which allowed the conservation of old canticles. One of the most famous examples was the book rear Buez Zent ( Life of the saints ) written by the Morvan canon at the end of the 19th century, which describes into Breton and sometimes in a very fictionalized way the life of the saints while following the catholic calendar. Written in Breton cornouaillais, this book was read each day in all Breton-speaking Brittany.

Movements and reviews of Christian inspiration post-war period

At the end of the Second world war, the popular catholic reviews into Breton widespread in Leon and Cornwall disappeared:

" Feiz ha Breiz " , directed by the Abbot Perrot
" Ar Vuhez Kristen " , founded by the Capuchins of Roscoff

Which were replaced during a certain time by:

" Kroaz Breiz ", " Bleun-Brug "'this last review remained like bilingual review of study, directed by the canon François Mevellec, until the contemporary time, various reviews of study directed especially by the abbot Loiez Ar Floc' H, the review of the abbot Marsel Klerg: Barr-Heol , which appeared of 1954 with 1977, the review of study Pédagogique entitled Skol , entirely written into Breton, of the abbot Armand Calvez, which it made appear during ten years.

In years 60-70, will be published:

a review of Christian inspiration for the children Wanig ha Wenig , at the beginning under the responsibility for the abbot Armand Calvez and of the abbot Youenn Troal
the review Ar It hrist of year Indianed , ( Christ with the Indians ), especially inspired by the experiment missionary of the abbot Youenn Troal under the aegis of the " Fidei Donum " in Peru; this review appeared during the Sixties. The review Imbourc' H published the newspaper of its second stay among the Amerindians at the end of the Eighties. On its return, it was vice-chancellor of Plounéour-Carry out, in the area of Morlaix, and made at that time appear texts of religious inspiration in the review Ar Fulenn ( the Spark ) directed by him.
the review of monthly study Imbourc' H , related to a laic initiative, which appears regularly since 1969, and which published a great number of religious works, like the translation of the Confessions of saint Augustin or of the autobiographical writings of Sainte Therese of the Child Jesus, as well as a version into Breton of the Bréviaire Romain, in ten volumes.

Liturgical works into Breton

Several Breton monks were in contact with the École biblical and archaeological French from Jerusalem and the courses had followed, had learned the Hebrew and will form from there biblical work groups. These priests will point out themselves by translation and research tasks of the Bible which they will translate directly into Breton out of the Hebrew original text in or of the Greek into Breton for the New Testament. The most eminent personality of these work groups was the Abbot Loeiz Ar Floc' H. It is necessary to also quote the abbot Guilherm Dubourg, the abbot Job Lec' hvien, the abbot Pipi Gall. These two last founded the Editions An Tan Turn with Kergrist-Moëlou.

Among the activities inspired by the faith and being expressed into Breton, it is necessary to announce:

retirements preached by the abbot Loeiz Ar Floc' H, thus the " Lents " who were also preached several times of continuation into Breton during years 60-70, in one of the parishes of the town of Brest.
" rear Kenvreuriezh brezhoneg " (" Brotherhood of Breton"), association founded with the seminar of Quimper after the last war, and directed during a certain time by Mgr Favé, published versions into Breton of various liturgical texts, intended more especially for the diocese of Quimper; certain members of this association recently published a new translation into Breton of New Testament, destiny it also, more especially with the diocese of Quimper. The " Rear Kenvreuriezh Brezhoneg" a kind of official existence to the diocese of Quimper had besides.

Until recently, there did not exist any work officially constant Bretonnante per any évêchés Breton, except the center of meeting Bretonnant of Minihi-Trelevenez, directed by the abbot Iridal Job, which publishes a bulletin as well as liturgical translations of texts, particularly part of the " Prayer of Time Present ". However the whole of the activities of the Breton-speaking catholics of the diocese of Quimper even constant by the hierarchy, is currently at the level of an elite.

Since the year 2000 there exists a standing committee installation by the three évêchés of Western Brittany to establish new liturgical texts and a Missel with the use from these three évêchés; this initiative of the bishops of the Western Brittany answers the request formulated by Rome to present a single version of the Missel for the three évêchés, the previous version having been established only for the diocese of Quimper.

History of the Teaching of the Breton one

Policies anti-Breton of the After-Revolution

In 1793, the Abbé Gregoire writes for Convention a report/ratio entitled “Report/ratio on the need and the means of destroying the patois and of universalizing the use of the French language”. It is justified by explaining why our language and our hearts must beat in unison .

