Vivaro-Alpine ( oc, vivaroalpenc, vivaroaupenc) is a variety of
Occitan spoken in southeastern France (namely, around the
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois.
In the 12th centu ...
area) and northwestern Italy (the
Occitan Valleys of
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
and
Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
). There is also a small Vivaro-Alpine enclave in the
Guardia Piemontese
Guardia Piemontese ( Occitan: ''La Gàrdia'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza and the region of Calabria in southern Italy.
Location and language
Guardia Piemontese is located about 55 km northwest of Cosenza on th ...
,
Calabria
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
, where the language is known as ''gardiòl''. It belongs to the Northern Occitan dialect bloc, along with
Auvergnat and
Limousin
Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...
. The name “vivaro-alpine” was coined by
Pierre Bec Pierre Bec (; oc, Pèire Bèc; 11 December 1921 – 30 June 2014) was a French Occitan-language poet and linguist. Born in Paris, he spent his childhood in Comminges, where he learnt Occitan. He was deported to Germany between 1943 and 1945. A ...
in the 1970s. The Vivaro-Alpine dialects are traditionally called "gavot" from the
Maritime Alps
The Maritime Alps (french: Alpes Maritimes ; it, Alpi Marittime ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the Italian regions of Piedmont and Li ...
to the
Hautes-Alpes.
Naming and classification
''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
The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois.
In the 12th centu ...
area has also led to the use of ''dauphinois'' or ''dauphinois alpin'' to name it.
[ Jules Ronjat, ''Grammaire istorique des parlers provençaux modernes, vol. IV Les dialectes'', ]Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. In 2018, 290,053 people l ...
, 1941 Along with Ronjat
[ and Bec, it 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.
]
Subdialects
* Western: ''vivarodaufinenc'' (native name) or ''vivaro-dauphinois'' (French name) near northern Vivarais
Vivarais (; oc, Vivarés; la, Vivariensis provincia{{cite web , url=http://www.columbia.edu/acis/ets/Graesse/orblatv.html , title = ORBIS LATINUS - Letter V) is a traditional region in the south-east of France, covering the ''département'' of ...
(Annonay
Annonay (; oc, Anonai) is a commune and largest city in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the capital ...
), northeastern Velay (Yssingeaux
Yssingeaux (; ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.
It is situated between Le Puy-en-Velay and Firminy.
Geography
The river Lignon du Velay flows through the commune.
Population
See also
* ...
), a southern fringe of Forez ( Saint-Bonnet-le-Château and around Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Saint-Étienne is the ...
), Drôme
Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019. department ( Valence, Die
Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life.
Die may also refer to:
Games
* Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers
Manufacturing
* Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...
, Montélimar) and a fringe in southern Isère
Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.[Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...]
.
** ''gavòt'' (native name) or ''gavot'' (French name) in the western Occitan Alps, which are located in France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, around Digne
Digne-les-Bains (; Occitan: ''Dinha dei Banhs''), or simply and historically Digne (''Dinha'' in the classical norm or ''Digno'' in the Mistralian norm), is the prefecture of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte ...
, Sisteron
Sisteron (; , oc, label=Mistralian norm, Sisteroun; from oc, label= Old Occitan, Sestaron) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, southeastern France.
Sisteron is situated on the banks of the rive ...
, Gap, Barcelonnette
Barcelonnette (; oc, Barciloneta de Provença, also ; obsolete it, Barcellonetta) is a commune of France and a subprefecture in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It is located in the souther ...
and the upper County of Nice
The County of Nice (french: Comté de Nice / Pays Niçois, it, Contea di Nizza/Paese Nizzardo, Niçard oc, Contèa de Niça/País Niçard) is a historical region of France located around the southeastern city of Nice and roughly equivalent t ...
.
** Cisalpine or Eastern Alpine (native names: ''cisalpenc'' or ''alpenc oriental'') in the eastern Occitan Alps Occitan Valleys, which are located in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
(Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
and Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
).
Characterization
Vivaro-Alpine is classified as an Indo-European, Italic, Romance, or Western-Romance language.
Vivaro-Alpine shares 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:
* ''chantaa'' or ''chantaia'' for ''chantada'' ("cantata," sung),
* ''monea'' for ''moneda'' ("moneta," coin),]
* ''bastia'' or ''bastiá'' for ''bastida'' ("imbastitura, tack),
* ''maür'' for ''madur'' ("maturo," mature).
The verbal ending of the first person 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):
* ''barma'' for ''balma'' or ''bauma'' ("grotta," cave),
* ''escòra'' for ''escòla'' ("scuola," school),
* ''saraa'' or ''sarai'' for ''salada'' ("insalata," salad).
In the dialects of the Alps, Vivaro-Alpine maintained the pronunciation of 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 a high tone in some languages is that the listener is immediately being alerted to the fact that they are being asked a question.
Status
Vivaro-Alpine is an endangered language. There are approximately 200,000 native speakers of the language worldwide. Transmission of the language is very low. Speakers of Vivaro-Alpine typically also speak either French or Italian.
References
See also
* Occitan conjugation
* Baìo
{{Authority control
Occitan language