The Breton language is in danger, and it's France's fault | Raising voices

[@stephrichards4611]

Dont feel pressured to speak French. You are Breton. I am Welsh. I often hear the argument why bother to speak welsh when you can get the job done in English. But with Welsh the language affects the culture of the people and even the accent when speaking English. We do not use our language as a means to an end. We enjoy it (and we love confusing the English or saying stuff about them that they cant understand) 😄

[@fransgreidanus5678]

I speak the minority language Frisian and I love to speak it. Just cool to speak something not many are able to :) I use it mostly as a secret language. Being a stranger in own country

[@stephrichards4611]

@@fransgreidanus5678 oh wow. no one should ever feel like a stranger in their own country. Keep speaking Frisian!

[@fransgreidanus5678]

@@stephrichards4611 I think I use the wrong word. More like: tourist! When I am in Amsterdam and I see the faces of the people there going like: huh? I really enjoy it. I really like Welsh too! Celtic languages are one of my favourite language branches. Question: how mamy people speak it? De lytse talen moatte we seker yn dizze wrâld hâlde!

[@tultrapfighter]

@@fransgreidanus5678 sa nuver om n oare frysk te fynen op t internet. der binne sa weinig haha.

[@ayangdidi5524]

Well it's more easier to speak like this in Wales , the British government is much more Liberal with other languages than English. The French politicians - all parties included- do are against plurality use of minorities 😢languages in France official life.

[@jackieroberts7895]

I hope our fellow Bretons are fighting for there cultural identity and their language keep fighting and never giveup love from wales

[@_Twisty]

hi from Naoned, we are still fighting even though its hard. thanks for your support ✊🏻

[@Dogebro200]

Yeah we're not

[@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014]

I am a Breizophile, im learning it, but also Celtophile as a whole. I have to admit the Celtic languages are very hard especially the 3 Gaelic ones and Welsh, the pronunciation (written vs pronounced) is a nightmare

[@Thebestman-f1j]

mae ein diwylliant Celtaidd yn wych!

[@Quent5000]

We do somehow, academic breton anyway

[@ianworley8169]

I met a Breton girl in Bretagne whilst on holiday. She told me she had penpals in Wales and Scotland who spoke Welsh and Gallic respectively. They would write to each other in their own languages, and could, more or less, understand each other, as their Celtic languages shared common origins.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

While they have the same word order structure they are different families. Gàidhlig is closer to Gaeilge especially west Ulster and the extinct since the 1980’s East Ulster and Gaelg than Welsh,Cornish and Breton.

[@ianworley8169]

@@oscarosullivan4513 I bow to your linguistic knowledge. All I can say is, that's as explained to me by a pretty young girl on a Breton beach in the early 1980s. She spoke very little English and her pen pals in Wales and Scotland, no French. They each wrote in their own Celtic language, from which each was able to get the gist of what the other was saying. At least, that was my understanding, although I admit to being distracted at the time. Thinking on, Oscar, it might have been Welsh and Cornish, but so few people in Cornwall spoke Cornish back then. I'm pretty sure she said Welsh and Scottish, but perhaps memory serves me not so well after all these years.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

@@ianworley8169 Fair enough

[@antoni-olafsabater9729]

Magnificient !

[@Alexander-vo4gv]

Welsh and Breton are similar, but Gaelic is far too different to understand

[@WalesTheTrueBritons]

We know exactly how you feel Here in Wales, as your ancestral Brothers and Sisters we have suffered under England too. Yma O Hyd!

[@enentr]

Coming soon to a community near you... stay tuned! 👀

[@ianworley8169]

As an English person, I hope one day the hated Union withers and each country lives in friendship and independence. As a person of working class origins, I know that the same people who brought suffering and dominion to Wales, Scotland and the island of Ireland, were no less brutal against the poor in England.

[@Rynewulf]

@@ianworley8169 completely agree. Poor factory workers, farm hands and maids who couldnt understand each other as far apart as Nantes, Norfolk and Inverness all had and have more in common than our landlords that can speak to us

[@stephrichards4611]

Cymru am byth, Bretagne am byth!

[@hooverbaglegs]

Breizh da viken💪

[@cardatshistoricament-marti9916]

All the support from Catalonia! Culture and languages are part of the human heritage and they must be conserved! Long life Breton!

[@greenlamped2842]

I would rather everyone speak one language

[@grassytramtracks]

​@@greenlamped2842 that would be so boring. It's erasure of culture

[@zagozago9893]

@@greenlamped2842 Thankfully, that won't happen.

[@rolandscales9380]

@@greenlamped2842 I would rather that everyone could speak more than one language.

[@Domina1190]

@@greenlamped2842 No thank you.

[@jorgedeanoperez2997]

Galician here. Our celtic language is all but lost to time sans for a few words surviving in our language, but our own Romance Galician is also walking towards extinction. You have a brother in your struggle in me, my dear Breton cousins. Keep up the fight for your identity!

[@clouds2593]

Fala o português, meu amigo.

[@stephrichards4611]

You should form a group or society to preserve the language.

[@jorgedeanoperez2997]

@@rafael16759 that's... What I said? That we only have a few words from the celtic language from our region surviving to this day. The comparison wasn't drawn on the language family, but on how it is being snuffed out by its bigger, meaner dominant language from the people who conquered us

[@jorgedeanoperez2997]

@@rafael16759 so...?

[@Ogeroigres]

@@nifelheirn In the twisted mind of some Spanish lusophobes, yes.

[@fionaad858]

Great video, Trugarez bras. Thanks for mentioning how the French state actually tried to kill off the language and their different methods : the generation of my grandparents were beaten up at school for speaking Breton. They didn’t teach it to their children because they didn’t see a future for the language, they were shamed, excluded and physically assaulted by the clergy teaching at school if they spoke Breton. Even nowadays they carry these scars and hide to speak Breton between them, my grand mother still refuses to speak Breton with me even though it is my native language, like hers.

[@enentr]

Hi Fiona! Thanks for sharing your experience, we're glad you liked the video.

[@bernezBzh29]

Sadly true but it is not the clergy who have been most guilty, but the lay teachers. Because the priests, on the contrary, used Breton a little, with an interest, of course, that of being understood in the church. The "Breton priest" was also the name of the bad Breton and gave rise to misunderstandings at mass.

