Provençal language

Provençal (Provençau in Provençal language) is one of several dialects of the Occitan language, which is spoken by a minority of people in southern France and other areas of France.

In the English-speaking world, "Provençal" is often used to refer to all dialects of Occitan, but actually refers specifically to the dialect spoken in the former province of Provence as well as south of Dauphiné and the Nîmes region in Languedoc and the upper valleys of Piedmont, Italy (Val Maira, Val Varacha, Val d'Estura, Entraigas, Limon, Vinai, Pignerol, Sestriera).

"Provençal" is also the customary name given to the older version of the langue d'oc used by the troubadours of medieval literature, corresponding to Old French or langue d'oil of the northern areas of France.

Also, some secluded areas of Sicily still bear significant traces of Provençal in terms of vocabulary and pronunciation.

Sub-Dialects

Four main sub-dialects are identified. These are:

• Rhodanien
• Maritime (Provençal)
• Gavot
• Niçard

A fifth sub-dialect, the Shuadit or Judeo-Provençal is considered as extinct since 1977. It was spoken by the Jewish community around Avignon. When Jews were granted freedom of residence in France the dialect declined.

Literature

Modern Provençal literature was given impetus by Nobel laureate Frédéric Mistral and the association Félibrige he founded with other writers.

Miscellaneous

The Provençal language is not to be confused with the Franco-Provençal language, which is a linguistic sub-group of its own between the Langue d'oïl and Langue d'Oc.

This article is licenced under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Provençal language".