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Occitan language

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Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use dmy dates {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other

Occitan (Template:IPAc-en;<ref name=":1">Template:OED</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> {{#invoke:IPA|main}}),Template:Efn also known by its native speakers as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; Template:Langx), sometimes also referred to as Provençal, is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valleys, as well as Spain's Val d'Aran in Catalonia; collectively, these regions are sometimes referred to as Occitania. It is also spoken in Calabria (Southern Italy) in a linguistic enclave of Cosenza area (mostly Guardia Piemontese) named Gardiol, which is also considered a separate Occitanic language.<ref>Template:Glottolog</ref> Some include Catalan as a dialect of Occitan, as the linguistic distance between this language and some Occitan dialects (such as the Gascon language) is similar to the distance between different Occitan dialects. Catalan was considered a dialect of Occitan until the end of the 19th century<ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref> and still today remains its closest relative.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Occitan is an official language of Catalonia, Spain, where a subdialect of Gascon known as Aranese is spoken (in the Val d'Aran).<ref>As stated in its Statute of Autonomy approved. See Article 6.5 in the Parlament-cat.net Template:Webarchive, text of the 2006 Statute of Catalonia (PDF)</ref> Since September 2010, the Parliament of Catalonia has considered Aranese Occitan to be the officially preferred language for use in the Val d'Aran.

Across history, the terms Limousin (Lemosin), Languedocien (Lengadocian), Gascon, in addition to Provençal (Provençal, Provençau or Prouvençau) later have been used as synonyms for the whole of Occitan; nowadays, the term "Provençal" is understood mainly as the Occitan dialect spoken in Provence, in southeast France.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Unlike other Romance languages such as French or Spanish, Occitan does not have a single written standard form, nor does it have official status in France, home to most of its speakers. Instead, there are competing norms for writing Occitan, some of which attempt to be pan-dialectal, whereas others are based on a particular dialect. These efforts are hindered by the rapidly declining use of Occitan as a spoken language in much of southern France, as well as by the significant differences in phonology and vocabulary among different Occitan dialects.

According to the UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> four of the six major dialects of Occitan (Provençal, Auvergnat, Limousin and Languedocien) are considered severely endangered, whereas the remaining two (Gascon and Vivaro-Alpine) are considered definitely endangered.

NameEdit

History of the modern termEdit

The name Occitan comes from the term {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("language of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}"), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} being the Occitan word for yes. While the term would have been in use orally for some time after the decline of Latin, as far as historical records show, the Italian medieval poet Dante was the first to have recorded the term {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in writing. In his {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, he wrote in Latin, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("for some say {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, others {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, yet others say {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}"), thereby highlighting three major Romance literary languages that were well known in Italy, based on each language's word for "yes", the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} language (Occitan), the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} language (French), and the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} language (Italian).

The word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} came from Vulgar Latin {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("this"), while {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} originated from Latin {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("this [is] it"). Old Catalan and now the Catalan of Northern Catalonia also have {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}). Other Romance languages derive their word for "yes" from the Latin {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, "thus [it is], [it was done], etc.", such as Spanish {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Eastern Lombard {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Italian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, or Portuguese {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. In modern Catalan, as in modern Spanish, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is usually used as a response, although the language retains the word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, akin to {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, which is sometimes used at the end of yes–no questions and also in higher register as a positive response.<ref>Template:Cite book, 253.1 Template:In lang</ref> French uses {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} to answer "yes" in response to questions that are asked in the negative sense: for example, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("You don't have any brothers, do you ?" "Yes I do, I have seven.").

The name "Occitan" was attested around 1300 as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, a crossing of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Aquitanian).<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Other names for OccitanEdit

For many centuries, the Occitan dialects (together with Catalan)<ref>Lapobladelduc.org Template:Webarchive, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. The name of the language, in Catalan</ref> were referred to as Limousin or Provençal, after the names of two regions lying within the modern Occitan-speaking area. After Frédéric Mistral's Félibrige movement in the 19th century, Provençal achieved the greatest literary recognition and so became the most popular term for Occitan.

According to Joseph Anglade, a philologist and specialist of medieval literature who helped impose the then archaic term Occitan as the standard name,<ref>Template:Harvnb: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}</ref> the word Lemosin was first used to designate the language at the beginning of the 13th century by Catalan troubadour Raimon Vidal de Besalú(n) in his {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}Template:Sfn

The French language is worthier and better suited for romances and pastourelles; but [the language] from Limousin is of greater value for writing poems and cançons and sirventés; and across the whole of the lands where our tongue is spoken, the literature in the Limousin language has more authority than any other dialect, wherefore I shall use this name in priority.

The term Provençal, though implying a reference to the region of Provence, historically was used for Occitan as a whole, for "in the eleventh, the twelfth, and sometimes also the thirteenth centuries, one would understand under the name of Provence the whole territory of the old Provincia romana Gallia Narbonensis and even Aquitaine".<ref>Camille Chabaneau et al, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, 1872, p. 170: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}</ref> The term first came into fashion in Italy.<ref>Template:Harvnb: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.</ref>

Currently, linguists use the terms Provençal and Limousin strictly to refer to specific varieties within Occitan, using Occitan for the language as a whole. Many non-specialists, however, continue to refer to the language as Provençal.

HistoryEdit

Template:Further

One of the oldest written fragments of the language found dates back to 960, shown here in italics mixed with non-italicized Latin:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Carolingian litanies (Template:Circa), though the leader sang in Latin, were answered to in Old Occitan by the people ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Other famous pieces include the Boecis, a 258-line-long poem written entirely in the Limousin dialect of Occitan between the year 1000 and 1030 and inspired by Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy; the Waldensian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (dated 1100),<ref>Template:Cite book: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}</ref> {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Circa–1076), the Romance of Flamenca (13th century), the Song of the Albigensian Crusade (1213–1219?), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (12th or 13th century), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (11th century) and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (9th or 10th century).

Occitan was the vehicle for the influential poetry of the medieval troubadours ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}: At that time, the language was understood and celebrated throughout most of educated Europe.<ref>Charles Knight, Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Vol. XXV, 1843, p. 308: "At one time the language and poetry of the troubadours were in fashion in most of the courts of Europe."</ref> It was the maternal language of the English queen Eleanor of Aquitaine and kings Richard I (who wrote troubadour poetry) and John.

With the gradual imposition of French royal power over its territory, Occitan declined in status from the 14th century on. The Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) decreed that the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (French – though at the time referring to the Francien language and not the larger collection of dialects grouped under the name {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) should be used for all French administration. Occitan's greatest decline occurred during the French Revolution, in which diversity of language was considered a threat.

In 1903, the four Gospels ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, i.e. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) were translated into Provençal as spoken in Cannes and Grasse. The translation was given the official Roman Catholic Imprimatur by vicar general A. Estellon.Template:Citation needed

The literary renaissance of the late 19th century (in which the 1904 Nobel Prize in Literature winner, Frédéric Mistral, among others, was involved) was attenuated by World War I, when (in addition to the disruption caused by any major war) many Occitan speakers spent extended periods of time alongside French-speaking comrades.

OriginsEdit

File:Linguistic map Southwestern Europe-en.gif
Linguistic evolution in southwest Europe from AD 1000 to 2000

Because the geographical territory in which Occitan is spoken is surrounded by regions in which other Romance languages are used, external influences may have influenced its origin and development. Many factors favored its development as its own language.

  • Mountains and seas: The range of Occitan is naturally bounded by the Mediterranean, Atlantic, Massif Central, Alps, and Pyrenees, respectively.
  • Buffer zones: arid 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 prehistoric times.Template:Sfn
  • Deeper Roman influence: The Romans had established an earlier presence in Southern France in 121 BC beginning with Gallia Narbonensis, where the seeds of the Occitan language were first sowed. According to Müller, "France's linguistic separation began with Roman influence"Template:Sfn
  • A separate lexicon: Although Occitan is midway between the Gallo-Romance and Iberian Romance languages, it has "around 550 words inherited from Latin that no longer exist in the langues d'oïl or in Franco-Provençal"Template:Sfn
  • Lack of Germanic influence: "The Frankish lexicon and its phonetic influence often end above the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}/{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} line"Template:Sfn

Occitan in the Iberian PeninsulaEdit

Catalan in Spain's northern and central Mediterranean coastal regions and the Balearic Islands is closely related to Occitan, sharing many linguistic features and a common origin (see Occitano-Romance languages). The language was one of the first to gain prestige as a medium for literature among Romance languages in the Middle Ages. Indeed, in the 12th and 13th centuries, Catalan troubadours such as Guerau de Cabrera, Guilhem de Bergadan, Guilhem de Cabestany, Huguet de Mataplana, Raimon Vidal de Besalú, Cerverí de Girona, Formit de Perpinhan, and Jofre de Foixà wrote in Occitan.

