Bro gozh ma zadoù: language variation in the performance of traditional Breton songs

Abstract

This Bachelor’s thesis explores the phonemic differences (dialectal variation, singing style) and the phonetic differences (allophonic variation) in performances of traditional Breton song in comparison to spoken Breton. Four participants have provided at least one spoken sample and two recordings of songs, totaling to a corpus of about an hour worth of audio material. With a rough phonetic transcription of this material, a comparison is made per participant between their speech and the two songs they perform. The findings suggest that the conservative nature of the transmission of traditional song allows these differences to be preserved, but further research is needed to confirm this.