Valdôtain | |
---|---|
valdotèn | |
Native to | Italy |
Region | Aosta Valley |
Native speakers | Approximately 68,000 people (2003) [1] |
Latin | |
Official status | |
Official language in | Protected by statute in the Aosta Valley, Italy [2] |
Regulated by | Bureau régional pour l'ethnologie et la linguistique (BREL) |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | – |
Glottolog |
vall1249 |
IETF | frp-u-sd-it23 |
Valdôtain ( [valdotɛ̃]; local dialect: Valdotèn, Valdŏtèn, Valdouhtan) is a dialect of Arpitan ( Franco-Provençal) spoken in the Aosta Valley in Italy, and the common language of the Aosta Valley. It is commonly known as patois or patoué. It is not an official language, the two regional official languages being French and Italian, though it is officially recognized.
The Aosta Valley represents the only region of the Franco-Provençal area where this language is still widely spoken natively among all age ranges of the population, [3] with a 2001 survey reporting almost 58% of the population know Franco-Provençal. [4] A further 2003 study confirmed the status of Franco-Provençal as a main language for a majority of the population, with significant multilingualism. [5]
It has been said that in the Aosta Valley there are as many forms of patois as there are bell towers, [6] in reference to the high linguistic diversity in the region within the Valdôtain varieties of Franco-Provençal. However, they can be broadly classified into two main branches: those of the Upper Valley ( French: haute Vallée, Italian: alta valle) to the west and of the Lower Valley ( French: basse Vallée, Italian: bassa valle) to the east of the city of Aosta. [6] Valdôtain varieties from the Upper Valley tend to be more innovative and have more affinity with from varieties spoken in Savoy and in Valais, across the national borders; [6] meanwhile, those from the Lower Valley tend to be more conservative, with influence from Piedmontese. [6]
The urban variety of Aosta itself ( Arpitan: patoué de la Veulla, lit. 'Patois of the City') has often been considered 'neutral', especially for the local-language media. [7]
Several subdialects of Valdôtain exist that exhibit unique features in terms of phonetics and vocabulary.
Italian | French | West | Central-North | Central-Southeast | East | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
La Thuile | La Salle | Rhêmes-Saint-Georges | Valsavarenche | Cogne | Sarre | Saint-Oyen | Oyace | Quart | Fénis | Champorcher | Valtournenche | Ayas | Emarèse | Arnad | Gaby | ||
rastrello | râteau | rassi | râhé | rahi | rahi | raté | rati | râti | râti | raté | râti | rati | râté | rahtél | rahté | rahté | rahtél |
fiore | fleur | flôr | fleu | fleur | fleure | fieur | fleur | flôr | fleu | fleur | fleur | fior | flour | fiour | fiour | fiour | fiour |
volpe | renard, goupil | rèinâr | rèinâ | rèinar | rèinâr | rèinèar | rèinâr | rèinâ | rèinâr | rèinâr | rèinal | verpeuill | gorpeul | gorpéi | gorpeui | gorpeui | voulp |
sì | oui, ouais | voué | vouè | vouè | ouè | vouài | ouè | ouè | vouè | vouè | ouè | ouèi | ò | òi | òi | òi | òi |
Valdôtain has been the subject of detailed study at the Bureau régional pour l'ethnologie et la linguistique (BREL) in Aosta as well as in the Centre d'études francoprovençales in Saint-Nicolas.
The main modern singers and songwriters in Valdôtain are:
The traditional Aostan songs in Valdôtain and in French form the core of the activity of the band Trouveur valdotèn.
Here is a selection of some of the most important poets in Valdôtain:
Cllier et seren lo ten apré la piôdze
Cé bé soleil que torne égueeyìno la Val
I sorton le feumélle ch'achèté su la lôye
In precassèn de queut tant bien que mal[...]— André Ferré ( Saint-Vincent, 1904-1954)
Esplojon de meuseucca
Feusette de joèce
Tsarriemèn de note que chorton
Su lé, iou lé clliotse dzalaouse
Le vardon a catson [...]
De nët euna leumiére
I berdzè l'at paru
Un andze vin leur dëre:
"Lo Saveur l'est neissu:
un pouro baou l'est son palatse
et sat pei de fen en traver
compouson lo deur matelatse
De ci gran Rei de l'univer;
et din la rigueur de l'iver
de dò trei lindzo l'est qeuveur
Y son vignà de bon matèn<
a désèi lo for
Adeline e Dzeusepèn
son lé prumì dou tor.
Pôrton lo bôch de biôla
é eun grou sac pesàn,
lo vouidon su la tôla
pé fare lo bon pan— Césarine Binel ( Champdepraz, 1897 - 1956)
Dz'é vu su 'na louye, quase se presta a à tsére ba,
Dé géragnon coleur lilà.
Dz'é vu su 'na viéille fenétra, flourì i soleil
Dé géragnon blan comme la nèi.
Dz'é vu pendre, de la terasse de 'na villà
Dé géragnon coleur fouà.
Fleur di pouro, fleur di reutso, géragnon,
Vo-éte la garniteura de totte le meison.
Vo no portade lo sourire di bon Djeu
Afen de no rendre tcheu moén malereu
À côté des langues officielles, l'italien (que 97 % de la population valdôtaine dit connaître) et le français (connu par presque 78 % des Valdôtains), qui représentent les modèles de prestige de référence, on y trouve de nombreuses variétés francoprovençales (connues par presque 58 % de la population), ainsi que des variétés alémaniques (walser, connu par 78,4 % de la population de Issime, Gressoney-La-Trinité et Gressoney Saint-Jean, ainsi que par 0,4 % des Valdôtains en dehors de ces communes).
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