Breton language explained

Breton
Nativename:Breton: brezhoneg
Pronunciation:in Breton pronounced as /bʁeˈzɔ̃ːnɛk/, in Breton pronounced as /brəhɔ̃ˈnek/
States:Brittany (France)
Ethnicity:Bretons
Speakers: in Brittany
Date:2018
Ref:[1]
Speakers2: in French: [[Île-de-France]][2]
(Number includes students in bilingual education)[3]
Familycolor:Indo-European
Fam2:Celtic
Fam3:Insular Celtic
Fam4:Brittonic
Fam5:Southwestern Brittonic
Dialects:Breton: [[Gwenedeg]]
Breton: Kerneveg
Breton: Leoneg
Breton: [[Trégorrois Breton dialect|Tregerieg]]
Script:Latin script (Breton alphabet)
Minority:France
Agency:Breton: [[Ofis Publik ar Brezhoneg]]
Iso1:br
Iso2:bre
Lc1:bre
Ld1:Modern Breton
Lc2:xbm
Ancestor2:Middle Breton
Lc3:obt
Ancestor:Old Breton
Linglist:xbm
Lingname:Middle Breton
Linglist2:obt
Lingname2:Old Breton
Lingua:50-ABB-b (varieties:50-ABB-ba to -be)
Imagescale:1.45
Imagealt:Side of a stone building next to a stream; low stone wall in the foreground has a sign reading Mill of Chaos in both Breton and French; Breton: Meilh ar Cʼhlegr and French: Moulin du Chaos
Map:Breton - les taux de locuteurs selon le pays - sondage 2018.svg
Mapalt:Map showing the percentage of Breton speakers in each country of Brittany, 2018
Map2:Lang Status 40-SE.svg
Notice:IPA
Glotto:bret1244
Glottorefname:Breton

Breton (pronounced as /fr/; Breton: label=[[endonym]]|brezhoneg in Breton pronounced as /bʁeˈzɔ̃ːnɛk/[4] or in Breton pronounced as /bɾəhɔ̃ˈnek/ in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language group spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of the insular branch instead of the continental grouping.[5]

Breton was brought from Great Britain to Armorica (the ancient name for the coastal region that includes the Brittany peninsula) by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages, making it an Insular Celtic language. Breton is most closely related to Cornish, another Southwestern Brittonic language.[6] Welsh and the extinct Cumbric, both Western Brittonic languages, are more distantly related, and the Goidelic languages (Irish, Manx, Scottish Gaelic) have a slight connection due to both of their origins being from Insular Celtic.

Having declined from more than one million speakers around 1950 to about 200,000 in the first decade of the 21st century, Breton is classified as "severely endangered" by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. However, the number of children attending bilingual classes rose 33% between 2006 and 2012 to 14,709.

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History and status

See also: Linguistic boundary of Brittany.

Breton is spoken in Lower Brittany (Breton: Breizh-Izel), roughly to the west of a line linking Plouha (west of Saint-Brieuc) and La Roche-Bernard (east of Vannes). It comes from a Brittonic language community that once extended from Great Britain to Armorica (present-day Brittany) and had even established a toehold in Galicia (in present-day Spain). Old Breton is attested from the 9th century.[7] It was the language of the upper classes until the 12th century, after which it became the language of commoners in Lower Brittany. The nobility, followed by the bourgeoisie, adopted French. The written language of the Duchy of Brittany was Latin, switching to French in the 15th century. There exists a limited tradition of Breton literature. Some philosophical and scientific terms in Modern Breton come from Old Breton. The recognized stages of the Breton language are: Old Breton – to, Middle Breton – to, Modern Breton – to present.[8]

The French monarchy was not concerned with the minority languages of France, spoken by the lower classes, and required the use of French for government business as part of its policy of national unity. During the French Revolution, the government introduced policies favouring French over the regional languages, which it pejoratively referred to as French: [[patois]]. The revolutionaries assumed that reactionary and monarchist forces preferred regional languages to try to keep the peasant masses under-informed. In 1794, Bertrand Barère submitted his "report on the French: patois" to the Committee of Public Safety in which he said that "federalism and superstition speak Breton".

Since the 19th century, under the Third, Fourth and now Fifth Republics, the French government has attempted to stamp out minority languages—including Breton—in state schools, in an effort to build a national culture. Teachers humiliated students for using their regional languages, and such practices prevailed until the late 1960s.[9]

In the early 21st century, due to the political centralization of France, the influence of the media, and the increasing mobility of people, only about 200,000 people are active speakers of Breton, a dramatic decline from more than 1 million in 1950. The majority of today's speakers are more than 60 years old, and Breton is now classified as an endangered language.

At the beginning of the 20th century, half of the population of Lower Brittany knew only Breton; the other half were bilingual. By 1950, there were only 100,000 monolingual Bretons, and this rapid decline has continued, with likely no monolingual speakers left today. A statistical survey in 1997 found around 300,000 speakers in Lower Brittany, of whom about 190,000 were aged 60 or older. Few 15- to 19-year-olds spoke Breton.[10] In 1993, parents were finally legally allowed to give their children Breton names.[11]

Revival efforts

In 1925, Professor Roparz Hemon founded the Breton-language review Breton: [[Gwalarn]]. During its 19-year run, Breton: Gwalarn tried to raise the language to the level of a great international language.[12] Its publication encouraged the creation of original literature in all genres, and proposed Breton translations of internationally recognized foreign works. In 1946, Breton: [[Al Liamm]] replaced Breton: Gwalarn. Other Breton-language periodicals have been published, which established a fairly large body of literature for a minority language.[13]

In 1977, Diwan schools were founded to teach Breton by immersion. Since their establishment, Diwan schools have provided fully immersive primary school and partially immersive secondary school instruction in Breton for thousands of students across Brittany. This has directly contributed to the growing numbers of school-age speakers of Breton.

The Asterix comic series has been translated into Breton. According to the comic, the Gaulish village where Asterix lives is in the Armorica peninsula, which is now Brittany. Some other popular comics have also been translated into Breton, including The Adventures of Tintin, French: [[Spirou et Fantasio|Spirou]], Titeuf, Hägar the Horrible, Peanuts and Yakari.

Some original media are created in Breton. The sitcom, Breton: Ken Tuch, is in Breton.[14] [15] Radio Kerne, broadcasting from Finistère, has exclusively Breton programming. Some movies (Lancelot du Lac, Shakespeare in Love, Marion du Faouet, Sezneg) and TV series (Columbo, Perry Mason) have also been translated and broadcast in Breton. Poets, singers, linguists, and writers who have written in Breton, including Yann-Ber Kallocʼh, Roparz Hemon, Anjela Duval, Xavier de Langlais, Pêr-Jakez Helias, Youenn Gwernig, Glenmor, Vefa de Saint-Pierre and Alan Stivell are now known internationally.

Today, Breton is the only living Celtic language that is not recognized by a national government as an official or regional language.

The first Breton dictionary, the Catholicon, was also the first French dictionary. Edited by Jehan Lagadec in 1464,[16] it was a trilingual work containing Breton, French and Latin. Today bilingual dictionaries have been published for Breton and languages including English, Dutch, German, Spanish and Welsh. A monolingual dictionary, Breton: Geriadur Brezhoneg an Here was published in 1995. The first edition contained about 10,000 words, and the second edition of 2001 contains 20,000 words.

