Poitevin-Saintongeais
Poitevin-Saintongeais (
Poetevin-séntunjhaes) is a language spoken by a minority of people in
Poitou-Charentes. It is one of the regional
languages of France. It is now classified as one of the
langues d'oïl but is distinguished by certain features of the
langue d'oc. The language is spoken on what was the border between the two language families of
oïl and
oc (placenames in the region clearly show historical settlement of
oc speakers). The langue d'oïl subsequently spread south, absorbing
oc features.
Poitevin-Saintongeais is also widely referred to as
parlanjhe (the language).
François Rabelais wrote that he learnt this dialect, along with many other languages and dialects, since he was educated in
Fontenay-le-Comte.
The earliest attested written use of the language is in charters and legal documents dating from the
13th century. The earliest printed text is dated
1554. A tradition of theatrical writing and dramatic monologues for performance typifies the literary output in the language, although from the
19th century and in the
20th century (especially with the publication of a weekly paper
Le Subiet from
1901) regular journalistic production was also established.
In
1973, a standard
orthography was proposed and now widely adopted.
