10 breton phrases to take with you to brittany

BRETON IS THE ONLY CELTIC LANGUAGE STILL WIDELY SPOKEN IN MAINLAND EUROPE France is a large country so it is perhaps unsurprising there are many dialects and minority languages used across

its different regions. One of the most distinctive is Breton. It is a regional Celtic language that is much more similar to Welsh, Scottish or Irish Gaelic, than to French. It is spoken in

Brittany due to emigration from south-west England in the first millennium. It is spoken by around 250,000 people in Brittany and is the only Celtic language still widely spoken in mainland

Europe. There are concerns over its future, considering most native speakers are aged over 60. Like many local languages, Breton historically suffered due to the French government’s wish to

impose the use of French as the standard. READ ALSO: PROVENÇAL PRONUNCIATION: HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM STANDARD FRENCH? In a bid to keep the language alive, bilingual ‘Diwan’ schools were

launched in the 1970s to promote the language among the young. Upon first seeing the language, it is hard to believe that it is spoken in France, as it looks very different from French. Here

are some simple phrases you can try with Breton speakers. 1. DEMAT _Demat_ means hello in Breton. However, often to start a discussion you will hear _mat ar jeu?_ or penaos _emañ kont?_

which are equivalent to comment _ça va_? (how are you?) 2. YA, MAT-TRE This is a good way to reply to_ mat ar jeu__?_ or _penaos emañ kont?_ It is the equivalent of responding _ça va_ to the

question _ça va?_. It means, ‘yes, I’m fine’. If you are in a really good mood, you can respond with _dreist_, which means excellent or very good. 3. PEGEMENT EO? This means ‘how much is

it?’ If you want to be polite, you can add, _mar plij_, which means please. 4. KOMZ A REZ BREZHONEG? _Komz a rez brezhoneg?_ means ‘do you speak Breton?’ to which you can respond_ nann_ (no)

or, after reading this article, _Ya, un tammig hepken_ (yes, a little). 5. TRUGAREZ The first word you should learn in any language –_ trugarez_ is Breton for thank you. Anywhere you

travel, everyone should ideally at least be able to say ‘thank you’ in the local language, so this could show locals in Brittany that you have made an effort. READ ALSO: 14 WORDS THAT CHANGE

DEPENDENT ON WHERE YOU ARE IN FRANCE 6. YEC'HED MAT! And for the second most important phrase… _Yec'hed mat_! means ‘cheers!’ in Breton and is used when making a toast. 7. NE

GOMPRENAN KET On the subject of important phrases… it is always useful to be able to say ‘I don’t understand. In Breton, this is _Ne gomprenan ket_. 8. KOMZ A REZ SAOZNEG? If you find

yourself in a situation where everyone is speaking Breton – perhaps unlikely, but you never know – you can ask if they speak English. In Breton, this would be_ Komz a rez saozneg_? 9. KENAVO

On departure, you can bid farewell to your new Breton friends by saying _kenavo_ meaning goodbye. 10. CHAÑS VAT! As we leave you to practice your Breton, we will bid you _kenavo_ and _chañs

vat_! which means ‘good luck!’. RELATED ARTICLES MARSEILLE’S METRO TO START MAKING ANNOUNCEMENTS IN PROVENÇAL POTO, AMI, LE SANG DE LA VEINE: HOW TO SAY FRIENDS IN FRENCH