In the early 21st century, the Breton: [[Ofis Publik ar Brezhoneg]] ("Public Office for the Breton language") began a campaign to encourage daily use of Breton in the region by both businesses and local communes. Efforts include installing bilingual signs and posters for regional events, as well as encouraging the use of the Spilhennig to let speakers identify each other. The office also started an Internationalization and localization policy asking Google, Firefox[17] and SPIP to develop their interfaces in Breton. In 2004, the Breton Wikipedia started, which now counts more than 85,000 articles. In March 2007, the Breton: Ofis ar Brezhoneg signed a tripartite agreement with Regional Council of Brittany and Microsoft[18] for the consideration of the Breton language in Microsoft products. In October 2014, Facebook added Breton as one of its 121 languages[19] after three years of talks between the Breton: Ofis and Facebook.

France has twice chosen to enter the Eurovision Song Contest with songs in Breton; once in 1996 in Oslo with "Breton: Diwanit bugale" by Dan Ar Braz and the fifty piece band Héritage des Celtes, and most recently in 2022 in Turin with "Breton: [[Fulenn]]" by Alvan Morvan Rosius and vocal trio Ahez. These are two of five times France has chosen songs in one of its minority languages for the contest, the others being in 1992 (bilingual French and Antillean Creole), 1993 (bilingual French and Corsican), and 2011 (Corsican).

Geographic distribution and dialects

Breton is spoken mainly in Lower Brittany, but also in a more dispersed way in Upper Brittany (where it is spoken alongside Gallo and French), and in areas around the world that have Breton emigrants.

The four traditional dialects of Breton correspond to medieval bishoprics rather than to linguistic divisions. They are Breton: leoneg (French: léonard, of the county of Léon), Breton: tregerieg (French: [[Trégorrois Breton dialect|trégorrois]], of Trégor), Breton: kerneveg (French: cornouaillais, of French: [[Cornouaille]]), and Breton: [[gwenedeg]] (French: vannetais, of Vannes).[20] French: Guérandais was spoken up to the beginning of the 20th century in the region of Guérande and Batz-sur-Mer. There are no clear boundaries between the dialects because they form a dialect continuum, varying only slightly from one village to the next.[21] Breton: [[Gwenedeg]], however, requires a little study to be intelligible with most of the other dialects.[22]

Region ! scope="col"
Population Number of speakersPercentage of speakers
Basse Bretagne1,300,000 185,000 14.2%
Centre Ouest Bretagne112,000 20,000 20%
Trégor-Goelo127,000 25,000 20%
Pays de Brest370,000 40,000 11%
Pays de Cornouaille320,000 35,000 11.5%
Pays de Lorient212,000 15,000 7.3%
Pays de Vannes195,000 11,000 5.5%
Pays de Guingamp76,000 12,000 17%
Pays de Morlaix126,000 15,000 12%
Pays de St Brieuc191,000 5,000 3%
Pays de Pontivy85,000 6,500 8%
Pays d'Auray85,000 6,500 7.6%
Haute Bretagne1,900,000 20,000 2%
Pays de Rennes450,000 7,000 1.5%
Loire-Atlantique1,300,000
Pays de Nantes580,000 4,000 0.8%
TOTAL4,560,000216,0004.6%

Official status

See also: Language policy of France.

Nation

French is the sole official language of France. Supporters of Breton and other minority languages continue to argue for their recognition, and for their place in education, public schools, and public life.[23]

Constitution

In July 2008, the legislature amended the French Constitution, adding article 75-1: French: les langues régionales appartiennent au patrimoine de la France (the regional languages belong to the heritage of France).

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which obliges signatory states to recognize minority and regional languages, was signed by France in 1999 but has not been ratified. On 27 October 2015, the Senate rejected a draft constitutional law ratifying the charter.[24]

Region

Regional and departmental authorities use Breton to a very limited extent. Some bilingual signage has also been installed, such as street name signs in Breton towns.

Under the French law known as Toubon, it is illegal for commercial signage to be in Breton alone. Signs must be bilingual or French only. Since commercial signage usually has limited physical space, most businesses have signs only in French.

Breton: [[Ofis Publik ar Brezhoneg]], the Breton language agency, was set up in 1999 by the Brittany region to promote and develop the daily use of Breton.[25] It helped to create the Breton: [[Ya d'ar brezhoneg]] campaign, to encourage enterprises, organisations and communes to promote the use of Breton, for example by installing bilingual signage or translating their websites into Breton.[26]

Education

In the late 20th century, the French government considered incorporating the independent Breton-language immersion schools (called Breton: [[Diwan (school)|Diwan]]) into the state education system. This action was blocked by the French Constitutional Council based on the 1994 amendment to the Constitution that establishes French as the language of the republic. Therefore, no other language may be used as a language of instruction in state schools. The Toubon Law implemented the amendment, asserting that French is the language of public education.[27]

The Diwan schools were founded in Brittany in 1977 to teach Breton by immersion. Since their establishment, Diwan schools have provided fully immersive primary school and partially immersive secondary school instruction in Breton for thousands of students across Brittany. This has directly contributed to the growing numbers of school-age speakers of Breton. The schools have also gained fame from their high level of results in school exams, including those on French language and literature.[28] Breton-language schools do not receive funding from the national government, though the Brittany Region may fund them.[29]

Another teaching method is a bilingual approach by Breton: Div Yezh[30] ("Two Languages") in the State schools, created in 1979. Breton: Dihun[31] ("Awakening") was created in 1990 for bilingual education in the Catholic schools.

Statistics

In 2018, 18,337 pupils (about 2% of all students in Brittany) attended Breton: Diwan, Breton: Div Yezh and Breton: Dihun schools, and their number has increased yearly. This was short of the goal of Jean-Yves Le Drian (president of the Regional Council), who aimed to have 20,000 students in bilingual schools by 2010, and of "their recognition" for "their place in education, public schools, and public life"; nevertheless he describes being encouraged by the growth of the movement.[32]

In 2007, some 4,500 to 5,000 adults followed an evening or correspondence one Breton-language course. The transmission of Breton in 1999 was estimated to be 3 percent.

Growth of the percentage of pupils in bilingual education! Year !! Number !! Percentage of all
pupils in Brittany
2005 10,397 1.24%
2006 11,092 1.30%
2007 11,732 1.38%
2008 12,333 ± 1.4%
2009 13,077 1.45%
2010 13,493 1.48%
2011 14,174 1.55%
2012 14,709 1.63%
2013 15,338 1.70%
2014 15,840 1.73%
2015 16,345 1.78%
2016 17,024 1.86%
2017 17,748 1.93%
2018 18,337 2.00%
2019 18,890 2.00%
2020 19,165 2.00%
2021 19,336 ± 2.2%
2022 19,765 ± 2.3%
Percentage of pupils in bilingual education per department! Department !! Primary education
(2022)[33]
9.0%
6.7%
4.4%
1.8%
0.5%

Municipalities

The 10 communes with the highest percentage of pupils in bilingual primary education, listed with their total population! Commune !! Percentage
(2008) !! Population
(2007)[34]
Saint-Rivoal (Finistère) 100% 177
Plounévez-Moëdec (Côtes-d'Armor) 82.4% 1,461
Bulat-Pestivien (Côtes-d'Armor) 53.7% 493
Commana (Finistère) 49.7% 1,061
Cavan (Côtes-d'Armor) 39.6% 1,425
Rostrenen (Côtes-d'Armor) 39.3% 3,655
Guégon (Morbihan) 35.5% 2,432
Lannilis (Finistère) 35.1% 5,121
Pabu (Côtes-d'Armor) 32.46% 2,923
Melrand (Morbihan) 31.4% 1,558
The 10 communes of historic Brittany with the highest total population, listed with their percentages of pupils in bilingual primary education
These figures include some cities in the department of Loire-Atlantique, which is now included in the Pays de la Loire region. See for example Brittany (administrative region).! Commune !! Percentage
(2008) !! Population
(2007)
Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) 1.4% 290,943
Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine) 2.87% 213,096
Brest (Finistère) 1.94% 146,519
Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique) 0.41% 71,046
Quimper (Finistère) 3.17% 67,255
Lorient (Morbihan) 2.71% 59,805
Vannes (Morbihan) 7.71% 55,383
Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine) 0.55% 50,206
Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor) 3.98% 48,178
Saint-Herblain (Loire-Atlantique) ? 44,364

Other forms of education

In addition to bilingual education (including Breton-medium education) the region has introduced the Breton language in primary education, mainly in the department of Finistère. These "initiation" sessions are generally one to three hours per week, and consist of songs and games.

