OCCITAN VOICE OVER TALENTS NATIVE SPEAKERS - PAGE 1

Occitan language
Native to: Catalonia, Spain
Native speakers: 1.5 million
Writing system: Latin (Occitan alphabet)
Capital city: Barcelona
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Dialing code: +34
Country code: 34-97
Population: 7,565,603
Occitan is a Romance language spoken mainly in southern France and also in Italy and Spain. There are perhaps 1.5 million people who speak Occitan in their daily lives, while 5 or 6 million people are able to speak the language. The majority of speakers are elderly and live in rural areas. There are six dialects of Occitan: Provençal, Gascon, Languedocien, Limousin, Alpine and Auvergne. Occitan first began to appear in writing during the 10th century and was used particularly to write the poetry of the troubdours. The troubadours performed their poetry of love, satire and war in the courts of kings and nobles all over France, Spain and other countries in Europe. When France became a unified country in the 15th century, the language of the French court, langue d'oïl, was favoured over Occitan and other regional languages, which went into decline. Langue d'oïl developed into modern French. In the Occitan-speaking part of Spain, the Aran Valley, Occitan has co-official status with Spanish and Catalan and is used in official documents, on road signs and as a medium of instruction in schools. The local government also provides financial support for the publication of books in Occitan.