A Very Short History of Occitan
Valensole, Provence, France
The medieval origins of Occitan
By the tenth century, France was home to an array of different tongues (Gallo-Romances), each a mixture of Latin, Frankish, and other Germanic languages, in part reflecting the political variation of France, which had become a kaleidoscope of baronies, counties, duchies, and marches ruled by different nobles. By the fourteenth century, these languages had developed into two loose categories, corresponding to two different pronunciations of the word ‘yes’.
In the north, people tended to say oïl, whilst those south of the Loire generally pronounced it as oc. As such, the languages in the north were known as langues d’oïl (a term used interchangeably with Françoys), whilst those in the south were called langues d’oc. Both oïl and oc are derived from hoc, the Latin for ‘this’ or ’that’, which was used to say ‘yes’ at the time. People in the south tended to ignore the h, leaving oc, whilst those in the north reduced it to a mere o, attaching clarifiers such as o-je (‘yes for me’), o-nos (‘yes for us’), and o-vos (‘yes for you’). Speakers began to simplify this to o-il (‘yes for that’), eventually leading to the form seen today - oui.
Some of the most ‘important’ langues d’oïl were the dialects of Picardy, Normandy, Champagne, and Orléans, whilst others, such as those of Anjou, Poitiers, and Burgundy, were spoken far south of Paris. Another notable langue d’oïl was Walloon, a dialect spoken in what is now Belgium. No one is certain who first came up with these categorisations, but a reasonable guess is Dante Alighieri, who used the term langue d’oc in his De vulgari eloquentia of 1304, contrasting it with langue d’oïl and the Romance languages of Italy (Italo-Romances), dubbed langue de si. Though the categorisation seems to begin in the fourteenth century, the existence of two vague groups of languages may have dated back several centuries prior.
Although French emerged from the langues d’oïl, it was actually the langues d’oc that enjoyed more prestige during this period. Between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, itinerant musicians, known as troubadours, went from city to city across southern France, northern Italy, and parts of northern Spain, extolling the virtues of courtly love through sung poetry. Such was the literary prestige enjoyed by this new form of poetry, two southern rulers, the Count of Toulouse and the Duke of Aquitaine, found their influence expanded. In fact, many courts in Italy adopted langue d’oc during this period. The poetry of the southern troubadours was seen as superior to the epic poems of the north - the chansons de geste - which were perceived to be cruder.
By the time Dante made reference to the langue d’oc in 1304, it had suffered persecution at the hands of the French. Today, the various dialects that make up the langue d’oc are collectively referred to as Occitan, and it is still spoken in southern France. There’s also communities in Monaco, Italy, and Catalonia, with the total number of speakers thought to be around 790,000.
The expansion of French
Despite measures in 1853 and 1880 officially prohibiting the use of dialects, which were still being pejoratively referred to as patois, local languages survived relatively unblemished until the twentieth century. Urbanisation had forced many to adopt French as a common tongue, but most remained bilingual, and the National Institue of Statistics found that a third of French citizens born before 1920 continued to speak their local language to their children. However, many of these languages did enter a stage of decline, as the importance of French grew with the pressures of modernisation, military service, and the expansion of mass media. The lexicons of local languages were rarely able to keep pace with the array of new terms required to describe the changing realities of the age, and French invariably filled the void, thus relegating the importance of the dialects over time.
The French education system expanded greatly during the nineteenth century. By 1880, the number of primary schools had risen from 1,700 to 75,000, with 6.5 million boys and girls attending. As such, most French children knew at least some French by the 1880s. With the founding of the Ministry of National Education in 1880-81, Jules Ferry built upon this, making public school compulsory and free. The stages of schooling were organised into primary, secondary, and lycée. By the Second World War, almost every French citizen understood the language, although around half still spoke a regional language as their mother tongue.
The survival of Occitan
Fortunately, various writers and thinkers fought to save local languages. One of the most successful was Frédéric Mistral, a poet who sought to rekindle Occitan. In 1904, he became the first writer to win a Nobel Prize for literature written in a minority language. Although regional languages still face a battle to survive, efforts are being made for their preservation. Exactly how many there are depends on someone’s definition of languages and dialects, but it doesn’t really matter. Some could be considered languages, whilst others are more akin to a dialect. The important thing is that these tongues are varied, and cultural variation is something to be treasured.
For those interested in learning more, I’d suggest doing an internet or YouTube search for Occitan, Alsatian, Corsican, Breton, Basque, Catalan, and even the more obscure, such as Bourguignon-Morvandiau or Poitevin-Saintongeais. As a starting point, it’s worth taking a look at the Institut d’Estudis Occitans, Librariá Occitana, and La Biaça.
Learn more
If you’re interested in learning more about the history of French and Occitan, How to Learn French contains a detailed section called ‘A Short History of French’.
If you’re interested in learning Occitan, you might find it easier to start with French or Catalan. Most of the resources for learning Occitan are in French, and Catalan is the closest relative of Occitan. Whichever route you opt for, How to Learn French and How to Learn Catalan can guide you through the process in a way that’s fast, affordable, fun, and convenient.
If you're interested in learning Occitan, more information and resources can be found on its Get to Know page here on the How to Learn Languages website :