Saintongeais (saintonjhais) is a dialect spoken halfway down the western coast of France in the former provinces of Saintonge, Aunis and Angoumois, all of which have been incorporated into the current départements of Charente and Charente-Maritime as well as in parts of their neighbouring départements of Deux-Sèvres, Vendée and Gironde. Although many of the same words are used in both Charente départements, they differ in many respects, i.e., in what they mean or in how they are pronounced.