The social practice of Breton: an epistemological challenge

Abstract

Many strategies and initiatives aimed at the promotion of the practice of Breton focus on the language as the key unit of inquiry. In this way language activism frequently involves introducing initiatives aimed at doing something to, or for, Breton. This article makes the argument that, although language-centred initiatives have many strengths, they often struggle to deal productively and effectively with the issue of language heterogeneity and diversity. In particular, when these initiatives focus on the development and promotion of a prestigious standard, they often have difficulty mobilizing an important group of Breton speakers: Bretons who use and identify more closely with local, vernacular varieties of the language. As an alternative to this paradigm, this article suggests reframing the focus of language initiatives by making the Breton language community, rather than the Breton language, the key unit of inquiry. In doing so it develops a view of Breton as a situated social practice, used by a group of people in related but diverse ways, rather than as a fixed and normative code.