Category: Breton (Brezhoneg)

Zizolo

By Simon

I came across a word that particularly appealed to me in my Breton lesson today – zizolo (discovering) in the sentence Ar vro a zizolo bemdez en doare-se (He discovers the country every day in this way) – referring to Gwennole who goes cycling a lot. It is a mutated form of dizolo (to discover), and appeals to me because of the z’s and sound of the word.

The letter z is relatively rare in most of the languages I know, but is common in Breton and in the Pinyin for Mandarin Chinese. It gives words an interesting and unusual, almost exotic, look and sound, at least to my eyes and ears it does.

Do you notice some letters more than others? Are any letters exotic, unusual or unexpected to you?

Kig yar gant piz-bihan

By Simon

The more Breton I learn, the more connections I am finding with Welsh, and to some extent with French, in terms of vocabulary. Today’s lesson, for example, includes these words:

– korn = cornel (corner)
– straed= stryd (street) – e korn ar straed = ar gornel y stryd (on the street corner)
– iliz = eglwys (church)
– marc’had-mat (‘good market’) = rhad (cheap) – looks like a calque translation from the French bonne-marché
– kig = cig (meat)
– kig yar (‘hen meat’) = cyw iâr (chicken)
– piz-bihan = pys (peas) – looks like a calque of petit-pois.
– tartezenn avaloù = pastai afal (apple tart/pie)
– enez = ynys (island)

Yesterday we had deiz = dydd (day), beure = bore (morning), and noz = nos (night). The spelling and pronunciation disguises the related words, but once you get used to it, you can spot them more easily. It took me a while to realise that beure = bore.

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon

– un ruisseau = stream = nant = gwazh-dour
– une boîte (de conserve) = tin = tun = boestad
– un boîte de soupe = tin of soup = tun cawl = boestad soubenn
– un pot de peinture = tin of paint = tun paent = boestad livadur
– un moule à gateau = cake/baking tin = tun teisen/cacen = moull-gwestell
– un bocal = jar = jar = pod gwer
– un bonnet à pompon = bobble hat = boned-toupenn (?)
– réellement, vraiment, en fait, en réalité = actually = mewn gwirionedd = evit gwir
– une fuite = leak = diferiad, gollyngiad = fuiñ
– un poireau = leek = cenhinen = pour
– un ouvrier du bâtiment = builder (labourer) = adeiladydd = micherour
– un maçon = builder (bricklayer) = briciwr = mañsoner
– un entrepreneur (en bâtiment) = builder (owner of firm) = tisaver

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon

– la déviation = diversion (of route) = dargyfeiriad = diroudennañ
– la diversion = diversion (distraction) = gwrthdyniad = distroadenn
– faire diversion = to create a diversion = creu gwrthdyniad = distroiñ an nen
– le meeting / rassemblement = rally = rali = bodadeg
– un meeting de prostestation = a protest rally = rali protest / gwrthdystiad = manifestadeg
– un rassemblement pour la paix = a peace rally = rali heddwch
– la ceinture de sauvetage = liftbelt = gwregys achub
– sauter à cloche-pied = to hop = hercian / hopian
– le trisaïeul = great-great-grandfather = hen hen daid/dad-cu
– la trisaïeule = great-great-grandmother = hen hen nain/mamgu
– la boulette de viande = meatball = pellen gig (?)

Tête en l’air

By Simon

Penn-skañv ac’hanout? Es-tu tête en l’air? Is your head in the clouds?

Recently I came across the French expression (être) tête en l’air (‘(to be) head in the air’) which is given as the French equivalent of the Breton expression penn-skañv (‘light head’). I hadn’t seen it before and wasn’t quite sure from it meant. From the context I thought it meant something like forgetful. According to Reverso it means scatterbrained, and according to this discussion, it also means absent-minded or distracted.

An equivalent English idiom is to have one’s head in the clouds, which is also used in French – avoir la tête dans les nuages. Do you know any similar idioms in English, French or other languages?

The Welsh expression pen-ysgafn, which is a literal translation of the Breton expression, but has a related different meaning – ‘light headed’. Forgetful is anghofus in Welsh.

Spontus

By Simon

Spontus is a Breton word I learnt recently that means scary or terrible, as in spontus eo an amzer hiziv (the weather is terrible today). It doesn’t sound like it comes from a Welsh or Cornish root, and I wondered where it came from.

According to the Wikeriadur spontus comes from the word spont (to faint/wake with terror) plus the suffix -us. Unfortuantely it doesn’t say where spont comes from. Does any one have any ideas?

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon

– fossile = fossil = ffosil = karrekaenn
– contractuel = traffic warden = warden traffig
– Viking = Viking = Llychlynnwr / Ficing = Idem
– le drakkar / bateau viking = viking ship = llong/cwch llychlynnwr = drakkar
– la lacune = loophole (in law) = bwlch = toull
– la niche fiscale = tax loophole = bwlch treth
– combler une lacune = to close a loophole = cau bwlch
– l’échappatoire (f) = way out, excuse, loophole = allanfa, esgus, bwlch
– le feu (de jardin) = bonfire = coelcerth = tan
– le passage pour piétons = pedestrian crossing = croesfan gerddwyr = treuzenn kerzhourien
– le passage à niveau = level crossing = croesfan wastad = treuzenn hent-houarn
– le rayon de soleil = sunbeam = pelydryn haul = barr-heol

Brezhoneg

By Simon

My Breton studies are progressing and so far I’ve learnt a bit more everyday. Last week I worked through the first five lessons of my textbook (Le Breton, par Assimil) and today I got to the seventh lesson, which summerises what you’re learnt in the previous six lessons. The lessons are all short and don’t overload you with new information, as is often the case with other courses I’ve used. In courses with longer lessons you can go through each lesson over several days, but I prefer the shorter Assimil lessons.

The more Breton I learn, the more similarities I find with Welsh. For example, there are only five irregular verbs in Breton, as there are in Welsh, and Breton word order is similar to Welsh – you put the most important piece of information at the beginning of the sentence.

These sentences all mean the same thing, “The weather is fine in Ploulann today”, but with different emphasis in each:

– Brav eo an amzer e Ploulann hiziv = Braf ydy’r tywydd yn Ploulann heddiw = The weather is fine …

– An amzer a zo brav e Ploulann hiziv = Mae’r tywydd yn braf yn Ploulann heddiw = The weather is fine …

– E Ploulann eo brav an amzer hiziv = Yn Ploulann mae’r tywydd yn braf heddiw = The weather is fine in Ploulann …

– Hiziv eo brav an amzer e Ploulann = Heddiw mae’r tywydd yn braf yn Ploulann = The weather is fine in Ploulann today.

As the textbook is in French I’m also learning some new French words like:

– la tournure = turn of phrase, form, e.g. la tournure de qch = the way sth is developing; la tournure des événements = the turn of events; la tournure d’esprit = frame of mind

I’ve started working on the script for a Breton animation entitled “Pelec’h emañ Erwan?” (Where is Erwan?) – a thrilling adventure in search of the ever elusive Erwan.

My language studies

By Simon

This week I decided to start learning Russian and Breton again. I’ve learnt bits and pieces of them before but haven’t managed to get back into the habit of studying any language regularly for quite a while. I keep on making plans, and then due to inertia, laziness and procrastination don’t implement them.

So I will spend each morning listening to online Russian radio (Голос России) and then going though a lesson, or at least part of a lesson, in my Russian textbook just before lunch – I’m using Oxford Take Off in Russian. I might also use a number of online courses. Once I’ve learnt enough to have a basic conversation, I’ll seek out Russian speakers to practise with.

I plan to spend each afternoon or evening listening to online Breton radio (Radio Breizh) and then going through a lesson or two in Le Breton Sans Peine, and possibly also in Colloquial Breton. Using Le Breton Sans Peine gives me the chance to improve my French at the same time. I know a few Breton speakers I could practise with, and would like to visit Brittany once I have a basic conversational knowledge of Breton.

I might write bits and pieces in Russian and Breton on my multilingual blog – I’ve already started adding Breton to les mots de la semaine, some fo the words and phrases that crop up at the French conversation group I go to – and maybe I’ll make some videos as well.

Les mot de la semaine

By Simon

– la voie = lane (on road) = lôn = hent
– le chemin = (country) lane = lôn = hent
– la ruelle = lane (in town) = lôn = hent
– le couloir = lane (in race) = lôn = hent
– aléatoire = random (selection) = hap = ankivil, chañs
– au hasard = at random = ar antur, ar siawns, ar hap = en avantur
– le cantique = hymn = emyn, hymn = kantik
– le bocal = (glass) jar = jar = pod-gwer
– le pot = (jam/honey) jar = jar = pod
– le verre = tumbler, glass = gwydr = gwer
– la chope = tankard = mwg cwrw, tancard = chop bier
– le couvercle = lid = clawr, caead = golo, goulc’her
– la poignée = (door) handle = handlen = brec’h
– l’anse (f) = (cup) handle = dolen, trontol = dourgenn
– le manche (knife, spade, broom) handle = coes, carn = troad
– la queue = (saucepan) handle = coes