A political linguistics imperialist is then installation. The laws, the administrative acts, cultural works, the newspapers, the erudite writings will be from now on in French. One also tries to develop the French language while devaluing the other “idioms”.

In a report/ratio with Convention gone back to 1794, Barère affirms that French is “the most beautiful language of Europe” whereas the federalism and the superstition speak theBreton one, the emigration and the hatred of the Republic speaks German, the counter-revolution speaks Italian and fanaticism speaks the Basque . He proposes these instruments of damage and errors .

It is the school which will be charged to propagate the new ideology at the same time as the French language.

October 21st, 1793, a law institutes elementary schools of state where the pupils learn French. October 26th, by decree, Convention decides that French will be only of use at the school . January 27th, 1794, a decree orders the nomination, in each commune where one does not speak French, of a French-speaking teacher. But in front of the difficulties in finding teachers speaking French, Convention will have to return on these texts of difficult application.

School policy against the Breton one, under IIIe Republic

Under the III {{E}} Republic, the public authorities wish to ensure the French unit and to facilitate the social advancement within the Nation. For these reasons, the persons in charge of public education start to proscribe the use of all regional Patois or speeches at the school. Starting from the middle of the 19th century, the central capacity represses the languages known as regional and presents them like late, retrograde, and factors of brake to progress. Starting from the end of, these languages are prohibited in teaching, to the great displeasure of part of the teaching body which wonders how to teach under such conditions with nonFrench-speaking pupils.

French against the Breton one?

Thus in 1902, the ministry Combes promulgates by decree the prohibition of “the improper use of the Breton one. ”

The religious schools follow quickly and the Breton one is not taught any more starting from the beginning of 20th the but continuous one with being transmitted from generation to generation by oral way.

It is necessary to note some particular initiatives tending to promote a certain Breton language teaching in the Christian Écoles, since that of the Frère Constantius at the beginning of the century, with the country of Leon mainly, until that of the Frère Seité, after the last war.

The school policy against Breton the completion date of the 19th century. It uses two methods then:

on the one hand, the Breton one is not taught absolutely any more with the school,
on the other hand, French must be the only language used in the republican schools, including in the courses of recreation. Like the other speakers of the spoken languages in France and in the French possessions of Overseas, the Breton-speaking pupils undergo official persecutions with the means in particular humiliating practices. Thus spreads the practice of the symbol, small object which passes to the neck of pupil to pupil during the recreation to each time one of them speaks Breton, with a punishment for the last pupil to have it.

Some think that the French policy aims at imposing for ideological reasons the French language as single language of the Republic (“ I want to see only one head, to hear only one language ”). To illustrate the strength of this policy, they are based on a sentence which was posted a long time in certain elementary schools: It is interdict to spit by ground and of speaking Breton , sentence which associates two prohibitions of different nature, related to hygiene and one with the use of the language, illustrating well the policy of amalgam and devalorization employed to arrive to éradiquer the Breton one to Brittany.

A poster prohibiting to the pupils “to speak Breton and to spit with ground” is preserved at the " Rural museum of the Education of Bothoa" with Saint-Nicolas-of-Pélem the in the Coast-with Armor. Fañch Broudig which undertook a study on the subject, as for him, had concluded with an extrapolation:

As much the principle enacted in 1897 by the Inspector of Academy of the Finistere, Dosimont, according to which not a word of Breton was to be marked neither classifies some nor in the courses of recreation is usually referred, as much it is difficult to find trace of prohibition “to spit by ground and of speaking Breton” (…) Subject to complementary inventory, it should be considered that the sentence which one holds up from now on as a against-slogan is, historically, an extrapolation.

This sentence summarizes the French will of the minister of education well (). The same author quotes, moreover, the Règlement for the elementary elementary schools of the district of Lorient , adopted and adopted by the Higher committee of the district in 1836 and approved by the vice-chancellor in 1842, which lays out: Article 21. It is defended with the pupils of speaking Breton, even during the recreation and uttering any coarse word. No Breton book will have to be allowed nor tolerated. There still, to be expressed into Breton and to speak “coarsely” are the subject of the same prohibition.

The emergence of a teaching of the Breton one

Regularly, of the voices will rise in favor of a multiculturalism and of a respect of the other cultures but they will remain minority. In particular, of large petitions ( er Brezhoneg er skol in the years 1930, the large popular petition of Emgleo Breiz in 1967) and of the regular demonstrations will ask the teaching of the Breton one.

