Franco-Provençal

Franco-Provençal (also called Francoprovençal, Patois, or Arpitan) is a Gallo-Romance language spoken in parts of eastern France, western Switzerland, and northwestern Italy. It has several distinct dialects and is closely related to nearby languages like the langues d'oïl, the langues d'oc, and Rhaeto-Romance.

The number of people who speak Franco-Provençal has been decreasing for many years. According to UNESCO, it was already considered an "endangered language" in parts of Europe by 1995, and Ethnologue classifies it as "nearly extinct."

Historically, Franco-Provençal was spoken widely in areas such as the Duchy of Savoy, but today it is mainly spoken by people of all ages in the Aosta Valley. In other regions, it is mostly spoken by older generations, especially in rural parts of French-speaking Switzerland and around Turin in Italy. Efforts are underway to keep the language alive through cultural activities, education, and research.

Classification

Even though its name sounds like it links French and the Provençal dialect of Occitan, Franco-Provençal is its own special language. It shares similarities with several nearby languages. To the northwest, it connects with the Oïl languages, like Burgundian and Frainc-Comtou. To the east, it links with Romansh. To the southeast, it relates to the Gallo-Italic language Piemontese. And to the southwest, it comes close to the Vivaro-Alpine dialect of Occitan.

Scientists who study languages have created different ways to show where Franco-Provençal fits in the big family of languages we speak today. One group gave it the code 51-AAA-j. Another group placed it in a line that starts from very old languages and moves down to the ones we use now.

History

Franco-Provençal started as a type of Latin spoken in parts of east-central France, western Switzerland, and Italy's Aosta Valley. The area was home to ancient groups like the Celts before it came under the control of the Burgundians.

We first see Franco-Provençal written down in the 1200s, and it may have begun to differ from other French dialects as early as the 800s. Even though it has some older words compared to French, it never became as well-known as French, Occitan, or Italian. The speakers lived in mountainous areas, far from each other, and their lands were often divided by wars and conflicts.

Eventually, French became the main language used in laws and schools. As a result, fewer and fewer people began speaking Franco-Provençal, and it mostly disappeared by the 1900s.

Origin of the name

Franco-Provençal is a language with many different local versions that never quite mixed together. It has much more variety than languages like French or Occitan, making it hard for speakers from different areas to understand each other. There isn’t one pure form of the language, and it doesn’t have a standard version that everyone uses. Because of this, people often use local names for it, like Bressan, Forèzien, or Valdôtain, or simply call it patouès ("patois"). Only recently have people outside of language studies started to see it as one language.

The area where this language is spoken was first studied in the 1800s. Graziadio Isaia Ascoli, an early linguist, looked at the sounds and structure of many spoken dialects. Around 1873, he wrote about how these dialects were different and suggested a new way to group them. He placed the language between the langues d'oïl group (like French) and the langues d'oc_ group (like Provençal), and gave it the name Franco-Provençal.

Although the name Franco-Provençal might seem confusing, it is still used in most books and studies. In French, the name was written without a hyphen after a meeting at the University of Neuchâtel in 1969, but English journals usually keep the old spelling.

In Switzerland, the language has sometimes been called Romand since at least 1424. Some language experts think “Franco-Provençal” isn’t the best name. In the 1960s, there was a suggestion to call it Burgundian, but this didn’t catch on because it could be mixed up with another language spoken nearby in Burgundy.

Today, some speakers prefer the name Arpitan. This name highlights that the language is its own and doesn’t tie it to any other group. “Arpitan” comes from a local word meaning "alpine" or "mountain highlands". The name became popular in the 1980s and is now used by groups like the Aliance Culturèla Arpitana, which works to support the language.

Local speakers call their language patouès (patois) or nosta moda ("our way of speaking"). In some areas, it’s called sarde because long ago, people there were part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In the Forez region of France, the language is called gaga, a name that comes from a story published in 1866.

Geographic distribution

The Franco-Provençal language was mainly spoken in parts of Italy, France, and Switzerland. In Italy, it was used in the Aosta Valley and some high valleys in the Piedmont area, along with a couple of small villages in southern Italy. In France, it was spoken in regions like Rhône-Alpes and Franche-Comté, covering several areas such as Jura, Doubs, and Haute-Savoie. In Switzerland, it was common in the French-speaking part of the country, including places like Geneva, Vaud, and parts of Valais.

