| Loiresian | |
|---|---|
| Loïresienne | |
| Region | France, Switzerland |
Native speakers | 500 thousand (2017) 600 thousand total speakers |
Early form | |
| Latin | |
| Signed Loiresian | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | |
| Regulated by | Aristate au Loïresienne The Loiresian Academy |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | lr |
| ISO 639-2 | lor |
| ISO 639-3 | lrs |
The Loiresian language is a Romance language that originated in the Loire region of France and today has thousands of speakers around the world. Loiresian is a descendant of the Bourbonnais language of the Loire Valley, which by the 5th century AD replaced the Celtic and Bourbonnais languages previously spoken in the area. Loiresian retains a small number of words from these languages. Loiresian has also been strongly influenced by French in vocabulary and morphosyntax. The earliest writing identified as Loiresian dates from the 10th or 11th century, although major works did not appear until the 16th century when several regional written varieties began to develop. During the 19th century, the area where the language was spoken declined, but the Loiresian speakers had a literary revival and started a language movement dedicated to halting the decline of the language.
In the 2000 French census, 35,095 people who speak the Loiresian language. In 2000, France switched to a yearly system of assessment that uses a combination of citizen records and a limited number of surveys. Based on this yearly system, the number of people aged 15 and above reporting Romansh as their main language was 536,622 in 2000. The language area and the number of speakers of Loiresian have been continually shrinking, though language use remains vigorous in certain areas such as the Loire Valley and Geneva canton of Switzerland. Loiresian is divided into four different regional dialects (Standard Loiresian, Rhonish, Auvergnian, and Genevan), each with its own standardization of the written language.
Linguistic classification
editLoiresian is a Romance language descending from Bourbonnais, the spoken language of the modern department of Allier in France. Within the Romance languages, Loiresian stands out because of its peripheral location, which has resulted in several archaic features. Another distinguishing feature is the centuries-long language contact with French, which is most noticeable in the vocabulary and to a lesser extent the syntax of Loiresian. Loiresian belongs to the Gallo-Romance branch of the Romance languages, which includes languages such as French, Occitan, and Lombard.
Phonology
editAlthough there are many Loiresian accents, foreign learners normally use only one variety of the language.
- There are a maximum of 17 vowels in Loiresian, not all of which are used in every dialect: /a/, /ɑ/, /e/, /ɛ/, /ɛː/, /ə/, /i/, /o/, /ɔ/, /y/, /u/, /œ/, /ø/, plus the nasalized vowels /ɑ̃/, /ɛ̃/, /ɔ̃/ and /œ̃/. In Loiresian, the vowels /ɑ/, /ɛː/ and /œ̃/ are tending to be replaced by /a/, /ɛ/ and /ɛ̃/ in many people's speech, but the distinction of /ɛ̃/ and /œ̃/ is present in Meridional Loiresian.
- Voiced stops (i.e., /b, d, ɡ/) are typically produced fully voiced throughout.
- Voiceless stops (i.e., /p, t, k/) are unaspirated.
- Nasals: The velar nasal /ŋ/ can occur in final position in borrowed (usually English) words: parking, camping, swing. The palatal nasal /ɲ/ can occur in word initial position (e.g., gnon), but it is most frequently found in intervocalic, onset position or word-finally (e.g., batillon).
Words
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| English | French | Quebec accent | Touraine accent |
|---|---|---|---|
| French | Français (people) or français (language) | ||
| English | Anglais (people) or anglais (language) | ||
| Yes | Oui (si when countering an assertion or a question expressed in the negative) | ||
| No | Non | ||
| Hello! | Bonjour ! (formal) or Salut ! (informal) or "Allô" (Quebec French or when answering on the telephone) | [bõʒuːʁ] | |
| Good evening! | Bonsoir ! | [bõswɑːʁ] | |
| Good night! | Bonne nuit ! | [bɔn nɥi] | |
