The Central Symbolic Core of Provencal Language

Joannes Richter (jwr47)

Abstract
In Provencal language four elementary verbs (to say (dire), to be (tre/estre), to laugh (rire) and to
see (voir/veire) conjugate according to the pattern *iu in which the wildcard * is to be replaced by
a letter d, s, r, or v.
In Provencal the expression I say is translated as diu, which is equivalent to Diu (God).
The Dutch, German and French roots expressions IE, JE respectively JA represent eternity which is
correlated to the elementary Provencal core element iu in Diu (God), in the ego-pronoun iu
(I), in diu (I say), siu (I am), riu (I laugh) and in viu (I see).
In the Mediterranean, Romansh, Provencal, Italian, Spanish, Catalan and French dialects the
symbolism of the ego-pronouns iau, iu, jau, jeu, jou, eau, iau, ia, io, iu, eu, je, jo, ju, is based on
the same Dutch, German and French roots expressions IE, JE respectively JA representing always
/ eternity.
Especially in the neighborhood of episcopal centers such as Chur (Switzerland) the divine name
may have been reset to a required standard word.
Introduction
Studying the Catalan language I noticed some gradual deviation from the Central Symbolic Core of
Provencal Language I had discovered and documented a few months ago in a note Filosofische
achtergrond van het Provenaals (in Dutch).

The Central Symbolic Core of Provencal Language

The Central Symbolic Core of Provencal Language is based on first person singular conjugations
for some Provencal verbs, which all seem to cover basic human activities such as to say (dire), to be
(tre/estre), to laugh (rire) and to see (voir/veire).
The first person singular conjugations for these Provencal verbs (to say (dire), to be (tre/estre), to
laugh (rire) and to see (voir/veire) all conjugate according to the pattern *iu in which the wildcard
* is to be replaced by a letter d, s, r, or v.
This formula translates first person singular conjugations for these Provencal verbs to diu (I
say), siu (I am), riu (I laugh), and viu (I see), in which iu represents the ego-pronoun (as
an abbreviation of the first person singular personal pronoun1).

Now I noticed the Provencal expression I say is translated as diu, which is equivalent to
Diu (God).
Neighboring languages and dialects do not show such marvelous correlations between the
expressions such as I say (diu), the ego-pronouns such as I (iu) and the corresponding
divine names such as Diu (God).

1 and in some cases also used as the standard extension for the first person singular conjugations for these Provencal
verbs such as diu (I say), siu (I am), riu (I laugh), and viu (I see)
Correlations between the ego-pronouns and the divine names
I checked the neighboring languages, such as French, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese and ego-pronouns
in the neighborhood of the Swiss city of Chur:
In French the word Diu (God) is written as Dieu without an accent aigu.
In Catalan the word Diu (God) is written as Du including the accent aigu.
In French the ego-pronoun is written je, which is similar to Provencal iu.
In Catalan the ego-pronoun is written jo, which is equivalent to Italian io (I).
In the Provencal dialect of Nmes the word Diu (God) is transformed to Dou, which
more or less contains an alternative of the ego-pronoun Yiou2.
In Italian the word Dio (God) is written as D including a concatenated io (I).
In Portuguese the word Deus (God) is written as D including a concatenated eu (I).
In the neighborhood of the Swiss city of Chur the ego-pronouns are varying between jau
(jauer), jeu (Sursilvan), jou (Sutsilvan), ia (Surmiran), eau (Puter), eu (Vallader).3 As an
episcopal center Chur however would not allow divine names deviating from a standard.
In French La Villedieu (La Viala-Diau en occitan) the word Dieu (God) corresponds to the
equivalent Occitan spelling variant Diau.
In Sicilian the word Diu (God) is written as D including a concatenated iu (I),
which represents the main Sicilian ego-pronoun iu (ego-variants are: jo, ju, joni)4.

