Poitevin–Saintongeais | |
---|---|
poetevin–séntunjhaes | |
Native to | France |
Region |
Pays de la Loire Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
Native speakers | 200,000–300,000 (2017) [1] |
Early forms | |
Dialects | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | – |
Glottolog |
poit1240 Poitevin
sant1407 Santongeais |
Linguasphere |
51-AAA-ha |
The Poitevin-Saintongeais-speaking area |
Poitevin–Saintongeais (French: poitevin–saintongeais, pronounced [pwatvɛ̃ sɛ̃tɔ̃ʒɛ]; Poitevin–Saintongeais: poetevin-séntunjhaes; [3] also called Parlanjhe, Aguiain or Aguiainais in French) is a language spoken in the regions of the Pays de la Loire and Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Poitevin–Saintongeais is officially recognised by the French Ministry of Culture as a language with two dialects: Poitevin and Saintongeais. [4] The language belongs to the langues d'oïl subbranch of the Gallo-Romance languages.
Some descendants of Poitevin–Saintongeais speakers became the Acadian people of Atlantic Canada as well as the Cajun people of Louisiana.[ citation needed]
The dialects of this language are peculiar to the historical regions and provinces of Poitou and Saintonge. It is classified as severely endangered by UNESCO. [5]