Schools in secondary education (French: [[collège]]s and Breton: [[lycée]]s) offer some courses in Breton. In 2010, nearly 5,000 students in Brittany were reported to be taking this option.[35] Additionally, the University of Rennes 2 has a Breton language department offering courses in the language along with a master's degree in Breton and Celtic Studies.

Phonology

Vowels

Vowels in Breton may be short or long. All unstressed vowels are short; stressed vowels can be short or long (vowel lengths are not noted in usual orthographies as they are implicit in the phonology of particular dialects, and not all dialects pronounce stressed vowels as long). An emergence of a schwa sound occurs as a result of vowel neutralization in post-tonic position, among different dialects.

All vowels can also be nasalized,[36] which is noted by appending an 'n' letter after the base vowel, or by adding a combining tilde above the vowel (most commonly and easily done for a and o due to the Portuguese letters), or more commonly by non-ambiguously appending an letter after the base vowel (this depends on the orthographic variant).

FrontCentralBack
unroundedroundedunroundedrounded
Closei pronounced as /link/ u pronounced as /link/ ou pronounced as /link/
Close-mide pronounced as /link/ eu pronounced as /link/ o pronounced as /link/
Open-mide pronounced as /link/ eu pronounced as /link/ o pronounced as /link/
Opena pronounced as /link/a pronounced as /link/
Diphthongs are pronounced as //ai, ei, ou//.

Consonants

LabialDentalAlveolarPost-
alveolar
PalatalVelarUvularGlottal
plainlab.plainlab.
Nasalm pronounced as /link/n pronounced as /link/gn pronounced as /link/
Plosiveb pronounced as /link/d pronounced as /link/g pronounced as /link/gw, gou pronounced as /link/
p pronounced as /link/t pronounced as /link/k pronounced as /link/kw, kou pronounced as /link/
Fricativev pronounced as /link/(z, d pronounced as /link/)z, zh pronounced as /link/j pronounced as /link/cʼh pronounced as /link/
f pronounced as /link/s pronounced as /link/ch pronounced as /link/cʼh pronounced as /link/h, zh pronounced as /link/
Trillr pronounced as /link/(r pronounced as /link/)
Approximant(r pronounced as /link/)y pronounced as /link/u pronounced as /link/w pronounced as /link/
l pronounced as /link/lh pronounced as /link/

Grammar

See main article: Breton grammar.

Nouns

Breton nouns are marked for gender and number. While Breton gender is fairly typical of gender systems across western Europe (with the exception of Basque and modern English), Breton number markers demonstrate rarer behaviors.

Gender

Breton has two genders: masculine (Breton: gourel) and feminine (Breton: gwregel), having largely lost its historic neuter (Breton: nepreizh) as has also occurred in the other Celtic languages as well as across the Romance languages. Certain suffixes (-ach/-aj, -(a)dur, -er, -lecʼh, -our, -ti, -va) are masculine, while others (-enti, -er, -ez, -ezh, -ezon, -i, -eg, -ell, and the singulative -enn) are feminine.[40] The suffix -eg can be masculine or feminine.

There are certain non-determinant factors that influence gender assignment. Biological sex is applied for animate referents. Metals, time divisions (except for Breton: eur "hour", Breton: noz "night" and Breton: sizhun "week") and mountains tend to be masculine, while rivers, cities and countries tend to be feminine.[41]

However, gender assignment to certain words often varies between dialects.[41]

Number

Number in Breton is primarily based on an opposition between singular and plural.[42] However, the system is full of complexities in how this distinction is realized.

Although modern Breton has lost its ancestral dual number marker, relics of its use are preserved in various nouns pertaining to body parts, including the words for eyes, ears, cheeks, legs, armpits, arms, hands, knees, thighs, and wings. This is seen in a prefix (formed in Breton: daou, Breton: di or Breton: div) that is etymologically derived from the prefixation of the number two.[42] The dual is no longer productive, and has merely been lexicalized in these cases rather than remaining a part of Breton grammar. The (etymologically) already dual words for eyes (Breton: daoulagad) and ears (Breton: divskouarn) can be pluralized "again" to form Breton: daoulagad'''où''' and Breton: diskouarn'''où'''.[42] [40]

Like other Brythonic languages, Breton has a singulative suffix that is used to form singulars out of collective nouns, for which the morphologically less complex form is the plural. Thus, the singulative of the collective Breton: logod "mice" is Breton: logod'''enn''' "mouse".[42] However, Breton goes beyond Welsh in the complications of this system. Collectives can be pluralized to make forms which are different in meaning from the normal collective-- Breton: pesk "fish" (singular) is pluralized to Breton: pesked, singulativized to Breton: peskedenn, referring to a single fish out of a school of fish, and this singulative of the plural can then be pluralized again to make Breton: peskedennoù "fishes".

On top of this, the formation of plurals is complicated by two different pluralizing functions. The "default" plural formation is contrasted with another formation which is said to "emphasize variety or diversity" – thus two semantically different plurals can be formed out of Breton: park: Breton: parkoù "parks" and Breton: parkeier "various different parks". Ball reports that the latter pluralizer is used only for inanimate nouns.[42] Certain formations have been lexicalized to have meanings other than that which might be predicted solely from the morphology: Breton: dour "water" pluralized forms Breton: dourioù which means not "waters" but instead "rivers", while Breton: doureier now has come to mean "running waters after a storm". Certain forms have lost the singular from their paradigm: Breton: keloù means "news" and Breton: *kel is not used, while Breton: keleier has become the regular plural,[42] 'different news items'.

Meanwhile, certain nouns can form doubly marked plurals with lexicalized meanings – Breton: bugel "child" is pluralized once into Breton: bugale "children" and then pluralized a second time to make Breton: bugaleoù "groups of children".

The diminutive suffix Breton: -ig also has the somewhat unusual property of triggering double marking of the plural: Breton: bugelig means "little child", but the doubly pluralized Breton: bug'''ale'''ig'''où''' means "little children"; Breton: bag boat has a singular diminutive Breton: bagig and a simple plural Breton: bagoù, thus its diminutive plural is the doubly pluralized Breton: bag'''où'''ig'''où'''.[42]

As seen elsewhere in many Celtic languages, the formation of the plural can be hard to predict, being determined by a mix of semantic, morphological and lexical factors.

