Breton Language - Celtic language under political pressure

josselin

Hi All,

I would like to let you know the precarious situation of the Breton language in France.
It is more and more difficult to open new Breton schools even if the number of children is increasing rapidly.
I've attached a recent article on the situation of a new school that can not be opened this year, leaving 20 children with no access to Breton teaching.

I would be very grateful if you could pass on this information and ask people to sign the online petition:(http://merville.maternelle.free.fr/article.php3?id_article=13)

Thanks in advance,


Josselin



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Douarnenez, Friday, 23 September 2005 by Yann Rivallain
Earlier this week, parents, pupils and teachers occupied a newly redecorated bilingual classroom in a Lorient bilingual school to protest against the refusal to appoint a teacher by the education authorities. According to parents, the requested conditions were all met last February when they wrote to the Academic Inspection notifying it that eleven children were ready to register.

However, Mme Lecomte, Deputy Academic Inspector argues that "there were only six potential children at the time. We looked at the different options and considered that the other bilingual school in the nearby area of Nouvelle ville, could easily cater for those children. Given our limited budgets and teachers posts, it is our strategy to consolidate existing sites".

All attempts to convince the authorities to review the situation, including a letter by the President of the Regional Council, Jean-Yves Le Drian, who asked them to "grant the resources needed for this school to operate properly", have hitherto failed. For him "responding to this legitimate claim does not mean that you should review the support for other schools in Lorient."


On the first day of class, twenty pupils and their parents entered a brand new classroom with no teacher but a delegate from the authorities who counted the pupils and who then explained that no teachers were available.


In a subsequent meeting, where no less than 60 school delegates from the area were taking part, parents were this time told that the class could not open for budgetary reasons, a departure from the previous explanations given. "When we realised that even high level support, from Le Drian and the town council was leading nowhere we decided to occupy the classroom until our claims were met" explains Jean-Paul Chevrel, father of a 4-year-old girl called Maiwenn. Along with the rest of the pupils she wore a badge which said "Me a gomz brezhoneg" (I speak Breton) on the first day of class. Singers, storytellers and Breton-speaking volunteers were called on Monday to entertain the children.


"A day later parents, delegates and the director of the school received a phone call from the Academic Inspection, who vociferously told them that there would be no discussions unless four requests were met immediately, explains Chevrel. First that we vacated the buildings immediately, second that children took off their "I speak Breton" badges, third that the Breton flag which we put at the classroom's door was taken down, because it was an overt sign…of what ?". Finally, and most shocking in a country that portrays itself as a champion of human rights and freedom of speech, "to make sure that the press did not enter the school anymore and stopped reporting about the matter". In a meeting where parents and school employees expressed their shock following these requests, it was decided that the class would be vacated and that children would take off their badges. "However, we decided not to remove the Breton flag and to continue to inform the press as we consider it is our right".

In a conversation with Eurolang, Mme Lecomte said that "there was political use of the affair which explained a lot of the unjustified agitation on the ground".


Pacific but determined, parents have launched a web site and a petition for support and are preparing for larger demonstration if they receive no answer. The parents are now waiting for the Academic inspection to satisfy their demand for a meeting. No sign has come from the authorities since the school has been "pacified" as they had requested.

Asked whether she could see a way to unlock the situation, Mme Lecomte said that "the Inspector will review the situation for next year. If there are enough pupils, we might have open up a class there instead of following our strategy." As for the coming days, she added that "the effort made for the Breton language in the department was already considerable with 6.5 new posts. We cannot do anymore, without a budget line we can not pay a teacher, and we can't employ one without paying him or her."

Asked if the current political pressure could change the situation she felt that "it would have a limited impact. Unless the ministry is prepared to do something on this, there is absolutely no solution to be expected from the local education authorities, we simply have no possibilities. Anyway if we made an extra effort for a Breton class many overcrowded monolingual classes would raise new complaints".


While all pupils in Brittany get settled into their new environment, Maiwenn and many others are temporarily attending French language classes until further notice. According to Jean-Paul Chevrel, "Yuna, a 4 year-old girl cried this morning when going to school asking her parents to take her to the Breton class". In the last few weeks, in Pont l'Abbé and other schools where everything had been organized for their children, parents gave up and took their children to monolingual or other bilingual schools further from home after days of struggle.


The situation might be different in Lorient given the wide political support received by the school. In turn, the Breton Party and UDB autonomists, the communist party and the centrists (UDF) all expressed their anger at the decision and called for a review. Meanwhile, neither the French socialists nor the conservatives have made any comments.


Jacques-Yves Le Touze, a parent with his bilingual children at a Lorient school, said that "this was one of many signs of a growing opposition by the authorities to the development of bilingual education in Lorient and in Brittany." As an example he added that "the optional Breton hours in the lycée Dupuy de Lome had been suppressed while Chinese language classes had been opened. Children in Lorient now have Chinese on their doorstep but have to be driven several miles to another school in Lanester, outside Lorient, to get a couple of hours of Breton". (Eurolang © 2005)


On line Petition:
http://merville.maternelle.free.fr

Hobbes

I doubt your going to be back Ms 1 post. But you should of put this in language forum.

josselin

I added it to the language section too. Tx

josselin

I didn't think I had to come back here on the same subject.

