Gallo language
Encyclopedia
Gallo is a regional language of France. Gallo is a Romance language, one of the Oïl languages
. It is the historic language of the region of Upper Brittany
and some neighboring portions of Normandy
, but today is spoken by only a small minority of the population, having been largely superseded by French
.
Gallo was originally spoken in the Marches of Neustria, which now corresponds to the border lands of Brittany and Normandy and its former heart in Le Mans
, Maine
. As an Oïl language, it forms part of a dialect continuum
which includes Norman
, Picard
and Poitevin, among others. One of the features that distinguishes it from Norman is the absence of Norse influence. There is some limited intercomprehension with adjacent varieties of the Norman language along the linguistic frontier and with Dgèrnésiais
and Jèrriais
. However, as the dialect continuum shades towards Mayennais
, there is a less clear isogloss
. The clearest isogloss is that distinguishing Gallo from Breton
, a Celtic language traditionally spoken in the western territory of Brittany.
In the west, the vocabulary of Gallo has been influenced by contact with Breton, but remains overwhelmingly Latinate. The influence of Breton decreases eastwards across Gallo-speaking territory.
, Gallo's western extent stretches from Plouha
(Plóha), in Côtes-d'Armor
, south of Paimpol
(Paimpol), passing through Châtelaudren
(Châtié), Corlay
(Corlaè), Loudéac
(Loudia), Pontivy
(Pontivy), Locminé
(Lominoec), Vannes
(Vannes) and ending in the south on the Rhuys peninsula, in Morbihan
.
, has bilingual signage in French
and Gallo, but generally the Gallo language is not as visibly high-profile as the Breton language, even in its traditional heartland of the Pays Gallo, which includes the two historical capitals of Rennes
(Gallo Resnn, Breton Roazhon) and Nantes
(Gallo Nauntt, Breton Naoned).
Different dialects of Gallo are distinguished, although there is a movement for standardisation on the model of the dialect of Upper Brittany
.
Although a written literary tradition exists, Gallo is more noted for extemporised story-telling and theatrical presentations. Given Brittany's rich musical heritage, contemporary performers produce a range of music sung in Gallo (see Music of Brittany
).
Langues d'oïl
The langues d'oïl or langues d'oui , in English the Oïl or Oui languages, are a dialect continuum that includes standard French and its closest autochthonous relatives spoken today in the northern half of France, southern Belgium, and the Channel Islands...
. It is the historic language of the region of Upper Brittany
Upper Brittany
Upper Brittany is a term used to describe the eastern part of Brittany which is predominantly of a Romance culture and is associated with the Gallo language. The name is in counterpoint to Lower Brittany, the western part of the ancient province and present-day region, where the Breton language...
and some neighboring portions of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, but today is spoken by only a small minority of the population, having been largely superseded by French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
Gallo was originally spoken in the Marches of Neustria, which now corresponds to the border lands of Brittany and Normandy and its former heart in Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
, Maine
Maine (province)
Le Maine is one of the traditional provinces of France . It corresponds to the old county of Maine, with its center, the city of Le Mans.-Location:...
. As an Oïl language, it forms part of a dialect continuum
Dialect continuum
A dialect continuum, or dialect area, was defined by Leonard Bloomfield as a range of dialects spoken across some geographical area that differ only slightly between neighboring areas, but as one travels in any direction, these differences accumulate such that speakers from opposite ends of the...
which includes Norman
Norman language
Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. Norman can be classified as one of the northern Oïl languages along with Picard and Walloon...
, Picard
Picard language
Picard is a language closely related to French, and as such is one of the larger group of Romance languages. It is spoken in two regions in the far north of France – Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy – and in parts of the Belgian region of Wallonia, the district of Tournai and a part of...
and Poitevin, among others. One of the features that distinguishes it from Norman is the absence of Norse influence. There is some limited intercomprehension with adjacent varieties of the Norman language along the linguistic frontier and with Dgèrnésiais
Dgèrnésiais
Guernésiais, also known as Dgèrnésiais, Guernsey French, and Guernsey Norman French, is the variety of the Norman language spoken in Guernsey. It is sometimes known on the island by the semi-disparaging name "patois"...
and Jèrriais
Jèrriais
Jèrriais is the form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, in the Channel Islands, off the coast of France. It has been in decline over the past century as English has increasingly become the language of education, commerce and administration...
. However, as the dialect continuum shades towards Mayennais
Mayenne
Mayenne is a department in northwest France named after the Mayenne River.-History:Mayenne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. The northern two thirds correspond to the western part of the former province of Maine...
, there is a less clear isogloss
Isogloss
An isogloss—also called a heterogloss —is the geographical boundary of a certain linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or use of some syntactic feature...
