printability and standardization

[Blanchet Philippe]

Stan & Sandy Anonby a écrit :
>
> In what contexts do people actually write Provençal?  How many varieties are
> there?  Is there a hierarchy of spelling systems?
>
Detailed explanations are hard to give by E-mail...  :-)

Provençal is the most written regional language of France, with a
regular production of good literature and magazines.
It is also written at school, on roadsigns, names of houses and shops,
various adverts and a few administrative documents.
There are in fact three spelling systems (from the most accepted one to
the less accepetd one):
1) the 'polynomic' one used in more than 90% of the writings (95% of the
literary book published in the XXth century, 90% of the magazines now),
notably by the local and regional administrations, on roadsigns, at
school, etc.
2) the spontaneous adaptations of the French spelling for very short
items (such as names of houses) by speakers who have never learned how
to write their language (it's only been scarcely taught in schools for
fifty years),
3) the occitanist 'standardizing' one by a very small number of
militants who consider Provençal as a variety of Occitan (unlike the
large majority of Provençals): around 2% of the literary books and none
of the popular/public writings.

Bye
--
Philippe