Savoyard () is a
Franco-Provençal dialect of the
Gallo-Romance Gallo-Romance can refer to:
* Old Gallo-Romance, the Romance language spoken from around 600 to 900 AD.
* Gallo-Romance languages, a branch of the Romance language family, which includes in the narrowest sense the ''langues d'oïl'' and Franco-Prov ...
family. It is spoken in some territories of the historical
Duchy of Savoy
The Duchy of Savoy (; ) was a territorial entity of the Savoyard state that existed from 1416 until 1847 and was a possession of the House of Savoy.
It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy f ...
, nowadays a geographic area spanning
Savoie
Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population o ...
and
Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie () is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its Prefectures in France, prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Gene ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and the
Canton of Geneva
The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of forty-five Municipality, municipalities, and the seat of the governme ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. It has around 35,000 speakers today.
Some words
Several subdialects of Savoyard exist that exhibit unique features in terms of phonetics and vocabulary. This includes many words that have to do with the weather: ''bacan'' (French: ''temps mauvais''); ''coussie'' (French: ''tempête''); ''royé'' (French: ''averse''); ''ni
le'' (French: ''nuage''); ...and, the environment: ''clapia, perrier'' (French: ''éboulis''); ''égra'' (French: ''sorte d'escalier de pierre''); ''balme'' (French: ''grotte''); ''tova'' (French: ''tourbière''); and ''lanche'' (French: ''champ en pente'').
Linguistic studies
Savoyard has been the subject of detailed study at the ''Centre de dialectologie'' of the
Stendhal University
Stendhal University (, also known as Grenoble III) was a university located in the outskirts of Grenoble, France that offered courses in foreign languages and cultures, ancient and modern literature, language and communication sciences. Having ...
,
Grenoble
Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...
, currently under the direction of
Michel Contini.
See also
*
Languages of France
French is the sole official language in France according to the second article of the French Constitution. French, a Gallo-Romance language, is spoken by nearly the entire population of France.
In addition to French, several regional langua ...
References
Notes
Franco-Provençal language
Languages of France
Arpitania
{{Romance-lang-stub