At the end of the 11th century, the Franks, as they were called at the time, started to penetrate the Iberian Peninsula through the Ways of St. James via Somport and Roncesvalles, settling in various locations in the Kingdoms of Navarre and Aragon enticed by the privileges granted them by the Navarrese kings. They settled in large groups, forming ethnic boroughs where Occitan was used for everyday life, in Pamplona, Sangüesa, and Estella-Lizarra, among others.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> These boroughs in Navarre may have been close-knit communities that tended not to assimilate with the predominantly Basque-speaking general population. Their language became the status language chosen by the Navarrese kings, nobility, and upper classes for official and trade purposes in the period stretching from the early 13th century to the late 14th century.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Written administrative records were in a koiné based on the Languedocien dialect from Toulouse with fairly archaic linguistic features, evidence survives of a written account in Occitan from Pamplona centered on the burning of borough San Nicolas from 1258, while the History of the War of Navarre by Guilhem Anelier (1276), albeit written in Pamplona, shows a linguistic variant from Toulouse.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Things turned out slightly otherwise in Aragon, where the sociolinguistic situation was different, with a clearer Basque-Romance bilingual situation (cf. Basques from the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} cited Template:Circa), but a receding Basque language (Basque banned in the marketplace of Huesca, 1349).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Poza quotes the Basques inhabiting lands as far east as the River Gallego in the 16th century.</ref> While the language was chosen as a medium of prestige in records and official statements along with Latin in the early 13th century, Occitan faced competition from the rising local Romance vernacular, the Navarro-Aragonese, both orally and in writing, especially after Aragon's territorial conquests south to Zaragoza, Huesca and Tudela between 1118 and 1134. It resulted that a second Occitan immigration of this period was assimilated by the similar Navarro-Aragonese language, which at the same time was fostered and chosen by the kings of Aragon. In the 14th century, Occitan across the whole southern Pyrenean area fell into decay and became largely absorbed into Navarro-Aragonese first and Castilian later in the 15th century, after their exclusive boroughs broke up (1423, Pamplona's boroughs unified).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Gascon-speaking communities were called to move in for trading purposes by Navarrese kings in the early 12th century to the coastal fringe extending from San Sebastian to the river Bidasoa, where they settled down. The language variant they used was different from the ones in Navarre, i.e. a Béarnese dialect of Gascon.<ref name="dialnet.unirioja.es">Template:Cite journal</ref> Gascon remained in use in this area far longer than in Navarre and Aragon, until the 19th century, thanks mainly to the fact that Donostia and Pasaia maintained close ties with Bayonne.

Geographic distributionEdit

Number of speakersEdit

The area where Occitan was historically dominant has approximately 16 million inhabitants. Recent research has shown it may be spoken as a first language by approximately 789,000 people<ref name="bernissan" /><ref name="martel" /> in France, Italy, Spain and Monaco. In Monaco, Occitan coexists with Monégasque Ligurian, which is the other native language.<ref>Pierre, Bec. (1995) La langue occitane, coll. Que sais-je? n° 1059, Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.</ref><ref>Arveiller, Raymond. (1967) Étude sur le parler de Monaco, Monaco: Comité National des Traditions Monégasques, p. ix.</ref> Up to seven million people in France understand the language,<ref>Klinkenberg, Jean-Marie. Des langues romanes, Duculot, 1994, 1999, p. 228: "The amount of speakers is an estimated 10 to 12 millions... in any case never less than 6 millions."</ref><ref>Baker, Colin; and Sylvia Prys Jones. Encyclopedia of bilingualism and bilingual education, 1997, p. 402: "Of the 13 million inhabitants of the area where Occitan is spoken (comprising 31 départements) it is estimated that about half have a knowledge of one of the Occitan varieties."</ref><ref>Barbour, Stephen and Cathie Carmichael. Language and nationalism in Europe, 2000, p. 62: "Occitan is spoken in 31 départements, but even the EBLUL (1993: 15–16) is wary of statistics: 'There are no official data on the number of speakers. Of some 12 to 13 million inhabitants in the area, it is estimated 48 per cent understand Occitan, 28 per cent can speak it, about 9 per cent of the population use it on a daily basis, 13 per cent can read and 6 per cent can write the language.Template:'"</ref> whereas twelve to fourteen million fully spoke it in 1921.<ref>Template:Harvnb: La Langue d'Oc est parlée actuellement par douze ou quatorze millions de Français ("Occitan is now spoken by twelve or fourteen million French citizens").</ref> In 1860, Occitan speakers represented more than 39%<ref>Template:Harvnb: parlée dans le Midi de la France par quatorze millions d'habitants ("spoken in the South of France by fourteen million inhabitants").</ref> of the whole French population (52% for francophones proper); they were still 26% to 36% in the 1920s,<ref>Template:Harvnb: ...défendre une langue, qui est aujourd'hui la mère de la nôtre, parlée encore par plus de dix millions d'individus... ("protect a language, which is today the mother of ours, still spoken by more than ten million individuals")</ref> but less than 7% in 1993.

Usage in FranceEdit

File:Place Mage (Toulouse) - plaques.jpg
lang}} in southern French cities.

Though it was still an everyday language for most of the rural population of southern France well into the 20th century, the language is now declining in every region where it was spoken.

A 2020 study<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> conducted by the Office Public de la Langue Occitane on the territories of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie regions estimated around 540,000 speakers in these two regions. It is worth noting that the survey was conducted in the Occitan language for respondents who declared they were proficient in it. However, the regions including Auvergne and Provence were effectively excluded from this census, as the Office in question does not currently have a partnership with these territories.

According to the 1999 census, there were 610,000 native speakers (almost all of whom were also native French speakers) and perhaps another million people with some exposure to the language. Following the pattern of language shift, most of this remainder is to be found among the eldest populations. Occitan activists (called Occitanists) have attempted, in particular with the advent of Occitan-language preschools (the Calandretas), to reintroduce the language to the young.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Nonetheless, the number of proficient speakers of Occitan is thought 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 is likely to 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Occitan speakers, as a result of generations of systematic suppression and humiliation (see Vergonha), seldom use the language in the presence of strangers, whether they are 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Occitan's decline is somewhat less pronounced in Béarn because of the province's history (a late addition to the Kingdom of France), though even there the language is little spoken outside the homes of the rural elderly. The village of Artix is notable for having elected to post street signs in the local language.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Usage outside FranceEdit

File:Europe2005 bossost-aranes1.jpg
Aranese signage in Bossòst, Val d'Aran, Spain

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Traditionally Occitan-speaking areasEdit

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> but otherwise the language is almost never heard spoken on the street.

  • 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 (Fenolheda 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 transitional dialect between Ligurian and Occitan, (Roiasc, including the Brigasc dialect of Ligurian). In the department of Alpes-Maritimes there were once isolated towns that spoke Ligurian called Figún,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> but those varieties are now extinct. The Mentonasc dialect of Ligurian, spoken in Menton, is a Ligurian transition dialect with a strong Occitan influence. French is the dominant language of the Alpes-Maritimes, Dauphiné and French Riviera areas.
  • In Monaco, Occitan, imported by immigrants coexisted in the 19th and 20th centuries with the Monégasque dialect of Ligurian. French is the dominant 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. The natural and historical languages of most of the region are the langues d'oïl Poitevin and Saintongeais.
  • Limousin – A rural region (about 710,000 inhabitants) where Limousin is still spoken among the oldest residents. French is the dominant language.
  • Auvergne – The language's use has declined in some urban areas. French is the dominant language. The department of Allier is divided between a southern, Occitan-speaking area and a northern, French-speaking area.
  • Centre-Val de Loire – 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 and Dauphiné parts belong to the Franco-Provençal language area. French is the dominant language.
  • Occitan Valleys (Piedmont) – Italian region 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.

