Foreword : This lesson does not deal with exceptions. Please refer to the next lesson on mutations for a full explanation including exceptions.
Definition
A mutation is the change of the first letter of a word according to different contexts.
Exemples :
Mamm (mother) --> Ar vamm (the mother)
Kozh (old) --> Mamm gozh (Grand mother)
Table of mutations
Mutations in Breton obey to regular phonetics laws.
They are summarized in the table below (details to be found in the rest of this page) :
Mutations to soften ("dre vlotaat")
Initial
K
G
Gw
P
B
M
T
D
Mutation
G
C’h
W
B
V
V
D
Z
Soft mutation happens in the following cases :
after a, da, daou, div, dindan, diwar, dre, e (possessive), eme, en em, en ur, hanter, holl, na, ne, pa, pe, re, war...
after the article for the feminine singular words and the related adjective
after the article for the masculine plural person names (except when the plural is in -où) and the related adjective
Soft Mutation will be noted (S!)
Following letters are affected: B becomes V D becomes Z K becomes G G becomes C'H GW becomes W P becomes B M becomes V T becomes D
Examples :
Breur (brother) gives Da vreur
Dant (tooth) gives Da zant
Glin (kneel) gives Da c'hlin
Mutations after the article (simplified)
This lesson does not treat of the following exceptions (the next lesson on mutations gives the corresponding rules) :