Yann Kerlann organizes the teaching of Breton at the public school of Plestin-the-Strikes in November 1942, not far from Lannion, definitively stopped in 1944. This school is directed by Yann Kerlann which after the death of Yann Sohier was the person in charge of Ar Falz, movement which gathered the public teachers in favor of the teaching of the Breton one.

In April 1945, the Council of the Faculty of Arts of Rennes expresses a wish in favor of the admission of Breton to the oral examination of the baccalaureat. : the signatories make a point of affirming the honest attachment in France of all the Breton ones, attachment which would guarantee, if it of it were need, the four years of keen resistance supported by Brittany against Germany and the resounding failure inflicted to the attempts at division of the accomplices of the enemy. . In 1945, Ar Falz proposes to take again with the Laïques of Brittany the petition stopped by the war, in favor of the Breton language teaching.

In the years 1940 and 1950, the administration answers timidly by symbolic systems measurements (“authorization” to teach the regional languages a few hours…) but in practice they are followed little of effects.

In 1951, is voted the Loi Deixonne authorizing the organization of optional courses for four local languages “ ”, of which the Breton one. But the impact is reduced by it, not only because of the limited provisions of the law itself and the absence of decrees on enforcement of a law (which will appear only 30 years later), but also because of the restrictive application which is made by it. In fact, even if teaching were authorized under certain conditions, it was not possible almost nowhere. And no teacher being formed, no not existing diploma, almost nobody could ensure teaching of it.

The abbot Armand Calvez (re-examined study Pédagogique entitled Skol ) is the founder and the director of the first school entirely into Breton, a school Catholique, Skol Sant-Erwan (Saint-Yves school), which lasted three years, between 1958 and 1961, with Plouezec, between Saint-Brieuc and Paimpol. The abbot had to give up his company following the new laws which regulated the reports/ratios of the private schools and of the State starting from 1962: these laws did not leave him any more freedom choose its program of teaching.

This policy, used also within the Armed , continued until in the years 1960. Few Breton-speaking worry some, persuaded that the Breton one is not the future for their children or, as well as possible, that those will learn it by the fact of living in a Breton-speaking medium. But in years 50-70, the exclusively Breton-speaking children rarefied, they are either bilingual French-Breton or monolingual French. Then bilingualism gradually died out in the children, and with beginning of the year 80, Breton percentage of pupils speaking at the beginning about their schooling is marginal. The Breton one quasi-exclusivement is then quasi-exclusivement spoken by adults who very seldom can write it.

Diwan, and change of the years 1980

It is within sight of this situation which made impossible the teaching of Breton that were created in 1977, the schools Diwan (the germ ), which practice the method by immersion for the training of the Breton one. See still the article Controversies on Breton the

In 1982, a circular Savary opens the possibility of a die of bilingual classes in teaching. Are set up then bilingual classes Breton/French in public education starting from 1983, and in catholic teaching starting from 1990.

The parents of these bilingual pupils are gathered in two associations: Div Yezh (two languages) created in 1979 for the public schools, and Dihun (awakening) for the Catholic schools (1990: Dihun-56 ; 1993: PEN-rear-Bed Dihun and Dihun-Breizh ).

With the return to school 2007, the manpower posted by these schools, all confused levels, are of: 11750 on the whole:

2.991 in the schools Diwan
4.623 pupils in the bilingual classes of the public schools
4.136 pupils in the bilingual classes of the Catholic schools

They are primarily children in nursery school and primary education.

Current opposition to the teaching of the Breton one

It is, according to partisans of the Breton language teaching , generally:

the refusal to open new bilingual classes, in the public schools, to ensure the continuity of the teaching of Breton in the colleges or colleges, or to ensure the teaching of Breton like second living language (legally possible, practically non-existent) or like third language;
prohibition with the pupils studying the Breton one to choose certain options (Social languages or Economic scenes and, die S) in certain establishments, like the College Zola with Rennes;
repeated proposals for a regrouping of the classes of Breton in only one establishment;
the change of the professors of Breton in spite of the signature of an agreement prohibiting it;
the replacement of professors by courses by videoconference, with the doubtful effectiveness;
reduction in the number of stations open to the contest of the CAPES (contest of teaching) of Breton.

They is also the pressures of circles which are presented in the form of a " free-thinkers " , of political groups, médiatico-cultural personalities to ask either the closing of the schools Diwan as Saint-Nazaire or Nantes, or suppression of the teaching of Breton at the University, as in Rennes and Nantes, or end of the subsidies to the editors in Breton language.

Situation of the Breton one

In this context, the Breton one is in the process of fast disappearance. At the beginning of the 20th century, half of the population of Low-Brittany knew only the Breton one, other half being bilingual Breton-French .

