| Occitan Occitan, Lenga d'òc | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: |  France Spain Italy Monaco | |
| Total speakers: | 1,000,000-3,700,000[1] | |
| Language family: | Indo-European Italic Romance Italo-Western Western Gallo-Iberian Gallo-Romance Occitano-Romance Occitan | |
| Official status | ||
| Official language in: | Officially recognised inCatalonia, Spain, (known as Aranese in Aran Valley). | |
| Regulated by: | Occitan Academy in progress | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | oc | |
| ISO 639-2: | oci | |
| ISO 639-3: | oci | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
※ 메모:
Nowadays, strictly, linguists use the terms Provençal and Lemosin to refer to specific varieties within Occitania, whereas Occitan is used for the language as a whole. However, many non-specialists continue to refer to the language as Provençal, causing some confusion.
Occitan (pronounced /ˈɒksɪtən/ (BrE) or /ˈɑksɪtæn/ (AmE))[2], known also as Lenga d'òcor Langue d'oc (native name: occitan [utsiˈta],[3] lenga d'òc [ˈleŋɡɔˈðɔ(k)];[4] native nickname: la lenga nòstra i.e. "our [own] language") is a Romance language spoken inOccitania, that is, Southern France, the Occitan Valleys of Italy, Monaco and in the Aran Valley of Spain. It is also spoken in the linguistic enclave of Guardia Piemontese (Calabria,Italy). It is a co-official language in Catalonia, Spain (known as Aranese in Aran Valley).[5]Modern Occitan is the closest relative of Catalan. The languages, as spoken in early medieval times, might be considered variant forms of the same language. The termProvençal is often used to refer to Occitan.[6]
The area where Occitan was historically dominant is home to some 14 million inhabitants. It may be spoken as a first language by as many as 1.5 million people[7] in France, Italy,Spain and Monaco. In Monaco Occitan coexists with Monégasque Ligurian which is the other native language.[8] Some researchers state that up to seven million people in France understand the language.[who?] Written Occitan is generally understandable by readers who have some knowledge in any other Romance language.
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Name
[edit]History of the modern term
The name Occitan comes from lenga d'òc (i.e. òc language), which comes from òc, the Occitan word for yes. The Italian medieval poet Dante was the first to have recorded the term lingua d'oc. In his De vulgari eloquentia he wrote in Latin: "nam alii oc, alii si, alii vero dicunt oil" ("some say òc, others say sì, others say oïl"), thereby highlighting three major Romance literary languages which were well known in Italy, based on each language's word for "yes", the òc language (Occitan), the oïl language (French), and the sì language (Italian). This was not, of course, the only defining character of each group.
The word òc came from Vulgar Latin hoc ("this"), while oïl originated from Latin hoc illud ("this [is] it"). In old Catalan and nowadays in Catalan of Northern Catalonia (France, Catalunya Nord) is hoc (òc) too. Other Romance languages derive their word for yes from the Latin sic, "thus [it is], [it was done], etc.", such as Spanish sí, Modern Catalan sí, Western Lombard sé, Italian sì, or Portuguesesim.
[edit]Other names for Occitan
For many centuries, the Occitan dialects (together with Catalan[9]) were referred to as Lemosin or Provençal, the names of two regions lying within modern "Occitania". After Mistral's Félibrige movement in the 19th century, Provençal achieved the greatest literary recognition, and so became the most popular term for the Occitan language.
Nowadays, strictly, linguists use the terms Provençal and Lemosin to refer to specific varieties within Occitania, whereas Occitan is used for the language as a whole. However, many non-specialists continue to refer to the language as Provençal, causing some confusion.
[edit]History
Occitan was the vehicle for the influential poetry of the medieval troubadours. With the gradual imposition of French royal power over its territory, Occitan declined in status from the 14th century on. By the Edict of Villers-Cotterets (1539) it was decreed that the langue d'oïl (Northern French) should be used for all French administration. Occitan's greatest decline was during the French Revolution, during which diversity of language was considered a threat. The literary renaissance of late 19th century (which included a Nobel Prize for Frédéric Mistral) was attenuated by the First World War, where Occitan speakers spent extended periods of time alongside French-speaking comrades.
[edit]Origins
Because Occitan is the most central of the Romance languages, external influences could have impeded its origin and development, making it only a tributary of standard Latin. However, many factors favoured its development as a language of its own.
- Mountains and seas: The range of Occitan is bounded naturally by the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Massif Central, the Pyrenees, and the Alps.
- Buffer zones: Very dry land, marshes, and areas otherwise impractical for farming and resistant of colonization provide further separation (territory between Loire and Garonne, the Aragon desert plateau).
- Constant populations: Some Occitan-speaking peoples are descended from people living in the region since prehistory (Bec, 1963).
- Little Celtic influence (Bec, 1963)
- Ancient and long-term Roman influence: Julius Caesar once said that the people of Aquitaine could teach the Romans themselves to speak Latin more correctly. According to Müller, "France's linguistic separation began with Roman influence" (Bec, 1963, pp. 20, 21)
- A separate lexicon: Although Occitan is mid-way between Gallo-Romance and Ibero-Romance language groups, it has "around 550 words inherited from Latin that do not exist in the langues d'oïl nor in franco-provençal" (Bec, 1963, 20, 21).
