Breton

Breton is unique amongst the modern Celtic languages, being the only one of them spoken as a native tongue on the continent of Europe. Obviously, it has greater affinity with Welsh than any of the other Gaelic languages. At Aberystwyth, Breton is taught through the medium of Welsh, but even students who have learnt Welsh for only one year normally have no major difficulties with the basic vocabulary and grammar.

The aim of the first year language courses is to enable the learner to hold a basic conversation, and to be able to read and write Breton at a basic level. If you miss the opportunity to start learning at Level 1 it is still possible to start at Level 2, but if you start in your first year you will be able to study the language for three years and so gain real fluency and understanding of the language, and if you choose you can also then study Breton literature too.

Breton can be studied as part of our Welsh Single Honours, Welsh Joint Honours, Welsh and the Celtic Languages or Celtic Studies degrees. Students who study Breton at Level 2 are given the opportunity to study at a University in Brittany.

For further information about studying Breton, please contact Dr Rhisiart Hincks.

See here for module details.

Aberystwyth University and Brittany

The Welsh Department at Aberystwyth has very close ties with the Department of Breton and Celtic, Roazhon (Rennes) 2 University. Students from that department, and also some from Brest University, come over to Aberystwyth to learn Welsh and Irish and to take advanced Breton modules.

According to Liza Jacq, a student from Brittany who studied in the department for one semester under the Erasmus Scheme, ‘Here at Aberystwyth the University appears to be made for students. Everything is provided for them and they practically live in the University. It is as though we only call into our universities in France.’ Certainly, language-conscious Bretons consider Breton at Aberystwyth to be an important element in the language’s profile.

Students who are learning Breton are encouraged to attend a summer school for learners in Brittany if at all possible, and usually a contribution towards costs is available. The KEAV course (Kamp Etrekeltiek ar Vrezhonegerien) is held entirely through the medium of Breton.