Present status

The Aosta Valley is the only area where Franco-Provençal is still widely spoken by people of all ages. Since 1948, changes in laws have helped protect this language there. Italy changed its constitution to give the Aosta Valley special powers, which helped the local economy and population grow. Schools in the area now teach about the Franco-Provençal language and its traditions.

However, in other places like the Province of Turin and parts of Switzerland, the language is not as strong. In Switzerland, it is not one of the official languages, and people there mostly use it as a second language. In France, Franco-Provençal faces even bigger challenges because French is the official language and there is little support for regional languages.

Number of speakers

Franco-Provençal is mostly spoken in the Aosta Valley, where the Valdôtain area has the most daily speakers. A survey in 2001 showed that 15% of people in the Aosta Valley said Franco-Provençal was their mother tongue, which is much less than earlier reports.

In 2005, about 68,000 people in the Aosta Valley were said to speak the language. By 2018, estimates ranged from 21,000 to 70,000 speakers, depending on how the counts were done. In other parts of Italy, such as the Turin area, about 22,000 people were thought to speak it, and in a small area of Apulia, around 1,400 people spoke the Faetar and Cigliàje dialect.

In Switzerland, about 7,000 people in Valais and Fribourg speak Franco-Provençal dialects as a second language. In France, the language was once very common, but now only a small number of people in isolated towns still speak it.

Linguistic structure

Franco-Provençal is a synthetic language, like Occitan and Italian. Most verbs change their endings depending on who is doing the action, when it is happening, and other details. This means you don't always need to use a pronoun, because the verb ending can tell you who is doing the action. However, when talking directly to one person, you still need to use a pronoun to make things clear.

The usual way to put words together in Franco-Provençal is subject–verb–object, like in the sentence Vos côsâds anglès. ("You speak English."). But if the thing being acted on is a pronoun, the order changes to subject–object–verb, like Côsâds-vos anglès ? ("Do you speak English?"). For questions, the order is verb–subject–object.

Franco-Provençal has grammar that is similar to other languages that come from Latin.

Phonology

The Franco-Provençal language has special sounds for its consonants and vowels.

• The sound /o/ can change to [ø], [ɔ], or [œ] in short words before certain letters.

• The sounds /ø, œ/ are special in the dialects of Savoy, Val d'Aosta, and Lyon.

• Affricate sounds [t͡ʃ] and [d͡ʒ] are mainly found in Fribourg and Valais dialects (often written as chi and gi/ji before a vowel).

• In Arles and some parts of Hauteville and Savoie, the /r/ sound is realized as [ʁ].

• In Savoie and Bresse, special dental sounds [θ] and [ð] occur, matching certain palatal sounds. These can also appear in Valais dialects under certain conditions.

• A nasal sound [ŋ] can appear when a nasal sound comes before a specific stop.

• Palatalizations of /s, k/ can change to [ç], [x] or [χ] in some Savoyard dialects.

• Rarely, a palatal lateral /ʎ/ can sound like a voiced fricative [ʝ].

• A glottal fricative [h] happens from softening certain sounds in Savoie and French-speaking Switzerland.

• In Valdôtien, Fribourg, Valais, Vaudois, and some Savoyard and Dauphinois dialects, sounds /c, [ɟ]/ can sound like affricate sounds [t͡s], [d͡z]. In French-speaking Switzerland, Valle d'Aosta, and Neuchâtel, the two palatal stops sound like the affricates [t͡ʃ], d͡ʒ.

• Stress in Franco-Provençal words is on the last or second-to-last syllable, unlike in French. The language also keeps final vowel sounds, especially "a" in feminine words and "o" in masculine words (sometimes pronounced "ou").

• Vowels followed by nasal consonants "m" and "n" are nasalized similarly to French, but in most Franco-Provençal areas, these nasalized vowels sound closer to their un-nasalized forms. For example, pan [pɑ̃] and vent [vɛ̃] in Franco-Provençal, compared to "pain" [pɛ̃] and "vent" [vɑ̃] in French.