[@KingMidas1983]

Thank you. My grandfather had the same stories. He grew up in Carhaix-Plougher and was beaten as well. He was an intelligent man, learning French (obviously,) English, and Spanish. Unfortunately, he lost all knowledge of Breton by the time he was in his 80s. I bought a small English-Breton dictionary that he thumbed through, and he recognized some words as well as how to count. Videos like this give me hope that others will pick up the language, if not to learn about the travesty committed by the French in their own country and colonies.

[@zagozago9893]

The Brits did it in Cymru. "'The Welsh Not''. Physically assaulting kids for speaking their own language.

[@stephanobarbosa5805]

Were your grandparents attacked for speaking Breton? The dictatorial regime in Paris is truly a disgrace.

[@cipherx6334]

I am a celt living in Wales and am on a mission to learn all of the celtic languages. In wales in the 18th and 19th century Welsh children had to endure the 'welsh knot' which was the same kind of thing as the symbol or hoof in Breton, the child left holding the item at the end of the day would be subjected to cruel and physical punishment. The fact that the celtic peoples have been oppressed and punished for speaking our minority languages is abhorrent. I live in hope that the celtic languages spread in popularity among the younger generations.

[@-._A2._-]

I am on same mission. I'm starting with Gàidhlig. Then I will do Cymraeg. Saorsa!

[@thejackal9834]

I admire them for trying to preserve their cultural roots and heritage.

[@hieratics]

France likes to cry how English is menacing to the French language (especially in Canada or in the international community) but has no pity for their own regional languages

[@FairyCRat]

We don't care about what language Canadians speak, and we certainly have no problem with needing to learn English to better our professional lives, but it's certainly hard for many people here to feel any connection to our historical languages, when our elders were forced to forget them right upon entering primary school.

[@LeJobastre1215]

You're the only one crying here

[@vragolanmali]

@@FairyCRat quebec is french😏

[@BunnyAce]

Hard to take a comment seriously when it starts with "France likes to cry".

[@naturazpolski9213]

@@BunnyAce Why? Offended french-fry here?

[@telahquemere6100]

thank you! my heritage is Breton and i grew up with a Breton speaking grandfather with his siblings! i love my people. Its a strong Celtic heritage with a connection to earth and sea.

[@Amad-AshtaanMadison]

my grandfather was fluent in Breton and my town is bringing back programs to teach kids in Breton so the language can keep going. i wished back in 2002 there were programs and schools that only taught in breton. i grew up learning french. learning the language is definitely on my bucket list.

[@MrFearDubh]

The history of the "symbol" being passed to Breton speakers in school reminds me of the “tally sticks”, referred to as “an bata scoir”, which were used to beat children caught speaking Irish in Ireland. School children were expected to wear this stick on a piece of string around their necks, and whenever they spoke in Irish, a notch was cut into the stick. And when enough notches were made into the sticks they were beaten for speaking Irish instead of English in the school.

[@zackgravity7284]

seems this is a common attack on celtic speakers..

[@rosean374]

​@@zackgravity7284 yeah. Refusal to assimilate leads to violent consequences. If only history could teach the world today something 😢😢

[@tibsky1396]

Not just Breton, Most of Historical languages in Modern France are in danger (EX: Occitan/Provençal spoken in the South, the language of the troubadours in Medieval era).

[@shorgoth]

Hell, it even affected le patois in Quebec across the ocean. French in Quebec was diverging from France's French and a bunch of people with internalized racism decided to control our institutions to erase that distinct language qualifying it of barbarism. It was a mix of old Northern France dialects. Now we all learn a formalized version based on early 20th century French with a twist, a completely artificial language aimed precisely at erasing our past. To my great shame my grand father was part of that movement.

[@alesia4309]

I'm Belarusian, I have no roots in Breizh but I understand and absolutely can relate to the struggle of Brezhoneg speakers so trugarez for making this video and raising awareness!

[@jalbert9851]

Unfortunately the Belarusian language is also about to die, if it is not dead already. Very beautiful Slavic language.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

As can I

[@alesia4309]

@@jalbert9851 yes, i know, that's why i wrote this comment, but i want to reassure you that more and more people start to understand the importance of speaking Belarusian, like i did, and so I'm positive that the Belarusian language won't dissapear any time soon

[@alesia4309]

@h i know, but our name for Brest is actually wrong, it should be Bieraście Also the correct name of my country is Belarus/Biełaruś

[@alesia4309]

@@janakolasinac1686 Belarus* I personally speak Belarusian but most people speak russian unfortunately

[@Ogeroigres]

Breton became so weak that even when it's spoken today, it has a very strong French accent and lost the original phonetics which were much closer to Welsh and Cornish.

[@christinegourvest5655]

Exactement , quand on entend parler breton on sent clairement l’accent français

[@Nehmi]

Same with Ainu in Japan. Originally, Ainu sounded more like Indonesian. Now Ainu speakers have a Japanese accent when they speak it.

[@targard.quantumfrack6854]

I went to Diwan when I was a kid and my grandfather, who raised me with my Bavarian grandmother, was breton teacher... The thick french accent everyone spoke Breton with always weirded me out lol.

[@Wazkaty]

Yes ! I want to learn it and speak it from the heart, I never did it BECAUSE OF this French tone, I don't like it

[@Wazkaty]

​@@christinegourvest5655 Mais il faut se l'approprier et changer cela, sinon ils auront gagné. Je pense qu'on peut le faire, le phrasé et les accents évoluent.

[@jorgitoviejoamigo2736]

The more languages you know, is the best for people, and good for brain, like a mental gym, and you make friends. My humble point of view.

[@eikthyrnirodinson9662]

Trugarez vras deoc'h 'vit an abadenn-mañ a-zivout Brezhoneg. Ar yezh zo a-bouez. Pouezusoc'h da sikourañ anzhi. Thanks for this video about Breton. This is an important language. Very important to preserve it.

[@jessicavitale3408]

Another problem is lack of resources for non French speakers. If an English speaker like myself wants to learn Breton like I am doing now, I feel like I have to learn both French and Breton at the same time. I have to look up a word in Breton and resort to Google translate to find the meaning from French to English.

