Reversing Language Shift in France: The Breton Case Sorcha Foy B.A ...

Reversing Language Shift in France: The Breton Case
Sorcha Foy
B.A (Mod) Computer Science Linguistics and French
Trinity College Dublin
Supervisor: Dr. Rachel Hoare
Date: May 3rd 2002

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Table
of
Contents
Page
Introduction ………………………………………………………
11.

Chapter 1
Reversing Language Shift
14.
(1) Introduction



14.
(2)
What is an endangered language

14.
(3) Language
Revival


15.
3.1
Nationalism and Language Shift

15.
3.2 Revivalist
Concerns


18.
(4)
What is Reversing Language Shift?

19.
4.1
Stages 4 to 5 RLS on ‘the weak side’
20
4.1.1 Stage
8



20.
4.1.2 Stage
7



20.
4.1.3 Stage
6



21.
4.1.4 Stage
5



21.
4.2
Stages 5 to 1 RLS on ‘the strong side’

22.

4.2.1 Stage
4



22.
4.2.2 Stage
3



22.
4.2.3 Stage
2



23.
4.2.4 Stage
1



23.
(5)
Concluding Remarks

24.

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Chapter 2
Breton: The State of the Language
Page
(1)
Introduction


25
(2) Brittany





25.
(3)
Breton: The Current Situation
29.
(4) Negative
Identity


33.
(5)
The Breton Language in Education

35.
(6)
Breton in the Media


38.
(7)
Breton in the Workplace


40.
(8)
Public Authority and Services

41.
(9)
Revivalist Efforts in Brittany in the Context of Fishman’s RLS Model
43.
9.1
Promotion of Intergenerational Transmission at Community Level 43.
9.2
Education in Breton and Intergenerational Transmission

44.
9.3
Breton Revivalism and the Later Stages of RLS
46.
(10) Concluding
Remarks

47.

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Chapter 3
France: Language and State Page
(1)
Introduction






50.
(2)
The Basis of French Identity




50.
(3)
The Emergence of French




51.
3.1
The Latinisation of Gaul




51.
3.2
From Gallo-Romance to French



54.
3.3
The Displacement of Latin




56.
3.4
French becomes the Language of Administration 58.
3.5
The Prestige of French


59.
3.6
The Institutionalisation of French as the Symbol of France 61.
(4)
Language Policies from 1800 to 1950


66.
(5)
Concluding
Remarks





68.

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Chapter 4
Linguistic Policies in France in the 20th Century
Page


(1)
Introduction





70.
(2)
Linguistic Policy from the Deixonne Law to the

Charter
Debate






70.
2.1
The Deixonne Law





72.
2.2
The Haby Law



72.
2.3
Recent Changes in Language Policy
73.
(3)
The Status of the Associative Schools 77.
(4)
France and the European Charter for Regional or

Minority
Languages




78.
4.1
What is the Charter for Regional or Minority Languages 78.
4.2
Events Leading to France’s Signing of the Charter 83.
4.3
Jack Lang’s “nouvel es orientations pour l’enseignement des langues
régionales” 88.
4.4
Reaction to Lang’s Proposals 90.
(5)
Concluding Remarks



91.

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Chapter 5
Is RLS Possible?





Page
(1)
Introduction
93.
(2)
Restoration
or
Transformation
93.
2.1
Restoration
94.
2.2
Transformation
94.
(3)
Fishman’s Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale

97.
(4)
Conclusion
100.

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Table of Figures
Fig. 2.1
Evolution of the Linguistic Frontier



26.
Fig.
2.2
The
Decline
of
Breton
29.
Fig.
2.3
TMO’s
1997
Survey
30.
Fig.
2.4
Euromosaic
Survey
40.
Fig.
3.1
The
Romanisation
of
Gaul
53.
Fig. 3.2
Gaul Under the Germans Circa AD 500


55.
Fig. 3.3
France Under Hugh Capet AD 987



58.
Fig. 3.4
French-Speaking Departments in 1835


63.
Fig. 3.5
Departments Where Regional Languages Are Spoken 1860’s
67.
Fig. 3.6
Areas Where Regional Languages Are Spoken 1960’s
68.

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Declaration
I hereby declare that this thesis is entirely my own work and that it has not been
submitted as an exercise for a degree at any other university.

Sorcha Foy

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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr. Rachel Hoare, who has gone above and beyond the cal
of duty as my supervisor, actual y feigning interest when at times I myself could
not. I would also like to thank Mr. Donncha O’Donnchada for making my time in
the library just that bit easier to manage.

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Language Revival in France: The Breton Case
Sorcha Foy
Abstract
This thesis investigates language revival in Brittany. The first section presents a theoretical
framework for Reversing Language Shift. This framework is the Graded Intergenerational
Disruption Scale put forward by Joshua Fishman. Succeeding sections examine the status of
Breton in Brittany, and efforts being undertaken there to revive the language. There is also an
extensive examination of the attitudes towards regional languages in France, how in the past they
have helped shape language policy, and how in the present they continue to do so. It is
concluded that language revival in the sense of restoration may not be possible, that perhaps
more attention should be paid by X-Men seeking to revive X-Ish, to the importance attached to
Y-Ish by both Y-Men and X-Men alike, and that some modification to the Graded
Intergenerational Disruption Scale may be necessary with regard to the reclamation by X-Ish of
the work domain.


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