The most common plural marker is Breton: -où, with its variant Breton: -ioù;[42] most nouns that use this marker are inanimates but collectives of both inanimate and animate nouns always use it as well.[42]

Most animate nouns, including trees, take a plural in Breton: -ed.[42] However, in some dialects the use of this affix has become rare. Various masculine nouns including occupations as well as the word Breton: Saoz ("Englishman", plural Breton: Saozon) take the suffix Breton: -ien, with a range of variants including Breton: -on, Breton: -ion, Breton: -an and Breton: -ian.[42]

The rare pluralizing suffixes Breton: -er/Breton: -ier and Breton: -i are used for a few nouns. When they are appended, they also trigger a change in the vowel of the root: Breton: -i triggers a vowel harmony effect whereby some or all preceding vowels are changed to Breton: i (Breton: kenderv "cousin" → Breton: kindirvi "cousins"; Breton: bran "crow" → Breton: brini "crows"; Breton: klujur "partridge" → Breton: klujiri "partridges"); the changes associated with Breton: -er/Breton: -ier are less predictable.[42]

Various nouns instead form their plural merely with ablaut: Breton: a or Breton: o in the stem being changed to Breton: e: Breton: askell "wing" → Breton: eskell "wings"; Breton: dant "tooth" → Breton: dent "teeth"; Breton: kordenn "rope" → Breton: kerdenn "ropes".[42]

Another set of nouns have lexicalized plurals that bear little if any resemblance to their singulars. These include Breton: placʼh "girl" → Breton: mercʼhed, Breton: porcʼhell "pig" → Breton: mocʼh, Breton: buocʼh "cow" → Breton: saout, and Breton: ki "dog" → Breton: chas.[42]

In compound nouns, the head noun, which usually comes first, is pluralized.[42]

Verbal aspect

As in other Celtic languages as well as English, a variety of verbal constructions is available to express grammatical aspect, for example: showing a distinction between progressive and habitual actions:

BretonCornishIrishEnglish
Breton: Me '''zo o komz''' gant ma amezegCornish: '''Yth eso'vy ow kewsel''' orth ow hentrevekIrish: '''Táim ag labhairt''' le mo chomharsaI am talking to my neighbour
Breton: Me '''a gomz''' gant ma amezeg (bep mintin)Cornish: My '''a gews''' orth ow hentrevek (pub myttin)Irish: '''Labhraím''' le mo chomharsa (gach maidin)I talk to my neighbour (every morning)

Inflected prepositions

As in other modern Celtic languages, Breton pronouns are fused into preceding prepositions to produce a sort of inflected preposition. Below are some examples in Breton, Cornish, Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx, along with English translations.

BretonCornishWelshIrishScottish GaelicManxEnglish
Cornish: yma lyver '''genev'''Welsh: mae llyfr '''gennyf'''Irish: tá leabhar '''agam'''Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: tha leabhar '''agam'''Manx: ta lioar '''aym'''I have a book
Cornish: yma diwes '''genes'''Welsh: mae diod '''gennyt'''Irish: tá deoch '''agat'''Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: tha deoch '''agad'''Manx: ta jough '''ayd'''you have a drink
Cornish: yma jynn-amontya '''ganso'''Welsh: mae cyfrifiadur '''ganddo'''Irish: tá ríomhaire '''aige'''Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: tha coimpiutair '''aige'''Manx: ta co-earrooder '''echey'''he has a computer
Cornish: yma flogh '''gensi'''Welsh: mae plentyn '''ganddi'''Irish: tá leanbh '''aici'''Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: tha leanabh '''aice'''Manx: ta lhiannoo '''eck'''she has a child
Cornish: yma karr '''genen'''Welsh: mae car '''gennym'''Irish: tá gluaisteán / carr '''againn'''Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: tha càr '''againn'''Manx: ta gleashtan / carr '''ain'''we have a car
Cornish: yma chi '''genowgh'''Welsh: mae tŷ '''gennych'''Irish: tá teach '''agaibh'''Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: tha taigh '''agaibh'''Manx: ta thie '''eu'''you have a house
Cornish: yma mona '''gansa'''Welsh: mae arian '''ganddynt'''Irish: tá airgead '''acu'''Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: tha airgead '''aca'''Manx: ta argid '''oc'''they have money
In the examples above the Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx) use the preposition meaning at to show possession, whereas the Brittonic languages use with. The Goidelic languages, however, do use the preposition with to express "belong to" (Irish Irish: is liom an leabhar, Scottish Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: is leam an leabhar, Manx Manx: s'lhiams yn lioar, The book belongs to me).

The Welsh examples are in literary Welsh. The order and preposition may differ slightly in colloquial Welsh (Formal Welsh: mae car gennym, North Wales Welsh: mae gynnon ni gar, South Wales Welsh: mae car gyda ni).

Initial consonant mutations

See main article: Breton mutations. Breton has four initial consonant mutations: though modern Breton lost the nasal mutation of Welsh (but for rare words such the word "door": "dor" "an nor"), it also has a "hard" mutation, in which voiced stops become voiceless, and a "mixed" mutation, which is a mixture of hard and soft mutations.

Initial consonant mutations in Breton
Unmutated
consonant
Mutations
HardMixedSoftAspirant
m pronounced as /[m]/  v pronounced as /[v]/ v pronounced as /[v]/  
b pronounced as /[b]/p pronounced as /[p̎]/ v pronounced as /[v]/ v pronounced as /[v]/  
p pronounced as /[p]/    b pronounced as /[b̥]/ f pronounced as /[v̥]/
g pronounced as /[ɡ]/k pronounced as /[k͈]/ cʼh pronounced as /[ɣ]/ cʼh pronounced as /[ɣ]/  
k pronounced as /[k]/    g pronounced as /[ɡ̊]/ cʼh pronounced as /[x]/
d pronounced as /[d]/t pronounced as /[t͈]/t pronounced as /[t͈]/z pronounced as /[z]/ 
t pronounced as /[t]/  d pronounced as /[d̥]/z pronounced as /[h]/
gw pronounced as /[ɡʷ]/kw pronounced as /[kʷ]/w pronounced as /[w]/w pronounced as /[w]/ 

Word order

Normal word order, like the other Insular Celtic languages, is at its core VSO (verb-subject-object), which is most apparent in embedded clauses. However, Breton finite verbs in main clauses are additionally subject to V2 word order in which the finite main clause verb is typically the second element in the sentence.[43] That makes it perfectly possible to put the subject or the object at the beginning of the sentence, largely depending on the focus of the speaker. The following options are possible (all with a little difference in meaning):

Vocabulary

Breton uses much more borrowed vocabulary than its relatives further north; by some estimates a full 40% of its core vocabulary consists of loans from French.[44]

Orthography

The first extant Breton texts, contained in the Leyde manuscript, were written at the end of the 8th century: 50 years prior to the Strasbourg Oaths, considered to be the earliest example of French. Like many medieval orthographies, Old- and Middle Breton orthography was at first not standardised, and the spelling of a particular word varied at authors' discretion. In 1499, however, the Catholicon, was published; as the first dictionary written for both French and Breton, it became a point of reference on how to transcribe the language. The orthography presented in the Catholicon was largely similar to that of French, in particular with respect to the representation of vowels, as well as the use of both the Latinate digraph —a remnant of the sound change pronounced as //kʷ// > pronounced as //k// in Latin—and Brittonic or to represent pronounced as //k// before front vowels.

