Breton language
Breton (Brezhoneg) is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany in France.
| Breton (Brezhoneg) | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | France |
| Region: | Brittany |
| Total speakers: | 500 Thousand |
| Ranking: | Not in top 100 |
| Genetic classification: | Indo-European Celtic Insular Brythonic Breton |
| Official status | |
| Official language of: | - |
| Regulated by: | - |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | br |
| ISO 639-2 | bre |
| SIL | BRT |
| Table of contents |
|
2 Classification 3 Geographic distribution 4 Sounds 5 Grammar 6 Vocabulary 7 Writing system 8 Examples 9 See also 10 External links |
History
Breton is not thought to be a modern-day descendant of any continental Celtic language such as Gaulish, though evidently it has borrowed some features from it, but it is rather descended from insular Brythonic. The other local language (Gallo) derives from Latin.
Although most Bretons no longer speak Breton, an effort has been underway for several years to begin teaching the language in schools to keep it alive.
Classification
Breton, along with Cornish and Welsh is a member of the Brythonic languages, a subgroup of the Insular subgroup of the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family.
Geographic distribution
Breton is spoken mainly in Western Brittany, but also dispersed in Eastern Brittany, and in areas around the world where there are Breton emigrants.Official status
Breton is not an official language of France, although there is a strong nationalistic movement demanding recognition, a place in the schools, media, and public life.Dialects
The dialects of Breton identified by the Ethnologue are Leonais, Tregorrois, Vannetais, and Cornouaillais.Sounds
Grammar
Vocabulary