. The clearest isogloss is that distinguishing Gallo from Breton
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...
, a Celtic language traditionally spoken in the western territory of Brittany.
In the west, the vocabulary of Gallo has been influenced by contact with Breton, but remains overwhelmingly Latinate. The influence of Breton decreases eastwards across Gallo-speaking territory.
, Gallo's western extent stretches from Plouha
Plouha
Plouha is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Plouha are called plouhatins.-International relations:Plouha is twinned with Killorglin located in County Kerry, Ireland....
(Plóha), in Côtes-d'Armor
Côtes-d'Armor
Côtes-d'Armor is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France.-History:Côtes-du-Nord was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Brittany. Its name was changed in 1990 to...
, south of Paimpol
Paimpol
Paimpol is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.It is a tourist destination, especially during the summer months when people are attracted by its port and beaches.-Population:...
(Paimpol), passing through Châtelaudren
Châtelaudren
Châtelaudren is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Châtelaudren are called châtelaudrinais.-External links:*...
(Châtié), Corlay
Corlay
Corlay is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:Inhabitants of Corlay are called in French corlaisiens.-External links:*...
(Corlaè), Loudéac
Loudéac
Loudéac is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-A market town:Loudéac is a very pretty market town with many traditional buildings and mediaeval streets to enjoy. The weekly market, which sells the best and freshest of local produce, goes on as it has for...
(Loudia), Pontivy
Pontivy
Pontivy is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest.-History:...
(Pontivy), Locminé
Locminé
Locminé is a commune in the Morbihan department of the region of Brittany in north-western France.-Breton language:In 2008, 14.39% of the children attended the bilingual schools in primary education.-Twin towns:...
(Lominoec), Vannes
Vannes
Vannes is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2000 years ago.-Geography:Vannes is located on the Gulf of Morbihan at the mouth of two rivers, the Marle and the Vincin. It is around 100 km northwest of Nantes and 450 km south west...
(Vannes) and ending in the south on the Rhuys peninsula, in Morbihan
Morbihan
Morbihan is a department in Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan , the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline.-History:...
.
Status
One of the metro stations of the Breton capital, RennesRennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
, has bilingual signage in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Gallo, but generally the Gallo language is not as visibly high-profile as the Breton language, even in its traditional heartland of the Pays Gallo, which includes the two historical capitals of Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
(Gallo Resnn, Breton Roazhon) and Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
(Gallo Nauntt, Breton Naoned).
Different dialects of Gallo are distinguished, although there is a movement for standardisation on the model of the dialect of Upper Brittany
Upper Brittany
Upper Brittany is a term used to describe the eastern part of Brittany which is predominantly of a Romance culture and is associated with the Gallo language. The name is in counterpoint to Lower Brittany, the western part of the ancient province and present-day region, where the Breton language...
.
Although a written literary tradition exists, Gallo is more noted for extemporised story-telling and theatrical presentations. Given Brittany's rich musical heritage, contemporary performers produce a range of music sung in Gallo (see Music of Brittany
Music of Brittany
Since the early 1970s, Brittany has experienced a tremendous revival of its folk music. Along with flourishing traditional forms such as the bombard-binou pair and fest-noz ensembles incorporating other additional instruments, it has also branched out into numerous sub-genres...
).
Examples
| English | Gallo | French |
|---|---|---|
| afternoon | vêpré | après-midi (archaic: vêprée) |
| apple tree | pommieu | pommier |
| bee | avètt | abeille |
| cider | cit | cidre |
| chair | chaérr | chaise |
| cheese | fórmaij | fromage |
| exit | desort | sortie |
| to fall | cheir | tomber (archaic: choir) |
| goat | biq | chèvre (slang: bique) |
| him | li | lui |
| house | ostèu | maison (archaic: hostel) |
| kid | garsaille | gosse |
| lip | lip | lèvre |
| maybe | vantiet | peut-être |
| mouth | góll | bouche (gueule = jaw) |
| now | astour | maintenant |
| number | limerot | numéro |
| pear | peirr | poire |
| school | escoll | école |
| squirrel | chat-de-boéz (lit. "woods cat") | écureuil |
| star | esteill | étoile |
| timetable | orier | horaire |
| to smoke | betunae | fumer (archaic: pétuner) |
| today | anoet | aujourd'hui (archaic: hui) |
| to whistle | sublae | siffler |
| with | ô or côteu | avec |
Films
- Of Pipers and Wrens (1997). Produced and directed by Gei Zantzinger, in collaboration with Dastum. Lois V. Kuter, ethnomusicological consultant. Devault, Pennsylvania: Constant Spring Productions.