Occitan language

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/occitan-language

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the linguistic classification?Romance language, descended from Vulgar Latin
2. What is the geographic scope?Southern France, Monaco, Occitan Valleys (Italy), Val d'Aran (Spain), Guardia Piemontese (Italy)
3. Where is Occitan spoken?Occitan is spoken in southern France, the Val d'Aran in Spain, parts of Italy's Occitan Valleys, and Monaco. It is also spoken in some areas of Spain where the Aranese dialect is official.
4. Why is Occitan endangered?Many of its dialects are classified as severely or definitely endangered by UNESCO. Lack of official support and many different writing systems make it hard to teach and promote.

Vulgar Latin: The spoken form of Latin that evolved into the Romance languages, distinct from Classical Latin.
Orthography: The conventional spelling system of a language.
Troubadour Poetry: A medieval literary tradition originating in Occitania, characterized by lyric poetry often dealing with themes of courtly love.
Mutual Intelligibility: The ability of speakers of two different languages or dialects to understand each other.