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Occitania ( French Constitution (despite the 1992 European Charter For Regional Or Minority Languages ), ''the language of the Republic shall be French''. Under Roman rule ( 355 ), most of ''Occitania'' was known as ''Aquitania''Jean-Pierre JUGE (2001) ''Petit précis - Chronologie occitane - Histoire & civilisation'', p. 14 while the northern provinces of what is now France were called ''Gallia'' ( Gaul ). The names ''Occitania'' and ''Occitan language'' themselves appeared in Latin texts from 1290 Robèrt LAFONT (1986) "La nominacion indirècta dels païses", ''Revue des langues romanes'' nº2, tome XC, pp. 161-171 and during the following years of the early 14th Century (''Patria Linguae Occitanae'', ''Occitana lingua''). They derive from the name ''Lenga d'òc'' that was used in Italian (''Lingua d'òc'') by Dante in the late 13th Century . ''Occitan'' and ''Lenga d'òc'' both refer to the centuries-old set of Romance Dialect s that use ''òc'' for "yes". GEOGRAPHY Occitania is composed of:
Occitan or langue d'oc (''lenga d'òc'') is a (including Niçard spoken in the vicinity of Nice ), Vivaroalpenc , Auvernhat , Lemosin , Gascon (including Beranés spoken in Béarn ) and Lengadocian . All these varieties of the Occitan language are written and valid. Standard Occitan is a synthesis which respects soft regional adaptations. See also Northern Occitan and Southern Occitan . Catalan is a language very similar to Occitan and there are quite strong historical and cultural links between Occitania and Catalonia . OCCITAN HISTORY Written texts in Occitan appeared in the 10th century: it was used at once in legal then literary, scientific and religious texts. The spoken Dialects of Occitan are centuries older and appeared as soon as the 8th century, at least, revealed in Toponym s or in Occitanized words left in Latin manuscripts, for instance. Occitania was often politically united during the Early Middle Ages, under the , the Counts Of Foix , the Counts Of Toulouse and the Catalan Kings rivalled in their attempts at controlling the various '' Pays '' of Occitania. s invented courtly love (''fin'amor'') and the Lenga d'Òc spread throughout all European cultivated circles. Actually, the terms ''Lenga d'Òc, Occitan'', and ''Occitania'' appeared at the end of the 13th century. But from the 13th to the 17th centuries, the French Kings gradually conquered Occitania, sometimes by war and slaughtering the population, sometimes by annexation with subtle political intrigue. From the end of the 15th century, the nobility and bourgeoisie started learning French while the people stuck to Occitan (this process began from the 13th century in two northernmost regions, northern Limousin and Bourbonnais). In 1539, Francis I issued the Ordinance Of Villers-Cotterêts that imposed the use of French in administration. In 1789, the power neutralized them. The 19th century witnessed a strong revival of the Occitan literature and the writer Frédéric Mistral was awarded the Nobel Prize In Literature in 1904. But from 1881 onwards, children who spoke Occitan at school were punished in accordance with Minister Jules Ferry 's recommendations. That led to a deprecation of the language known as ''la Vergonha '' (the shaming): everyone spoke Occitan in 1914, but French gained the upper hand during the 20th century. The situation got worse with the media excluding the use of the langue d'oc. In spite of that decline, the Occitan language is still alive and trying to gain fresh impetus. COLONIES Although not really a colony in a modern sense, there was an Enclave in the County Of Tripoli . Raymond IV Of Toulouse founded it in 1102 during the Crusades north of Jerusalem . Most people of this county came from Occitania and Italy and so the Occitan language was spoken. OCCITANIA TODAY There are fourteen to fifteen million inhabitants in Occitania today. According to the 1999 census, there are 610,000 native speakers and another million persons with some exposure to the language. Native speakers of Occitan are to be found mostly in the older generations. The . Nowadays Occitan is used in the most modern musical and literary styles such as rock 'n roll, detective stories or science-fiction. It is represented on the internet. Association schools ('' Calandretas '') teach children in Occitan. The Occitan political movement for self-government has existed since the beginning of the 20th century and particularly since post-war years ( Partit Occitan and many others). The movement remains negligible in electoral and political terms. At a time of Europe's emerging Regions , it wishes Occitania to become a federation of strong regions, with a lively culture and open to the world. FAMOUS PEOPLE FROM OCCITANIA SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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