Limousin dialect

Limousin
Lemosin
Spoken in	France
Native speakers	no reliable data  (date missing)
Language family	Indo-European Italic Romance Western Gallo-Iberian Gallo-Romance Occitano-Romance Occitan Limousin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Linguist List	oci-lim
Linguasphere	51-AAA-gj
Approximate distribution of Limousin within the Occitan area

Limousin (Occitan: Lemosin) is a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the three departments of Limousin, parts of Charente and the Dordogne in the southwest of France.

The first Occitan documents are in this dialect, particularly the Boecis, written around the year 1000.

Limousin is used primarily by people over age 50 in rural communities. All speakers speak French as a first or second language. Due to the French single language policy, it is not recognised by the government and might be disappearing. A revivalist movement around the Felibrige and the Institut d'Estudis Occitans is active in Limousin (as well as in other parts of Occitania).

Differences from Languedocien

Most speakers and academics consider Limousin to be a dialect of Occitan. For more detailed information on this question, see the section on Occitan dialects and codification.

The following reproduces the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

Limousin	Languedocien
Totas las personas naisson liuras e egalas en dignitat e en drech. Son dotadas de rason e de consciéncia e lor chau agir entre elas emb un esperit de frairesa.	Totes los èssers umans naisson liures e egals en dignitat e en dreches. Son dotats de rason e de consciéncia e se devon comportar los unes amb los autres dins un esperit de fraternitat.

See also

• Occitan conjugation

External links

• Institut d'Estudis Occitans dau Lemosin
• Ethnologue report for Limousin, 15th edition
• Ethnologue report for Occitan language