François Falc'hun
Encyclopedia
François Falc'hun was a controversial French linguist known for his theories about the origin of the Breton language
. He was also an ordained Canon
in the Catholic clergy.
Falc'hun was professor at the Universities of Rennes and Brest. Contrary to the mainstream opinion of linguists, Falc'hun took the view that Breton was derived from the Gaulish
form of Continental Celtic, and not from the Brythonic
Celtic introduced by British migrants. He was accused of using linguistics to promote a French nationalist political agenda.
. He created a particular Breton orthography (known as "university" orthography) which was intended to replace the spelling system known as "Peurunvan", used from 1911 to 1941. His spelling, which does not use "zh", also abandons the Breton "c'h" convention, introduced in the seventeenth century, and which is even used in the official French form of Falc'hun's own name.
In 1951 Falc'hun developed his view that Breton developed from native Gaulish, arguing that the incoming Britons encountered a Gaulish-speaking rather than Latin-speaking population, and that the two variants of Celtic merged. Criticising the views of Joseph Loth
and Léon Fleuriot
, Falc'hun claimed that the Vannetais dialect of eastern Breton was almost wholly Gaulish. "I am convinced that the dialect of Vannes, especially in southern Blavet
, is a Gallic survival, little influenced by British contributions, and other dialects are simply Gaulish marked by the language of origin of the island immigrants".
, which sought to emphasise that the Bretons were non-French. Because of this, Falc'hun became a hate figure among Breton nationalists. According to his friend Françoise Morvan
, he suffered numerous "telephone harassment campaigns".
Léon Fleuriot has accepted Falc'hun's view that Breton was influenced by surviving local forms of Celtic, but rejects Falc'hun's argument that Vannetais is native Gaulish.
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
. He was also an ordained Canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
in the Catholic clergy.
Falc'hun was professor at the Universities of Rennes and Brest. Contrary to the mainstream opinion of linguists, Falc'hun took the view that Breton was derived from the Gaulish
Gaulish language
The Gaulish language is an extinct Celtic language that was spoken by the Gauls, a people who inhabited the region known as Gaul from the Iron Age through the Roman period...
form of Continental Celtic, and not from the Brythonic
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
Celtic introduced by British migrants. He was accused of using linguistics to promote a French nationalist political agenda.
Theories
Falc'hun's early work included an edition of the writings of Jean-Marie PerrotJean-Marie Perrot
The abbé Jean-Marie Perrot, in Breton Yann Vari Perrot , was a French priest, Breton independentist and collaborator assassinated by the communist resistance. He was the founder of the Breton Catholic movement Bleun-Brug.- Early life :Perrot was raised in a provincial Breton-speaking family...
. He created a particular Breton orthography (known as "university" orthography) which was intended to replace the spelling system known as "Peurunvan", used from 1911 to 1941. His spelling, which does not use "zh", also abandons the Breton "c'h" convention, introduced in the seventeenth century, and which is even used in the official French form of Falc'hun's own name.
In 1951 Falc'hun developed his view that Breton developed from native Gaulish, arguing that the incoming Britons encountered a Gaulish-speaking rather than Latin-speaking population, and that the two variants of Celtic merged. Criticising the views of Joseph Loth
Joseph Loth
Joseph Loth was a French linguist and historian who specialised in the study of Celtic languages.Loth was born in Guémené-sur-Scorff, Brittany. After his studies at Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, he became a teacher at Pontivy, then Quimper and Saumur until the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870...
and Léon Fleuriot
Léon Fleuriot
Léon Fleuriot was a French academic specializing in Celtic languages and in history, particularly that of Gallo-Roman Brittany and of the Early Middle Ages....
, Falc'hun claimed that the Vannetais dialect of eastern Breton was almost wholly Gaulish. "I am convinced that the dialect of Vannes, especially in southern Blavet
Blavet
The Blavet river flows from central Brittany and enters the Atlantic Ocean on the south coast near Lorient. The river is canalized for most of its length and is navigable for smaller craft. It is part of Brittany's canal system and became more important when the western half of that system got cut...
, is a Gallic survival, little influenced by British contributions, and other dialects are simply Gaulish marked by the language of origin of the island immigrants".
Controversy
Falc'hun's views became controversial after the publication of his 1981 book, Perspectives nouvelles sur l’histoire de la langue bretonne (New Perspectives on the History of the Breton Language), in which his theories were linked to nationalist ideology. It was published in a series entitled "The nation in question", as part of several texts entitled "the critical national ideology of...". These books were published in the context of a struggle against Breton nationalismBreton nationalism
Breton nationalism is the nationalism of the traditional province of Brittany in France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations...
, which sought to emphasise that the Bretons were non-French. Because of this, Falc'hun became a hate figure among Breton nationalists. According to his friend Françoise Morvan
Françoise Morvan
Françoise Morvan is a French writer who specialises in Breton history and culture.She studied literature in Colombes, then at the Sorbonne...
, he suffered numerous "telephone harassment campaigns".
Léon Fleuriot has accepted Falc'hun's view that Breton was influenced by surviving local forms of Celtic, but rejects Falc'hun's argument that Vannetais is native Gaulish.
Publications
- Le système consonantique du breton avec une étude comparative de phonétique expérimentale - Thèse présentée à la faculté des Lettres de l'université de Rennes, Rennes, imp. Réunies, imp. Plihon, 1951
- Préface de l'ouvrage "L'abbé Jean-Marie Perrot", du chanoine Henri Poisson, Édition Plihon (1955).
- Un texte breton inédit de Dom Michel Le NobletzMichel Le NobletzDom Michel Le Nobletz was a vigorous Counter-Reformation missionary active in the west of Brittany, who was responsible for a revival of popular Catholic culture. He developed new methods of teaching, and invented distinctive painted placards - known as taolennoù – which became widely used in the...
. (Extrait des annales de Bretagne). Rennes, imprimerie réunies, 1958 - Histoire de la Langue bretonne d'après la géographie linguistique - T. I : Texte - T. II : figures Paris, P.U.F. -1963
- Les noms de lieux celtiques. Première série : vallées et plaines. Rennes, Editions Armoricaine, 1966, Deuxième série : Problèmes de doctrine et de méthode - noms de hauteur. Rennes, Éditions Armoricaines, 1970
- Perspectives nouvelles sur l'histoire de la langue bretonne. Paris, Union Générale d'Éditions, 1981
- Les noms de lieux celtiques. Première série : vallées et plaines. Deuxième édition, revue et considérablement augmentée. Genève (ville)|Genève, Slatkine. 1982. with Bernard Tanguy.
- Les noms de lieux celtiques. Troisième série : Nouvelle Méthode de Recherche en Toponymie Celtique 1984. with Bernard Tanguy.