Ariegeois love poem

Ariégeois (languedocien, lengadocian), belongs to the ariegeois branch of the Oc languages, it's one of the dialects of the Oc language, spoken in Ariège, in the south-west of France.

Occitan gathers the different dialects of an entire region which represents ⅓ of France (southern part), and which overflows in Spain and Italy. The Catalan language is a close cousin. In its various forms there may be 4 million people to speak or understand it.

The main dialects are Languedocian (here Ariègeois), Provencal, Gascon, Auvergnat and Limousin. The Gascon is quite distinct from the others and could almost be considered apart. If at present no one really agrees on a standard form, and if the language fully retains its regional forms, orthographic norms seem to have been adopted.

It is in the 12th that the classical period begins when the troubadours and their sung poetry appear, it will become a model during 2 centuries. The use of French will announce, as for the other regional languages, its decline.

Ariège got its name from the Ariège river, and is a French department on the foothills of Central Pyrénées. The most important city is Foix.