[@enentr]

How interesting Jessica! What made you want to lear Breton?

[@jessicavitale3408]

@@enentr I love languages. I had no idea that Brittany was a Celtic Country, so it was like discovering a magical language and culture that I never knew existed.

[@zeuzeul]

Just ask to Breton, we'll be glad to help you, and it's the best way to learn a language.

[@jessicavitale3408]

@@zeuzeul Ask Where ?🤔. I'd be grateful for the help.

[@giuseppedelfino8246]

There is the course published by Routledge, "Colloquial Breton".

[@sgt.mcgillicuddy2948]

The French gouvernement should look at what happened in Louisiana in the US as an example. French itself is almost eradicated completely due to similar measures that took place in the 20s. Now it’s primarily the old folks who still speak Cajun French (although there are efforts from the younger generation to learn)

[@OpinionesDeJACCsOpinions]

The “20s”? French was being antagonized for much longer than that! Basically since the end of the U.S. Civil War. Before that there were still struggles but the French language was majoritarian even after statehood. Unfortunately, unlike, Canada the United States doesn't have a clause that protected language rights in the Constitution even on a limited basis, nor did Louisiana keep a constitution that would. A limited linguistic right (well, it was more about parental rights) wasn't recognized by the Supreme Court until 1923 when they forced Nebraska to stop disallowing the teaching of languages other than English in non-government venues. Because, Nebraska authorities were even cracking down on Sunday schools teaching German.

[@aventureraclette]

french students have access to regional languages since the 80's...

[@AristizabalixGrimm]

I'm Colombian but am currently working on a historical fantasy novel wherein the main character is and speaks Breton. Please, keep fighting and don't let your language be extinguished.

[@OpinionesDeJACCsOpinions]

¿Colombiano? ¿Y de que nació su interés en el bretón y Bretaña?

[@AristizabalixGrimm]

@@OpinionesDeJACCsOpinions Quería hacer una historia basada en la Revolución Francesa. El detalle es que quería que el protagonista fuese de una minoría cultural que viene específicamente del norte del país. Ya conocía a los Ch'tis pero por si las moscas, hice una búsqueda acerca de culturas del norte de Francia y encontré Bretaña. Lo demás es historia.

[@OpinionesDeJACCsOpinions]

@@AristizabalixGrimm Vale.

[@jobig65]

Thanks a lot for your video 🙂 However, one thing about your map of Brittany : the departement of Loire-Atlantique is historically part of Brittany (taken out of Brittany in the 50's) but overall people used to speak breton in some part of this departement, of nowadays a lot of people is learning breton around Nantes for example.

[@enentr]

Thanks for this! That's true, and we were told this during our report. The reason why we used an official map of France - among other reasons - is to keep things clearer for non-French speakers. We're so glad you like the video!

[@oscarosullivan4513]

@@enentr The we have never spoken Breton in Renne sounds like Irish has not been spoken in Dublin or the east coast for 800 years

[@biereforte2569]

44 = bzh

[@bernezBzh29]

Totally. It is also in Nantes that the famous castle of the Dukes of Brittany is located. And there are also many Diwan schools in Loire-Atlantique as well as a college in Nantes

[@bernezBzh29]

There are also several diwan schools in Rennes and soon, normally, a college as well

[@vallm1545]

During the 30's, my Breton Grand-father got beaten at school when using breton language. he kept doing it (not on purpose) because he was the only one able to speak french in his family and one time he got beaten so bad by the teacher that he was bedridden for a whole week. After that he was so traumatized he completely stopped talking breton even at home, his little brother had to translate for his family. I heard my grand-mother speak breton sometimes, she teached me some words, but even my dad realised he never heard my grand-father speak breton.

[@thibault4211]

Breton is not the only language that was spoken in Brittany, gallo is the other one. Gallo comes from Latin contrary to Breton. My ancestors spoke gallo and were from Higher Brittany, around Rennes. Today Breton is seeing a huge raise in interest in Brittany, however gallo does not. The region of Brittany, an administrative division of France that does not encompass all parts of Brittany, shows way more interest in protecting breton compared to gallo which is a shame. Both languages should be protected. My ancestors were as Breton as someone from Lower Brittany where Breton was heavenly spoken. In a country, France, where everything is centralized in Paris, changes will be difficult to put in place. Recognizing Breton and Gallo, or regional differences, go against the very ideas of the French Revolution which were to unify different people as one, the French, with one culture and one language, French.

[@enentr]

Thank you for this, that's very insightful and yes -- Gallo is incredibly fascinating in itself, and just as deserving of protection. This is only the first episode of our series on endangered languages, so stay tuned !

[@MorganOfGlencoeOfficiel]

From Gallo-speaking part of Brittany here too ! high five !

[@lmnll2742]

@@enentr 'Gallo' is a breton word that mean 'french', it was never used by people of Haute Bretagne back then because it's not their language.

[@amaeliss7827]

​@@enentr one of my friends says Gallo is to breton what modern scotts is to Scottish Gaelic, and I think it's brilliant.

[@falconeshield]

​@@enentrPlease talk about Brasilla too!

[@ayangdidi5524]

Tell the French government they have to complain with international laws and treaties protecting Breton language and it's speakers. French are speaking loudly out France is the land of liberty: the inside reality is quite different.It's a jobinism country, republican authoritarian monarchy. Tiern e peb Amzer.

[@OpinionesDeJACCsOpinions]

So here's the thing: Article 2 of the Constitution of France - _“la langue de la République est le français”_ (The language of the Republic shall be French) Article 75-1 of the Constitution of France - _“Les langues régionales appartiennent au patrimoine de la France”_ (Regional languages are part of France's heritage) How can the constitution not allow the teaching of regional languages alongside French? Dual immersion is a thing and I'm sure that can be funded as one can't have a heritage if it isn't there while still keeping French the language of the Republic! Sure sole immersion in Breton (or any other regional language or languages) maybe unconstitutional but I don't think if taught along side with French as dual immersion (when designed well) does! That could be a work around that could be done in the meantime or as the sole way to teach those languages to keep them alive and well.

