Memestra eget. Non-standard use of prepositions from second-language learners in Modern Breton

Abstract

abstract:Since Modern Breton is a minority language, the majority of speakers are now second-language speakers, who have learnt it through various media and then go into teaching (immersion schools, intensive language programs) and media (television, book writing, journalism). With such a large number of non-native speakers forming the core of the Breton-speaking community, the usage of the language is bound to be affected in some way in its vocabulary and grammar, particularly since the level required to enter into a teaching position—in immersion schools, as well as bilingual ones—is B2 (almost fluent).I propose to study the variation created by this state of affairs through the lens of prepositional usage in set expressions. The four prepositions that I will focus on are very common: memestra evel 'the same as', sikour da 'help to', and lammat dreist 'jumping over'. Having conducted a study on the usage of these prepositions among native and fluent speakers of Breton, as well as learners, I propose to examine how their usage varies from the norm and explain the origin of the variation. The norm that I use is the one set in Devri, the historical Breton dictionary, which describes how Breton was used by native speakers, historically and in the modern day.