Breton language
Celtic language spoken in France
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] |
Latin script | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-1 | br |
ISO 639-2 | bre |
ISO 639-3 | Variously:bre – Modern Bretonxbm – Middle Bretonobt – Old Breton |
xbm Middle Breton | |
obt Old Breton | |
ELP | Breton |
Linguasphere | 50-ABB-b (varieties:
50-ABB-ba to -be) |
Example
changeArticle 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Breton: Dieub ha par en o dellezegezh hag o gwirioù eo ganet an holl dud. Poell ha skiant zo dezho ha dleout a reont bevañ an eil gant egile en ur spered a genvreudeuriezh.[3] |
English: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.[4] |
References
change- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Universal Declaration of Human Rights". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
- ↑ "Universal Declaration of Human Rights". United Nations.
Breton edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Breton language.