Voice Over Sydney: Breton is a Celtic language spoken mainly in Brittany (Breizh) by about 210,000 people, about 35,000 of whom speak use it as an everyday language. It is spoken mainly in western parts of Brittany, and is also spoken, to some extent, in parts of eastern Brittany, and by Breton immigrants in other parts of France, and in other countries.
Voice Over Sydney: Breton History
The area known to the Romans as Armorica was renamed Brittany (“Little Britain”) after the people who migrated there from Britain, particularly from Cornwall, in the 6th century AD.
Between 1880 to the middle of the 20th century, Breton was banned from schools and children were punished for speaking it. This changed in 1951 with the promulgation of the Deixonne law, which allowed for the Breton language and culture to be taught for one to three hours a week in public education if the teacher is willing and able to do so. Since then a number of schools and colleges have been set up providing either education through the medium of Breton or bilingual Breton/French education.
Breton first appeared in writing in 790 AD in a manuscript entitled le manuscrit de Leyde, a botanical treatise in Breton and Latin. The first printed text in Breton, a passion play, made its appearance in 1530. In the 19th century there was a revival of Breton literature and it continues to flourish today.
Voice Over Sydney: Breton Dialects
There are four traditional dialects of voice over sydney Breton which correspond to medieval bishoprics rather than to linguistic divisions. They are Leoneg in the county of Léon, Tregerieg in the county of Trégor, Kerneveg in Cornouaille, and Gwenedeg in Vannes. The dialects form a dialect continuum varying only slightly from one village to the next.
Voice Over Sydney: Breton Current Usage
Breton can be heard on a number of radio stations for a few hours a week and there is a weekly one-hour TV programme in Breton. There are also a number of Breton language weekly and monthly magazines.
