| Population |
250,000 fluent speakers in France, 800,000 with some knowledge (1990 P. Blanchet). Population total all countries 354,500. |
| Region |
Southeastern France, province of Provence, south of Dauphiné, region of Nimes in Languedoc. Also spoken in Italy, Monaco. |
| Alternate names |
PROUVENÇAU, MISTRALIEN |
| Dialects |
TRANSALPIN, NIÇARD (NIÇOIS), MARITIME PROVENÇAL (MARSEILLAIS, TOULONNAIS, VAROIS), GAVOT (ALPIN, VALEIEN, GAPIAN, FORCALQUIEREN), RHODANIEN (NIMOIS), DAUPHINOIS (DROMOIS). |
| Classification |
Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance, Oc. |
| Comments |
Gascon, Languedocien, and Limousin are structurally separate languages (F. Agard). Provençal and Languedocien (Occitan) are separate languages (P. Blanchet 1990). No Provençal variety is universally accepted as the standard literary form. Niçard and Northern Gavot (Valeien and Gapian) are more difficult for other dialect speakers to understand. Through increased contact in army and school, most speakers are actively bilingual in French. Literary French is sometimes difficult for speakers with less school education. Regional French has a lot of Provençal influence. Most speakers are over 50 years old. There is regional pride and increasing status as a literary language. Strong demand for teaching in school and books in Provençal. Attitudes are strong and differ about how different the Oc varieties are from each other. The Nobel Prize laureate Frederic Mistal wrote in Provençal. Two orthographies in use: Ron and Toulousse. Bible portions 1824-1975. |
