A new dialectometric approach applied to the Breton language

Guylaine Brun-Trigaud (1) , Tanguy Solliec (2) , Jean Le Dû (2)

1 BCL, équipe Dialectologie et Linguistique formelle
2 CRBC Brest - Centre de recherche bretonne et celtique

This paper presents a new dialectometric approach applied to the Breton language in the heart of Breton-speaking Brittany. It is based on data from the Nouvel Atlas Linguistique de la Basse-Bretagne Le Dû (2001). We process qualitative data using the Levenshtein algorithm which allows us to accurately measure and take into account the discrepancies or similarities between different pronunciations of a given word. This contribution aims to determine whether linguistic distance is caused by a frequent repetition of the same phenomenon or whether it is the outcome of multiple changes. Our first results suggest new ways of analysing Breton data.

Mots clés: dialectometry; Breton language; linguistic geography; dialectometry

Domaines: Linguistique

Guylaine Brun-Trigaud, Tanguy Solliec, Jean Le Dû. A new dialectometric approach applied to the Breton language. Marie-Hélène Côté, Remco Knooihuizen & John Nerbonne. The future of dialects, Language Science Press, pp.135-154, 2016, ⟨10.17169/langsci.b81.147⟩. ⟨hal-01551178⟩