Breton Language

Breton is a Celtic language most closely aligned with Cornish.  The people originated in Great Britain but migrated to the western tip of France, bringing their language with them. 

Old Breton was spoken by the upper class, until around the 12 century when they switched to French.  The lower classes continued to speak Breton and it was considered a peasant language.  Public schools only teach in French and regional languages, including Breton, were discouraged.   

In 1950 about a million people spoke Breton with a sharp decline to only about 100,000 around 2000 despite revival efforts.  Breton is the only living Celtic language in mainland Europe and the only one not recognized as an official or  regional language.

Neert, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons