Learn Breton!

Learn Breton and you will learn one of the few surviving Celtic languages. Breton (called Brezhoneg in Breton) is spoken in Brittany on the coast of France. It is related to Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx but much more closely related to Welsh and particularly Cornish, spoken across the water in Cornwall of south west Britain. It is uniquely Celtic, but there is some influence from French - I like to think of it as a 'Frenchified' Celtic language!

Most of the speakers of Breton are older, and the language is endangered, but there is still a large enough population that speaks it and they are quite proud of their Breton heritage. Unfortunately, there are very few resources to learn Breton. The best resources are in French, and of course going to Brittany to learn is the best choice. Aside from that, here are a few online and published sources to learn Breton.

Internet/Free
Kervarker.org This is the best resource to learn Breton on the internet. There is a course with audio files, easy short stories and links to other Breton sites.

Internet/Free
Bretagnenet.com There is a small amount of cultural information here on Brittany (in English and French). On the bottom of this page is a list of radio stations with programs in Breton. On the French side of the page there are links to the websites of a few of those stations. You may be able to get some radio shows online, although those websites are in French.

Internet/Free
Antourtan.org This is also a list of radio shows in Breton for download.

Software
Teach Me Breton
This is one of the few commercial products dedicated to learning Breton. Linguashop makes their language teaching software method in a variety of uncommon languages and thankfully, Breton is one of them. The software is easy to use and easy to customize. Teach Me Breton comes with an audio cd and a small booklet of short stories in Breton used in the program. It is reasonably comprehensive and provides a good foundation in Breton.

Software
This software is a great supplemement for learning almost any language. Games, activities, dialogues and loads of vocabulary for 101 different languages, including Breton! Read my review of 101 Languages of the World.

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"God knows what will happen to women who drink wine, girls that speak old languages, and suns that set too early."

- Breton Proverb