Bourbonnais dialects
Oïl language in France
The Bourbonnais dialects are spoken in the historic region of Bourbonnais, located in central France and including the department of Allier the area surrounding Saint-Amand-Montrond, in southeastern Cher. This linguistic zone is located between those home to the languages of Oïl, Occitan, and Franco-Provençal.
Bourbonnais, an ambiguous term
There are two indigenous languages in Bourbonnais:
An Oïl language is spoken in two thirds of Allier, north of the line Montluçon (Occitan) – Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule (Oïl) – Lapalisse (Oïl), and in the Bourbonnais part of Cher. The dialect has its origins in the Moulins, Allier area, Bourbon-l'Archambault, and Souvigny.
Occitan languages are spoken south of Montluçon and near Gannat and Vichy. These are dialects of the Occitan language of the Croissant (linguistic) in southern Bourbonnais and northern Limousin. They are on their way to be integrated into the French language. The scientific term for these idioms is Arverno-Bourbonnais, as they belong to the Auvergnat dialect linguistic zone, with a transition to the Oïl language.
In the South-East, in the area of the Montagne Bourbonnaise, the local Occitan dialect is influenced by Franco-Provençal.
Thus "Bourbonnais" is an ambiguous term: it can refer to idioms of Occitan (Bourbonnais of Oc), or to French dialects of the Bourbonnais (Bourbonnais of Oïl).
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