Komz a rez brezhoneg ?

If you were asked what language is spoken in France, you would naturally say “French”.  But, did you know that France also has nearly 75 different regional languages and dialects as well?  It’s true! These regional languages (and dialects) are still spoken today at varying levels.  French became the official language of the courts and administration in France during the reign of François I in 1539.  However, it took nearly 350 years for French to be spoken nationwide.  Regional langauges and dialects remained the principal langauges outside of the Ile-de-France or the greater Paris area.  It wasn’t until the 19^th Century through the advent of the railway and state education that regional languages began to decline and French became more widely spoken in France.  You can learn more about the fascinating languistic history of France by visiting this website.

Here in Rennes, or Roazhon, the regional language is Breton.  In the eastern part of Brittany, the regional language is Gallo. Both Breton and Gallo are Celtic languages.  Once the language of western Brittany, today only 5% of the population still speaks Breton (approximately 200,000 people). These Breton speakers are mostly older generations in their 70s or older.

However, since the late 1960s, there has been a renaissance of the Breton language.  Today, there are considerable efforts in France to protect these regional languages that have been steadily declining since the mandate of formalized education. Here in Roazhon, for example, street signs and city names are printed in both French and Breton.  You can find bookstores that sell books that are written in Breton, too.  The most significant impact has been the creation of immersion schools that are taught in the local regional language.  These immersion schools can be found throughout France.

The history of regional languages in France in modern times shares a similar sad history with francophone communities in Louisiana. When the Louisiana constitution was changed in 1920 to make English (and no longer both French and English) the official language of the state, school aged children were often punished and humiliated for speaking French in school.  Similar experiences occurred in France as well for children who spoke a regional language in school.  These tactics were designed to eliminate these languages (be it French in Louisiana and regional languages in France).  However, in both instances, the people of these communities are deeply connected to their culture.  The language one speaks is very much a part of one’s cultural identity. Both in France and Louisiana, the solution to protect these languages was and continues to be immersion schools.

 Today, our students took an introduction course to learn Breton.  The students were incredibly fast learners and were having short introduction conversations in no time!  Trugarez da lenn va blog. Thanks for reading my blog.  D'ar c'houlz da zont.  Until next time!