Description :
This episode of Radio País is part of the European project Tramontana Network (Réseau Tramontana in French), co-funded by the European Union, which aims to highlight the cultural, linguistic and human diversity of European territories, giving visibility to local voices, traditions and contemporary expressions. In this context, the programme presents the work and reflections of Yannick Jaulin, an artist, storyteller and performer from Vendée, whose artistic journey is deeply connected to the defence of oral traditions and regional languages.
Yannick Jaulin discusses his relationship with his native language, a variety of Poitevin-Saintongeais, and the way linguistic diversity has been affected by social change, schooling and the pressure of standardised languages. He explains that the disappearance of local languages is not only a linguistic loss but also the loss of a way of understanding the world, since each language carries unique knowledge, memories and relationships with a territory. Through his shows, particularly “My mother tongue is going to die and I have trouble talking to you about love”, he transforms this personal and collective experience into a universal reflection on identity, transmission and cultural dignity.
The interview also explores the links between language, poetry and artistic creation. Jaulin rejects a nationalist vision of regional languages, defending instead diversity, openness and the creative richness of different ways of speaking. His work seeks to reconnect audiences with their own forgotten histories and encourage recognition of local cultures as part of a wider human heritage. The programme highlights oral expression as a living form of resistance and as a means of preserving the plurality of European identities.