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Vivaro-Alpine ( oc, vivaroalpenc, vivaroaupenc) is a variety of
Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...
spoken in southeastern France (namely, around the
Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...
area) and northwestern Italy (the
Occitan Valleys The Occitan Valleys ( oc, Valadas Occitanas; it, Valli Occitane; pms, Valade Ossitan-e; french: Vallées Occitanes; frp, Valâdes Occitanes) are the part of Occitania (the territory of the Occitan language) within the borders of Italy. It is a ...
of
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
and
Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
). There is also a small Vivaro-Alpine enclave in the
Guardia Piemontese Guardia Piemontese (Occitan language, Occitan: ''La Gàrdia'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza and the region of Calabria in southern Italy. Location and language Guardia Piemontese is located about 55 km northwest ...
,
Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, where the language is known as ''gardiòl''. It belongs to the Northern Occitan dialect bloc, along with
Auvergnat or (endonym: ) is a northern dialect of Occitan spoken in central and southern France, in particular in the former administrative region of Auvergne. Currently, research shows that there is not really a true Auvergnat dialect but rather a va ...
and
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-Vienn ...
. The name “vivaro-alpine” was coined by
Pierre Bec Pierre Bec (; oc, Pèire Bèc; 11 December 1921 – 30 June 2014) was a French Occitan-language poet and linguist. Born in Paris, he spent his childhood in Comminges, where he learnt Occitan. He was deported to Germany between 1943 and 1945. Aft ...
in the 1970s. The Vivaro-Alpine dialects are traditionally called "gavot" from the
Maritime Alps The Maritime Alps (french: Alpes Maritimes ; it, Alpi Marittime ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the regions of France, French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the regions of Italy ...
to the
Hautes-Alpes Hautes-Alpes (; oc, Auts Aups; en, Upper Alps) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population of 141,220 ...
.


Naming and classification

''Vivaro-Alpine'' had been considered as a sub-dialect of Provençal, and named ''provençal alpin'' (Alpine Provençal) or Northern Provençal. Its use in the
Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...
area has also led to the use of ''dauphinois'' or ''dauphinois alpin'' to name it. Jules Ronjat, ''Grammaire istorique des parlers provençaux modernes, vol. IV Les dialectes'',
Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
, 1941
Along with Ronjat and Bec, it is now clearly recognized as a dialect of its own. The ''UNESCO Atlas of World's languages in danger'' uses the ''Alpine Provençal'' name, and considers it as seriously endangered. Glottolog recognizes the Gardiòl variety of the dialect as a distinct language within the Occitanic language family.


