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What’s with this “Wren” thing?
The oldest extant version of the fable
we
are presenting here appeared in 1913 in the first volume of a two-volume anthology
of Low
Saxon folktales (Plattdeutsche
Volksmärchen “Low German Folktales”)
collected by Wilhelm Wisser (1843–1935). Read
more ...
Kerneveg
Picturesque
Celtic sights abound on Crozon (Kraozon)
Peninsula, the westernmost reach of Brittany and France.
Language information: Breton is used by around 300,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in
France and are above the age of 60. It is the traditional language of Brittany
(Breton Breizh, French Bretagne) in France. It belongs to the Brythonic group of Celtic, which, among the surviving
languages, it shares with Cornish and Welsh.
Breton
is most
widely used in Upper Brittany (or Western Brittany, Breizh-Uhzel in Breton, Haute-Bretagne in French), where there are four dialects or dialect groups of it. A somewhat interdialectical
(etrerannyezhel) variant as been emerging. It is usually referred to as KLT, standing for Kerneveg-Leoneg-Tregerieg in Breton, because it is based on these three dialects (which in French are
called Cornouaillais, Léonard and Trégorrois respectively). In
Lower Brittany
(or Eastern Brittany, Breton Breizh-Izel, French Basse-Bretagne), the Breton language is used to a lesser degree. Breton-speaking communities
are smaller and scattered. In many places, Breton came to be displaced by Gallo
(also
known as “Gallo-Roman” or “Gallo-Romance,” a language related to Champenois, French, Norman, Picard, Walloon and other Romance languages of the Oïl type) which is now severely endangered. Gallo and Breton have a long history
of
contact
and
mutual
borrowing.
Two
status-related characteristics differentiate Breton from its surviving Celtic
relatives:
(1) It is not used
on an island but is still classified as a Insular Celtic language. The reason
for this is that a long time ago it was imported from Britain, apparently from
Cornwall. It may well have descended from Old Cornish or rather from an old Brythonic
language variety from which both Cornish and Breton descended. However,
long
periods
of
distance as well as Gallo, Norman and French influences, and in earliest times
probably Gaulish
influences,
have
alienated
it considerably
from
its
insular
relatives.
(2) Breton is the
only living Celtic language that does not enjoy official language status. This
is the result of the French government refusing to officially recognize and support
within
its
borders
any
language other than
French, thus being the last European Union member that has not yet ratified the
European Languages Charter. This is in keeping with a tradition that began at
the latest
with
the
French
Revolution.
This comes with desparaging
naming of
minority languages of France (e.g. patois).
Lack
of
official
status and lack of incentive for young Bretons (including speakers of Gallo)
to
continue
using
their
ancestral
language
places into jeopardy
the
survival
chances
of
Breton
(and
all
other
languages
of
France
other than French), despite considerable Breton language activism
and a revival of Breton folk culture
in some circles.
Frontpage
In
Lower Brittany
(or Eastern Brittany, Breton Breizh-Izel, French Basse-Bretagne), the Breton language is used to a lesser degree. Breton-speaking communities
are smaller and scattered. In many places, Breton came to be displaced by Gallo
(also
known as “Gallo-Roman” or “Gallo-Romance,” a language related to Champenois, 