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Originally Posted by Mohoender
I remained at the information level (especially as I misunderstood some of the point made by Targan  ) but Marc perfectly illustrated his point. I have the same concern than him as I wish to see my daughters learn some "Provencal". I am from Wallon decent (my parents) and I already lost that.
The problem with my daughters learning "Provencal" is that, despite government official position, it is fairly hard to find teachers.
And, Marc, I don't find your position to be "provincial" in any way as I'm convinced that some kind globalisation is only possible if we preserve the local cultures as well. Catalonia is a good exemple of that. The current mistake is to play one against the other (IMO, of course). |
Agreed. I wish to occitans and provençals the best of lucks in keeping your language with all of its dialects alive. I know your situation is difficult, but it seems that the future may be better. For Catalans, Provença and specially OccitÃÂ*nia are like distant cousins. Or not so distant. The occitan has been considered in our new statute of autonomy as co official language, as the occitan is spoken in one of our regions (Val d'Aran).
I remember the first time I were in OccitÃÂ*nia with my wife. We crossed the Pirenees on foot, from Berga to Montsegur, covering the 200 km of the Chemin des Bonshommes. Once in Montsegur, we became somewhat disappointed when we discover the limited presence of the occitanian in day-to-day life. I suppose we have the innocent hope that the old ties have prevailed across the Pirennes, despite the state borders and that we could ask in catalan and being answered in occitan
. It was upsetting to have the feeling to be able to read and understand some of the troubadour poems in "lingua d'oc" of their historical heritage better than some of the locals. A useful warning for us to keep our language in use.
Anyway, in our second visit to France (a route from Carcassone to Cahors) we have a pleasant chance to find and visit a school were the children were educated in occitanian. You still have a chance to keep these languages alive.