Provençal phrasebook
dialect of the Occitan language
Provençal (Provençau) is one of several dialects of Occitan spoken by a minority of people in southern France and other areas of France and Italy.
In the English-speaking world, "Provençal" is often used to refer to all dialects of Occitan, but the term refers specifically to the dialect spoken in the former province of Provence as well as south of Dauphiné and the Nîmes region in Languedoc and the upper valleys of Piedmont, Italy (Val Maira, Val Varacha, Val d'Estura, Entraigas, Limon, Vinai, Pignerol, Sestriera). Outside Europe, the language is spoken mainly in the Northern Californian counties of Tehama, Siskiyou, Napa, Alpine and Mono counties, especially in the Mono County town of Chalfant Valley. A small community in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties also exists in Southern California.
Provençal is also the customary name given to the older version of the langue d'oc used by the troubadours of medieval literature, as opposed to Old French or langue d'oïl (from the native word for yes) of the northern areas of France.