Probably the most striking feature of the pronunciation is the unusual number of diphthongs and triphthongs, both ascending and descending.  Each vowel preserves its proper sound, and the component vowels seem to be pronounced more slowly and separately than in many languages.  It is to be noted that u in a diphthong has the Italian sound, whereas when single it sounds as in French.  The unmarked e represents the French e, as the e mute is unknown to the Provencal.

The c has come to sound like s before e and i, as in French. Ch and j represent the sounds ts and dz respectively, and g before e and i has the latter sound.  There is no aspirate h.  The r is generally uvular.  The s between vowels is voiced.  Only l, r, s, and n are pronounced as final consonants, l being extremely rare.  Mistral has preserved or restored other final consonants in order to show the etymology, but they are silent except in liaison in the elevated style of reading.

The language is richer in vowel variety than Italian or Spanish, and the proportion of vowel to consonant probably greater than in either.  Fortunately for the student, the spelling represents the pronunciation very faithfully.  A final consonant preceded by another is mute; among single final consonants only l, m, n, r, s are sounded; otherwise all the letters written are pronounced.  The stressed syllable is indicated, when not normal, by the application of practically the same principles that determine the marking of the accent in Spanish.

The pronunciation of the Felibres is heard among the people at Maillane and round about.  Variations begin as near as Avignon.[5]

Koschwitz’ Grammar treats the language historically, and renders unnecessary here the presentation of more than its most striking peculiarities.  Of these, one that evokes surprise upon first acquaintance with the dialect is the fact that final o marks the feminine of nouns, adjectives, and participles.  It is a close o, somewhat weakly and obscurely pronounced, as compared, for instance, with the final o in Italian.  In this respect Provencal is quite anomalous among Romance languages.  In some regions of the Alps, at Nice, at Montpellier, at Le Velay, in Haute-Auvergne, in Roussillon, and in Catalonia the Latin final a is preserved, as in Italian and Spanish.

The noun has but one form for the singular and plural.  The distinction of plural and singular depends upon the article, or upon the demonstrative or possessive adjective accompanying the noun.  In liaison adjectives take s as a plural sign.  So that, for the ear, the Provencal and French languages are quite alike in regard to this matter.  The Provencal has not even the formal distinction of the nouns in al, which in French make their plural in aux. Cheval in Provencal is chivau, and the plural is like the singular.  A curious fact is the use of uni or unis, the plural of the indefinite article, as a sign of the dual number; and this is its exclusive use.