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Franc-Comtois language

Franc-Comtois is a term that identifies two separate language dialect groups with different linguistic origins spoken by a minority of people in the Franche-Comté and the northwestern edge of the Suisse-Romande.

Definitions

1.) Franc-Comtois, also called Jurassien-Méridional, is one of the major dialect divisions of the Arpitan language. It includes five sub-dialects identified by the following reference-name idioms (Dalby, 1999/2000, p. 402):

• Neuchâtelois: Spoken in the Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
• Vaudois-NW: Spoken in the northwest part of the Canton of Vaud.
• Pontissalien: Spoken in Pontarlier and the southern third of the département of Doubs, France.
• Ain-N: Spoken in upper valleys of the Jura mountains in the northern edge of the département of Ain.
• Valserine: Spoken in the Valserine Valley in the northeastern most corner of the département of Ain and adjacent areas in the Franche-Comté.

2.) Franc-Comtois, primarily called Jurassien by linguists today, is one of the dialect divisions of the Peripheral Oïl languages. It includes six sub-dialects identified by the following reference-name idioms (Dalby, 1999/2000, p. 398):

• Saône-N: Spoken in the upper plateau of the département of Haute-Saône and southeastern Haute-Marne.
• Doubs-Ognon: Spoken in the Ognon River valley, which includes the middle valleys of the département of Doubs, southern part of Haute-Saône, and part of southeastern Haute-Marne.
• Lomont-Doubs: Spoken in the Lomont Massif and upper valleys in eastern Doubs (France) and the western part of the Canton of Jura in Switzerland.
• Ajulot: Spoken in Ajoie, Elsgau frontier country, Savoureuse valley, western Sundgau, and Porrentruy, which includes the Territoire de Belfort and adjacent parts of the département of Haut-Rhin, France, and the northwestern part of the Canton of Jura.
• Vâdais: Spoken in Delémont (Delsberg) in the Canton of Jura.
• Taignon: Spoken in the Franches Massif in the southwestern part of the Canton of Jura.

Classification

The Linguasphere language codes for the language groups called Franc-Comtois are:

• 51-AAA-ja ( jaa – jae ): Franco-Provençal language dialects.
• 51-AAA-hj ( hja – hjf ): Peripheral Oïl language dialects (Jurassien).

Examples

Bibliography

Dalby, David (1999/2000). The Linguasphere Register of the World's Languages and Speech Communities. (Vol. 2). Hebron, Wales, UK: Linguasphere Press. ISBN 0-9532919-2-8.

See also

• Languages of France
• Languages of Switzerland
• Linguasphere Observatory (Observatoire Linguistique)