Orthography

There isn't one official way to write Franco-Provençal. Different groups have created their own ways to write the language.

One way was used by Aimé Chenal and Raymond Vautherin, who wrote the first big book about Franco-Provençal. They built on the work of Jean-Baptiste Cerlogne from the 1800s about the Valdôtain dialect in the Aosta Valley. Their work came out in twelve books between 1967 and 1982.

Another way is used by groups in Aosta and Saint-Nicolas, Italy. This method is based on Jean-Baptiste Cerlogne's work but with some changes.

The Graphie de Conflans is used by speakers in Bresse and Savoy. It was first suggested by the Groupe de Conflans in 1983 and has been used in many books. This way of writing follows the International Phonetic Alphabet closely and uses a special sign to show stressed words.

There is also the Orthographe de référence B, made by Dominique Stich. This is the only way meant to write all Franco-Provençal dialects. It uses spellings that show the history of the words and are influenced by French. There are two types: one for all dialects and one for certain local features.

Numerals

Franco-Provençal uses a decimal counting system. The numbers “1”, “2”, and “4” have special forms depending on whether they are used for boys or girls.

Here are some numbers in Franco-Provençal:

• 0) zérô
• 1. yon (for boys), yona / yena (for girls)
• 2. dos (for boys), does / doves / davè (for girls)
• 3. três
• 4. quatro (for boys), quat / quatrè (for girls)
• 5. cinq
• 6. siéx
• 7. sèpt
• 8. huét
• 9. nô
• 10. diéx

Some western dialects use a vigesimal (base-20) form for “80”, saying quatro-vingt /katroˈvɛ̃/, possibly because of French influence.

Word comparisons

The chart below shows how words in Franco-Provençal compare to words in other Romance languages, with English for reference.

In Franco-Provençal, some sounds changed over time. Between vowels, the Latin sound "p" turned into "v", while "c" and "g" became "y". Also, the sounds "t" and "d" disappeared in this position. Franco-Provençal also made the hard sounds "c" and "g" softer when they came before the sound "a". These changes made Franco-Provençal follow a different path than Occitan and Gallo-Iberian languages, moving closer to how French evolved.

Dialects

Franco-Provençal has many different dialects, and each area or valley often speaks its own version without a standard form. These dialects can be hard to understand between each other. There are eight main groups of dialects, with six groups having 41 different versions identified. Two of these groups, Lyonnaise and Dauphinois-N., have fewer than 1,000 speakers each. Some dialects are highly endangered, though none have been listed as no longer spoken. More study is needed for the dialects spoken in the Piedmont area of Italy.

The dialects include groups such as Lyonnais, Dauphinois-N., Savoyard, Franc-Comtois, Vaudois, Valdôtain, Faetar (also called Cigliàje), and Piedmont Dialects, each with their own regional variations across France, Switzerland, and Italy.

Dialect examples

There are different ways to write the words in Franco-Provençal. These different spellings and their sounds are listed in a book from 2005.

Toponyms

Other than in family names, the Franco-Provençal language lives on mainly in place names. Many of these names end in special endings like -az, -o(t)z, -uz, -ax, -ex, -ux, -ou(l)x, -aulx, and -ieu(x). These endings come from an old way of writing that showed which syllable was stressed in a word. In words with more than one syllable, 'z' means the stress is on the second-to-last syllable, and 'x' means the stress is on the last syllable. For example, Chanaz is pronounced shana, but Chênex is pronounced shèné.