[@camwillsmusic7153]

I’ve just started learning my Celtic language Cornish, got a book of Cornish translated to Breton, it’s so similar, apparently more similar to each other than Cornish is to Welsh

[@salec7592]

From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittany: "Toward the end of the 4th century, the Britons of Domnonée (modern Devon and Cornwall) on the South-Western peninsula of Great Britain began to emigrate to Armorica,[25][26] which is why the Breton language is more closely related to recorded Cornish. "

[@fri5728]

I mean, to me as a speaker of neither Breton nor French Breton does sound somewhat "Frenchy". But on the other hand Welsh also sounds a bit "Englishy", I guess neighboring languages just do kind of colour off onto each other.

[@enentr]

They do! Also -- one has to think that most modern speakers have an "accent", as there are very few native Breton speakers, making the language sound... "Frenchier"!

[@lmnll2742]

The breton spoken today is a kind of newspeak created in 1941.

[@Wazkaty]

​@@enentr Yes it's the main reason of their French accent (don't know for Welsh)

[@Cougnamama-el1dp]

Not only they were humiliated for speaking Breton, but during WWI the Bretons suffered the highest casualties of any region in France and were always sent to the first front lines. The Bretons were not really French to the French officers.

[@patrickcarragher6774]

The damage done by the liberal revolution and the Jacobins in particular on France’s regional cultures is one of the greatest tragedies in Western European history.

[@falconeshield]

Do something about it? Why are you still ruled over by dead people?

[@rsdtknqr]

What I've noticed in many videos where French people speak Breton, is they speak the words, but with a French accent. Their Breton sounds French, not Celtic. If you listen to all the other Celtic languages that exist, they sound very distinct. They also sound like each other, roughly. I suspect that authentic Breton sounds different. What's therefore REALLY urgent, is to find old Breton's who still speak with the original pronunciation, record it and use if in the instruction of Breton at schools. Before it is too late! Maybe it's already too late...

[@enentr]

Thanks for your comment and for a very good point! While finding native Breton speakers is still possible, the language is now a second language for most people, and it's therefore influenced heavily by the French accent. Then again, languages are constantly changing and adapting to the territories they're spoken in so this is a fairly normal evolution!

[@bertoldriesenteil1430]

I am Breton. I know how you feel. English sounds french to me too. In fact 41% of english words are french words spellt and/or pronounced wrong. Breton has far less french words than english does. The idea that other celtic languages have their own character but not breton is not true. Breton is closely related to welsh and cornish which means that they sound similar. They have the common character of P celtic languages. That is what language groups are defined by, their shared traits or character. Finding old people who might speak a more 'authentic' breton, whatever that means, as you suggest has been done for years, and continues today. Thousands of recordings are exstant. I am not sure that they will tell you what you want to hear though. French too is continuously evolving. What sounds french to you might not have sounded french to many french people 100 years ago. Nasalisation is on the decline in some regions both in french and in breton. But what sounds french or breton? Who decides the answer to that question? Let's leave that very difficult question to linguists. And lastly french and celtic are not diametical opposites like black and white. French has a celtic but also germanic component. It isn't just degenerated latin.

[@rsdtknqr]

​@@bertoldriesenteil1430 thanks for your reply. I think there is a slight misunderstanding, we are actually agreeing on the part that all celtic languages have their own character, inCLUDING Breton. Indeed it is closely related to Welsh and Cornish. I might want to add a bit more to expand on my point. As it so happens, I am a university trained linguist, so I trust that will give me some background to make my point. It's true that languages evolve over time naturally, which is often due to the influence of other dominant languages. Such as Dutch (I'm Dutch) has adopted a lot of English vocabulary since 1945, when the USA became a dominant factor in our (and Western) culture. Before that, French words were included in our language due to the influence of the French Revolution. However, Dutch mostly sounds Dutch: most French and English words are 'Dutchified' in their pronunciation. Same goes for English: they adopted French vocabulary, but even these words are 'Englishified' in their pronunciation. My point with the Celtic languages is that originally they had/have a very distinct pronunciation, distinct from their Germanic and Romance language influencers, mainly English and French. I find the pronunciation of Celtic languages by English people who learned these languages as a second language, tends to sound very English. This is also the critique of Welsh speakers for example! Many Bretons learn Breton as a second language and don't pick up on the subtleties of how Breton is 'supposed' to sound. Who are the sources of this 'original Breton'? The people who learned Breton as a FIRST language, and these are/have died out rapidly by now. So in all Celtic languages, the original pronunciation is under threat, because the amount of native speakers on all sides has nearly died out. And Manx and Cornish already died out, they have no native speakers left. Good that they are trying to revive it though. So in conclusion, I think it would be great if Breton people make a very rigorous effort to train themselves in the pronunciation of their native speaking forefathers. And to include this fact in school. Whether the pronunciation of Breton of their native speaking forefathers is the real deal is not easy to answer. But it sounds more authentic than the Breton as pronounced by young French people learning Breton as a 2nd language. Finally, you are right that all languages evolve over time and influence each other. But just as in geo-politics, some languages are too dominant and some are too weakened. Ideally, the weakened languages beef themselves up, restore themselves, before allowing the neighboring dominant language to butt in too much.

[@davidperrott5743]

That's because they are French speakers who have learnt Breton as a foreign language. You have to search for recordings of native speakers to hear how it originally sounded. One example is Anjela Duval who also spoke French with a strong Breton accent.

[@MelliaBoomBot]

Yep, I’m Welsh and stayed in Brest for a month once and it was so so cool to see words, whilst unfamiliar, when I pronounced them they were like Welsh! So fantastique. Et maintenant j’habite en France!

[@killiancohara]

Would love to see the Celtic nations align. Tá ár lá ag teacht ☘️

[@ashton1952]

❤

[@zagozago9893]

The British tried killing Welsh off. Children were beaten for speaking it in school. Now, it's the official language here. I do hope my Breton cousins don't lose their lovely language.

[@roberthudson3386]

The "British" didn't, the English did. Welsh is British!

[@tsunaka]

much love to bretagne from a cornish and welsh person :) 💖💖

[@HelloMartians]

Lots of support from Catalonia!

