Modern Provençal: Part 5

Questions & Answers

This is part five in a series on the modern Provençal language. See part one to start from the beginning.

In this article we will take a deeper look at how to ask and reply to questions.

A group of pink flamingos standing in shallow water.
Parade of pink flamingos in the Camargue region of southern France. Source: Wikimedia.

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Modern Provençal: Part 4

Negation

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This is part four in a series on the modern Provençal language. See part one to start from the beginning.

In this article we will take a deeper look at negation.

Oil painting of cliffs and sea.
De klippenkust van Sanary (Provence) by Anna Boch, Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent

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Modern Provençal: Part 3

Small Talk

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This is part three in a series on the modern Provençal language. See part one to start at the beginning.

So far, we've been introduced to the basics of the language and the conjugation of verbs in present tense. The next few articles will be shorter than the first two and focus on expanding on those basics. In this article we will introduce a few words and phrases for small talk and other pleasantries.

Black-and-white drawing of a trobador playing a lute.
Trobador by Hubert von Herkomer, 1924 Cleveland Museum of Art.

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Modern Provençal: Part 2

Regular Verbs

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This is part two in a series on the modern Provençal language. See part one to start at the beginning.

Now that we've been introduced to the language, it's time for some action.

A flock of wild horses swimming across a river.
Wild horses in the Camargue. Source

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Modern Provençal: Part 1

Introduction

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Provençal is a language spoken by a minority of people in the Provence region of south-east France. It has its roots in Old Occitan, the language of the trobadors and trobairitz:[1] composers and performers of lyric poetry in medieval Occitania.

Black-and-white painting showing a group of men, women, and children gathered in a forest along with two dogs. The people are wearing medieval clothing. Two of them are singing from a scroll they are holding while a third plays the harp. The rest are gathered around them, some sitting or lying in the grass, others standing.
Trobadors Singing the Glories of the Crusades by Gustave Doré (1832–1883).

Due to a history of policies by the French government meant to suppress regional minority languages (see vergonha, meaning "shame"), it is now only spoken by a few hundred thousand people, mainly among the older generations, and could be in danger of dying out.

I first became interested in the language when I started studying the south of France for a novel I am writing, but I found resources scarce and of limited use or clarity—a profusion of dialects in particular muddies the water—so I decided to research and compile my own notes to help me learn, and maybe help others as well.

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