Apprendre le breton, est-ce faire « communauté » ?

Abstract

Often, the term ‘community’ is used to refer to a social group and the links that exist and are created between the individuals who are part of it. However, this notion is open to interpretation depending on the nature of these links. Indeed, it can be used as much to stigmatise as to valorise a social group depending on the context and the way in which the group is perceived. In this article, we propose to discuss this notion in the context of adult Breton language learning by examining whether learning this language involves the creation of a linguistic, cultural and/or political community. The study was based on longitudinal participant observation and informal interviews conducted from 2012 to 2016 during language courses offered by KEAV (Kamp Etrekeltiek Ar Vrezhonegerion, inter-Celtic camp of Breton speakers).

Keywords

• adult learning
• linguistic immersion
• Breton (language)
• community
• sociolinguistics