PronunciationEdit

The following section describes the pronunciation of the Languedocian dialect which is central geographically and the most conservative among Occitan dialects.<ref name = Languedoc> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref> For that reason it serves as a basis for standardization of Occitan.<ref name = Standard>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref>

VowelsEdit

Vowel<ref name = Easy>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}} </ref>

Pronunciation
a (beginning or in a word); à Like u in English butter or a in Spanish papa.
a (end of a word); á; ò Like o in English John or o in French port.
e, é Like e in Spanish de.
è Like e in English get.
o, ó Like oo in English fool or u in German Mutter.
i, í Like i in English kill.
u, ú Like ü in German für.

ConsonantsEdit

Consonant<ref name = Easy/> Pronunciation Consonant Pronunciation
b, v in the beginning of words like b in English beer. p like p in English put.
b, v inside words like b in Spanish hubo or v in Spanish uvo r in the beginning of a word; rr like r in Spanish ratón or rr in Spanish tierra.
c before a, o, u; qu like k in English kill r inside words like r in Spanish pero.
c before e and i; ç, s, sc, ss like s in English salt. r at the end of words isn't pronounced
d like d in English daddy. t like t in English tell.
f like f in English film. x like x in English exam.
g before a, o, u; gu like g in English get z like z in English zoo
g before e, i; j like j in English John. lh like ll in Spanish botella
g at the end of words; tg; tj; ch like ch in English church. nh like ñ in Spanish niño.
l like l in English link tz like z in German zuviel or like ts in English cats.
m like m in English mother gn like nn in Italian anno.
n, m (at the end of words), mp like n in English nose.

StressEdit

Words ending with a vowel, s or n have stress on the penultimate syllable. Words ending with a consonant (but s or n) or diphthongs have stress on the last syllable. Exceptions have marked stress.<ref name = Easy/>

Examples are:

La mecanica; destriar; cuélher; cantan; penós; gaton.

GrammarEdit

The following section describes the grammar of the Languedocian dialect which is central geographically and most conservative among Occitan dialects.<ref name = Languedoc /> For that reason it serves as a basis for standardization of Occitan.<ref name = Standard/>

PronounsEdit

Personal pronouns are shown in the following table.<ref name = Easy:Grammar>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref>

Singular Plural
1st per. Ieu Nosautres / nosautras / nos
2nd per. Tu Vosautres / vosautras / vos
3rd per. El (=he)/ela (= she) Eles (masculine), elas (feminine)

PossessivesEdit

Possessives are shown in the following table.<ref name = Easy:Grammar />

Possessed thing is singular... Possessed thing is plural...
Possessor and masculine and feminine and masculine and feminine
I Mon Ma Mos Mas
You (sin.) Ton Ta Tos Tas
He/ she/ it Son Sa Sos Sas
We Nòstre Nòstra Nòstres Nòstras
You (pl.) Vòstre Vòstra Vòstres Vòstras
They Lor Lors

DemonstrativesEdit

Demonstratives (this, that, these, those) are shown in the following table.<ref name = Easy:Grammar/>

Singular Plural
Masculine Aiceste/ Aqueste/ Aquel Aicestes/ Aquestes/ Aqueles
Feminine Aicesta/ Aquesta/ Aquela Aicestas/ Aquestas/ Aquelas
Neuter Aquò Aquò

NounsEdit

There are 2 genders: masculine, and feminine. Feminine nouns are usually created by adding termination -a.<ref name = Easy:Grammar/> Plural is created by adding -s to nouns.<ref name = Easy:Grammar/>

ArticlesEdit

There are two indefinite articles in singular (a/an): masculine un and feminine una and one in plural: de.<ref name = Easy:Grammar/> de before vowels is shortend to d'.<ref name = Easy:Grammar/> It's summarized in the following table.

Indefinite articles
Singular Plural
Masculine un de, d'
Feminine una de, d'

Definite articles (the) are shown in the following table.<ref name = Easy:Grammar />

Definite articles
Singular Plural
Masculine lo, l' los
Feminine la, l' las

l' is used before a vowel.<ref name = Easy:Grammar/>

Prepositions a, de, per and sus followed by articles lo and los are merged with them according to the following table.<ref name = Easy:Grammar />

lo los
a al als
de del dels
per pel pels
sus sul suls

For instance a+los = als.

VerbsEdit

Template:Further Verbs inflect for person, number, tense and mood. There are 3 conjugations: -ar, -ir and -re.<ref name = Easy:Verbs> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Verbs ending with -ir have two subconjugations: with and without a suffix.<ref name = Easy:Verbs />

Pattern of inflection of regular verbs belonging to the first conjugation is presented in the following table.<ref name = Easy:Verbs/>

Parlar (= to speak), parlat (= spoken), parlant (= speaking).

Present Imperfect Preterit Subjunctive Present Subjunctive Past Future Conditional Imperative
Ieu Parli Parlavi Parlèri Parle Parlèsse Parlarai Parlariái
Tu Parlas Parlavas Parlères Parles Parlèsses Parlaràs Parlariás Parla
El/ela Parla Parlava Parlèt Parle Parlèsse Parlarà Parlariá
Nos Parlam Parlàvem Parlèrem Parlem Parlèssem Parlarem Parlariam Parlem
Vos Parlatz Parlàvetz Parlèretz Parletz Parlèssetz Parlaretz Parlariatz Parlatz
Eles/elas Parlan Parlavan Parlèron Parlen Parlèsson Parlaràn Parlarián

Conjugation -ir with the suffix is shown below.<ref name = Easy:Verbs/>

Dormir (= to sleep), dormit (= slept), dormint (= sleeping).

Present Imperfect Preterite Subjunctive present Subjunctive past Future Conditional Imperative
Ieu Dormissi Dormissiái Dormiguèri Dormisca Dormiguèsse Dormirai Dormiriái
Tu Dormisses Dormissiás Dormiguères Dormiscas Dormiguèsses Dormiràs Dormiriás Dormís
El/ela Dormís Dormissiá Dormiguèt Dormisca Dormiguèsse Dormirà Dormiriá
Nos Dormissèm Dormissiam Dormiguèrem Dormiscam Dormiguèssem Dormirem Dormiriam Dormiscam
Vos Dormissètz Dormissiatz Dormiguèretz Dormiscatz Dormiguèssetz Dormiretz Dormiriatz Dormissètz
Eles/elas Dormisson Dormissián Dormiguèron Dormiscan Dormiguèsson Dormiràn Dormirián

Second conjugation without the suffix is shown below.<ref name = Easy:Verbs/>

Sentir (= to feel), sentit (= felt), sentent (= feeling).

Present Imperfect Preterit Subjunctive present Subjunctive past Future Conditionnal Imperative
Ieu Senti Sentiái Sentiguèri Senta Sentiguèsse Sentirai Sentiriái
Tu Sentes Sentiás Sentiguères Sentas Sentiguèsses Sentiràs Sentiriás Sent
El/ ela Sent Sentiá Sentiguèt Senta Sentiguèsse Sentirà Sentiriá
Nos Sentèm Sentiam Sentiguèrem Sentam Sentiguèssem Sentirem Sentiriam Sentiam
Vos Sentètz Sentiatz Sentiguèretz Sentatz Sentiguèssetz Sentiretz Sentiriatz Sentètz
Eles/ elas Senton Sentián Sentiguèron Sentan Sentiguèsson Sentiràn Sentirián

The third conjugation is shown below.<ref name = Easy:Verbs/>

Batre (= to beat), batut (= beaten), beatent (= beating)

Present Imperfect Preterit Subjunctive present Subjunctive past Future Conditionnal Imperative
Ieu Bati Batiái Batèri Bata Batèsse Batrai Batriái
Tu Bates Batiás Batères Batas Batèsses Batràs Batriás Bat
El/ela Bat Batiá Batèt Bata Batèsse Batrà Batriá
Nos Batèm Batiam Batèrem Batam Batèssem Batrem Batriam Batiam
Vos Batètz Batiatz Batèretz Batatz Batèssetz Batretz Batriatz Batètz
Eles/elas Baton Batián Batèron Batan Batèsson Batràn Batrián

Irregular verbsEdit

Two very important irregular verbs are èsser/èstre (= to be) and aver (= to have).

