BreizhEire - www.breizheire.com

In Brittany we have ... 3 languages, not bad heu?

French, Breton and Gallo


Breton

Breton is a celtic language and was brought to Brittany by the bretons migrating from the Island (now Great britain)

Breton is traditionally spoken in Lower Brittany (Breizh Izel)

Today, despite the political centralization of France and the important influence of the media, Breton is still spoken and understood by about 500,000 people. This is, however, down from 1.3 million in 1930 . At the beginning of the 20th Century, half the population of Lower Brittany knew only Breton, the other half being bilingual. By 1950, there were only 100,000 monolingual Bretons.

Today, Breton is the only Celtic language which is not recognized as an official language. The French state has refused to change the second article of the Constitution added in 1994 which states that "the language of the Republic is French".

The first Breton dictionary, the Catholicon , was also the first French dictionary. Edited by Jehan Lagedec in 1464, it was a trilingual work containing Breton, French and Latin. Today the existence of bilingual dictionaries directly from Breton into languages such as English, German and Spanish demonstrates the determination of a new generation to gain international recognition for Breton. There also exists a monolingual dictionary, defining Breton words in Breton.

breton cornic welsh french
gwenanenn gwenenenn gwenynen abeille
kado(e)r kador cadair chaise
keuz, fo(u)rmaj keus caws fromage
er-maez yn mes i maes, allan dehors
kouezhañ, kouezho koedha cwympo,adfeilio tomber
gavr gaver gafr chèvre
ti chy ty, annedd maison
gweuz, muzell gweus gwefus lèvre
genoù, beg ganow genau bouche (gueule)
niver niver nifer numéro
perenn perenn gellygen poire
sko(u)l skol ysgol école
kazh-koad, gwiñver gwiwer gwiwer écureuil
ster(ed)enn sterenn seren étoile
butunat, fumiñ megy mygu fumer
hiziv, hiriv, hidi, hudu hedhyw heddiw aujourd'hui
c'hwibanañ, c’hwitellat, sutal… whybana chwibanu siffler

Source: "Tableau lexical comparatif des langues britonniques." Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre. 17 jan 2006, 13:36 UTC. 10 nov 2006, 14:53 <http://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tableau_lexical_comparatif_des_langues_britonniques&oldid=5072018>.

more info:
Committee for the Defense of the Breton Language
Kervarker


Gallo

Gallo is a roman language.

Gallo is traditionally spoken in Upper Brittany (Breizh Uhel).

gallo french
avètt abeille
chaérr chaise
fórmaij fromage
desort dehors
cheir tomber
biq chèvre
ostèu maison
lip lèvre
góll bouche (gueule)
limerot numéro
peirr poire
escoll école
chat-de-boéz écureuil
esteill étoile
betunae fumer
anoet aujourd'hui
sublae siffler

Source: "Tableau lexical comparatif des langues britonniques." Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre. 17 jan 2006, 13:36 UTC. 10 nov 2006, 14:53 <http://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tableau_lexical_comparatif_des_langues_britonniques&oldid=5072018>.


French

French is a roman language. Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when franc barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. The close proximity of both Germany and Italy also allowed for a great transmigration of linguistic and cultural practices.

French is now spoken all over Brittany.

 
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