Limousin (French name, ; oc, lemosin, ) is a dialect of the
Occitan language, spoken in the three
departments
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Limousin
Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vien ...
, parts of
Charente
Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, a ...
and the
Dordogne
Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named ...
in the southwest of
France.
The first Occitan documents are in an early form of this dialect, particularly the ''
Boecis
The ''Boecis'' (original name: ''Lo poema de Boecis'', , ; "The poem of Boethius") is an anonymous fragment written around the year 1000 CE in the Limousin dialect of Old Occitan, currently spoken only in southern France. Of the possibly hun ...
'', written around the year 1000.
Limousin is used primarily by people over age 50 in rural communities. All speakers speak
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
as a first or second language. Due to the
French single language policy, it is not recognised by the government and therefore considered
endangered by the linguistic community. A
revivalist movement around the
Félibrige
The ''Félibrige'' (; in classical Occitan, in Mistralian spelling, ) is a literary and cultural association founded in 1854 by Frédéric Mistral and other Provençal writers to defend and promote the Occitan language (also called the ) and ...
and the
Institut d'Estudis Occitans The Institut d'Estudis Occitans (English: Occitan Studies Institute or Institute for Occitan Studies; ), or IEO, is a cultural association that was founded in 1945 by a group of Occitan and French writers including Jean Cassou, Tristan Tzara, Is ...
is active in Limousin (as well as in other parts of
Occitania).
Differences from Languedocien
Most speakers and academics consider Limousin to be a dialect of Occitan. For more detailed information on this question, see the section on
Occitan dialects and
codification.
The following reproduces the first article of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
See also
*
Occitan conjugation
References
External links
Institut d'Estudis Occitans dau Lemosin
Occitan language
Languages of France
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