Provençal ( / ˌ p r ɒ v ɒ̃ ˈ s ɑː l / , also UK : /- s æ l / , US : / ˌ p r oʊ -, - v ən -/ ; Occitan : provençau or prouvençau [pʀuvenˈsaw] ) is a variety of Occitan , spoken by people in Provence and parts of Drôme and Gard . The term Provençal used to refer to the entire Occitan language, but more recently it has referred only to the variety of Occitan spoken in Provence. However, it can still be found being used to refer to Occitan as a whole, e.g. Merriam-Webster states that it can be used to refer to general Occitan, though this is going out of use.
21-630: Forcalquier ( French: [fɔʁkalkje] ; Provençal : Forcauquier [fuʀkɔwˈkje] ) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. Forcalquier is located between the Lure Mountain and Luberon mountain ranges, about 30 km (19 mi) south of Sisteron and 10 km (6.2 mi) west of the Durance river. During the Middle Ages it
42-564: A part of the Gavot area (near Digne and Sisteron) belongs to historical Provence. When written in the Mistralian norm (" normo mistralenco "), definite articles are lou in the masculine singular, la in the feminine singular and li in the masculine and feminine plural ( lis before vowels). Nouns and adjectives usually drop the Latin masculine endings, but -e remains; the feminine ending
63-437: Is -o (this is the opposite of the neighbouring Italian masculine gender). Nouns do not inflect for number, but all adjectives ending in vowels ( -e or -o ) become -i , and all plural adjectives take -s before vowels. When written in the classical norm (" nòrma classica "), definite articles are masculine lo [lu], feminine la [la], and plural lei/leis [lej/lejz = li/liz]. Nouns and adjectives usually drop
84-561: Is - o (like in Italian, Catalan, Castilian, and Portuguese, but also in Piemontese, which is neighboring): parlo for parli or parle ("io parlo"), parlavo for parlavi or parlave ("io parlavo"), parlèro for parlèri or parlère ("io ho parlato, io parlavo"). A common trait is the rhotacism of l (shift from l to r): In the dialects of the Alps, Vivaro-Alpine maintained the pronunciation of
105-638: Is a variety of Occitan spoken in southeastern France (namely, around the Dauphiné area) and northwestern Italy (the Occitan Valleys of Piedmont and Liguria ). There is also a small Vivaro-Alpine enclave in the Guardia Piemontese , Calabria , where the language is known as gardiòl . It belongs to the Northern Occitan dialect bloc, along with Auvergnat and Limousin . The name “vivaro-alpine”
126-580: Is now clearly recognized as a dialect of its own. The UNESCO Atlas of World's languages in danger uses the Alpine Provençal name, and considers it as seriously endangered. Glottolog recognizes the Gardiòl variety of the dialect as a distinct language within the Occitanic language family. Vivaro-Alpine is classified as an Indo-European, Italic, Romance, or Western-Romance language. Vivaro-Alpine shares
147-453: The langue d'oïl was limited to the northern areas of France. Thus, the ISO 639-3 code for Old Occitan is [pro]. In 2007, all the ISO 639-3 codes for Occitan dialects, including [prv] for Provençal, were retired and merged into [oci] Occitan. The old codes ([prv], [auv], [gsc], [lms], [lnc]) are no longer in active use, but still have the meaning assigned to them when they were established in
168-424: The r of the infinitive verbs (excepting modern Occitan). An estimated 70% of languages are estimated to have "interrogative intonation contours which end with rising pitch." However, Vivaro Alpine follows the opposite pattern with yes/no questions—an initial high tone followed by a fall. Questions that end in a rising pitch are so common that they are often considered "natural." One reason that questions begin with
189-477: The Durance, which included the towns of Manosque , Sisteron , Gap and Embrun . Forcalquier minted its own currency, and its church was elevated to the status of a "concathedral". The counts of Forcalquier grew to a power that could defy the counts of Provence. Rivalry ended in 1195 when Gersende de Sabran , countess of Forcalquier, married Alfonso II , count of Provence. Their son, Ramon Bérenger IV , inherited
210-457: The Latin masculine endings, but -e [e] remains; the feminine ending is -a [ɔ]. Nouns inflect for number, all adjectives ending in vowels ( -e or -a ) become -ei/-eis [ej/ejz = i/iz] in some syntactic positions, and most plural adjectives take -s . Pronunciation remains the same in both norms (Mistralian and classical), which are only two different ways to write the same language. The IETF language tags register oc-provenc-grmistr for
231-420: The Mistralian orthography and oc-provenc-grclass for the classical one. Modern Provençal literature was given impetus by Nobel laureate Frédéric Mistral and the association, Félibrige , which he founded with other writers, such as Théodore Aubanel . The beginning of the 20th century saw other authors like Joseph d'Arbaud , Batisto Bonnet and Valère Bernard . It has been enhanced and modernized since
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#1733085812998252-615: The Place du Bourguet and the adjoining streets. Noteworthy is the Musée Municipal with its prehistoric and Gallo-Roman artifacts, glass works, and faïence pottery from Mane , Apt and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie . Forcalquier is officially twinned with: Proven%C3%A7al language Provençal is also the customary name given to the older version of the Occitan language used by the troubadours of medieval literature , when Old French or
273-590: The Place du Bourguet. The Cordeliers Convent was built in the 13th century by Franciscans named "cordeliers" because of their rope belts. This convent was occupied by monks continuously until the Revolution. It now houses the Université Européenne des Senteurs & Saveurs . The Port de Cordeliers is all that remains of the town's fortified walls. Monday morning is market day in Forcalquier. The market fills
294-619: The Standard. Some groups have called for Provençal's recognition as a full language, distinct from Occitan. The Regional Council of Provence has variously labelled Provençal as a dialect of Occitan or as a distinct language, depending on different lobbies and political majorities. The main subdialects of Provençal are: Gavòt (in French Gavot ), spoken in the Western Occitan Alps, around Digne , Sisteron , Gap , Barcelonnette and
315-399: The palatization of consonants k and g in front of a with the other varieties of North Occitan (Limosino, Alverniate), in particular with words such as chantar ("cantare," to sing) and jai ("ghiandaia," jay). Southern Occitan has, respectively, cantar and gai. Its principal characteristic is the dropping of simple Latin dental intervocalics: The verbal ending of the first person
336-517: The second half of the 20th century by writers such as Robèrt Lafont , Pierre Pessemesse , Claude Barsotti , Max-Philippe Delavouët [ Wikidata ] , Philippe Gardy [ Wikidata ] , Florian Vernet [ Wikidata ] , Danielle Julien [ Wikidata ] , Jòrgi Gròs [ Wikidata ] , Sèrgi Bec [ Wikidata ] , Bernat Giély , and many others. Vivaro-Alpine Vivaro-Alpine ( Occitan : vivaroalpenc, vivaroaupenc )
357-562: The town is the area around the Place Saint-Michel with its Renaissance fountain (1511) and its narrow side-streets. There many doorways dating to the 12th to 16th centuries can be found. The present commercial and social center of town, the Place du Bourget , is located below the Place St. Michel. The 12th century "concathedral" Notre Dame de l'Assomption with its bell towers stands across from
378-470: The two counties. The inhabitants are called Forcalquiérens in French. Forcalquier is built around the slopes of a steep conical hill, crowned by an octagonal chapel, Notre Dame de Provence, where the medieval citadel once stood. The citadel was destroyed in 1601; the chapel with its panoramic view was built in 1875. It has a carillon that can be heard every Sunday morning during the summer. The oldest part of
399-467: The upper County of Nice , but also in a part of the Ardèche , is not exactly a subdialect of Provençal, but rather a closely related Occitan dialect, also known as Vivaro-Alpine . So is the dialect spoken in the upper valleys of Piedmont , Italy ( Val Maira , Val Varaita , Val Stura di Demonte , Entracque , Limone Piemonte , Vinadio , Sestriere ). Some people view Gavòt as a variety of Provençal since
420-541: Was coined by Pierre Bec in the 1970s. The Vivaro-Alpine dialects are traditionally called "gavot" from the Maritime Alps to the Hautes-Alpes . Vivaro-Alpine had been considered as a sub-dialect of Provençal , and named provençal alpin (Alpine Provençal) or Northern Provençal. Its use in the Dauphiné area has also led to the use of dauphinois or dauphinois alpin to name it. Along with Ronjat and Bec, it
441-516: Was the capital of Haute-Provence . Furnus Calcarius was the Latin name, from the lime kilns used in Roman times. (A Roman bridge still stands in the valley to the south of the town.) Its Provençal name is Fourcauquié . At the end of the 11th century, a family of the counts of Provence created the county of Forcalquier . During this time, the town of Forcalquier was the capital of Haute Provence along
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