Part of Breton-speaking will pass to French in the years 1930 for several reasons:

French enables them to communicate between them: the differences between the Breton dialects make it possible to be included/understood of a Breton-speaking area to another only with the proviso of having a knowledge of the written standard. The Breton oral examination is then used to be expressed with its close relations, and French is used for the more formal communication.
It was the means of communicating with the other French following the national mixing accelerated by the First World War.
It is the consequence of the linguistic policy of IIIe République. The Breton-speaking ones will not transmit any more to their children the Breton language. This rupture, started before war, will develop spectacularly in the Fifties.

But natural transmission of the language forever entirely disappeared: it followed an asymptotic curve. From where interest of some to collect testimonys written, recorded or filmed, in order to keep this cultural heritage.

The passage to French will be faster and more final for the townsmen than in the rural world, because of a French-speaking environment more present (administration, school, newspapers, etc) and history.

The remainder of Breton-speaking, after the Second world war, will pass to French for several reasons:

the idea that the work appropriatenesses and the Social advancement (e.g. for administrative and military employment) pass by the control of French.
the railroad increased mixings of population considerably (come tourists, rural migration towards the cities); with the generalization of paid vacations, one assists, in particular in summer, with the return of the emigrants of second generation (born out of Brittany) who do not speak Breton any more or speak it badly.
In the context of universalization as a mixing of the people, the appearance of a language dedicated to the exchanges tends to make disappear the less used languages. This fact is much more recent than the preceding reasons (it starts after the Second world war) but it accentuates the decline of Breton with the profit of French, language of communication of the French Republic before being the constitutional language about it (1992).

They were nothing any more but 100.000 Breton monolinguals in 1950 , their number is quasi-no one since the years 1980 . Approximately 1.300.000 people spoke Breton in 1930 ; today, the Breton one still is spoken and included/understood by approximately 250.000 to 350.000 people, primarily of the elderly (64% of the speakers have more than 60 years). UNESCO classifies the Breton one among the seriously threatened languages. In its book Which speaks Breton today? (see bibliography), Fañch Broudic analyzes the investigation of TMO carried out in 1997; on this date, there was very precisely 0,2% of young people from 15 to 19 years able to speak Breton, that is to say less than five hundred people.

Revival of the Breton language

In 1805, the Celtic Académie is founded by Napoleon {{Ier}}, it is the first association studying the Breton language and the culture. The president is Theophilus Malo Corret of the Tower of Auvergne.

In 1807, Jean-François Gonidec publishes a celto-Breton Grammaire in which it reforms the orthography of the Breton one, then in 1821 a celto-Breton Dictionnaire .

In 1839, Villemarqué publishes the Barzaz Breiz, collection of traditional songs into Breton, presenting a “poetic History of Brittany”. It is known today that some of the collected texts were re-examined and modified by the author, as did it the popular authors of tales such Charles Perrault and Grimm, and some other texts were entirely composed by him. It is of its work that date the Breton literary revival. In 1864, Charles de Gaulle, great-uncle of the General future de Gaulle lance her " Call to the Celts " for the literary and linguistic rebirth of Brittany and Celtic countries S brothers.

Starting from 1925, thanks to the efforts of the professor Roparz Hemon, launching the second Emzav ( Breton Movement ), the review Gwalarn was born. During its nineteen years of existence, it tried to raise this language on the level of the other great “international” languages by creating original works covering all the kinds and by proposing translations of the literary inheritance of Humanity.

However, the work of Hémon causes many controversies following its collaboration with the Nazis.

In 1946, it was Al Liamm which took the continuation of Gwalarn . Other reviews exist and make Breton language a language with literature rather provided for a minority language. Skol Vreizh , Emgleo Breiz , Al Lanv , Ar Skol Vrezoneg , Mouladurioù Hor Yezh , Year Young stag , rear Evit brezhoneg and others still.

The December 17th 2004, the District council of Brittany recognizes officially and unanimously the Breton one and the Gallo like languages of Brittany, at the side of the French language . By this vote, the area engages, by seeking the broadest association of its partners, and in particular of the five Breton departments 4 departments of administrative Brittany and the Loire-Atlantique '', in order to allow the perpetuation of the language and the culture Breton . The area considers the training of 150 teachers per annum, and hopes to reach 20.000 pupils in the bilingual dies in 2010. She again asks France to ratify the European Charte of the regional languages or minority like made all its neighbors.