The following is a list of all such place names:

Italy

• Aosta Valley: Bionaz, Champdepraz, Morgex, and Perloz
• Piedmont: Oulx, and Sauze d'Oulx

France

• Ain: Ambérieu-en-Bugey, Ambérieux-en-Dombes, Arbignieu, Belleydoux, Belmont-Luthézieu, Birieux, Boz, Brénaz, Ceyzérieu, Challex, Chanoz-Châtenay, Charnoz-sur-Ain, Chevroux, Civrieux, Cleyzieu, Colomieu, Contrevoz, Conzieu, Cormoz, Courmangoux, Culoz, Cuzieu, Flaxieu, Gex, Hostiaz, Injoux-Génissiat, Izieu, Jujurieux, Lagnieu, Lescheroux, Lochieu, Lompnieu, Léaz, Lélex, Malafretaz, Marboz, Marignieu, Marlieux, Massieux, Massignieu-de-Rives, Meximieux, Mijoux, Misérieux, Montagnieu, Monthieux, Murs-et-Gélignieux, Niévroz, Nurieux-Volognat, Oncieu, Ordonnaz, Ornex, Outriaz, Oyonnax, Parcieux, Perrex, Peyrieu, Peyzieux-sur-Saône, Pirajoux, Pollieu, Prémillieu, Pugieu, Reyrieux, Rignieux-le-Franc, Ruffieu, Saint-André-le-Bouchoux, Saint-André-sur-Vieux-Jonc, Saint-Germain-de-Joux, Saint-Jean-le-Vieux, Saint-Nizier-le-Bouchoux, Saint-Paul-de-Varax, Sault-Brénaz, Seillonnaz, Songieu, Sonthonnax-la-Montagne, Surjoux, Sutrieu, Talissieu, Thézillieu, Torcieu, Toussieux, Trévoux, Vernoux, Versailleux, Versonnex, Vieu, Vieu-d'Izenave, Villieu-Loyes-Mollon, Virieu-le-Grand, Virieu-le-Petit, and Échenevex
• Ardèche: Ajoux, Beaulieu, Boucieu-le-Roi, Boulieu-lès-Annonay, Châteauneuf-de-Vernoux, Colombier-le-Vieux, Coux, Davézieux, Dunière-sur-Eyrieux, Lavilledieu, Le Roux, Les Ollières-sur-Eyrieux, Roiffieux, Saint-Fortunat-sur-Eyrieux, Saint-Jacques-d'Atticieux, Saint-Julien-le-Roux, Saint-Michel-de-Chabrillanoux, Saint-Pierre-sur-Doux, Saint-Étienne-de-Valoux, Satillieu, Talencieux, and Vinzieux
• Doubs: Bolandoz, Champoux, Chevroz, Châteauvieux-les-Fossés, Dampjoux, Deluz, Goux-les-Usiers, Goux-lès-Dambelin, Goux-sous-Landet, Grand'Combe-Châteleu, Granges-Narboz, La Cluse-et-Mijoux, Le Barboux, Le Bélieu, Les Hôpitaux-Vieux, Les Villedieu, Montmahoux, Montécheroux, Reculfoz, Saraz, Doubs, Verrières-de-Joux, Villars-sous-Dampjoux, and Éternoz
• Drôme: Allex, Clérieux, Génissieux, Marsaz, Molières-Glandaz, Montaulieu, Montjoux, Roussieux, Saint-Bardoux, Saint-Bonnet-de-Valclérieux, Solérieux, and Vassieux-en-Vercors
• Haute-Savoie: Alex, Annecy-le-Vieux, Arthaz-Pont-Notre-Dame, Aviernoz, Bernex, Cernex, Chainaz-les-Frasses, Charvonnex, Chavannaz, Chessenaz, Chevenoz, Chênex, Combloux, Copponex, Excenevex, La Clusaz, La Côte-d'Arbroz, La Forclaz, La Muraz, La Vernaz, Marcellaz, Marcellaz-Albanais, Marlioz, Marnaz, Menthonnex-en-Bornes, Menthonnex-sous-Clermont, Monnetier-Mornex, Mont-Saxonnex, Peillonnex, Reyvroz, Saint-Jorioz, Servoz, Seythenex, Seytroux, Vaulx, Veigy-Foncenex, Versonnex, Villaz, Ville-en-Sallaz, Villy-le-Pelloux, Viuz-en-Sallaz, Viuz-la-Chiésaz, and Vétraz-Monthoux