[@SilencedButNotForgotten]

Thank you so much for this video. Of immense value and importance. European diversity is so important.

[@grassytramtracks]

Regional languages can and should be revived. Welsh was nearly wiped off the map but it has made a good resurgence. In Wales, there was a similar thing that used to be used where anyone who spoke Welsh had a Welsh sign, and the last person wearing it got beaten

[@eriglebrundelabouexiere472]

I discover your video one year later it was put online, and as a breton, and proud father of three breton speakers I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Two little things nevertheless: if the first map of Brittany you display on the video is historically exact, the second one is wrong as it shows the administrative disctrict France calls Bretagne, but that was amputed from Nantes and its region. Second point is, by the way, that the true capital of Brittany is Nantes, (a city twinned with Cardiff, and it's not by chance!). The last sovereign duke of an independant Brittany (Fransez II) has his grave in Nantes cathedral, and our kings and dukes had their main castle in Nantes. I'm so happy to read all those supporting messages from welsh friends under the video. Breton is very close to welsh language, and we share our national anthem. It's more than friendship. As you say in welsh "Cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb calon". That's true, and I fear we lose our heart very soon. Thanks for helping us reminding that we're not a french region but an old nation, and that our language deserves to live. Cymru am byth! Breizh Atav!

[@jahanas22]

It’s ridiculous that some countries will intentionally limit a different language.

[@yezholein9252]

Thanks for this this video, as a breton speaker (an teacher) this kind of vidéo is important ! Pleasure to see all this people. (I have some vidéo in breton langage on my Channel fi if you want to hear more)

[@highestsprings]

Thanks for sharing. I hope the Breton language can survive. It brings the heart of a culture that is different to France and has ties to old Britain. I think opening these languages up to people outside the culture helps to keep them going for those interested to learn.

[@amaeliss7827]

My dad grew up in Paris, so he has avoided a lot of trauma from his generation, but people his age around me have similar stories of being punished for knowing breton, and many of his cousins have different names on their ID because breton names werent accepted. Even I, at some point, felt embarrassed and weird for speaking my language, because everyone around me treated it like i was a circus attraction

[@alistairmcelwee7467]

Constitutionally, French is the only language that can be used officially in the whole country. France adopted the 5th Republic's constitution in 1958, a time at which only 25% of the French spoke what is modern French. About 50% of French could understand it. (Info from Wikipedia). Many other French languages exist. My favourite is Occitan, which, like Breton, has been strongly suppressed by official French authorities. Also, like Breton, the speakers in the French part of the Occitan region are almost all senior citizens, and it has been younger people - seeing that they are about to lose their history and culture - who have started teaching Occitan again. I think it is reprehensible that France should deprive people of their native languages for the sake of speaking one language as their primary language. This is the kind of thing which modern China is doing with Mandarin - and now even pushing to suppress Cantonese. An amendment to the constitution could be considered to allow the teaching of languages like Breton and Occitan, etc., especially now that almost everybody born in France can speak it. In my country, the New Zealand government went through a period of squashing the Māori language before Māoris reasserted themselves and made their language an official language of New Zealand. Now it's part of schools. When you kill a language, you kill a culture. How is that French?

[@Descroix]

En 1958 toutes les régions parlaient le français et depuis longtemps ! Même si dans les campagnes ceux de la génération de mes parents -1920- parlaient les 2 langues La raison de la disparition du breton n'est pas seulement l'état jacobin mais surtout le besoin de parler français pour les ruraux les plus pauvres pour trouver du travail à Paris et dans les grandes villes bretonnes ou le breton était déjà peu pratiqué Il ne faut oublier non plus que le breton était parle seulement dans la partie ouest c'est à dire la moitié du territoire Maintenant les bretons bretonnants voudraient faire parler breton toute la Bretagne au détriment du gallo la langue de l'est Une sorte de jacobinisme à la mode bretonne ! J'ai justement entendu breton dans les années 50 ,60 et cela n'a rien a voir avec la bouillie "diwan" . Amicalement

[@jfrancobelge]

Don't trust Wikipedia that much, it's far from being a bible, regardless of the subject. In the late 50's everyone in France spoke French, the difference was only that there were more people who spoke both French and the regional language or "patois" (local French dialect) than nowadays; my grandmother, born in 1901, was one of them. I was born in 1957 and even as a child I've never met a French person anywhere who was unable to speak French (including people born at the end of the nineteenth century then).

[@72vince27]

This was dope journalism, highly interesting

[@enentr]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed this! You may also like the other episodes of the series 😉

[@josebasterrica3358]

Los bretones jamás perderán su lengualo llevan en la sangre son diferentes su país es maravilloso salvaje y hermoso como su mar

[@MinorityLanguaging]

Great one! Trugarez! 🌼

[@LizLynes]

We have lived in Bretagne for 7 years and love the way they are proud of their regional heritage and culture.

[@Melvorgazh]

Ya, Breizh dizalc'h ! Free Brittany !

[@epicmooser]

Brittany feels like its own country when you visit I'm happy there are people still trying to keep Breton a thing :)

[@yezholein9252]

There is breton speakers in "Loire atlantique" too 😉 (a part of Brittany that has been separated by french government and put in an other region, but it's still Brittany (just not in "région bretagne" ) 💪

[@Morvaout]

You are right, this is not understandable, that such a fine video made use of french administrative maps, and not use of real Brittany maps (excepted for the first one). Such as giving the pourcentage of breton speakers in France, as breton is not spoken in France, only in Brittany. This is like giving the pourcentage of welsh speakers in the population of the UK. Or the apache langue in all US !

[@BuckDanny2314]

While it is true France holds a responsability in Breton's disappearance, this is a relatively new phenomenon, whose responsability rests mainly on the Third French Republic. Moreover, it is definitely true Breton was never spoken in Rennes, since this City is part of Upper Britanny, where people speak Gallo instead of Breton.

[@ohlavash543]

Totally true, also because of a huge misunderstanding, I’ve meet many people who’s family was from Brittany, and thus thought they were brittons and learnt it. While in truth they were from historically Gallo speaking area.

