Editing Occitan language (section)

===Origins===
[[File:Linguistic map Southwestern Europe-en.gif|thumb|upright=1.35|alt=|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, [[marsh]]es, 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.{{sfn|Bec|1963}}
* Deeper [[Roman people|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"{{sfn|Bec|1963|pp=20–21}}
* A separate [[lexicon]]: Although Occitan is midway between the [[Gallo-Romance languages|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 language|Franco-Provençal]]"{{sfn|Bec|1963|pp=20–21}}
* Lack of [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] influence: "The [[Frankish language|Frankish]] lexicon and its phonetic influence often end above the {{lang|oc|oc}}/{{lang|fr|oïl}} line"{{sfn|Bec|1963|pp=20–21}}