As phonetic and phonological differences between the dialects began to magnify, many regions, particularly the Vannes country, began to devise their own orthographies. Many of these orthographies were more closely related to the French model, albeit with some modifications. Examples of these modifications include the replacement of Old Breton - with - to denote word-final pronounced as //x~h// (an evolution of Old Breton pronounced as //θ// in the Vannes dialect) and use of - to denote the initial mutation of pronounced as //k// (today this mutation is written).[45] and thus needed another transcription.

In the 1830s Jean-François Le Gonidec created a modern phonetic system for the language.

During the early years of the 20th century, a group of writers known as Breton: Emglev ar Skrivanerien elaborated and reformed Le Gonidec's system. They made it more suitable as a super-dialectal representation of the dialects of Cornouaille, Leon and Trégor (known as from Breton: Kernev, Breton: Leon and Breton: Treger in Breton). This KLT orthography was established in 1911. At the same time writers of the more divergent Vannetais dialect developed a phonetic system also based on that of Le Gonidec.

Following proposals made during the 1920s, the KLT and Vannetais orthographies were merged in 1941 to create an orthographic system to represent all four dialects. This Breton: Peurunvan ("wholly unified") orthography was significant for the inclusion of the digraph, which represents a pronounced as //h// in Vannetais and corresponds to a pronounced as //z// in the KLT dialects.

In 1955 François Falcʼhun and the group Emgleo Breiz proposed a new orthography. It was designed to use a set of graphemes closer to the conventions of French. This French: Orthographe universitaire ("University Orthography", known in Breton as Breton: Skolveurieg) was given official recognition by the French authorities as the "official orthography of Breton in French education." It was opposed in the region and today is used only by the magazine Breton: Brud Nevez and the publishing house Emgléo Breiz.

In the 1970s, a new standard orthography was devised — the Breton: etrerannyezhel or French: interdialectale. This system is based on the derivation of the words.[46]

Today the majority of writers continue to use the Peurunvan orthography, and it is the version taught in most Breton-language schools.

Alphabet

Breton is written in the Latin script. Peurunvan, the most commonly used orthography, consists of the following letters:

a, b, ch, cʼh, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, v, w, y, z

The circumflex, grave accent, trema and tilde appear on some letters. These diacritics are used in the following way:

â, ê, î, ô, û, ù, ü, ñ

Differences between Breton: Skolveurieg and Breton: Peurunvan

Both orthographies use the above alphabet, although is used only in Breton: Skolveurieg.

Differences between the two systems are particularly noticeable in word endings. In Peurunvan, final obstruents, which are devoiced in absolute final position and voiced in sandhi before voiced sounds, are represented by a grapheme that indicates a voiceless sound. In OU they are written as voiced but represented as voiceless before suffixes: Breton: braz "big", Breton: brasocʼh "bigger".

In addition, Peurunvan maintains the KLT convention, which distinguishes noun/adjective pairs by nouns written with a final voiced consonant and adjectives with a voiceless one. No distinction is made in pronunciation, e.g. Breton: brezhoneg "Breton language" vs. Breton: brezhonek "Breton (adj)".

Camparison of different orthographies! Breton: Etrerannyezhel (1975) !! Breton: Peurunvan (1941) !! Breton: Skolveurieg (1956)!English gloss
Breton: glaw Breton: glav Breton: glaorain
Breton: piw Breton: piv Breton: piouwho
Breton: levr Breton: levr Breton: leorbook
Breton: ewid Breton: evit Breton: evidfor
Breton: gant Breton: gant Breton: gandwith
Breton: anezhi Breton: anezhi Breton: aneziof her
Breton: ouzhpenn Breton: ouzhpenn Breton: ouspennadd
Breton: brawañ Breton: bravañ Breton: bravamost beautiful
Breton: pelecʼh Breton: pelecʼh Breton: pelehwhere

Pronunciation of the Breton alphabet

Letter Kerneveg Leoneg Tregiereg Gwenedeg
A apronounced as /[ä, a, ɑː]/
âpronounced as /[ɑː]/
aepronounced as /[ae̯~aj]/pronounced as /[ɛa]/pronounced as /[ɛː]/
anpronounced as /[ɑ̃n]/
pronounced as /[ɑ̃]/
aopronounced as /[ao̯~aw]/pronounced as /[ɔː]/pronounced as /[ao̯~aw]/
aoupronounced as /[ɔʊ̯~ɔw]/
B bpronounced as /[b], [p]/
Ch chpronounced as /[ʃ], [ʒ]/
Cʼh cʼhpronounced as /[h]/, pronounced as /[x]/pronounced as /[h]/, pronounced as /[ɣ~ɦ]/, pronounced as /[x]/pronounced as /[h]/, pronounced as /[x]/pronounced as /[h, x]/
cʼhwpronounced as /[xw~f]/pronounced as /[xw]/pronounced as /[hw~(hɥ)]/
D dpronounced as /[d], [t]/
E epronounced as /[ɛ, ɛ̞, e, eː]/pronounced as /[ɛ, ɛ̞, e, eː]/, pronounced as /[ə]/
êpronounced as /[ɛː]/
eipronounced as /[ɛi̯~ɛj]/
eeupronounced as /[eø̯~ew]/
eopronounced as /[eː]/pronounced as /[eɔ]/pronounced as /[eː]/pronounced as /[eː, ə]/
eupronounced as /[œ, œ̞, ø, øː]/
pronounced as /[ɛɥ, e(v)y]/
euepronounced as /[ø̯e~ɥe]/
F fpronounced as /[f], [v]/
'fpronounced as /[v~ɸ]/
G gpronounced as /[ɡ, k]/pronounced as /[ɡ~(ɟ), k~(c)]/
gnpronounced as /[ɲ]/
gwpronounced as /[ɡw]/pronounced as /[ɡw~(ɟɥ)]/
H hpronounced as /[h]/
I ipronounced as /[i, iː, j]/
ilhpronounced as /[(i)ʎ]/
J jpronounced as /[ʒ], [ʃ]/
K kpronounced as /[k]/pronounced as /[k~(c)]/
L lpronounced as /[l]/, pronounced as /[ɬ]/
M mpronounced as /[m]/
N npronounced as /[n]/, pronounced as /[ŋ]/
ñpronounced as /[◌̃]/
ñvpronounced as /[◌̃v]/
O opronounced as /[ɔ, ɔ̞, o, oː]/
oapronounced as /[ɔ̯a~wa, ɔ̯ɑː~wɑː]/pronounced as /[ɔ̯a~wa, ɔ̯ɑː~wɑː, ɔa, oːa]/pronounced as /[ɔ̯a~wa, ɔ̯ɑː~wɑː]/pronounced as /[ɔ̯ɛ~wɛ, ɔ̯eː~weː]/
ôapronounced as /[oːa]/
oepronounced as /[ɔ̯ɛ(ː)~wɛ(ː)]/
onpronounced as /[ɔ̃n]/
pronounced as /[ɔ̃]/
oupronounced as /[u, uː, w]/pronounced as /[u, uː, w~(ɥ)]/
pronounced as /[u]/pronounced as /[o]/pronounced as /[ø, ow, aw, aɥ, ɔɥ]/
pronounced as /[oy̆, oːy]/
P ppronounced as /[p]/
R rpronounced as /[ʀ~ʁ~r~ɾ~ɹ]/, pronounced as /[χ~r̥~ɾ̥~ɹ̥]/
S spronounced as /[s, z]/
shpronounced as /[s]/pronounced as /[h]/
skpronounced as /[sk]/pronounced as /[sk~(sc~ʃc)]/
stpronounced as /[st]/pronounced as /[ʃt]/
T tpronounced as /[t]/
U upronounced as /[y, yː, ɥ]/
uipronounced as /[ɥi, ɥiː]/
ul, un, urpronounced as /[ɔl, ɔn, ɔʀ]/pronounced as /[œl, œn, œr]/pronounced as /[œl, œn, œɾ]/pronounced as /[yl, yn, yʁ]/
V vpronounced as /[v]/
vhpronounced as /[f]/
W wpronounced as /[w]/pronounced as /[w~(ɥ)]/
Y ypronounced as /[j]/
Z zpronounced as /[z]/, Ø, pronounced as /[s]/pronounced as /[z, ʒ/ʃ]/pronounced as /[z]/, Øpronounced as /[z]/, Ø, pronounced as /[ð]/
zhpronounced as /[z]/pronounced as /[h]/