Actual position of the Breton one

Certain poets, linguists and writers of Breton expression now have an international repute, such Yann-Ber Kalloc' H, Anjela Duval, Pierre-Jakez Hélias. These three writers are some of the Breton-speaking writers of the XXe century to have had the Breton one like native tongue.

The Breton language is today the only Celtic language to have no statute because the French Republic:

did not ratify the European Charte of the regional languages or minority
founded the relative law with the use of the French language known as “ Loi Toubon ”

See the article specialized on the subject: Political linguistics of France.

Each year, of the gatherings of several thousands of people ask the abrogation of this single law in Europe and the ratification of the European Charter.

Lately , the association of the schools Diwan deposited a complaint in front of the European Cour of the human rights to obtain public authorities which they respect the linguistic rights of the Breton population.

Currently one attends attempts at destabilization of the teaching of the Breton one in the rare establishments where this teaching exists in State education: replacement of the courses by audio conferences, bilingual teachers replaced by monolinguals, refusal of opening of new bilingual classes to ensure continuity, removals envisaged of the bilingual sections… But the majority of the schools are unaware of the existence of the Breton language completely .

See also: bilingual Indication into Breton

History of the Breton lexical census

The first Breton Dictionary, the Catholicon , is being also the first dictionary of French. It was written by Jehan Lagadec in 1464 and was published in 1499 or was front. It is a Breton trilingual work French - Latin.

The following censuses took place later two centuries by:

R.P. Julien Maunoir (1659);
Pierre de Chalons (1723);
Gregoire de Rostrenen (1732);
Claude Cillart de Kerampoul, known as Armerye (1744);
Dom Louis the Furrier (1752).
Edition of a Latin dictionary - Breton by Alain Dumoulin in 1800.

An important date was that of the Celto-Breton Dictionnaire of Gonidec (1821), increased by Villemarqué towards 1847: for the first time, certain words approaching to French are systematically drawn aside, and the Welsh words, or of Breton old man, are incorporated in the lexicon without more precision (cf Controverses on Breton the).

The colonel Troude will be more realistic, in 1886, by retaining only really heard words (or if not by indicating that the term is not any more of use). On the other hand, the banishment of the Breton lexicon of continuous Latin origin. It should however be noticed that results from a frame of mind of the time, in which the Breton one is a secondary language in Low-Brittany, complementary to French: these dictionaries do not claim to present a universal language, but especially to collect original words.

This “ Celtic purism ”, expression used by the detractors of this attitude, will be more or less general until the years 1990, except notable for the dictionary that Emile Ernault constitutes for the vannetais in 1904.

" Breton-français" vocabulary; of Emile Ernault, 1927
Side KLT but incorporating many terms vannetais, the Large French-Breton dictionary of François Vallée, helped of Rene the Russet-red (Meven Mordiern) and Emile Ernault, in 1931, incorporates many neologisms in first publication. The company of François Valley, having a whole network of advisers through Brittany, will make it possible to collect moreover in the dialects of many new words and expressions. It is about the first example of a team work in Breton lexicography, and remains, most important to date and the richest French-Breton dictionary, with that of Rene Gléau.

In parallel, Pierre the Russet-red works with a Linguistic atlas of Low Brittany , appearing to leave 1924, but being focused only on the alternatives of the most common terms.

The after-Second World war is one painful period for the Breton Culture: the Breton nationalist movement, to have collaborated with the occupants Nazi S, is discredited as well in France as in Brittany. Will appear since this time, inter alia:

New French-Breton dictionary , then Breton-French of Roparz Hemon, 1970,
" Historical dictionary of the breton" of Roparz Hemon, 36 volumes and 3232 pages. Give the first lexical occurrence in the context,
the Breton Dictionnaire of the Garnier Editions, under the direction of Pierre-Jakez Hélias, 1986,
" Traditional dictionary French-breton" of Rene Gléau, 1983 - 1994, 10 volumes and 4064 pages, especially based on the production written between 1850 and 1950, with, moreover, of the words collected in its native area of Saint-Renan, or with the listening of the radio.

Lastly, starting from 1992 appears the rear Geriadur Brezhoneg a-vremañ of Francis Favereau with the editions Skol Vreizh, in form paper and CD-ROM. This work systematically does not reject the neologisms and the words left the use, but announces them like such, either by a sign “-” for the rare words, or by quotation marks when they are awkward or faulty creations; it takes again terms resulting from the dictionaries preceding, thus the words of French origin of the Catholicon for example or resulting from other works, and the popular loans (they are sometimes the same ones). It should be noted that this dictionary is the twenty year old fruit of work and collecting in the Poher and around Poullaouen particularly, surface where the thesis of the author carried, constant before it decides to publish his dictionary.

