Editing Provençal dialect (section)

{{short description|Dialect of Occitan}}
{{For|other uses of Provençal|Provençal (disambiguation){{!}}Provençal}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Franco-Provençal]], a distinct language that shares features of both [[French language|French]] and the Provençal dialect (Occitan)}}
{{Infobox language
|name         = Provençal
|nativename   = {{lang|oc|prouvençau}} (mistralian norm)<br/>{{lang|oc|provençal}}/{{lang|oc|provençau}} (classical norm)
|states       = [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Monaco]]
|region       = 
|speakers     = 350,000
|date         = 1990
|ref          = <ref>{{e15|prv}}</ref>
|familycolor  = Indo-European
|fam2         = [[Italic languages|Italic]]
|fam3         = [[Latino-Faliscan languages|Latino-Faliscan]]
|fam4         = [[Latin]]
|fam5         = [[Romance languages|Romance]]
|fam6         = [[Italo-Western languages|Italo-Western]]
|fam7         = [[Western Romance languages|Western Romance]]
|fam8         = [[Gallo-Romance languages|Gallo-Romance]]
|fam9         = [[Occitano-Romance languages|Occitano-Romance]]
|fam10         = [[Occitan language|Occitan]]
|isoexception = dialect
|iso3=prv
|iso3comment=(retired); subsumed in {{code|oci}}
|glotto       = prov1235
|ietf         = oc-provenc<ref>[https://www.iana.org/assignments/lang-subtags-templates/oc.txt|"Occitan (post 1500)"]. ''IANA language subtag registry.'' 18 August 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2019.</ref>
|glottorefname= Provençal
|map          = Dialecte occitan provençal.png
}}

'''Provençal''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|p|r|ɒ|v|ɒ̃|ˈ|s|ɑː|l}}, {{IPAc-en|alsoUK|-|s|æ|l}},<ref>Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh</ref> {{IPAc-en|US|ˌ|p|r|ou|-|,_|-|v|ən|-}}, {{IPA|fr|pʁɔvɑ̃sal|lang}}; {{langx|oc|provençau}} or {{lang|oc|prouvençau}} {{IPA|oc|pʀuvenˈsaw|}}) is a [[variety (linguistics)|variety]] of [[Occitan language|Occitan]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holtus |first1=Günther |last2=Metzeltin |first2=Michael |last3=Schmitt |first3=Christian |title=Lexikon der Romanistischen Linguistik (LRL) |date=1991 |publisher=De Gruyter / Max Niemeyer Verlag |location=Berlin, New York |chapter=Band V/2 Okzitanisch, Katalanisch}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Langues régionales |url=https://www.culture.gouv.fr/Thematiques/Langue-francaise-et-langues-de-France/Agir-pour-les-langues/Promouvoir-les-langues-de-France/Langues-regionales |website=Ministère de la culture (France) |access-date=13 February 2023}}</ref> spoken by people in [[Provence]] and parts of [[Drôme]] and [[Gard]]. The term Provençal used to refer to the entire Occitan language, but more recently it has referred only to the variety of Occitan spoken in Provence.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dalby |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Dalby |title=Dictionary of Languages |chapter-url=http://www.bloomsbury.com/ |access-date=8 November 2006 |edition=1st |year=1998 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing plc |isbn=0-7475-3117-X |page=468 |chapter=Occitan }}</ref><ref>On the persistent use of Provençal as a synonym of Occitan see: Constanze WETH. « L'occitan / provençal ». ''Manuel des langues romanes'', Edited by Klump, Andre / Kramer, Johannes / Willems, Aline. DE GRUYTER. 2014. Pages: 491–509. ISBN ([http://www.degruyter.com/view/books/9783110302585/9783110302585.491/9783110302585.491.xml Online]): 9783110302585</ref> However, it can still be found being used to refer to Occitan as a whole, ''e.g.'' [[Merriam-Webster]] states that it can be used to refer to general Occitan, though this is going out of use.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of PROVENÇAL |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Proven%C3%A7al |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref>

Provençal is also the customary name given to the [[Old Occitan|older version of the Occitan language]] used by the [[troubadour]]s of [[medieval]] [[literature]], when [[Old French]] or the ''{{lang|fr|langue d'oïl}}'' was limited to the northern areas of France. Thus, the [[ISO 639-3]] code for Old Occitan is [pro].

In 2007, all the [[ISO 639-3]] codes for Occitan dialects, including [prv] for Provençal, were retired and merged into [oci] Occitan. The old codes ([prv], [auv], [gsc], [lms], [lnc]) are no longer in active use, but still have the meaning assigned to them when they were established in the Standard.<ref> {{Cite web|url= https://iso639-3.sil.org/code_tables/deprecated_codes/data |title= Deprecated Language Codes
 |publisher=[[SIL International]]}}</ref>

Some groups have called for Provençal's recognition as a full language, distinct from Occitan. The Regional Council of Provence has variously labelled Provençal as a dialect of Occitan or as a distinct language, depending on different lobbies and political majorities.