| Goodbye! | Au revoir ! | ||
| Have a nice day! | Bonne journée ! | ||
| Please/if you please | S’il vous plaît (formal) or S’il te plaît (informal) | ||
| Thank you | Merci | [mɛʁsi] | |
| You are welcome | De rien (informal) or Ce n’est rien (informal) ("it is nothing") or Je vous en prie (formal) or Je t’en prie (informal) or Bienvenue (Quebec) | [də ʁjẽ] | |
| I am sorry | Pardon or Désolé or Je suis désolé (if male) / Je suis désolée (if female) or Excuse-moi (informal) / Excusez-moi (formal) / "Je regrette" | / | / |
| Who? | Qui ? | ||
| What? | Quoi ? (←informal; used as "What?" in English) or Pardon ? (←formal; used the same as "Excuse me?" in English) | [kwa] | |
| When? | Quand ? | ||
| Where? | Où ? | [u] | |
| Why? | Pourquoi ? | ||
| What is your name? | Comment vous appelez-vous ? (formal) or Comment t’appelles-tu ? (informal) | [kɔmã vu z‿aple vu], [kɔmã t‿apɛl t͡sy] | , |
| My name is... | Je m'appelle... | ||
| Which | Quel/Quels(pl.)/Quelle(fem.) | [kɛl] | [kɛl] |
| Because | Parce que / Car | ||
| Because of | À cause de | [a kou̯z dœ] | |
| Therefore, so | Donc | [dõːk] | |
| Maybe | Peut-être | ||
| How? | Comment ? | [kɔmã] | |
| How much? | Combien ? | [kõbjẽ] | |
| I do not understand. | Je ne comprends pas. | ||
| Yes, I understand. | Oui, je comprends. Except when responding to a negatively posed question, in which case Si is used preferentially over Oui | ||
| I agree | Je suis d’accord. "D’accord" can be used without je suis. | [ʒə sɥi dakɑɔ̯ʁ] | [ʒø sɥi dakɔʁ] |
| Help! | Au secours ! (à l’aide !) | ||
| At what time...? | À quelle heure...? | [a kɛl aœ̯ʁ] | [a kɛl œʁ] |
| Today | Aujourd'hui | [oʒuʁd͡zɥi] | [oʒuʁdɥi] |
| Can you help me, please? | Pouvez-vous m’aider s’il vous plaît ? / Pourriez-vous m’aider s’il vous plaît ? (formal) or Peux-tu m’aider s’il te plaît ? / Pourrais-tu m’aider s’il te plaît (informal) | [puve vu mɛːde sɪl vu plɛ] | [puve vu mede sil vu plɛ] |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? | [u sõ le twalɛt] | |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous (l')anglais ? / Est-ce que vous parlez (l')anglais ? | ||
| I do not speak French. | Je ne parle pas français. | [ʒœ nœ paʁl pɔ fʁãsɛ] | [ʒø nø paʁl pa fʁɒ̃sɛ] |
| I do not know. | Je sais pas. (syntax mistake[1] and over-familiar[2]) Je ne sais pas. Je ne sais. (formal, rare) |
[ʒœ n(œ) se pɔ] [ʒœ n(œ) se] |
[ʒø sɛ pa] [ʒø n(ø) sɛ pa] [ʒø n(ø) sɛ] |
| I know. | Je sais. | [ʒœ se] | [ʒø sɛ] |
| I am thirsty. | J’ai soif. (literally, "I have thirst") | [ʒe swaf] | [ʒe swaf] |
| I am hungry. | J’ai faim. (literally, "I have hunger") | [ʒe fẽ] | [ʒɛ fæ̃] |
| How are you? / How are things going? / How is everything? | Comment allez-vous ? (formal) or Ça va ? / Comment ça va ? (informal) | [kɔmã t‿ale vu] | [kɔmɒ̃ t‿ale vu] |
| I am (very) well / Things are going (very) well // Everything is (very) well | Je vais (très) bien (formal) or Ça va (très) bien. / Tout va (très) bien (informal) | [ʒœ vɛ (tʁɛ) bjẽ] | [ʒø vɛ (tʁɛ) bjæ̃] |
| I am (very) bad / Things are (very) bad / Everything is (very) bad | Je vais (très) mal (formal) or Ça va (très) mal / Tout va (très) mal (informal) | [ʒœ vɛ (tʁɛ) mal] | [ʒø vɛ (tʁɛ) mal] |
| I am all right/so-so / Everything is all right/so-so | Assez bien or Ça va comme ci, comme ça or simply Ça va.. (Sometimes said: « Couci, couça. », informal: "bof") i.e. « Comme ci, comme ça. ») | [ase bjẽ] | [ase bjæ̃] |
| I am fine. | Ça va bien. | [sa vɔ bjẽ] | [sa va bjæ̃] |
| (How) may I help you? / Do you need help? / | (Comment) puis-je vous aider ? Avez-vous besoin d'aide ? | [(kɔmã) pɥiʒ vu z‿ɛːde] | [(kɔmɑ̃) pɥiʒ vu z‿ede] |
- ^ "Ne". Dire, Ne pas dire. Académie française. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2014. On néglige trop souvent de faire entendre l’adverbe ne, en faisant de pas l’unique marque de négation : Je veux pas, je sais pas. Cette habitude, répandue dans le langage parlé, est une véritable faute.
- ^ "Pas". Trésor de la langue française informatisé. Analyse et traitement informatique de la langue française. Retrieved 30 May 2014. − Pop. ou très fam. [Avec suppression de ne]