Conjugation of èsser/èstre is shown below.<ref name = Easy:Verbs/>

estat (= been), essent (= being)

Present Imperfect Preterit Subjunctive present Subjunctive past Future Conditionnal Imperative
Ieu Soi Èri Foguèri Siá Foguèsse Serai Seriái
Tu Ès/Sès Èras Foguères Siás Foguèsses Seràs Seriás Siá
El/ela Es Èra Foguèt Siá Foguèsse Serà Seriá
Nos Sèm Èrem Foguèrem Siam Foguèssem Serem Seriam Siam
Vos Sètz Èretz Foguèretz Siatz Foguèssetz Seretz Seriatz Siatz
Eles/elas Son Èran Foguèron Sián Foguèsson Seràn Serián

Conjugation of aver is shown below.<ref name = Easy:Verbs/>

agut (= had), avent (= having)

Present Imperfect Preterit Subjunctive present Subjunctive past Future Conditionnal Imperative
Ieu Ai Aviái Aguèri Aja Aguèsse Aurai Auriái
Tu As Aviás Aguères Ajas Aguèsses Auràs Auriás Aja
El/ela A Aviá Aguèt Aja Aguèsse Aura Auriá
Nos Avem Aviam Aguèrem Ajam Aguèssem Aurem Auriam Ajam
Vos Avètz Aviatz Aguèretz Ajatz Aguèssetz Auretz Auriatz Ajatz
Eles/elas An Avián Aguèron Ajan Aguèsson Auràn Aurián

Reflexive verbsEdit

Reflexive verbs are verbs which require reflexive pronoun se. Pronoun se inflects for person and number. An example is se levar (= to get up). It's inflacted according to the following table.<ref name = Easy:Verbs/>

Present Imperative
Ieu Me lèvi
Tu Te lèvas lèva-te
El/elas Se lèva
Nos Nos levam levem-nos
Vos Vos levatz levatz-vos
Eles/elas Se lèvan tenon

NegationEdit

Negation is done by adding pas after a verb.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> For example:

  • Parli pas (= I don't speak).
  • An pas parlat (= They haven't spoken).
  • Vesi pas res (= I don't see anything).
  • Lo tròbi pas enluòc (= I don't find him anywhere).
  • Sortís pas jamai (= He never goes out).
  • Degun es pas vengut (= Nobody came).

DialectsEdit

File:Dialectes de l'occitan selon Pierre Bec.jpg
Occitan dialects according to Pierre Bec
File:Bec supradialectal.jpg
Supradialectal classification of Occitan according to Bec
File:Sumien supradialectal.jpg
Supradialectal classification of Occitan according to Sumien

Occitan is fundamentally defined by its dialects, rather than being a unitary language, as it lacks an official written standard. Like other languages that fundamentally exist at a spoken, rather than written, level (e.g. the Rhaeto-Romance languages, Franco-Provençal, Astur-Leonese, and Aragonese), every settlement technically has its own dialect, with the whole of Occitania forming a classic dialect continuum that changes gradually along any path from one side to the other. Nonetheless, specialists commonly divide Occitan into six main dialects:

The northern and easternmost dialects have more morphological and phonetic features in common with the Gallo-Italic and Oïl languages (e.g. nasal vowels; loss of final consonants; initial cha/ja- instead of ca/ga-; [[uvular R|uvular Template:Angbr]]; the front-rounded sound {{#invoke:IPA|main}} instead of a diphthong, {{#invoke:IPA|main}} instead of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} before a consonant), whereas the southernmost dialects have more features in common with the Ibero-Romance languages (e.g. betacism; voiced fricatives between vowels in place of voiced stops; -ch- in place of -it-), and Gascon has a number of unusual features not seen in other dialects (e.g. {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in place of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; loss of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} between vowels; intervocalic -r- and final -t/ch in place of medieval -Template:Sm-).

There are also significant lexical differences, where some dialects have words cognate with French, and others have Catalan and Spanish cognates. Nonetheless, there is a significant amount of mutual intelligibility and some of the words with two cognates can be used in the same dialect as synonymous (totjorn/sempre in provençal or maison/ostau in gascon for instance).

There is also no particular geographical distribution of the cognates, with some shared by distant dialects and other not shared with bordering foreign languages (for instance maison in both Gascon and Niçard, cognate of French but not of Spanish or Italian, although these dialects are geographically closer to these languages).

Occitan words and their French, Catalan and Spanish cognates
English Cognate of French Cognate of Catalan and Spanish
Occitan French Occitan Catalan Spanish
house {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} lang}}
head {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} lang}}
to buy {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} lang}}
to hear {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} / {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} lang}}
to be quiet {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} lang}}
to fall {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} lang}}
more {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} lang}}
always {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} lang}}
broom {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} lang}}

Gascon is the most divergent, and descriptions of the main features of Occitan often consider Gascon separately. Max Wheeler notes that "probably only its copresence within the French cultural sphere has kept [Gascon] from being regarded as a separate language", and compares it to Franco-Provençal, which is considered a separate language from Occitan but is "probably not more divergent from Occitan overall than Gascon is".<ref name="wheeler">Template:Citation</ref>

There is no general agreement about larger groupings of these dialects.

Max Wheeler divides the dialects into two groups:<ref name="wheeler"/>

  • Southwestern (Gascon and Languedocien), more conservative
  • Northeastern (Limousin, Auvergnat, Provençal and Vivaro-Alpine), more innovative

Pierre Bec divides the dialects into three groups:Template:Sfn

  • Gascon, standing alone
  • Southern Occitan (Languedocien and Provençal)
  • Northern Occitan (Limousin, Auvergnat, Vivaro-Alpine)

In order to overcome the pitfalls of the traditional romanistic view, Bec proposed a "supradialectal" classification that groups Occitan with Catalan as a part of a wider Occitano-Romanic group. One such classification posits three groups:Template:Sfn<ref name="MoRS">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="OG">Template:Cite book</ref>

  • "Arverno-Mediterranean" (arvèrnomediterranèu), same as Wheeler's northeastern group, i.e. Limousin, Auvergnat, Provençal and Vivaro-Alpine
  • "Central Occitan" (occitan centrau), Languedocien, excepting the Southern Languedocien subdialect
  • "Aquitano-Pyrenean" (aquitanopirenenc), Southern Languedocien, Gascon and Catalan

According to this view, Catalan is an ausbau language that became independent from Occitan during the 13th century, but originates from the Aquitano-Pyrenean group.

Domergue Sumien proposes a slightly different supradialectal grouping.<ref name="sumien2006">Domergue Sumien (2006), La standardisation pluricentrique de l'occitan: nouvel enjeu sociolinguistique, développement du lexique et de la morphologie, Publications de l'Association Internationale d'Études Occitanes, Turnhout: Brepols</ref>

  • Arverno-Mediterranean (arvèrnomediterranèu), same as in Bec and Wheeler, divided further:
    • Niçard-Alpine (niçardoaupenc), Vivaro-Alpine along with the Niçard subdialect of Provençal.
    • Trans-Occitan (transoccitan), the remainder of Provençal along with Limousin and Auvergnat.
  • Pre-Iberian (preïberic).
    • Central Occitan (occitan centrau), same as in Bec.
    • Aquitano-Pyrenean (aquitanopirenenc), same as in Bec.

Jewish dialectsEdit

Occitan has 3 dialects spoken by Jewish communities that are all now extinct.

Judeo-GasconEdit

A sociolect of the Gascon dialect spoken by Spanish and Portuguese Jews in Gascony.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It, like many other Jewish dialects and languages, contained large amounts of Hebrew loanwords.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> It went extinct after World War 2 with the last speakers being elderly Jews in Bayonne. About 850 unique words and a few morphological and grammatical aspects of the dialect were transmitted to Southern Jewish French.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Judeo-ProvençalEdit

Judeo-Provençal was a dialect of Occitan spoken by Jews in Provence. The dialect declined in usage after Jews were expelled from the area in 1498, and was probably extinct by the 20th century.

