Canalblog
Editer l'article Suivre ce blog Administration + Créer mon blog
Publicité
Oklahoma-Occitania
Visiteurs
Depuis la création 754 613
Publicité
Newsletter
Derniers commentaires
Archives
Oklahoma-Occitania
  • Échanges culturels entre les Occitans de France et les Indiens d'Amérique (USA, Canada) : tribus Osage, Kiowa, Comanche, Cherokee, Pawnee, Choctaw, (Oklahoma), Lakota (Sud Dakota), Innu (Canada), etc.
  • Accueil du blog
  • Créer un blog avec CanalBlog
Pages
3 février 2007

introduction to Occitania

                                                                       
      

> Carcassonne         > Introduction to Occitania

   
      

Occitania         (or Occitany)

   
      

Occitania is the name         of the countries where the Occitan language is spoken, in France, Italy,         and Spain.

      

In all those countries         but Spain, where the local variant of Occitan, the Aranese, is protected         by law, the Occitan language is minorised. There is no compulsory teaching         of the language, which is often taught by non-governmental organisations.         In the past centuries, the inhabitants in the French part of Occitania         were poised to emigrate to the northern France, in the Paris area and         in other places.

      

Occitany or Occitania,         includes 32 départements of Southern France, the Aran valley in Catalonia,         Piemont alpine valleys and the calabrian city of Guardia Piemontese in         Italy.

   
      

the         occitan language 

   
Occitania       is the name given to the Occitan speaking area. That language was and still       is known under many names: roman (in the Middle Ages), language       of oc (used by Dante Alighieri), lenga mondina (from Raimond,       name of the Counts of Tolosa/Toulouse). The names of its dialects are sometimes       used to designate the whole language: provençal, gascon, limousin, auvergnat.              

The Occitan language         is a language of the Romance family, descending from Latin. Due to its         minorised situation it suffers from a huge dialectal fragmentation. Three         big dialectal areas are widely defined: Northern Occitan (Limousin,         Auvergnat, Vivaro-Alpine), Middle Occitan (Languedocian and Provençal),         Gascon. Occitania originates from oc, meaning 'yes', in the so-called         oc-language. Oc gave also its name to the province of Languedoc (litterally         'language of Oc').

      

Transition or interference         areas exist between the Occitan and the neighbouring romance languages:         with the French ; with the Gallo-italic dialects.

      

      

Two Occitan speaking         enclaves remain, Labastida-Clarença, in the Basque country and La Gàrdia         (Guardia Piemontese), in Calabria (Southern Italy). Foreign-speaking enclaves         exist in Occitania: Ligurian ones in Provence (Biòt, Vallauris); French         one in Gascony (Petita Gavacharia de Montsegur).

      

      

The first masterpieces         of the european litterature come mainly from the Trobadors (troubadours).         Knowing their language can help the reading of these texts and the penetration         of their culture. Nowadays Occitan is spoken, above all in France, by         speakers who are often ashamed of speaking their own language because         of french educational system. If you know France you have certainly noticed         that speakers from the South speak French with an "accent". This accent         is caused by the Occitan substratum. If you come to them and show Occitan         is not a contagious disease, it will help our language to recover its         rights in its country. Moreover, because of its roots, Occitan can be         an excellent bridge to those who want to learn Spanish, Catalan, Italian,         French or Portuguese easily. Some claim (and justly!) that it is easier         to shade one's thoughts in Occitan than in any other european language:         Occitan has more than 160,000 words (French: about 40,000).

      

Occitan's closest         language is obviously Catalan. Lots of linguists even consider that Occitan         and Catalan are the same language. Occitan is closer to Catalan, Spanish,         Portuguese and Italian than French.

      

 

   
      

the         occitan symbols

   
      

The Occitan flag is         the Languedoc cross. It was the County of Toulouse emblem before the annexion         by France (1271) and then became the Languedoc province emblem. It is         said it was brought to Occitany by Raimond de Sant Gèli, the Raimond IV         of Toulouse, back from a Crusade in the XIIth century. The twelve terminations         represent the 12 months of the zodiacal wheel. A christian interpretation         of the 12 apostles came later.

      

      

      

The cross represents         Occitania (Occitany). The charge is a 'cross cleché and pometty voided'         - stylized key-handles. This flag is, in fact, the historic banner of         arms of the counts of Toulouse. It can be said to represent Occitania         only in that the counts were the most powerful nobles in the region.

      

So this cross you'll         see everywhere in Carcassonne and a large part of Languedoc is NOT         a "cathar cross" (it never existed), but the Occitan cross.

   
      

 

 

       

You want to get           an idea of what the occitan language look like ?

       

Visit           Carcassonne in the Occitan language - visitatz Carcassona en occitan

       

 

       

                                          

          
Publicité
Publicité
Commentaires
Publicité