Breton gets TV lifeline

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Bretons will get a major boost for their ancient Celtic language in September with the launch of the first Breton television station - TV Breizh.

Breton, closely related to Welsh, is not officially recognised by the French government, although it is spoken by about 540,000 people in Brittany.

The new TV station "will have a very positive impact in Brittany," said Richard Hincks, Senior Lecturer in Breton at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

"It is long overdue - the amount of Breton broadcast at the moment is very small."

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In contrast with France, both Welsh and Scottish Gaelic get extensive air time on radio and television in the UK.

In addition to Wales, Scotland and Brittany, Celts are concentrated in Ireland, the Isle of Man, Cornwall and the region of Galicia in northwestern Spain.

Since the 1789 revolution successive French governments have remained attached to the republican principle: a unitary state inhabited by one nation. They have rejected demands for regional autonomy or recognition of regional languages.

Frustrated with the official policy, some Breton separatists have resorted to violence - including restaurant bombings - to press their demands.

Breizh is the local name for Brittany, whose connections with the British Isles go back for centuries.

The region owes its name to Celts who migrated there from Britain to escape from Anglo-Saxon invaders in the 5th and 6th centuries.

Celtic connections

The new private television channel, funded by advertising, will broadcast by cable and satellite. Its managers hope to reach out to a Celtic audience beyond northwestern France.

English-language broadcasts are not ruled out if the channel proves a success.

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"TV Breizh harbours a European cultural ambition, to devote itself to the development of Celtic culture," said Patrick Le Lay, the new station's chairman.

TV Breizh director-general Rozenn Milin stressed the channel's pan-Celtic ambitions, suggesting that James Bond films featuring Scottish actor Sean Connery could go on the schedule.

And Celtic pride may be further fuelled by the planned screening of Braveheart - the story of Scottish independence hero William Wallace - dubbed into Breton.

Language difficulties

The Breton language has not flourished in the way Welsh has in recent years.

France has not signed up to a European Union charter on the protection of minority languages.

There are Breton radio programmes, but the language gets only minimal coverage on French television's third channel.

The new television station may be "very valuable" in keeping Breton alive among the younger generation, Mr Hincks told BBC News Online.

Breton has not yet matched the status of Welsh

Breton used to be regarded by many in France as a backward, rural language.

It was also stigmatised by the record of some Breton nationalists who collaborated with Nazi Germany in World War II.

Revival

But a Breton cultural revival, spearheaded by urban, middle-class enthusiasts, gathered pace in the 1960s and 70s with the Breton schools movement called Diwan.

The success of Welsh-medium education in Wales has proved an inspiration for Brittany and other parts of Europe with minority languages.

At Carhaix, in central Brittany, teachers from Wales are helping their Breton counterparts in a school set up to promote the Breton language.

Breton is now taught alongside French in an increasing number of Brittany schools, though bilingualism remains more advanced in Wales.

"The growth in Breton schools is significant, but it's a hard battle," commented Mr Hincks.