After the petition of last year, and thanks to all for the support, the parents finally got the teacher (halftime) they were requesting for the 19 children.

This year, they have ... 35 children ... and you know what, back to square one. The government did agree to open another position (halftime) earlier on the year. But on the first day of school, the promise wasn't fulfilled, no teacher.

Here is a link for the petition, I'm sorry it's not being translated in English: http://ouiaubreton.com/?article8#sp8

I would be grateful if you can pass on the information.

Thanks

Josselin

ISAW

josselin wrote:

I added it to the language section too. Tx

josselin wrote:

I would be grateful if you can pass on the information.

Thanks

Josselin

Some comments:

Lorient is a city of about 60,000. Lanister is actually a suburb/conurbation adjoining the North east limits of Lorient.

While Britanny can boast many old towns Lorient was bombed flat during WWII and was rebuilt. SAdly while Ireland can get major language status for their language their celtic bretheren in Britanny are suffering another blitz! Ironically the influx of foreigners (mostly British) with children has revatalised many villages where Breton is used in schools. Britanny is the most agricultural region in france. while Breton Farmere welcomed the EU they suddenly became "french2 again when subsidies were threatned. But maybe it is not to their government (Which is insistant on imposing a FRENCH culture on all FRENCH people - we see how successfull that was with muslims) but to Europe the Bretons might look for funding.

But this goes deeper than funds. "Tir gan teanga is Tir gan anam" is an Irish phrase which means "a country without a language is a country without a soul" Why should Breton people sacrifice their culture by giving up the central part of their identity - their language- for the betterment of some nebulous idea of being "all French"? Why should the Breton culture be diluted into glossy photographs in tourist brochures and kitch Fest Noz plates sold in "tout pour Un euro" shops?

You know the sort of thing? those twee postcards of the Irish farm wife baking the bread in the turf oven. Shoeless dirty faced boys in tweed and sackcloth bring home a donkey laden with two creels of turf. We thwart the reality with kitch images and consign the rest of it to a museum. a culture is a living thing. we can not live with celtic mist in our eyes and nostalgia for yesterday.

the department lorient is in is called morbihan. It is the only department in france with a breton name "little sea". Al the rest are in french. Like Dunlaoghaire Rathdown motto "Ó Chuan go Sliabh" - from bay to hill Morbihan I think is "from sea to sky" ( Itiis late and i am doing this all from memory so give me a break).

Now I know the gaelteacht may be criticised but I believe the language is kept going not just by gaelgores but by people in Dublin sending children to irish schools. So why shouldnt Lorient have that? Once it is gone it is gone. It will be no use then saying "look what we have lost".

josselin

Hi ISAW,

Well, it seems that the petition gave the push that was needed. The response to it was great and after a few days, they finally got the needed teatcher.

Thanks for your support and I hope it's the last time!

Josselin

P.S: 3 other schools are in the same situation, hopefully they'll be succesful.

gandalf

Moved to Languages as it is more suited to that forum.

josselin

Please find attached an article by EuroLang:

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Brussel - Bruxelles, Wednesday, 11 October 2006 by Davyth Hicks Breton parents are on the campaign trail again this year with a petition aiming to pressure the French Education Nationale to provide two new teacher posts for Breton - French bilingual education.

More than a month since the beginning of the school year 50 schoolchildren in Bulat-Pestivien, Cotes d’Armor and Languidic, Morbihan, are still waiting for Breton teachers yet face the refusal from the authorities to create the posts.

In a press release the parent group state that, The similarity of the arguments justifying the refusal of the two school inspectorates concerned make us think that it shows, at the very least, the will of the vice-chancellor of the Academy, even of the Minister for National Education itself, Mr. Gilles de Robien, not to give the means necessary for the bilingual teaching of Breton and French in Brittany.

Bilingual teaching constitutes for us today an absolute priority. A plan for the safeguarding of the Breton language was unanimously voted by members of the Regional Council in December 2004. It envisages a doubling of manpower of the bilingual classes from here by 2010. Because we want the plan to succeed, we are asking Mr. Gilles de Robien, the Minister for National Education, to take the urgent measures required to allow for the creation of the bilingual teacher posts.

We invite the senators, deputies, regional and departmental advisers, local councillors, whatever their political label, to support our call with all the means at their disposal. No reason, especially not a financial one over public education, can justify that the children in these schools have to wait for a teacher so that they can profit from bilingual teaching, which has been recognized by the law of the French state. (Eurolang 2006)

Details on the petition http://ouiaubreton.com/campagnes/spip.php?article51