This conference is devoted to Francoprovençal, a threatened language spoken in a wide area between Lyon, Switzerland and Italy. Having presented rapidly all the regional languages of France, JB Martin first looks at the localisation of Francoprovençal; then, in a section on its history, he looks at its genesis from Lugdunum (former name of the city of Lyon) in two successive waves of romanization, and he discusses its late recognition as an independent language. He then presents the main characteristics of the language , its intermediate situation between the langue d’oil and Occitan and explains some of its specific phonetic and morphosyntactic characteristics. JB Martin then explains the reasons for the low vitality levels of contemporary Francoprovenal. The conference ends with a discussion of recent measures taken by the Region Rhône-Alpes in favour of Francoprovençal.
The conference is in French and the PowerPoint material is in English.
The conference is in French and in English.
Jean-Baptiste Martin is Professor Emeritus of regional cultures and languages at the University Lumière-Lyon 2. Former Dean of the Faculty of Anthropology and Sociology, he is currently scientific advisor to the Rhône-Alpes Region for regional languages. The research he currently conducts are part of the the « Endangered Languages » programme within the « Dynamique du Language » Laboratory (CNRS-Université Lyon 2), and focuses on Francoprovençal, Occitan, and regional French. He is the author of twenty books and over sixty articles.