Subdialects

* Western: ''vivarodaufinenc'' (native name) or ''vivaro-dauphinois'' (French name) near northern
Vivarais Vivarais (; oc, Vivarés; la, Vivariensis provincia{{cite web , url=http://www.columbia.edu/acis/ets/Graesse/orblatv.html , title = ORBIS LATINUS - Letter V) is a traditional region in the south-east of France, covering the ''département'' of A ...
( Annonay), northeastern
Velay Velay () is a historical area of France situated in east Haute-Loire ''département'' and south east of Massif central. History Julius Caesar mentioned the vellavi as subordinate of the arverni. Strabon suggested that they might have made ...
(
Yssingeaux Yssingeaux (; ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France. It is situated between Le Puy-en-Velay and Firminy. Geography The river Lignon du Velay flows through the commune. Population See also *Co ...
), a southern fringe of
Forez Forez is a former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire ''département'' and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme ''départements''. The final "z" in Forez () is not pronounced in the Loire ...
(
Saint-Bonnet-le-Château Saint-Bonnet-le-Château (; oc, Sant Bonet dau Chastèl) is a commune in the Loire department in central France. Population International relations Saint-Bonnet-le-Château is twinned with: * Bishop's Waltham, United Kingdom See also *Co ...
and around Saint-Étienne),
Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.
department ( Valence, Die,
Montélimar Montélimar (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Montelaimar'' ; la, Acumum) is a town in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in north Provence, Southeastern France. It is the second-largest city in the department after Valence. In 2018 ...
) and a fringe in southern
Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
. ** ''gavòt'' (native name) or ''gavot'' (French name) in the western Occitan Alps, which are located in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, around
Digne Digne-les-Bains (; Occitan: ''Dinha dei Banhs''), or simply and historically Digne (''Dinha'' in the classical norm or ''Digno'' in the Mistralian norm), is the prefecture of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Cô ...
,
Sisteron Sisteron (; , oc, label=Mistralian norm, Sisteroun; from oc, label=Old Occitan, Sestaron) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, southeastern France. Sisteron is situated on the banks of the rive ...
, Gap,
Barcelonnette Barcelonnette (; oc, Barciloneta de Provença, also ; obsolete it, Barcellonetta) is a commune of France and a subprefecture in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It is located in the souther ...
and the upper
County of Nice The County of Nice (french: Comté de Nice / Pays Niçois, it, Contea di Nizza/Paese Nizzardo, Niçard oc, Contèa de Niça/País Niçard) is a historical region of France located around the southeastern city of Nice and roughly equivalent t ...
. ** Cisalpine or Eastern Alpine (native names: ''cisalpenc'' or ''alpenc oriental'') in the eastern Occitan Alps
Occitan Valleys The Occitan Valleys ( oc, Valadas Occitanas; it, Valli Occitane; pms, Valade Ossitan-e; french: Vallées Occitanes; frp, Valâdes Occitanes) are the part of Occitania (the territory of the Occitan language) within the borders of Italy. It is a ...
, which are located in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
(
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
and
Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
).


Characterization

Vivaro-Alpine is classified as an Indo-European, Italic, Romance, or Western-Romance language. Vivaro-Alpine shares the palatization of consonants k and g in front of a with the other varieties of North Occitan (Limosino, Alverniate), in particular with words such as ''chantar'' ("cantare," to sing) and ''jai'' ("ghiandaia," jay). Southern Occitan has, respectively, ''cantar'' and ''gai.'' Its principal characteristic is the dropping of simple Latin dental intervocalics: * ''chantaa'' or ''chantaia'' for ''chantada'' ("cantata," sung), * ''monea'' for ''moneda'' ("moneta," coin),] * ''bastia'' or ''bastiá'' for ''bastida'' ("imbastitura, tack), * ''maür'' for ''madur'' ("maturo," mature). The verbal ending of the first person is -''o'' (like in Italian, Catalan, Castilian, and Portuguese, but also in Piemontese, which is neighboring): ''parlo'' for ''parli'' or ''parle'' ("io parlo"), ''parlavo'' for ''parlavi'' or ''parlave'' ("io parlavo"), ''parlèro'' for ''parlèri'' or ''parlère'' ("io ho parlato, io parlavo"). A common trait is the rhotacism of l (shift from l to r): * ''barma'' for ''balma'' or ''bauma'' ("grotta," cave), * ''escòra'' for ''escòla'' ("scuola," school), * ''saraa'' or ''sarai'' for ''salada'' ("insalata," salad). In the dialects of the Alps, Vivaro-Alpine maintained the pronunciation of the r of the infinitive verbs (excepting modern Occitan). An estimated 70% of languages are estimated to have "interrogative intonation contours which end with rising pitch." However, Vivaro Alpine follows the opposite pattern with yes/no questions—an initial high tone followed by a fall. Questions that end in a rising pitch are so common that they are often considered "natural." One reason that questions begin with a high tone in some languages is that the listener is immediately being alerted to the fact that they are being asked a question.


Status

Vivaro-Alpine is an endangered language. There are approximately 200,000 native speakers of the language worldwide. Transmission of the language is very low. Speakers of Vivaro-Alpine typically also speak either French or Italian.


References


See also

*
Occitan conjugation This article discusses the conjugation of verbs in a number of varieties of the Occitan language, including Old Occitan and Catalan. Each verbal form is accompanied by its phonetic transcription. The similarities with Catalan are more noticeable ...
* Baìo {{Authority control Occitan language