Francis Favereau produced most complete of the Breton dictionaries ever created, with step less than 50.000 entries and the double of made up words. In spite of the lack of financial support for its creation, the dictionary was all the same well sold and had several reprintings. It is for the moment in the course of republication, and its contents should increase by 25% compared to the current edition.

Today, other bilingual dictionaries English/Breton, German/Breton, Spanish/Breton show well the will of the new generation of Breton-speaking to register the language in the international linguistic landscape. Other more erudite lexicographical work is in hand. All this work is made almost in a voluntary way.

New thing for the Breton language, it is appeared two unilingual dictionaries published by An Young stag , the Geriadur brezhoneg (13 000 entries) published in 1995 pennies the direction of Jean-Yves Lagadeg and Martial Ménard and the Geriadur Brezhoneg An Young stag (20 000 entries) published in 2002 pennies the direction of Martial Ménard and Iwan Kadoret. They aim at extracting from the literary texts reflecting or not a popular speech, the terms of the contemporary written and oral language. This dictionary will be the object of a polemic: Business of the Breton dictionary, on behalf of the newspaper the Duck connected. They include a certain number of Néologisme S (sometimes borrowed from the Welsh but generally created starting from the roots of old man-Breton, to see Controverses on Breton the).

In the same way, the editions Preder publish multilingual dictionaries specialized by field: psychoanalyze, economy, etc the words suggested are in general neologisms of which it is the first appearance on paper, or of the words which are known only of one speaker hundred; however, according to the authors or in favor of these works, there their interest resides: to make discover neologisms and extend the lexical field of Breton to fields where it is traditionally not very present.

In addition the editions Sav-Heol published in 2004 a bilingual lexicon of phrases and popular turnings under the title Teurel Blaz war rear Yezh .

In 2001 and 2005 will appear successively a " initiation with Breton familiar and argotique" then a new named lexical collection Tammoù Gwaskin " In the middle of Breton the légitime" by Jean-Yves Plourin, with the editions Ermine, which makes discover with the reader not less than 2000 new words collected in the North-West and the south-east of the Breton-speaking field and more than 6000 meanings as well as grammatical and phonological notes new.

the collection " Rear Teñzor brezhoneg" (Treasure of the Breton language) at An Alarc' H published lexicographical vocabularies of fields up to that point forsaken, like a vocabulary of the Breton Argot S (" argot" in a strict sense term) (2003), or that of Breton childish and toddlers (2005).

Dialects

Orthographical conventions

Value of the graphèmes

The pronunciation of the letters varies according to the context (in particular that of the initial consonants which undergo frequent changes of which some all, but not, are orthographical).

The trigram it H , in particular, has a pronunciation which varies since simple the H aspired until the sound of the Spanish Jota . It is distinguished from the digraph CH whose pronunciation is the same one as the sound CH in the French word dog . These polygrammes was sometimes written with single letters, as that could be also the case for other Celtic languages.

The letter N is used to note the nasalisation of the vowels by a digraph, in way any time even more systematic than in French and marking this one explicitly of a tilde ( ñ ) in the modern orthographies (in this case, only the nasal vowel decides, but not the basic consonant N itself).

History

It is only starting from the beginning of the 17th century that linguists, grammairiens and writers tried to standardize the writing of the Breton one. Several C-Ws communication were successively developed to this end, of which three are still used:

first modern orthography, that of the father Julien Maunoir at the 17th century,
reforms of Jean-François Gonidec at the beginning of the 19th century,
of 1908 to 1938, unified ( peurunvan ), adopted in 1941-42,
in 1953, the academic ( skolveurieg ),
in 1975, the interdialectale ( etrerannyezhel ).

The orthography peurunvan is employed today.

Uses

The C-W communication zh is used in words where the pronunciation is different enters vannetais on the one hand and KLT on the other hand. The pronunciation is, or vannetais some, or if not. In truth, it has two interpretations:

in peurunvan, it indicates that the letter was “Z” in C-W communication KLT, and “H” in the C-W communication vannetaise,
in interdialectal, it indicates that the letter comes from old “a HT” (/θ/).

The two systems are followed, except in some words.

The apostrophizes is used at three ends:

like signs Diacritique in the digraph it H ,
to note the contraction, for example: rear da - > rear ,
to note the absence of a word in the spoken register, for example: has me vo - > me 'vo .

