This article relates to particularisms of the language of the old provinces of Saintonge, Aunis and Angoumois still present in Charente, Charente-Maritime, in the south of the Two-Sevres, the south of the the Vendée and the north of the the Gironde. There exist words common to the both Charentes, a linguistic unit but of many alternatives either of term or of pronunciation. Saintongeais strongly influenced the Québécois, the acadian and the Cajun.

a polemic between holding of saintongeais and holding of the Poitevin-saintongeais has just been distinct.
the file of saintongeais was examined by Mrs. Simoni-Aurembou before being accepted. Mrs. Simoni is research director at CNRS and is a distinguished linguist. It is because Mrs. Simoni gave her agreement that the Délégation with the languages of France recognized, on February 27th, 2007 saintongeais it like language of France distinct from the Poitevin.

Presentation

• One calls Langue saintongeaise (patouê saintonjhouê, jhabrail), the Charente-native Patois spoken in the old provinces about Aunis, Saintonge and Angoumois.

Its surface covers all the department of the Charente-Maritime, half of the department of the Charente (its western part), the north of the department of the the Gironde with its Pays Gabaye and its enclaves saintongeaises around Monségur; is also concerned the aunisienne part (southern the Vendée) and saintongeaise (southern Two-Sevres) of the Marais poitevin.

• Today, this dialect is hardly spoken than in the campaigns. One still finds it in spectacles, reviews, radio programs. Certain words resulting from the Charente-native patois are still used in the area. Words as the since (floorcloth) are so widespread that they can be regarded wrongly as French words.

• an association, the SEFCO, still makes live the regional language through a review, Subiet (whistle in resident of Charente), published every two months.

• the Xaintonge review is published, as for it, twice a year. Its articles are either saintongeais some, or in French.

• the large promoter of the Charente-native speech was at the beginning of the 20th century the " bard saintongeais" Goulebenéze , relayed by Odette Comandon, author of comedies and tales, actress and narrator patoisante. (see low).

Pronunciation

• the digraph “jh” indicates that in standard French (spelled or ) decides in saintongeais (fricative glottale not existing in contemporary French but for example in English).

• sound “IEN” is marked “eun”; for example, “a cheun” for “a dog”, “a reun” for “one nothing”.

• can decide: for example “right” becomes “DRE”.

• the R is rolled.

• At good number of speakers, the open E does not exist. it is replaced by the E closed in all the positions, as well in open syllable as in closed syllable. Thus “milk” becomes “breadth” and “crepe” “crépe”.

Grammar

• the interrogative turning “” + assertive, majority proposal in spoken French, is practically absent, with the profit of the inversion of the subject.

• the conjugation of many verbs at the present is done by the addition of the suffix (ant) to the radical to all the people.

• the conjugation of many verbs to last is done by employing the auxiliary “before” follow-up of the last participle of the verb to all the people.

