Arpitan
Romance (Gallo-Romance)
Franco-Provençal (Arpitan / Patouès) is a Gallo-Romance language with ~140K speakers — France (Rhône-Alpes, Lyon-Saint-Étienne historical core, Forez, Bresse), Switzerland (Romandy beyond Geneva: Vaud, Fribourg, Valais, Neuchâtel), and Italy (Aosta Valley where it has regional co-official status alongside French and Italian, plus pockets in Piedmont and the Apulian Faeto/Celle exclaves). Distinct from both French (langue d'oïl) and Occitan (langue d'oc); the linguistic name "Franco-Provençal" was coined by Italian linguist Graziadio Ascoli in 1873 to capture its intermediate position. Marked by retention of Latin /a/ unlike northern French (canTAre > chanTÉ in French but chanTÁ in Arpitan), and palatalization patterns. UNESCO severely endangered. Cultural revival through the Arpitan Cultural Federation (Aliance Culturèla Arpitana) since 2004 and Aosta Valley schools.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Arpitan
Water
égoua
/eɡwɔ/
Fire
fuè
/fwɛ/
Sun
solely
/sɔlɛj/
Moon
lena
/lənə/
Mother
mâre
/mar/
Father
pâre
/par/
Eat
mengiér
/mendʒje/
Drink
bêre
/beːr/
Love
amor
/amur/
Heart
côr
/kɔr/
Tree
âbro
/abru/
House
mêson
/meːzɔ̃/
Dog
chen
/tʃɛ̃/
Cat
chat
/tʃa/
Hand
man
/mã/
Eye
uely
/œj/
Hello
adiô
/adjo/
Thank you
mèrci
/mɛrsi/
One
yon
/jɔ̃/
Good
bon
/bɔ̃/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Romance (Gallo-Romance) languages
| Meaning | Arpitan | French (Québec) | Classical French (17c., Bel Usage) | French | French (African) | French (Belgian) | French (Swiss) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | égoua /eɡwɔ/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ |
| Fire | fuè /fwɛ/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ |
| Sun | solely /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ |
| Moon | lena /lənə/ | lune /lʏn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ |
| Mother | mâre /mar/ | mère /mɛːʁ/ | mère /mɛːr/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ |
| Father | pâre /par/ | père /pɛːʁ/ | père /pɛːr/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ |
| Eat | mengiér /mendʒje/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ |
| Drink | bêre /beːr/ | boire /bwɑːʁ/ | boire /bweːr/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ |
| Love | amor /amur/ | amour /amuːʁ/ | amour /amur/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ |
| Heart | côr /kɔr/ | cœur /kœːʁ/ | cœur /kœːr/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ |
| Tree | âbro /abru/ | arbre /aːʁbʁ/ | arbre /aːrbr/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ |
| House | mêson /meːzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ |
| Dog | chen /tʃɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ |
| Cat | chat /tʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃaː/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ |
| Hand | man /mã/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ |
| Eye | uely /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œːj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ |
| Hello | adiô /adjo/ | allô /alo/ | Dieu vous garde /djø vu ɡard/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ |
| Thank you | mèrci /mɛrsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | grâces /ɡraːs/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ |
| One | yon /jɔ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ |
| Good | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ |
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