The main aim of Breton in contemporary media is to investigate the role of Breton media and new speakers (systematically called néo-bretonnants) in the present and the future of this minoritized language spoken in northern France. By focusing on these topics, the author seeks to provide a ‘total linguistic fact’ description. ‘Total linguistic fact’, according to Michael Silverstein, is the triangle formed by language structure, language use, and language context. A total linguistic fact study, therefore, comprehends both the linguistic and sociolinguistic features of a given topic.
These three aspects—use, structure, and context—are the central axes of the main chapters of the book, which are devoted to the study of the following aspects. First, there is a corpus of lexemes created ad hoc for this research, based on Breton press, transcripts of Breton radio broadcasts, and messages on a Breton Facebook group. Second, this corpus is compared with the lexicographic choices of a number of Breton dictionaries. Finally, the language ideologies, attitudes, and uses of several speakers of Breton, both traditional speakers and néo-bretonnants, are analysed by using semistructured sociolinguistic interviews.
The author uses both qualitative and quantitative data in her study. Far from the long-standing competition, or opposition, between these two methods of linguistic and sociolinguistic analysis, the choice to integrate the two methodologies is, indeed, a wise one. It allows the researcher to examine the most prototypically ‘linguistic’ aspects, such as the use of certain lexical items, or the choice between different words with similar meanings but different indexicalities. However, the sociolinguistic dimension is also considered. Over the varying indexicalities of linguistic choices, the semistructured interviews allow Davies-Deacon to delve into the relationship between standard language and dialects and the meaning that using one form or another has for Breton speakers. These interviews also allow her to inquire about the activism and engagement with language revitalization and maintenance among these speakers, as well as their relationship with multiple identities, especially French and Breton.
Whereas the corpus, comprising 34,333 words, is of an appropriate size for the study, the qualitative data—the interviews—cannot be considered significant. The author acknowledges this limitation, and she points it out several times throughout the book. In fact, nine people were interviewed, two of them being traditional speakers and seven of them néo-bretonnants. All of them work in the media analysed, or at least collaborate with some of them to some extent. Moreover, all nine participants are activists for the use and maintenance of the language. Obviously, we are all aware that the sociolinguistic situation of Breton is not good, and that finding other informants for the study would be very difficult.
Thus, despite this slight limitation regarding the qualitative data, Davies-Deacon's work is a valuable contribution to the study of the role of media, identities, and language ideologies in highly minoritised linguistic communities in the twenty-first century.
