Occitan

Occitan (occitan or lenga d’òc) is a Western Romance language continuum traditionally spoken across southern France, the Val d’Aran in Spain, several Alpine valleys in Italy, and Monaco. Major varieties include Languedocien, Provençal, Gascon, Limousin, Auvergnat, and Vivaro-Alpine; Aranese is a Gascon variety. Medieval Old Occitan was the language of an influential troubadour lyric tradition that spread forms of courtly poetry across Europe. In France, centuries of institutional dominance by French weakened intergenerational transmission, and many Occitan varieties are now endangered, although schools, media, literature, and cultural organizations support continued use. Occitan, called Aranese in Aran, is official in Catalonia under its autonomy framework and is used in education and administration in the Val d’Aran.