Provençal and Occitan are two names, often used synonymously, for a regional language of southern France. Some linguists speak of the Occitan language as the umbrella term and of the Provençal dialect for the variant spoken in Provence. Provençal, or Occitan, is much more closely related to Catalan than to French. The Provençal variant of the language is increasingly becoming a compromise language in contacts between speakers of different Occitan dialects. Historically, Provençal was much more important than French until the fourteenth century, but was completely displaced by the French language by the sixteenth century at the latest. Provençal experienced its first renaissance as a literary language in the 1930s.
What is the significance of regional languages in France?
In France only French is the official language. With the exception of Corsica and Northern Catalonia, the population does not expect tourists to have studied the regional language. The share of inhabitants who speak mainly the regional language rather than French is growing in all parts of France. At the same time, more and more pupils take the opportunity to attend classes in the local language. This option has existed in state schools only since the end of the twentieth century; before that, regional languages were frowned upon at school in official situations. Today, when visiting public offices such as the police, and also when going to the post office, the use of French remains usual in southern France. The regional languages found in southern France are Occitan, Corsican, Breton and Catalan.
Knowing the regional language offers cultural insights
The culture expressed in a regional language in southern France differs clearly from the French cultural heritage. Music in Provence is shaped by dances and by troubadours. Anyone who speaks only French and does not understand the lyrics can of course still enjoy Provençal music. The enjoyment is much greater, however, if the holidaymaker can not only admire the costumes and the singers’ voices but also understand the content of the performance thanks to some knowledge of Occitan. The number of concerts of Occitan music is rising steadily in all places of the language area. If holidaymakers have acquired a basic knowledge of the regional language, they also find it easier to get to know their hosts personally.
Knowing the Occitan place name is important
Signposts in Provence and the Languedoc on main roads are labelled either in French only or bilingually, so that holidaymakers find their way back to their holiday home after excursions even without knowing Occitan. The situation is different, however, on walks along small roads or forest paths. The signposts there are in some cases not bilingual but labelled in Occitan only. Anyone who does not at least know the Occitan name of their holiday place cannot use some of the signs on hiking trails. Besides forest paths, the exclusively monolingual signage also affects notices about local sights in smaller towns.
Learning Occitan
In German there is only a mainly descriptive introduction to the Occitan language available. Anyone who wants to acquire language skills before their holiday has to fall back on textbooks taught in French. One way to improve basic knowledge is to read internet articles in Occitan, for which Wikipedia is particularly suitable. On the spot, language skills can be acquired by active listening and used on a later visit to southern France.