Breton language

Breton is a special language spoken in Brittany, a region in modern-day France. It belongs to the Celtic language group, which includes languages like Irish and Welsh. Breton is unique because it is the only Celtic language still used on the European mainland today.

This language was brought to Brittany from Great Britain by people called Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Because of this history, Breton is most closely related to Cornish, another language from Britain. Other Celtic languages like Welsh are more distantly related.

Unfortunately, the number of people who speak Breton has been decreasing. From more than one million speakers around 1950, it dropped to about 107,000 by 2024. Experts say Breton is "severely endangered." However, there is some good news: more children are now learning Breton in bilingual classes, with numbers rising by 33% between 2006 and 2012.

History and status

See also: Linguistic boundary of Brittany

Breton is spoken in Lower Brittany, the western part of Brittany in France. It began as a language from Great Britain brought to the area by people who moved there many years ago. For a long time, it was used by important people and later by everyday folks in Lower Brittany. Over time, more people began using French instead.

The French government has often encouraged people to use French rather than local languages like Breton. This started during big changes in France a long time ago and continued through different governments. Because of this, fewer and fewer people now speak Breton. Today, only about 200,000 people still use the language, and most of them are older.

Revival efforts

In 1925, a teacher named Roparz Hemon started a magazine called Gwalarn in the Breton language. For almost 20 years, this magazine helped improve the Breton language and encouraged people to write new stories and books in Breton. After Gwalarn ended, another magazine called Al Liamm took its place.

Special schools called Diwan schools were started in 1977 to teach Breton to children by speaking only Breton in class. These schools have helped many young children learn and speak Breton.

Popular comic books like Asterix and The Adventures of Tintin have been translated into Breton. There are also Breton movies, TV shows, and music. Many famous writers and singers have created work in Breton.

Today, Breton is special because it is the only Celtic language still spoken on the European mainland that isn’t an official language of any country. There are dictionaries to help people learn Breton, and groups work to make Breton more common in everyday life. Breton is also used on the internet and in events across the region.

Geographic distribution and dialects

Breton is mainly spoken in Lower Brittany and also in Upper Brittany, where it is spoken alongside Gallo and French. It is also spoken in areas around the world where Breton people have moved.

The four traditional dialects of Breton are leoneg (léonard, of the county of Léon), tregerieg (trégorrois, of Trégor), kerneveg (cornouaillais, of Cornouaille), and gwenedeg (vannetais, of Vannes). Gwerranneg (guérandais, of Guérande) was spoken until the early 1900s in the region of Guérande and Batz-sur-Mer. The dialects blend into each other without clear borders, changing slowly from village to village. Gwenedeg can be harder to understand with the other dialects.

Official status

See also: Language policy of France

Nation

French is the only official language of France. People who speak Breton and other local languages still want their languages to be recognized and used in schools and public places.

Constitution

In July 2008, France changed its rules to say that local languages are part of the country’s heritage.

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is a special agreement that helps protect these languages, but France has not fully agreed to it yet. In October 2015, France’s Senate decided not to fully accept this agreement.

Region

Local leaders in Brittany use Breton only a little. Some places have signs in both Breton and French.

Because of a special rule called the Toubon Law, signs can’t be only in Breton. They must be in both languages or just in French. Because space is limited, most signs are only in French.

Ofis Publik ar Brezhoneg, an organization for the Breton language, started in 1999 to help people use Breton more every day. It created the Ya d'ar brezhoneg campaign to encourage businesses and towns to use Breton, like putting up signs in both languages or translating websites.

Education

In the late 20th century, the French government thought about including special schools that teach only in Breton into the regular school system. But this idea was stopped because French law says that French must be the only language used in public schools.

There are special schools called Diwan that were started in 1977 to teach Breton to students by using only Breton in their lessons. These schools have helped many students learn Breton and have done well in exams, even in French subjects. These schools do not get money from the government, but the Brittany Region sometimes helps them.

Another way to learn Breton in regular schools is called Div Yezh, which means "Two Languages." This method was started in 1979. There is also a program called Dihun, meaning "Awakening," started in 1990, for learning Breton in Catholic schools.

Besides these special programs, some primary schools in the area of Finistère also teach a little Breton through songs and games for a few hours each week.

In secondary schools, some students can choose to take classes in Breton. In 2010, about 5,000 students in Brittany were learning Breton this way. The University of Rennes 2 even has a special department for Breton where students can study the language and even get a higher degree in Breton and Celtic Studies.

Phonology

Breton has different sounds for vowels and consonants. Vowels can be short or long and can also have a special sound called nasalized.

Consonants have different sounds depending on the region and dialect. For example, the letter r can sound different in various places. Some special consonant sounds come from changes in other letters, like d and t. The letters C, Q, and X are mostly used in words borrowed from other languages.

Grammar

Main article: Breton grammar

Breton nouns change based on whether they are masculine or feminine and whether they are single or multiple items. Breton has two genders: masculine and feminine. Some endings of words tell us if they are masculine or feminine.

Breton also has special ways to talk about more than one thing. For example, the word for "eyes" uses an old way of saying "two eyes." There are also special endings to show many things, and sometimes a word can have more than one way to show "many."

Verbal aspect in Breton works similarly to other Celtic languages and English, allowing different ways to describe actions. Breton verbs also go through changes called mutations at the start of words. The usual order of words in a sentence is verb-subject-object, but Breton also has a rule where the verb must be the second part of the sentence. This allows flexibility in where the subject or object can appear in a sentence.

Vocabulary

Breton has many words borrowed from other languages, especially French. In fact, it is thought that about 40% of the main words in Breton come from French. This shows how the language has changed over time by taking in words from places around it.

Orthography

Breton is written using the Latin alphabet. The most common way to write Breton today is called Peurunvan orthography. It includes letters like a, b, c, d, e, and others, with some special marks on top of them.

There are two main ways to write Breton: Peurunvan and Skolveurieg. They are mostly the same, but they look a little different in some words. Most writers use Peurunvan, and that is what is taught in Breton schools.

Alphabet

Breton uses the Latin script with special characters and marks. The alphabet includes letters such as a, b, ch, cʼh, d, and more. Some letters have marks like circumflexes or accents above them.

Sample texts

Lord's Prayer

Hon Tad,
cʼhwi hag a zo en Neñv,
ra vo santelaet hocʼh anv.
Ra zeuio ho Rouantelezh.
Ra vo graet ho youl war an douar evel en neñv.
Roit dimp hiziv bara hor bevañs.
Distaolit dimp hon dleoù
evel m'hor bo ivez distaolet d'hon dleourion.
Ha n'hon lezit ket da vont gant an temptadur,
met hon dieubit eus an Droug.

Words and phrases in Breton

Visitors to Brittany may encounter words and phrases (especially on signs and posters) such as the following:

Language comparison

Borrowing from Breton by other languages

Some English words like dolmen and menhir came from French, which got them from the Breton language. But it is not certain: in Breton, menhir is called peulvan or maen hir ("long stone"), and maen sav ("straight stone"). The word dolmen might be a mix-up (it should really be taol-vaen). Some studies suggest these words came from Cornish instead.

The French word baragouiner, meaning "to talk in a confusing way," comes from Breton words bara ("bread") and gwin ("wine"). Another French word, goéland, meaning "large seagull," comes from Breton gwelan, which is related to the English word "gull."

.bzh

.bzh is a special web address ending made just for Brittany and its Breton culture and languages. In 2023, over 12,000 people and groups were using this special address. Along with this, the www.bzh group works to help show Brittany’s culture online, like trying to add a Breton flag picture to the internet and offering special email services.