Page created by the Ofis ar Brezhoneg (“Board of the Breton language”) and the Latin Union, 2009.

Data on Breton

Alternative names: Brezhoneg

Classification: Indo-European, Celtic, Brythonic

Area:

France, historical Brittany (official Brittany nowadays and the department of Loire-Atlantique), with varying demographic features depending on the area. The concentration of speakers is more important on the western part of the peninsula, i.e. the traditional area of practice. However, the decline of practice in that area, adding to contemporary mobility and the attractiveness of the departments of eastern Brittany, led to a very gradual transition from one area to the other, as well as a concentration of speakers in the labour pools of the cities of Rennes and Nantes, among others.

Dialects & Variants:

Like any other language, Breton includes different dialects, the shift from one to the other being, in fact, very gradual. These variations are usually associated to the former dioceses, and thus Gwenedeg is the most distinct of all four, the other three being Kerneveg, Leoneg, and Tregerieg.

Mutual understanding was always effective – the linguistic unity of Breton was secured by an ancient form of scholarly literature (barely marked by the dialects) and the necessity of trade. At present, standard Breton is widely used in the media and in education. It is understood by all speakers of Breton whether they speak one of the dialects or not: the 2007 TMO-Régions survey showed that a large majority of Breton-speakers have “no major understanding issues” in respect to the media.

Note: Broudic (2009)

Number of speakers:

The oldest studies report one third of Breton speakers in the Breton population at the beginning of the 10th century, i.e. over a million people. The figure has been constantly dropping since then; the language being less and less handed down to children since the post-war era.

More recently, a 1999 INSEE census accounted for a number of speakers evolving around 270,000.

According to the latest available data (TMO-Régions survey, 2007), 172,000 people spoke Breton in Lower Brittany, the western part of the region. This figure did not take into account the speakers settled outside the original linguistic area, but the total number of speakers, in any event, remains under 200,000.

Over this last period, estimates show that the language has lost 87,000 speakers in ten years, and gained (via the bilingual schools) 9,000.

Within a century, the language has lost 80% of its speakers, a drop that keeps accelerating with the death of ever-aging speakers.

Note: Broudic (2009)

Language status: No official status.

Vitality & Transmission:

Breton is considered “seriously endangered” by UNESCO (level 3 on a scale of 5). According to the TMO-Régions survey of 2007, 71% of the speakers are over 60 years old in the traditional area of practice (Lower-Brittany). Parent to children transmission is low (3% according to the 1999 INSEE “Study of family history” survey.

Education:

33,000 people were learning Breton in 2009, 5,500 of which were adults learners.

Bilingual education

Three courses of study for French-Breton bilingual education: an immersive course, through association (the first Diwan schools opened in 1977) and two based on time parity (in public schools since 1983, in private catholic schools since 1990).

At the beginning of term in 2009, 388 schools delivered bilingual education in 131 towns (plus an additional site located in Paris), i.e. 6,3% of the schools in 8,8 of the towns in Brittany. These bilingual sites counted 13,035 students in 2009/2010, i.e. 1,5% of the children attending school (2,3% of the pupils in primary school).

Introduction in primary school

In 2009/2010, 9,543 children received an introduction to Breton, mainly in the department of Finistère because of a plan set in motion on request of the General Council: 2% of the primary school students in Brittany – 10,2% of which in Finistère.

Introduction and courses in secondary school

In 2009/2010, 5,007 secondary school students were learning Breton (whether as an introduction or through actual courses – option, second language…), i.e. 1,4% of the secondary school students in Brittany.

Higher education

In 2009/2010, 712 people were studying Breton – 299 (42%) followed a Breton & Celtic curriculum, 102 (14,3%) were being trained as educators, 277 (38,9%) learned Breton as an option, and the remaining 34 were on a Breton-centered university degree.

Adult education

Some 3,500 adults had subscribed to Breton classes in 2009/2010.

In 2008/2009, 1,080 adults took a course in Breton – 430 on a weekend course, 500 on a one-week course, 150 on a longer six-months course.

350 people were also learning Breton by correspondence.

Media:

Publishing houses

Around thirty publishing houses having published at least one book in Breton were accounted for in 2008. Over two thirds of these regularly publish in Breton. Nearly a hundred books were published in Breton in 2008.

Periodicals

Created in 2005, Ya! is the first weekly newspaper issued in Breton.

Bremañ is a monthly general information publication created in 1980. An offshoot was created in 2004, the weekly online publication Bremaik.

Two monthly publications in Breton for younger audiences: Louarnig and Rouzig.

The other existing publications are directed at adult audiences, and essentially involve a literary aspect: Al Liamm, Hor Yezh, Imbourc’h, Brud Nevez, Al Lanv, Aber, etc.

