Arpitania

Arpitania (Arpitan and Italian: "Arpitania", French: "Arpitanie") refers to the lands where the Arpitan language is spoken or used to be the prevalent idiomFact|date=June 2007, but Arpitania is not a country or a nation.

"Arpitania" and "Arpitanian Language" are retronyms. They were neologisms from the 20th century. It was initially used for the Alpine regions where Arpitan was spoken. The name was popularised by "Mouvement Harpitanya", a left-wing political grouping in Aosta Valley in 1970s. [La nation Arpitane, http://arpitania.forumactif.com/CAFE-ARPITAN-c1/L-euroregion-Arpitanie-f1/La-nation-Arpitane-J-Harriet-1974-t581.htm.] In 1990s, the term lost its particular political context. However, the use of the word "Arpitania" indicates a common cultural heritage and a regional identity beyond linguistic limitations. [Aliance Cultutèla Arpitana, Fribourg (Switzerland) and Rochetaillée (France), http://aca.arpitania.eu.]

Inhabitants of the region, whether they are actual speakers of the language or not, are named as Arpitans. [Les Alpes et leurs noms de lieux, 6000 ans d'histoire ? : Les appellations d'origine pré-indo-européenne., Paul-Louis Rousset, 1988, ISBN 2-901193-02-1] [Les mots de la montagne autour du Mont-Blanc, Hubert Bessat et Claudette Germi, Ed. Ellug, Programme Rhône-Alpes, Recherches en Sciences Humaines, 1991, ISBN 2-902709-68-4.]

Geography

Arpitania is composed of:

* France (Savoy, Dauphiné, Isère, a big part of the Rhône "département", southern Franche-Comté, a very small part of the Ain, Monts du Forez...).
* Italy (Aosta Valley, Arpitan-speaking valleys in the Piemont).
* Switzerland (Romandy (excluding northern and western parts of Jura)).

The northwesternmost salient (roughly a strip between Mâcon and Roanne) is seen linguistically transitional between Arpitan, Occitan and other Oïl languages.

Books

* Jozé Harrieta, "La lingua arpitana", 1976.

References

External links

* [http://www.arpitania.eu Portal Arpitania.eu]
* [http://www.lexilogos.com/francoprovencal.htm Babel Lexilogos ("French")]
* [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/it-harp.html Harpitanya Movement Flag]
* [http://www.arpitan.ch/saviese/ Listen to some audio documents] in an Arpitan dialect.