Bearnese language
Encyclopedia
Béarnese is an Occitan dialect (related to Gascon
) spoken in Béarn
(in the French department of the Pyrénées Atlantiques, in southwestern France
). As a written language, it benefited from the fact that Béarn was an independent state from the mid-14th century up to 1620. Béarnese was used in legal and administrative documents long after most other Gascon (and/or Occitan
) provinces were joined to France
(The French language definitively replaced Béarnese language for legal documents in 1789, after the French Revolution
).
educative system and due to the stronger cultural identity and output of this area.
A 1982 survey of the inhabitants of Béarn indicated that 51% of the population spoke Béarnese, 70% understood it, and 85% were in favor of preserving the language. However, use of the language has declined over recent years as Bearnais is rarely transmitted to younger generations within the family. There is a revival of focus on the language which has improved the situation, though, leading children to be taught the language in school (comparable to the way Irish
students are taught a standardized form of Irish
).
Currently, the majority of the cultural associations consider Gascon (including Béarnese) an Occitan dialect. However, other authorities consider them to be distinct languages, including Jean Lafitte, publisher of Ligam-DiGam, a linguistic and lexicography review of Gascon.
A detailed sociolinguistic study presenting the current status (language practice and different locutors' perceptions) has been made by B. Moreux.
of David
by Arnaud de Salette
, at the end of the 16th century, contemporary with the Gascon (Armagnac dialect) translation of these Psalms by Pey de Garros
. Both translations were ordered by Jeanne d'Albret, queen of Navarre
and mother of Henry IV of France
, to be used at Protestant
churches. Henri IV was first Enric III de Navarra, the king of this independent calvinist and Occitan-speaking state. The Béarnese dialect was his mother tongue and he wrote letters in Occitan.
During the 17th century, the Béarnese writer Jean-Henri Fondeville
(among others) composed plays such as La Pastorala deu Paisan and also his anticalvinist Eglògas. Cyprien Despourrins
is certainly one of the main 18th-century Béarnese poets; many of his poems are still Béarn's folk songs. From the 19th century we can mention poet Xavier Navarrot
and also Alexis Peyret, who emigrated to Argentina
for political reasons where he edited his Béarnese poetry
After the creation of the Felibrige
, the Escole Gastoû Fèbus (which would become Escòla Gaston Fèbus) was created as the Béarnese part of Frédéric Mistral
's and Joseph Roumanille
's academy. Simin Palay, one of its most prominent members, published a dictionary.
Gascon language
Gascon is usually considered as a dialect of Occitan, even though some specialists regularly consider it a separate language. Gascon is mostly spoken in Gascony and Béarn in southwestern France and in the Aran Valley of Spain...
) spoken in Béarn
Béarn
Béarn is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Basque provinces of Soule, Lower Navarre, and Labourd, the principality of Bidache, as well as small parts of Gascony, it forms in the...
(in the French department of the Pyrénées Atlantiques, in southwestern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
). As a written language, it benefited from the fact that Béarn was an independent state from the mid-14th century up to 1620. Béarnese was used in legal and administrative documents long after most other Gascon (and/or Occitan
Occitania
Occitania , also sometimes lo País d'Òc, "the Oc Country"), is the region in southern Europe where Occitan was historically the main language spoken, and where it is sometimes still used, for the most part as a second language...
) provinces were joined to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(The French language definitively replaced Béarnese language for legal documents in 1789, after the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
).
Sociolinguistics
Béarnese is currently the most prominent variety of Gascon. It is widely used in the normativization attempts to reach a standard Gascon and is the most likely dialect to succeed, thanks to the CalandretaCalandreta
A Calandreta is a bilingual school in Occitania in the South of France where the Occitan language is taught alongside the French language. These schools are based on the same principle as the Gaelscoileanna movement in Ireland, the Ikastolak movement in the Basque Country, the Ysgolion Meithrin...
educative system and due to the stronger cultural identity and output of this area.
