Angevin is the traditional '' langue d'oïl'' spoken in

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duke ...

, a historic province in western

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 ...

. It was also spoken in neighboring regions like the

Pays Nantais In France, a ''pays'' () is an area whose inhabitants share common geographical, economic, cultural, or social interests, who have a right to enter into communal planning contracts under a law known as the Loi Pasqua or LOADT (''Loi d'Orientation ...

(along with

Gallo Gallo may refer to: *Related to Gaul: **Gallo-Roman culture **Gallo language, a regional language of France **Gallo-Romance, a branch of Romance languages **Gallo-Italic or Gallo-Italian language, a branch spoken in Northern Italy of the Romance ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

(along with Mayennois) and

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...

(along with Tourangeau). It is closely related to other ''oïl'' dialects spoken in western France, especially Sarthois, Mayennois and Norman (south of ligne Joret) in what could be called Eastern Armorican (Angevin-Mayennois-Sarthois-South Norman). Eastern Armorican, together with Gallo, forms the "zone armoricaine" of Langues d'oïl. As an ''oïl'' language or dialect it shares many common features with

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the ...

phonemes In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-wes ...

and daily expressions. It is also similar to the Gallo language (although Gallo has a stronger Celtic linguistic substrate that comes from Breton and not only from ancient

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

language). Angevin influenced the origin and development of Gallo in the Marches of Neustria (especially in the Breton March) beginning in the 9th and 10th centuries. Angevin was the old speech of the Angevins or

House of Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in b ...

. However, in spite of this prestigious dynasty, Angevin never developed a notable literature, partially because the region of Anjou was integrated into the royal domains of the

King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the fir ...

(from the

House of Capet The House of Capet (french: Maison capétienne) or the Direct Capetians (''Capétiens directs''), also called the House of France (''la maison de France''), or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most ...

) at the beginning of the 13th century, where the literary language was Parisian-based

Francien Francien is a 19th-century term in linguistics that was applied to the French dialect that was spoken in the Île-de-France region (with Paris at its centre) before the establishment of the French language as a standard language."Ce terme est un ...

. Some words of Angevin origin were borrowed to

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

via

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

at the Angevins domination of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Today it is almost an extinct dialect or language but it is preserved in the Rimiaux, poems written in Angevin, and also in some daily expressions.

Literature

The Rimiaux are some of the best expressions of Angevin literature. Several Rimiaux from Angevin poets and writers have been published.

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

used some Angevin words and speech in his novel

Eugénie Grandet ''Eugénie Grandet'' is a novel first published in 1833 by French author Honoré de Balzac. While he was writing it he conceived his ambitious project, ''La Comédie humaine'', and almost immediately prepared a second edition, revising the names ...

.Honoré de Balzac, Eugénie Grandet, vol. 5, édition dite du Furne, 1843

Bibliography

* ''Paroles d'Oïl'', DPLO, Mougon 1994, * A.-J. Verrier et R. Onillon, ''Glossaire étymologique et historique des parlers et patois de l'Anjou'', t. I et II, 1908, consulter en ligne (tome I), consulter en ligne (tome II) * ''Mots et expressions des Patois d'Anjou, Petit dictionnaire'', Petit Pavé, 116 p. () * Augustin Jeanneau et Adolphe Durand, ''Le Parler populaire en Anjou'', Choletais, 1982, 197 p. * ''Encyclopédie Bonneteau : Anjou, Maine-et-Loire'', avril 2010, 320 p. * Honoré de Balzac, ''Eugénie Grandet'', vol. 5, édition dite du Furne, 1843 * ''Le petit Larousse'' ()

References

External links

* http://themasq49.free.fr/index_fichiers/ecouter_le_morceau.htm {{Authority control French dialects