Notes:

  1. Vocative particle: Breton: â Vreizh "O Brittany".
  2. Word-initially.
  3. Word-finally.
  4. Unwritten lenition of and spirantization of > pronounced as /[v]/.
  5. Unstressed represent pronounced as /[ɛ, œ, ɔ]/ in Leoneg but pronounced as /[e, ø, o]/ in the other dialects. The realisations pronounced as /[ɛ̞, œ̞, ɔ̞]/ appear mainly before (also less often before), semivowels pronounced as /[j, w]/, consonant clusters beginning with or . Stressed long represent pronounced as /[eː, øː, oː]/.
  6. In Gwenedeg velars are palatalized before and, i.e.,,,,,, represent pronounced as /[c~tʃ, ɟ~dʒ, cɥ, hɥ, ɟɥ, ɥ, sc~ʃc]/. In the case of word-final and palatalization to pronounced as /[c]/ also occurs after .
  7. Before a vowel other than the digraph is written instead of, e.g. Breton: bleniañ "to drive", radical Breton: blegn, 1PS preterite Breton: blegnis, 3PS preterite Breton: blenias.
  8. Silent in words such as Breton: '''h'''a(g), Breton: '''h'''e(cʼh), Breton: '''h'''o(cʼh), Breton: '''h'''oll, Breton: '''h'''on, Breton: '''h'''or and Breton: '''h'''ol. Always silent in Gwenedeg and Leoneg.
  9. is realized as pronounced as /[j]/ when it precedes or follows a vowel (or when between vowels), but in words such as Breton: l'''i'''en, Breton: l'''i'''orzh, Breton: rakd'''i'''azezañ it represents pronounced as /[iː]/ (in orthography may be used: Breton: lïen, Breton: lïorzh, Breton: rakdïazezañ).
  10. represents pronounced as /[ʎ]/ when it follows a vowel, after a consonant it represents pronounced as /[iʎ]/. But before a vowel other than, is written instead of, e.g. Breton: heuliañ "to follow", radical Breton: heuilh, 1PS preterite Breton: heuilhis, 3PS preterite Breton: heulias. In some regions pronounced as /[j]/ may be heard instead of pronounced as /[ʎ]/.
  11. Word-finally after a cluster of unvoiced consonants.
  12. In front of .
  13. The digraph is realized like when preceded or followed by a vowel (or when between vowels), but in words such as Breton: Doue, Breton: douar, Breton: gouarn it represents pronounced as /[uː]/.
  14. The digraph represents plural endings. Its pronunciation varies by dialect: pronounced as /[u, o, ø, ow, aw, aɥ, ɔɥ]/ rating geographically from Northwest Leon to Southeast Gwened.
  15. usually represents pronounced as /[v]/, but word-finally (except in word-final) it represents pronounced as /[w]/ in KLT, pronounced as /[ɥ]/ in Gwenedeg and pronounced as /[f]/ in Goëlo. The pronunciation pronounced as /[v]/ is retained word-finally in verbs. In words Breton: bli'''v''', Breton: Gwiskri'''v''', Breton: gwi'''v''', Breton: li'''v''', Breton: pi'''v''', Breton: ri'''v''' it represents pronounced as /[u]/ in KLT, pronounced as /[ɥ]/ in Gwenedeg and pronounced as /[f]/ in Goëlo. Word-finally following it represents pronounced as /[o]/.
  16. But silent in words such as Breton: goue'''z''', Breton: bloa'''z''', Breton: goa'''z''', Breton: ru'''z'''iañ, Breton: klei'''z''', Breton: rakdïaze'''z'''añ, Breton: be'''z'''añ, Breton: Roa'''zh'''on, Breton: de'''zh'''añ, Breton: koue'''zh'''añ, 'Breton: '''z''', Breton: a'''z''', Breton: e'''z''', Breton: da'Breton: '''z''', Breton: gwirione'''z''', Breton: enep(g)wirione'''z''', Breton: monei'''z''', Breton: falsvonei'''z''', Breton: karante'''z''', Breton: kengarante'''z''', Breton: neve'''z''', Breton: neve'''z'''cʼhanet, Breton: nado'''z'''ioù, Breton: abardae'''z''', Breton: gwe'''z''', Breton: bemde'''z''', Breton: kri'''z''', Breton: blei'''z''', Breton: morvlei'''z''', Breton: de'''zh'''i. is generally silent in Kerneweg, Tregerieg and Gwenedeg, but in Leoneg is always pronounced.
  17. Used to distinguish words such as Breton: stêr "river", Breton: hêr "heir", Breton: kêr "town" (also written Breton: kaer) from Breton: ster "sense", Breton: her "bold", Breton: ker "dear".
  18. Used to distinguish Breton: trôad "circuit/tour" from Breton: troad "foot".
  19. In northern dialects (mainly in Leoneg), there is a tendency to voice between vowels. pronounced as /[ɣ]/ also appears as the lenition of and mixed mutation of .
  20. The lenition of and the spirantization of are both represented by is mainly pronounced pronounced as /[z]/ although in certain regions pronounced as /[s]/ (especially for the spirantization of in Cornouaille) and pronounced as /[ð]/ (in some Haut-Vannetais varieties) also occur.
  21. The pronunciation of varies by dialect, nowadays uvular pronounced as /[ʀ]/ (or pronounced as /[ʁ]/) is standard; pronounced as /[r]/ occurs in Leoneg, pronounced as /[ɾ]/ or pronounced as /[ɹ]/ in Tregerieg, and pronounced as /[ʀ], [ʁ], [r], and [ɾ]/ in Gwenedeg.
  22. In Gwenedeg an unstressed often represents pronounced as /[ə]/.
  23. Lenited varieties of may appear word-initially in case of soft mutation.
  24. In Leoneg pronounced as /[u(ː)]/ in front of a nasal.
  25. In Leoneg represents pronounced as /[v]/ before .
  26. In Leoneg represents pronounced as /[ʃ]/ or pronounced as /[ʒ]/ before .
  27. In Leoneg represents pronounced as /[ɡr]/.
  28. Before a vowel.
  29. Forms of the indefinite article.
  30. A conservative realisation of the initial mutation of and, used in certain parts of the Vannes country.