A 1982 survey of the inhabitants of Béarn indicated that 51% of the population spoke Béarnese, 70% understood it, and 85% were in favor of preserving the language. However, use of the language has declined over recent years as Bearnais is rarely transmitted to younger generations within the family. There is a revival of focus on the language which has improved the situation, though, leading children to be taught the language in school (comparable to the way Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
students are taught a standardized form of Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
).
Currently, the majority of the cultural associations consider Gascon (including Béarnese) an Occitan dialect. However, other authorities consider them to be distinct languages, including Jean Lafitte, publisher of Ligam-DiGam, a linguistic and lexicography review of Gascon.
A detailed sociolinguistic study presenting the current status (language practice and different locutors' perceptions) has been made by B. Moreux.
Literature
Concerning literature and poems, the first important book was a Béarnese translation of the PsalmsPsalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
of David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
by Arnaud de Salette
Arnaud de Salette
Arnaud de Saleta was a Cleric and Béarnese poet who served during the establishment of a Protestant state in the Kingdom of Navarra in the 16th Century....
, at the end of the 16th century, contemporary with the Gascon (Armagnac dialect) translation of these Psalms by Pey de Garros
Pey de Garros
Pey de Garros , or Pèir de Garròs in modern Gascon, was the most important Occitan poet of the Renaissance. He was instrumental in the evolution of the Gascon dialect into a literary language....
. Both translations were ordered by Jeanne d'Albret, queen of Navarre
Kingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....
and mother of Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
, to be used at Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
churches. Henri IV was first Enric III de Navarra, the king of this independent calvinist and Occitan-speaking state. The Béarnese dialect was his mother tongue and he wrote letters in Occitan.
During the 17th century, the Béarnese writer Jean-Henri Fondeville
Jean-Henri Fondeville
Jean-Henri Fondeville was a Béarnese dialect writer ....
(among others) composed plays such as La Pastorala deu Paisan and also his anticalvinist Eglògas. Cyprien Despourrins
Cyprien Despourrins
Cyprien Despourrins was an Occitan-language poet from Béarn and member of the Bigorre Parliament born in Accous in 1698....
is certainly one of the main 18th-century Béarnese poets; many of his poems are still Béarn's folk songs. From the 19th century we can mention poet Xavier Navarrot
Xavier Navarrot
Xavier Navarrot was an occitan-language poet from Béarn.He was born near Lucq-de-Béarn in a wealthy family and studies law and medecine in Paris before returning in Béarn where he spent the rest of his life....
and also Alexis Peyret, who emigrated to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
for political reasons where he edited his Béarnese poetry
After the creation of the Felibrige
Félibrige
The Félibrige is a literary and cultural association founded by Frédéric Mistral and other Provençal writers to defend and promote Occitan language and literature...
, the Escole Gastoû Fèbus (which would become Escòla Gaston Fèbus) was created as the Béarnese part of Frédéric Mistral
Frédéric Mistral
Frédéric Mistral was a French writer and lexicographer of the Occitan language. Mistral won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1904 and was a founding member of Félibrige and a member of l'Académie de Marseille...
's and Joseph Roumanille
Joseph Roumanille
Joseph Roumanille was a Provençal poet. He was born at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence , and is commonly known in southern France as the father of the Félibrige, for he first conceived the idea of raising his regional language to the dignity of a literary language.-Biography:Joseph Roumanille was the son...
's academy. Simin Palay, one of its most prominent members, published a dictionary.
Sources
- Anatole, Cristian - Lafont, RobertRobèrt LafontRobèrt Lafont was an Occitan intellectual from Provence. He was a linguist, an author, an historian, an expert in literature and a political theoretician. His name in French reads Robert Lafont....
. Nouvelle histoire de la littérature occitane. ParísParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
: P.U.F., 1970. - Moreux, B. (2004). Bearnais and Gascon today: language behavior and perception. The International Journal of the Sociology of Language,169:25-62.
External links
- The Ostau Bearnés
- Method for learning Béarnese
- The Occitan Institute (Institut Occitan)
- Ací Gasconha
- Biarn-e-Gascougne.org (Institut Bearnais et Gascon)