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- The use of the language in various fields
- Bibliography and data sources
BretonIntroductionBreton (Brezhoneg) is a Celtic language spoken in western Brittany: the ‘Département’ of Finistère and the western halves of the ‘départements’ of Côtes d’Armor and Morbihan, in Lower Brittany. There are also Breton-speaking communities in the cities of Nantes, St. Nazaire, Rennes (10%), St. Brieuc, Redon and Ploermel, resulting from economic migration. Celts living in Armorica in Roman times were joined in the 5th-7th centuries by Britons from Great Britain fleeing from the Saxons. This explains the close relationship between Breton, Welsh and Cornish. Formal contacts exist between them through the International Celtic Congress. The first Breton grammar book dates from the 17th century. The earliest literary texts date from the second half of the 19th century, a time of widespread literary production. 3 spelling systems then appeared, based on the various dialects, and they remain unmerged, despite attempts since 1975. An unofficial norm developed and promoted by publications, education, and the media, was not welcomed by defenders of local speech forms. In 1925 the Gwalarn (northwest) magazine launched the literary and cultural movement responsible for current standardisation; since the war Al Liamm (The Bond) publications have also helped. The use of the language in various fieldsUntil the early 20th century, half of the inhabitants of the Lower Brittany region were monolingual Bretons and the local language was predominant, often exclusive. Now only one in five Bretons is bilingual. Speakers have slumped from 1·1 million to 240,000 in fifty years, though the figure has been stabilising since 1990. Education: In 2001 25,000 students took optional Breton classes in primary and secondary schools. The Diwan (‘The Seed’) Breton schools have sprung up since 1977 and practise early immersion on the basis of a bilingual system. In May 2001 the Diwan schools agreed to transfer to the State system. In 2000-1, bilingual French-Breton streams increased rapidly and catered for 6,500 pupils in State schools, and private schools run by associations and religious bodies). Official provisions and the attitude of National Education officials in the region are, some claim, holding back training and recruitment of teachers, class opening permits, etc. Universities have Breton and Celtic research departments and centres, and 580 students (70% at Rennes) taking full degree courses in 2000-2001. (At the University of Brest most notices, and all internal signage, are in both languages, and exterior signage at Rennes is also bilingual.) Saint-Brieuc IUFM centre offers teacher-training and preparation for the Breton CAPES. After years of restrictions, 9 CAPES places in different specialities were covered by competition (2001). 9,000 adults studied Breton in 2000 (5,900 in evening classes provided by 187 bodies throughout Brittany). 2,400 more attended crash courses run by 24 bodies, while 800 took correspondence courses, most of them with Skol Ober, (founded in 1932). The public authorities and services: Breton is now actively backed by the regional, departmental and local councils. Their support allows structural initiatives and improves public attitudes. In 2000, the Regional Council allotted 5% of its budget to promoting Breton culture. The département of Côtes d’Armor has put up bilingual road and city signage, a step followed by Finistère and other cities and districts (Lorient, Quimper). Media and business: The presence of Breton has significantly improved. In 2001 the public service provided 17h per week on Radio France (15 hours on Radio Breizh Izel and 2 hours on Radio Armorique) and 90 min. on the France 3 TV channel. A private bilingual channel, TV Breizh, started up its satellite broadcasts for Brittany, the diaspora and other Celtic countries, in 2000. Two association-run radios broadcast entirely in Breton since 1998: Radio Kerne near Quimper and Arvorig FM at Commana, both in Finistère. 6 more private or association-run radio stations also broadcast part of the time in Breton, reaching 15-20 hours a week at Radio Kreiz Breizh and Radio Bro Gwened in Pontivy. They belong to CORLAB (Brittany’s Local and Association Radio Coordination board), whose headquarters are in Pontivy: it acts as a lobby and belongs to the Brittany Cultural Council. One of its aims is to ensure liaison between local speech forms, the common Breton standard and the language’s new speakers; another is to network in order to increase local production in Breton. The written press is in a poorer state. There are monthlies in Breton such as the Rennes-based Bremañ, a new magazine for children. Occasional articles or supplements appear in the large dailies. The Télégramme de Brest puts summaries of about 10 news items (translated by the Breton Language Office) onto the Internet daily; they are widely used in schools. Crédit Mutuel issues bilingual cheque books, and in Rennes cash dispensers are bilingual. The arts: The active cultural movement organises concerts for the numerous singers and groups, along with other cultural activities and language courses. Two of the ten active theatre groups are semi-professional: Ar vro bagan (Plougerne) and Teatr Penn ar bed (Brest). There are about 60 new books and re-editions in Breton every year. Circulation is 300-1000 copies. The Institut Culturel de Bretagne opened the Breton Language Office, which is funded by the Regional authorities. It has a language observatory, a translation and terminology service and it supports many cultural and educational initiatives. Family and social use: According to INSEE, in 1993 Breton was the mother tongue of 270,000, 380,000 understood it through social networks and 40,000 had learned Breton at school. A 1997 TMO-Le Télégramme survey, on a sample aged over 15, yielded 31% understanding Breton, 20% speakers and 15% readers: two-thirds were over 60. For most speakers, language use is sporadic. Family transmission has largely been interrupted and is ill compensated by advances in education. Bibliography and data sources:Broudic, Fañch: ‘Le breton’, TILV nº27, mai 2000, pp. 53-58. CORLAB: Les radios au service de la langue et de la culture bretonnes, Pontivy, 2001. Inform’APLEC, Associació per a l’ensenyament del català, nov. 1999: ‘Ressenya del 13è col·loqui de la FLAREP’, ‘Bretanya’, pp. 83-98. Laurent et Le Gallo: ‘Domaine breton, Brest’, Rapport... (Bouvier), MEN, 1984, pp. 124-131. Office de la Langue Bretonne et Observatoire de la Langue Bretonne:
Denez, Per: Bretagne. Une langue en quête d’avenir, Langues Européennes 7, EBLUL, Bruxelles, 1998. Directory: RegData -> etudes -> document travail document travail -> Working paper a single market in financial services RegData -> European commission brussels, XXX RegData -> The european commission RegData -> Provisional agreement resulting from interinstitutional negotiations Download 1.21 Mb. Share with your friends:
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