Sample texts

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Breton:
Breton: Dieub ha par en o dellezegezh hag o gwirioù eo ganet an holl dud. Poell ha skiant zo dezho ha dleout a reont bevañ an eil gant egile en ur spered a genvreudeuriezh.[47]
English:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.[48]

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:

Breton English
Breton: deuet mat welcome
Breton: deuet mat ocʼh you're welcome
Breton: Breizh Brittany
Breton: brezhoneg Breton (language)
Breton: ti, "ty" house
Breton: ti-kêr town hall
Breton: kreiz-kêr town centre
Breton: da bep lecʼh all directions
Breton: skol school
Breton: skol-veur university
Breton: [[bagad]] pipe band (nearly)
Breton: [[fest-noz]]lit. "night festival", a Breton: fest deiz or "day festival" also exists
Breton: kenavo goodbye
Breton: krampouezh pancakes (a pancake = Breton: ur grampouezh'''enn''')
Breton: sistr cider
Breton: [[chouchen]]n Breton mead
Breton: yecʼhed mat Cheers!
Breton: war vor atav always at sea
Breton: [[kouign amann]] rich butter and sugar cake

Language comparison

English French Breton Cornish Welsh Scottish Gaelic Irish
earth French: terre Breton: douar Cornish: dor Welsh: daear Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: talamh Irish: talamh
sky French: ciel Breton: oabl (older Breton: oabr) Cornish: ebron Welsh: wybren Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: speur Irish: spéir
heaven French: paradis Breton: neñv Cornish: nev Welsh: nef Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: nèamh Irish: neamh
food French: nourriture Breton: boued Cornish: boos (older Cornish: boes) Welsh: bwyd Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: biadh Irish: bia
house French: maison Breton: ti Cornish: chi Welsh: Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: taigh Irish: teach (south Irish: tigh)
church French: église Breton: iliz Cornish: eglos Welsh: eglwys Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: eaglais Irish: eaglais
person, man French: personne, homme Breton: den, gour Cornish: den, gour Welsh: dyn, gŵr Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: duine, fear Irish: duine, fear
dog French: chien, chienne Breton: ki Cornish: ki Welsh: ci Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Irish: gadhar, madra (Irish: hound)
sell French: vendre Breton: gwerzhañ Cornish: gwertha Welsh: gwerthu Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: reic Irish: díol, reic trade, Irish: íoc pay
eat French: manger Breton: debriñ Cornish: dybri Welsh: bwyta Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: ith (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: biadhaich feed) Irish: ith (Irish: cothaigh feed)
drink French: boire Breton: evañ Cornish: eva Welsh: yfed Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: òl (archaic Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: ibh) Irish: ól (archaic Irish: ibh)
see French: voir Breton: gwelet Cornish: gweles Welsh: gweld Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: faic (fut. Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: chì) Irish: feic (south Irish: chí)
black French: noir, noire Breton: du Cornish: du Welsh: du Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: dubh Irish: dubh
white French: blanc, blanche Breton: gwenn Cornish: gwynn Welsh: gwyn Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: bàn, geal (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: fionn 'fair') Irish: fionn, bán, geal
green French: vert, verte Breton: gwer, glas Cornish: gwer, gwyrdh, glas Welsh: gwyrdd, glas Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: uaine, glas Irish: uaine, glas
red French: rouge Breton: ruz Cornish: rudh Welsh: coch (also: Welsh: rhudd) Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: dearg (hair, etc. Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: ruadh) Irish: dearg (hair, etc. Irish: rua)
yellow French: jaune Breton: melen Cornish: melyn Welsh: melyn Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: buidhe Irish: buí
book French: livre Breton: levr Cornish: lyver Welsh: llyfr Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: leabhar Irish: leabhar
day French: jour, journée Breton: deiz Cornish: dydh Welsh: dydd Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: latha Irish: (also Irish: in names of weekdays)
year French: an, année Breton: bloaz Cornish: bloodh Welsh: blwyddyn Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: bliadhna Irish: blian/bliain
beer French: bière Breton: korev (bier) Cornish: korev Welsh: cwrw Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: leann ([[cuirm]]) Irish: leann, beoir, coirm ale
go French: aller Breton: mont Cornish: mones (mos) Welsh: mynd Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: rach (verbal noun Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: dol) Irish: téigh (verbal noun, Irish: dul)
come French: venir Breton: dont Cornish: dones Welsh: dod Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: thig (verbal noun, Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: tighinn) Irish: tar (participle, Irish: ag teacht)
cat French: chat, chatte Breton: kazh Cornish: kath Welsh: cath Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: cat Irish: cat
live French: vivre Breton: bevañ Cornish: bewa Welsh: byw Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: beò Irish: beo
dead French: mort, morte Breton: marv Cornish: marow Welsh: marw Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: marbh Irish: marbh
name French: nom Breton: anv Cornish: hanow Welsh: enw Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: ainm Irish: ainm
water French: eau Breton: dour Cornish: dowr Welsh: dŵr Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: uisge (dobhair) Irish: uisce, dobhar
true French: vrai, vraie Breton: gwir Cornish: gwir Welsh: gwir Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: fìor Irish: fíor
wife French: femme Breton: gwreg Cornish: gwreg Welsh: gwraig Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: bean Irish: bean
sheep French: mouton, brebis Breton: dañvad Cornish: davas Welsh: dafad Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: caora 'sheep' (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: damh 'stag', 'ox';) Irish: damh 'stag', 'ox'; Irish: caora 'sheep'
better French: mieux Breton: gwell, gwellocʼh Cornish: gwell Welsh: gwell Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: feàrr níos fearr
say French: dire Breton: lavarout Cornish: leverel Welsh: siarad (also: Welsh: llefaru) Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: can (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: labhair speak) Irish: deir (Irish: labhair speak)
night French: nuit Breton: noz Cornish: nos Welsh: nôs Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: a-nochd 'tonight'; Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: oidhche 'night' Irish: anocht 'tonight'; Irish: oíche 'night'
root French: racine Breton: gwrizienn Cornish: gwreydhen Welsh: gwreiddyn Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: freumh Irish: fréamh, (south Irish: préamh)
iron French: fer Breton: houarn Cornish: horn Welsh: haearn Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: iarann Irish: iarann
summer French: été Breton: hañv Cornish: hav Welsh: haf Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: samhradh Irish: samhradh
winter French: hiver Breton: goañv Cornish: gwav Welsh: gaeaf Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: geamhradh Irish: geimhreadh

Borrowing from Breton by other languages

The English words English: dolmen and English: [[menhir]] have been borrowed from French, which took them from Breton. However, this is uncertain: for instance, English: menhir is Breton: peulvan or Breton: maen hir ("long stone"), Breton: maen sav ("straight stone") (two words: noun + adjective) in Breton. Dolmen is a misconstructed word (it should be Breton: taol-'''v'''aen). Some studies state[49] that these words were borrowed from Cornish. Welsh: Maen hir can be directly translated from Welsh as "long stone" (which is exactly what a English: menhir or Breton: maen hir is). The Cornish surnames Mennear, Minear and Manhire all derive from the Cornish Cornish: men Cornish: hyr ("long stone"), as does Cornish: Tremenheere "settlement by the long stone".

The French word French: baragouiner ("to jabber in a foreign language") is derived from Breton Breton: bara ("bread") and Breton: gwin ("wine"). The French word French: goéland ("large seagull") is derived from Breton Breton: gwelan, which shares the same root as English "gull" (Welsh Welsh: gwylan, Cornish Cornish: goelann).

