Tourism: five reminders to avoid making mistakes when visiting Brittany – Bretagne

Even the great artists who perform in Brittany have sometimes been mistaken: “Kenavo” does not mean “Hello” in Breton! It is even the exact opposite since the contraction of “Ken”, meaning “until”, and “a vo”, or “what there is”, means “goodbye”. If “demat”, pronounced “de-mate”, is used today to say “hello”, this word is a recent creation. The Breton language originally had no literal equivalent. Indeed, the Bretons greeted by asking a question related to the context of the meeting to directly engage the conversation. The “demat” is therefore still a bit controversial, with some preferring “Mont a ra?” : The form ? », « Hello! : Hi ! or even “Mat ar jeu? : It’s okay ? »…

Pillars of Breton culinary culture, pancakes and galettes are also the subject of a linguistic debate. If you order a galette in Finistère, you may be given a questioning look. Indeed, the name “galette” is mainly used in Upper Brittany, east of the line drawn between Vannes (56) and Saint-Brieuc (22). In the west, we talk about pancake, whether sweet or savory.

Without knowing its name, you must have already seen the Gwenn ha du, which in the 20th century became the symbolic flag of Brittany. Created in 1925 by the militant architect Morvan Marchal, the Gwenn ha du, or “White and black”, is made up of eleven speckles of ermine, a historical symbol of Brittany, as well as four white stripes and five black stripes. These represent respectively the four countries of Lower Brittany, to the west, and the five countries of Upper Brittany. But don’t be surprised to see other flags depending on the country of Brittany where you are: orange and gold for the Bigouden country, red and white with ermine for the Dol country, red dragon on a black background and yellow for the country du Trégor… Let it be said: the Gwenn ha du brings together all the Bretons but each country in Brittany also cultivates its own identity.

The same is true for headdresses: often used to represent Breton women, the bigoudène headdress impresses with its height. However, as its name suggests, this headdress is specific to the Pays bigouden, located in the south-west of Finistère. Breton headdresses can take many forms depending on the territory. So don’t ask where the top hats are while strolling around Rennes (35) or Roscoff (29).

This last point is perhaps the most complicated of our selection. How do you pronounce the city of Pont-Aven (29)? “Pont-Avenne”, “Pont-Avin”? Why is the “s” of Daoulas (29) pronounced but not that of Saint-Gildas (22)? If certain theories exist to explain the differences in pronunciation, we simply advise you to ask your interlocutor or, even better, to let him say the name of the city before you, to be sure not to make a mistake!