Le lexique du pays niçois et sa configuration aréologique
Résumé
This paper is a dialectal overview of the historical territory formally known as the “County of Nice”. As a preliminary, using original maps, it summarizes what we already know about the territory’s dialectal partition. The main features displayed are (a) the coexistence of both Ligurian and Occitan in a very small geographic area, and (b) the dialectal complexity of the Occitan zone, which is made of three belts stretching from East to West. The discussion then focuses on the lexicon, making for the first time a general lexical survey of the County. According to the numerous data available in field work reports and dictionaries, it appears that the dialectal inner boundary that separates Ligurian and Occitan is also strong and valid from a lexical point of view. Nevertheless, the Occitan zone of the County merits a more detailed analysis: although its fundamental lexicon is undoubtedly Occitan, the area is in fact somewhat original within the Occitan linguistic domain, notably because it shares some lexical items with Piedmontese and Italian. Moreover, minute analyses indicate that its general unity is counterbalanced by the existence of four distinct lexical areas. These are very different from the morpho-phonological areas, as they tend to follow North-South trending rivers.