Il francoprovenzale in Puglia: situazione attuale e prospettive

Abstract

This contribution aims to examine the present status of Francoprovençal in two small villages of the province of Foggia: Faeto and Celle di San Vito, where the alloglot language cohabits with Italian and several dialects belonging to the Italo-Romance linguistic group. Drawing on the recent sociolinguistic investigations conducted in these multilingual communities, we will point out the uses of Francoprovençal and the informants' perception and attitudes towards the local minority language, which will enable us to gauge the weaknesses and the strengths of Francoprovencal. If the link with the past and the feeling of identity represent a solid basis for the maintenance of the alloglot language, in the new European discourse, based on the recognition of a collective identity, multilingualism may undoubtedly represent a prospect for this language at risk of extinction.