The Tréma is sometimes used to mark some Diérèse S. In certain cases that solves Homonymie S: for example between maerïoù /m è' riju/( of the town halls ) of maerioù /'mèrju/( of the mayors ). Other diereses are indicated by a circumflex accent: one can thus distinguish trôad /troad-t/ ( circuit, transfered ) from troad /trwad-t/ ( foot ).

The Circumflex accent and the Grave accent are also used to distinguish from the homonymies.

The Tilde is in the C-W communication ñ , used to indicate that the vowel which precedes is sometimes nasalisée.

Notable grammatical characteristics

Durative/nondurative aspect

As in Gaelic or English, there exists into Breton two forms in verbal weather, which is characterized by the Aspect according to whether the action is usual or not. Thus at the present one usually distinguishes the form from the progressive form:

Me zo O komz glove my amezeg. (“I am speaking with my neighbor. ”)
has Me gomz glove my amezeg (bep mintin). (“I speak with my neighbor (every morning). ”)

The verb `' to be'' and the verb `' to have'' on the other hand present two distinct forms without periphrasis “verb being + o/é + verbal name”:

Skuizh one hiriv. (“I am tired today. ”)
Skuizh E vezan rear gwener. (“I am tired Friday. ”)
Naon amndt have fenoz. (“I am hungry this evening. ”)
Naon amndt bez bemnoz. (“I am hungry every evening. ”).

“Combined” prepositions

As in the others Celtic Langues modern, the Breton one “combines” the Préposition S according to the nobody (bent prepositions ), i.e. the pronouns amalgamate with the preposition which precedes them.

If one looks at quickly the Pronom S, one can compare with the prepositions. As where Irish fléchierait the preposition Ag :

tá leabhar ag' amndt (“I have a book”; word for word “is book with moi' ”),
tá deoch ag' At (“you have a drink”),

tá ríomhaire have Ge (“it has a computer”),

tá paist have Ci (“it has a child”),

tá carr Ag Ain (“we have a car”),

tá teach Ag aibh (“you have a house”),

tá airgead has Cu (“they have money”),

the Breton one fléchierait the preposition gan- respectively in:

ul levr zo gan in (word for word “a book is with moi' ”),
ur hamper zo gan' it ,

a urzhiataer zo gan tañ ,

ur bugel zo gan Ti ,

ur it harr zo gan eomp ,

Ti zo gan eoc' H ,

arc' hant zo gan to .

Consonant shifts

Some Breton words

lexical Loans French Breton

Francized words

the words Brittany and Breton.
gibberish, baragouiner, “speech in an inaudible or not very comprehensible way”, probably of will bara ( bread ) and gwin ( wine ), in reference, known as the popular etymology, with the incomprehensible speech of Breton for the French, who retained only these words;
Bernique or bernicle, which indicates the shell, comes from Breton the brennig;
jewel, of biz “finger”, whose plural, kiss , mean “ring”;
binioù, kind of Bagpipe, was borrowed such as it is in French;
Cotriade, of kaoteriad, contained of a cauldron, a pot;
slice, “gross slices fish”, of darn , in Welsh darn , “piece, left”;
boëtte or bouette, term of fishing for “soft food”, boued , “food; soft food”,
Seagull of Breton the gouelañ (" pleurer"), in Welsh gwylan ;
goémon of Breton the gouemon , in Welsh gwymon ;
mine, “aspect”, of min , “muzzle, face”, unless this word does not come from a similar Gallic term;
“idiot” is a word which does not exist into Breton. This scorning term is built starting from the many place names of the west of Brittany which start with " Plou" , and Breton starting from the end of the 19th century indicates. The word is built on the root plou , of the Latin plebs , “the plebs”; it indicates a primitive parish étymologiquement. In addition to the Breton ones, the word, as abusive connotation, is used also today to in general nominate the countrymen or any person considered as particularly old-fashioned; derived: Ploukistan , Brittany
bell ringer, to sound , player of bagpipe or of bombards: the word initially passed from French to Breton with the direction of player of musical instrument, then fell in French disuse; there remained long-lived into Breton and returns in French following the popularity of the Breton music; one also speaks in French about PEN bell ringer for the first bell ringer about a walk (of PEN head), on the same mode as the PEN dancer of a Breton traditional dance;
the expression " that will make noise in Landerneau " (of Landerne into Breton) from which the origin comes from a play of Alexandre Duval, (" Héritiers" - 1796), from which the action occurs to Landerneau in which this counterpart often returns and has a comic effect by contrast between the announced scandal and its real range. By extension, in an especially journalistic style one speaks about the “landerneau” to indicate a specific medium: the landerneau of the guitarists, the landerneau of the players of video games, etc;
the form Dolmen introduced by Theophilus Malo Corret of the Tower of Auvergne at the 18th century is faulty, but the forms taol- v AEN and to maen-hir Menhir exist well into Breton, toponymy for example, and this well before the Tower of Auvergne.
a Troménie, derived from tro (turn) and minihi (which indicates a place where a monk lives, with the Age High-Means).
the Minihi which is a monastic sanctuary with the Middle Ages, and which also gave proper names.

