Transcript The Breton Language - University of Ottawa

THE BRETON
LANGUAGE
‘Defense de cracher par terre
et de parler breton’
Breton language- c1920
Warning not to
speak Breton or to
spit at school
The school system in Breton
• By the 1970s the campaign to obtain some education in
Breton was beginning to bear fruit.
• There had been some (private) education in Breton during
the late 30s and early 40s but this came to an abrupt end
in 1944.
• The organization which has become especially associated
with education in Breton has been DIWAN
Diwan
Diwan
• The Breton-medium education movement began in
1977 in a place called Lampaul-Ploudalmegean (near
Brest). Based on similar schools in ireland, Wales and the
Basque Country, the first Diwan schools were
kintergartens, and primary schools (1980). They were not
funded by the state, but by voluntary contributions.
•.
Diwan
• By 1988 they had established a Breton-medium college,
and then a lycee in Lorient in 1994.
• The teachers and the curriculum of the Breton-medium
schools follow closely that of the State schools (French is
introduced from the age of seven).
• The emphasis is on the immersial method. Most of the
children who first attend the Diwan schools speak French
only.
The Touban Law. 1994
• The Toubon Law, is a law of the French State mandating
the use of the French language in official government
publications, in all advertisements, in all workplaces, in
commercial contracts, in some other commercial
communication contexts, in all government-financed
schools, and some other contexts.
• Abve all, the Touban Law declares that the only
language of state education must be French.
• This was bound to impact Diwan sooner or later.
Diwan and the constituional crisis
• Yet, in the summer of 2001 an agreement was signed
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•
between the president of Diwan and the French Education
minister Jack Lang.
This was to provide for the integration of Diwan into the
public system of education.
Especially this would have provided much needed
government funding for the training of teachers.
The creation of new schools (esp secondary schools).
Full recognition for Diwan.
Diwan and the constituional crisis
• Figures were set for an annual growth in the Breton
language sector.
• 12% annual growth in enrolment, 445 additional teachers.
• The French authorities were more in favour of smaller
growth.
• However there was considerable reaction against the
agreement from several quarters in Paris.
Constituational Crisis
• On December 27, 2002 the French Constitutional Council
published the Financial Legislation Act for 2002. In this act
the council touched on the question of regional
languages in France stating that according to the
Constitution, the language of France is French and
therefore no other languages should be “imposed” as
means of education in the French public education
system.
• This statement followed the decision of the Council of
State to suspend the agreement with the Breton Diwan
schools to be integrated in the national education system.
Constitutional Crisis 2002
• Diwan responded that this is an attack against the whole
pedagogical system and education through immersion,
because it effectively rules out any other language than
French as means of teaching.
• “The situation is now worse than ever,” Anna-Vari
Chapalain, Director of Diwan.
• In a press release Diwan assured that it would use all
possible juridical measures to fight for linguistic
democracy in France and states that the only way to
reach their goal is to achieve a change in the French
Constitution
November 2002
• Therefore, the French Council of State vetoed the
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agreement between Diwan and the French Education
Minister.
They also ruled against public integration, and public
funds for Diwan.
Diwan had funding other than that provided by individuals
and occasionally other organisations.
However, another chance came with the proposed
amendments to the French Constitution in 2008.
It was hoped that the regional languages would be
integrated into the constitution.
2008- further reactions against Breton
education
• L'Académie française, the institution that defends the
purity of the French language, issued a warning that
recognising regional languages in the constitution would
be "an attack on French national identity". In turn, local
language militants criticised the academy as a ridiculous
relic of outdated nationalism.
• In the second round of proposed amendments to the
French Constitution, deputies voted in favour of including
a small reference to marginalized languages with the
clause "regional languages are part of France's heritage".
Change to the French constitution
• In July 2008, the French Constitution was thus amended
adding article 75-1, stating les langues régionales
appartiennent au patrimoine de la France (the regional
languages belong to the heritage of France).
• This is an important step in the recognition of Breton and
other minority languages of France; however, it doesn't
explicitly give more actual recognition, rights or funds to
these languages.
• Most importantly, it does not provide them with any
legal status.
The 2008 amendment to the constitution
• http://www.nationalia.info/en/news/201
• The immersion method of teaching Breton was described
as unconstituional.
The European Charter for Regional and
Minority Languages 1992
• This charter signed by most members of the European
Union members seeks to protect and promote historical
regional and minority languages in Europe.
• The UK eventually signed it in 2001 with respect to Welsh,
Irish (N. Ireland), S Gaelic, Manx, Cornish,
• France for constitutional reasons cannot sign ther Charter.
• The states involved are expected to enact legislation to
protect and promote these languages.
The European Charter for Regional and
Minority Languages
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Charter_for_Region
al_or_Minority_Languages
Regional
languages in
France.
(Major
languagesBreton, Corsican,
Catalan, Basque)
Official recognition for France’s regional
languages.
