Gascon language
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Gascon (Gascon, [gasˈku]; French, [gaskɔ̃]) is a dialect of the Occitan language. Gascon is mostly spoken in Gascony and Bearn (in the following French départements: a part of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Landes, Gers, the greatest part of Gironde, a part of Lot-et-Garonne, a part of Haute-Garonne, and a part of Ariège; and in the small Spanish valley Val d'Aran, in the Northwest of Catalonia). Around the world it is spoken by 253,814 people.^{citation needed}

Only Aranese, a southern Gascon variety, is spoken in Spain. Aranese has been greatly influenced recently by Catalan and Spanish. Both these influences tend to differentiate it more and more from the dialects of Gascon spoken in France. Aranese is co-official with Catalan and Spanish in the Val d'Aran.

Linguistic classification

See Occitan: Debates concerning linguistic classification.

Basque substrate

The language spoken in Gascony before Roman rule was part of the Basque dialectal continuum (see Aquitanian language); the fact that the word 'Gascon' comes from the Latin root vasco/vasconem, which is the same root that gives us 'Basque,' implies that the speakers identified themselves at some moment as Basque. There is a proven Basque substrate in the development of Gascon. This explains some of the major differences that exist between Gascon and other Occitan languages.

A typically Gascon feature that may arise from this substrate is the so-called '"f" to "h" change.' Where a word originally began with [f] in Latin, such as festa 'party/feast,' this sound was weakened to aspirated [h] and then, in some areas, lost altogether; according to the substrate theory, this is due to the Basque dialects' lack of an equivalent /f/ phoneme. Thus we have Gascon hèsta [ˈhɛsto] or [ˈɛsto]. A similar change took place in continental Spanish Thus Latin facere gives Spanish hacer ([aˈθɛɾ]) (or, in some remote areas, particularly in south-western Andalusia, [haˈθɛɾ]).^{citation needed}

However, some linguists deny the plausibility of the Basque substrate theory; many have sought a language-internal explanation for this and other changes. The fact that this particular change occurs in both Gascon and Spanish, both of which developed in originally Basque-speaking areas, may be coincidental. Nevertheless, it is highly unlikely and some linguists agree with historians to underline the connection between Gascon and Basque.^{citation needed}

Note that modern Basque has had lexical influence from Gascon in words like beira ("glass"), polit ("pretty", Gascon polit/polida).

Usage of the language

A poll conducted in Béarn in 1982 indicated that 51% of the population spoke Gascon, 70% understood it, and 85% expressed a favourable opinion regarding the protection of the language.^[1] However, use of the language has declined dramatically over recent years as Gascon is rarely transmitted to young generations any longer. The usual term for Gascon is "patois", a word designating in France a non-official and devaluated dialect whatever the concerned region.^{citation needed} It is mainly in Béarn that the population uses concurrently the term "Béarnais" to designate its Gascon forms. This is because of the political past of Béarn, which was a sovereign state from 1347 to 1620. In fact, there is no unified Béarnais dialect; the language differs considerably throughout the province. Many of the differences in pronunciation can be divided into east, west, and south (the mountainous regions). For example, the a at the end of words is pronounced "ah" in the west, "o" in the east, and "œ" in the south. Because of Béarn's specific political past, Béarnais is distinguished from Gascon since the 16th century, though not for linguistic reasons.

Subdialects

Gascon comprises three main linguistic areas:^{citation needed}

• The 'Garonnais Gascon' used on and next to the river Garonne valley. These regions know the least specific Gascon forms.
• The 'Southern Gascon' used in the south and in the south-west of the linguistic Gascon zone. The Gascon of these regions is the one with the most distinctive characteristics of Gascon, coming mainly from a supposed Basque substratum.
• The 'Intermediary Gascon'^{citation needed} in an intermediary zone between the two just mentionned.

English words of Gascon origin

An isard (Pyrenean chamois).

Austrian beret.

cadet

from capdèt ("captain, chief").^[2]

cep

from cep 'trunk'.^[3] Now more commonly known by their Italian name of porcini.

izard

from French isard or Gascon isard.^[4]

beret

from Bearnese French béret and Gascon berret "cap".^[5].

Jingo

OED finds an etymology from Basque Jainko ("God") through Gascon possible but not proven.

The character of Gaston in the Disney Version of Beauty and The Beast is a reference to Gascon, his name means Man of Gascony

Examples

See also: Languages of France

External links

• Museum of local culture
• Teaching of Occitan and Basque in Aquitania
• Cap'òc : Unitat d'Animacion Pedagogica en Occitan
• Gascon Lanas and Per Noste (Institut d'Estudis Occitans)
• Ethnologue report for Gascon
• For a controversial link on Gascon and Béarnais opposed to Occitanist ideology

References

1. ^ Ethnologue, Gascon
2. ^ cadet in the Online Etymology Dictionary.
3. ^ Grigson, Jane (1975). The Mushroom Feast. London: Penguin, p. 8. ISBN 0-14-046-273-2. 
4. ^ izard in the Online Etymology Dictionary.
5. ^ beret in the Online Etymology Dictionary.

• Le Gascon de poche, Jean-Marc Leclercq & Sèrgi Javaloyès, Assimil 2004, ISBN 2-7005-0345-7