[@youenn2180]

It's a fact , I have been living through its slow vanishing , my grandparents spoke it perfectly , it was actually their first language , more fluent than French , the grownup countrypeople around me as well in the fifties and seventies , my parents were halfway between both languages and me soon able to understand it but not daring to speak it , that was a great mistake I caught up later , but too late to speak it in a proper surrounding , what is left is a warm memory...

[@ymk8355]

I say Brai(è)ton, more similarly to Briton and not the french way of saying it as it isn’t french and indeed an older language than French.

[@RubenLaden]

I'm a Breton, thanks fpr this video, there are little to no video of this uqality in French discussing this problem, thank you for doing this job of educating people about the regional cultures that our governement and schools don't bother to do.

[@theChaosKe]

The EU should pressure france a bit to respect its minorities.

[@danielgiovanniello7217]

France does respect its minorities... just not the ones born there lol. (This is not an anti-immigration or anti-racial minority comment. This is an anti-using immigrants and racial minorities as political tools comment).

[@akiraraiku]

With this constant non sense talk of minorities, we'll soon lose any social cohesion and idea of a united people, getting back to the smallest minority. The individual.

[@applewoodandearth]

Sadly the Breton of today has lost a lot of its regional differences. My mother's family is Breton and my mother was forbidden from speaking it at school in the 40s/50s. She said my grandparents would speak Breton but she and her siblings would answer in French. She's 85 now and barely remembers any of the language apart from a few words and phrases. My grandmother would listen to Breton radio after it had a revival but would say 'it's the Breton from Finistere, not Morbihan' (where she was from). Another elderly relative told me even basic words for things like snow, potato, rain etc could vary from one area to another.

[@victorwild3188]

From a galician speaker, from galicia, a region with celtic heritage, in the northwest of its "country", with a region in it called finisterre (what?? I might search for these similarities), I just have to say that the frech did a lot of damage to the now regional languages "thanks" to their ideas of modern nations created in their revolution and its centralism. Galician its an oficial language, so I just have to say, keep fighting, keep fighting in every aspect to not lose your heritage and culture that have been given to you by your ancerstors and that you deserve to have 💙🖤

[@jessicavitale3408]

Galicia should be classified as a Celtic country...I think of it as such.

[@autumnphillips151]

Finisterre is from Latin. “The name Finisterre, like that of Finistère in France, derives from the Latin finis terrae, meaning "end of the earth".” It’s because Spanish and French both came from Latin. How could you not notice that? It has nothing to do with the Celts.

[@fdghn4567]

You are right, France did try to kill the Breton Language. My brother in law and his brothers got caned if they were heard talking in Breton to each other in school.

[@elsa7594]

i'm from the south of france and i think it's very important we fight to preserve our languages. I'm currently learning occitan , my regional language

[@stephanobarbosa5805]

Um occitano entende catalão, italiano, espanhol etc. ?

[@SilencedButNotForgotten]

Save European diversity.

[@victoro6829]

I thought the French Revolution eradicated all languages and dialects in France. Until today I did not know that had another language in French territory.

[@niallocallanain3579]

The Manx language which was declared dead by the UN is undergoing a revival especially in schools. Cornish is the last Celtic language that needs serious revival.

[@enentr]

Hi Niall! We did a piece about Manx revival, too (we have a thing for Celtic languages...), it's on our channel if you want to check it out!

[@firestorm56270]

Let's meet during the celtic festival this summer in Lorient ! Thanks for this video

[@sianvendette5036]

" O bydded i'r hen iaith barhau" As a native Welsh speaker living in France, I would love to learn Breton but working on French first.

[@shadikhaled1730]

Loire-Atlantique is part of Brittany too, only separate administratively by the French state. There were native speakers of breton there until the middle of the last century, and there are also Diwan schools today. It would have been cool to talk about that too ! Anyway, nice video 😉

[@eddybabas3889]

Le peuple de Loire Atlantique ne se sent pas breton. Eddy de Bretagne 😜

[@eddybabas3889]

@h3994 une partie de la population nantaise « par exemple » pour mieux définir ce que je dis ne se sent pas bretonne

[@louisthomasic275]

Un peu d'histoire ne peut pas faire de mal. La Bretagne comme toutes les provinces du royaume de France ont été supprimées par la Révolution française, en 1790 les départements ont été créés (dont la Loire inférieure ancêtre de la Loire Atlantique). En 1941, Pétain (chef de l'état français et donc pas "le gouvernement français") a créé les régions contre la République qu'il détestait, la région Bretagne créée par Pétain avait dès l'origine 4 départements et donc le 44 n'en faisait pas partie. Il n'y a donc pas eu un seul jour dans '' histoire où le département 44 a fait partie de la Bretagne. Quand on fait référence à l'histoire il faut être rigoureux. Quand on fait référence à l'histoire il faut aussi préciser à quelle période on fait référence. À certains moments le mont Saint Michel et la ville d'Avranches ont fait partie de la Bretagne, faudra-t-il aussi lui inclure le département 50 ? Et pourquoi pas la ville de Naples dont Anne de Bretagne a été reine...

[@eddybabas3889]

@@louisthomasic275 merci 🙏

[@philippelouer6979]

@h non

[@maggifatai4497]

French government is lucky asterix and obelix are no longer around😊..

[@Supermariocrosser]

I think britanny is the most successful region to show its identity compared to the Belgian Flemish, the alsatian German , occitanian, italian niceans, and the Mediterranean Arab corsians Bretagne is popular in France. Its rare known Celtic culture , it's certain mixed climate , and holiday in summer destination, youth culture trough rock and paganism France is a country known for centralism and hierarchy through Paris and it's central northern historical region each region outside surrounding the french zone since the medieval times ⚜️⚜️⚜️

[@jfrancobelge]

The Flemish in Belgium are very keen, and succesful, on preserving their culture and their language(s). Do you mean that Corsicans are Arabs??!! I suggest you don't spread that weird belief if you go to Corsica.

[@SuzkoSuge]

I am Basque and I'll never forget how badly my heart broke when a Breton girl I met told me that her grandparents did speak it but she didn't want to learn Breton because "it was useless". It's one of the most depressing things anyone has ever told me.