Judeo-NiçardEdit

The least attested of the Judeo-Occitan dialects, Judeo-Niçard was spoken by the community of Jews living in Nice, who were descendants of Jewish immigrants from Provence, Piedmont, and other Mediterranean communities. Its existence is attested from a few documents from the 19th century. It contained significant influence in both vocabulary and grammar from Hebrew.<ref name=":0" />

Southern Jewish FrenchEdit

All three of these dialects have some influence in Southern Jewish French, a dialect of French spoken by Jews in southern France. Southern Jewish French is now estimated to only be spoken by about 50–100 people.<ref name=":0" />

IETF dialect tagsEdit

  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">pro</syntaxhighlight>: Old Occitan (until the 14th century).
  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">sdt</syntaxhighlight>: Judeo-Occitan

Several IETF language variant tags have been registered:<ref name="IETF"/>

  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">oc-aranese</syntaxhighlight>: Aranese.
  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">oc-auvern</syntaxhighlight>: Auvergnat.
  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">oc-cisaup</syntaxhighlight>: Cisalpine, northwestern Italy.
  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">oc-creiss</syntaxhighlight>: Croissant
  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">oc-gascon</syntaxhighlight>: Gascon.
  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">oc-lemosin</syntaxhighlight>: Leimousin.
  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">oc-lengadoc</syntaxhighlight>: Languedocien.
  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">oc-nicard</syntaxhighlight>: Niçard.
  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">oc-provenc</syntaxhighlight>: Provençal.
  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">oc-vivaraup</syntaxhighlight>: Vivaro-Alpine.

CodificationEdit

StandardizationEdit

All regional varieties of the Occitan language have a written form; thus, Occitan can be considered as a pluricentric language. Standard Occitan, also called occitan larg (i.e., 'wide Occitan') is a synthesis that respects and admits soft regional adaptations (which are based on the convergence of previous regional koinés).<ref name=sumien2006/> The standardization process began with the publication of Gramatica occitana segon los parlars lengadocians ("Grammar of the Languedocien Dialect") by Louis Alibert (1935), followed by the Dictionnaire occitan-français selon les parlers languedociens ("French-Occitan dictionary according to Languedocien") by the same author (1966), completed during the 1970s with the works of Pierre Bec (Gascon), Robèrt Lafont (Provençal), and others. However, the process has not yet been completed as of the present.Template:Clarify Standardization is mostly supported by users of the classical norm. Due to the strong situation of diglossia, some usersTemplate:Who thusly reject the standardization process, and do not conceive Occitan as a language that can be standardized as per other standardized languages.Template:Citation needed

Writing systemEdit

Template:Further There are two main linguistic norms currently used for Occitan, one (known as "classical") based on that of Medieval Occitan, and one (sometimes known as "Mistralian", due to its use by Frédéric Mistral) based on modern French orthography. Sometimes, there is conflict between users of each system.

  • The classical norm (or less exactly classical orthography) has the advantage of maintaining a link with earlier stages of the language, and reflects the fact that Occitan is not a variety of French. It is used in all Occitan dialects. It also allows speakers of one dialect of Occitan to write intelligibly for speakers of other dialects (e.g. the Occitan for day is written jorn in the classical norm, but could be jour, joun, journ, or even yourn, depending on the writer's origin, in Mistralian orthography). The Occitan classical orthography and the Catalan orthography are quite similar: they show the very close ties of both languages. The digraphs lh and nh, used in the classical orthography, were adopted by the orthography of Portuguese, presumably by Gerald of Braga, a monk from Moissac, who became bishop of Braga in Portugal in 1047, playing a major role in modernizing written Portuguese using classical Occitan norms.<ref>Jean-Pierre Juge (2001) Petit précis – Chronologie occitane – Histoire & civilisation, p. 25</ref>
  • The Mistralian norm (or less exactly Mistralian orthography) has the advantage of being similar to that of French, in which most Occitan speakers are literate. Now, it is used mostly in the Provençal/Niçard dialect, besides the classical norm. It has also been used by a number of eminent writers, particularly in Provençal. However, it is somewhat impractical, because it is based mainly on the Provençal dialect and also uses many digraphs for simple sounds, the most notable one being ou for the {{#invoke:IPA|main}} sound, as it is in French, written as o under the classical orthography.

There are also two other norms but they have a lesser audience. The Escòla dau Pò norm (or Escolo dóu Po norm) is a simplified version of the Mistralian norm and is used only in the Occitan Valleys (Italy), besides the classical norm. The Bonnaudian norm (or écriture auvergnate unifiée, EAU) was created by Pierre Bonnaud and is used only in the Auvergnat dialect, besides the classical norm.

Comparison between the four existing norms in Occitan: extract from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Classical norm Mistralian norm Bonnaudian norm Escòla dau Pò norm
Provençal
Totei lei personas naisson liuras e egalas en dignitat e en drech. Son dotadas de rason e de consciéncia e li cau (/fau/) agir entre elei amb un esperit de frairesa. 		Provençal
Tóuti li persouno naisson liéuro e egalo en dignita e en dre. Template:Not a typo doutado de rasoun e de counsciènci e li fau agi entre éli em' un esperit de freiresso.
Niçard Provençal
Toti li personas naisson liuri e egali en dignitat e en drech. Son dotadi de rason e de consciéncia e li cau agir entre eli emb un esperit de frairesa. 		Niçard Provençal
Touti li persouna naisson liéuri e egali en dignità e en drech. Template:Not a typo doutadi de rasoun e de counsciència e li cau agì entre eli em' un esperit de frairessa.
Auvergnat
Totas las personas naisson liuras e egalas en dignitat e en dreit. Son dotadas de rason e de consciéncia e lor chau (/fau/) agir entre elas amb un esperit de frairesa. 		Auvergnat
Ta la proussouna neisson lieura moé parira pà dïnessà mai dret. Son charjada de razou moé de cousiensà mai lhu fau arjî entremeî lha bei n'eime de freiressà. (Touta la persouna naisson lieura e egala en dïnetàt e en dreit. Template:Not a typo doutada de razou e de cousiensà e lour chau ajî entre ela am en esprî de freiressà.)
Vivaro-Alpine
Totas las personas naisson liuras e egalas en dignitat e en drech. Son dotaas de rason e de consciéncia e lor chal agir entre elas amb un esperit de fraternitat. 		Vivaro-Alpine
Toutes les persounes naisoun liures e egales en dignità e en drech. Template:Not a typo douta de razoun e de counsiensio e lour chal agir entre eels amb (/bou) un esperit de freireso.
Gascon
Totas las personas que naishen liuras e egaus en dignitat e en dreit. Que son dotadas de rason e de consciéncia e que'us cau agir enter eras dab un esperit de hrairessa. 		Gascon (Febusian writing)
Toutes las persounes que nachen libres e egaus en dinnitat e en dreyt. Que Template:Not a typo doutades de rasoû e de counscienci e qu'ous cau ayi entre eres dap û esperit de hrayresse.
Limousin
Totas las personas naisson liuras e egalas en dignitat e en drech. Son dotadas de rason e de consciéncia e lor chau (/fau/) agir entre elas emb un esperit de frairesa.
Languedocien
Totas las personas naisson liuras e egalas en dignitat e en drech. Son dotadas de rason e de consciéncia e lor cal agir entre elas amb un esperit de frairesa.
The same extract in six neighboring Romance languages and English for comparison
French
Tous les êtres humains naissent libres et égaux en dignité et en droits. Ils sont doués de raison et de conscience et doivent agir les uns envers les autres dans un esprit de fraternité.<ref name="omniglot" /> 		Franco-Provençal
Tôs los étres homans nêssont libros et ègals en dignitât et en drêts. Ils ant rêson et conscience et dêvont fâre los uns envèrs los ôtros dedens un èsprit de fraternitât.<ref name="omniglot" /> 		Catalan
Totes les persones neixen/naixen lliures i iguals en dignitat i en drets. Són dotades de raó i de consciència, i cal que es comportin fraternalment les unes amb les altres.<ref name="omniglot">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation 		CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Spanish
Todos los seres humanos nacen libres e iguales en dignidad y derechos y, dotados como están de razón y conciencia, deben comportarse fraternalmente los unos con los otros.<ref name="omniglot" /> 		Portuguese
Todos os seres humanos nascem livres e iguais em dignidade e direitos. Eles são dotados de razão e consciência, e devem comportar-se fraternalmente uns com os outros.<ref name="omniglot" /> 		Italian
Tutti gli esseri umani nascono liberi ed uguali in dignità e in diritti. Sono dotati di ragione e di coscienza e devono comportarsi fraternamente l'uno con l'altro.<ref name="omniglot" /> 		citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Note that Catalan version was translated from the Spanish, while the Occitan versions were translated from the French. The second part of the Catalan version may also be rendered as "Són dotades de raó i de consciència, i els cal actuar entre si amb un esperit de fraternitat", showing the similarities between Occitan and Catalan.

