Editing Breton language (section)

==History and status==
{{see also|Linguistic boundary of Brittany}}

Breton is spoken in [[Lower Brittany]] ({{langx|br|Breizh-Izel}}), roughly to the west of a line linking [[Plouha]] (west of [[Saint-Brieuc]]) and [[La Roche-Bernard]] (east of [[Vannes]]). It comes from a Brittonic language community that once extended from Great Britain to [[Armorica]] (present-day Brittany) and had even established a toehold in [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] (in present-day Spain). Old Breton is attested from the 9th century.<ref>[[Benjamin W. Fortson IV]], ''Indo European Language and Culture'', chapter 14 paragraph 63.</ref> It was the language of the upper classes until the 12th century, after which it became the language of commoners in Lower Brittany. The nobility, followed by the [[bourgeoisie]], adopted [[French language|French]]. The written language of the [[Duchy of Brittany]] was [[Latin]], switching to French in the 15th century. There exists a limited tradition of [[Breton literature]]. Some [[Philosophy|philosophical]] and scientific terms in Modern Breton come from Old Breton. The recognized stages of the Breton language are: '''Old Breton''' – {{Circa|800}} to {{Circa|1100}}, '''Middle Breton''' – {{Circa|1100}} to {{Circa|1650}}, '''Modern Breton''' – {{Circa|1650}} to present.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia |last=Koch |first=John T. |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2006 |location=Santa Barbara, California |oclc=62381207}}</ref>

The French monarchy was not concerned with the [[Minority language|minority]] [[languages of France]], spoken by the lower classes, and required the use of French for government business as part of its policy of national unity. During the [[French Revolution]], the government introduced policies favouring French over the regional languages, which it pejoratively referred to as {{lang|fr|[[patois]]}}. The revolutionaries assumed that [[reactionary]] and [[monarchy|monarchist]] forces preferred [[regional language]]s to try to keep the peasant masses under-informed. In 1794, [[Bertrand Barère]] submitted his "report on the {{lang|fr|patois}}" to the [[Committee of Public Safety]] in which he said that "federalism and superstition speak Breton".<ref name="breizh"/>

Since the 19th century, under the [[French Third Republic|Third]], [[French Fourth Republic|Fourth]] and now [[French Fifth Republic|Fifth Republics]], the French government has attempted to stamp out minority languages—including Breton—in state schools, in an effort to build a national culture. Teachers humiliated students for using their regional languages, and such practices prevailed until the late 1960s.<ref name="breizh">{{Cite web |url=http://www.breizh.net/icdbl/saozg/endangered.htm#Image%2520No.%25202:%2520Breton%2520is%2520a%2520hindrance%2520to%2520good%2520citizenship |title=Breton – An Endangered Language of Europe |last=Kuter |first=Lois |date=May 2004 |website=breizh.net}}</ref>

In the early 21st century, due to the political centralization of France, the influence of the media, and the increasing mobility of people, only about 200,000 people are active speakers of Breton, a dramatic decline from more than 1 million in 1950. The majority of today's speakers are more than 60 years old, and Breton is now classified as an [[endangered language]].<ref name="Broudic2009" />

At the beginning of the 20th century, half of the population of Lower Brittany knew only Breton; the other half were bilingual. By 1950, there were only 100,000 [[monolingualism|monolingual]] Bretons, and this rapid decline has continued, with likely no monolingual speakers left today. A statistical survey in 1997 found around 300,000 speakers in Lower Brittany, of whom about 190,000 were aged 60 or older. Few 15- to 19-year-olds spoke Breton.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Qui parle breton aujourd'hui? Qui le parlera demain? |last=Broudic |first=Fañch |publisher=Brud Nevez |year=1999 |location=Brest |language=fr}}</ref> In 1993, parents were finally legally allowed to give their children Breton names.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012|title=Breton|url=https://elalliance.org/languages/breton/|url-status=live|website=Endangered Language Alliance|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721002750/https://www.elalliance.org/languages/breton |archive-date=2021-07-21 }}</ref>