[@MehdiMoha-p1m]

Grettings from morroco to breton brothers and sisters and I hope you will keep your cultural identity 🇲🇦🤝❤️🇪🇦

[@joalexsg9741]

Breizh da viken! Much love from this Brazilian who loves all Celtic languages but especially the Brythonic branch:-), which Breton obviously belongs to!

[@vanakhoya]

I hope that Breton language will live

[@robertblazek4902]

My recommendation: speak Breton as much as you can, but stay bilingual.

[@ayangdidi5524]

No Rennes is not the "Capital of Brittany": that's only the french govrrment who made that decision. Nantes is and has always been the siege of ducal authorities.

[@Fp-ph7qs]

Excellent reportage - merci !

[@wolfcarter6857]

Super video bravo !

[@apolineo7501]

Hi, I'm from Catalonia Can I give you some advice on how to save a language and its culture? I'm afraid it requires drastic measures. In the case of Catalonia and the catalan, it has become more than clear that the only people who care about the language are the native people. You can't expect people who come from far away and with totally different cultures to worry about your dying culture. Even their children, second and third generations, do not feel that the language of their "new homeland" is important, they prefer to learn languages ​​with more professional opportunities (English and Spanish) or are even more interested in learning the language of their native country. You can argue that this is the fault of a bad integration. No, the Catalan experience has shown that no matter how many resources you invest, most immigrants will never feel the same passion for the local culture as the natives. If you really want to preserve Breton and other European languages, the best thing you can do is encourage the demography of those places to increase through policies that favor the birth rate of the natives. If you think this is remotely racist, resign yourself and accept that these languages ​​will die in the next few decades. Salut!

[@diegoarroyo1641]

On the other hand, there are other measures that I think are absolutely horrible. In Catalonia there are places where people are being discriminated in schools for speaking Spanish even though the law requieres that education be given in both languages. Is it a widespread phenomenon, or is it just an exception? In any case, I think it is wrong. Just let the people speak the language they want. It's not like Catalan is becoming a dead language anyway.

[@Perrirodan1]

Catalonia is the screaming example of why states want to destroy regional languages and cultures, no state wants a region that keep using regional differences for independence.

[@haitzkarakuelotsoaaspuruko7997]

I agree with you but I don't think that your recipe is good, much less from an ethic point of view. And I don't think that it is realistic either. What is necessary in order to get new speakers is to motivate them. And the way to get them motivated is different if you are a native or no. If you are a native, sentimentalism can be a good way, and sometimes it works with foreigners also. I, for example, speak Catalan, and use it always when I go to Catalonia, València, Balears... even in Alguer I have spoken in catalan with the locals. And I am not catalan, I don't live there and catalan doesn't give me anything material. It's just emotional. Now I am learning Irish. But I don't think that will work with much more than 10 or 20% of the local population that have already lost their language. For the other people you have to show them that for them it will be better if they learn the language, that they will live better, that it's fun and helpful in order to appreciate the culture of their new country, that they will have better employment choices and will get a better integration. And for those that already speak Breton, they have to stand up for their language, use it always and with everybody, become militants of this legitimate cause and claim the recognition of their linguistic rights to the French state. Of course, some degree of autonomy would help. Much more would independence. Greetings from the Basque Country! Euskal Herria❤️Breizh❤️Països Catalans

[@mitchyoung93]

And yet I believe your 'nationalist' parties are all in favor or immigration, just as the Scottish National Party is in the UK. In fact the latter recently elected as their leader a white person hating, English speaking Pakistani over an actual Gaelic speaking Scotswoman.

[@fdfmfdf6399]

​@@diegoarroyo1641This is a lie! The only people undetgoing discrimination are Catalans, to the extent that even immigrant doctors refuse to help people who speak Catalan.

[@sellingenglandbythepound5255]

Don’t ever think it’s a coincidence. Same is happening in Scotland, Wales & Ireland and it’s all entirely engineered for reasons these comment sections aren’t designed for.

[@DARWINZOO]

Wonderful!!!!!! France is so chauvinistic

[@poluxazalee361]

Chauvinistic ? It's worst . Une dictature culturelle et ethnocidaire .

[@jonasrmb01]

The same thing that they're doing to the Elsaesser

[@miguelcuberosanchez6832]

The typical policy of culturally homogenizing all of France (nothing new or surprising in Europe). France needs to be a federal republic or a republic where each zone or region of France has its own autonomy (like the autonomous communities of Spain, for example) because trying to be centralist in all political aspects in France will only bring nationalist and separatist sentiment. in some area like Bretonnia. France can outlaw languages ​​that are not French or that are not Romance languages, but believe me that there were nations that tried to make it their own nation and in the end they did not exterminate the cultures that were alien to them, but instead I end up in social unrest and, in very extreme cases, civil war for reasons of cultural identity (it's already reminding me of the ETA attacks, Euskadi Ta Askatasuna) Greetings from Spain.

[@Perrirodan1]

Hello, you are seeing everything from a Spanish lense, the only independence movement in France is in Corsica, if we compare with Spain the reality actually shows that the French model creates less separatist movement and insurrection. We never had issues as big as you with Basque on our side for example.

[@miguelcuberosanchez6832]

@@Perrirodan1 I wouldn't be so sure. France has non-French nationalities (such as the Basques, Bretons and ect.) and I don't see that France's mode of territorial organization has no problem with non-French national territories being a centralist country. Our model of territorial organization is not perfect either (look at the situation in Catalonia, for an example)

[@camm8642]

@@miguelcuberosanchez6832 france should not adopt what spain does...........not to say how france handles things is pefect its not but spain has major issues.......whether spain will remain what it is currently is debatable.

[@davidjones3024]

Very similar to English attempts to eliminate Welsh from 16th century onwards

[@giorgiapala3864]

Can you do a video about the Sardinian language next? It's another of the minoritarian languages in Europe that is gonna disappear in the next decades and the Italian goverment has done very little to preserve it.

