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In 1945, Breton speakers consisted about 75% of the population. Today, in all of Brittany, at most 20% of the population can speak Breton. 75% of the estimated 200,000 to 250,000 Breton speakers using Breton as an everyday language are over the age of 65.
The first Breton dictionary, the Catholicon, was also the first French dictionary. Edited by Jehan Lagadec in 1464, [ 17 ] it was a trilingual work containing Breton, French and Latin. Today bilingual dictionaries have been published for Breton and languages including English, Dutch, German, Spanish and Welsh.
All surviving Celtic languages are in the Insular group, including Breton, which is spoken on continental Europe in Brittany, France. The Continental Celtic languages, although once widely spoken in mainland Europe and in Anatolia, [1] are extinct. Six Insular Celtic languages are extant (in all cases written and spoken) in two distinct groups:
Welsh is the only Celtic language not classified as endangered by UNESCO. The Cornish and Manx languages became extinct in modern times but have been revived. Each now has several hundred second-language speakers. Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic form the Goidelic languages, while Welsh, Cornish and Breton are Brittonic.
While no Celtic language has been spoken in northern Iberia since the early Middle Ages, traces of a Celtic linguistic substratum persist in local place names and vocabulary. Toponyms with Celtic roots, such as those ending in "-briga" (meaning "fortress" or "hill"), are common in Galicia and northern Portugal. [17]
Finistère is the area where Breton survives most strongly as a spoken language. Breton-speaking schools are called Diwan , Divyezh and Dihun. The Festival de Cornouaille , which takes place in Quimper, is a celebration of Breton music and traditions.
It comprises the extant languages Breton, Cornish, and Welsh. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning Ancient Britons as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael. The Brittonic languages derive from the Common Brittonic language, spoken throughout Great Britain during the Iron Age and Roman period.
Common Brittonic (Welsh: Brythoneg; Cornish: Brythonek; Breton: Predeneg), also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, [4] [5] is a Celtic language historically spoken in Britain and Brittany from which evolved the later and modern Brittonic languages.