Auvergnat Dialect - Subdialects

Subdialects

Auvergnat is most often categorized in the Northern Occitan dialect group, along with Limousin and Vivaro-Alpine.

There are two primary distinctions in Auvergnat:

• Northern Auvergnat (nord-auvergnat, also bas-auvergnat) in Puy-de-Dôme and Allier (Bourbonnais) and Haute-Loire north of Brioude.
  • In the south of Allier (Bourbonnais), the local nord-auvergnat has been heavily influenced by French, but Auvergnat linguistic traits remain dominant. This transition zone to French, called locally le Croissant, includes the northern fringe of Limousin. See also the article on Bourbonnais.
• Southern Auvergnat (sud-auvergnat, also haut-auvergnat) spoken in Cantal, Haute-Loire (with a part of Ardèche and most of Lozère).

The suggestion that Auvergnat is an independent language, distinct from Occitan, has found little resonance with linguists, especially Romance linguists. It is strongly defended by those who espouse the norme bonnaudienne a standardization of Auvergnat.