Orthography IETF subtagsEdit

Several IETF language subtags have been registered for the different orthographies:<ref name="IETF">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">oc-grclass</syntaxhighlight>: Classical Occitan orthography.
  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">oc-grital</syntaxhighlight>: Italian-inspired Occitan orthography.
  • <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" style="" inline="1">oc-grmistr</syntaxhighlight>: Mistralian-inspired Occitan orthography.

Debates concerning linguistic classification and orthographyEdit

The majority of scholars think that Occitan constitutes a single language.Template:Sfn Some authors,<ref>Philippe Blanchet, Louis Bayle, Pierre Bonnaud and Jean Lafitte</ref> constituting a minority,Template:Sfn reject this opinion and even the name Occitan, thinking that there is a family of distinct {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} rather than dialects of a single language.

Many Occitan linguists and writers,<ref>Kremnitz, Georg (2003) "Un regard sociolinguistique sur les changements de la situation de l'occitan depuis 1968" in: Castano R., Guida, S., & Latella, F. (2003) (dir.) Scènes, évolutions, sort de la langue et de la littérature d'oc. Actes du VIIe congrès de l'Association Internationale d'Études Occitanes, Reggio di Calabria/Messina, 7–13 juillet 2002, Rome: Viella</ref> particularly those involved with the pan-Occitan movement centered on the Institut d'Estudis Occitans, disagree with the view that Occitan is a family of languages; instead they believe Limousin, Auvergnat, Languedocien, Gascon, Provençal and Vivaro-Alpine are dialects of a single language. Although there are indeed noticeable differences between these varieties, there is a very high degree of mutual intelligibility between them<ref>For traditional Romance philology see:

  • Template:Citation: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (But phonetic, morphological, syntactical and lexical differences are not such that a person quite perfectly fluent in one of our dialects would not be able to have a conversation with another person speaking another dialect with an equally perfect fluency).
  • Template:Citation.
For a discussion of the unity of the Occitan diasystem in structural linguistics see Template:Harvnb.</ref> partly because they share a common literary history; furthermore, academic and literary circles have identified them as a collective linguistic entity—the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}—for centuries.Template:Citation needed

Some Provençal authors continue to support the view that Provençal is a separate language.<ref>Philippe Blanchet, Louis Bayle</ref> Nevertheless, the vast majority of Provençal authors and associations think that Provençal is a part of Occitan.<ref>The most emblematic and productive ones, Frédéric Mistral, Robert Lafont, and their followers (Théodore Aubanel, René Merle Template:Webarchive, Claude Barsotti, Philippe Gardy, Florian Vernet, Bernard Giély, Pierre Pessemesse...), and also the most important and historic Provençal cultural associations as CREO Provença, Felibrige Template:Webarchive and Parlaren (Assiso de la Lengo Nostro en Prouvènço, 2003) Template:Webarchive</ref>

This debate about the status of Provençal should not be confused with the debate concerning the spelling of Provençal.

  • The classical orthography is phonemic and diasystemic, and thus more pan-Occitan. It can be used for (and adapted to) all Occitan dialects and regions, including Provençal. Its supporters think that Provençal is a part of Occitan.
  • The Mistralian orthography of Provençal is more or less phonemic but not diasystemic and is closer to the French spelling and therefore more specific to Provençal; its users are divided between the ones who think that Provençal is a part of Occitan and the ones who think that Provençal is a separate language.

For example, the classical system writes Polonha, whereas the Mistralian spelling system has Poulougno, for {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, 'Poland'.

The question of Gascon is similar. Gascon presents a number of significant differences from the rest of the language; but, despite these differences, Gascon and other Occitan dialects have very important common lexical and grammatical features, so authors such as Pierre Bec argue that they could never be considered as different as, for example, Spanish and Italian.<ref>Template:Harvnb: The close ties between Gascon and others Occitan dialects have been demonstrated through a common diasystem.</ref> In addition, Gascon's being included in Occitan despite its particular differences can be justified because there is a common elaboration (Ausbau) process between Gascon and the rest of Occitan.Template:Sfn The vast majority of the Gascon cultural movement considers itself as a part of the Occitan cultural movement.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Perso.orange.fr Template:Webarchive, Aranaram Au Patac</ref> And the official status of Val d'Aran (Catalonia, Spain), adopted in 1990, says that Aranese is a part of Gascon and Occitan. A grammar of Aranese by Aitor Carrera, published in 2007 in Lleida, presents the same view.Template:Sfn

The exclusion of Catalan from the Occitan sphere, even though Catalan is closely related, is justified because there has been a consciousness of its being different from Occitan since the later Middle Ages and because the elaboration (Ausbau) processes of Catalan and Occitan (including Gascon) have been quite distinct since the 20th century. Nevertheless, other scholars point out that the process that led to the affirmation of Catalan as a distinct language from Occitan started during the period when the pressure to include Catalan-speaking areas in a mainstream Spanish culture was at its greatest.<ref>Lluis Fornés, see his thesis. Template:Cite thesis</ref>

The answer to the question of whether Gascon or Catalan should be considered dialects of Occitan or separate languages has long been a matter of opinion or convention, rather than based on scientific ground. However, two recent studies support Gascon's being considered a distinct language. For the first time, a quantifiable, statistics-based approach was applied by Stephan Koppelberg in attempt to solve this issue.<ref>Stephan Koppelberg, El lèxic hereditari caracteristic de l'occità i del gascó i la seva relació amb el del català (conclusions d'un analisi estadística), Actes del vuitè Col·loqui Internacional de Llengua i Literatura Catalana, Volume 1 (1988). Antoni M. Badia Margarit & Michel Camprubi ed. (in Catalan)</ref> Based on the results he obtained, he concludes that Catalan, Occitan, and Gascon should all be considered three distinct languages. More recently, Y. Greub and J.P. Chambon (Sorbonne University, Paris) demonstrated that the formation of Proto-Gascon was already complete at the eve of the 7th century, whereas Proto-Occitan was not yet formed at that time.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> These results induced linguists to do away with the conventional classification of Gascon, favoring the "distinct language" alternative.Template:Citation needed Both studies supported the early intuition of the late Kurt Baldinger, a specialist of both medieval Occitan and medieval Gascon, who recommended that Occitan and Gascon be classified as separate languages.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Linguistic characterizationEdit

Template:Further Template:More footnotes needed Jules Ronjat has sought to characterize Occitan with 19 principal, generalizable criteria. Of those, 11 are phonetic, five morphologic, one syntactic, and two lexical. For example, close rounded vowels are rare or absent in Occitan. This characteristic often carries through to an Occitan speaker's French, leading to a distinctive méridional accent. Unlike French, it is a pro-drop language, allowing the omission of the subject ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}: I sing; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} you sing)—though, at least in Gascon, the verb must be preceded by an "enunciative" in place of the pronoun, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} for questions, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} for observations, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} for other occasions: Template:Abbr, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (I am), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (He/she is?), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (We are.).<ref>Lo gascon lèu e plan, p.14</ref> Among these 19 discriminating criteria, 7 are different from Spanish, 8 from Italian, 12 from Franco-Provençal, and 16 from French.

Features of OccitanEdit

Most features of Occitan are shared with either French or Catalan, or both.