• Isère: Apprieu, Assieu, Beaulieu, Bellegarde-Poussieu, Bilieu, Bossieu, Bourgoin-Jallieu, Bouvesse-Quirieu, Bressieux, Cessieu, Chamagnieu, Charancieu, Charvieu-Chavagneux, Chassignieu, Chavanoz, Cheyssieu, Chélieu, Creys-Mépieu, Crémieu, Dizimieu, Diémoz, Dolomieu, Fitilieu, Granieu, Heyrieux, Jarcieu, La Chapelle-de-Surieu, Les Roches-de-Condrieu, Leyrieu, Lieudieu, Marcieu, Massieu, Meyrieu-les-Étangs, Moidieu-Détourbe, Moissieu-sur-Dolon, Monsteroux-Milieu, Montagnieu, Montalieu-Vercieu, Montseveroux, Notre-Dame-de-Vaulx, Optevoz, Ornacieux, Oz, Parmilieu, Pisieu, Porcieu-Amblagnieu, Proveysieux, Quincieu, Romagnieu, Saint-André-le-Gaz, Saint-Jean-de-Vaulx, Saint-Jean-le-Vieux, Saint-Julien-de-Raz, Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux, Saint-Pierre-de-Bressieux, Saint-Pierre-de-Méaroz, Saint-Romain-de-Surieu, Saint-Siméon-de-Bressieux, Saint-Victor-de-Cessieu, Sardieu, Sermérieu, Siccieu-Saint-Julien-et-Carisieu, Siévoz, Soleymieu, Succieu, Tignieu-Jameyzieu, Varacieux, Vatilieu, Vaulx-Milieu, Vernioz, Vertrieu, Veyssilieu, Vignieu, Villemoirieu, Virieu, and Vénérieu
• Jura: Bonlieu, Choux, Châtel-de-Joux, Courlaoux, Fontainebrux, Fraroz, Lajoux, Les Bouchoux, Marnoz, Menétrux-en-Joux, Molamboz, Moutoux, Onoz, Pagnoz, Ponthoux, Recanoz, Saffloz, Vannoz, Vertamboz, Villevieux, and Vulvoz
• Loire: Andrézieux-Bouthéon, Aveizieux, Bussy-Albieux, Champdieu, Chazelles-sur-Lavieu, Cuzieu, Doizieux, Grézieux-le-Fromental, Jonzieux, La Bénisson-Dieu, Lavieu, Marcoux, Mizérieux, Nandax, Nervieux, Nollieux, Pouilly-sous-Charlieu, Précieux, Saint-Haon-le-Vieux, Saint-Hilaire-sous-Charlieu, Saint-Jean-Soleymieux, Saint-Nizier-sous-Charlieu, Soleymieux, Unieux, and Épercieux-Saint-Paul
• Savoie: Aillon-le-Vieux, Allondaz, Avressieux, Avrieux, Barberaz, Chamoux-sur-Gelon, Chanaz, Chindrieux, Cohennoz, Conjux, Drumettaz-Clarafond, Entremont-le-Vieux, Frontenex, Jongieux, La Giettaz, La Motte-Servolex, Loisieux, Marcieux, Meyrieux-Trouet, Motz, Ontex, Ruffieux, Saint-Jean-de-Couz, Saint-Pierre-de-Genebroz, Saint-Thibaud-de-Couz, Sonnaz, Verthemex, and Villaroux
• Rhône: Affoux, Ambérieux, Brussieu, Cailloux-sur-Fontaines, Chassieu, Civrieux-d'Azergues, Colombier-Saugnieu, Condrieu, Courzieu, Décines-Charpieu, Fleurieu-sur-Saône, Fleurieux-sur-l'Arbresle, Grézieu-la-Varenne, Grézieu-le-Marché, Jarnioux, Joux, Lissieu, Meyzieu, Ouroux, Poleymieux-au-Mont-d'Or, Quincieux, Rillieux-la-Pape, Saint-Cyr-le-Chatoux, Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu, Soucieu-en-Jarrest, Sourcieux-les-Mines, Toussieu, Vaulx-en-Velin, Ville-sur-Jarnioux, and Vénissieux
• Saône-et-Loire: Chalmoux, Clux, Lux, Marly-sur-Arroux, Ouroux-sous-le-Bois-Sainte-Marie, Ouroux-sur-Saône, Pontoux, Pouilloux, Rigny-sur-Arroux, Saint-Bonnet-de-Joux, Saint-Didier-sur-Arroux, Saint-Nizier-sur-Arroux, Saint-Pierre-le-Vieux, Thil-sur-Arroux, Toulon-sur-Arroux, Vendenesse-sur-Arroux, Verjux, and Étang-sur-Arroux

