Lorrain language


Lorrain, also known as Lorrain roman, is a langue d'oïl spoken by a minority of people in the region of Lorraine in northeastern France, as well as in some parts of Alsace and Gaume in Belgium. It is often referred to as a patois.
It is a regional language of France. In Wallonia, it is known as Gaumais and enjoys official recognition as a regional language. It has been influenced by Lorraine Franconian and Luxembourgish, West Central German languages spoken in nearby or overlapping areas.

Features

Linguist Stephanie Russo noted the difference of a 'second' imperfect and pluperfect tense between Lorrain and Standard French. It is derived from Latin grammar that is no longer used in modern French.

Variations

The Linguasphere Observatory distinguishes seven variants:
  • Argonnais
  • Longovician
  • Gaumais
  • Messin
  • Nancéien
  • Spinalian
  • Deodatian
After 1870, members of the Stanislas Academy in Nancy noted 132 variants of Lorrain from Thionville in the north to Rupt-sur-Moselle in the south, which means that main variants have sub-variants.