A Celtic language of Brittany in northwestern France — closely related to Welsh and Cornish, with about 210,000 speakers and ongoing revitalization efforts.
Where it’s spoken
Breton (Brezhoneg) is spoken in Brittany (Breizh) in northwestern France, primarily in Lower Brittany (western half) where it is the historical first language. France does not recognize Breton constitutionally, but the regional council supports it. About 210,000 speakers remain, mostly elderly, with younger speakers emerging from the Diwan immersion school movement founded in 1977.
What it sounds like
Breton shares the Celtic system of initial consonant mutations with Welsh and Cornish — soft, hard, mixed, and spirant mutations. It has a rich consonant inventory and contrastive vowel length and nasalization. The voiceless lateral fricative is similar to Welsh ll. Stress patterns vary across dialects.
How it’s written
Breton uses the Latin alphabet of 25 letters (no q or x in native vocabulary). Several orthographic conventions exist — most commonly the “Peurunvan” (unified) orthography of 1941. Spelling is largely phonemic with regional variations.
History
Breton descends from Brittonic Celtic carried from southern Britain to Armorica (Brittany) by migrating Britons in the 5th–7th centuries CE. The language declined steeply during the 20th century after French education suppressed regional languages. Revival began in the 1970s.
Find more languages by letter
Breton starts with B and ends with N. Browse other languages along the same letter.
Languages that contain a letter from "Breton":