.bzh

.bzh is an approved Internet generic top-level domains intended for Brittany and the Breton culture and languages.[50] In 2023, the Breton internet extension .bzh had more than 12,000 registrations. Alongside the promotion of the .bzh internet extension, the www.bzh association promotes other services to develop Brittany's image on the web: campaign for a Breton flag emoji,[51] and email service.[52]

See also

References

Notes

Further reading

Overviews
Historical development
Grammars and handbooks

External links

Dictionaries

Learning

Bible

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Enquête socio-linguistique : qui parle les langues de bretagne aujourd'hui ? . Région Bretagne . 8 October 2018 . 9 October 2018.
  2. French: [http://www.ofis-bzh.org/upload/travail_paragraphe/fichier/206fichier.pdf Diagnostic de la langue bretonne en Île-de-France]. Breton: [[Ofis Publik ar Brezhoneg]].
  3. Book: Broudic, Fañch . Parler breton au XXIe siècle : Le nouveau sondage de TMO Régions . Emgleo Breiz . 2009 . fr.
  4. Book: Bauer, Laurie . The Linguistic Student's Handbook . 2007 . Edinburgh University Press.
  5. [Jared Diamond|Diamond, Jared]
  6. Web site: Breton language. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2017-09-18.
  7. [Benjamin W. Fortson IV]
  8. Book: Koch, John T. . Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia . ABC-CLIO . 2006 . Santa Barbara, California . 62381207.
  9. Web site: Breton – An Endangered Language of Europe . Kuter . Lois . May 2004 . breizh.net.
  10. Book: Broudic, Fañch . Qui parle breton aujourd'hui? Qui le parlera demain? . Brud Nevez . 1999 . Brest . fr.
  11. Web site: 2012. Breton. live. Endangered Language Alliance. https://web.archive.org/web/20210721002750/https://www.elalliance.org/languages/breton . 2021-07-21 .
  12. Francis Favereau, "Anthologie de la littérature bretonne au XXe siècle : 1919–1944", "Tome 2 : Breiz Atao et les autres en littérature", Skol Vreizh, 2003, .
  13. Book: Calin, William . Minority Literatures and Modernism: Scots, Breton, and Occitan, 1920–1990 . University of Toronto Press . 2000 . 9780802083654.
  14. an Henaff . Goulwena . Strubel . Etienne . 2008 . Ken Tuch' . Web videos . br . 25 February 2015 . An Oriant, Breizh . Dizale . 11 October 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171011022330/http://www.breizhvod.com/video/product/ken-tuch-l-integrale.html . dead .
  15. Adkins . Madeleine . Davis . Jenny L. . The naïf, the sophisticate, and the party girl: Regional and gender stereotypes in Breton language web videos . Gender and Language . 6 . 2 . 291–308 . 10.1558/genl.v6i2.291 . September 2012 . Pdf.
  16. Book: Booton, Diane E. . Publishing Networks in France in the Early Era of Print . 2018-04-17 . . 978-1-351-77805-3 . en.
  17. Web site: Firefox ha Thunderbird. www.drouizig.org.
  18. Web site: Microsoft au secours des langues celtiques y compris du breton. www.agencebretagnepresse.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20141019204103/http://www.agencebretagnepresse.com/article.php?id=6519. 2014-10-19.
  19. Web site: Facebook. Et maintenant une version en breton. 2 October 2014 .
  20. News: Celtic languages. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2017-09-18.
  21. Book: Wmffre, Iwan. Breton Orthographies and Dialects: The Twentieth-century, Vol. 2. Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften. 2008. 978-3039113651. 3.
  22. Kergoat, Lukian. "Breton Dialects" in Celtic Culture, pp. 250 ff. ABC-CLIO (Sta. Barbara), 2006.
  23. News: France a 'rogue state' on regional languages. Simon Hooper. Al Jazeera. 30 March 2012. 30 Mar 2012 .
  24. News: Le Sénat dit non à la Charte européenne des langues régionales . 27 October 2015 . 1 November 2015 . franceinfo . fr . The Senate says no to the European Charter for Regional Languages . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151206221013/http://www.franceinfo.fr/actu/politique/article/le-senat-rejette-le-projet-de-loi-de-ratification-de-la-charte-europeenne-des-langues-regionales-741405 . 2015-12-06.
  25. Web site: Ofis ar Brezhoneg . Ofis-bzh.org . 2010-10-03.
  26. Web site: La charte "Ya d'ar Brezhoneg" / Ar garta "Ya d'ar Brezhoneg" KLEG INFOS . fr-FR.
  27. Devine . Mary Catherine . La Loi Toubon: Language Policy and Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in France . 2017 . Thesis . Carnegie Mellon University . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/pstorage-cmu-348901238291901/14491631/Devine.pdf . 2022-10-09 . live.
  28. Diwan FAQ, #6.
  29. Web site: The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA):Articulation of Language Instruction. carla.umn.edu. 2017-09-18.
  30. Web site: Actualités. Yannick /. Rostrenn. div-yezh.org. fr.
  31. Web site: Dihun – Dihun Language. 9 July 2008. 15 June 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20060615055340/http://www.dihun.com/. dead.
  32. Web site: Interview with Jean-Yves Le Drian, the president of the Region Council. angencebretagnepresse.com.
  33. Breton: Ofis Publik ar Brezhoneg: Breton: Teul ar c'helenn divyezhek e 2022
  34. Web site: Populations légales 2007 . Insee . fr.
  35. Web site: L'option de breton: que faire?. 2010-06-20 . Studi: enseigner le breton et en breton.
  36. Book: Hemon . Roparz . Roparz Hemon . Everson . Michael . Michael Everson . Breton Grammar . 2 . 2007 . Evertype/Al Liamm . 978-1-904808-11-4.
  37. Book: Christmas Hymns in the Vannes Dialect of Breton. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. 1956. Hemon. Roparz. Dublin. x, xxvi.
  38. Book: Jackson, Kenneth H.. A Historical Phonology of Breton. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. 1968. Dublin. 661 ff.
  39. Book: Hemon, Roparz. A Historical Morphology and Syntax of Breton. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. 1975. 978-0901282637. Dublin. 5.
  40. Book: Stephens, Janig. The Celtic Languages. Routledge. 2002. 041528080X. Ball. Martin. Routledge Language Family Descriptions. London. 379. Breton. Fife. James.
  41. Book: Martin J. Ball. The Celtic Languages. 364. 1993.
  42. Book: Martin J. Ball. The Celtic Languages. 365–369. 1993.
  43. Kennard . Holly J. . Non-Negative Word Order In Breton: Maintaining Verb-Second . Transactions of the Philological Society . Wiley . 116 . 2 . January 12, 2018 . 0079-1636 . 10.1111/1467-968x.12119 . 153–178. 148910543 .
  44. Fortson, Benjamin W. 2005. Indo-European Language and Culture. Page 295: "Breton has also borrowed much more heavily from French throughout its history than any of the other British Celtic languages ever have from English, to the extent that two-fifths of the ordinary vocabulary is of French origin, according to some extents".
  45. Book: Hemon, Roparz. A Historical Morphology and Syntax of Breton. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. 1975. Dublin. 5.
  46. Web site: Hewitt. Steve. Background information on Breton.
  47. Web site: Universal Declaration of Human Rights . .
  48. Web site: Universal Declaration of Human Rights . .
  49. Book: Strang, Barbara M. H. A History of English. Routledge. 2015. 978-1317421917. 94.
  50. Web site: Delegated Strings. icann.org. 23 May 2015.
  51. News: The struggle to give Brittany its own emoji. The Economist. 6 February 2022.
  52. Web site: Postel.bzh, la messagerie créée par des Bretons, pour les Bretons. Ouest-France. 21 September 2021 . French. 6 February 2022.