Olivier Frutiger on the slang of Mégevette's peddlers

Savoyard peddlers' slang: mourmé from the Mégevette region

The slang of Savoyard peddlers: Mourmé from the Mégevette region
From the 15th to the beginning of the 20th century, Mégevette and the surrounding region experienced seasonal, temporary and permanent emigration to Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France. These peddlers, like other itinerant professions, developed a secret language, a slang known as mourmé, to avoid being understood by others. The mourmé of Samoëns is well known, but that of Mégevette was not, and Olivier Frutiger has carried out a long and remarkable investigation. "It's a part of the Savoyard region's linguistic intangible heritage that almost disappeared irretrievably!" In this talk, he will tell us about its history, describe its characteristics in Francoprovençal, compare it with other slang and identify borrowings from the various Occitan, German and Italian languages.

Complément de localisation

The car park is located on the road to the Col de Joux Plane, 5km from the center of Samoëns. You then have to walk 200m on foot following the path downhill (towards the west) to get to the eco-museum. It is also possible to get there via the path leading to the ecomuseum, starting from the hamlet of Le Bérouze (1h20). The map is available at the tourist office.

Complément de réservation

Book directly with the Samoëns tourist office.