Occitan language

Occitan is a Romance language spoken chiefly in southern France and parts of Italy and Spain. Its major varieties include Gascon, Provençal, and Languedocien.

Gascon language: A Romance variety traditionally included within Occitan, spoken mainly in southwestern France and the Aran Valley of Spain. Gascon is one of Occitan’s major varieties, with distinctive features such as initial f becoming h.
Vulgar Latin: The spoken forms of Latin from which the Romance languages developed. Occitan developed from spoken Latin in the western Roman territories of Gaul.
Jules Ronjat: A French linguist whose early twentieth-century work described Occitan dialects and their structure. Ronjat’s systematic description helped establish a scholarly basis for treating Occitan as a coherent language.
Occitan language in education: The teaching and learning of Occitan in schools, universities, and adult programs. Education is a central route for passing Occitan to new generations and expanding literacy.
Provençal dialect: A group of Occitan varieties spoken chiefly in southeastern France, including the Niçard variety of Nice. Provençal is a major southern branch of Occitan and a prominent literary tradition.
Old Occitan: The medieval form of Occitan used in southern France and nearby regions, especially from the eleventh to fourteenth centuries. Old Occitan preserves the language of the troubadours and the earliest extensive Occitan literature.
Frédéric Mistral: A Provençal poet and lexicographer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1904. Mistral helped renew Provençal literary prestige and founded the Félibrige movement.
Calandreta: A network of schools in southern France that teaches through Occitan using immersion methods. Calandreta schools provide a prominent model for schooling in Occitan.
Languedocien dialect: A central Occitan variety spoken mainly in the former Languedoc region of southern France. Languedocien has often served as a reference variety in modern Occitan language planning.
Troubadour: A medieval poet-composer, especially one who wrote in Occitan and performed songs at aristocratic courts. Troubadours made Occitan a prestigious literary language across much of medieval Europe.

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