| Saintongeais | |
|---|---|
| séntunjhaes | |
| Native to | France |
| Region | Charente,Charente-Maritime,Gironde |
Indo-European
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | sant1407 |
 | |
Saintongeais (French pronunciation:[sɛ̃tɔ̃ʒɛ]ⓘ;endonym:séntunjhaes) is a dialect ofPoitevin–Saintongeais[2][3] spoken halfway down the western coast of France in the formerprovinces ofSaintonge,Aunis andAngoumois, all of which have been incorporated into the currentdepartments ofCharente andCharente-Maritime as well as in parts of the neighbouring department ofGironde and a town[which?] inDordogne. Although many of the same words are used in both Charente departments, they differ in what they mean or in how they are pronounced.
Saintongeais, which is a langue d'oïl variety, andGascon, which is a langue d'oc variety, have significantly influenced theAcadian andCajun dialects of French spoken in Canada and the United States respectively.[4]
Its area covers the entire department ofCharente-Maritime (except the very north), the west and centre of the department ofCharente, and the northern part of the department ofGironde with itsPays Gabaye and its enclaves around Saintonge,Monségur. Today, Saintongeais is no longer widely spoken except in the countryside. It is still used in television shows, magazines and radio programs. Some words from Saintongeais are still used in the region. Words likesince (floorcloth) are so widespread that they are considered by some to be French.
TheLimousin dialect ofOccitan used to be spoken in this area and left a substrate on Saintongeais.[5]
Along with French, Saintongeais is used in the magazineXaintonge, which is published twice a year. The great promoters of spoken Charentais at the beginning of the twentieth century were "le Barde Saintongeais"Goulebenéze [fr], succeeded byOdette Comandon [fr], author of comedy and folk tales, patois actress and storyteller.Athanase Jean, a country doctor, also wrote several plays in the dialect and helped promote the Saintonge culture.
Media related toPoitevin-saintongeais language at Wikimedia Commons
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