Arpitan

Romance (Gallo-Romance)

FamilyRomance (Gallo-Romance) Speakers~150K ScriptLatin (multiple orthographies; ORB standard) CountriesFrance Official inNo (recognised minority language in Italy under law 482/1999 — Aosta Valley and Piedmont; French is co-official in Aosta) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3frp

Franco-Provençal (Arpitan / Patouès) is a Gallo-Romance language with ~140K speakers — France (Rhône-Alpes, Lyon-Saint-Étienne historical core, Forez, Bresse), Switzerland (Romandy beyond Geneva: Vaud, Fribourg, Valais, Neuchâtel), and Italy (Aosta Valley where it has regional co-official status alongside French and Italian, plus pockets in Piedmont and the Apulian Faeto/Celle exclaves). Distinct from both French (langue d'oïl) and Occitan (langue d'oc); the linguistic name "Franco-Provençal" was coined by Italian linguist Graziadio Ascoli in 1873 to capture its intermediate position. Marked by retention of Latin /a/ unlike northern French (canTAre > chanTÉ in French but chanTÁ in Arpitan), and palatalization patterns. UNESCO severely endangered. Cultural revival through the Arpitan Cultural Federation (Aliance Culturèla Arpitana) since 2004 and Aosta Valley schools.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Arpitan

Water

égoua

eɡwɔ

Fire

fuè

fwɛ

Sun

solely

sɔlɛj

Moon

lena

lənə

Star

étêla

eˈtela

Night

nuet

nɥɛ

Rain

ploge

ˈplodʒe

Snow

nê

neː

Wind

vent

vɛ̃

Earth

tèrra

tɛra

Stone

pierra

ˈpjɛrɔ

Mountain

montagne

mɔ̃ˈtaɲe

Sea

mar

mar

Mother

mâre

mar

Father

pâre

par

Daughter

felye

ˈfeʎe

I

je

ʒə

You

te

tə

We

nos

no

Name

nom

nõ

Person

pèrsona

pɛrˈsona

Head

téta

ˈteta

Eye

uely

œj

Ear

orelye

ɔrɛʎ

Nose

nâs

nɑ

Mouth

boche

ˈbotʃe

Tooth

dent

dɛ̃

Tongue

lengoua

lɛ̃ɡwa

Hand

man

mã

Foot

pied

pje

Heart

côr

kɔr

Bone

ôs

ɔs

Blood

sang

sã

Love

amor

amur

Tree

âbro

abru

Dog

chen

tʃɛ̃

Cat

chat

tʃa

Fish

pêsson

peˈsɔ̃

Bird

usél

yˈzel

Butterfly

parpelyon

parpəˈʎõ

Egg

uef

wɛf

Bear

ors

ɔrs

Horse

chevâl

tʃəˈval

House

mêson

meːzɔ̃

Milk

lacél

laˈθɛl

Honey

mièl

mjɛl

Salt

sal

sal

Wine

vin

vin

Chocolate

ch·ocolât

tʃokoˈla

Iron

fèr

fɛr

Wheel

roua

rwɔ

Silk

sèya

ˈsɛja

Book

lévro

ˈlevro

Eat

mengiér

mendʒje

Drink

bêre

beːr

Sleep

dromir

drɔˈmir

One

yon

jɔ̃

Two

doux

dow

Three

três

trɛ

Four

quatro

ˈkatrə

Five

cinq

θɛ̃

Hundred

cent

θɛ̃

Hello

adiô

adjo

Thank you

mèrci

mɛrsi

Good

bon

bɔ̃

New

nôvo

ˈnovo

Red

rojo

ˈrɔdzo

White

blanc

blã

Black

nêr

neːr

Green

vèrd

vɛr

Cuckoo

coucou

kuˈku

Computer

ordenator

ɔrdənaˈtur

Tea

tè

tɛ

Orange

orenge

orɛ̃ʒ

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Romance (Gallo-Romance)

Meaning ArpitanClassical FrenchOld FrenchSenegalese FrenchIvorian FrenchHaitian FrenchFrench
Water égoua /eɡwɔ/ eau /o/ eve /ˈɛːvə/ eau /o/ eau /o/ eau /o/ eau /o/
Fire fuè /fwɛ/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/
Sun solely /sɔlɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /soˈleʎ/ soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/
Moon lena /lənə/ lune /lyn/ lune /ˈlynə/ lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/
Star étêla /eˈtela/ étoile /etwɛl/ estoile /esˈtoilə/ étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/
Night nuet /nɥɛ/ nuit /nɥit/ nuit /nɥit/ nuit /nɥi/ nuit /nɥi/ nuit /nɥi/ nuit /nɥi/
Rain ploge /ˈplodʒe/ pluie /plɥi/ pluie /ˈplyjə/ pluie /plɥi/ pluie /plɥi/ pluie /plɥi/ pluie /plɥi/
Snow nê /neː/ neige /nɛʒə/ noif /nɔif/ neige /nɛʒ/ neige /nɛʒ/ neige /nɛʒ/ neige /nɛʒ/
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