2 Yiou & Dou in the dialect of Nimes - Antoine Hippolyte Bigot (1825 - 1897) wrote an interesting and beautiful
poem in Provencal
3 From Vulgar Latin *eo, from Latin ego, from Proto-Indo-European *h.
4 Sicilian Swadesh list Wiktionary and Appendix:Swadesh lists for Italian languages
The roots (IE, JE, JA) for Eternity
In search for the symbolism of the marked vowel sequences iau, iu, jau, jeu, jou, eau, iau, ia, io,
iu, eu, je, jo, ju, I investigated the Dutch root IE and German JE respectively French JA
for eternity, which may be identified in the following words:
Old Dutch Dutch German English (Old-) French
Basic words IE ooit, altijd JE, jemals ever JA, jamais
eeuwig ewig eternal ja ms, jams
ieder jeder everybody
iets, ietwat etwas something
iemand jemand somebody

Old basic words iewers ergens irgendwo somewhere

iegelijc elk jeder everybody
iegeren ergens irgendwo somewhere
iewaer(s) ergens irgendwo somewhere

Negations niemand niemand nobody

nooit niemals never Ne jamais
nieuws neues news
niet nicht not
niets nichts nothing
niks nicks,
nix
1: Summary of the JE- and JA-roots for JE-/JA-eternity

The corresponding French word for eternity is jamais, which is explained in jamais (Wiktionary):
From Old French ja ms, jams (ever),
from Latin iam magis (yet more).
Compare Spanish jams, Italian giammai and Portuguese jamais.
1. (ne ... jamais) never
Je ne lai jamais vue. Ive never seen her.
2. ever
Es-tu jamais all en France ? Have you ever been to France?
Conclusion
In Provencal language the core element iu is used as an ego-pronoun and a first person singular
conjugation diu (I say), siu (I am), riu (I laugh), and viu (I see) for the basic verbs (to
say (dire), to be (tre/estre), to laugh (rire) and to see (voir/veire).
The Provencal language may have applied iu as divine core in the basic expressions Diu (God)
and diu (I say) as well as in the ego-pronoun iu (I).
In German and Dutch languages the IE-root refers to eternity. In French the IA- or JA-root refers to
eternity.
The Greek expression for eternity is documented as aei or aiei, which suggests eternity originally
may have been symbolized by concatenation of a series of vowels such as aeiou.
The Dutch, German and French root expressions IE respectively JE and JA for always and
eternity may have been derived from and/or correlate to aei or aeiou.
As a vowel sequence the word for the poisonous yew may have symbolized death and (for its slow
growth) eternal life.
The Dutch/German/French roots expressions IE , JE respectively JA represent eternity which is
correlated to the Provencal core element iu in Diu (God), in the ego-pronoun iu (I), in diu (I
say), siu (I am), riu (I laugh) and in viu (I see).
In the Mediterranean, Romansh, Provencal, Italian, Spanish, Catalan and French dialects the
symbolism of the ego-pronouns iau, iu, jau, jeu, jou, eau, iau, ia, io, iu, eu, je, jo, ju, is based om
the same Dutch, German & French roots expressions IE / JE / JA representing always / eternity.
The regional variants for the divine Names (Diu, Dou, Diau, Diu, Deus, Dio, ...) do not always
match the regional variants for the corresponding ego-pronouns (iu, iou, iau, iu, eu, io, ...). The
best-fit correlations are found in Provencal language.
Especially in the neighborhood of episcopal centers such as Chur (Switzerland) the divine name
may have been reset to a required standard word.
Appendix I Etymology for IMMER and IEDER by Terwen
The corresponding French word for eternity is jamais, which is explained in jamais Wiktionary:
From Old French ja ms, jams (ever), from Latin iam magis (yet more). Compare
Spanish jams, Italian giammai and Portuguese jamais.
1. (ne ... jamais) never
Je ne lai jamais vue. Ive never seen her.
3. ever
Es-tu jamais all en France ? Have you ever been to France?

1: Immer (always)

2: Ieder (Everybody)

From: Etymologisch Handwoordenboek der Nederduitsche taal

Johannes Leonardus Terwen (1844)
Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................1
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................2
The Central Symbolic Core of Provencal Language............................................................................2
Correlations between the ego-pronouns and the divine names............................................................3
The roots (IE, JE, JA) for Eternity.......................................................................................................4
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................5
Appendix I Etymology for IMMER and IEDER by Terwen.....................................................6