[@simonecodenotti6892]

Ma va che nessuno vi obbliga a rimanere in Italia. Vi sentite più Sardi che italiani, almeno la maggior parte di quelli che ho conosciuto

[@matteopani9291]

@@simonecodenotti6892 la secessione dall'Italia è incostituzionale, quindi per come stanno le cose ora si, siamo obbligati a restare. L'ultima volta che abbiamo provato a diventare indipendenti siamo stati impiccati e scuoiati

[@matteopani9291]

@Jana Kolašinac it's like asking why didn't Kosovo declare independence in the 50s, there were not the right political conditions. Who knows, maybe if there ever will be an Italian civil war we will. Plus, I don't think that America would bomb Italy as they did with Serbia

[@gamermapper]

​@@matteopani9291lol America themselves helped to crush secession when it didn't benefit their interests. For example when Abkhazia tried to get independence from Georgia.

[@akiraraiku]

Languages come and go. They usually disappear because they are not purveyor of social and economic opportunities. Like gaulish in what is now modernday France. It makes more sense for young people in sardegna to speak their mothertong italian and less sardegnan as it doesn’t give them opportunities elsewhere in italy, for studying for example

[@NSM_B]

Breton language is matter! 🇫🇷🛑🛑🛑

[@paulthomas281]

Excellent report.

[@SilencedButNotForgotten]

This video is so important.

[@Завтрабудетлучше-ф6ж]

Я только недавно узнала что существует кельтский язык! 😳 Жаль, что он вымирает😢 Вообще жаль, когда какой-то язык вымирает. В России тоже есть такая проблема. В России есть много разных народностей, которые тоже пытаются сохранить свой родной язык. Из-за того что в школах обучение ведется на русском языке, дети не говорят на их родных языках, языках их предков, а родители их тоже не обучают говорить на родном языке, иногда даже сами родители уже не знают своего языка. Я считаю что надо заботиться о сохранении языков национальных меньшинств, особенно о таких древних как кельтский, ведь это наследие человечества! У нас(в России) эта забота о сохранении языков и культуры национальных меньшинств ведется только на бумаге, а в реальности происходит все с точностью до наоборот. И я очень удивилась, что во Франции, которая представляется оплотом демократии, где заботятся о правах человека, такое происходит? Я разочарована.

[@arrunzo]

Great video! It's ironic that the ancestors of the modern Bretons fled from what is now Great Britain in order to escape the Germanic invaders when their descendants ended up having their culture and language stifled by another language (French). I wish the Breton language, and for that matter, other important regional languages like Occitan, the best of luck in their recovery. If these languages die *SO* much history is lost. If Breton fully dies, that's yet another nail in the coffin for Celtic languages in general. And if Occitan dies, that is a *major* blow to the Romance language continuum. In fact, Occitan clearly shows "the missing link" between languages like Spanish, Catalan and Italian compared to the abrupt shift to French. I fully believe that regional languages and national languages can coexist. It fundamentally reflects a need to change the collective mentality of a culture that other things don't necessarily need to die so that others can live. Nor is something being different inherently bad or inferior. And also, we need to understand from a French cultural perspective, that aside from French previously being an important international language in the past, French speakers are often snooty perfectionists or terrified of making mistakes because it was violently (and literally) beaten into the people! So, this requires some level of empathy for the French and why things are the way they are, even if things aren't right.

[@Jefff72]

How close is Breton to Cornish?

[@灰色-k4k]

It's so close

[@bobapbob5812]

The French also accused the Bretons of treason during WW2. Welsh and Irish also had the punishment routine. l And I LOVE NOLWENN Leroy.

[@akiraraiku]

There was a ground of breton secessionist who were stooged for nazi germany and who run their anti french and anti jew newspaper breizh atao while being bankrolled by the german state. They copied the nsdap anthem for their own party as well as the armband, using the celtic cross instead. All of them were inflicted with national indignity at the liberation.

[@carlasker9285]

Gorgeous! And important!

[@calogerohuygens4430]

French state tried to erase corsu and italian in Corsica. France deserve a lesson in language protection.

[@motiss27]

To be precise, the maps used at 1:23 ; 1:34 and 4:43 are what the french government call "Bretagne", the real Bretagne is what is mapped at 0:22 which is a bit bigger France decided to cut the south-east part of Bretagne to put it aside in another region. Reuniting Bretagne as a whole is one of breton's political goals

[@bgestin]

Sadly, the map seen at some point in the video is not correct, just as if Wales had been shown without Monmouthshire. The Loire Atlantique departement (Bro-Naoned in Breton) IS definitely part of Brittany with its capital city, Naoned/Nantes !

[@lmnll2742]

Nantes never spoke breton.

[@bgestin]

@@lmnll2742 We talk about Loire Atlantique being part of Brittany. This is a mere fact. As for the language, Breton WAS indeed spoken in Nantes : fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_von_Harff. Breton moreover was still spoken until the sixties in the Gwenrann area (Guérande).

[@aerouantDu]

Go make a pan-celtic empire with our friends from Wale 🏴

[@pontifeofastora9752]

One day ma breur

[@bretagnejean2410]

May be celtic peoole should try to rebuilt a common language as bryttonic language of origin. French call us breton but finally welsh cornish irish and good part of england scottish are all breton .

[@andymullins84]

I live in the States and my ancestors have lived here for 300 years, mostly in the South and West. My genetic make up is first Scotland, then England. Very little else. Although Briton isn't mentioned, or measured, I'm sure I'm very Briton. The people around Dumbarton Castle in SW Scotland were more Briton than Pict or Gael. Because I don't have any Danish and only 3% Netherlands, I have to believe a lot of my ancestors were Briton rather than Anglo-Saxon. Although my history is very different than the people of Britainy, I'm sure our ancestry is very similar.

[@davidwest2880]

Bretton is not even recognised, that is sad.

[@paulthomas281]

It is wonderful that Celtic languages like Breton in France and Welch in Britain and Gaelic in Ireland are, despite the epic struggle, being kept alive. These languages should adopt the A1/A2/B1/B2/C1/C2 system of teaching and training in order to move toward standardisation.

[@timflatus]

Meur ras / Trugarez! It is shocking to hear that Breton language is almost illegal. How does one teach if not by immersion? I find this obscene. We have even fewer speakers of Kernowek, but at least there is some support for minority languages here.

[@Meowmento]

O Breizh ma Bro!!❤