Occitan, also known as lenga d'òc by its native speakers, is a Romance language. It is spoken in southern France, Italy's Occitan Valleys, Monaco, and Spain's Val d'Aran; collectively, these regions are sometimes referred to as Occitania. Occitan is also spoken in the linguistic enclave of Guardia Piemontese (Calabria, Italy). However, there is controversy about the unity of the language, as some think that Occitan is a macrolanguage. Others include Catalan in this family, as the distance between this language and some Occitan dialects (such as the Gascon language) is similar to the distance among different Occitan dialects. In fact, Catalan was considered an Occitan dialect until the end of the 19th century. 

Today, Occitan is an official language in Catalonia, where a subdialect of Gascon known as Aranese is spoken in the Val d'Aran. Occitan's closest relative is Catalan. Since September 2010, the Parliament of Catalonia has considered Aranese Occitan to be the officially preferred language for use in the Val d'Aran. 

Across history, the terms Limousin ("Lemosin"), Languedocien ("Lengadocian"), Gascon, and later Provençal ("Provençal", "Provençau" or "Prouvençau") have been used as synonyms for the whole of Occitan; nowadays, "Provençal" is understood mainly as the Occitan dialect spoken in Provence. QUESTIONS:

Q1:
1. Where is Occitan an official language?
2. What uses Occitan as its official language?
3. What does Occitan serve as the official language of?
Q2:
1. What subdialect of Occitan is spoken in Catalonia?
2. In Catalonia, what Occitan subdialect can be heard?
3. Which subdialect of Occitan do Catalonians speak?
Q3:
1. What do native speakers of Occitan call it?
2. How do native speakers of Occitan refer to their language?
3. What is the term for Occitan as referred to by native speakers?
Q4:
1. What is Occitan linguistically classified as?
2. What type of language is Occitan?
3. What sort of language is Occitan defined as?
Q5:
1. Where do people speak Occitan?
2. In what location can speakers of Occitan be found?
3. Where is Occitan spoken?
Q6:
1. Where do people speak Occitan other than Southern France?
2. In what location can speakers of Occitan be found, besides Southern France?
3. Where is Occitan spoken in addition to Southern France?
Q7:
1. Are there speakers of Occtain outside of France and Italy?
2. Do other countries besides France and Italy have speakers of Occitan?
3. Are there people who speak Occitan outside of Southern France and parts of Italy?
Q8:
1. Where do people speak Occitan other than Southern France and parts of Italy?
2. In what location can speakers of Occitan be found, besides Southern France and Italy's Occitan Valleys?
3. Where is Occitan spoken in addition to Southern France and Italy's Occitan Valleys?
Q9:
1. How can places where Occitan is spoken be collectively referred to?
2. What are the areas where Occitan is spoken sometimes called?
3. What is a way of referencing those places where Occitan is spoken?
Q10:
1. Is there controversy surrounding Occitan?
2. Is there anything polemical about the Occitan language?
3. Are there any controversial elements of Occitan?
Q11:
1. What controversies are there regarding Occitan?
2. What is polemical about Occitan?
3. What are the controversial elements of Occitan?
Q12:
1. What do some think about Occitan's unity as a language?
2. What are some opinions regarding Occitan's linguistic unity?
3. What do some say about the unity of Occitan?
Q13:
1. What do some think about Occitan's unity as a language, other than it being a macrolanguage?
2. What are some opinions regarding Occitan's linguistic unity, besides that it is a macrolanguage?
3. What do some say about the unity of Occitan when not saying its a macrolanguage?
Q14:
1. What do those who see similarities between Occitan and Catalan think it is similar to?
2. What similarity do people see between Catalan and Occitan?
3. 