Features of Occitan as a wholeEdit

Examples of pan-Occitan features shared with French, but not Catalan:

  • Latin Template:Smallcaps [uː] (Vulgar Latin {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) changed to {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, as in French (Lat. Template:Smallcaps > Oc. dur).
  • Vulgar Latin {{#invoke:IPA|main}} changed to {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, first in unstressed syllables, as in Eastern Catalan (Lat. Template:Smallcaps > Oc. roman [ruˈma]), then in stressed syllables (Lat. Template:Smallcaps > Oc. flor [fluɾ]).

Examples of pan-Occitan features shared with Catalan, but not French:

Examples of pan-Occitan features not shared with Catalan or French:

  • Original {{#invoke:IPA|main}} preserved.
  • Final {{#invoke:IPA|main}} becomes {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (note in Valencian (Catalan), {{#invoke:IPA|main}} may appear in word-final unstressed position, in a process of vowel harmony).
  • Low-mid {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} diphthongized before velars. {{#invoke:IPA|main}} generally becomes {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; {{#invoke:IPA|main}} originally became {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, but has since usually undergone further fronting (e.g. to {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, etc.). Diphthongization also occurred before palatals, as in French and Catalan.
  • Various assimilations in consonant clusters (e.g. Template:Angle bracket in Occitan, pronounced {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in conservative Languedocien).

Features of some Occitan dialectsEdit

Examples of dialect-specific features of the northerly dialects shared with French, but not Catalan:

Examples of dialect-specific features of the southerly dialects (or some of them) shared with Catalan, but not French:

  • Latin Template:Smallcaps become {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.
  • Betacism: {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} merge (feature shared with Spanish and some Catalan dialects; except for Balearic, Valencian and Algherese Catalan, where {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is preserved).
  • Intervocalic voiced stops {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (from Latin Template:Smallcaps) become voiced fricatives {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.
  • Loss of word-final single {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (but not {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, e.g. an "year" < Template:Smallcaps).

Examples of Gascon-specific features not shared with French or Catalan:

Examples of other dialect-specific features not shared with French or Catalan:

  • Merging of syllable-final nasals to {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. This appears to represent a transitional stage before nasalization, and occurs especially in the southerly dialects other than Gascon (which still maintains different final nasals, as in Catalan).
  • Former intervocalic {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (from Latin Template:Smallcaps) becomes /z/ (most dialects, but not Gascon). This appears to have happened in primitive Catalan as well, but Catalan later deleted this sound or converted it to {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.
  • Palatalization of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (from Latin Template:Smallcaps) to {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in most dialects or {{#invoke:IPA|main}}: lach vs lait (Gascon lèit) 'milk', lucha vs luta (Gascon luta) 'fight'.
  • Weakening of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} to {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in the Vivaro-Alpine dialect.

Comparison with other Romance languages and EnglishEdit

Common words in Romance languages, with English (a Germanic language) for reference
Latin
(all nouns in the ablative case)		 Occitan
(including main regional varieties)		 Catalan French Norman Romansh (Rumantsch Grischun) Ladin (Gherdëina) Lombard Italian Spanish Portuguese Sardinian Romanian English
Template:Smallcaps cantar (chantar) cantar chanter canter, chanter chantar cianté cantà cantare cantar cantar cantare cânta(re) '(to) sing'
Template:Smallcaps craba (chabra, chaura) cabra chèvre quièvre chaura cëura cavra capra cabra cabra craba capră 'goat'
Template:Smallcaps clau clau clé, clef clef clav tle ciav chiave llave chave crae cheie 'key'
Template:Smallcaps, Template:Smallcaps glèisa (esglèisa, glèia) església église église baselgia dlieja giesa chiesa iglesia igreja gresia/creia biserică 'church'
Template:Smallcaps (Vulgar Latin), Template:Smallcaps formatge (fromatge, hormatge) formatge fromage froumage, fourmage chaschiel ciajuel furmai/furmagg formaggio queso queijo casu caș 'cheese'
Template:Smallcaps lenga (lengua, luenga, linga) llengua langue langue lingua lenga, rujeneda lengua lingua lengua língua limba limbă 'tongue, language'
Template:Smallcaps nuèch (nuèit, nueit, net, nuòch) nit nuit nît notg nuet nocc notte noche noite nothe noapte 'night'
Template:Smallcaps plaça plaça place plache plazza plaza piassa piazza plaza praça pratza piață<ref name="ReferenceA">Modern loanword from Italian or Greek (Iordan, Dift., 145)</ref> 'square, plaza'
Template:Smallcaps pont (pònt) pont pont pont punt puent punt ponte puente ponte ponte punte (small bridge) 'bridge'

LexiconEdit

A comparison of terms and word counts between languages is not easy, as it is impossible to count the number of words in a language. (See Lexicon, Lexeme, Lexicography for more information.)

Some have claimed around 450,000 words exist in the Occitan language,<ref>Avner Gerard Levy & Jacques Ajenstat: The Kodaxil Semantic ManifestoTemplate:Dead link (2006), Section 10 – Modified Base64 / Kodaxil word length, representation, p. 9: "the English language, as claimed by Merriam-Webster, as well as the Occitan language – are estimated to comprise over 450,000 words in their basic form."</ref> a number comparable to English (the Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged with 1993 addenda reaches 470,000 words, as does the Oxford English Dictionary, Second edition). The Merriam-Webster website estimates that the number is somewhere between 250,000 and 1 million words.Template:Citation needed

The magazine Géo (2004, p. 79) claims that American English literature can be more easily translated into Occitan than French, excluding modern technological terms that both languages have integrated.Template:Citation needed

A comparison of the lexical content can find more subtle differences between the languages. For example, Occitan has 128 synonyms related to cultivated land, 62 for wetlands, and 75 for sunshine (Géo). The language went through an eclipse during the Industrial Revolution, as the vocabulary of the countryside became less important. At the same time, it was disparaged as a patois. Nevertheless, Occitan has also incorporated new words into its lexicon to describe the modern world. The Occitan word for web (as in World Wide Web) is Template:Wikt-lang, for example.

Differences between Occitan and CatalanEdit

The separation of Catalan from Occitan is seen by someTemplate:Citation needed as largely politically (rather than linguistically) motivated. However, the variety that has become standard Catalan differs from the one that has become standard Occitan in a number of ways. Here are just a few examples:

