Lingue, dialetti e religione nelle aree occitane e francoprovenzali

The relationship between religion and language is both tight and complex, representing today a field of study for the sociology of language. The adoption of certain codes in the religious sphere is generally connected to the varieties available in the linguistic repertoire of a given community; this adoption may also contribute to the reorganization of the repertoire itself, changing the sociolinguistic status of the languages involved. Moreover, language and religion can be identified as strong symbols of belonging to both a historical tradition and a cultural identity. This paper will outline the historical and macro-sociolinguistic features characterizing the Galloromance area in Italy (Aosta Valley and western Piedmont); in particular, it will depict both the structure of linguistic repertoires and the role played by French and local varieties in the religious domain, two different Christian confessions (i.e. the Catholic and the Waldensian Evangelical) coexisting in the same area. The linguistic and religious choices carried out in different contexts will finally be discussed, in order to highlight their connection to identity issues.