Browsing by Subject "Brittany"

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Finding a place for Breton in 21st-century French society
(2010-12) Moen, Jennifer Lee; Bullock, Barbara E.; Montreuil, Jean-Pierre
Recent census data have shown that the number of Breton speakers in Lower Brittany has continued to drop despite revitalization efforts. A problem minority languages face is struggling to maintain a place in the lives of the people who have adopted the dominant language. In this study, I assess the current problems faced by the Breton language today by examining a few select problems. First, I highlight the lack of situations in which speakers can use Breton. Even children attending immersion programs often do not live in a Breton-speaking household, nor do they have settings outside the school where they can practice the language. Secondly, I consider the ideological place of Breton in the minds of speakers. Many people feel that while Breton is important to their heritage, they do not need to actively speak it in order to associate with a Breton identity. Related to this is the opinion of many people that Breton is an outdated language with no future ahead of it, as revealed by recent research (Broudic 2009, Jones1998, Timm 2001). Finally, the creation of a new, standardized Breton known as neo-Breton adds to the problem of finding a place for the language; older speakers who use traditional Breton are marginalized, while it is the young speakers using neo- Breton. I use current census data as well as personal research conducted in Brittany in July 2010 to supplement my assessment of the current Breton situation. While progress has been slow, Breton is gaining a stronger presence in society.
Planning language practices and representations of identity within the Gallo community in Brittany : a case of language maintenance
(2010-12) Rey, Cécile Hélène Christiane; Montreuil, Jean-Pierre; Russi, Cinzia; Blyth, Carl; Boas, Hans; Woodbury, Anthony
This study focuses on the representations of the Gallo language spoken in the Eastern part of Brittany among elder native speakers (group 1) and students of Gallo (group 2). Jones & Singh (2005) and Williams (2000) both stress the importance of an asserted community identity for language transmission and the active involvement of community members in the revitalization process. In light of these two studies and the revitalization models proposed by Grenoble & Whaley (2005), the present research establishes that, in order to obtain a more appropriate and possibly successful revitalization program, it is necessary to consult and probe the approval of native speakers of Gallo. Informants from both groups show little involvement in language planning activities; in contrast, revitalization efforts in the last decades have increased within associative and militant groups. Based on the findings of Jones & Singh (2005) and Williams (2000) on Jersey Norman French and Welsh respectively, this study provides evidence that Gallo is on the verge of achieving a different status. The framework used for the fieldwork was adapted from Boas TGPD project on Texas German (2001). Most of the interviews were conducted in a private setting. Two groups of individuals were involved in this study: older, native speakers (41) and students (17), and half of the respondents participated in a follow-up interview (1-2 hours). The results of field research on language attitudes show a positive Gallo identity: 50% of the native speakers answered that Gallo was part of their identity as much as French and 78.6% of the students selected the same statement. Only 20% of group 1 and 21.4% of group 2 declared that Gallo was not an important part of their identity. In the same set of questions on identity and representations, 90% of group 1 and 85.7% of group 2 expressed positive linguistic attitudes when asked whether or not speaking and/or understanding Gallo was valuable. Overall, above 80% of the informants think that the knowledge of Gallo is an advantage. This research demonstrates that the speech community expresses a more positive Gallo identity than expected, one of the main factors necessary to secure language maintenance.