Switzerland

• Fribourg: Chésopelloz, Crésuz, Ferpicloz, La Brillaz, La Folliaz, La Sonnaz, Neyruz, Noréaz, Pont-en-Ogoz, Prez-vers-Noréaz, Sévaz, Vaulruz, Villaz-Saint-Pierre, and Vuisternens-en-Ogoz
• Geneva: Bardonnex, Bernex, Choulex, Collex-Bossy, Laconnex, Le Grand-Saconnex, Onex, Perly-Certoux, Thônex, and Troinex
• Neuchâtel: Brot-Plamboz and La Chaux-du-Milieu
• Valais: Arbaz, Collombey-Muraz, Dorénaz, Evionnaz, Lax, Massongex, Mex, Nax, Nendaz, Vernayaz, Vex, Veysonnaz, Vionnaz, Vérossaz, and Vétroz
• Vaud: Arnex-sur-Nyon, Arnex-sur-Orbe, Bex, Bioley-Magnoux, Bioley-Orjulaz, Borex, Champtauroz, Chanéaz, Cheseaux-Noréaz, Chevroux, Château-d'Œx, Chéserex, Founex, La Sarraz, Mauraz, Mex, Mutrux, Neyruz-sur-Moudon, Palézieux, Paudex, Penthalaz, Penthaz, Penthéréaz, Puidoux, Rennaz, Rivaz, Ropraz, Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz, Saint-Prex, Saubraz, Signy-Avenex, Suscévaz, Tolochenaz, and Trélex

Literature

Franco-Provençal has a long history of literature, even though there isn’t one main written form of the language. One of the earliest known works is a poem from the 1100s about Alexander the Great. Another famous old story is Girart de Roussillon from the 1100s, which mixes French and another language called Occitan.

In the 1200s, important documents and religious stories began to be written in Franco-Provençal. One of these is The Legend of Saint Bartholomew, which tells of a holy woman’s life.

Marguerite d'Oingt, a nun from France, wrote special religious books in her local dialect in the late 1200s and early 1300s. Her work Li Via seiti Biatrix, virgina de Ornaciu tells the story of a holy woman named Beatrix.

During the 1600s, writers in Geneva created poems and stories in Franco-Provençal, including Cé qu’è lainô, which became a famous song for the area.

Many writers over the years used Franco-Provençal to create funny, moral, and poetic works. In the 1800s, Amélie Gex wrote many poems and stories in her local language, sharing themes like nature, love, and daily life.

The writer Jean-Baptiste Cerlogne helped keep the language of the Aosta Valley alive through his poems and books. Even today, people work to save and share Franco-Provençal stories and traditions.

Several writers created different kinds of texts showing the language’s strength. These include Bernardin Uchard, Henri Perrin, Jean Millet, Jacques Brossard de Montaney, Jean Chapelon, and François Blanc dit Blanc la Goutte.

Amélie Gex wrote in her local language and was a strong supporter of it. Her works include Reclans de Savoué, Lo cent ditons de Pierre d'Emo, Poesies, Vieilles gens et vieilles choses, Fables, and Contio de la Bova.

The writings of Jean-Baptiste Cerlogne helped bring back the culture of the Aosta Valley. His early poems include L'infan prodeggo, Marenda a Tsesalet, and La bataille di vatse a Vertosan. He also wrote books about the local language.

At the end of the 1800s, the use of Franco-Provençal was shrinking because more people were using French. Groups worked to save old stories and sayings from speakers. Many books have been published because of this.

In the 1900s, writers like Prosper Convert, Louis Mercier, Just Songeon, Eugénie Martinet, and Joseph Yerly kept using the language in their works.

In 2000, a comic book called Le rebloshon que tyouè! was written in Franco-Provençal. In 2006 and 2007, stories from The Adventures of Tintin and the Lucky Luke series were also translated into the language for young readers.