>I think I heard that it came from the word for 'yes' which in the north was 'oil' and in the southwest was 'oc' so you had langue d'oc and langue d'oil.

Oui, c'est ca! T'as raison. Je m' souviens maintenant.

>Perhaps also why the language of the area from SW France through Catalonia was Occitan.
>
>( Catalan is one of the coolest languages I've ever seen. Obviously a romance language and for some reason it looks like one can even understand it. Got a real kick out of the way the Catalans in Barcelona would refuse to speak Spanish to other Barcelonans - like trying to speak English in Quebec if they know you're Canadian )
>
>>>>>>>Refrain... oh you mean you'll abstain from an impulse to say how many. :)
>>>>>
>>>>>What's a 'frain' and why would you have to 're' do it?
>>>>
>>>>You telling me Spanish has no words beginning with "re", meaning "to do again"?
>>>>
>>>
>>>Not since the reconquista.
>>
>>Charles
>>
>>yesterday you mentioned the Languedoc region of France, I think. A friend (French teacher) informed me that it got its name from the other French people's referring to the gluttoral sound the inhabitants made: "la langue d'oc" or "the language where they go 'oc'" (bit like "the Knights that go Neep", I suppose :-)
>>
>>On a similar vein, I understand that the word "barbarian" came from the Roman's disdain of their language, saying that they all go "bar - bar - bar".