Auvergnat

Auvergnat (; French pronunciation: [ovɛʁɲa] ) or Occitan auvergnat (endonym: auvernhat ) is a northern dialect of Occitan spoken in central and southern France, in particular in the former administrative region of Auvergne. Currently, research shows that there is not really a true Auvergnat dialect but rather a vast northern Occitan linguistic area. The word "Auvergnat" is above all a local historiographical creation. According to linguist Jean Roux, "It is by simplification that we use this term, because in no case Auvergnat can be considered as an autonomous linguistic entity". With around 80,000 speakers in the Auvergne region at the beginning of the 21st century, it is considered to be severely endangered.