A few periodicals in French open their pages to articles in Breton: daily Le Télégramme, weekly Le Trégor, Le Courrier du Léon and Le Progrès du Finistère, monthly and trimestral Armor Magazine, Ar Men, Hopala, and Le Peuple Breton.

Radio

Some 200 hours worth of radio programs in Breton are broadcasted every week.

In 2009, France Bleu, the network of public local radios, aired a weekly 18,5 hours of programs in Breton, adding to 7,5 hours of bilingual programs.

In 2009, the network gathering the four existing Breton community radios aired 173 hours/week.

A few other radios, usually associations, offer one or two programs in Breton every week.

Television

The France 3 local channels (public television) broadcast 1 hour and 50 minutes in Breton every week.

In the recents years, audiovisual supply in Breton essentially developped through the emerging technologies (webchannel Brezhoweb, Gwagenn TV and Kaouenn.net) and local TV channels (TV Rennes 35, TéléNantes, Tébéo, etc.).

New technologies

The presence of Breton in the emerging technologies has significantly increased in past few years. In terms of content, the place of the Breton language on the Internet has grown rather rapidly (with over 30,000 articles in the beginning of 2010, Breton is the 52th most widely present language on Wikipedia). In addition, a number of softwares are now available in Breton; essentially free softwares so far (Open Office, Mozilla, etc.), although the supply in on the increase (antivirus BitDefender, and soon Microsoft Office).

Historical observations

5th century: establishment of the language by migrants (the Brittani) arriving from Cornwall and Wales.

8th century: the “Leyde Manuscript” – the most ancient text known to include mentions of Breton (gloss in a Latin text).

14th, 15th, 16th century: a form of ecclesiastic Koine spreads.

1464: Jehan Lagadeuc finishes the Catholicon, the world’s first trilingual dictionary ever, in Breton/French/Latin.

15th and 17th centuries: First significant literary texts – religious inspiration, plays and lives of saints.

1532: The Duchy of Brittany is annexed to the Kingdom of France.

17th-18th centuries: The Koine splits into two standards, that of Vannes and that of Léon, and later Quimper and Tréguier.

1789: The francization process proceeds and accelerates.

19th century: Breton not only remains the language of the people, it is also the language of preaching and religious education.

1839: Publication of a collection of folk songs entitled Barzaz Breiz, by La Villemarqué – a publication that takes part in a general movement of restoration of popular traditions, and the 19th century’s “awakening of the nations”. The Barzaz Breiz had often been compared with the Finish Kalevala, for instance.

End of the 19th century: Breton banned from school inside and outside class, a ban upheld with practices of denunciation and humiliation (“the symbol”, etc.).

1902: The Ministry of Interior and Worship bans preaching in Breton, priests who refuse to comply have their salary suspended.

1920s: Emergence of a modern form of literature.

1930: According to Campbell (2000), 75% of the 1,5 million Breton of Lower Brittany speak Breton.

1936: First steps in the establishment of a formalized spelling system, Peurunvan.

1951: Deixonne law of January 11, in favour of the teaching of « local languages and dialects in the regions they are spoken in », that is, at the time, Breton, Basque, Catalan, and Occitan.

1975: Haby law of July 11, which, in article 12, declares that « the teaching of regional languages and cultures can be delivered throughout one’s entire schooling period ».

1977: First Diwan schools.

1978: The Cultural Charter of Brittany allowing one hour of introduction to the Breton language every week in primary school.

1981: Creation of a degree in Breton.

1982: Order n. 82-261 of June 21, 1982, on the teaching of regional languages and cultures in the public education system, first text to ever mention bilingual classes.

1983: First public bilingual classes.

1986: Creation of a dual secondary school teaching qualification (Breton alongside another subject)

1989: Creation of a DEUG [second year university diploma] in Breton.

1990: First bilingual classes in private catholic schools.

1992: Amendment to article 2 of the 1959 constitution in order to protect French from the hegemony of English. The constitution henceforth specifies that “The language of the Republic is French”. France becomes the only European country referring to an official and exclusive language in its constitution.

1994: Memorandum of agreement of July 27, 1994, granting Diwan schools the same status as private catholic schools through the training of teachers.

1995: Release of the first monolingual Breton dictionary, published by An Here.

1995: Ministerial Order n. 95-086 specifying the principals of the teaching of regional languages.

1995: France decides not to sign a framework convention for the protection of national minorities.

1999: France signs – but does not ratify – the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages.

1999: Creation of the “Board of the Breton language” upon initiative of the Regional Council of Brittany.

May 18, 2001: Memorandum of intent signed with the Ministry of Education for the Diwan schools to fall under public status.

