The ''symbole'', also called ''ar vuoc'h'' ("the cow"), was an object used by Francophone headmasters in

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and

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Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

French Flanders French Flanders (french: La Flandre française) is a part of the historical County of Flanders in present-day France where a dialect of Dutch was or still is traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day region of Hauts-de-France an ...

, Occitania,

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and

North Catalonia Northern Catalonia, North Catalonia, ; french: Catalogne (du) Nord ; oc, Catalonha (del) Nòrd; es, Cataluña (del) Norte) French Catalonia or Roussillon refers to the Catalan-speaking and Catalan-culture territory ceded to France by Spain t ...

as a means of punishment for students caught speaking Breton,

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

, Occitan, Basque, or

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during the 19th and 20th centuries. Generally, the student was supposed to pass the ''symbole'' onto another of his fellow students after catching him speaking Breton, Occitan or Catalan (referred to as '' patois''). The student in possession of the object at the end of recess, the half-day, or the day would be punished with, for example, manual labor, extra homework, corporal punishment, or organized mockery led by the headmaster.

Nature of the object

The ''symbole'' could be: * an ordinary wooden clog, sometimes not hollowed out, worn around the neck * a

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worn around the neck. At the Plouaret public school from 1943 to 1949 students were required to write "je parle breton" ("I speak Breton") on the slate. * an object to be carried in the pocket, such as a button, toy sabot, or badge. The purpose of its use was: * Exclusion of the targeted language (Breton, Occitan...) from school and play; * Bringing mockery upon those who didn't follow the established language rules; * to help bring detriment upon students and prevent student solidarity.

Bibliography

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References

{{reflist Breton language French language History of Brittany Language policy in France Linguistic discrimination Linguistic rights Punishments School punishments

Nature of the object

See also

Bibliography

References