Breton/Breton dialects

The dialects of Breton as identified by ethnologists are Leoneg, Tregerieg, Gwenedeg, and Kerneveg (in French, respectively: léonard, trégorrois, vannetais, and cornouaillais). There are no clear borders between those dialect areas because the language varies slightly from one village to the next. Compared to the other dialects, the Gwenedeg dialect is somewhat more distinct due several pronunciation specificities.

The following table shows common and local expressions :

Example of Gwenedeg

Me zo ganet é kreiz er mor

Tèr lèu ér méz;
Un tiig gwenn duhont em-es,
Er benal 'gresk étal en nor
Hag el lann en hol en anvez.
Me zo ganet é kreiz er mor,

E bro Arvor.

Excerpt from "Ar en deulin" from Yann-Ber Calloc'h

Example of Leoneg

Digeri a reas he divreh d'he muia-karet heb en em renta kont. Pokad a reent dibaouez an eil d'egile, o muzellou o tañva evid ar wech kenta mel dous ar garantez.

Excerpt from "Ar Vastardez" from Yann-Vadezour Lagadeg.

Breton spellings

After several attempts at unifying the spelling, two main spellings exist : the "peurunvan" ("completely unified" spelling) and the "skolveurieg" ("university" spelling).

This course uses "peurunvan" as it is today the most commonly used.

"Peurunvan" accomodates for dialectal differences. Most notably, the notation "zh" - used in the name "Breizh" ("Brittany") - must be interpreted according to the dialect spoken.

• In Leon, it will be most often interpreted as "z" (therefore Breizh is pronounced Breiz).
• In Gwened (and some part of Kerne), it will often be interpreted as "h" (therefore Breizh is pronounced Breih).

The transcription of "C'h" is also subject to confusion or criticism as pronunciation may widely vary according to the regions.