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Ethnologue: Languages of the World
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Ethnologue > Web version > Country index > Europe > France > Franco-Provençal

Franco-Provençal

A language of France

ISO 639-3: frp

Population  70,000 in France (1971 census). Population total all countries: 147,000.
Region  Southeast, Savoie, Fribourg, and Valais, near Italy and Switzerland borders. Also in Italy, Switzerland.
Language map  Andorra and France
Alternate names   Arpitan, Patois
Dialects  Dauphinois, Lyonnais, Neuchatelais, Savoyard. Structurally separate language from French, Piemontese [pms], and Lombard [lmo] (1985 F. Agard). In Switzerland, every canton has its own dialect, with no standardization. Difficult intelligibility among dialects, especially Fribourg.
Classification  Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Rhaetian, Oïl, Southeastern
Language use  Few in France. Also use French.
Language development  Literacy rate in L2: 100% in French. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible portions: 1830.
Writing system  Latin script.

Also spoken in:

Italy

Language name   Franco-Provençal
Population  70,000 in Italy (1971 census). 700 in Faetar dialect (1995 N. Nagy).
Region  Northwest, Aosta Valley; Foggia Province, Apulia, Faeto and Celle S. Vito; Guardia Piemontese in Calabria, Cosenza.
Dialects  Valle D’aosta (Patoé Valdoten, Valdotain, Valdostano), Faeto (Faetar), Celle San Vito.
Language use  Most domains. Also use Italian or Piemontese [pms].
 

Switzerland

Language name   Franco-Provençal
Population  7,000 in Switzerland (1998).
Region  Valais, Fribourg, and Vaud French cantons.
Language map  Liechtenstein and Switzerland
Alternate names  Patois
Dialects  Savoyard, Neuchâtelois, Valaisan, Vaudois.
Language use  Valais Canton: young and old in Evolène commune; communes of Hérémence, Vex, Saint-Martin, Savièse, Nendaz, Cermignon, Fully, Arbaz, Ayent, Vissole, other smaller villages in the central Valais; Sion and Sierre; spoken by persons 50 and older, understood by persons 35 to 40. Fribourg Canton: rural areas as Gruyère. Also use French.
 

Entries from the SIL Bibliography about this language:

Academic Publications

CAHILL, Michael, author. 2005. Review of: Spoken here: travels among threatened languages, by Mark Abley.