Breton language
Breton (Brezhoneg, in Breton) is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany, in the north-west of France. Breton is closely related to the Cornish language of Cornwall spoken in south-west Great Britain. It is less closely related to Welsh and even less to the Goidelic languages of Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. Breton has about 240,000 speakers,[2]111 but that number is falling very quickly because the government of France has a policy of using French. As such, Breton is considered to be an endangered language.
| Breton | |
|---|---|
| Brezhoneg | |
| Native to | France |
| Region | Brittany |
| Native speakers | 206,000 (2007)[1] |
| Language family | |
| Writing system | Latin script |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | br |
| ISO 639-2 | bre |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously: bre – Modern Breton xbm – Middle Breton obt – Old Breton |
| Linguist List | xbm Middle Breton |
| obt Old Breton | |
| Linguasphere | 50-ABB-b (varieties: 50-ABB-ba to -be) |
Breton Language Media
A Breton speaker, recorded in the United States.
A Breton speaker, recorded in Canada.
1911 poster with Breton slogan, Burzudus eo! ("It's miraculous!")
Map of the dialects of Breton.
Electronic information sign in Breton, Carhaix
Ofis Publik ar Brezhoneg, the Breton language agency, was set up in 1999 by the Brittany region to promote and develop the use of Breton.
Bilingual sign in Gwened/Vannes
Sign in French and partly in Breton in Rennes, outside a school with bilingual classes
References
- ↑ Fañch Broudic, 2009. Parler breton au XXIe siècle – Le nouveau sondage de TMO-Régions. (including data from 2007: 172,000 speakers in Lower Brittany; slightly under 200,000 in whole Brittany; 206,000 including students in bilingual education)
- ↑ O'Reilly, Camille (2001). Language, Ethnicity and the State: Minority languages in the European Union, Volume 1. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 033392925X. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
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This language has its own Wikipedia project. See the Breton language edition. |