  • Phonology {{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
    • Standard Catalan (based on Central Eastern Catalan) is unique in that Latin short e developed into a close vowel {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (é) and Latin long e developed into an open vowel {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (è); that is precisely the reverse of the development that took place in Western Catalan dialects and the rest of the Romance languages, including Occitan. Thus Standard Catalan ésser {{#invoke:IPA|main}} corresponds to Occitan èsser/èstre {{#invoke:IPA|main}} 'to be;' Catalan {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:IPA|main}} corresponds to Occitan carrièra {{#invoke:IPA|main}} 'street', but it is also carriera {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, in Provençal.
    • The distinctly Occitan development of word-final -a, pronounced {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in standard Occitan (chifra 'figure' {{#invoke:IPA|main}}), did not occur in general Catalan (which has xifra {{#invoke:IPA|main}}). However, some Occitan varieties also lack that feature, and some Catalan (Valencian) varieties have the {{#invoke:IPA|main}} pronunciation, mostly by vowel harmony.
    • When in Catalan word stress falls in the antepenultimate syllable, in Occitan the stress is moved to the penultimate syllable: for example, Occitan pagina {{#invoke:IPA|main}} vs. Catalan pàgina {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, "page". However, there are exceptions. For example, some varieties of Occitan (such as that of Nice) keep the stress on the antepenultimate syllable (pàgina), and some varieties of Catalan (in Northern Catalonia) put the stress on the penultimate syllable (pagina).
    • Diphthongization has evolved in different ways: Occitan paire vs. Catalan pare 'father;' Occitan carrièra (carrèra, carrèira) vs. Catalan carrera.
    • Although some Occitan dialects lack the voiceless postalveolar fricative phoneme {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, others such as southwestern Occitan have it: general Occitan caissa {{#invoke:IPA|main}} vs. Catalan caixa {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and southwestern Occitan caissa, caisha {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, 'box.' Nevertheless, some Valencian dialects like Northern Valencian lack that phoneme too and generally substitute {{#invoke:IPA|main}}: caixa {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (Standard Valencian) ~ {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (Northern Valencian).
    • Occitan has developed the close front rounded vowel {{#invoke:IPA|main}} as a phoneme, often (but not always) corresponding to Catalan {{#invoke:IPA|main}}: Occitan musica {{#invoke:IPA|main}} vs. Catalan música {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.
    • The distribution of palatal consonants {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} differs in Catalan and part of Occitan: while Catalan permits them in word-final position, in central Occitan they are neutralized to {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (Central Occitan filh {{#invoke:IPA|main}} vs. Catalan fill {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, 'son'). Similarly, Algherese Catalan neutralizes palatal consonants in word-final position as well. Non-central varieties of Occitan, however, may have a palatal realization (e.g. filh, hilh {{#invoke:IPA|main}}).
    • Furthermore, many words that start with {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in Occitan start with {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in Catalan: Occitan libre {{#invoke:IPA|main}} vs. Catalan llibre {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, 'book.' That feature is perhaps one of the most distinctive characteristics of Catalan amongst the Romance languages, shared only with Asturian, Leonese and Mirandese. However, some transitional varieties of Occitan, near the Catalan area, also have initial {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.
    • While {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is always clear in Occitan, in Catalan it tends to be velarized {{#invoke:IPA|main}} ("dark l"). In coda position, {{#invoke:IPA|main}} has tended to be vocalized to {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in Occitan, while remained dark in Catalan.
    • Standard Eastern Catalan has a neutral vowel {{#invoke:IPA|main}} whenever a or e occur in unstressed position (passar {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, 'to happen', but passa {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, 'it happens'), and also {{#invoke:IPA|main}} whenever o or u occur in unstressed position, e.g. obrir {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, 'to open', but obre {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, 'you open'. However, that does not apply to Western Catalan dialects, whose vowel system usually retains the a/e distinction in unstressed position, or to Northern Catalan dialects, whose vowel system does not retain the o/u distinction in stressed position, much like Occitan.
  • Morphology
    • Verb conjugation is slightly different, but there is a great variety amongst dialects. Medieval conjugations were much closer. A characteristic difference is the ending of the second person plural, which is -u in Catalan but -tz in Occitan. Template:Further
    • Occitan tends to add an analogical -a to the feminine forms of adjectives that are invariable in standard Catalan: for example, Occitan legal / legala vs. Catalan legal / legal.
    • Catalan has a distinctive past tense formation, known as the 'periphrastic preterite', formed from a variant of the verb 'to go' followed by the infinitive of the verb: donar 'to give,' va donar 'he gave.' That has the same value as the 'normal' preterite shared by most Romance languages, deriving from the Latin perfect tense: Catalan donà 'he gave.' The periphrastic preterite, in Occitan, is an archaic or a very local tense.
  • Orthography
    • The writing systems of the two languages differ slightly. The modern Occitan spelling recommended by the Institut d'Estudis Occitans and the Conselh de la Lenga Occitana is designed to be a pan-Occitan system, and the Catalan system recommended by the Institut d'Estudis Catalans and Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua is specific to Catalan and Valencian. For example, in Catalan, word-final -n is omitted, as it is not pronounced in any dialect of Catalan (Català, Occità); central Occitan also drops word-final -n, but it is retained in the spelling, as some eastern and western dialects of Occitan still have it (Catalan, Occitan). Some digraphs are also written in a different way such as the sound {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, which is ll in Catalan (similar to Spanish) and lh in Occitan (similar to Portuguese) or the sound {{#invoke:IPA|main}} written ny in Catalan and nh in Occitan.

Occitano-Romance linguistic groupEdit

Despite these differences, Occitan and Catalan remain more or less mutually comprehensible, especially when written – more so than either is with Spanish or French, for example, although this is mainly a consequence of using the classical (orthographical) norm of the Occitan, which is precisely focused in showing the similarities between the Occitan dialects with Catalan. Occitan and Catalan form a common diasystem (or a common Abstandsprache), which is called Occitano-Romance, according to the linguist Pierre Bec.<ref>Bec, Pierre. (1995). La langue occitane, coll. Que sais-je? nr. 1059. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France [1st ed. 1963]</ref> Speakers of both languages share early historical and cultural heritage.

The combined Occitano-Romance area is 259,000 km2, with a population of 23 million. However, the regions are not equal in terms of language speakers. According to Bec 1969 (pp. 120–121), in France, no more than a quarter of the population in counted regions could speak Occitan well, though around half understood it; it is thought that the number of Occitan users has decreased dramatically since then. By contrast, in the Catalonia administered by the Government of Catalonia, nearly three-quarters of the population speak Catalan and 95% understand it.<ref>Gencat.net Template:Webarchive</ref>

PreservationEdit

In the modern era, Occitan has become a rare and highly threatened language. Its users are clustered almost exclusively in Southern France, and it is unlikely that any monolingual speakers remain. In the early 1900s, the French government attempted to restrict the use and teaching of many minority languages, including Occitan, in public schools. While the laws have since changed, with bilingual education returning for regions with unique languages in 1993, the many years of restrictions had already caused serious decline in the number of Occitan speakers. The majority of living speakers are older adults.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

SamplesEdit

File:VirgendeLourdes.JPG
lang}} ("I am the Immaculate Conception", the phrase is reproduced under this statue in the Lourdes grotto with a Mistralian/Febusian spelling), confirming the proclamation of this Catholic dogma four years earlier.
File:Abbaye de Sorde-Déploration-20110616.jpg
Inscription in Occitan in the Abbey of Saint-Jean de Sorde, Sorde-l'Abbaye: "Blessed are those who die in the Lord."

One of the most notable passages of Occitan in Western literature occurs in the 26th canto of Dante's {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in which the troubadour Arnaut Daniel responds to the narrator:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
Modern Occitan: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

The above strophe translates to:

So pleases me your courteous demand, / I cannot and I will not hide me from you. / I am Arnaut, who weep and singing go;/ Contrite I see the folly of the past, / And joyous see the hoped-for day before me. / Therefore do I implore you, by that power/ Which guides you to the summit of the stairs, / Be mindful to assuage my suffering!

Another notable Occitan quotation, this time from Arnaut Daniel's own 10th Canto:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

Modern Occitan:

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

Translation:

"I am Arnaut who loves the wind,
and chases the hare with the ox,
and swims against the torrent."

French writer Victor Hugo's classic Les Misérables also contains some Occitan. In Part One, First Book, Chapter IV, "{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}", one can read about Monseigneur Bienvenu:

"{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}"

Translation:

"Born a Provençal, he easily familiarized himself with the dialect of the south. He would say, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} as in lower Languedoc; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} as in the Basses-Alpes; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} as in upper Dauphiné. [...] As he spoke all tongues, he entered into all hearts."
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}: So, Mister, everything's fine?
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}: Which way will you go?
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}: I brought some fine mutton with a fine fat cheese

The Spanish playwright Lope de Rueda included a Gascon servant for comical effect in one of his short pieces, La generosa paliza.<ref name="Rueda">Registro de Representantes Template:Webarchive by Lope de Rueda, in Spanish. Peirutón speaks a mix of Gascon and Catalan.</ref>

John Barnes's Thousand Cultures science fiction series (A Million Open Doors, 1992; Earth Made of Glass, 1998; The Merchants of Souls, 2001; and The Armies of Memory, 2006), features Occitan. So does the 2005 best-selling novel Labyrinth by English author Kate Mosse. It is set in Carcassonne, where she owns a house and spends half of the year.

The French composer Joseph Canteloube created five sets of folk songs entitled Songs of the Auvergne, in which the lyrics are in the Auvergne dialect of Occitan. The orchestration strives to conjure vivid pastoral scenes of yesteryear.

Michael Crichton features Occitan in his Timeline novel.

See alsoEdit

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NotesEdit

Template:Reflist

Explanatory footnotesEdit

Template:Notelist

BibliographyEdit

  • {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}

External linksEdit

Template:Sister project Template:Sister project Template:WikisourceWiki Template:Sister project

Template:Languages of France Template:Romance languages Template:Occitano-Romance languages and dialects Template:Authority control

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