September 5, 2001: Ministry of Education Orders n. 166, 167 and 168 specifying the implementation of “time parity-based” immersive bilingual education.

July 15, 202: Halt in the process of integration of immersive schools into public education, which was to take effect in September, on the grounds that such integration did not comply with article L 121-3 of the Code of Education (“French is the language of education”), nor with article 2 of the French constitution. Subsequently, the integration of immersive bilingual education in primary and secondary “regional language” schools was cancelled by the Council of State on October 28, 2002, judging that the bills reached “beyond the mere necessities of learning a regional language”, and thus, that they exceeded “the possibilities of exemption to the obligation of using French as the language of education”.

2004: The Regional Council of Brittany unanimously adopts the “Linguistic Policy for Brittany” act.

2008: Mentions of regional languages in the constitution (article 75-1): “Regional languages belong to the heritage of France”.

Sociolinguistic observations

Linguistic policies in France have long attempted to eradicate regional languages, particularly from the end of the 19th to the mid-20th century. This deeply affected the relation of the Breton society towards its language both in practice and perception. Within a period of a few generations, consequently, the Breton population shifted from a majority of Breton monolinguals in Lower Brittany to a minority of bilinguals across the entire region (19% in the western part of the Côtes-d’Armor department being the highest record accounted for in the 2007 TMO-Régions survey). The virtual stop in transmission and the lack of perspective of the language in everyday life are glaring examples of the decline of Breton in practice. Such circumstances have obvious consequences on the status of the language itself: undermined in society and weakened in practice, it is all the more vulnerable to the dominant language.

Thus Breton is now maintained on one hand by native elderly speakers whose vocabulary often borrows to French, and on the other hand by younger generations who essentially learned the language at school, and whose accent and syntax are influenced by the dominant language.

Opinion surveys addressing the question of the Breton language show some improvement in its perception on behalf of the Breton society – while in 1990/1991, 75% of the Breton considered that the language had to be preserved, in 2007, a rate of 88% holds still all over Brittany. One may also point out that a majority of people in Brittany recognize Breton as their regional language (86% in 2001), declare themselves in favour of the teaching of the language (86% in 2007), and in favour of bilingual signalling (75% in 2007).

Note: TMO-région survey

Sample text and video

Sample of an article about breton :

«Ur yezh indezeuropek eo ar brezhoneg; komzet e vez abaoe ouzhpenn 1500 vloaz. Ur yezh keltiek eo ha ne vez kavet nemet e Breizh. Ken abred hag an VIIIvet kantved eo bet skrivet ar brezohneg. Ur yezh kar-tost d’ar c’henrneveureg ha d’ar c’hembraeg komzet e Breizh-Veur eo. Hiziv an deiz ez eus e-tro 200 000 a dud a gomz brezhoneg war ar pemdez.» (Source : Ofis ar brezhoneg. Board of the Breton language.)

Sources & Additional bibliography

Office de la Langue Bretonne, 2007. La langue bretonne à la croisée des chemins. Deuxième rapport général sur l’état de la langue bretonne. Rennes, 136 pages.

Office de la Langue Bretonne, 2009. Situation de l’enseignement bilingue en Bretagne en 2009. Rennes, 64 pages.

ABALAIN, H. (1998), Histoire de la langue bretonne, Editions Gisserot.

BROUDIC F., 2009. Parler breton au XXIe siècle – Le nouveau sondage de TMO-Régions. Saint-Thonan, 208 pages.

BROUDIC, Fañch (1999), Qui parle breton aujourd’hui ? Qui le parlera demain ?, Brud Nevez, Brest.

BROUDIC, Fañch (1995), La pratique du breton de l’Ancien Régime à nos jours, Presses universitaires de Rennes.

BROUDIC, Fañch (1997), L’interdiction du breton en 1902. La IIIe République contre les langues régionales, Spézet, Coop Breizh.

BROUDIC, Fañch (1999), Histoire de la langue bretonne, Editions Ouest-France, Rennes.

CAMPBELL, George L. (2000), Compendium of the World’s Languages, Routledge, London & New York, 1st ed. 1991, 2 vols.

LE BLESCO, P. (1997), Parlons breton. Langue et culture, L’Harmattan.

MALHERBE, Michel (1983), Les langages de l’humanité, Seghers.

SIBILLE, Jean (2000), Les langues régionales, Dominos – Flammarion.

VERGUIN, Joseph (1968), “La situation linguistique dans le monde”, in Le Langage, A. Martinet (dir.), Encyclopédie de la Pléiade, pp. 1093-1143.

Links for further information

Ofis ar brezhoneg. Board of the Breton language.

EUROMOSAIC : Breton (France), Research Centre of Wales.