Some words always used

• (H) arnat : Jarnac
• Acertainer : to affirm
• Ajace or ajhasse or " ageasse": magpie (the bird)
• Business : trick
• Arrocher : To throw
• Asteur! : Literally, has this hour! , but this interjection has the direction which the speaker wants. Like the " té" or the " peuchère" occitan. Asteur is a fundamental word in resident of Charente, and yet one finds it a little everywhere in France, as far as Belgium even.
• " Baignassout" : tourist who attends only the coast.
• To beat : the time of the batteries to beat " taper" shocks given manually or mechanically to extract the grain from its envelope after the harvest
• Benéze or beun' ease : happy, well-ease, the fact of feeling well. (Proverbially, a resident of Charente will seek with to be beun' ease as Mediterranean will seek to make the nap. The search of the beun' ease is as crowned as that of the nap, except that the beun' ease is not describable…)
• To bar the door , to close with key. from the old closings closed with an interior bar
• Beurouette comes: Wheelbarrow
• Binloin : Saintongeais which left the area but which remains there always very attached; term invented starting from nicknames of patoisants
• Bordoirer, beurdouérer : to spread out, dirty
• Club-footed : Shoe S
• Muddy : street sweepers
• Beugner : To knock
• Bouillard : rain
• Bouiner : to make, " boutiquer" . Which that you bouines? What is this you make What you " boutiques"? Addresses itself to somebody of slow, who trails.
• Boulite : small hole - would be a word Poitevin and Bouliter : to look by the keyhole - by a boulite
• Flock or bourrier : (masc., dust). More particularly indicate the heap of dust when the brush is passed.
• Buffer : to blow, breathe extremely, be windy
• Beurgot : The Frelon
• Cagouille : the Escargot Small-Gray (the residents of Charente are often called cagouillards . The snail is emblematic of Charente. Moreover, supposed the slowness of the residents of Charente, such that of snail, is proverbial)
• Cassotte : Container with tubular handle to serve as water by drawing it from a Bucket
• Chaline : says itself of a thundery weather with summer lightning
• Chéti or Chéty : of Latin captivus , prisoner of war, but whereas weak French retains physical misery, the resident of Charente described by there the joker, the rabble, malicious, the skilful one which takes sometimes freedoms with morals. From where astonishing formulations like you vla thus large chéty
• Cheun : dog
• Cougnat , the cougnat : Cognac, the cognac
• Coutia : A knife
• To hook : to hang
• Dâil : a scythe
• Débadigouler : to say, to state without too much including/understanding what one says and/or without you being included/understood. " Débadigouler large the messe" : to say the mass.
• To discharge : to leave work the evening (and To engage to begin work the morning)
• Of the same : in this way, like that, example: it will go well in the same way; that will function well in this way
• the funny and the hussy : The son and the girl (with a positive connotation, contrary to the same words in the Gironde or in the country Nantes). By extension, funny or a hussy will be a boy or a young girl, in general.
• Éloise : flash - “innate Coum éloise” (“as a flash”) is the currency of the firemen of the Charente-Maritime.
• Éloiser : (untranslatable because as well lighting by glares as fast action) O éloise , that éloise : Flashes tear the sky, there is storm. Éloiser is also used in Charente in the field of the Football to say: to release and for a vehicle which starts too quickly.
• To engage : to go to work - “I engage at eight hours and I discharge at five hours”.
• the fillatre : the grandson
• the " frairie" : the fun fair
• Friquet : skimmer.
• To make Godaille : To make chabrot, i.e. to put wine (white or red) in the remainder of soup bubble
• Goret : pig, pig and Gorette for a sow (see also a " treue"). Employment must be followed of " except vout' raspect" so not the word is insulting
• Goule : face, stops (a fine goule : a gourmet)
• Goûnasse : Weak taste.
• Goûnassier or gougnafier : bad cook, more largely nobody without interest, a goujat.
• Grâler : to burn, cramer, in kitchen. - to roast
• Grignou : Tramp, nobody salts or with doubtful hygiene. To be equipped in grignou: to put of old used clothing, to go to collect the cagouilles, for example.
• Grolle : corbel
• I : I
• Jho or gheo : cock
• Jobrer : to sprinkle, dirty
• Jhouque : perch with Poultry.
• Luma (Aunis, the Vendée): Snail Small-Gray. The snail Small-Gray dish. Can also indicate the slug in certain cantons. The " Sauce with the lumas" : snails cooked with the red wine, a little like the coq au vin. It is also a famous counting rhyme.
• Mardoux and mardouze : …
• Marienne : the nap (of " méridienne" )
• Migheot or Mighet : Bread soaked in wine sweetened with ice floes (not), replacing soup the summer.
• Mongettes , mojhettes or mogettes: (also in the Vendée), sometimes marked “moyette”: white Bean of ingot type or soisson (“mogette piate”, punt). Mogette switches of it: French bean or butter.
• To wet : to rain
• O: it, it, that; “can O the east” mean “I am”, where thus? “you are”, “il/elle/c' is”
• Olé: it is:
• Olé Ben vrè : It is very exact, it is very true.
• Olé beun : It is good
• Olé pout, Olé warped : It is me, it is you.
• Quétou that olé? : What is it?
• That olé thieu? What is what it is that?
• Nâtre : nasty piece of work, malicious. To hardly pronounce the R. (Nâtreté = underhand spite)
• Niger : to flood, to drown
• Trains : a hedge
• Piarde : a pickaxe
• Pocket or Ladle : bag paper initially and now plastic. Pocket is French
• Queunia : factitious egg intended for layers.
• Querreux : recess, alcove, course common
• quichenote traditional cap for the work to the fields which protects from the heats of the sun and English (kissnot).
• To arrange : to hold, in the direction “sufficiently small being to enter a container” - “that never will arrange its business! ” (“it will not manage to arrange its trick”)
• Reun , Nothing " y' has reun"
• Sagouiller to play with the water of a basin, to splash. One says also cassouiller .
• Since : Floorcloth
• Sincer : to pass the floorcloth (to wash by ground)
• Sometimes : the afternoon
• Tartasser : to chatter (ex unnecessarily: tartasser all the marienne darrière the umias , is: to chatter during the hour of the nap behind ormeaux) the
• Teurtous : everyone - all
• Treue : sow. A " treue gourinière" : a full sow. Can also be used as insult. All that touches with the pig can be an insult if it is not precise except your respect or with the respect that I owe you….
• Winch : Press (in many localities: Winch-Arnaudeau, Winch-Bernard…)
• Véque : come - Véque by which… = come by there…
• Veye : verb to see - veye-lo quequi (looks at to it that one)
• Zou : This, This, That

Expressions

• O makes me wrong or O makes wrong : that makes me odd (“odd” is in a negative direction with a physical feeling of evil ease as chalk which squeaks on the table or the touch of certain materials…) One also says by places O makes me zir .
• o' breadth the poële which fout of the cauldron : it is the hospital which makes fun of the Charité
• o' breadth not écartable : you cannot lose you
• according to only : apparently
• of row : of at a stretch, after
• a cold cheun : a duck cold (of dog)
• o' is necessary that I there ale,… that one there ale : that I go there, that one goes there
• one is returned : one arrived
• which é' warps that o' breadth that cheu? or Quétou that olé? : What is it?
• not moucher with a whetstone : to be a little “megalomaniac”: A' fly not with a whetstone! = it is quite proud.

Without forgetting of course:

• " Abeurnoncieau! " (" ab renoncio" , extracted the ritual batismal: " I give up Satan, etc.")expression marking the horror (moderate…) or dislike.
• " Ah Ben asshole! " rather marking the surprise even, admiration.
• " Thus goes! " : it is not possible, it is anything
• " O fi' of bitchy girl! " : exclamative (a bitchy girl is a small young girl, without any pejorative character, a hot stuff pretty, is well swindled)

And compliments with back (in form of Understatement:

• " he forgot et' sot"

See too

• Burgaud of Marets: linguist and patoisant saintongeais 19th century.
• Goulebenéze : local personality, poet, known for his works in patois.
• Odette Comandon: author of comedies and tales, actress and narrator patoisante.
• the Binuchards, a group of celto cajun Charente-native rock'n'roll singing in patois.
• Athanase Jean: author of small comedies in patois saintongeais.

External bonds

• Official list of the Languages of France
• Xaintonge, the magazine of the patois saintongeais
• Bibliographie of the patois saintongeais
• Société of ethnology and folklore of the Mid-west - SEFCO, Editeur of the '' Subiet '', a monthly review entirely in resident of Charente