Not much Occitan is made for learners, so the Occitan you can follow at first comes from a handful of places. Look for comprehensible input, which is Occitan you can mostly follow, even when a few words are new.
Courses, tutors and word apps are in our full Occitan app comparison.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Occitan. You learn from Occitan you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Say you want to talk about food or music with a friend in Toulouse. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes an Occitan lesson on it at your level, and the words you save return in new lessons.
For a book or a video you found yourself, see Free Occitan to Read and Hear.
- Pick a topic and a level, and Poppy writes the Occitan to match.
- Each lesson has AI audio to play while you read.
- Tap a word to see what it means, or ask Poppy to explain a whole line.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You can't turn your own Occitan books into lessons. However, you can paste a page in the chat, and Poppy will explain it.
- Lessons teach Languedocien, so a text in another variety will use some different words, such as ostau for ostal.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Duostories
Duostories is a volunteer project that brings Duolingo's short stories to more languages, and it says it is not an official Duolingo product. It suits beginners who want a story they can finish in a few minutes.
- 16 free Occitan stories in Languedocien, with English translations.
- Answer short questions as you read each story.
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (2)
- LoecsenA free beginner course with audio for each phrase. The pages do not say which Occitan variety it uses.
- Easy OccitanA free page in English on Languedocien pronunciation and basic grammar, with six chapters. It has no audio.
ÒCtele is a television channel that broadcasts only in Occitan, and it is free. Its programs are subtitled in French and Occitan, so you can follow along even when you miss a word. It broadcasts in different dialects, and its show Afars Occitans mixes French and Occitan.
Jornalet publishes news in Occitan. Pick a story you already followed in English or French, and read the headline and the first lines. When a word does not match what you learned, such as ostal (house) and ostau, look it up in Dicodòc.
Vicipèdia, the Occitan Wikipedia, has 91,036 articles. Start with a topic you already know, such as a city you have visited.
For longer reading, Libraria Occitana is an online bookshop with a children's and teen section. Its edition of Letras de mon molin, Daudet's tales translated into Languedocien, comes with an Occitan-French lexicon.
| What You Can Follow | Try This | You're Ready to Move On When |
|---|---|---|
| Short phrases with audio | Loecsen's first chapters | You repeat each phrase and know what it means |
| Short sentences | A Duostories story, or a lesson from Poppy | You can answer a question about it without looking |
| Spoken Occitan with subtitles | Afars Occitans on ÒCtele | You catch the question words before you read the subtitle |
| Short articles on things you know | A page on Vicipèdia | You can say what the page is about |
| Everyday news | A headline and first lines on Jornalet | You can say what the story is about |
| A whole book | Letras de mon molin, with its lexicon | You read a tale without stopping at every line |
Word meanings, lesson explanations, and other platforms may differ, so try one lesson before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| Duostories | 1 | Full list |
| Loecsen | 40 | Full list |
| ÒCtele | — | — |
| Jornalet | — | — |
| Vicipèdia | — | — |
| Easy Occitan | — | — |
Which Occitan app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Occitan, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with the Languedocien stories on Duostories if you want a short story with questions, or with Loecsen's free course if you want phrases with audio.
Is there a TV channel in Occitan?
Yes. ÒCtele is free, broadcasts in Occitan only, and subtitles its programs in French and Occitan. It was created in 2013.
Which Occitan will I hear and read?
Several varieties. ÒCtele says it broadcasts in different dialects, while Bubblegum and Duostories teach Languedocien. A word may change from place to place: ostal (house) is ostau or estau in other varieties.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Duostories: Occitan (Languedocien) stories
- Duostories: FAQ (text-to-speech audio)
- Toulouse Métropole: interview with ÒCtele (free, subtitled in French and Occitan, Afars Occitans)
- ÒCtele: television 100% in Occitan
- Jornalet: news in Occitan
- Jornalet: who we are (run by the association ADÒC in Catalonia)
- Vicipèdia: Occitan Wikipedia statistics (91,036 articles)
- Libraria Occitana: Letras de mon molin, Daudet's tales in Languedocian (Letras d'òc), with an Occitan-French lexicon
- Libraria Occitana: the online bookshop of the Institut d'Estudis Occitans dau Lemosin, with a children's and teen section
- Loecsen: learn Occitan (free online course, about CEFR A1)
- Easy Occitan: language and pronunciation guide in English (Languedocian)
- Dicodòc: the dictionaries of Lo Congrès, including Laus, Lagarde and Cantalausa for Languedocien
- Wiktionary: ostal (Languedoc: house), with the Gascon and Provençal forms ostau and estau
- Bubblegum