It is also to note that many first names into Breton passed in the use in a form francized in the majority of the French-speaking countries. Some not-exhaustive examples: Loïc (of its form into Breton Loig ), Yannick ( Yannig , the hypocoristic one of Yann), Pierrick ( Pêrig , hypocoristic of Pierre), Tangui (literally “dog of fire”), Yves (of his form into Breton Erwann , itself adopted), Ronan, Herve, Gwénaëlle, Gildas ( Gweltaz into Breton), Gwenola, Gwendoline, Annick (of Ass , small Anne), Arthur, Corentin, Soizik (of Fransoazig , small Francoise), Gaël, Judicaël, Morgane, Nolwenn, Rozenn (Rose into Breton), Tristan, Solène ( Solenn ), Maryvonne ( Marivon )… But Yoann is not Breton origin.

Words preserved in their initial form

River mouth , forsaken for the Galician Ria , this word remains of local use;
Ankou , personification of death;
Bagad , troop or pack, passed in French to indicate a musical whole of bagpipes, of bombard and percussions, near of the Scottish “ pipe band ”; it should be noted that in French, one can find this word in the plural in the correct form of Breton, bagadoù ;
Chouchen or chouchenn , local name of hydromel (another name: chufere , chupites );
Fest-noz , literally the festival of night;
Kabic , jacket with impermeable wool cap; neologism coming from Breton the kab (wraps);
Goblin , on the root korr , dwarf, is a kind of Lutin;
corgi , word Welsh, into Breton korrgi , dwarf dog, is a race of dog appraisal in a royal court of on the other side of the channel;
Kouign mercy , cake made containing a puff pastry, of butter and honey;
Kig-ha-farz , beef stew of origin léonarde, literally meat-and-far;
Morbihan of Breton the mor bihan , small sea, which indicates initially various inland seas of the southern part;
will petra , “what”, attested in the old dictionaries is a nickname of which one affuble theBreton ones;
pillig ( rear billig ), broad circular metal plate on which one makes cook crepes and wafers.
kenavo sometimes used on the same mode as the Italian ciao .
pennti which indicates a small house in Brittany.

To note that French spoken in Low-Brittany borrows at least hundreds of words from the Breton one: fubu for midge, potatos krign for jumped potatoes, tristig for morose, the ribin for the small way, brujun for crumbs, has dreuz for through, the chupenn for the jacket, etc

The words which do not come from the Breton one

Brush, of balan , “broom”; comes in fact from the Gallic one, the form balan being besides a modern form by métathèse of banal
Cromlech means in Welsh “stone curved” or “stone circle” (even French direction);
the expression " that dalle" (" rien"), of obscure origin, is sometimes brought closer to the Breton word dall (“blind man”) in the expression " to see only dalle" there; ; Florian Vernet sees there an origin occitane, the phrase “that from went” being attested in Marseilles slang since 1881 and meaning, literally, “that wing”, i.e. not great a deal to be eaten. In the same way, whetstone is attested in the Parisian slang since the beginning of XIXe at least.
Gull and Varech would come from the Normand;
Pingouin has a sonority which one would be tempted to bring closer to PEN (head) and gwenn (white), but it is an error (the penguins have the black head); this word comes from the Dutch, itself of unknown origin;
pal: an etymology makes come this word from paotr , “boy”, readily employed in a friendly way into Breton; it more surely comes from the abbreviation of “post”, “friend on whom one can be pressed”, use attested as of the Moyen-âge;
Village fair: one could wrongly allot this word to the Breton language by analogy with the many toponymic names which one finds mainly in the west of Brittany. Indeed, Ker (house, village) is a word which one finds in many place names, follow-up of a name or a characteristic: Keranna , Kervaria (Maria), Keruon (Huon), Kersaoz (the house of the English, francized in Kersauce), Kervilin ( milin i.e. mill). Village fair is actually a word of origin Dutch E, kerkmisse i.e. “mass of church, celebrates employers'”.

Examples

See also Numbers in the world .

See too

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