French Dialects, Patois, and Regional Languages

French varies from country to country and from region to region. Learn about some of the accents you might encounter in France in this audio report from LaGuinguette audio magazine.

Listen and/or read about dialects vs "standard French," the Dictionary of French Regionalisms, the linguistic status of dialects in France, the French patois from Vendée, and whether dialects reflect differences in mentality.

Presentation of some characteristics of the French patois spoken in Vendée, in French (listen and/or read).

Listen to 2 sound files for each of about 15 dialects across France.

Info about Occitan classes for adults in many French cities.

These languages are not actually related to French, but they are influenced by it due to their geographical location.

Map of Provençal dialects.

Catalan is a separate Romance language, closely related to both French and Spanish.

Listen to and read the Provençal patriotic hymn.

Learn about the Picard language, including how to read, write, and speak it.

An organization dedicated to preserving the minority languages and cultures in France.

Actually a German dialect, Alsacien is spoken in the Alsace region of France.

L'histoire de mots occitans qui n'existent pas ou plus en français.

Closely related to Catalan, this language is mainly spoken in (but not officially recognized by) France.

Learn the basics of Eskuara, also known as Basque, the language unrelated to any other which is spoken in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques in France.

Short description and sample of Neuchâtelois dialect.

Ten sound files of various French accents, with transcripts.

Learn the basic grammar of Euskara, the Basque language.

Learn all about the Breton language.

Information and debates over the existence of the Norman-French language.

A fairly extensive (read: long) discussion of French regional languages and dialects. There is mention of languages from all over the world, but the focus is on France.

Some basic information about Provençal French.

Maps of the Occitan dialects in France. Also some history and links.

The French spoken from 842 to 1400 was very different from today's French - learn more here.

Unofficial site on the Jurassien-French dialect.

Read the oldest known text written in the Jurassien dialect.

Everything you need to know about the Vendéen dialect.

History of, lessons in, and games about the Alsacien-French dialect.