- Little germanization: "The Frankish lexicon and its phonetic influence often end above the oc/oïl line" (Bec, 1963, 20, 21)
- Variety: Occitania has always been a linguistic crossroads, thanks to its commercial importance. In around 1165 the Spanish rabbi Benjamin of Tudela described the Occitanian city of Barcelona in cosmopolitan terms writing, 'Merchants come thither from all quarters with their wares, from Greece, from Pisa, Genoa, Sicily, Alexandria in Egypt, Palestine, Africa and all its coasts' (The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela: critical text, translation and commentary, Marcus Nathan Adler, 1907). [10].
[edit]Occitan around the world
[edit]Usage in France
Though it was still an everyday language for most of the rural population of the South well into the 20th century, it has been all but replaced by the imposition of French. According to the 1999 census, there are 610,000 native speakers (almost all of whom are also native French speakers) and perhaps another million persons with some exposure to the language. Following the pattern of languages in decline, most of this remainder is to be found among the eldest populations. Occitan activists (called Occitanists) have attempted, particularly with the advent of Occitan-language preschools (the Calandretas), to reintroduce the language to the young. Nonetheless, the number of proficient speakers of Occitan appears to be dropping precipitously. A tourist in the cities in southern France is unlikely to hear a single Occitan word spoken on the street (or for that matter, in a home), and will likely only find the occasional vestige, such as street signs (and of those, most will have French equivalents more prominently displayed), to remind them of the traditional language of the area. Occitans, as a result of more than 200 years of conditioned suppression and humiliation (see Vergonha), seldom speak their own language in the presence of foreigners, whether they're from abroad or from outside Occitania (in this case, often merely and abusively referred to as Parisiens or Nordistes, which means northerners). Occitan is still spoken by many elderly people in rural areas, but they generally switch to French when dealing with outsiders.
[edit]Usage outside France
- In the Aran Valley in the north-west corner of Catalonia, Spain, Aranese (a variety of Gascon, in turn a variety of Occitan) is spoken. It is an official language of Catalonia together with Catalan and Spanish.
- In Italy, Occitan is also spoken in the Occitan Valleys (Alps) in Piedmont and Liguria. An Occitan-speaking enclave also has existed at Guardia Piemontese (Calabria) since the 14th century. Italy adopted in 1999 a Linguistic Minorities Protection Law, or "Law 482", which includes Occitan; however, Italian is the dominant language. It should be noted that the Piedmontese dialect is extremely close to Occitan.
- In Monaco, some Occitan speakers coexist with remaining native Monegasque (Ligurian) speakers. French is the dominant language.
- Scattered Occitan-speaking communities exist in different countries:
- There were Occitan-speaking colonies in Württemberg (Germany) since the 18th century, the latter as a consequence of theCamisard war. The last Occitan speakers were heard in the 1930s.
- In the Spanish Basque country, Gascon was spoken in the center of Donostia/San Sebastián, perhaps until the beginning of the 20th century.[citations needed].
- In northern Algeria until the Algerian Independence wars of the late 1950s drove out an estimated 50,000 who may have spoken Occitan to France.[citation needed]
- In the Americas, Occitan speakers exist:
- in the United States, in Valdese, North Carolina[11]
- in Argentina, in Pigüé.[citation needed]
- in Mexico, in the state of Guanajuato.[citation needed]
- in Canada, in Quebec where there are Occitan associations such as Association Occitane du Québec and Association des Occitans.[12]
[edit]Traditionally Occitan-speaking areas
- Aquitaine — excluding the Basque-speaking part of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques in the western part of the department and a small part of Gironde where Saintongeais is spoken. The towns of Biarritz, Anglet, and Bayonne are originally Occitan-speaking, with Basque-speaking groups, but their Basque populations grew sharply during the industrial revolution.
- Midi-Pyrénées — including one of France's largest cities, Toulouse. There are a few street signs in Toulouse in Occitan, but the language is almost never heard spoken.
- Languedoc-Roussillon (from "Lenga d'òc") — including the areas around the medieval city of Carcassonne, excluding the large part of the Pyrénées-Orientales where Catalan is spoken (Fenolhedés is the only Occitan-speaking area of the Pyrénées-Orientales).
- Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur — except for the Roya and Bévéra valleys, where there is a transition dialect between Ligurian and Occitan (Roiasc, including Brigasc). There were former and now extinct isolated towns that spoke Ligurian in the Alpes-Maritimes département. Mentonasque, that is spoken in Menton, is an Occitan transition dialect with a strong Ligurian influence.
- In Monaco, Occitan coexists with Ligurian Monegasque. French is the dominant (and imposed) language.
- Poitou-Charentes — Use of Occitan has declined here in the few parts it used to be spoken, replaced by French. Only Charente limousine, the eastern part of the region, has resisted. But moreover the natural & historical languages of most of the region are the Poitevin and Saintongeais.
- Limousin — A rural region (about 710,000 inhabitants) where Occitan (Lemosin dialect, Nord-Occitan family) is still spoken among the oldest residents.
- Auvergne — The language's use has declined in some urban areas. The departement of Allier is divided between a southern Occitan-speaking area and a northern French-speaking area.
- Centre region — Some villages, in the extreme South, speak Occitan.
- Rhône-Alpes — While the south of the region is clearly Occitan-speaking, the central and northern Lyonnais, Forez andDauphiné parts belong to the Arpitan language area.
- Occitan Valleys (Piedmont, Liguria) — Italian regions where Occitan is spoken only in the southern and central Alpine valleys.
- Val d'Aran — part of Catalonia that speaks a mountain dialect of Gascon Occitan.
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