L’occitano

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the varieties of Cisalpine Occitan. From a sociolinguistic perspective, these varieties may be regarded as both second-degree and endangered languages, though they have been involved into promotion policies for several decades. From a linguistic standpoint, the varieties of Cisalpine Occitan display features that can be traced back to an Alpine Occitan diasystem, though showing some structural similarities with Francoprovençal and Piedmontese. Some selected features of Cisalpine Occitan, belonging to different linguistic levels (phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax and vocabulary), are presented and discussed.