brezhoneg

Breton

Alternative forms

• brezoneg (Skolveurieg)

Etymology

From brezhon +‎ -eg.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʁəˈzɔ̃ːnɛk/, /bʁəˈzɔ̃ːnək/, /bʁeˈzõːnɛk/
  • (Gwened) IPA^(key): /bɾəhɔ̃ˈnek/

Proper noun

brezhoneg m

1. the Breton language

Usage notes

Learners of Breton whose first/primary language is French usually mispronounce brezhoneg as [bʁezɔˈnɛːk], since their Breton is acquired visually from writing (via misreading Breton spelling as French spelling) rather than acquired aurally from native speakers (as native speakers of any language typically learn as children from other native speakers). In almost all Breton dialects except Vannetais (with final-syllable stress) the second-last syllable is heavily accented, and any vowel before and after this main stress tends to become centralised. French-speaking learners are usually unaware of this phonological rule and thus replace Breton sounds with French sounds.

Derived terms

• brezhoneger

Mutation

  Mutation of brezhoneg  

Breton consonant mutation
	unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard
singular	brezhoneg	vrezhoneg	unchanged	prezhoneg
plural	b{{{3}}}	v{{{3}}}	unchanged	p{{{3}}}

References

• Ian Press (1986) A grammar of modern Breton, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 7