Valdôtain dialect

Valdôtain (local dialect: Valdotèn, Valdŏtèn, Valdouhtan) is a dialect of Arpitan (Franco-Provençal) spoken in the Aosta Valley in Italy, and the common language of the Aosta Valley. It is commonly known as patois or patoué. It is not an official language, the two regional official languages being French and Italian, though it is officially recognized.

Distribution and classification
The Aosta Valley represents the only region of the Franco-Provençal area where this language is still widely spoken natively among all age ranges of the population, with a 2001 survey reporting almost 58% of the population know Franco-Provençal. A further 2003 study confirmed the status of Franco-Provençal as a main language for a majority of the population, with significant multilingualism.



It has been said that in the Aosta Valley there are as many forms of patois as there are bell towers, in reference to the high linguistic diversity in the region within the Valdôtain varieties of Franco-Provençal. However, they can be broadly classified into two main branches: those of the Upper Valley (haute Vallée, Alta Valle) to the west and of the Lower Valley (basse Vallée, Bassa Valle) to the east of the city of Aosta. Valdôtain varieties from the Upper Valley tend to be more innovative and have more affinity with from varieties spoken in Savoy and in Valais, across the national borders; meanwhile, those from the Lower Valley tend to be more conservative, with influence from Piedmontese.

The urban variety of Aosta itself (patoué de la Veulla) has often been considered 'neutral', especially for the local-language media.

Vocabulary examples
Several subdialects of Valdôtain exist that exhibit unique features in terms of phonetics and vocabulary.

Linguistic studies
Valdôtain has been the subject of detailed study at the Bureau régional pour l'ethnologie et la linguistique (BREL) in Aosta as well as in the Centre d'études francoprovençales in Saint-Nicolas.

Music
The main modern singers and songwriters in Valdôtain are:
 * Louis de Jyaryot, from Ayas;
 * Maura Susanna, from Saint-Vincent;
 * Magui Bétemps, from Valtournenche.

The traditional Aostan songs in Valdôtain and in French form the core of the activity of the band Trouveur valdotèn.

Poetry
Here is a selection of some of the most important poets in Valdôtain: