La rhétorique « Kleiz Breizh »

Abstract

The variety of Breton used in a contemporary novel such as Piv a glevo? [who will hear?] immediately marks it out as a recent work in the literary history of Breton. The ‘literary’ and ‘disparitarian’ registers of Breton were not mutually exclusive options as far as Herve Ar Gall was concerned. It was as if he was trying to blur the sociolinguistic boundaries with his abundant use of colourful expressions alongside terms derived from a form of Neo-Breton. He did not choose between the pseudo-norm and the vividness of the popular variety but drew alternately from both registers. This enunciative diversity can be considered a deliberate literary choice made by the author to convey a political message to his reader.

Keywords

• rhetoric
• literature
• Breton (language)
• sociolinguistics
• linguistic variation