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
31 core words in Arpitan
Water
égoua
/eɡwɔ/
Fire
fuè
/fwɛ/
Sun
solely
/sɔlɛj/
Moon
lena
/lənə/
Star
étêla
/eˈtela/
Mother
mâre
/mar/
Father
pâre
/par/
I
je
/ʒə/
You
te
/tə/
Name
nom
/nõ/
Eye
uely
/œj/
Hand
man
/mã/
Heart
côr
/kɔr/
Love
amor
/amur/
Tree
âbro
/abru/
House
mêson
/meːzɔ̃/
Dog
chen
/tʃɛ̃/
Cat
chat
/tʃa/
Eat
mengiér
/mendʒje/
Drink
bêre
/beːr/
One
yon
/jɔ̃/
Two
dos
/do/
Hello
adiô
/adjo/
Thank you
mèrci
/mɛrsi/
Good
bon
/bɔ̃/
Cuckoo
coucou
/kuˈku/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Romance (Gallo-Romance) languages
| Meaning | Arpitan | Classical French (17c., Bel Usage) | French (Québec) | French | French (Senegalese) | French (Haitian) | French |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 /lyn/ | lune /lʏn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ |
| Star | étêla /eˈtela/ | étoile /etwɛl/ | étoile /etwɑl/ | étoile /etwal/ | étoile /etwal/ | étoile /etwal/ | étoile /etwal/ |
| Mother | mâre /mar/ | mère /mɛːr/ | mère /mɛːʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ |
| Father | pâre /par/ | père /pɛːr/ | père /pɛːʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ |
| I | je /ʒə/ | je /ʒə/ | je /ʒə/ | je /ʒə/ | je /ʒə/ | je /ʒə/ | je /ʒə/ |
| You | te /tə/ | tu /ty/ | tu /tsy/ | tu /ty/ | tu /ty/ | tu /ty/ | tu /ty/ |
| Name | nom /nõ/ | nom /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔ̃/ |
| Eye | uely /œj/ | œil /œːj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ |
| Hand | man /mã/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ |
| Heart | côr /kɔr/ | cœur /kœːr/ | cœur /kœːʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ |
| Love | amor /amur/ | amour /amur/ | amour /amuːʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ |
| Tree | âbro /abru/ | arbre /aːrbr/ | arbre /aːʁbʁ/ | 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 /ʃaː/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ |
| Eat | mengiér /mendʒje/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ |
| Drink | bêre /beːr/ | boire /bweːr/ | boire /bwɑːʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ |
| One | yon /jɔ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /ɛ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ |
| Two | dos /do/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ |
| Hello | adiô /adjo/ | Dieu vous garde /djø vu ɡard/ | allô /alo/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ |
| Thank you | mèrci /mɛrsi/ | grâces /ɡraːs/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ |
| Good | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ |
| Cuckoo | coucou /kuˈku/ | coucou /kuˈku/ | coucou /kuku/ | coucou /kuku/ | coucou /kuku/ | coucou /kuku/ | coucou /kuku/ |
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