Occitan

Occitan is a Romance language spoken mainly in southern France and also in Italy and Spain. There are perhaps 1.5 million people who speak Occitan in their daily lives, while 5 or 6 million people are able to speak the language. The majority of speakers are elderly and live in rural areas. There are six dialects of Occitan: Provençal, Gascon, Languedoc, Limousin, Alpine and Auvergne.

Occitan first began to appear in writing during the 10th century and was used particularly to write the poetry of the troubdours. The troubadours performed their poetry of love, satire and war in the courts of kings and nobles all over France, Spain and other countries in Europe.

When France became a unified country in the 15th century, the language of the French court, langue d'oïl, was favoured over Occitan and other regional languages, which went into decline. Langue d'oïl developed into modern French.

A revival in interest in Occitan started during the 19th century, largely thanks to poet, Frédéric Mistral (1830-1914), who wrote the much-admired long poem Mireiò and worked to standardise written Occitan. Mistral was adwarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1904.

Today there is one weekly newspaper La Setmana, and one monthly magazine Prouvènço d'Aro written entirely in Occitan. Some of the popular regional newspapers, such as La Dépêche du Midi publish columns in Occitan. There are also cultural and/or political magazines and reviews such as L'Occitan, and bilingual ones such as Aquo d'Aqui and Monde en Óc. There are also a few Occitan radio and TV programmes.

In France Occitan is considered a "regional language" and can be taught in schools only as a foreign language. There is no Occitan-medium education available and most teaching of Occitan is done on a private basis.

In the Occitan-speaking part of Spain, the Aran Valley, Occitan has co-official status with Spanish and Catalan and is used in official documents, on road signs and as a medium of instruction in schools. The local government also provides financial support for the publication of books in Occitan.

Occitan alphabet
A a	B b	C c	D d	E e	F f	G g	H h	I i	J j	L l	M m
a	be	ce	de	e	èfa	ge	acha	i	gi	èla	èma
N n	O o	P p	Q q	R r	S s	T t	U u	V v	X x	Z z
èna	o	pe	cu	èrra	èssa	te	u	ve	icsa	izèda

Pronunciation of Occitan (Languedoc dialect)

Pronunciation of Occitan (Languedocian dialect)

Sample text - Provençal dialect - traditional orthography

Totei leis umans nàisson libres. Son egaus per la dignitat e lei drechs. An totei una reson e una consciència. Se dèvon tenir freirenaus leis uns 'mé leis autres.

Sample text - Provençal dialect - Mistral's orthography

Tóuti lis uman naisson libre. Soun egau pèr la digneta e li dre. An tóuti uno resoun e uno counsciènci. Se dèvon teni freirenau lis un 'mé lis autre.

Sample text - Languedoc dialect

Totas las personas nàisson liuras e parièras en dignitat e en dreches. Son cargadas de rason e de consciéncia e mai lor se cal comportar entre elas amb un eime de frairetat.

A recording of this text by Micaèl Gabrièl Belièr Mesnièr

Sample text - Auvergne dialect

Tas las prossonas neisson lieuras moé pariras par dignessa mai dret. Son charjadas de rason moé de consciença mai lhur fau argir entremei lha 'bei n'eime de freiressa.

Sample text - Nice dialect (Niçard), Classical orthography

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.

Sample text - Nice dialect (Nissart/Niçart), Mistralian orthography

Touti li persouna naisson libri e egali en dignità e en drech. Soun doutadi de rasoun e de counsciència e li cau agì entre eli em' un esperit de frairessa.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Useful phrases in Occitan and Gascon

Occitan language learning materials