• Clearly, a legal status for France’s regional languages would go
a long way towards ensuring a future for such languages,
including Breton.
• For constitutional reasons, France has not been able to ratify
the EU’s European Charter for Regional and Minority
Languages. So there are entrenched legal reasons for the lack
of growth in the Breton educational sector.
• Major political demonstrations are planned to take place in
France on the 31st March. 2012 to demand official status for
such languages in France.
• Quimper\ Kemper. (Toulouse, Perpignan. Bayonne, Ajaccio,
Strasbourg, New York,…)
Manifestadeg evid ar Brezhoneg
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded
&v=eNCKWM8X5jQ
Immersion v streaming in Breton• On the other hand, bilingual education was not seen as
going counter to the constitution.
• Parental demand ensured that bilingual Breton/French
streams were created in the 1980s and 1990s.
• Both Div Yezh and Dihun expose students to Breton but
not in the immersive sense.
DIHUN 1990
A parents’ organization for the promotion of Breton in
bilingual streams in Breton schools.
Dihun
• A Catholic parents’ association.
• Its aim is to promote education of and in Breton, with the
emphasis on streaming.
• The emphasis is on bilingualism and multilingualism.
• 60 schools in this sector.
• ‘DIHUN a pour objectif le bilinguisme par les deux langues
de proximité, le breton(ou gallo) et le français, complété
par l’introduction d'une troisième langue dans le cadre du
PMB’.
• The association also promotes the use of Gallo in eastern
Brittany
Education (Breton) in Brittany today
• In 2011, 14,174 students (about 1.55% of all students in
Brittany) attended Diwan, Div Yezh and Dihun schools, a
number growing yearly. Several years ago, the president
of the Regional Council, Jean-Yves Le Drian wanted the
number to reach 20,000 by 2010, though this has not
been accomplished.
• Some 4,500 to 5,000 adults followed a Breton language
course (evening course, correspondence, ...) in 2007. The
family transmission of Breton in 1999 is estimated to be
no more than 3%.
Some statistics regarding Breton
education
Year
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Numbers of stud. %
Number
Percentage of all
students in Brittany
10,397
1.24%
11,092
1.30%
11,732
1.38%
12,333
± 1.4%
13,077
± 1.45%
13,493
± 1.48%
14,174
± 1.55%
Primary Education in Breton
Department
Finistère
Morbihan
Côtes-d'Armor
Ille-et-Vilaine
Loire-Atlantique
Primary education (2008)
4.71%
4.3%
2.86%
0.71%
0.29%
Breton cities (communes) and Breton
language education
Commune
Nantes (Loire-Atlantique)
Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine)
Brest (Finistère)
Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique)
Quimper (Finistère)
Lorient (Morbihan)
Vannes (Morbihan)
Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine)
Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor)
Saint-Herblain (Loire-Atlantique)
Percentage (2008)
1.4%
2.87%
1.94%
0.41%
3.17%
2.71%
7.71%
0.55%
3.98%
0%
Population (2007)]
290 943
213 096
146 519
71 046
67 255
59 805
55 383
50 206
48 178
44 364
L’option de breton- Breton as an optional
subject at school
• This represents another entry into Breton language and
culture in the school system.
• Not immersion, not bilingual stream, but Breton as an
option in the college or lycee.
• Depends on popularity of the subject. From 6th grade.
• ‘Cette option de breton au collège et au lycée
présente tout de même un intérêt, non ?
Que faudrait-il donc faire pour la rendre plus
dynamique et plus attrayante ?’
Gallo- Brittany’s other language
Gallo
• One fascinating aspect of the linguistic situation in
Brittany is that like Scotland, it has in fact two lesser-used
languages or speech-forms.
• We have seen at length the situation faced by Breton in
western Brittany or Breizh Izel.
• However in the eastern part of Brittany, the language or
dialect used has been Gallo, a northern dialect of French.
Gallo
• Although today the Gallo dialects have been very largely
superceded by standard French, it was more widely
spoken in rural eastern Brittany until recently.
http://www.bertaeyn-galeizz.com/
Regional Council for Brittany
…..And the Breton
language
Regional Council for Brittany
• There are in fact 22 administrative regions in France, of
which Brittany Region is one.
• It is a local council divided into two ‘assemblies’:
• The Regional Council- which decides on regional policy
and
• Regional Social and economic Council, which acts as a
kind of ‘thinktank’ for the Council.
Regional Council for Brittany
• The Council has 83 councillors.
• The areas of responsibility are:
Co-operation with
High school
management
Professional training
Economic development
Transport
tourism
Environment
Culture (includes
language)
sport
Saxony (Germany)
Wales (since 2004)
Voivodia (Poland)
Later:
Basque Country (Spain).
Bilingual education
• Diwan operate almost totally without any subvention from
the French government, a recent decision by the French
constitutional council (2001) declaring teaching
exclusively in Breton unconstitutional, French being the
official language of the Republic. Since the 1970s
however, an increasing number of schools have adopted
a system of bilinguism